Chapter 398: Toad, Scorpion, Alien Egg
In the pitch-black Mine, the sound of Creature claws scraping against the Cliff Face echoed. At the bottom of the mine shaft, hundreds of meters deep, within a Mining Area used for stacking and screening ore, in the pitch-black, several Dark Iron Blood stood on the conveyor bridge used for transporting ore, watching as Alien Egg with shiny black carapaces crawled out of the Passage in all directions.
These Adult Alien Egg were biting with their mouths and dragging with their Tails, pulling and throwing the Corpse of their "Prey" into the Pit below.
At the bottom of the Pit, on the scattered rocks, sticky, oval-shaped Alien Egg, each over half a meter tall, opened their petal-like mouthparts. From these egg, Alien Larva resembling catfish crawled out.
These small things with sharp Fangs agilely pounced on the "Prey" Corpse and began to feast. As they ate more Flesh and Blood Food, their Body Size also began to rapidly expand.
From half a foot long, they grew to two feet, three feet, one meter, finally growing into Adult killing machines approaching three meters tall.
Once these Alien Egg grew into Adults, they would actively leave this Hatching area and follow the Mine Passage to the surface to hunt. At the bottom of the Mine Pit, the dense, black mass of Alien Egg and Alien Larva was so concentrated it couldn't help but remind one of the scene of Afghanistan's Family/Clan raising catfish.
However, compared to the fish feed given by the breeders in Afghanistan's Family/Clan, these Alien Larva required a large amount of Flesh and Blood to grow quickly.
As for the Facehugger, that Normal parasitic method had long been abandoned by these Alien Race who had undergone Gene Modification. The current Alien Race, after several Genetic Adjustment, were even more fierce and Terrorizing.
Two hundred kilometers away from the forced-landed Predator Spaceship was a desolate Small Town. The houses here were all built using local red mountain rock. Because it bordered a rich red Crystal Mining Area, this Small Town was once prosperous. Thinking back, every day at least dozens of Small Spaceship and Shuttle came to the Small Town to rest, transferring from here to the Mining Area.
These ore Procurement agents brought considerable wealth to the Small Town. The Residents of the Small Town also made a fortune by selling some Specialty Product and providing Alcohol, Food, and lodging. However, good times don't last forever. There would always be a day when the Mine was depleted. When the Mining Industry Lord shut down the last machine, the decline of the Small Town was inevitable.
Now the Small Town was desolate, with the strong Wind Sound blowing Yellow Sand through it. The broken Window occasionally creaked.
Even though it was daytime, the Small Town was empty. No one was foolish. The huge Spaceship overhead almost covered the sky. Unsure of the Spaceship's intentions, many people chose to hide. Some Miner with a bit of savings chose to drive old Tool Cart to the Mine Pit for Safety.
As for the others, they all locked their Door and hid at home. Whether the sturdy stone houses would actually have any Effect, they didn't know. This was the only Method they, the people at the bottom, could think of.
Clang-a-lang—
Clang-a-lang—
Clang-a-lang—
Amidst the howling Wind Sound, a metallic scraping sound mixed with stone echoed...
"Sniff, sniff!"
At the entrance of the Small Town, a five-meter-tall Muscle Giant appeared outside the Small Town. The area where his Nostrils should be, which was not covered by Skin and only had two black Holes, twitched twice, as if smelling some kind of Aura.
He was dragging a thick engineering hammer, which looked like it was used by mining vehicles to excavate and Shattered Rock. The rusty Hammer Head was now stained with clumps of Foul Blood, leaving trails of Bloodstain on the Ground.
The Muscle Giant walked into the Small Town holding the long-handled Giant Hammer. His Sense of Smell seemed very sharp. In a short while, he arrived in front of a house, raised his Giant Hammer, and smashed towards the house.
"Boom!"
The sturdy red mountain rock Wall was smashed down by more than half with one swing of his hammer, revealing several trembling Toad inside.
Accompanied by a mournful Scream, the Muscle Giant reached his large hand into the house, grabbed a Toad, and squeezed hard. Blood Water immediately flowed out from between his Fist.
Listening to the Toad's Wailing inside the house, the Muscle Giant's face, not covered by Skin, revealed a chilling Smile. He seemed to greatly Enjoy their cries.
He brought his Fist to his mouth and stuffed the bloody mess into his mouth, chewing loudly. Blood Water overflowed from the corners of his mouth, looking like an Asura from Hell.
"You Monster, I'll fight you!"
Inside the stone house, a Toad saw this tragic scene, let out a loud cry, and rushed out of the stone house, holding a thick, long-barreled iron pipe with both hands, aiming it at the Muscle Giant.
With a loud Explosion, accompanied by a cloud of gunpowder Smoke and Dust dissipating, dense Steel Ball hit the Muscle Giant's Chest squarely.
"Did it hit?" The Toad's eyelids fluttered rapidly. An expensive, old Energy Gun was sky-high in the Small Town. He was just a scavenger sifting through scraps in an abandoned minefield.
