Hello.
I am officially very stupid.
So, as it turns out, Pasttimer had never, ever, dropped Mother of Insects. It’s just that the updates weren’t showing up on NU, so like a doofus, I thought it was dropped and tried to TL it.
Pasttimer, I am so sorry.
I can’t believe I TLed over someone — I’m so glad that my idiocy didn’t dissuade Pasttimer from continuing their TL.
I’m uploading the last complete chapters I did translate — funnily enough, Chapters 31 and 32, which aren’t on NU because Pasttimer’s chapters reappear at 33 — and will announce my dropping of this novel.
Of course, my dear readers, you all can read Pasttimer’s version here.
I feel my time translating MoI, while a completely bastard move, was really quite fun. You guys’ support was incredible, with my first ever Ko-fis coming from this story. I loved reading comments — even if I didn’t reply — and I’m glad to have seen the nicer, better, and gayer side of the internet.
Hopefully I’ll see you all in another novel.
Enjoy!
Chapter 32
Lin Xi woke up in a cold sweat.
He sat up and looked at his surroundings.
The lights were turned off; only the night light at the bottom of the wall was still on. The light and shadow in the room were blurred and dim.
The scene in front of him almost overlapped with Lin Xi’s nightmare, causing him to panic for a brief moment.
But he soon discovered that this was actually just because the lights were dimmed at night (at least according to the internal schedule of the spacecraft).
The sound of human breathing came from Lin Xi’s side. He saw Bryce on an unfolded temporary-care bed. The latter had fallen asleep heavily. His face still looked terrible in the dim light of the night light. That kind of exhaustion was fully manifested after his spirit relaxed.
He wasn’t surprised that he’d returned to the familiar medical room. Not far from Bryce was the treatment device. There were people lying inside; Lin Xi glanced at it and found that one of them was the mercenary named Sam.
Everything seemed so calm, but Lin Xi sat on the bed without making any sound.
The specific images in the nightmare were quickly fading away with his awakening, but the feeling of panic remained, and…
And something is in this room, Lin Xi thought irrationally.
The feeling was so weird and strong — something had followed him from nightmare to reality.
It was lurking in a corner of the medical room, staring at him quietly and quietly.
Lin Xi slowly lay back on the bed, he closed his eyes, pretending that he hadn’t found anything.
But that kind of gaze became stronger and stronger at this moment.
He didn’t know what happened, but he knew that he must not act rashly now, otherwise…
Otherwise…
In that great fear, Lin Xi fell asleep again unconsciously.
When Lin Xi woke up again, both the nightmare and the sense of someone watching he had felt when he’d suddenly woke up had faded.
He just felt that his headache was terrible.And the two people lying in the treatment instrument not far from him made him feel extremely unsightly.
Bryce was not in the medical room — Lin Xi could imagine what his brother was probably dealing with this time.
He left a text message to Lin Xi’s terminal, which recorded his physiological records last night. The red numbers on it proved the existence of that illusory nightmare, but Lin Xi only glanced at it a few times and threw the personal terminal aside.
It didn’t take long for Alyssa to walk in from outside the door.
Alyssa asked, ‘How are you feeling?’
She looked very tired. Even as she smiled, the corners of her mouth still drooped downwards. There were already several fine lines on her originally beautiful face, enough to see that Alyssa has been frowning these days.
Lin Xi shrugged, then said, ‘What Bryce sent showed that there was something wrong with my heartbeat when monitored last night, but that was already an old problem of mine.’
He didn’t notice that when he said the words ‘old problem’, a ray of worry quickly slipped through Alyssa’s eyes when she looked at him.
Lin Xi pretended to be relaxed and said to Alyssa, ‘Given the issues those on board are having now, I think I’d be classified in the “very healthy” category.’
‘That would be great. You know, when I saw that scene, Bryce and I were terrified.’
