Mother of Insects

Chapter 40

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I'm going crazy if I can't unlock it! ! ! ! !

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I am also desperate... ah...

Lin Xi and Francis looked at each other for a moment. The latter's eyes were unusually calm, as calm as a robot's.

But the wonderful thing is also here. In his calm pupils, there seems to be something strange, a kind of... something that can allow Lin Xi to have a secret connection with him.

The feeling was extremely mysterious, ethereal and almost like an illusion.

In his brief trance, Lin Xi felt Francis' emotions slowly flowing towards him. It was a kind of intimacy and love that was difficult to describe, sticky and dense, like substance. And Lin Xi's own soul was like being trapped in a swamp, slowly sinking in this emotion... sinking...

"Hey, Dr. Lindsey... Francis... what the fuck are you two doing?"

Just when Lin Xi was about to be completely overwhelmed by that "emotion", Jerry's rude shout suddenly came from the communicator.

Lin Xi couldn't help but tremble all over.

Everything that happened before was like a brief nightmare at midnight, which suddenly shattered after waking up.

The alien wind blew, and the plants surrounding the two people once again surged with sickening bright purple and green.

Lin Xi finally came back to his senses. He shook his head subconsciously and was surprised to find that he had been staring at Francis for a long time for no apparent reason, and even forgot his current situation.

Well, two men staring at each other until they were in a trance, this scene might be considered romantic on Earth... but in this situation it would only make Lin Xi and Francis look stupid and reckless.

"let me go."

Lin Xi spoke to Francis for the last time, and after he finished speaking, he suddenly pulled his wrist back from the latter's hand.

This time, Francis did not stop him. However, a small ripple appeared in his calm eyes. He lowered his head and looked at his palms, and his cold expression became sad.

If Lin Xi himself was not the person involved, he would feel that Francis looked as if he was hurt - God knows why such an expressionless man with a cold aura all over his body would behave like an abandoned large military dog at a certain moment.

Sad, but restrained and forbearing.

Lin Xi really hoped that the emotions she saw on Francis' face were just her illusion.

Because he knew very well that he was embarrassed by Francis's intimate behavior and felt helpless about it. Francis' attitude towards him was really too strange, so strange that he couldn't understand it. It was a bit self-indulgent to say it out loud, but Lin Xi always felt that Francis might have special thoughts about him. However, if we consider Francis' other behaviors, Lin Xi's speculation seemed to lack evidence.

I don't intend to have any kind of intimacy with anyone at this damn time. —Message sender: Lin Xi

Lin Xi dodged Francis and stroked his wrist through his gloves.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he directly sent this message to Francis through a private channel. His attitude was clear that he could not have any emotional development with Francis.

But a moment later he received a loud prompt tone.

Your message has been rejected - System message

Lin Xi: “…”

He looked at Francis suspiciously.

The man who was so close to him still looked calm and indifferent, and when he looked at people straight, it even made people feel a little scared.

If the rejection message on his personal terminal had not been still clearly flashing, Lin Xi might have thought that the fact that his message was rejected so directly was just an illusion.

Because from Francis's perspective, he was completely untouched.

"What the hell are you two doing? You better get on with it! This isn't some playground on Earth, dammit—"

Just as Lin Xi was looking at Francis awkwardly, the captain's curse rang out again.

There was an unusual irritation in Jerry's voice, but to Lin Xi, that irritation actually sounded more like fear.

"I'm sorry, sir."

Lin Xi held the communicator and spoke quickly. Then he took a last look at the elusive man.

For a moment, Lin Xi even thought he saw a glimmer of scarlet light in Francis' eyes.

He was slightly startled, but soon realized that it was just the reflection of the surrounding colorful plants in Francis' pupils.

"you… "

Lin Xi murmured subconsciously.

Francis turned his head suddenly and stared at Lin Xi intently, but did not say a word.

Lin Xi immediately pursed his lips, turned his head, and ignored Francis. Instead, he walked quickly towards the exploration team that had already moved away.