Even an old Energy Gun was something he couldn't afford, and the subsequent Energy Source replenishment for the Energy Gun was an astronomical figure for him.
However, considering the Safety of his Family, he still tried every Method to modify a gunpowder-fired Weapons using Steel Pipe from the minefield and gunpowder.
"Roar!"
As the Gunsmoke dissipated, the Toad looked in despair at the Steel Ball embedded in the Muscle Giant's Body. The Steel Ball were only embedded in the surface layer of the Giant's Muscle. As the Big Guy moved, the Steel Ball clattered and fell to the Ground.
"Lily, take your Younger Brother and sister and run!"
When the Toad saw the Muscle Giant opening his large hand to grab him, he didn't run away. Instead, after a Bellow, he pulled out a sharp small Blade from his Body and rushed towards the Muscle Giant.
*Chii!* The Toad's small Blade was fiercely plunged into the Muscle Giant's Palm. However, the feeling upon impact made the Toad feel like he was stabbing a Rock with a small Blade.
Before he could react, the palm, which was larger than his entire Body, had already swung towards him.
The Toad was sent flying dozens of meters, smacking against a stone Wall with a splat. Amidst the Flesh and Blood, only his two legs twitched unconsciously.
"Hoo!"
The Muscle Giant retracted his palm, his Gaze falling upon the few Toad who had slipped out of the stone house. A trace of brutal cruelty flashed in his Eyes. Striding with his two long legs, he reached behind the few Toad in one stride, bringing his Giant Hammer down on their Head.
*Splatter!*
Blood Water splattered, staining the Small Town's road. The road paved with red mountain stone was smashed into a two-meter-deep Pit by the Muscle Giant's hammer. His large Foot stepped through the bloody mud in the Pit as he strode towards another stone house.
For a time, mournful Wailing, cries for help, the whooshing Sound of Breaking Air from Energy Beam, and the Explosion Sound of gunpowder echoed chaotically throughout the Small Town.
Soon, all these Voices disappeared. Only the sound of metal scraping the Ground, accompanied by heavy footsteps, grew fainter and fainter.
On the Yellow Sand Plain, a dozen Land Shuttle flew at a Low Altitude, about two to three meters above the Ground. Below was a long Refugees team composed of several hundred people.
These Toad were pulling black-haired camel-like beasts, their backs all loaded with full bundles.
On a triangular Shuttle located in the middle of the team, a morbidly obese alien fat Toad moved his body, which weighed over eight hundred pounds, with some difficulty, leaning out the Window to look.
Also native Toad, if Diego was a soybean, then this fat Toad with yellowish-brown Skin and a face full of bumps was a large Potato.
His eyes, narrowed into slits, monitored the camel team below to prevent the Slave from stealing his wealth. He was completely unaware that with his movement, the entire Shuttle suddenly sank heavily, plummeting towards the Ground. If the Shuttle's Pilot hadn't pulled up urgently, this Shuttle would have almost crashed directly.
The Pilot driving the Shuttle almost cursed out loud, but when he saw the Energy Gun by the fat Toad's hand through the Rearview mirror, he instantly shut his mouth again!
"There are too many people!"
The intense High Temperature made the inside of the Shuttle feel like a steam cage. The fat Toad pulled a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his Forehead repeatedly. Despite the intense weather, he still had no intention of letting the Pilot turn on the cooling Equipment on the Shuttle.
What's wrong with being hot? Turning on the cooling Equipment isn't a waste of Energy Source! The fat Toad looked at the camel team below through the Shuttle's Glass, smacking his lips.
Although that Safety Base could accommodate thousands of people, if he could save the Supplies for these few hundred people, when the situation passed, selling the saved Supplies would be another sum of Money.
The fat Toad's eyes under his eyelids rolled around, and he began to calculate in his Heart.
But he couldn't act now. He still needed these Slave to help him transport the wealth he had accumulated over the years to that Safety Base. Thinking of this, the fat Toad couldn't help but look at the Fortress Ship hanging overhead. How much Money must such a large Spaceship be worth? If this Spaceship were his...
Just as the fat Toad was lost in fantasy, the camel team walking in the Sand suddenly experienced an Incident. The black-haired camel beasts all went mad, refusing to take another step no matter how the Slave pulled or whipped them. Many camel beasts even pulled the Slave back repeatedly.
The Hissing of the camel beasts and the shouting of the Slave woke the fat Toad from his fantasy. He immediately stuck his Head out and shouted loudly, "Zabu! What's going on?"
A burly Big man with indigo Skin and four arms was whipping a camel beast that refused to move forward. Hearing the fat Toad's words, he quickly put down his whip, looked up, and replied, "Old Master Hatai, these camel beasts are startled by something and refuse to move forward!"
The fat Toad retracted his head back into the Shuttle and said to the Pilot, "Have Unit Two go ahead and scout to see if there's any danger ahead. Tell everyone to prepare the onboard Energy Cannon for charging!"
