Chapter 5: Guys, We're Birthing Aliens!

The pyramid is a triangular structure. The further you explore downward, the more time it takes, as the internal space becomes larger.

Kouga used his Earth Diving Technique and swiftly moved downward, starting from the second-floor armory.

Upon reaching the third floor, he estimated that the area was about 3,000 square meters, roughly half the size of an international standard soccer field.

Undoubtedly, the fourth floor was larger than the third, and the lowest floor would be vast.

"Crack... crack..."

At the bottom of the tower, thick stone slabs cracked open in an orderly manner. Large black chains dragged up a massive creature.

It was covered in thick frost — the Alien Queen that had been sleeping for a hundred years, repeatedly serving as a breeding machine for thousands of years.

However, after being forcibly awakened by lightning this time, the queen, having had enough of enslavement, let out a sharp roar to change her fate.

The sound traveled much faster through solid objects than air. Kouga, who saw himself as a dragon-slaying warrior, paused, adjusted his direction, and charged more precisely toward the sound.

"Click!"

Along the way, the mechanical sound of gears turning reached his ears again. The pyramid transformed into a maze, shifting randomly like a Rubik's cube.

Kouga knew what this meant! The last shoulder cannon he'd left to buy time had been tampered with. It might have been the natives or, with a small chance, the Predator warriors. Most likely, it was his temporary teammates.

"We’re close, almost there."

"We must seize the opportunity for a clean shot!"

Suppressing his thoughts, Kouga charged through the thick stone slabs ahead, undeterred. Chakra surged through him like a shark diving deeper.

*The Sacrificial Chamber.*

The sound of gears turning echoed. Sebastian, who had just correctly translated the inscriptions on the stone slabs, looked up blankly. "What's happening?"

Before he could finish speaking, all the stone doors around him slammed shut. The black woman leading the way reacted the fastest, but even she couldn’t escape in time.

As the chamber sealed shut, the group exchanged bewildered glances, not knowing what to say.

*Crack! Crack! Crack!*

In front of eight platforms meant for corpses, round holes opened, and half-meter-tall egg-like objects were pushed out.

"What is this?"

"No idea."

The security personnel pulled out large-caliber rifles, cautiously approaching the strange eggs.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, four...

They hesitated to fire, perhaps not wanting to destroy these mysterious objects, which seemed valuable for research. The triggers remained unpulled.

Suddenly, a female security team member seemed to remember something and asked Sebastian, "What did you call this place earlier?"

"The Sacrificial Chamber," the professor answered nervously, also realizing something was wrong.

As if in response, the egg-shaped objects covered in mucus began to bloom like flowers.

The man holding a rifle at the front instinctively stepped back, but it was too late. From the cracked egg, a creature with eight legs — like a spider or a crab, with a long tail — leaped out.

It had already identified the energy signatures around it and selected its host...

"Aah! Mmph! Mmph!"

The first facehugger launched successfully, wrapping itself tightly around a man’s face with its eight legs. Its tail coiled around his neck, ensuring it wouldn't be dislodged.

At the same time, powerful biological anesthetics were released.

One by one, the hosts collapsed, unconscious on the spot. Occasionally, gunfire rang out, but it was useless resistance.

This was only the beginning. The conveyor on the stone platforms began moving again, removing the old eggs and immediately replacing them with new alien eggs.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

On the floor below, where there was a narrow air vent connected to the Sacrificial Chamber, the new recruits heard the commotion in the weapons hall. They stopped arguing and, led by a muscular Asian man with plasma pistols, sprinted in one direction.

*Crack! Crack! Crack!*

But the gears continued to shift, rooms reassembled, doors opened and closed, and soon their formation was in chaos. The recruits were nearly forced into solo combat.

*Rat-a-tat-tat...*

Three Predators, who had been undergoing trials, could no longer remain calm and quickened their pace toward the weapons hall.

Different factions, different goals.

As Kouga broke out of the ground, dust billowed up like a shark breaching the ocean.

Almost simultaneously, faint noises came from ahead, giving him no time to catch his breath.

Facehuggers.

The sticky eggs squirmed madly!

*Zi! Yin! Xu! Chou! Mao! Yin!*

Kouga wasn't one of those slow-reacting locals who froze up when attacked. He quickly formed six hand signs with precision.

High-level chakra surged through his body along a specific route. At its peak, Kouga opened his mouth.

*Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!*

Like the seeds of a touch-me-not plant, flames shot out from his mouth, scattering in all directions.

Notably, the flames were controlled by chakra, making them difficult to avoid.

*Screech! Screech! Screech!*

Under precise strikes, dark green liquid splattered as the yet-to-hatch facehuggers screeched and writhed in agony.

Some facehuggers managed to burst from their eggs just as Kouga released his jutsu.

However, their eight legs barely flexed before they were struck down by the Phoenix Sage Fire.

The highly corrosive acidic blood evaporated from the heat.

No danger could come within even a fraction of a meter of Kouga.

But he didn’t let his guard down. His hand signs were so fast they left afterimages. *"Lightning Release: Four Pillar Bind!"*

A booming sound echoed through the lowest level of the pyramid as four lightning-charged stone pillars shot up from the ground.

Between them, blue energy flickered, like serpentine creatures writhing in the void.

The giant eggs in the distance were forcefully contained, unable to respond to the Alien Queen’s screeches, and slowly blackened as their life force faded...

*Announcement from the Main System:*

Killed 45 facehuggers. Earned 1,125 reward points.

His watch updated in real-time.

"No side story unlocked," Kouga said with regret in his voice.

He leaped onto one of the stone pillars and raised his eyes slightly to gaze at the massive creature ahead—

The Alien Queen.

In the alien hierarchy, the queen was the leader, laying many eggs to increase the population.

But... the newborn warriors had not yet emerged from their hosts. For now, it was just Kouga and the queen, the latter bound by chains, shackles, and its oversized tail sac.

"Fortunately, you're sure to drop some coins."

Bathed in lightning, Kouga stood tall and graceful. But he didn't form hand signs to unleash his most powerful jutsu at this stage — Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame or Fire Release: Flaming Arrow.

Instead of shurikens, two plasma guns appeared in his hands...

*Boom!*

With the pull of the triggers, airwaves exploded, sending body parts and acidic blood flying.

*(End of Chapter)*

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