He already had enough troubles, and he didn't want to add another emotional trouble to them.

Lin Xi said to himself.

Francis followed him silently, with steady and quick steps, keeping a close distance that would not make Lin Xi too alert.

If Lin Xi could pay more attention to Francis, he would probably find that Francis was actually a quick learner - he learned how to grasp the relationship with Lin Xi faster than anyone else, and knew better than anyone else how to appear harmless yet caring in front of Lin Xi.

They soon caught up with the others, and except for Jerry who turned around to look at them and gave a cursing warning, no one paid any attention to them, not even the sarcastic remarks that Lin Xi was prepared for.

Lin Xi shrugged his shoulders, then remained silent and joined the team. He had no doubt that the current quiet state was purely because the entire exploration team was silently enduring the strong dizziness brought to people by the surrounding environment. The team members who already had some exploration experience were fine, but the mercenaries and the new ordinary crew members seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Lin Xi frowned as he listened to the noisy mumblings and complaints in the channel, and was somewhat surprised to find that he had only been slightly dizzy before, which already made him look like a standout in the entire team.

"Why can't we wear sunglasses?"

During this period, there were people who made such suggestions. Lin Xi was not surprised at all because that person was also a complete novice.

In response to this question, Jerry just smiled coldly and turned the novice's helmet into black and white mode.

"vomit-"

The unfortunate guy only lasted about ten minutes, and then the entire communication channel was filled with the sound of him vomiting.

"Oh my god, shut up."

"Shut up-"

Complaints were heard one after another within the communication channel.

Among this group of pale-looking people, Francis was probably the only one who remained calm, and therefore seemed somewhat out of place.

He even helped Lin Xi keep his balance when he almost fell again.

One thing worth thanking God for is that this time he finally did not hold Lin Xi's hand tightly like before.

But even so, Francis' care for Lin Xi stood out in the entire exploration team.

At least that's the case for some people.

Not only is it conspicuous, but it is also extremely strange.

The two exploration team members standing at the back of the team exchanged glances. They were also full of doubts about Francis's behavior - before this, the promise given to them by "some people" did not include such a sweet relationship with Lin Xi.

In fact, what they really should do is to find a suitable opportunity to let Lin Xi die on this planet.

Bryce and Alyssa were confused as to why so many people believed what John Bronson said.

And the answers they wanted were actually in the minds of these two mercenaries.

In fact, almost all those who were hostile to Lin Xi knew why—John Bronson was the chosen one. The god from the alien planet had warned them of the coming of tragedy. Through John Bronson, it had told them many things that ordinary crew members could not imagine. After seeing the evidence, the team members who were close to John Bronson had determined that as long as they followed the instructions of the mysterious soul, the other party would ensure that they survived and lived well, but the premise was that they had to let Lin Xi die.

Otherwise, you will be the ones who die, my poor fellow human beings...

That strange, hoarse, gentle tone seemed to still be ringing in the ears of the two mercenaries, and they became more anxious and confused because of it.

During the long journey ahead, the two mercenaries would give Francis secret signals from time to time, saying that they needed to talk to him, after all, he was their leader before Francis. However, since returning from the confinement room that night, Francis seemed to have become a different person.

Some even thought that perhaps during the short period of time he was alone with Lin Xi in that dark confinement room, he had been bewitched by Lin Xi.

Otherwise, at least at this time, he should have shown some response to their secret code.

But now, look at that man, he is almost sticking his eyes on the man named Lin Xi.

Lin Xi didn't realize that his interaction with Francis would make several other people in the team uneasy and confused.

After discovering that Francis did not come to him inexplicably as before, he relaxed a little, and then the strange natural environment of this planet attracted all his attention.

During the nearly four hours of hiking exploration, the environment surrounding the team seemed to never change.

Even if there were any, the features of the terrain would become blurred and faint under the cover of overly bright colors.

They passed a small lake, or rather a pool of water, but the light on the surface of the pool, which kept changing like an oil film, made it no different from the surrounding gentle slopes.

