Chapter 10: A Cimexan

"I am gonna killlll youuuu!", another roar of fury reached Lon as he was being carried on the shoulders of the puppet. The supposed war machine was used for fast transportation.

Though it is uncomfortable considering his wound is still not fully healed. His body wobbled numerous times because of how it jumped dozens of meters to avoid stone slabs and leaped into the unstable upper floors of the ruins.

Controlling the pathway is hard while staying vigilant to anything that may come out the next moment. Direction became the least of his concerns as he heard the loud grunts of a beast.

The important thing is the faint outline of an alien species has appeared in his sight. The alien already looked hideously unpleasant if people saw it. Combine that with the rage in the face of it, Lon was sure that all it wanted is to murder him.

"Hehehe, a Cimexan?", the helpful information about that specific race resurfaced from his plateau of knowledge he has. All of them came from books and news that he has heard about them.

Cimexan is a galactic racial civilization that has one of the most intriguing characteristics in the universe. All of them with no exception have organs or parts of the insectum familia. Horns of a rhinoceros beetle, toxic glands of a Millenial-flight arachne, and some have heads of a fire ant yet they have the body of a Soaring red wasp. It looked like they are products of an evil genetic lab but it is just the results of interbreeding with other species in the cosmos.

In the Galactic Era with open-minded youths and adults alike, cross-species marriage and reproduction are legal. So, it wasn't a surprising fact that some cimexan could morph their bodies into the human shape.

There was even a galactic war a millennium ago because of just one hybrid cimexan was enslaved and treated like trash. It was a fight for rights and in the end, they got what they wanted.

There is just one tiny line cimexans must not cross. It is not to turn into their original forms unless they are threatened or in any situation where their lives are in danger.

This rule also invalidates their living rights if and only if they are the aggressor in any form of a dispute and they retaliated because of any emotional, logical reasoning, or illogical interest, resulting in any forms of harm towards any life.

The same applies to other races that have malicious intentions towards the cimexans. If they could not resolve the conflict, then the Galactic Tribunal is the only choice left.

"Mister, I'm sorry that I shot your face! Please forgive me! Why don't we resolve this conflict ourselves!", Lon loudly proclaimed. Of course, he wouldn't like this situation to reach any government body, especially the Tribunal. There is still the slim chance that there could be an investigation that is enacted involving his Jirhen.

"Sorry, my ass! Today, I will kill you Redar for ruining my face!", his voice is filled with hate as he closely followed.

It was a shocking revelation that made Lon giggle. This guy apparently values more his facial complexion than the consequences he himself brought upon himself.

Hearing that laughter, the male cimexan flew into a rage as his wings vibrated intensely. "Rebar, I will butcher and torture you!"

That loud noise caused the walls and floors to quake, seemingly on the verge of complete collapse. Even being held by the corpse puppet, Lon could still feel the transmission of vibrations travel to his body.

A small smile ruptured from his pale face. Lon finally remembered about another fact of the cimexan race.

In their original, insectoid forms, their physical characteristics would be greatly enhanced. Natural regeneration of lost limbs is possible in a month, a strength that enables them to lift tons of heavy objects, and their physical reaction is heightened that it surpasses non-genetic warriors. Additionally, they could use the specific traits inherent in their genes.

But there was something common in all of them.

Zing! Zing! Zing! Zing!

Lon fired two burst shots in each hand to the giant exoskeleton. As expected, the thin wings flapped and it somersaulted in the air to dodge the trajectory of the light rays. Although he wasn't hurt, it generated more time for his escape.

Even if they are in their original forms, they are still mortal. They still bleed blood, eat food, and need to sleep. It is just it would be harder to kill and pacify.

"Hahahaha, really mister? You are afraid of small bullets that you have to dodge them? Pathetic!", Lon laughed with no care as he taunted the man. In this way, the chances of mistakes being made are higher.

"Come on, mister, I thought beetles have thick armors that they could ignore the ammunition of any gun type! Hahahahahahaha!", he said that while the danger is being halted by an interval barrage of gunshots.