Alyssa said softly. ‘You know… That scene was really scary, so many people were on the ground, dead silent, we thought you had all —’
‘Thought we were all dead?’
‘Ah, that’s right.’ Alyssa blinked at Lin Xi, ‘You really should have seen Bryce’s face at the time. ‘I haven’t seen his panicked look for a long time.’
‘I think he’s always been easily agitated. Please don’t tell him, but I worry about his blood pressure a lot of the time…’ Lin Xi muttered.
He’d finally found a way to let Alyssa’s tense face relax a little.
However, after a few words of this kind of irrelevant dialogue, Lin Xi couldn’t help but frown.
Of course he could see that Alyssa was was hesitant to speak
‘So… how about it?’ Lin Xi suddenly asked Alyssa randomly.
He knew that the other party could understand what he wanted to ask.
‘What are they going to do about it?’
Alyssa obviously didn’t expect Lin Xi to ask this question directly. She was stunned for a short time, and then she sighed.
Alyssa said blankly, ‘The guys in the control team determined that this was a fight, and it was the responsibility of the exploration team.’
‘Control team?’
Lin Xi frowned because of this new word.
‘Ah, it’s a boring organisation like the Emergency committee.’
Noticing Lin Xi’s confusion, Alyssa quickly explained.
She said coldly, ‘Of course, this group of people used a more high-sounding name to describe this boring bureaucratic organisation, but I don’t think you care about that — it seems that some people think I stole Taran’s rights and relied on my identity to abuse my authority on the Helios, which eventually led to the current chaos on board.’
Lin Xi looked at Alyssa in disbelief, he really couldn’t figure out why Alyssa could behave so calmly.
‘…is it because of me?’ He asked, and then quickly changed the question to an affirmative sentence, ‘It’s because of this time.’
Nothing could be worse than the feeling at this moment. Lin Xi felt that his internal organs seemed to have turned into lead, and he sank into his body coldly and heavily.
“Oh, of course not!Alyssa shook her head immediately. ‘…In fact, a large part of the reason is the “Covenant”. Those men think I made such a fuss because I was too afraid of bugs. They opened the protective cover and burned a lot of fuel, which made them feel very uneasy. They didn’t know that if I didn’t open the “Covenant”, what would happen will only be worse — it’s just that with my little premonitions, even if I explained, no one would take it seriously for a while.’
Alyssa said coldly, ‘I hope, more than anyone else, to get rid of this mess on my shoulders quickly, but you know, those people don’t understand how serious the situation is now.’
Perhaps it was because of the thought of a series of accidents that occurred in the spacecraft during this time, Alyssa’s face became more and more difficult to see.
Alyssa complained bitterly, ‘Unless we can find our coordinates in a short time, and then move back to the normal route, otherwise… The next situation will only become more and more chaotic. As early as a few days ago, we explained to those people the possible problems with food bags. But they seem to think it’s just scaremongering by Bryce and I to consolidate our authority.’
Lin Xi couldn’t help but say, ‘These idiots —’
‘That’s right, our ship is now either crazy, or a group of idiots. And those idiots thought that those people in the exploration team were drunk when they attacked you. Yes, they couldn’t escape this responsibility, but… you didn’t suffer life-threatening injuries, but the scum of the exploration team was unconscious because of an internal fight.The most serious unlucky ghosts are brain injuries, and it is impossible for us to wake up before we return to earth. And the culprit…’
Speaking of this, Alyssa turned her head and looked at the side. From this angle, Alyssa and Lin Xi could clearly see the man lying in the treatment instrument next to them.
There was a little disgust and a slight fear on Alyssa’s face.
Of course, she concealed the emotion behind it very well.
After the incident, Alyssa had already checked the records as soon as possible (the people in the exploration team seemed to have completely forgotten that there would be uninterrupted camera records at the door of all storage rooms), but after reading those records, what made Alyssa feel the most creepy was not Lin Xi being attacked, but… It was the man named Sam who suddenly behaved strangely and pointed his fist at his compatriots.
