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Roy declined the weapons offered by the Black Mountain mercenaries and re-entered the UFO.
All the rooms were locked tight. The Norwegians had picked a heck of a spot, sneaking into the freezer and dragging out the cryopod.
If they'd chosen any other compartment, the disaster that followed might've been avoided.
The cargo hold was on the opposite side of the cockpit. Roy forced his way through the doors and soon found the blast-proof door to the hold.
The door looked intact, but to avoid any surprises, Roy transformed into his demon form, enveloping himself in a layer of hellfire before prying it open.
Luckily, the UFO's interior was spacious enough for Roy's massive demon form to maneuver.
When the blast door opened, darkness greeted him.
Under the glow of his hellfire, Roy saw masses of fleshy, tumor-like tissue. Embedded within were the withered corpses of praying mantis-like aliens.
But both the alien bodies and the flesh around them had dried up and died.
Probably because the UFO had been frozen for so long, the parasitic organisms ran out of energy and slowly decayed.
Sure, the parasite's traits were bizarre, but even they had to follow some scientific logic. No carbon-based lifeform could survive without sustenance. Even plants need sunlight, soil, and water.
The sealed cargo hold clearly lacked those conditions.
Still, Roy stayed cautious. Even if the flesh looked like centuries-old jerky, he decided to burn it all with hellfire.
Unexpectedly, as he ignited part of the tissue, something in the center of the hold began to writhe.
A massive worm-like creature, covered in pink tendrils and pieced together from countless chunks of flesh, roughly the size of a locomotive, lunged at Roy.
To survive, it had shed most of its outer flesh for insulation and entered a hibernation-like state to conserve energy, waiting for a temperature it could handle.
Too bad this was Antarctica—nowhere near warm enough for it to wake up naturally.
If not for Roy's hellfire, it might've slept until its energy ran dry and it died.
But this giant worm picked the wrong fight. Roy wasn't some easy meal to fill its belly post-hibernation. If anything, it was unclear who'd be eating who!
Roy pulled the Leviathan Axe from his inventory. Empowered by hellfire, the one-meter-long axe expanded into a seven-meter-long superweapon.
Now, the axe was bigger than the worm itself.
"Time to die!"
Roy swung the Leviathan Axe down, cleaving the worm in two.
Physical damage, however, did little to it. As long as its cellular tissue wasn't entirely destroyed, it could theoretically survive.
It even seemed to know how to counter hellfire, shedding parts of its flesh to preserve the majority of its cells.
But it didn't matter. The gap in their strength was too vast. No matter how cleverly the worm maneuvered its cells, it was no match.
The worm spread its body, expanding its surface area, and made a last-ditch effort with its dense pink tendrils.
Under the protection of hellfire, though, the tendrils were useless, reduced to ashes.
Roy's demon form was the ultimate counter to this alien parasite. Its trade-off of mutation strength for reproduction made it a terror in low-level fights but useless against a high-tier opponent like Roy.
He swung the Leviathan Axe, setting most of the worm's body ablaze with hellfire.
Realizing it couldn't win, the worm made a desperate move, abandoning most of its body and shrinking to the size of a rat. It sprouted spider-like legs and tried to flee.
If it could escape the UFO and find a suitable host, it might make a comeback.
But Roy was ready for that. He hurled the Leviathan Axe.
"Take this!"
Boom!
Without suspense, the axe broke the sound barrier, obliterating the parasite's last cells with terrifying force. It kept going, piercing the UFO's floor and burrowing into the ground, triggering a small earthquake.
[Ding! Obtained the Fate Chest of the Thing's Mother! Open it?]
[The Leviathan Axe has slain a legendary creature. You may choose one rune enhancement.]
So, this alien parasite was called "the Thing"?
Roy knew the name but hadn't seen the movie.
To be honest, in his past life, translation issues often led him to mix up Alien, Species, and The Thing. Like when he meant to watch Alien but ended up with Species—and opened a whole new world…
(Species is on the same level as The Hidden. Not recommended for kids under 70 without parental supervision.)
But to think the Thing's Mother was a legendary creature? Roy hadn't expected that.
It felt so weak—nothing compared to the Kraken.
In truth, the Thing's Mother was weak because it had been in hibernation for who-knows-how-long, its energy nearly depleted. Plus, Roy's demon form naturally countered it, and the environment wasn't in its favor.
If you threw the Thing's Mother into a city, Roy would've seen how tough it could be.
At that point, a nuke might be the only solution.
Also, the Leviathan Axe's first legendary kill earned a rune enhancement.
Opening the system panel, Roy saw the classic three-rune selection, all tied to the Thing.
[Growth: This rune allows the Leviathan Axe to grow stronger with each kill.]
This was similar to an executioner's blade effect, but the growth was too slow unless Roy went on a killing spree, which might make the axe's attributes noticeably stronger.
[Devour: This rune lets the Leviathan Axe absorb life energy from slain enemies to restore its wielder's condition.]
Basically, it gave the axe a vampiric effect. But Roy already had superhuman healing, so he didn't need it.
[Mimic: This rune allows the Leviathan Axe to transform into other forms, but only into objects it has touched.]