A rookie almost fell into the small pool of water. No one knew what was underneath the water. Many people screamed, and Jerry rushed over and pulled the rookie out of the soft mud by the lake like a carrot.

Then, without even waiting for the team member to react, he fired directly at his footsteps.

“Sizzle—”

The laser beam emitted from the gun made a tiny buzzing sound.

At the moment when everyone was stunned, a wisp of white mist emerged from the bottom of the team members' sealed exploration shoes.

A flat object covered with a thick gelatinous substance gradually faded in color and fell from the sole of the team member's shoe.

Its mouth is large and densely packed with tiny teeth, and its eyes have degenerated into a group of small dots evenly dotted on the surface of its pale body.

It was not until this time that the team member let out a low growl of fear.

"What the hell is this?!"

"It can eat your feet right off. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Can't you look at the map when you're walking?"

Jerry yelled at the player.

"Don't stray from the path! You never know what's lurking on the side of the road..."

Just as Jerry was teaching the new colleague a lesson, Francis turned his head almost at the same time, but his eyes were not on Jerry and the unlucky guy whose feet were almost bitten off by alien insects, but he looked directly across the colorful lake to the distance of the plain.

For the first time, an expression similar to boredom appeared on his face, which had rarely shown any expression.

Lin Xi didn't know what was wrong with her. She was so sensitive that she noticed the man's movements at the first moment.

"What's wrong?"

He couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Francis blinked behind his mask.

His cheeks flushed slightly.

Then he opened his lips...

Lin Xi waited for his response with bated breath.

But a few seconds passed and Francis said nothing.

"Francis?"

Lin Xi couldn't help but frown slightly.

Francis pursed his lips in frustration and pointed his finger in the direction he had been staring at.

Lin Xi looked in the direction his finger was pointing.

At the beginning, Lin Xi didn't notice anything wrong.

The sky here is deep red, and only very occasionally will a cloud-like mist float across the sky.

Where the horizon meets the sky, there is a faintly glowing arc of light, which is the reflection of sunlight from the distant mountains.

But now, that arc of light is becoming dim—

etc-

dim

Lin Xi immediately realized something was wrong.

"…Okay, let's move on. Next time I won't help anyone who strays from the designated route without permission. Let's—"

Jerry also stopped his chatter at this time, but before he could finish his words, the others interrupted him with uneasy whispers.

"Captain, Captain—"

Someone pointed toward the lake, to which Jerry had his back.

Not far away from the entire team, a layer of ripples like fish scales appeared on the surface of this small pond.

Lin Xi stared at the gradually growing thicker black shadow in the distance and raised his voice.

"Look there—"

He shouted.

Jerry turned around and his panicked scream was immediately heard over the communication channel.

"Oh, no no no, run, it's the storm—"

The next second, everyone started running, even though they had no idea what the storm on this planet was all about.

Because in addition to this group of humans, countless small or large creatures rustled out of their shelters and then fled quickly in the opposite direction of them.

It can be said that if it were not for this accident, the humans in the exploration team would never and would never have imagined that for such a long time there were actually so many biological individuals traveling with them in what they thought was a silent and desolate alien plain.

Most of those biological individuals are similar to insects on Earth, such as spiders, ants, cockroaches...but upon closer inspection, they have completely different characteristics.

Lin Xi could clearly see the golden-red "ants" carrying three shells on their backs, swaying forward like hermit crabs, spiders with two red bloodshot eyes and pupils like human eyes on their eye stalks, and even a group of huge brown insects buzzing around. Lin Xi could tell at a glance that they were cockroaches—even on an alien planet incredibly far away from Earth, they still hadn't changed their appearance, probably because this appearance was close to evolutionary perfection for this species, so much so that it showed convergence on two different planets. Oh, of course, their compatriots on Earth probably didn't have this superb flying ability close to that of bees, let alone such a huge and fat body.

When the group of cockroaches flew directly over the running exploration team in a certain direction, the exploration team's communication lines were filled with people's screams of extreme fear.

