22: Facehugger larvae

Looking at the three eggs containing deadly Facehuggers, Lin Feng's heart was ablaze.

After a day and a night of development, the Alien Queen finally laid her first batch of eggs!

With a slight thought, Lin Feng directly issued an order in the Spirit Beast Space.

The gelatinous layer on the surface of the three Facehugger eggs instantly softened and ruptured, and one after another, slick and ferocious Facehuggers broke out of their eggs, lining up neatly in front of the Queen like soldiers awaiting orders.

Lin Feng clearly felt that a direct and stable mental connection had been established between him and these newborn Facehuggers, just like his control over the Queen. With his will, the swarm moved as if an extension of his own arm!

These Facehuggers lay quietly on the base of the nest, their cold compound eyes all "gazing" in the direction of Lin Feng's consciousness, awaiting his command.

Lin Feng's thoughts swept over these newly born killing machines, and their detailed information appeared in his sea of consciousness.

"Name: Facehugger (Larval Form)"

"Star Rating: Four-star"

"Strength: Black Iron Level Nine"

"Status: Standby / Parasitic Preparation Phase"

"Skills: Stealth Assault, Tough Claw Bind, Tail Whip Strangulation, Parasitic Oviposition, Acidic Blood"

"Special Talent 1: Efficient Parasitism: The parasitic process is swift and efficient, capable of completing embryo implantation and incapacitating the host in a very short time."

"Special Talent 2: Genetic Conduit: As a carrier of the Queen's genes, when parasitizing a host, it can feed back the host's biological pheromones and some high-quality gene fragments to the Alien Queen."

"It's actually Black Iron Level Nine!"

Lin Feng was unexpectedly pleased to see the Facehugger's attributes, especially when he noticed Special Talent 2 of the Facehugger!

"It can even feed back the host's high-quality genes to the Alien Queen. Doesn't this mean that even if the Alien Queen has already completed parasitism, she can still integrate more high-quality genes to strengthen herself in the future!"

"And a Summoner... can continuously inherit abilities from their destined Spirit Beasts!"

His consciousness returned to reality, and a sharp glint flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. Three newly hatched Facehuggers were transferred out of the Spirit Beast Space, quietly coiling beside him like the most obedient soldiers.

These nascent little monsters sensed the external environment and wiggled slightly, but dared not make any unusual movements.

From behind a makeshift cover formed by a pile of abandoned minecarts ahead, came rustling gnawing sounds.

A Rotclaw Miner Rat, a monster the size of a large dog, covered in gray-black coarse fur, with sharp incisors and claws, entered Lin Feng's line of sight.

It was happily gnawing on an unknown mineral remnant, completely unaware of the lurking danger.

This was one of the most common Black Iron Level monsters in the mine dungeon, living by excavating and gnawing on ore. Its aggressiveness was not too strong, but its numbers were vast.

"That's the one."

Lin Feng held his breath, his mind locking onto one of the Facehuggers, issuing precise commands.

A Facehugger, as if granted life, silently leaped from beside him, accurately landing in the shadows on the ground not far from the Rotclaw Miner Rat.

"Attack!"

Lin Feng's mental command was transmitted like lightning, and that Facehugger instantly activated!

Its eight legs kicked off the ground, and its entire body transformed into a gray blur indiscernible to the naked eye, shooting like lightning towards the unsuspecting Rotclaw Miner Rat!

The Rotclaw Miner Rat seemed to sense the approaching danger, suddenly raised its head, and a trace of panic flashed in its crimson little eyes.

But the Facehugger's speed was too fast!

Its eight slender, barbed claws precisely gripped the Rotclaw Miner Rat's head, and its tough, tube-like tail wrapped around the Rotclaw Miner Rat's neck like a steel whip, instantly immobilizing it!

"Squeak! Squeak!"

The Rotclaw Miner Rat let out a desperate, terrified shriek, struggling wildly, its sharp claws scraping against the minecart's metal, producing an ear-splitting sound.

