Early morning, Apocalypse Base.
Lilith stood before the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of the Command Center, her crimson eyes gazing calmly into the distance.
She still wore her signature Gothic military uniform, the brim of her hat pulled low to hide most of her face, revealing only her delicate jawline.
Behind her, William and Leah stood silently, waiting for their leader's orders.
"I will be leaving for a period of time."
Lilith spoke, her voice cold and youthful, without turning around.
"Take care of the base's affairs while I'm gone."
William bowed slightly.
"Leader, do you require an escort?"
"No need."
Lilith turned around, her gaze sweeping over the two before finally resting on William.
"The Alien Queen will accompany me. As for Fenrir, tell him to bring Forde and the others back as soon as possible. You handle the arrangements for the newcomer, Brandy."
William nodded.
"Understood."
With the arrangements finished, Lilith turned away, her military boots clicking crisply and rhythmically against the floor.
As she pushed open the main doors, the morning breeze met her, carrying the faint, fresh scent of vegetation.
Lilith looked up at the massive silhouette blotting out the sky.
The Alien Queen was circling high above, its broad dragon wings flapping slowly, each beat stirring up gusts of wind.
Its azure Exoskeleton shimmered with a cold luster under the sunlight, and its dark golden vertical pupils were locked firmly onto the petite figure on the ground.
Lilith pushed off the ground, her petite body soaring upward as the dragon wings on her back unfurled instantly, reaching the Alien Queen's side within a few breaths.
She landed lightly atop the Queen's head, which was covered in thick Exoskeleton, and stood firm.
A slight vibration came from beneath her feet—the Alien Queen's response to her presence.
"Let's go."
As the words fell, the Alien Queen's hundred-meter-wide dragon wings flapped violently!
BOOM—!!!
A gale erupted, instantly bending the vegetation on the ground!
The massive body was like a bolt of black lightning, tearing through the air as it sped toward the distant horizon!
Its Speed grew faster and faster until—
BANG!
A dull sonic boom echoed!
The Alien Queen's Speed directly broke the sound barrier!
A visible ring of white vapor exploded behind it, like a white flower blooming in the sky!
High in the air, Lilith stood atop the Queen's head, her petite figure motionless, as if she weren't standing on a giant beast flying at supersonic Speeds, but on a stone path in her own backyard.
Her snow-white hair whipped wildly in the gale, several strands lashing against her face, but she didn't even blink, her crimson eyes gazing calmly at the distant horizon.
Below her, mountains and rivers blurred past.
Above her, the azure vault of heaven grew increasingly deep.
The Alien Queen's Speed far surpassed any modern fighter jet.
Its massive body drew a straight black line across the sky, leaving everything behind.
Half a day later.
An endless expanse of azure appeared at the edge of her vision.
The ocean.
Lilith narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze locking onto several faint black silhouettes on the distant sea surface.
Those were the peaks of undersea volcanoes, the parts protruding from the water forming small islands.
The Scaly-foot Snails lived around the deep-sea hydrothermal vents near these volcanic craters.
"Go down."
Receiving the command, the Alien Queen abruptly folded its broad dragon wings!
Its massive body instantly transitioned from horizontal flight to a vertical dive!
Like a black meteorite carrying the momentum to destroy heaven and earth, it plummeted toward the azure sea below!
Lilith leaned down slightly, her slender fingers digging into the gaps of the Exoskeleton on the Queen's skull to secure herself.
The wind shrieked in her ears as the sea surface rapidly enlarged in her vision—
One thousand meters.
Five hundred meters.
One hundred meters.
Ten meters—
BOOM—!!!!!!!
The sea surface looked as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb, exploding with a hundred-meter-high tidal wave!
With the impact point as the center, a violent shockwave kicked up a massive ring of ripples on the sea, spreading frantically in all directions!
The spray fell, and the sea returned to a state of calm.
But beneath that calm, the true overlord of this sea had arrived.
The moment the Alien Queen plunged into the ocean, its massive body shuddered slightly, immediately displaying an astonishing agility completely at odds with its size!
The broad, flat Tail Blade behind it swayed gently, each movement generating powerful thrust to propel it forward!
Its dragon wings pressed tight against its Torso to reduce resistance, its azure Exoskeleton seemingly merging with the dark seawater.
It swam with such Speed that it covered a thousand meters in just a few breaths!
Having entered the ocean, a hint of joy actually flickered within the Alien Queen's dark golden vertical pupils.
It was as if it had returned to its own hometown.
Lilith stood atop its head, letting the surrounding seawater rush past her.
Colorful schools of fish fled frantically the moment the Alien Queen approached, but their Speed was like slow motion before the Queen.
The Alien Queen opened its bloody maw, swallowing these schools of fish whole to replenish its energy.
Soon, a strange landscape appeared in her vision.
Undersea volcanoes.
Billowing hydrothermal fluids gushed from the earth, forming plumes of churning smoke in the icy seawater.
Around the hydrothermal vents gathered a large number of bizarre deep-sea creatures—tubeworms, white eyeless shrimp, and dense clusters of Scaly-foot Snails.
Their shells were covered in a layer of peculiar metallic scales, and they crawled slowly near the vents, grazing on microbes on the rocks.
The Scaly-foot Snail, one of the rarest creatures in the world, possessed terrifyingly extreme defensive capabilities.
Their shells were composed of multi-layered structures, with the outermost layer covered in iron sulfide scales as hard as diamonds, capable of withstanding the immense pressure of the deep sea and resisting predators.
But for Lilith—
This was merely her next lunch.
Lilith leapt down from the Queen's head, her petite figure drawing a smooth arc through the dark seawater.
Simultaneously, her body began to rapidly expand and transform!
Exoskeletons grew frantically from beneath her skin, claws extended, dragon wings unfurled, and a Bone Tail trailed behind.
Seconds later, a massive silver-white beast appeared above the deep-sea volcanic crater!
Tyrant Form!
Lilith opened her toothy, bloody maw and aimed at the nearest group of Scaly-foot Snails, inhaling sharply!
A violent suction instantly formed a vortex, dragging those snails along with the surrounding seawater into her giant mouth!
Those metallic shells, supposedly as hard as diamonds, were swallowed into Lilith's stomach along with the seawater.
[Scaly-foot Snail Gene Fragment +1%... Current Progress 1%]
System notification tones rang out one after another in her mind.
While Lilith devoured them, she swam rapidly around the crater.
The snails seemed to sense a fatal threat, attempting to crawl into rock crevices to hide, but their Speed was laughably slow before Lilith.
Her silver-white claws reached out, easily tearing through the rocks, then stirring the seawater to sweep the snails into her mouth.
Meanwhile, the number of Scaly-foot Snails decreased at a visible rate, and Lilith's gene progress bar climbed rapidly.
The Alien Queen hovered silently in the distance, its dark golden vertical pupils watching this one-sided slaughter.
It did not step forward to help collect them, because it knew—
The Master did not need help.
This was the Master's hunting ground.
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
After an unknown amount of time, the Scaly-foot Snails near the crater were finally swept clean.
Lilith stopped her movements and closed her eyes, feeling the surging torrent of genes within her body gradually subside.
The system notification rang out one last time.
[Scaly-foot Snail Gene Fragment: 30%]
...
Thanks to [(Paimon)] for the God-tier Certification tip, and thanks to everyone for the tips (★≧▽^))★☆.