Every word fell like metal striking stone.
Feng Lin had clearly made his choice, and it would not change.
Plans could not keep up with changes.
He deeply understood the principle that hesitation leads to chaos.
With time running short, the daytime plan had already failed. Now, he had to adapt on the fly.
Otherwise, wasting an entire night would mean starting over tomorrow, losing another day.
The exam only lasted ten days. Time was limited, and he had to seize the highest score in the shortest time possible to widen the gap between him and the other candidates.
Though Feng Lin did not follow the path of Athena’s myth, lacking the monstrous mental capacity rivaling a photonic brain, he had a profound understanding of himself and his own strategies.
“No risk, no reward?” Even though Feng Lin had made himself clear, Ares instinctively retorted, “Do you think this is just a tiger’s den? This is a xenomorph hive—far more terrifying than any tiger’s den!”
But Feng Lin’s next calm remark left her speechless.
“But we’re not ordinary humans, are we?”
Exactly!
The xenomorph hive was far more dangerous than a tiger’s den.
But they weren’t ordinary humans either—otherwise, what was the point of cultivation?
Ares wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words, so she turned to her sister Yana for help.
But Yana’s next words made her eyes widen.
“You’re right! Right now, the hive’s internal defenses are at their weakest. It’s the perfect time to infiltrate—the success rate is even higher than the daytime plan! Plus, the hive’s self-contained space can help us avoid the brutal cold.” From the moment she heard Feng Lin’s decision, Yana had furrowed her brows in deep thought, her mind racing as she weighed the pros and cons before giving her approval.
“Sister…” Seeing her sister switch sides, Ares grew anxious.
Yana shook her head. “Ares, my original plan was good, but it can’t keep up with the changing situation. We have to adapt. The universe is infinite, variables are infinite—no plan is perfect. No matter how great the wisdom, human hearts can never outmatch the heavens!”
She voted in favor of Feng Lin’s suggestion, and the matter was settled.
Unable to resist, Ares could only glare at Feng Lin in frustration, her face full of reluctance.
True to her reputation for wisdom far beyond the ordinary, Yana not only agreed with Feng Lin’s plan but instantly devised more details to perfect it.
“Although the bitter cold of deep night is when the hive’s defenses are most lax, we can’t rush in now. The planet has just entered nightfall, the temperature hasn’t fully dropped yet, and the xenomorphs haven’t entered their deepest hibernation—they’re still alert. Going in now would be walking into a trap. We must wait until the temperature hits its lowest point in the dead of night, then strike with lightning speed straight for the Xenomorph Queen and kill her! Once we succeed, the hive will be leaderless, and the remaining xenomorphs will fall into chaos, easy prey for us…”
Her calm words were laced with chilling killing intent.
“A xenomorph version of a decapitation strike?” Feng Lin mused.
“Good!” With that, the three reached a consensus.
Boundless darkness surged from the horizon like a tide, drowning the land, accompanied by a bone-freezing cold.
Feng Lin and the others dug a massive pit in the ground, hiding inside like groundhogs, sealing the entrance except for a ventilation hole.
Like seasoned hunters, they endured the harsh environment, waiting for the moment to deliver a fatal blow to their prey.
Though the thick soil blocked the wind, the cold seeped through.
Yana, already frail, seemed even more vulnerable, trembling like a delicate flower in the wind, her face pale.
But she didn’t utter a single complaint, displaying a will as tough as her appearance was delicate.
The usually reckless Ares showed an unexpected gentleness, holding her sister close to warm her with body heat.
She exuded a dense aura of dominance, solidifying into a barrier that shielded Yana from the cold, improving her complexion.
Feng Lin grew more curious.
Athena was one of Greece’s few powerful deities. Since Yana followed this mythic path, why was she so physically weak?
But it was none of his business, so he didn’t ask.
Feng Lin didn’t dwell on it. He sat cross-legged with eyes closed, circulating his blood and energy to resist the cold.
Temperatures below minus a hundred degrees could crystallize metal, shattering it on impact—let alone fragile flesh.
A faint jade-like glow appeared on Feng Lin’s skin, forming an invisible shield that kept the cold at bay, preventing any penetration.