Sam’s madness and tyranny at the time even made Alyssa feel physically uncomfortable.
‘This guy is still in a coma, and the scan shows that there seems to be a tumour in his skull. This is probably why his temperament has changed drastically before and his behaviour is so aggressive. Well, now this tumour has become a great excuse for those people… In short, in the eyes of some people, you’re unscathed, whereas the exploration team has suffered heavy losses. So now they have given the exploration team a, um, ban as a punishment…’ Alyssa suddenly stopped talking, as if what she would say next made her feel a little embarrassed.
She finally forced herself to speak.
‘They now strictly prohibit individuals from the exploration team from drinking alcohol in the spacecraft.’
Although he didn’t expect the others on the Helios to make any fair decision on this blatant attack, Lin Xi still felt it a little incredible after hearing the so-called ‘punishment ban’.
‘Wait… if I remember correctly, according to the regulations on the ship, those guys shouldn’t have been drinking in the first place — whether it was inside the ship or out,’ Lin Xi said in shock.
Alyssa gave Lin Xi a wry smile.
She shrugged and made a you-know-what look.
‘That’s right… that’s why Bryce is not in the medical room. You know him. If possible, he probably would’ve accompanied you on your hospital bed, 24 hours a day. And now, he is quarrelling with that bastard in the conference room.’
‘With Sorian?’ Lin Xi asked.
‘Who else could it be?’
‘Damn it…’
Alyssa said softly, ‘Your life wasn’t in danger, and nor were those peoples’. I think the people above probably just want to play “fool” with this matter; pretending that the wind and waves are calm in the boat, that there’s no problem. Even if there wasn’t a control team, this is what those guys usually do, isn’t it?’
After exchanging some information with each other, Alyssa’s mood seemed very bad, and naturally, so was Lin Xi’s.
Soon, both of them fell into silence, and the atmosphere between the two of them became extremely heavy. It didn’t take long for Alyssa’s personal terminal to ring; she lowered her head and glanced, then raised her brows.
‘Ah, I think I have to go. When you’re in a better mood and health, I will come back and ask you about the attack yesterday — for example, why that guy named Sam suddenly started fighting with his accomplices.’
‘I —’
As soon as Lin Xi wanted to speak, Alyssa suddenly stretched out her hand and rubbed his head.
Lin Xi’s movements froze all of a sudden. Except for his mother, no one had ever done this to him in adulthood.
‘Everything will be fine, right?’
As he looked at Alyssa in surprise, the latter showed him a gentle smile.
Although both of them knew that this was just a hopeful wish, Lin Xi couldn’t help but nod.
‘Yes, Alyssa, I will definitely do it,’ he said.
Not long after Alyssa left, Lin Xi received a warning message on her personal terminal.
The source of the news is coming from his greenhouse.
Lin Xi clicked on the message, and then he felt that his heartbeat was almost stagnant.
Just now… No.1 suddenly found a way to destroy the sealing measures on the large insect tank and escaped.
Lin Xi: ‘…’
He almost couldn’t breathe — for a second he almost pressed the alarm.
After all, according to the normal process, once a large alien creature escaped, he had to do so.
Just thinking of No.1’s IQ and its previous temper, Lin Xi moved his finger away after a brief hesitation.
However, he still left a short message for Ernie.
Then he jumped off the hospital bed decisively, put on his clothes and directly walked out.
When passing by the two treatment instruments, he gave the two guys a middle finger.
Ten minutes later, Lin Xi had already stood in his stateroom.
He looked at his room calmly, his eyes cold.
It seemed that his living room had suddenly become completely different from how he had left it. His personal belongings were in disarray, scattered in all corners of the room.
