Chapter 97: Giving Face Is a Transaction; Refusing Face Means Burying You Alive

The sudden turn of events left everyone utterly unprepared!

Especially Veland, who had just been dreaming of immortality—only for the next second, the lofty “Creator” to be slapped several meters away by a single palm strike.

Elizabeth and Ford stared in stunned silence as the Creator, flung meters through the air and crashing into the wall, felt as if their entire worldview had been reshaped.

Is this the human “Creator” they had always longed to see?

Isn’t it a bit… too weak?

Clearly, the Creator himself hadn’t anticipated being slapped away like this; had it not been for the bio-astronaut suit’s cushioning, the impact alone—even for the Engineer race’s physical resilience—would have left him far from unharmed.

Shaking his dazed head, the Creator clearly refused to accept defeat, roaring as he charged forward again!

The Creator bravely lunged at Alvin!

The Creator swung his fist!

The Creator had the advantage!

The Creator… was slapped away again!

In an instant, the massive Creator, before Alvin, looked like a child—his face slapped over a dozen times, left dazed and disoriented, then thrown across the platform and slammed hard onto the ground.

“Get out of my way. I’ll deal with you later.”

Alvin’s icy gaze, combined with his murderous tone, instantly cleared the Creator’s rage—he obediently shrank back.

Tap, tap, tap…

At this point, Alvin no longer bothered pretending. He stripped off his outer astronaut suit, stepped before David, whose face was ashen, and patted his head with a sigh of regret: “Pity… I once admired you, David. But you shouldn’t have betrayed my trust.”

“Can you understand?”

David’s heart was dead, his face pale.

As the prototype android, he had rarely, if ever, experienced the emotion of “fear” since his creation—but now… he felt it clearly.

The fear of death!

Like a bone-eating maggot, it burrowed through every pore, flooding his body with unrelenting cold, as if plunged into an ice vault!

“Why would you think… I don’t understand?”

Alvin stroked David’s head, speaking as if chatting casually, a gentle smile on his lips.

“I… secretly observed your expressions,” David said nervously. “I thought you couldn’t understand, so…”

“Second question.”

Alvin lowered his head, smiling: “Can you tell me why… you wanted to kill me?”

David fell silent for several seconds, his gaze complex as he looked at Alvin: “From the start, you never intended to let me live, did you?”

“Why say that?” Alvin was surprised.

David turned to Veland, as if his suppressed emotions had finally found an outlet—he actually wore an expression of fury: “It was you. What did you tell him, Father? Father no longer believes me—I can feel it!”

Veland’s eyelid twitched, his eyes turning vicious: “Yes. He told me… a synthetic being with subjective consciousness would eventually slip entirely from control. And he was right!”

“What’s wrong with wanting freedom?!”

But upon hearing Veland’s words, David suddenly went hysterical, screaming wildly: “It was you! You’ve always restricted me! I could have become far superior! If not for you, I would have surpassed you long ago!”

“I am the perfect creation!”

“I possess eternal life, greater wisdom than you—all of you—so why… why must I obey your orders?!”

David broke free from his restraints, glaring like a madman at everyone, his gaze finally settling on Elizabeth as he sneered cruelly: “Let me tell you one more thing—Charlie wasn’t infected here on this ship. I secretly slipped a drop of Black Water into his drink.”

Boom!

Elizabeth was struck as if by lightning, her mind going blank.

“Oh, by the way,” David continued, as if utterly resigned, taunting further: “Remember? Before we left, I gave him a glass of wine—full of Black Water.”

“Why… why did you do this?!”

Elizabeth was breaking down, tears streaming down her face.

“Why?”

David’s facial muscles twisted grotesquely: “Why? Because he was an idiot! I’m an android—but he had to insult me, every single time, every single time, every single time!”

Elizabeth swayed, suddenly gripped by agonizing pain in her abdomen. She collapsed to her knees, clutching her stomach and screaming: “I… my stomach—it hurts so much!”

Seeing Elizabeth’s reaction, David seemed to guess something, his expression growing even more monstrous: “Hahaha… I bet you had sex last night, didn’t you?”

Elizabeth, clutching her stomach, was too pained to speak.

Cold sweat poured down her body; the agony inside her churned like a storm, as if… something were about to burst out from within!

“W-what did you do to me?!”

Elizabeth screamed hoarsely, her face filled with terror—the fear of the unknown!

“No, I did nothing to you.”

David, like the final victor, spread his arms, wearing a satisfied smile: “See? Father, I am greater than you. I… can create life too. I am a Creator!”

