Chapter 63

Chapter 63: The Sea Without Light Part 63

All that remained were mechanical operations.

Kick in the door, raise the gun. Kick in the door, scan and search.

If there’s no one, leave. If there’s someone, aim for their legs and lay them down.

Every time the door swung open, Kui Xin’s nerves would tense up. This process repeated over a dozen times.

What lay behind the door could be nothing, innocent crew members, or vicious Xenomorphs, or an alien blooded individual with special abilities. Sadly, they didn’t encounter any living things on their way… except for the shape-shifting creatures that attacked them at the beginning.

The most dangerous things often hide deep within.

Opening doors was like opening a blind box, a heart-pounding adventure. Kui Xin felt as if she was bungee jumping from a cliff, her tension rising with each pull of the elastic rope.

She was in极致兴奋状态，血液随搜查沸腾，心跳加速，身体在激素的驱动下燃起火焰，情绪却冷如冰块 – a sign that she had fully entered the battle state. In close combat, the dual state of mental tranquility and physical calmness was less effective than the excited state. A lively thought process, quick reflexes, and slightly warm muscles due to increased blood circulation – these factors played a key role in maintaining fighting capability.

Finally, Kui Xin arrived near the cabin where she faced the mutated Red Spine Hunter last time. Unlike the previous incident, when she passed through these cabins earlier, one of the rooms echoed with the sound of collision from an X-type creature. This time, though they made a significant commotion by continuously searching all the rooms, the doors remained quiet.

The entire deck level resembled a silent graveyard below.

Kui Xin nodded at Silverface, who immediately took the hint and approached to break open the lock and kick in the door.

No writhing tentacles, no unexpected attack; only the slightest stench lingered, reminiscent of a pile of rotten fish and shrimp.

In the middle of the room two human bodies lay, one terribly deformed, its exposed skin covered with bizarre growths, while the rest rotted immensely. The other body had less decay but also displayed deformities making it barely recognizable as human.

“Gross …” Silverface covered his mouth, “This severely affects my appetite. I don’t want to throw up what I ate tonight.”

Black Obsidian stepped forward with a scanner, silently operating the device over the dead bodies, which soon emitted an alarm signal in red.

Black Obsidian drew a telescopic blade similar to Kui Xin’s from his belt, slicing open the abdomen revealing a violently pulsating dark red embryo hidden inside!

He stepped back, drawing his gun and turning the embryo into mush.

“It’s an egg,” Black Obsidian whispered, “A Red Spine Hunter’s egg. Based on the development of the embryo inside, it has been incubated for at least three days. Typically, Red Spine Hunters return to their marine environment to find mates, laying eggs in the sea because their kind is extremely rare on land. Now it laid eggs on land, indicating there must be a female Red Spine Hunter and a male one aboard.”

This room had never been searched by Kui Xin and Shu Xueyao; they had only briefly checked a few rooms and the kitchen before retreating.

Silverface remarked, “A creature laying eggs is nearby.”

He suspiciously scanned every door in the corridor, wary of any ferocious predators.

“This ship feels like an isolated island, with crew members not seeking help from the outside world. Are the communications cut off?” Kui Xin retreated out of the corridor.

Black Obsidian stated, “It might be controlled.”

They approached the next door together. Silverface kicked it in, Kui Xin held her gun steady, while Black Obsidian stood guard from behind.

As they opened the door, they smelled the same putrid stench.

Kui Xin’s pupils contracted upon seeing a dark red octopus-like monster lying on the ground. Robust tentacles enveloped a human, spasmodically twitching, as if the creature was migrating its consciousness into the human’s body!

Red Spine Hunters switched their parasitic hosts every few days, and this one was in the process, preparing to absorb more nutrients.

Xueyao Xu taught Kui Xin that parasitic xenomorphs were their weakest when migrating to another host.

Instinctively, Kui Xin raised her gun, about to pull the trigger and kill the Red Spine Hunter. But suddenly remembering the need to capture it alive, she halted the motion and stopped Silverface from pressing the trigger too. He responded, “That human under the monstrosity is still alive.”

“I know,” Kui Xin shook her gun, removing Black Obsidian’s hand holding it.

Silverface effortlessly manipulated the water flow, crushing the vulnerable Red Spine Hunter into a pulp, then used water ropes to pull the man out, cleansing him of his viscous and pungent excretions.

The man roused from the cold water, trembling. Seeing three humans dressed in black combat suits, he wept uncontrollably, questioning, “Are you human or monsters?”

None of the three answered.

The man shuddered, nearly fainting in fear.

“Don’t be afraid,” Kui Xin said, “We belong to the Federation Investigation Bureau.”

The man’s eyes lit up with hope, “Did your arrival mean rescue? There are monsters everywhere on the ship!”

He teared up, trying to hug Kui Xin’s leg, but she swiftly evaded.

“We were sent to escort the Kraken, but something is amiss on this ship. You must inform us of what happened,” Kui Xin continued, “Only once we know the root of the issue can we resolve it.”