His personal schedule was left beaten on the wall’s monitor, and unread messages on his personal terminal were transferred to the memo in his room. A large amount of unfinished data work was piled up on a small writing table, and the location of the wardrobe had long been transformed into a storage platform. Originally, there were two petri dishes, but since No.1 has a new home, only the egg sheath that failed to completely hatch was left there.
Lin Xi originally thought that after No.1 successfully hatched, the remaining eggs in the egg sheath would also quickly hatch, but he soon realised that he might’ve been too optimistic.
Even after No.1 had grown into a giant insect of around a metre, the eggs were still curled up in the sac of the ootheca, motionless. Lin Xi had tried to make an incubator and put the remaining eggs in, but as time passed, the activity in those eggs still slowly decreased.
But in any case, Lin Xi still hoped to save as many of their lives as possible, so he paid special attention to the incubator and the eggs —
It was here that No.1 let slip his flaws.
As soon as Lin Xi saw the incubator, he knew that it had been… tampered with by an insect.
He walked over to check the incubator and found several deep nicks on the surface of the hard metal device.
Lin Xi’s face became gloomier as a result.
‘No.1 —!’ He yelled into the cabin that seemed empty of others, ‘You’d better get out here.’
There was no movement, except for the old air filter still rushing behind the wall.
But Lin Xi didn’t have any doubts about his judgement.
Perhaps this was the so-called intuition — he knew what great lengths No.1 had gone through to escape from his cultivation tank.
Just to come back here.
To come back to his cabin.
The only thing that exceeded Lin Xi’s expectations was probably that No.1 actually attempted to prey on the ootheca and incubator.
Lin Xi took a few deep breaths, and he lowered his voice and said coldly, ‘I know you’re here. I’m in a very bad mood today; you’d better not make me go up and look for you.’
Perhaps it was because the cold tone in his voice was too strong; finally, after his warning, there was a rustling sound somewhere in the cabin.
The wall of Lin Xi’s cabin moved — yes, it was his ‘wall’ that moved.
What had always been familiar to Lin Xi — the mottled stains on the metal wall and persistently flashing electronic screen — gradually disappeared. The colour gradually receded, and the metal lines disappeared.…
Soon, it was No.1’s magnificent wings, full of spots both large and small, that replaced the wall.
The last thing to complete the transformation of colour was the bug’s body; it changed from the old silver-grey colour unique to the metal cabins back to its original hue. The two light bulbs that Lin Xi had thought were night lights restored themselves, turning out to be No.1’s eyes.
It was at this moment that Lin Xi felt very clearly that No.1 had indeed grown very big; its wings, when stretched out, could even cover the entire cabin wall.
‘…’
Lin Xi took a deep breath. He must admit that he didn’t expect this; he’d thought that No.1 would crawl out from some corner — just like those particularly disgusting insects from Earth. After all, the body structure of insects allowed them to easily get into nooks and crannies that humans couldn’t even think of.
Lin Xi was only certain of one thing: that No.1 must definitely have been in his room. But he’d never expected, not from beginning until end, that the huge alien insect would’ve been right in front of him, huge wings spread, red eyes watching him. The most incredible thing was that when Lin Xi had walked into the cabin, he’d clearly looked at the wall, and even glanced at the electronic screen.
But he clearly hadn’t noticed anything strange.
Lin Xi looked at No.1’s position and suddenly had a deeper revelation: when he’d threatened No.1 to appear in the cabin, the direction he’d faced just so happened to be the wall (although at the time, he’d clearly found nothing). It was very much possible that No.1 had just mistakenly thought that Lin Xi had found him, thus reluctantly giving up his disguise.
But what if… what if No.1 had persisted a little longer? If it had insisted on maintaining its mimicry, could Lin Xi really find it in the cabin?
Inexplicably, this doubt had Lin Xi feeling… a subtle uneasiness.
There were many insects on earth that had similar camouflage. But no insect’s had ever been so perfect.
No.1 was a Star Butterfly.