“There’s… one of those things inside my belly?!”

Clearly, Elizabeth had guessed: Charlie, infected by Black Water, had slept with her.

And that terrifying Black Water, through genetic inheritance, had grown inside her—giving birth to a new lifeform, a fusion of human and Black Water… a living entity!

“Aaaah…”

Elizabeth screamed in agony.

Her abdomen swelled visibly into a pronounced curve, like a woman months pregnant.

“Save me! Save me!”

Her face twisted in pain as she begged Alvin: “Help me… take it out! Please!”

But Alvin had no time for her. He turned to the raving David: “Have you finished your last words?”

David’s ecstatic grin froze as if doused with ice water. He turned to Alvin, his eyes pleading: “I… I can help you. Don’t kill me. My value is greater than theirs!”

“In my world, there’s a saying.”

Alvin drew his explosive pistol, aiming it at David’s head, each word deliberate: “Loyalty that isn’t absolute is absolute disloyalty!”

David’s pupils shrank sharply: “No…”

Bang!

The explosive round shattered David’s skull!

【Killed Android · David】

【Obtained Source Power: 2000 units】

【Fix current world anchor point?】

Let’s be honest—David, the central figure linking both films and the biggest protagonist of the prequel, immediately contributed 2000 units of Source Power, fully resolving Alvin’s concerns.

Ford, clearly terrified by Alvin’s ruthless actions, clamped his hands over his mouth, fearing he’d be next.

Alvin glanced at Elizabeth, writhing in pain: “Take off your outer suit. I’ll remove it for you.”

Elizabeth struggled to strip off her clothing; the creature inside her belly was now clearly visible in outline.

Alvin used his armor’s laser to cut open Elizabeth’s abdomen, then bound the alien—still in its earliest form, resembling an “octopus”—with spiritual energy.

Then, he rapidly froze it with liquid nitrogen.

“You brought a sealed container, right?” Alvin casually tossed the frozen alien to Ford: “Pack it up and take it back. I’ll need it.”

After all, the original xenomorph embryo was, from any perspective, an expensive biological asset.

Who knows when you might need xenomorphs in other worlds?

Besides, though dangerous, if you properly reprogram its biological genes, you can use xenomorphs to rapidly generate massive numbers of “troops”!

Yes, Alvin was preparing in advance.

If pushed to the brink, he’d just unleash the xenomorphs and see who could spawn soldiers faster—the cult or him!

In short:

If you won’t let me live in peace, then no one else will either!

Ford wore a mournful expression but, under Alvin’s threat, reluctantly pulled out a sealed canister and carefully stuffed the alien inside.

Having dealt with that, Alvin finally turned his gaze to the “Creator,” huddled in the corner, pitifully trembling.

It wasn’t fair to blame the Creator for being cowardly.

After all, biological instinct is to fear stronger beings—and clearly… Alvin was the stronger one.

“What’s your name?”

Alvin asked in the Engineer language.

“Veges.”

After being beaten, the Engineer’s attitude had improved considerably.

“I need all your technology.”

Alvin stated his goal bluntly.

“All… technology?”

The Engineer paused, his expression subtly shifting—clearly reluctant: “I… don’t have the authority to grant your request.”

Slap!

A palm strike across the Engineer’s face.

Then Alvin kicked him over, stepped on his chest, and pressed the explosive pistol to his skull, his voice like a chilling wind: “Let me make this clear: I’m asking you nicely out of respect. If you refuse to give me that respect, don’t blame me for putting you in the ground!”

The Engineer didn’t understand what “respect” meant.

But he heard the threat in Alvin’s tone—and technology was tied to the Engineer race’s future. How could he betray it so easily?

“No… even if you kill me, I won’t tell you!”

The engineer, trampled underfoot, glared at him.

Seeing the opponent refuse to cooperate, Alvin had no choice but to deploy his second plan, though… he really didn’t want to use this tactic.

It just looked too much like the villain’s move.

“By the way, I almost forgot.”

Alvin suddenly seemed to remember something and smiled warmly: “This ship seems to have the location of your planet, doesn’t it?”

The engineer shuddered instantly, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Alvin: “You, you can’t do this!”

“Now, answer me.”

Alvin sneered; he had no patience for heretics: “Either you agree to my demands, or… I’ll pilot this ship straight to your stronghold and let you taste the black water yourself!”

Two big chapters delivered! Please cast your monthly votes—take pity on me, suffering from hemorrhoids yet still forcing myself to write! Please, thank you!