He took out a gene pituitary gland harvested from a xenomorph and swallowed it. The flesh turned into surging energy, his blood flowing like molten lava, hot and relentless.
Gene potential: +58%, +58%, +58%... A total increase of 290%.
Without hesitation, Feng Lin focused his mind on a gene he had previously ignored, channeling the gene potential into it.
“Gene: Adrenaline Gene Grade: Perfect Basic Gene Enhancement Points: 4 Ability: Bullet Time (Secretes adrenaline, stimulating mental acceleration)”
The adrenaline gene’s enhancement points reached 4, extending its duration from 20 seconds to 80 seconds.
Deep inside the xenomorph hive, every bit of strength was precious. He had to be in peak condition.
Due to the principle of no regrets in enhancement, Feng Lin had avoided boosting the adrenaline gene before, unsure of its evolutionary path.
Adding too many points would leave no room for change.
So he had left it unused, but now he couldn’t afford to be picky.
Enhancing it to 4 points was just right—neither too much nor too little.
If he later chose a different evolutionary path, the gene variables wouldn’t require more than 4 points anyway, so it wasn’t a loss.
The stronger the gene, the higher the enhancement requirements for its variables.
This was the universe’s most universal rule.
Accumulation leads to eruption!
Gene enhancement points expanded one’s foundation. The more points, the deeper the foundation, paving the way for transformative evolution.
That was why Feng Lin’s monkey gene and stone embryo gene—both low-tier basic genes—could evolve into the mutated primal gene, the Stone Monkey Gene.
Water accumulates to form a flood that sweeps everything away.
Gene evolution worked the same way.
The night deepened. The planet showed no signs of life, only a stark, killing atmosphere.
Feng Lin’s eyes snapped open.
Everything was ready—only the right moment was needed.
During the night, the two sisters hadn’t been idle. They had changed into combat suits resembling those of interstellar warriors.
They clearly had spatial equipment. These suits could effectively insulate against heat and cold, though their design was odd, marked with a strange silver star symbol faintly reeking of blood.
Feng Lin wisely didn’t ask. Wherever the suits came from, it wasn’t his concern.
The three nodded and stepped out of the pit.
The planet had no moon, leaving the night pitch black, impossible to see even a hand in front of one’s face.
The cave housing the xenomorph hive grew even darker and more terrifying, like a gaping, invisible maw, an abyss ready to devour humans.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind made the three instinctively shiver.
The extreme cold crystallized moisture, coating everything in layers of frost-like, hard shells.
The lair loomed before them, dark and deep, with faint, intermittent roars carried on the wind, like a bottomless pit threatening to swallow the world.
Feng Lin and the others cautiously entered. The tunnel was damp and cold, reeking of sour, rotting stench that turned the stomach.
They weren’t ordinary people, though. Frowning slightly, they pressed on.
Rustle, rustle, rustle…
The deeper they went, the more a strange, chaotic noise reached them, unsettling their minds.
After navigating a winding, twisting tunnel, they soon entered a vast, dark cave.
“Shh!” Feng Lin’s mind stirred, and he suddenly raised a finger to his lips, pointing upward.
The Greek sisters looked up and held their breath. Above them, a dense mass of fleshy lumps clung together, writhing and piling up like a swarm of bats, their eyes glowing red. They were all basic xenomorph units—facehuggers.
There were thousands upon thousands, countless, enough to make one’s scalp crawl.
Even as interstellar cultivators, if they alerted so many monsters, they’d be instantly overwhelmed with no escape.
The three suppressed all their auras, slipping away silently toward the hive’s interior.
The hive’s structure resembled a honeycomb, with passages branching in all directions, forming a three-dimensional maze of chaotic paths.
The entire mountain had been hollowed out by the xenomorphs.
Feng Lin’s mental power swept out like X-ray vision, viewing the maze from a god’s perspective without any obstruction.
Through the layers of barriers, he sensed a powerful life force above him, pulsing strongly.
That should be the Xenomorph Queen’s location.
But mental scanning wasn’t like sight—it couldn’t provide direct visuals. He’d have to get closer to see the queen’s true form.