In the Sunu people’s culture, Star Butterflies were sacred things, so sacred that they were inviolable. They were considered to be the apostles of the Star God on the earth; their wisdom and red eyes watched and listened on the behalf of the Star God to know His people.
Lin Xi had suddenly recalled what Dr. Ando had left in his notes, for the longer he stayed with No.1, the more clearly would he realise that this magical life-form was considered a God by the Sunu people — and it was not for no reason.
Lin Xi thought so in a daze.
Perhaps it was Lin Xi’s silence that No.1 feeling uneasy.
With a hint of unwillingness in his movements, No.1 slowly climbed down from the wall.
Then, he waved his tentacles timidly at the human before him, and retracted his wings.
‘Zizzi… zzizi…’
A soft, slightly flattering sound came out from under its wings.
Its forelimbs curled up, huddling tight at its chest, with only the fore legs behind it to support its hard and large body. It tried its best to appear cute and obedient.
Just from looking at its pitiful appearance, it would be difficult to even imagine that it had destroyed the professional sealing measures in the large insect tank. The very one who’d sneaked back into his cabin and attempted to destroy his ootheca incubator… was precisely this alien bug, trembling with fear in front of a human.
Lin Xi originally had a splitting headache due to what had happened yesterday — but now, facing No.1, that headache had become progressively worse.
‘Don’t act like that, we all know what you did — you really shouldn’t have snuck out of the greenhouse, I really don’t like that. You should’ve known that it would worry me, and by the way, the sealing measures used in the tank are not only of professional grade but also very expensive. I doubt that, given the current situation, Ernie would give me a net set.’
Lin Xi sat on the bed, exhausted.
As soon as he moved, No.1’s head also turned.
It took a few steps in Lin Xi’s direction, but after noticing Lin Xi’s stern gaze, it quickly paused and lay its whole insect body on the ground.
Its wings then turned a greyish hue.
Lin Xi then pointed to the ootheca incubator on the shelf.
‘…The most important matter, what I want to know, is why did you want to do that? Why did you want to destroy the incubator? Those… those are your brothers and sisters, provided that they can all smoothly hatch. Well, I do also know that insects like you don’t like to interact with your own kind, but… Who knows, if they really hatch, you might find one among them that you like. And you, in the spaceship, might not be so lonely anymore.’
Now, Lin Xi’s voice couldn’t help but soften a little..
He suddenly thought that if the Helios really had no way to return to Earth, then the only being in the entire ship that could survive would be the little thing before him.
After all, judging from the current situation of this planet, insects could live quite happily here.
‘Zizzi… zizi…’
Hearing Lin Xi mention the ootheca, the Star Butterfly, which had previously been a little sluggish, suddenly stood up on its tentacles and let out a high-pitched cry.
Any normal person could feel No.1’s strong dislike for that ootheca.
Seeing No.1’s obvious reaction, Lin Xi could only rub his temples.
The physiological data that Bryce had given him and shown that there was nothing unusual about his body, but since he’d woken up this morning, he’d found that his headaches were becoming more and more serious.
‘Alright,’ he sighed.
Lin Xi cheered himself up and said to No.1, ‘Let’s just brush this off and I’ll pretend I didn’t see your bite marks — but you have to get back to the greenhouse, now.’
But secretly, his heart was beating like a drum.
After all, today’s No.1 was no longer the little bug that could be placed in a petri dish and taken to the greenhouse.
If it was still unwilling to return to its original culture tank, then… he would probably have to sound the alarm and use emergency measures to force No.1 back.
He was certain that No.1 would go completely mad if he did that.
It wasn’t something he wanted to see anyway.
‘Zi, zi…’
Sure enough, No.1 seemed very unhappy.
Lin Xi’s heart dropped.
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AhrihnTranslations 
One response to “[32] Mother of Insects”
i dont blame you for it. heck! i too thought MoI was dropped. when i finally thought to check back in and saw pasttimer updating again i was a bit shocked. thank you for your translations!
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