"Shut up, save your strength—"

In the end, Jerry had to let out a desperate cry to stop some humans from committing suicide.

But to be honest, his reminder is actually meaningless.

In such a completely unfamiliar environment, humans have absolutely no advantage relying solely on their physical strength.

Even the disgusting insects on the ground are much faster and more agile than humans.

The high temperature and the completely sealed exploration suits easily consumed most of the exploration team members' physical strength, not to mention that in their panicked escape, this small group of humans had already deviated from the planned route.

By the time they realized this, they had already run nearly three kilometers following the fleeing insects.

As for the "storm" that Jerry had not had time to explain before, it was now approaching to a level where no words were needed to feel its horror.

While running wildly, Lin Xi subconsciously glanced back out of the corner of his eye. He soon began to regret his action - the scene he saw could indeed easily affect a person's desire to survive.

It was indeed a storm, and a catastrophic one at that.

If I had to describe it, it looked like a super tsunami on land. The only difference was that the tsunami created a wall of water formed by huge waves, while the wind wall created by this storm that almost encompassed the entire world was unknown to humans.

Lin Xi didn't want to know what was in there either.

The wet, undeveloped land became wet and soft after countless insects' sharp limbs ran over it. Many individuals were cruelly trampled into clumps of insect mud during their escape. The mucus squeezed out of their bodies was wet and slippery when stepped on, and many people fell down because of this. Then they got up and continued to move forward. The land that was colorful before was now stained with dirty and chaotic mud by the corpses and juices of insects. The road gradually became tortuous, and the dirty colors made this escape road seem to have no end.

"Damn it, we went the wrong way!"

Soon, someone shouted in the communication channel.

They had indeed taken the wrong path. When Lin Xi raised his head and looked at the scene in front of him, his heart sank.

Perhaps in this world, disaster will indeed continue to call disaster.

The exploration team instinctively followed the panicked insects and fled for their lives, but they did not realize that they had unknowingly left the flat plain and came to a rugged hill.

This could explain why their strength was lost so quickly.

Moreover, the road they are going to take will only become more and more difficult, but everyone knows that they have no choice.

"Ding-ding-ding--oxygen circulation error--ding-ding--oxygen circulation error--"

To make matters worse, after long-term intense exercise, both human lungs and the oxygen supply systems equipped in exploration suits have reached their limits.

Lin Xi missed his step when trying to cross a rock, and his feet sank into the mud. The overly bright colors made his eyes misperceive the terrain in front of him.

He tried to get up, but his breathing was disordered and he soon found that he had no strength left.

“Hu…Hu…”

Lin Xi was breathing heavily, with beads of sweat dripping down his brow.

His mind went blank for a moment, and on the other side of the mask, he saw several human figures squirming.

The orange exploration team uniforms had been stained with green and yellow insect juice, and Lin Xi realized how slowly his companions were redoing the work only after he stopped.

And the storm is getting closer.

Lin Xi was sure that he was not the only one who was unable to move due to excessive fatigue.

"We're screwed, God, we're dead—"

Someone burst into tears in the communication channel.

Lin Xi had a hard time telling who that person was, because as the storm approached, their communications were disrupted, and everyone's conversation was mixed with rustling noises. The heavy equipment behind them had actually begun to sway left and right under the strong wind, and slapped people's backs heavily.

For a moment, Lin Xi almost agreed with the idea of the person who was crying in the communicator.

That's right, they're screwed.

The roar of the wind had turned into a huge roar, which made Lin Xi's ears buzz even through the exploration suit. He supported himself on the ground with his hands and knees, and then he realized with horror that the ground was shaking slightly.

Stones, soil, some unidentifiable alien plant roots, and the remains of some unlucky little bugs floated up from the side of his palm and were directly swept into the air.

Even Lin Xi himself felt that his body was shaking.

Maybe in the next second, he will be the one caught in the storm.

A storm of this magnitude could easily tear this inexperienced exploration team into pieces.