When he said "charging", the fat Toad's face, full of fat, trembled with heartache. Was the Energy Cannon firing pulse Energy Beam? No, it was Money. Every Energy Beam fired was Money.
Great Frog God above, please, please don't let us encounter Enemy!
The fat Toad silently offered a Prayer in his Heart. As for whether that Frog God would protect him, the fat Toad held no hope in his Heart.
After all, that Frog God had been eliminated by the Nova Empire's warship thousands of years ago! Back then, this Planet wasn't so desolate. There were wetlands everywhere with lush water Grass. Their Frogman Race lived on this Planet. But unexpectedly, a star Expedition Team discovered the rare ore of red Crystal on this Planet.
Thus, a large number of Nova Empire Mining Industry Lord came rushing in, drawn by the Taste. They blasted mountains and rocks, mining extensively. Rivers were diverted, and large areas of wetlands turned into deserts.
Many Frogmen died unnatural deaths. The Behavior of these Mining Industry Lord completely enraged the Frog God that their Frogman Race believed in. In a fit of rage, that Frog God completely destroyed several Mining Area and massacred thousands of Nova Empire Mining Industry Lord. This Planet briefly returned to its original state, but soon the Nova Empire dispatched a full Fleet. Facing the concentrated Firepower of the Fleet, the mountain-sized Frog God was directly riddled like a sieve.
The reason the fat Toad knew about this was because his ancestors were once one of the Frog God's Priest. It was precisely by relying on the blessings of his ancestors that he was able to accumulate so much wealth and become one of the richest people on the entire Planet.
Of course, regarding the Frog God's Mural and images left by his ancestors, the fat Toad only saw them as stories. What Frog God? Just a powerful Creature. How could it contend with a Spaceship?
And destroying two Nova Empire warships? In the fat Toad's view, this was just a fantasy born from his ancestors' blind worship of the Frog God. However, it was precisely because he was born into a noble Priest Family/Clan that he was able to accumulate such a large fortune by relying on those Followers.
Those fools, they would rather tighten their belts, not eat or drink, than offer the red Crystal they dug up before the Frog God.
And the only Sculpture of the Frog God on the entire Planet was in the Church he funded to build. Those shiny red Crystal, rather than being offered to the Frog God, were better said to be offered to him.
To fool those idiots, praising the Frog God became the words he always had on his lips. So, when encountering danger, the fat Toad's conditioned reflex was to Prayer to the Frog God.
It seemed that the Frog God who died thousands of years ago was really protecting his Followers. Soon, the Shuttle scouting ahead sent back Information.
"Old Master, we found a team ahead, looks like they're also Refugees!"
Hearing the Pilot's words, the fat Toad immediately perked up: "How many people? How much cargo did they bring? Do they have Weapons!"
From the fat Toad's questions, it was not difficult to see his plan. He wanted to loot them to make up for his Loss!
"Less than a hundred people, no camel team seen, and no Aircraft. They should be a group of Refugees!"
"A bunch of poor devils!" As soon as the fat Toad heard there was no profit, his Body slumped back into the Seat: "Don't bother with them, keep going!"
"Tang, what exactly is your Cube for?"
The Refugees team followed behind Abad in silence, trudging towards the Spaceship that represented hope.
Rocket Raccoon, unable to stand the oppressive atmosphere, couldn't help but lean towards Tang Song, examining the Cube in his hand.
Along the way, he noticed that Tang Song had been looking at the Cube in deep thought, as if he had encountered a problem. The self-proclaimed smartest Raccoon stared at the Cube for a long time but couldn't figure out what it was for.
Tang Song reached out and touched his Head, saying, "I plan to build a central management system. It needs to integrate teleportation, Mission publishing, reward exchange, and Supplies collection..."
"So you want to open a Mercenary Company?" Rocket Raccoon immediately understood upon hearing Tang Song's words, and then said, "Then what you need is a Supercomputer and Channel. Groot and I have experience in this area. We've dealt with many Mercenary Company!"
"I am Groot!" Groot agreed, waving a branch, clearly endorsing Rocket Raccoon's words.
Tang Song smiled without speaking. What he wanted to create was not a Mercenary Company, but to Simulation that Main God Orb of Light, building a Mission Space spanning across myriad Worlds to collect Resource for himself.
Of course, this was just his idea. The difficulty involved, simply how to teleport Manpower into different Worlds, was a major challenge.
The Space Gem, the South Heavenly Gate, were fine within one Universe. Trying to cross the Chaos Sea, he had tried, and it was impossible.
The Mother Box, obviously, if the Mother Box could cross the Chaos Sea, then Darkseid's Parademon Army wouldn't have been delayed and unseen for so long.
The Quantum Tunnel, this was a Method. He had once calculated that the reason the Avengers from Another Universe could travel to other Universes through the Quantum Tunnel was likely because the inside of the Quantum Tunnel had undergone some unknown mutation due to that great battle three hundred million years ago.
If it was really like the components of the Main God Barracks, then where would it be? The microscopic quantum World. Searching for a needle in a haystack to find something in there.
(End of chapter)