Chapter 193
Translator: uly
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Breeder Larva
The key to taking down a Space Crawler is controlling its movements.
No superhuman alive could pierce that barrier in one hit, and even if they did, finishing it off would take tremendous effort.
You know the saying about grabbing it and beating the crap out of it?
Yeah, that's what you'd have to do for hours.
"Take out the surrounding aliens first. Evacuating the civilians is priority one."
"What about direct attacks?"
"Give it a few solid hits to get its attention. Just don't get too heated and wander into its attack range."
The shape of a man walking among the stars.
On the outer wall of the building swarming with aliens was the massive Stella Walker logo.
Once upon a time, space exploration was a vital part of human civilization.
New exploration teams launched every week, venturing into the unknown cosmos. When they returned, they brought back secrets of the universe we never knew, locations of valuable resources, and planets suitable for human habitation.
The Age of Space Discovery, humanity's version of the Age of Sail.
As passion for exploration grew, the fame of successful teams soared.
Next Step, Melbourne, White Hole, and countless others basked in glory.
But what goes up must come down.
After nearly half a millennium of space pioneering, things had changed dramatically.
Humanity now operated across the entire stage of space, and the wonder and curiosity about it had faded.
We'd secured enough resources to sustain our civilization, and living space was no longer an issue.
If anything, we had more than we could use.
It was only natural that zeal for exploration waned.
Then the alien crisis hit, making things even worse.
'Maintaining their name through all that is impressive, but Stella Walker's scale has shrunk compared to its heyday.'
It wasn't strange for Stella Walker, specialists in deep-space exploration, to set up shop on a backwater planet like this.
The entire private property feeling so empty made sense too.
No money, no choice.
But the scene inside this building was a bit baffling.
'What the hell is this place?'
As I pushed deeper inside, dealing with parasitic aliens, I got a weird vibe.
Come to think of it, it started after passing through that bulkhead door.
The metal shielding had been crumpled and melted by aliens, and it wasn't your average thin stuff.
The kind you'd see in high-security zones.
"Set up a turret here."
-Roger!
I kept moving in, scanning the surroundings.
Massive windows lined the corridor at regular intervals, but with power forcibly shut down, they were sealed tight. No peeking inside.
One was smashed open, though—probably by the aliens that got here first.
"...What the?"
Dead aliens and rubble, with chunks of rock scattered over them.
The broken pieces showed subtle differences in texture between the inner and outer material.
'I've seen this somewhere before.'
If I could see an intact one, that'd help, but nothing whole remained.
Didn't seem like the aliens caused it.
Probably like this when they arrived.
I pressed further in.
Soon, I spotted more aliens that had beaten me here, dead in various spots.
Turrets and defenses smashed, lethal toxins in the air.
This must be the last defensive line.
Human bodies appeared too.
Judging by their gear and uniforms, Stella Walker security forces.
Kiyak!
One chowing down on a corpse finally spotted me and raised its mantis-like forelimb.
Didn't notice when it was crouched, but stretching out, it nearly brushed the 4-meter ceiling.
"Where are your buddies? All alone in here?"
I smashed the alien, then crushed its head underfoot as I asked.
No answer needed, obviously.
-This way, I think. Beep!
"I see it."
Behind where the alien had been blocking, a collapsed wall came into view.
Stepping through opened up a vast space.
In the center loomed a massive, elongated rhombus-shaped rock—at least 30 meters tall.
Surrounding it were aliens clustered together.
I'd never seen aliens so docile.
They always charge humans teeth-first, but these sat in neat rows, eerily quiet.
"All gathered here."
-Looks like they're worshiping it.
"Let's clean house first."
My voice echoed, and the silent aliens lunged like nothing happened.
About a hundred of them.
I cleared them in seconds, dusted off my hands, and approached the central rock.
The surface was damaged, like someone had been working on it.
Sweeping up fragments from the floor, I realized these matched the chunks from the corridor.
And why they looked familiar hit me.
'Similar.'
This thing had the same material as the primitive energy ore I'd seen in an Earth museum long ago.
The difference? This was dozens of times bigger.
So, did it contain a primitive energy crystal?
'No.'
Primitive energy crystals are unstable.
Handle wrong, and boom—especially at this size. The devastation would be insane.
The city and beyond, all gone.
But this one's cracked from tampering.
If primitive energy were inside, it would've blown already, no trace left.
