Chapter 1262: Special Alien Species

"Thump-thump-thump-thump"

Heart pounding, under the surging blood flow, the rapid beating sounded like a lamb sacrificed on an altar, desperately struggling, kicking the broken drum with its hooves.

In the deep blue, dim control core, Lin An, his face somewhat pale, slowly bent over, firmly pressing his own heart.

Under the clash of two thought streams, countless sounds seemed to explode simultaneously at this moment, forming an incessant whisper in his ears.

The voice was male and female, old and young, like the gasp of a dying person, like the wail of a newborn.

Amid violent emotional fluctuations, the time rules never fully mastered seemed like a boiling sea, washing over the entire core.

Stepping back two paces, Chu An gently lifted his glasses, gazing at Lin An not far off, his voice suddenly taking on a strange, otherworldly blend.

"Lin An, stay calm!"

"You must accept this fact!"

The voice reverberated.

It seemed to shatter the whisper beside Lin An's ear in an instant, striking his thoughts.

Gasping heavily, sweat continually dripped from Lin An's forehead, his dilating pupils straining to contract at this moment.

Logically, given his willpower and intellect, there should be almost nothing in this world that could disturb him.

But faced with the fact that he is an alien species, Lin An finds it impossible to accept.

Not only him, but even the Second Will never imagined that the so-called mutated state was actually the true form—if previously both had assumed the true form was an invisible monster wearing human skin.

Mutation merely occurred in the past; it is not a present post‑death condition.

Then what about now...

Whose skin are they wearing?

Is Lin An still alive?

Or rather, Lin An died long ago, and the two of them are merely personalities that inherited his memories!

He didn't know the Long'an Project or the "post‑death" memories, and the Second Will likewise had no idea what specifically happened after the mutation, nor did it share the first half of the Long'an Project memories.

The two were like facing a missing mirror; when the truth was pieced together, the person reflected in it was no longer human...

"If I am an alien species, why do I still earn rewards for killing alien species..."

"If I am an alien species, then who exactly am I!!"

"Tell me!"

A few seconds later, Lin An strained to lift his head; under twisting spiritual energy fluctuations, he seemed like an unstable high‑energy core, as if he would destroy everything around him in the next second. Space flickered light and dark; under uncontrollable intense pressure, the surrounding metal, under this tremendous force, gave up the grating metallic deformation sound.

Only Chu An, standing not far away, seemed unaffected.

"It's not as bad as you think."

The voice seemed to carry some kind of magic.

"It's not that bad, Lin An."

Repeating once more, Chu An gazed at him earnestly and spoke seriously.

"You are still Lin An, you are still human."

"Precisely speaking, you are merely fused with an alien species, like a mechanical modification."

"Do you remember the bio‑armor you saw? The principle is similar, except the alien species you fused with is a bit more special."

Without waiting for Lin An to speak, Chu An began to explain in detail.

"Precisely speaking, your current state is similar to Zhang Tie and Mo Ling."

"Even they are less human than you."

"You also needn't worry that one day you'll be overtaken by an alien species; what's fused into your body is more like a dead object, a semi‑regular product."

"Of course, the alien species initially deceived me in this way, and later the military, when developing the underground city project, also mistakenly believed the bio‑armor would not be altered."

"After all, we've never seen this kind of parasitic method..."

He sighed, Chu An quickened his speech and continued.

"I can assure you, you are definitely still human."

"Think back to the announcement the system previously released."

"If you are an alien species, how could you earn human rewards? Right, the system once judged you as an error, merely thinking you 'cheated'. But does a cheater cease to be human? Especially after reaching the Fourth Stage, essentially, whether from genes or flesh, the concept of humanity becomes ever more blurred."

"The question of identity depends more on who you feel yourself to be!"

"As for why the alien species haven't detected your abnormality, haven't 'recognized' you, this is actually easy to understand."

"Alien species are not a monolith. Just as not every human worldwide knows Gao Tian, it's normal for humans not to recognize each other."

"Even among humans, there are more than several kinds, multiple races."

"It's also normal for alien species to have other types."

"Moreover, the alien species within you is very special; in my analysis, the alien species we originally traded with is very likely not part of this current batch."

"That existence is more like a higher‑order being..."

A few minutes later.

He slowly exhaled, Lin An silently closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.

With the heightened thought, he ultimately accepted all this under Chu An's explanation.

And the Second Will, after a fit of rage, quickly vanished without a trace.

No wonder both of them were so emotionally intense.

The Second Will realized its memories amounted to being 'deceived', which undoubtedly threatened its survival. Since it doesn't even remember the alien species, it naturally fears further memory loss.

And Lin An, with his thoughts struck, could not accept the fact of his identity.

He could understand himself as a mutant, after all many Awakened Ones who die at the hands of monsters see their spiritual protection rapidly wane, sharply increasing the chance of post‑death infection into monsters.

Just like turning into a zombie, he could accept this situation.

It's just that his mutated monster is stronger, or rather...

In this situation, Chu An suddenly told him that his mutation originated from the Alien Species. This was tantamount to completely destroying his sense of self-identity.

One of the biggest crises now is the Alien Species, and it turns out he himself is an Alien Species.

What then is the meaning of his fight? Is it to betray his own kind? Even in the most extreme circumstances, he would doubt who he really is.

So, are you worried that my fighting the Alien Species will expose my mutated state, thereby causing the Alien Species to discover my identity?

If, in battle, the Alien Species attacks me on this point, I would easily lose control of my emotions?

After returning to calm, Lin An frowned slightly and asked Chu An in a low voice.

He never expected that the White Bone Mutation and the White Bone Snake Head would, in some sense, be one and the same...

Correct.

Lower-ranked Alien Species may not recognize the true form of the White Bone Mutation, but a Fourth Stage existence probably does.

Although their killing intent toward you won't diminish, be careful—it's still the right call. After all, we know too little about the first trader.

Seeing Chu An nod in confirmation, Lin An seemed to think of something and hesitated to speak:

During the competition, I saw them summon a hand—a dry, deathly white hand. At the center of the palm was an eyeball.

I had originally planned to wipe out that batch of Alien Species in the competition, but after they summoned the palm, my previously prepared means were also broken by them..

Even so, if I had directly faced that hand back then, I suspect I would have died.

It's strong, that thing is strong.

A hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes.

Lin An recalled the scene of that hand's attack, and it remains vivid in his memory.

In an instant it killed the female corpse and took out Zhang Tie... It's just a hand, not yet a complete form.. Moreover, looking at how that hand appeared, it seems to be a projection, a projection without consciousness.

With such terrifying power, can a Fourth Stage achieve this?

You mean that hand could possibly be another Alien Species behind the door, or a higher-level existence?

Chu An shook his head without changing expression and spoke softly:

There should be no problem.

Oh right, Lin An.

You don't need to go to Phoenix Cry Road; there seems to be a problem there, and I've already had Clair take care of that.

Huh?

Lin An hesitated slightly, and instinctively looked at Chu An's eyes behind his glasses.

Although he showed no emotion, at this moment he sensed a hint of abnormality.