“Follow me,” Feng Lin signaled, leading the two sisters straight toward the queen.
“Look!” Yana suddenly whispered. Ahead, hanging from the ceiling, were oval, cocoon-like objects, semi-transparent, revealing shadowy, menacing figures—all xenomorphs: messengers, sentinels, and various types.
Feng Lin sensed their minds were in a dead, stone-like state, which he hadn’t noticed at first.
He exchanged a glance with Yana, and an idea struck them simultaneously.
Sssss.
Feng Lin’s mental power formed invisible swords, piercing into their minds, killing their consciousness and snuffing out their lives.
Yana acted too, her mental energy shaping golden arrows that annihilated the xenomorphs’ thoughts.
These xenomorphs were in hibernation, like sitting ducks, offering no resistance as Feng Lin and the others harvested them.
Mental power was formless and silent, killing thoughts without a sound, causing no disturbance.
These were easy points, no challenge at all.
This was truly entering the tiger’s den to get the cubs!
But none of them wasted time. After eliminating these latent threats, they headed straight for the queen.
Killing the queen was the key; everything else was secondary.
As they ventured deeper, the hive’s temperature gradually rose to around minus eighty degrees.
The cold lessened, but instead of relief, Feng Lin and the others grew wary.
This wasn’t good!
Rising temperatures meant more active life, shallower hibernation for the xenomorphs, making infiltration harder.
Feng Lin, Yana, and Ares exchanged glances, seeing the caution and gravity in each other’s eyes.
As they expected, the deeper they went, the more eerie the atmosphere became—dead silent, with even the facehuggers’ rustling gone.
It felt like countless terrifying monsters lurked in the shadows, ready to pounce and tear them apart.
Whoosh!
A black shadow flashed by, too fast for the eye to catch.
Feng Lin’s body instinctively dodged, then he shot after it. He spotted a three-meter-tall xenomorph with a full carapace hiding in the darkness, its pitch-black body perfectly blending with the environment. Only its eyes stared at them, filled with ruthless savagery.
It was a Xenomorph Stalker!
The next moment, it opened its mouth wide, ready to screech.
Feng Lin’s expression changed. “Lengthen!”
He already had his staff in hand, and it rapidly extended, jamming into the xenomorph’s mouth, blocking its throat and silencing it.
Bang!
Ares was equally fierce. She leaped over, her fists wrapped in black aura, and slammed down like hammers, shattering the xenomorph’s head. It died silently, without alerting the other monsters in the hive.
“In the warmer zones, the xenomorphs are becoming active. This is the hive’s core—all high-level xenomorphs. We need to be careful.” The three grew serious, quickening their pace toward the queen, their vigilance at its peak.
They noticed that every turn in the hive was guarded by a Stalker xenomorph, the defenses extremely tight.
Working together, they dispatched them one by one with minimal noise and speed, advancing toward the hive’s center.
Finally, the space opened up before them into a vast, web-like cavern, surrounded by thick, writhing tentacles.
A monstrous creature over ten meters tall crouched there, with terrifying tentacles and claws, and a massive reproductive ovipositor at its rear, constantly pulsating.
“Kill!” The moment they saw the Xenomorph Queen, Feng Lin and the others charged.
The staff rapidly transformed, crashing down like a colossal pillar.
Mental energy turned into golden arrows, slaying its mind.
Aura extended into a spear, aiming to pierce everything in its path.
…
All three unleashed their strongest techniques, aiming to kill the queen instantly, leaving no chance for reaction.
Sensing danger, the massive xenomorph beast let out a piercing shriek.
Six black figures appeared, blocking Feng Lin and the others. Their bodies were shattered, spraying acidic blood that sizzled and corroded the ground.
The trio was halted by the xenomorphs’ reckless, self-sacrificing charge. As they landed, they found themselves surrounded by a horde of terrifying shadows.
Feng Lin scanned the area, and his heart sank.
They were a group of xenomorphs clad in black carapaces, their bodies sleek and menacing, radiating explosive power.
Their tough crests were as hard as shields, their mutated forms as eerie as demons, standing like the most loyal guards protecting their queen.
Xenomorph Praetorians!