Roy's eyes lit up. Could the axe turn into a gun?
Without hesitation, he chose the Mimic rune.
He pulled out an M1014 shotgun and touched it to the axe. The shotgun shattered, but the Leviathan Axe transformed into a shotgun—a shiny golden-skinned version, no less.
It didn't need bullets, drawing instead on Roy's energy. Each shot was less powerful than throwing the axe but still hundreds of times stronger than a regular shotgun.
If Roy let the axe touch a nuke…
Nah, that'd probably turn it into a one-use explosive.
With the Mimic ability, the Leviathan Axe became far more versatile, able to shift into any weapon Roy needed, as long as it had made contact.
Cold weapons, shields, firearms—you name it.
Outside, the team watched the UFO anxiously. Only Heather and Penny were confident, certain Roy would come out fine.
Sure enough, Roy emerged unscathed from the UFO's passage, though his new outfit looked a bit odd.
To be safe, the mercenary captain insisted Roy take a blood test.
Once confirmed clean, everyone cheered.
"Roy, is it handled?"
Roy hadn't worn a recorder during his second trip into the UFO, so no one knew what happened.
Charles was dying to hear about Roy's adventure.
"Yeah, there was a massive alien mother in the cargo hold. It was hibernating due to low energy and temperatures. Took some effort, but I took it out."
"That's fantastic!"
Charles sighed in relief, secretly worried the Thing could leak out and spark an apocalyptic crisis.
Later, Roy led the curious team back into the UFO to snap photos. They saw the decayed flesh left by the Thing.
The massive corpse remnants in the cargo hold left them in awe, though the scorch marks raised some questions.
Luckily, no one pressed the issue. Most had already guessed Roy had special abilities—those forcibly opened passage doors were proof enough.
What, was he born with super strength like some comic book hero?
By noon, everyone grabbed a souvenir, and they returned to the Conqueror for lunch.
With the team size suddenly doubled, supplies on the Conqueror were stretched thin.
After discussion, Charles decided to drop off Aurora Station's staff at the nearest British research station after lunch, then head to Mike Dean's coordinates.
Around 4 p.m., the Conqueror reached the British station. Aurora's staff disembarked to await American rescue, and Charles used his deep pockets to buy more supplies before continuing toward the target.
After another four hours of driving, they reached their destination at 8:30 p.m.
There, they found a few prefabricated cabins—likely set up by Lucas Barnes, who'd arrived a day earlier.
But the cabins were empty, save for some bloodstains and signs of a fight. No traces of the Thing's biomass, either.
The vehicles were neatly parked, not like they'd been abandoned in a rush.
"Where'd that guy go?"
Lucas Barnes, another wealthy adventurer, would've brought a large team like Charles. Even if they went exploring, someone should've stayed behind at the camp.
Even if the camp's guards were infected by the Thing, they couldn't have gone far—it feared the cold. Unless something was chasing them, forcing them to risk leaving the cabins.
Chasing them?
Roy had a sudden thought.
Just then, the Black Mountain mercenaries returned with a discovery.
"Mr. Weyland, we found a tunnel."
"A tunnel?"
The group followed the mercenaries to the find.
It was a massive tunnel, sloping downward at a 45-degree angle, about the size of a subway tunnel. It stretched so far they couldn't see the end.
The mercenary captain tossed a signal flare down. It rolled for over ten minutes before stopping, suggesting the tunnel was several kilometers long.
Everyone was stunned. Charles asked a drilling worker nearby, "How long would it take to dig a tunnel this long?"
The worker replied, "A tunnel this size would need a tunnel boring machine. Even the best ones dig at about 5 meters per hour. Ice isn't easier than rock."
Five meters per hour meant about 120 meters a day. A multi-kilometer ice tunnel would take months.
But Lucas Barnes had likely arrived just last night.
"No way Lucas Barnes dug this!" Charles concluded.
Then, the team's physicist touched the tunnel's edge and offered an idea.
"The ice is incredibly smooth, with no tool marks. This wasn't dug mechanically. I suspect it was created by an energy beam shot into the ground at an angle."
Charles blinked. "What? You're saying someone in the sky fired an energy weapon into the ground?"
Roy glanced at the physicist. The guy had nailed it.
The tunnel was indeed made by a Predator ship from space, likely to let their trial warriors enter the underground.
Roy guessed that last night, the Predators and Lucas Barnes' team had entered the underground around the same time.
The Predators probably found infected humans at the camp and chased the Thing.
Whether the Thing escaped underground was unclear.
If it did, the clash of three movie-born aliens—Xenomorphs, Predators, and the Thing—would be something to see.
But whatever sparks flew, Lucas Barnes' team was in for a rough time.
The good news? If the Predators' trial warriors were already underground, those left on the surface should be safe.
In Alien vs. Predator, the camp's surface team got wiped out by Predators.
"Talking won't get us answers. Let's go down and check it out," Roy suggested.
Charles agreed.
After some discussion, they decided to drive two smaller snow vehicles into the tunnel. The ice was smooth, but the tracked vehicles should handle it.
The exploration team included Charles, Roy, Heather, Penny, five Black Mountain mercenaries, two explorers, and a few scientists.
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