Two-Pronged Approach, Target: Starship

"Have you not noticed a core issue?"

Thanos reminded them, "The xenomorphs damaged the thrusters to stop us from leaving. That means they possess intelligence—they created this predicament to prepare for a hunt."

"Damn, Kryptonian genes are so powerful they even gave the xenomorphs intelligence."

Allen remembered that in the movies and on the previous timeline, xenomorphs had merely been predators driven by hunting instincts.

Moreover, Thanos’s speculation was sound.

Under normal circumstances, the xenomorphs should have been unable to resist launching a sneak attack by now. Yet there had been no movement at all, leading to the conclusion that they were wearing down their patience, waiting for anxiety to make them expose an opening before hunting them down.

"Not a big problem."

Allen said calmly, "I remember the Engineers Civilization must have stored starships on this experimental planet. We can leave if we take one."

Within the Engineers Civilization, those responsible for piloting starships were Space Jockeys, divided into Dominator Class and Ruler Class. The former, fully loaded with black water, resembled strategic bombers; the latter were larger in form, more like aircraft carriers in role.

They recalled the footage played by the intelligent projection earlier. Within a temple-like setting, there had indeed been traces of technological creations.

No surprise, that should have been a starship of the Engineers Civilization.

With things having come to this, they could only follow Allen’s suggestion and search for an Engineers Civilization starship.

"I think we should make two preparations."

Allen instructed, "Yondu, stay here and repair the ship. Vision and Frank will stay with you."

"No problem, boss," Yondu readily agreed.

He naturally had no interest in getting involved in something as dangerous as venturing into a tiger’s den.

After all, the ship was not beyond repair.

After gathering everyone, they returned to the Kryptonian ship and obtained the location where the incident had originated.

Allen manifested a jeep and drove Thanos, Uxas, and Hela straight toward the Engineers’ temple.

Watching his teammates depart, flames rose all over Frank’s body. Stroking his jawbone, he said worriedly, "I hope they can bring back a starship safely. This place just makes me uneasy."

"Buddy, I think you’re overthinking it."

Vision walked over and said with feeling, "They’ll definitely return safely. I can’t wait to get back to Knowhere and buy a few servings of brain."

Symbiotes sharing a preference for eating biological brains was a common trait. Venom on Earth had constantly clamored to eat human brains, and most of the time relied on chocolate to meet his energy needs.

Of course, many ingredients could substitute for a symbiote’s food, but to them, the brains of intelligent beings were the most delicious.

"I remember there are fresh Kapow Beast brains in the refrigerator. Allen specifically stored them for you," Frank reminded him.

"Brains!"

Vision’s pair of wriggling, limp legs scampered toward the ship as he shouted, "Long live the boss!"

"Come give me a hand."

Before Vision could enter the ship, Yondu called for the two of them to help.

He needed to dismantle some components and melt them down to recast new parts.

Fortunately, there were enough spare ships. Otherwise, they could only send out a distress signal.

In the vast universe, the odds of waiting for a passing spacecraft were practically zero.

And if they wanted Asgard’s gatekeeper Heimdall to lower the Bifrost, they should not even think about it. He could only observe every corner within the Nine Realms, not across the universe.

Frank lifted the ship’s outer shell with one hand, exposing its complex internal structure, and let Yondu dismantle it with his tools.

Meanwhile, Vision adjusted his body shape and used the Butcher Knife as a weapon, directly cutting through the ship’s outer layer.

With only a little force, the blade sank in all the way to the hilt.

"What kind of weapon is this? It’s so sharp!" Vision cried in disbelief.

Frank stepped forward, wanting to take it for a look, but Vision hurriedly stopped him. "Don’t come over. I’m afraid of fire."

"It might possess some kind of magical ability."

Yondu said as if it were nothing unusual, "Races with magical talents aren’t rare in the universe."

In truth, technology and magic did not conflict; they were rules that were mutually compatible.

Every civilization and race had its gods. It was simply that, as technology developed, they withdrew from the stage of history.

Besides, when a civilization no longer needed its gods, those gods gained freedom and could travel through the universe.

Among them were quite a few forces founded by gods, though they generally did not interfere with the development of different races.

"What is this?"

As soon as Frank pulled open the ship’s hull, he discovered an oval egg.

Under the glow of hellfire, they could see a creature wriggling inside.

"This thing is alive!"

Yondu said in horror, "Could it be a xenomorph?"

At that moment, the top of the xenomorph egg split open like a flower into four petals, clearly revealing a pale yellow creature curled up inside.

"I want to see whether xenomorphs are edible."

Vision stuck out his long tongue, looking impatient to have a taste.

Pfft!

The next moment, the Facehugger inside the egg pounced out.

"Woooo—"

Yondu, who was closest, was unfortunately struck. Both hands frantically tore at the Facehugger’s limbs.

"The Zerg is going to force itself into Yondu’s mouth!"

Vision anxiously wanted to slash it with his knife, but he feared using too much force and hurting his teammate. The Butcher Knife was simply too sharp, making it difficult to control the depth.

"I’ll do it."

Frank’s flaming ghostly hand grabbed the edge of the Facehugger, intending to force it to let go with hellfire.

Unexpectedly, under the threat of the flames, the Facehugger clung even tighter.

"Hang in there, Yondu. I’ll possess you."

Since separating it from the outside would not work, Vision came up with a plan: he would strike from within first.

Leaving the Butcher Knife’s vessel, Vision turned into a mass of black water and entered Yondu’s chest.

The next moment, Yondu’s entire body was wrapped in the symbiote, his frame rapidly expanding. The Facehugger remained attached to his face, while Vision opened his bloody maw and bit down viciously.

A piercing, miserable shriek rang out.

The Facehugger, missing a vital part, fell to the ground and trembled as it wriggled. Yellow liquid flowed from it, corroding the soil and producing white smoke.

Ptooey!

Vision spat out the bitten-off portion, revealing the half-parasitized xenomorph embryo.

"Rip—"

The next second, Vision frantically tore away the tissue around his mouth. Within mere seconds, the portions stained with xenomorph blood had necrotized.

The symbiote covering his head receded. Yondu, still shaken, bent over and started vomiting, yet did not forget to say, "That was disgusting. That thing nearly pried open my mouth."

"Look on the bright side, buddy. I even took a bite. It really burned my mouth," Vision comforted him.

"I think we should inspect everything first to prevent another similar threat."

Frank drew his dual pistols, preparing to sweep through every ship.

"Can you let me eat some brains first?"

Vision pointed at the necrotized symbiote tissue on the ground and explained, "I need to replenish my energy to recover."

"No problem."

As they returned to the ship,

A shadow flashed past in the dim environment.

Meanwhile, Allen and the others had already arrived at the entrance to the Engineers’ temple.

Before them stood a mountain roughly a hundred meters tall and several kilometers long, though its surface was exceptionally flat.

Clearly, the mountain was a starship. The passage of time had covered its surface in dust, making it appear to be rock.