But the Facehugger's eight claws held fast, possessing astonishing strength. At the same time, its ovipositor, like a snake's tongue, thrust out!

"Puff!"

With a soft, hair-raising sound, the ovipositor easily pierced the Rotclaw Miner Rat's relatively fragile throat area, burrowing deep into its body!

The Rotclaw Miner Rat's struggles instantly became violent and desperate, its body convulsing fiercely, but after only a few seconds, its movements rapidly weakened, stiffened, and finally slumped to the ground, leaving only faint, unconscious spasms.

It was a pity that the monsters in the dungeon were all holographic projections and could not be parasitized. Otherwise, Lin Feng might have obtained a new Alien species right now.

With a slight thought, Lin Feng quickly locked onto other targets... Around the corner of the mine ahead, two Crystalline Beetles, shimmering with a faint energetic glow, were attached to exposed crystal clusters. Their hard, gem-like carapaces were natural shields, and their mouthparts could spray corrosive crystal dust.

Two Facehuggers shot out silently from the shadows beside Lin Feng like arrows released from a bowstring.

Their movements were as swift as two gray streaks of lightning darting along the ground, precisely avoiding the crystal cluster obstacles and heading straight for their targets.

The Crystalline Beetles had just sensed the energy fluctuations, their compound eyes rotating, but before the corrosive crystal dust could be sprayed, the Facehuggers had already arrived!

One precisely embraced the left Crystalline Beetle's relatively fragile compound eye area, its eight claws retracting, sharp barbs deeply piercing the carapace seams, and its ovipositor, like a venomous snake's tongue, instantly penetrated the weak point between the compound eyes.

The other landed directly on the back of the right Crystalline Beetle, ignoring the crystal dust it sprayed. Its tail wrapped around its neck joint like a steel whip, and its ovipositor forcefully pierced into the carapace connection on its back!

"Sizzle... Crunch..."

The grating sounds of piercing and carapace shattering occurred almost simultaneously.

The struggles of the two Crystalline Beetles were futile and brief; their bodies convulsed violently a few times before stiffening, and the energetic glow on their surfaces rapidly dimmed.

The entire process, from attack to kill, took no more than three seconds.

Lin Feng did not stop, his consciousness spreading out like a tide.

Further ahead, in a nest built from discarded crystal piles, a Crystal Marrow Spider, the size of a millstone, covered in sharp purple crystal spines, with a swollen abdomen, vigilantly rotated its eight compound eyes.

It sensed the death of its kin, and a sharp hiss rang out. Its abdomen rapidly contracted, and a viscous, shimmering, highly poisonous purple web was spat out, enveloping the direction where Lin Feng was located. At the same time, its eight spiny legs moved quickly, attempting to create distance and release a poisonous mist.

A cold smile curved Lin Feng's lips... The Facehuggers' efficiency in killing monsters far exceeded Lin Feng's expectations.

He continued onward, bringing the remaining Facehuggers, like a ghost in the mine, speeding towards his final target—the Abandoned Mine's guardian, Crystal Eater · Geladun's nest.

Deep within the nest, on a massive platform constructed from countless discarded ore and crystal clusters, Crystal Eater · Geladun lay prostrate like a small mountain.

It resembled a giant pangolin, but its entire body was covered not in scales, but in thick, dark gold crystalline carapace that shimmered with a metallic luster, each plate covered in sharp angles.

On its massive head, a tyrannical glint flickered in the pupils of its crimson eyes. Its thick forelimbs ended in huge crystal claws like mining picks, and each breath it exhaled carried a hot, sulfurous scent.

It sensed the presence of an intruder, slowly raised its head, and let out a deafening roar that seemed to make the entire mine tremble.

An ordinary professional team facing this Black Iron Level Nine BOSS would not only require exquisite coordination and powerful firepower, but also sufficient time to wear down its despair-inducing defenses.

But in Lin Feng's eyes, it wasn't even worthy of the Alien Queen taking action...