(If this were not the case, there would be no need for those insects hiding deep in the soil to flee so frantically).

He might die.

Lin Xi thought.

But the information they got from Bryce was probably just "everyone is missing", right

Lin Xi vaguely remembered that there seemed to be one or two three-person teams that had reported missing before - did they also encounter such a storm during extravehicular exploration

Lin Xi really hoped that her death would not make Bryce too sad.

Maybe Alisa can comfort Bliss...

Just as Lin Xi was breathing heavily and thinking, an arthropod almost the size of a basketball flew past him quickly.

This insect has a somewhat funny appearance, with a swollen abdomen and short limbs, coupled with huge round compound eyes, it even looks a little cute.

Lin Xi didn't know why he noticed it at such a critical moment. There were obviously many more strange-looking insects around it, busy trying to escape.

His eyes were fixed on the panicking insect, whose body was bright yellow and still quite conspicuous even in such a chaotic environment.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Xi's pupils suddenly shrank.

"do not give up!"

Without hesitation, he shouted to those who were still online in the communication channel.

"Follow the bugs, they know where the shelter is! Look, it's up there!"

Lin Xi was not talking nonsense (well, although he also suspected that he was just having some kind of fantasy due to his extremely tense state) - just now, he saw with his own eyes the insect with a funny bright yellow body, following its own kind, and crawling into the hill.

It was an inconspicuous cave entrance, especially in this world with overly bright colors.

Several colorful rocks overlap each other, and at their bottom, there is a gap.

The bugs got in through that gap.

In fact, in that moment of observation, Lin Xi had already discovered the direction of the huge swarm of insects. There were many similar cracks in the hill in front of them, and the swarm of insects was divided into countless streams, which rushed in without hesitation under the pressure of the storm.

"What are you looking at... I can't see anything..."

It seems that someone responded to Lin Xi in this way.

Lin Xi knew that was because some people had completely lost the will to survive due to extreme exhaustion.

He gasped and gritted his teeth to force himself to stand up again.

But the foot that was stuck in the mud was firmly stuck in place. Lin Xi's sweat seemed to have gathered into a pool at the junction of the helmet and neck. He knew very well that it was not because the mud was too sticky, but simply because he had no strength.

"No... you must be kidding... I saw it clearly."

Regardless of the fact that the public communication channel was still open, Lin Xi muttered to himself with a pale face.

Then, suddenly, his body felt lighter.

Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him up from the ground.

"… "

Lin Xi gasped and looked at the man—it was Francis.

Compared to his companions, Francis was completely different. His orange exploration suit was unbelievably clean except for some inevitable spots of dirt.

Moreover, his voice and his expression revealed that he had no physical problems at all.

In fact, he was in peak physical condition, as if he had just jumped out of a patrol car.

At this moment, he was staring at Lin Xi with his eyes lowered.

"Lin Xi..."

He called softly, with a hint of intimacy in his tone.

Then he carried Lin Xi and walked forward.

Lin Xi had to put most of his weight on Francis, which made him feel very uneasy, but the latter did not seem to be affected by Lin Xi's weight.

Francis' pace was unusually steady and fast. It seemed that in just a few breaths he had brought Lin Xi to the front of the crowd.

The wind was already very strong at this time, and tiny stones covered with mucus and mud kept hitting the two men's exploration suits, while the visibility around them was also dropping sharply.

Lin Xi had to cling tightly to Francis' body. The latter's steady steps made Lin Xi feel indescribable comfort - of course, this sense of security was based on the premise that he did not notice anything unusual about Francis' lower body: countless fleshy tentacles were growing out from the cracks in the exploration suit and then digging deep into the soil under his feet.

Their presence easily stabilized "Francis'" body.

However, Francis' face gradually turned pale because of this.

"We have to get into the cracks in the rocks where those bugs get in, or we're really going to die here—follow me—"

Of course, in the current situation, it was difficult for Lin Xi to notice the abnormality of the man next to her. In fact, he was yelling desperately into the communicator, trying to save those people.