However, the man had lost his sanity, struggling to stand, obsessed, “I just want to go home… Everywhere’s filled with monsters, even my friends…”

Impatient, Kui Xin grabbed the man by the collar, lifting him up. Coldly staring behind her helmet glasses, she ordered, “Tell me! What happened?”

His gaze went blank, and Kui Xin slapped him, “Answer my questions, or you won’t get to go home!”

The mention of “home” sparked his response, “At first, everything seemed normal… Then people started behaving oddly… They threw up and were transported to the sickbay… but once returned they looked possessed… I saw my colleague eating my old colleagues, it was horrific.”

Tears streamed down the man’s face, describing how chaos erupted on the ship. He was knocked unconscious and locked in his room. Screams followed periodically. Now, he feared death. Suddenly, someone released a terrifying red monster into his room.

Kui Xin pieced together the story with disjointed details provided by the man.

Deformable creatures had replaced a portion of the crew, leading to intramural conflicts. Surviving crew were imprisoned and utilized as food for the Xenomorphs.

She asked again, “Who let the red monster into your room?”

The man was confused, not answering until he blurted out, “It was Tang Guan! Him!” Tears flowed down his face, questioning why Tang was harmful.

Kui Xin loosened her grip, letting the man collapse to the floor.

Her heart sank.

First encountering Tang, she had been informed to check frozen crew corpses in the kitchen. She felt no malice from Tang, assuming neutrality at worst.

But now, the man’s words made her doubt.

Why reveal crucial information to her but remain non-hostile? Events grew increasingly perplexing.

“Eden, does Tang Guan have records?” Kui Xin asked via earpiece.

“Details retrieved. Cargo company official site lists Tang as a junior seaman, twenty-eight years old, newly employed,” Eden replied, “Photo attached.”

The photo matched Tang Guan seen by Kui Xin.

“We focus on him,” Kui Xin stated. “Send his information to Red, alert them.”

“Yes,” Eden responded.

Kui Xin looked at the unconscious man on the floor, “Just proceed.”

“Okay,” Silverface stepped forward, killing him with a gunshot.

Black Obsidian subtly looked away, ignoring the sight.

Searching took time, further dead human bodies, highly decayed, found in other cabins. If not for the air filtration system and gas masks, Kui Xin had barely resisted vomiting.

Those corpses, she didn’t wish to view again, Black Obsidian inspected thoroughly, destroying embryos where found.

They reached the end of bloody trails leading to the kitchen.

The trails indeed led to the kitchen.

Kui Xin stood at the door feeling anticipated.

Silverface, like a frontline enforcer or bodyguard, diligently opened the door, defending with a water barrier.

Inside, in the disheveled kitchen, stood one man—the living.

“Tang Guan.” Kui Xin uttered his name aloud.

Tang Guan lifted his head lifelessly, still with that haggard appearance. Strangely, Kui Xin’s Absolute Prediction yielded no warning; he had no murderous intent.

Tang Guan fell to his knees, tears streaming down his sunken face. He mumbled, “Please… Just end it, release me.”

“Everything on the ship is your doing?” Kui Xin asked softly.

“It must be me…” Tang replied, speaking jumbled.

“Why waste breath with him?” Silverface stepped forward.

“Capture him?” Black Obsidian suggested.

“Not so simple…” Kui Xin aimed her gun at Tang’s shoulder.

Bang—a shot sounded, the bullet hitting his right shoulder, blooming into blood.

The blood flower erupted like a drop in hot oil, instantly causing a violent reaction.

Tang Guan’s body swelled, his flesh pushing against his clothes. His form rapidly transformed into a monstrous half-human, half-ghost figure.

His right side was a bioform with tentacles, his left a plain human. Worst of all, his neck split into two heads: one monstrous with a gaping mouth, the other being Tang himself.

“A double-headed monster!” Silverface exclaimed.

Black Obsidian backed off in shock.

“Fire!” Kui Xin shouted.

Together they fired upon Tang. Bullets struck but did no good, exiting the body or skull, causing the flesh to regenerate instantly. Even his exposed heart couldn’t stop the thrashing of the tentacles.

This was an immortal monster!

The human head, bearing a twisted expression of agony, screamed in silence. The monstrous head bore a look of wild excitement, a predator.

Tang was not a mere parasite but a symbiont! Sharing one body, fighting for control.

Tang wept, “Kill me… Kill me… For pity’s sake…”

His plea was desperate and painful. But his tentacles attacked fiercely.

The massive tentacles ignored bullets, striking Kui Xin lightning-fast.

Calmly, Kui Xin abandoned her gun, drawing her folding knife from her thigh. With a swift movement, the blade stretched into a meter-long dagger.

Seizing the dagger, she chopped horizontally, a crescent-shaped shadow marking her blade. The swinging tentacle landed with a thud, blue blood gushing forth!