Chapter 292 |
“So, the birth of life on Earth was indeed the work of this so-called Engineer civilization. Weyland’s idea was correct, but he was mistaken in one thing—that this Engineer civilization creating life on Earth was merely a casual experiment, and in reality, they didn’t really care about humans at all?” After Josh finished recounting everything about the Engineer civilization, Vickers’s face showed a strange smile.
In fact, from the very beginning, she disagreed with this Prometheus expedition. It was just a last-ditch gamble by the dying Weyland, hoping to find a way to extend his life from the so-called “Prometheus” of the Engineer civilization.
For this, the Weyland Group paid an unimaginably high price.
After all, such an interstellar expedition spanning dozens of light-years was still a very tough first attempt for Earth, the world where they lived. The entire plan cost one trillion dollars.
In the end, Weyland Group had to hand over nearly half its assets to a competitor, the Tanggu Group, just to barely gather the funds needed for the project.
She didn’t know how the old man felt knowing that all the time, effort, and terrifying funds spent were just his own wishful thinking.
Anyway, she felt nothing but schadenfreude.
Although Weyland was Vickers’s father, Vickers had never felt any fatherly love from him; she was just an illegitimate daughter.
If it weren’t for the huge inheritance of the Weyland Group, she wouldn’t bother with that old bastard, nor would she have followed him to this godforsaken place dozens of light-years away!
“Since you told me all this, that means you definitely have a way to solve my current dilemma, right?” Vickers replied with a smile.
Among what Josh told her was that the planet they were headed to, LV-223, was not inhabited by Engineers, but was a terrifying biological testing ground.
When Vickers first heard this, she indeed began to worry about the safety of this trip.
Biological weapons—Vickers knew exactly how terrifying they could be, let alone a biological weapon far superior to any Earth civilization’s creation.
But then she quickly realized that since Josh said this, there must be a way to help her. Isn’t this dimensional trading system exactly for such purposes?
Mutual exchange!
No wonder she could run a giant corporation; talking to such a person really saved trouble.
Josh didn’t hesitate either.
He immediately placed various goods on the trade bar for Vickers to inspect.
After seeing the introductions for all kinds of goods on the trade bar, Vickers was completely stunned.
“Is it really 1956 over there? Not 6591?”
“Super soldier serums and vibranium, forget it, but what’s with the star destroyers? Do you think I haven’t seen Star Wars?”
Of course, what she saw wasn’t an actual star destroyer but only a Harbinger-class assault landing ship. The real starships hadn’t even been built yet in the Star Wars world. Their protagonist Anakin was still just a Jedi apprentice training in the Jedi temple.
“Are all these things real?” Vickers asked, incredulous.
“I have no reason to deceive you, right?” Josh shrugged.
“Then how can I get these things? I believe you don’t accept US dollars!” Vickers took a deep breath.
“Hahaha, smart. But you don’t have to worry too much. I’m always very generous and can easily let you have a batch on credit. As for repayment, it’s quite simple—aren’t the things on LV-223 the best payment?” Josh promptly laid out his plan.
“...You mean you want to use my world as a testing ground for researching those biological weapons?” Vickers’s face darkened upon hearing Josh’s words.
“A fair trade, isn’t it? Even if you don’t research those things, as long as Earth knows about them, they will study them anyway. Since that’s the case, why don’t you do it yourself? In the process, you can gain wealth and status far beyond the Weyland Group. If you want, with my help, you could rule all of Earth and establish a brand-new interstellar human civilization. No problem!” Josh said dismissively.
Yes, his target was the strange creature known as the Xenomorph.
Although the Engineer civilization’s technology was very advanced, Josh believed it wouldn’t be much stronger than that of the Star Wars world.
But the research potential of the Xenomorph was enormous.
Because these creatures are highly uncontrollable, Josh didn’t want to bring them into his own world for study—so the Prometheus world was a perfect ready-made testing ground.
He would provide resources and technology, Vickers would provide the effort—a fair deal.
Josh’s words made Vickers’s expression flicker unpredictably. Turning the entire world into a biological testing ground...she couldn’t imagine the consequences if those terrifying creatures ran rampant.
“You really don’t need to worry too much. With the technology I offer, far beyond what your world has, and even magical support, the risks can be minimized. Of course, if you really don’t want to, that’s fine too. Consider this super soldier serum a gift to start our friendship~ If you find anything else valuable, contact me again~” Josh said, then traded a super soldier serum to her and prepared to end the communication.
“No, I agree!” Vickers, of course, understood Josh’s deliberate tease, but she also knew that considering the things already on LV-223 before landing, she had no real leverage to negotiate with Josh.
Her ambition was already strong, and she quickly understood the key.
After all, it wasn’t herself dying, so what was there to fear?
“A wise choice! Then next...” Seeing Vickers agree, Josh showed a satisfied smile.
…………………………………………
“Ma’am, the mission briefing is about to begin. Are you feeling unwell?” The android David stood outside Vickers’s cabin, asking through the intercom.
Previously, he had been ordered to leave and was not supposed to disturb her again.
But the problem was that over an hour had passed; he had helped wake all the sleeping members and arranged for their meals and other affairs.