However, the quality of sound transmission in the communication channel has reached its worst level.

Lin Xi knew that some people responded to him, but the sound was just a chaotic rustling.

"damn it-"

In desperation, Lin Xi could only force himself to ignore the battery alarm and directly turn on the searchlight on his helmet.

Maybe this way, in the midst of increasingly dire circumstances, others would be able to see him.

Soon, the edge of the storm reached their area.

The place that could be barely recognized before is now just a dark area of flying sand and rocks.

Lin Xi thought he would panic because of this matter, but strangely, he didn't.

He even had a strong intuition in his heart that even without vision, he could still accurately find the right place - the safe shelter that could accommodate everyone.

"We need to go there—"

Lin Xi suddenly pulled Francis, and then they adjusted their direction together. Lin Xi held him tightly. In this doomsday-like world, the man next to him seemed so solid and reliable.

I don’t know how long it took, maybe a few minutes, or maybe a few hours

In short, the short distance that seemed not far away almost exhausted the last bit of strength that Lin Xi had accumulated, but fortunately, he finally touched the rough and solid rock at the last second before he exhausted his strength.

The surface of those rocks is quite smooth, and perhaps it has experienced countless storms like this over the past billions of years.

Lin Xi bent down and found the gap between the rocks in his memory. Trembling, he took out the fog light from his waist and tied it to the entrance of the cave as a guide for others. After doing all this, his body completely softened and he rolled directly into the gap between the rocks.

"boom-"

After a short tumble, Lin Xi fell directly onto a cool, flat stone slab.

He lay on the ground staring blankly above himself.

The light inside the helmet provided a little faint light, and Lin Xi could not see the environment here clearly, but what was certain was that this was an underground cave with a huge space - just as Lin Xi's intuition had expected.

After escaping from the roaring and screaming doomsday storm outside, the inside of the cave was as calm as the deep sea.

Lin Xi panted for a long time in the dim cave before he calmed down. Before that, he heard Francis jump lightly from the cave entrance.

He walked towards Lin Xi and carefully helped Lin Xi up from the ground.

"Lin Xi..."

He called softly.

The spotlight inside the helmet had been lit up long before, and under the slightly bluish light, Francis' face looked as handsome and calm as a sculpture made of fine marble.

"I... I'm fine." Lin Xi forced a smile. "I don't know why, but thank you, Francis."

"Um."

Francis stared at Lin Xi's smile for a long time, then nodded silently.

Lin Xi couldn't help feeling a little depressed when he heard his brief response.

He thought he could at least get a "you're welcome".

"boom-"

However, the sound of human bodies colliding coming from the other end of the entrance soon attracted his attention.

“Oh, God.”

He heard a hoarse murmur, followed by a string of obscenities and curses.

But at this moment, nothing made Lin Xi happier than hearing the human voice.

"Jerry?! It's you!"

He shouted.

"It's me, it's you, right? Dr. Lin Xi!"

Jerry's voice then rang out.

"Yes, that's great... you caught up..."

"Oh, yes, yes, thanks for the sign that you stayed, Doc."

Jerry slowly moved towards Lin Xi's position.

His thanks were brief, but Lin Xi could tell that his voice was full of gratitude.

After him, several more people came in from the cave entrance, one after another, and occasionally someone would be bumped into by the people behind them before they could move away. But no one was angry because of this, and even though they were constantly swearing, you could hear that their tone was full of joy.

However, as the storm outside intensified, after the first few people came in, no sound came from the direction of the cave for a long time.

The jubilation and noise of surviving the disaster faded away in a very short time, leaving only silence.

No one said anything, but everyone knew that they were probably the only survivors of the exploration team now huddled in this dark cave.

"Amber, Coris, Lyon... It's a pity that they couldn't make it."

Among the group of people, Jerry showed amazing calmness. He counted the number of people and then spoke calmly.

When they jumped out of the patrol car, there were fifteen people in this team, but now, there are only nine people left.