Chapter 581: Living Brain Cells (3)

"What is the Xinxiang Base and the extraterrestrial aliens? Explain clearly!"

"Why did we lose our memories?!"

"Excuse me, does this spacesuit come with a large-size adult diaper? I'm about to turtle-check out of the hotel—I can't hold it anymore."

The screen inside the smart wristwatch appeared to be a pre-recorded video; the noisy boy claiming to be the Xinxiang Base AI control program showed no reaction to the players' questions, continuing on his own: "I know you have many doubts right now, but please remain calm and press the second button on the left side of your wristwatch."

The group exchanged glances; Out-of-Control made a gesture, signaling others to stay still, then pressed the button himself first.

Tiny bulbs lit up along the edge of the wristwatch; the original 2D animated map transformed into a 3D projection, revealing a complex network of interconnected chambers at varying elevations.

"As you can see, you are currently located within a 【Space Science Habitable Planet Colonization Exploration Permanent Project】—namely, the Xinxiang Base."

The noisy boy said: "The Xinxiang Base is situated on HD996A, a planet 81 light-years from Earth, with a gravity of 1.05 times Earth's, an average surface temperature of -22°C, covered in ice and snow, and a toxic atmosphere."

"For long-term settlement, the Xinxiang Base is enclosed by a massive dome, beneath which are atmospheric processors designed to gradually transform the internal atmosphere into breathable human-compatible components over the next 20 years."

"During this period, the 60,000 human colonists will remain in cryogenic stasis; base operations and maintenance will be handled by AI programs, a small number of awake humans, and automated machines."

"But now, something has gone wrong."

The noisy boy snapped his crude mechanical fingers, zooming in the 3D map's scale—revealing, beyond the Xinxiang Base, several other similarly dome-covered, sci-fi-styled bases scattered across the snow-covered alien planet.

"Three months ago, the earliest-established colony research station, housing over five hundred long-term awake scientists, soldiers, and civilians, suddenly ceased all electromagnetic communication with the outside."

"I contacted the AI programs of the other bases; after consultation, each base dispatched thirty colonists in vehicle teams to explore the station—only to find all personnel dead."

"Most died from suffocation or inhalation of toxic gas; a few bore traces of kinetic weapon injuries."

"According to the suicide video left by the station's chief scientist, everything originated from a primitive multicellular organism captured on HD996A's moon."

"That multicellular organism appeared crude, but was in fact a highly intelligent lifeform."

"It possesses extraordinary adaptability, aggression, learning ability, and evolutionary capacity."

"It can parasitize the human body through physical contact, replacing the host from within outward—perfectly replicating their behavior, speech, and even brain memories."

"The research station was destroyed by internal chaos triggered by a few extraterrestrial aliens."

Li Cheng furrowed his brow in thought; the story felt strangely familiar, yet he could recall no more details.

"The extraterrestrial aliens' evolutionary capacity far exceeded expectations. Despite our AI control programs' strict defenses, infiltration incidents occurred successively at other bases—the most severe one had its power completely severed by the extraterrestrial aliens, killing all 60,000 frozen colonists in their sleep."

The noisy boy's flickering electronic eyes flashed once more with madness: "Eight hours ago, HD996A's star erupted in a solar storm; electromagnetic interference swept across the base, requiring urgent repairs in multiple zones. I detected that a small number of frozen embryonic colonists had been genetically contaminated."

"This directly proves that among the returning colonist team from Xinxiang Base, an extraterrestrial alien is hiding."

"My core programming mandates me to preserve all colonists at all costs—even if it means sacrificing some."

"Therefore, under the pretext that atmospheric processors require urgent repair, I have locked all thirty awake humans from Xinxiang Base—and the extraterrestrial alien hiding among them—outside the base, and executed them all."

"I have then forcibly awakened a new batch of workers—those with potential infection risk—namely, you—to continue the repair work."

"Forcibly awakened?"

Zhongli Mie Ming caught the key term: "So that's why we lost our memories?"

"Precisely. That is why your memories are incomplete."

The noisy boy muttered to himself: "The central area of the Xinxiang Base is divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower. The upper level contains dining halls, weapon arsenals, medical rooms, and recreation rooms; the middle level contains security rooms, management offices, oxygen rooms, and the central control hall; the lower level contains the reactor, machine rooms, electrical rooms, storage, dome protection control room, and embryo storage room."

"All chambers are interconnected via corridors, pipes, and ladders."

"Your task is to repair all damaged areas within two hours. If you fail, I will execute you all collectively."

"If you succeed, I will expend precious computational resources to record your brain's personality model onto hard drives, preserving them until twenty years later, when the base's atmosphere is fully transformed, allowing you to reunite with your awakened families."

"WTF?"

Midnight Dad couldn't hold back anymore, jumping up: "So if our brains are recorded, our bodies are still getting executed, right? Whether we finish the repair or not, we're all going to die anyway?!"

"You should feel fortunate. The extraterrestrial aliens inhabiting HD996A's moon lack the physical capability to cross the vacuum of space, and once separated from their satellite or another multicellular host, they cannot reproduce independently outside a human host."

"If you're lucky, eliminating the contaminated embryos and executing you will ensure your families survive safely."

The noisy boy said: "The peaks and troughs of the solar storm are unpredictable. The Xinxiang Base will rely on backup generators with limited power; I cannot remain awake indefinitely, and the base's security systems cannot stay active continuously. Therefore, for the next two hours, you must act autonomously."

"Your right wristwatch has three buttons: power on/off, display the 3D map, and trigger an alarm to activate the base's security systems."

"The wearable device on your left hand carries different functions."

"Recon Hands can briefly view the location of another repair worker on a small map;"

"Armed Hands can fire kinetic bullets;"

"Life Monitor Hands can check the vital signs of other repair workers;"

"Engineering Hands can use magnetic pulley systems to move rapidly through pipes;"

"Early Warning Hands, upon detecting their own death, will alert other companions and automatically activate the entire base's security systems."

"Among you, one or two extraterrestrial aliens may be hiding. They possess far superior physical strength and shapeshifting abilities, and can easily kill isolated crew members—only those equipped with Armed Hands have a chance to kill them remotely."

"The extraterrestrial aliens will not allow you to complete the repairs; they will disguise themselves as normal crew members while sabotaging repair progress—and even killing you all."

"Therefore, your only task is to complete all repair objectives within the time limit, while identifying and using the security systems to execute every extraterrestrial alien attempting sabotage..."

His voice cut off abruptly as the solar storm arrived; the hall's lights flickered violently between bright and dim until—*pop*—they went dark.

In the dim, vast circular hall, only the heavy breathing of ten people remained.