Chapter 2765: Intelligent Xenomorph
"The wounds on my body are different from any xenomorph I've seen before." The strong man displayed the scars on his body. "And that xenomorph's speed is freakishly fast—can't even see it clearly, it just pops up out of nowhere!"
This aligned perfectly with the curly-haired woman's account.
This wasn't some special mental instance venue, so it was unlikely that multiple people would see the same hallucination in different places at different times.
Space teleportation items couldn't be used here. Both the curly-haired woman and the strong man had tried to increase their speed to escape the predicament, but were forced to give up because of that elusive xenomorph, as if it existed solely to interfere with them.
"This is definitely an intelligent xenomorph." The strong man stuck to his judgment. "Attacks from the shadows, fast speed, but won't face us head-on—it probably knows it's not strong enough."
Xu Huo looked at the curly-haired woman. That wasn't what she had said.
"Many of my items don't work on intelligent xenomorphs." The curly-haired woman explained to the strong man. "But quite a few of my defense items were destroyed, even though it never got close... Could it be that the xenomorph isn't weak, but is deliberately toying with us?"
"Also, we haven't run into it at all since earlier. Maybe there are other players underground, and it went looking for them."
"It doesn't have to be just one intelligent xenomorph." The strong man said. "The Punishment City is making such a big show—do you think they're just messing around? There's definitely more waiting for us!"
"Let's first find the place where the xenomorphs are actually kept." Xu Huo looked around at the large vats. "This clearly isn't it."
"What's the use of finding that place?" The strong man said. "We'd be better off finding an exit as soon as possible."
"Items are barely effective—where are you going to find an exit?" Xu Huo said flatly. "Since they tricked us into coming in, they won't let us leave easily. Besides, are you willing to just slink away so pathetically?"
"I'm not willing, anyway. Killing a few of their xenomorphs to make them feel the pain would be satisfying enough."
The strong man and the curly-haired woman exchanged glances. They both felt this reasoning was too flimsy—who would risk their life for such a reason? But the situation didn't allow them to act alone, so they had no choice but to follow.
Another important reason was that Xu Huo hadn't been affected by mental interference at all since entering. This showed he was well-prepared in that regard and could be relied upon in an emergency.
"Can District 022 really cultivate intelligent xenomorphs?" The curly-haired woman couldn't help asking along the way. "If they really are intelligent xenomorphs, how are they any different from humans?"
"Calling them intelligent xenomorphs is just a fancy term." The strong man sneered. "They're actually just experimental subjects made from xenomorphs and degenerated players. They want to keep the xenomorphs' powerful combat abilities while stripping away their humanity for easy control, and to a certain extent, avoid the effects of items. They want all the good things for themselves."
"In short, they treat people like animals, all while claiming this research is for the future of humanity and to reduce player sacrifices."
"You know a lot about this?" Xu Huo glanced back at him.
"Not that much, but I've come across it." The strong man said. "A district I used to go to treated degenerated players like this. They would make some players showing signs of degeneration quit the game and voluntarily participate in research. But the research process definitely wasn't just injecting some auxiliary potions. They might have to undergo all kinds of surgeries—brain cutting, organ replacement, even bone swapping. There's nothing we can imagine that they haven't done. Many people who contributed their whole lives to the district were tricked into going there and treated like this. It's absolutely outrageous!"
"If degenerated players could produce intelligent xenomorphs, the game would have been overrun with them long ago. How could it have dragged on until today?" The curly-haired woman said. "But honestly, intelligent xenomorphs aren't necessarily that strong. They can't use items and require meticulous care—there's really no need for them."
"Maybe some human experiments can't be conducted on normal people, so they have to choose them." Xu Huo interjected. "In the process, someone always has a bright idea."
"And those high-risk random instances might be raising these xenomorphs district by district."
Wasn't that exactly how the xenomorphs on the preliminary train were used?
"Intelligent xenomorphs don't necessarily mean they have thinking abilities like humans. It could be that their brains are particularly developed, allowing them to release special mental signals that influence others." As Xu Huo spoke, he stopped at a corridor corner. There were three branching paths here, each leading to an empty space. Within his perception range, there were no people or xenomorphs moving around.
"Blindly searching like this won't work." He took out a lighting item, adjusted the brightness to maximum to ensure the nearby side paths, doors, and windows were all illuminated, then pulled out a communicator and set it to automatically play the latest news from District 022.
"They're not even blocking the signal. They're not afraid of the Punishment City's xenomorph breeding being exposed." The curly-haired woman said.
"Instances can be turned into shows—it's normal." Xu Huo turned up the volume.
"District Main Station brings you this report: At eight this morning, the Grand Archon took time out of his busy schedule to return home for his youngest daughter's birthday. Archons from various regions have sent their blessings one after another..."
"...The masterpiece 'Bones' by our district's renowned sculptor, Lady Gu Huifeng, sold for a high price of 980 million..."
"...Affected by the market, the price of meerkat dolls has been skyrocketing recently. An ordinary doll starts at 50,000, while limited editions have soared to millions..."
The communicator's sound continued, all trivial news from District 022. At first, the curly-haired woman and the strong man didn't think much of it, but after a while, they noticed that during the gaps between news segments, they could hear some unusual noises. However, when they tried to pinpoint the source, they found the area they focused on was completely empty.
The faint sounds followed them like a shadow. The strong man couldn't help saying, "Can you turn off the broadcast? I can't hear anything around us..."
Before he could finish, he was pressed to the ground by a powerful gravitational force. The curly-haired woman was the same. Before the two could figure out what was happening, they saw Xu Huo crouch down ahead of them. In front of him, a person who had appeared from nowhere was also pinned to the ground. From their ground-level perspective, they could just see the other person's slightly raised face...
It looked like a human face, but it was full of dissonance. The fine surgical scars were barely visible unless you looked closely, but the skin color on its face was extremely uneven—patches of different shades with clear boundaries, clearly taken from different people or animals. And although it was wearing clothes and looked human-like, when it opened its mouth, it let out a hoarse, animal-like growl. Even as it threatened the person in front of it, its pupils kept changing colors.