Chapter 261 – Splitting Up: Target, the Starship
"You're all missing one crucial detail."
Thanos reminded them, "The Xenomorphs destroyed the thrusters to prevent us from leaving. That means they possess intelligence—this is a trap, a hunt."
"Damn, you're telling me Xenomorphs developed brains just from Kryptonian DNA?"
Allen recalled both from the films and the previous timeline that Xenomorphs were nothing more than instinct-driven predators.
And Thanos's theory was spot on.
Under normal circumstances, the Xenomorphs should have already launched a surprise attack. Their current silence suggested they were wearing down the team's patience, waiting for anxiety to cause a slip—then they would strike.
"No big deal," Allen said calmly. "I remember the Engineer civilization definitely kept starships on this testing planet. We just need to hijack one to get out of here."
In the Engineer civilization, piloting starships was the role of the Space Jockeys, which came in two classes: the Dominators and the Overlords. The Dominators were like strategic bombers, loaded with Black Goo, while the Overlords were larger in scale and functioned more like aircraft carriers.
They recalled the footage the AI projection had shown them earlier—inside a temple-like structure, there were clear traces of advanced technology.
It was likely the starship belonged to the Engineer civilization.
Given the situation, they had no choice but to follow Allen's plan and search for the Engineers' starship.
"We should prepare for both scenarios," Allen instructed. "Yondu, you stay and work on repairing the ship. Illusion and Frank, you stay with him."
"No problem, boss," Yondu replied gladly.
Naturally, he had no interest in marching into the lion's den.
Besides, the ship wasn't beyond repair.
They would rally the team, return to the Kryptonian vessel, and locate the original site of the incident.
Allen conjured a jeep, loaded up Thanos, Uxas, and Hela, and headed straight toward the Engineer temple.
Watching their teammates depart, Frank, flames flickering over his body, rubbed his exposed jawbone and muttered worriedly, "I hope they manage to bring back that starship. This place gives me the creeps."
"Buddy, you're overthinking it."
Illusion walked over, sighing, "They'll be back safe and sound. I can't wait to get back to Knowhere and try a few orders of brain stew."
Symbiotes had a universal craving for brains. Even back on Earth, Venom was constantly whining about wanting to eat human brains—though most of the time he settled for chocolate to sustain his energy.
Of course, there were plenty of alternative foods, but the brains of intelligent creatures were considered a delicacy among symbiotes.
"I remember the fridge still has fresh Kabo Beast brains in it—Allen stocked them just for you," Frank reminded.
"BRAINS!"
Illusion's soft, undulating legs wobbled with excitement as he dashed toward the ship, shouting, "Long live the boss!"
"Hey, get over here and give me a hand."
Before Illusion could enter the ship, Yondu called out to him and Frank.
He needed to dismantle some components to smelt them down and recast them into usable parts.
Fortunately, there were enough spare ships nearby—otherwise, they'd be stuck sending out a distress signal.
But in the vastness of space, the odds of a passing ship arriving were practically zero.
As for having Asgard's gatekeeper Heimdall open the Bifröst bridge? Not even worth considering. Heimdall could only observe anything within the Nine Realms—not the wider universe.
Frank pried open the ship's outer shell, revealing a tangled network of components for Yondu to dismantle with his tools.
Meanwhile, Illusion shifted his body, wielding a cleaver-like "butcher knife" as a cutting tool and sliced into the ship's outer layer.
With a bit of effort, the blade sank in to the hilt.
"What kind of weapon is this? It's insanely sharp!" Illusion exclaimed in disbelief.
Frank stepped forward to take a look, but Illusion panicked and stopped him immediately, "Don't come any closer! I'm afraid of fire."
"Probably infused with some sort of magical property," Yondu remarked casually. "Races with magical talents aren't exactly rare in the universe."
In reality, magic and technology weren't mutually exclusive—they coexisted under different sets of rules.
Many civilizations had their own gods, but as their science advanced, those gods gradually faded from relevance.
After all, once a civilization no longer needed gods, its deities were set free and often traveled the universe.
Some even formed their own divine factions, although they generally avoided interfering in the development of other races.
"What's this?"
Frank peeled back another layer of the ship's hull and suddenly spotted an oval-shaped egg.
In the glow of Hellfire, he could see something squirming inside.
"It's alive!" Yondu said in alarm. "Don't tell me it's a Xenomorph egg."
At that moment, the top of the egg split open like a four-petal flower, revealing a curled-up, pale yellow creature inside.
"I want to see if Xenomorphs are edible," Illusion said, tongue slithering out, clearly eager to get a taste.
Pfft!
The next instant, the facehugger launched itself from the egg.
Skreee…
Yondu, who was closest, was hit. He frantically clawed at the creature's limbs as it latched onto his face.
"That bug's gonna faceblast Yondu!" Illusion panicked. He wanted to slice it off but worried his blade was too sharp and might injure Yondu in the process.
"I got this."
Frank reached out with hands wrapped in Hellfire, grabbing the edge of the facehugger to burn it off.
But instead of retreating, the creature clung even tighter in response to the flames.
"Hold on, Yondu! I'll parasitize you instead!"
Since removing it from the outside didn't work, Illusion changed tactics and attacked from within.
Leaving behind his cleaver, Illusion turned into a black liquid and seeped into Yondu's chest.
The next moment, Yondu's body swelled rapidly under the symbiote's full embrace. The facehugger was still latched onto his face, but Illusion now opened his enormous mouth and bit down hard.
A shrill screech echoed through the air.
The dismembered facehugger hit the ground, twitching and leaking yellow fluid that hissed and corroded the dirt.
Ptuh!
Illusion spat out the mouthful he'd bitten off—inside was a half-developed Xenomorph embryo.
Rip—
In the next second, Illusion tore away the symbiote flesh around his own mouth, which had been damaged by the acidic Xenomorph blood. It necrotized within seconds.
The symbiote peeled back from Yondu's head. Still shaken, he bent over and vomited, muttering, "So disgusting… That thing almost pried my mouth open."
"Look on the bright side, buddy—I even tasted it. Scalding hot," Illusion said, trying to comfort him.
"I think we should sweep the place—make sure there aren't more of these things," Frank said, drawing his dual pistols.
"Can I at least eat a few brains first?"
Illusion pointed to the necrotic symbiote remains on the ground. "I need the energy to recover."
"No problem."
As they re-entered the ship—
In the dim corridor, a dark silhouette flickered and vanished.
At the same time, Allen and his group had reached the entrance of the Engineer temple.
They looked up at a mountain nearly a hundred meters tall and several kilometers long. The surface was unusually smooth.
Clearly, the "mountain" was a starship—centuries of dust had simply made it look like stone.