Next, Vickers was supposed to host the pre-landing mission briefing.
Yet Vickers still hadn’t shown up.
This was very out of character for the lady.
Naturally, David was worried.
Of course, what he really worried about wasn’t Vickers’s safety but the progress of the survey since he only obeyed the orders of the still-sleeping Weyland.
As for the others...they treated him as a tool, and he in turn treated them the same.
Vickers was no exception.
“Wait a moment, I’ll be right out!” After a short wait, Vickers’s voice came from inside the cabin, slightly relieving David.
If there had been no reply, he might have forced the door open—though by “force” he meant hacking the electronic lock, not breaking down the heavy metal door physically. Despite being an android, he wasn’t yet capable of breaching such a thick metal door.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
Vickers emerged from the room, dressed neatly and with a flushed, radiant face.
“Ma’am, are you really okay?” David asked with some concern.
“Of course! Right now, I feel better than ever!” Vickers gave David a rare smile, leaving him momentarily stunned.
In David’s memory, Vickers had never smiled at him before.
“But you might not feel so good later!” Just as David was caught off guard, Vickers’s delicate hand, at some unknown moment, had already touched his cheek.
“Ma’am?” Even as an android, David felt very uncomfortable with this sudden intimacy and tried to pull away, only to find he couldn’t escape.
How is that possible? He is an android, his strength should far surpass that of a human.
Yet at this moment, the power in Vickers’s hand was growing stronger and stronger, and her face began to contort into a grimace.
The next second, David’s head was torn from his body.
“How did you do that? Why did you do this?” Although his head had been twisted off and he lost control of his body, his head could still communicate normally, full of confusion as he asked Vickers.
“Because I have received the true blessing of the gods. That old bastard can never control me again, and you, the monster he created, can just go to hell!” Vickers sneered viciously and increased her strength again, crushing David’s head outright.
After all these years, she had long been fed up with that damned android, who dared to replace her position in Weyland’s heart—unforgivable!
So the first thing she did after gaining power was to get rid of that disgusting android.
And next… it will be you… you damned old bastard!
A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Vickers’s eyes, but within that ruthlessness was also a hint of sorrow.
Then behind her, a row of robotic soldiers appeared.
“You all come with me. The rest take over the entire ship, capture everyone, and detain them. If there is any resistance, shoot to kill immediately!” Vickers issued cold orders.
Now she had soldiers, her own strength, and if needed, she could have a new ship anytime—naturally, she had no worries!
“As you command, ma’am!” All the robotic soldiers responded in unison. Except for five who followed Vickers, the rest quickly moved forward in tactical formation toward various compartments of the ship.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, most of the crew were leisurely drinking coffee and discussing the purpose of this interstellar expedition, completely unaware of the changes happening on the ship.
“You look a bit nervous, Ellie!” Charlie Holloway called out teasingly to his lover, Elizabeth Shaw’s nickname.
“Of course, my legs are trembling!” Elizabeth Shaw replied with a smile.
“What do you think they’ll say when they find out our real purpose?” Holloway pointed to a few crew members nearby who were discussing the destination of this voyage with a laugh.
“Maybe they’ll think we’re crazy!” Elizabeth Shaw smiled, but obviously, she was not someone who cared much about others’ opinions.
“Hey, what are you?” While the two were joking, the captain suddenly shouted not far away.
Following the sound, they saw the black captain struck by a red beam, losing consciousness. Then a squad of robots they had never seen before rushed into the bridge, armed.
“Everyone, you are under arrest. Do not resist, or you will be killed immediately!”
The sudden turn of events stunned everyone.
“No, you can’t do this. What is this all for?” Elizabeth Shaw looked at the fallen captain, utterly shocked.
“Ma’am, please cooperate!” Hearing her words, a robotic soldier immediately pointed a gun at her.
“Ellie, don’t!” Holloway, realizing the severity of the situation, tried to stop his lover.
“Why are you doing this? Didn’t the Weyland Corporation send us here to uncover the secrets? We haven’t even landed yet!”
But Elizabeth Shaw was obviously a bit naive and insisted on reasoning with these robotic soldiers.
Then, with a zzzt sound—
The energy gun held by the robotic soldier fired.
Elizabeth Shaw’s head exploded like a watermelon under everyone’s horrified gaze.
The entire scene was just like the head of the Engineer they found in the original plot.
Seeing his lover’s death, Holloway fell into a daze, but soon the robotic soldiers’ pushing brought him back to reality.
Fortunately, unlike his lover, he wasn’t naive. Facing these armed robotic soldiers from nowhere, he chose to surrender. He was soon escorted along with other crew members to the multi-function hall.
Originally a place for crew exercise and meetings, it was now a prison.
Looking around at the fully armed robots, they had no idea what fate awaited them.
Meanwhile, Vickers led five robotic soldiers and stormed into the most secret part of the ship—the location of Weyland’s cryo-chamber.
There were still four crew members responsible for Weyland’s security and life support, but against the robotic soldiers, they obviously had no chance to resist.
“Come on, Father, I’ll take you to see the Creator you’ve always awaited!” Caressing the cryo-chamber, Vickers’s face was full of mockery.
Then she pressed the wake-up switch on the cryo-chamber.