It was true cimexans have insect exoskeletons that are impervious to bullets. Thus, they aren't afraid even if a rifle is pointed at their heads when in their original forms. But if the shell is changed to the energy type, it would be another story. Those light rays passing him can penetrate almost all armor types. It would be lethal if it went straight to his head.

If he was still in his right mind, he wouldn't have discarded his ranged weaponry. If he only didn't become enraged, he wouldn't be a helpless practice target. The speed of the big man also is another surprising factor that facilitates Rebar's escape. This made the cimexan to be speechless beyond words.

'Is that person a genetically modified human?'

He couldn't fathom what would a man like that want by strolling in this area of the city. Only now did the beetle man noticed that there was something wrong.

"Faster, sir cimexan! You will be left be....", the fading, insulting voice of Lon reached his ears. There was still the continuous blasts of light energy from afar, delaying his speed. This made him roar unwillingly as he could not hear anymore their footsteps.

Actually, Lon was just shooting wildly to the direction where he came from. But that made him escape the pursuit of the beetle.

Who wanted to fight a cimexan? Their moniker, 'warlords of the queens', isn't a joke. It was the same as him controlling the second corpse puppet when he barely grasps the full control of his current one.

A suicidal move.

"See you again, slowpoke!"

...

In its anger, the beetle cimexan charged through walls with no regard for its safety. It wanted to catch up to that man. The one person that permanently scraped his face.

Lon didn't know what's the problem of this cimexan. As if there are no medical surgeries that could fix that up. In the Galactic Era, there was even a case where a ninety-year-old woman became pregnant and an old man regaining his youthful appearance overnight.

A long scar like that would be gone in no time even if used some special beauty wellness product that slowly erases the mark is used. The perfect way to save money and eliminate his predicament.

But that idea couldn't be registered in a mind consumed by bitterness. And that bitterness became a misfortune for someone else.

Another wall was punctured and workers of a plantation stared at the hulking frame.

"Die!", the man roared, grabbed the nearest man, and ripped him apart easily. Innards flew and the skeletal frame was torn apart. That wasn't enough to calm his soul as he charged towards the crowd. All of them wore the same protective white suit while tending the plants. They are the unlucky ones that are accidentally spotted by this cimexan.

...

Sometimes, fate is more devious than any cunning demons. Lon was still running in circles in the maze ruins. There was no blueprint or simple schematics of this structure found in Olion's library. If there is, he would have long evacuated the place.

Going to the route he took to get in might pose a danger because it was the most obvious path to get in and to get out. There is no telling that cimexan is not guarding that road. Climbing the most upper floors is also no good. If he did that then a whole section of adjacent areas might as well as collapse and bury him alive.

Lon was just directing the puppet towards a single direction with a moderate running pace. Navigating this uneven terrain is also starting to take a toll on his mind.

'I just hope that I will soon get out of this place'

This wish was soon granted to him. After entering a hallway, Lon saw the open skyline. The bloated clouds are evenly scattered in the air. There was no roof or upper floors anymore. And to his right is a path that leads to a secluded alley of the northern sector.

Fresh whiff of air is relaxing for him as he finally got out of trouble.

Or so he thought.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The wall on his left side fell down on its own. Torrents of dust gushed all around him. Before anything became discernible in this storm, Lon let himself be carried again as the corpse puppet ran towards the opposite direction.

Just as he ran, numerous people scrambled away from the broken blocks of the wall. They have varying degrees of injuries. No one has the time to mend them as they ran for their lives.

Half a minute later, a bloody creature came out, dragging dead humans on its arms.

Red blood and blue blood mixed together creating a tint of violet on the black exoskeleton. The same cimexan that tailed Lon is back.

The beetle armor is riddled with dents and cracks. The left leg of the scar-faced cimexan is limping and there was this chilling bloodthirst emitting from him.

"You shitass humans! Where are you!"