Chapter 168: Hollow and Glow

Many of them were a bit startled to find themselves in the middle of nowhere all of a sudden, seeing a massive meteorite in front of them. Liya was startled and scared, but Errol and Genius’ eyes sparkled in curiosity, their exploratory personalities definitely triggered this time.

Liya furtively stepped back a few meters, while the rest moved towards it. When they saw a weird, dead bug-like creature in front and found out it came out of the rock, everyone paused. Liya moved back several more meters, while the rest looked at Naia and Kael, wondering what they wanted to do.

Naia pointed at the remaining alien carcass. She had pulled it out before it was completely absorbed, so now it looked like a creepy melted version. However, it was enough to show the rough size and shape of the thing.

“So…this is a weakened version of the alien from the book.”

“What?”

“It’s so…big!”

“It’s disgusting!”

“Fascinating…” Dock said, making the others look at him oddly.

Naia explained the ins and outs of this ‘mission’. She’d also give them a few choices of which part they wanted to take. If they wanted to explore the interiors with them, sure; if they wanted to serve as backup and stay farther away, it was also okay.

It would just give Naia the idea of who to give heavier tasks and who she could trust with more sensitive missions in the future. Of course, this would come with its own benefits, both tangible and intangible.

In the end, Liya volunteered to set up a temporary clinic on the side. Since it was a potential battle-in-the-making, it would be smart to have a clinic. It was just that Liya positioned herself right by the car, about a hundred meters away from the meteorite.

It wasn’t that Liya didn’t have the consciousness to try a bit harder, considering she really embarrassed herself earlier. But…those aliens were too scary!

Naia allowed this because they did not know how big the scope of the battle could get, though it was indeed a bit off-putting.

Naia also did not miss how she blinked more times when looking at Kael. Unfortunately for her, Kael didn’t even spare her an extra glance.

Genius still had a limp from an earlier injury, so he didn’t volunteer to go inside with them. However, he was still in the vicinity of the rock to study it.

It was a rock from space. No scientist, regardless of specialization, would want to be in contact with it.

Errol saw the physiques of the others and knew he’d also be a burden, so he opted to explore its surroundings with Genius instead.

Kael was the first to get close to the big rock, with the others stabbing at the opening to increase the size. Of course, instead of an axe, Naia handed them pickaxes instead.

Kael and Naia were prepared for any abnormalities, while Linlin and Hans were alert, prepared to defend themselves in case something really came out.

A few minutes later, a hollow area exposed itself; she decided to take out the electric drill, attached to a solar generator. Kael was well-versed in various subjects, and he directed where the drills should be placed to maximize the effects.

Amusingly, Hans and Uncle (it’s a male thing, apparently) had always wanted to try using such a big drill, so they were quite passionate in their work.

This rather noisy activity soon revealed a bigger and bigger crack, and it was clear that there was indeed a hollow area inside rather than what they partially expected to just be rocks. However, the wall of the meteorite was naturally still very thick, so actually accessing the hollow area wasn’t that straightforward.

The meteorite itself was as big as a small building, so they did wonder how long they were going to do this. After thirty minutes or so of electric drilling, a hole big enough to fit people when crouched down finally appeared.

Kael threw in a chemical light orb that he only had to squeeze to activate. It would then create light with negligible heat and no spark, which was the best they could do to minimize stimulating the unknown while also not being blind.

The group peeked and gaped. There really was a room inside!

Inside was like a slightly glowing alien pod seen in movies. The interior of the rocky cave was lined with creepy transparent sacs that seemed to be embedded on its walls.

There was dim bioluminescent lighting within the sacs, and it would light up a bit in a certain rhythm, like that of a heartbeat. Inside the sacs with green pus were those black buggers apparently slumbering, ready to massacre as soon as they woke up.

Anyway, it was seriously disgusting.

“Can’t we just burn them?”

“It could just remove the sacs and wake everything up,” Kael said, and the image alone made most of the others pale in fear.

“Wait for me to try something,” Kael said, jumping in with his weapon. They watched and gaped (and flinched) as he stabbed the nearest sac, directly at the monster’s head.

Everyone’s hands were gripping their weapon, nervously alert for what could come. Genius and Errol were not far away from the entrance, and they felt the gasps and tension, and they were unable to stop themselves from watching.

“Damn! This is so scary!” Linlin whispered (squealed) at the side, pinching her brother who was right next to her.

Hans’ eyes twitched, and he glared at his sister, but he didn’t have the energy to speak because the number of aliens in front of them…made him feel speechless.

Kael took the core and absorbed it himself. Like in Naia’s case, it didn’t seem like much had happened, but obviously it was a success.

Further, even after killing one, the others remained still.

“Since it’s a meteorite, it was probably designed so the others wouldn’t be disturbed if one or a few got punctured.”

Rest and absorption (of other races’ life energy) were extremely important to these parasites. It was literally the foundation of their life force. Hence, it was unlikely for them to wake up when one of them was harmed. They would prioritize maximizing their recovery, which served them well in this case.

And they would definitely take advantage of that.

Naia smiled and looked at her companions, her green eyes sparkling a bit in excitement. “So…are you ready for a massacre?”

Will resume after one of the other ongoing stories end~ Thanks!