"Scan it?"
-No dice. Gotta peel off the shell to check inside.
Even my senses couldn't peer within.
What now?
Can't just move something this huge easily.
And no time for a leisurely study amid the chaos.
Rumble rumble!!
The ceiling shook.
The vibrations I'd sensed earlier were intensifying.
Aliens, no doubt.
The sole entrance was guarded by an auto-turret, so they were breaching elsewhere.
No radar in this sealed space, but my senses picked up the aliens swarming the building vividly.
"Smash it open."
Blade extended from my left hand.
Whatever's inside, Space Crawlers want it bad.
Gotta confirm.
I thrust the blade in.
Sensing resistance at the tip, I cut carefully to avoid damaging the contents.
How long did I work at it?
Just as aliens breached the ceiling right above, I finished slicing off the top.
What emerged was a slime-encased, messy spherical egg.
I froze solid the instant I saw it.
'Why the hell is this here...?!'
My senses clearly revealed what was inside.
But how? Why here?
Trembling, I lifted the egg out.
Adult male torso-sized, heavy as hell—but not too much for my strength.
"Ha..."
No wonder three Space Crawlers showed up.
'A Breeder larva.'
Not even hatched properly, but definitely alive.
And the power it held? Chilling just to sense.
Left alone, it'd hatch on its own.
Grow up to become a nightmare for humanity as a Breeder parent.
'Kill it now?'
I hesitated.
Breeder biology came to mind.
Like ants, each Breeder is a queen.
They share info and cooperate, but fiercely independent, territorial.
If Space Crawlers snag this larva?
'They'd feed it to their queen.'
A massive power-up.
Boosting pressure on the Styx frontlines big time.
That's why they came.
I pondered.
Finding a Breeder larva? One in a million chance.
Won't happen again.
Just kill it? Waste.
'Gotta get it to a lab somehow.'
I ordered R3D3 to deactivate suit mode and cradle the egg.
But it was a bit big.
R3D3 waddled, flashing complaints.
-Beep bop! Bzzt!
"Walk it off."
-Humanity's worst disaster has impregnated me.
Clumsiness doubled.
I patted its head.
Then a corner of the ceiling collapsed, aliens pouring in.
And from our entry corridor too.
The leg-turret was bouncing back to recombine—energy depleted, retreating.
"Break through."
-Protect the pregnant lady, Master!
"Just guard your body and the egg."
The lead alien charging me flew off with a caved-in chest.
Ones behind crashed into it, slamming into the wall as one.
One shot, four kills.
But no fear among them.
They swarmed like bees robbed of honey.
"No you don't."
I kicked off the ground.
Against these small fry, no need for full power.
Training and combat had perfected my body.
The vessel's just too vast to fill, stalling the next level—but 2nd or 3rd graders? Casual movement sufficed.
And my speed?
Even surrounded front and flanks, I was faster.
The one firing quill-acne missed every shot, then bared teeth—head exploded, lights out.
'No need for barrier.'
Simple fight.
Just protect airways.
I cleaved a path back to the entry corridor.
R3D3 waddled after faithfully.
Tripped on corpses now and then, but somehow stayed upright.
-Beep! Bzzt! Too fast!
"Lose some weight!"
-I'm not fat. My design is the pinnacle of engineering beauty under the Creator's hand.
"Cute and approachable, right? Your closest model is a kid's edutoy, isn't it?"
Nearly cleared the corridor.
Seemed all nearby aliens converged here.
Past the security zone, comms resumed, retinal feed updating surroundings.
I checked and yelled.
"The Space Crawler's moving!"
Sniffed out the prize theft.
And fast—shedding the sluggish act, closing in rapidly.
By the time R3D3 and I neared the exit, it was nearly on us.
No time to gawk at the window-filling Space Crawler before the building shook violently.
'Gonna swallow the whole damn thing!'
Tongue already wrapping and pulling.
I gunned it, then remembered R3D3 with the egg and faltered.
"...Ah, shit."
Alone, I'd have made it.
Barrier up, bracing for impact.
Ceiling caved, everything chaotic—no holding steady.
Even aliens struggled, rolling everywhere, too busy avoiding debris to attack.
"Stopped...?"
I scooped up R3D3 and stood.
Bursting through rubble outside revealed dim innards.
Felt like a hatchery.
No doubt: we were in the Space Crawler's gut.