Chapter 11: Chu Xuan's Test: The Prototype of a Team

Zhan Lan, who had been keeping her head lowered, froze as she took the water bottle Zheng Zha had opened and handed to her.

She then stood up abruptly, looked around, and suddenly spoke to Chu Xuan.

"No, that's not right. What you just said is wrong!"

After taking a large gulp of soda, Zhang Jie asked in confusion, "What's wrong with it?"

"Didn't everyone just agree to it?"

Watching this scene, Li Xiao sighed, thinking that this female writer had finally reacted.

He didn't know if it was because of his own presence as a variable, or because of the nourishment of love after being with Zheng Zha.

The current Zhan Lan was clearly much sharper than in the original story.

She suddenly raised her head and scanned the control room.

"It's the number of people!"

Saying this, Zhan Lan had Zheng Zha support her as she walked to the ship's monitoring platform, frantically searching for certain figures.

"Number of people? What number of people!" Zhang Jie asked, puzzled.

"Oh, you idiot, the newcomers!"

"The newcomers who came here with Chu Xuan, Zero, and Ba Wang. They haven't appeared on the monitors for a long time!"

"If I'm not mistaken, they have probably already been parasitized by the Alien Queen's eggs by now!"

"In other words, we don't have a choice at all. It's impossible to do what Chu Xuan said—hide in the cryo-pods with enough food and return to Earth with the Aliens to just scrape by."

"From start to finish, we have only one path."

"And that is to face the Aliens head-on. It’s either them or us!"

"Because when we are sleeping in the cryo-pods, the Aliens inside those newcomers' stomachs will probably knock on our glass doors directly!"

"And then they will wantonly enjoy a sumptuous buffet. After all, at that time, there will only be the seven of us on the entire ship."

"Facing Aliens that desperately need food to grow and evolve, what kind of scene do you think will unfold?"

"Just like Chu Xuan said earlier. If they could escape their cages in *Alien 4* using their acidic blood, then they can definitely get in here and eat us now!"

The few people who had been eating happily slowed their chewing in unison upon hearing this.

The next second, everyone looked at Chu Xuan.

Because, as Zhan Lan said, there was no second plan at all.

And as the mastermind behind these plans, it was impossible for Chu Xuan not to have thought of this.

Zhan Lan stared at Chu Xuan and asked the question on everyone's mind

"So, why did you lie to us?"

Chu Xuan looked at the serious Zhan Lan and, to everyone's surprise, nodded with a smile.

Seeing this, Li Xiao, hiding behind the crowd, felt his heart thumping.

That smile again. Is this the emotion simulated by a peak-level genius?

Chu Xuan pushed up his glasses and said calmly to Zhan Lan, "Mortal wisdom, I suppose? Though you can be considered among the better ones."

"To be honest, I heard from Zhang Jie before that newcomers join every horror movie, and the quality of these newcomers is truly unreliable. Take those three terrible thugs, for example."

"In many horror movies, the power of one person is too insignificant. If we can survive this time, we will participate in even more terrifying horror movies in the future."

"So, I hope the team I am in has at least the courage and strength to survive; only then will I dedicate my intellect. Otherwise, all of this would be meaningless. Just like how you evaluate newcomers joining the team, I also evaluate whether this team is worth joining!"

"At the very least, there are six elites in this team right now whom I acknowledge. Such a team fully meets my requirements—it exceeds my expectations, even. I hope we can all survive. Are you satisfied with this explanation?"

As he spoke, Chu Xuan's gaze swept over the three veterans, observing the changes in each of their expressions.

Zhang Jie, being the old hand he was, curled his lips indifferently. After all, whether it was Option 1 or Option 2, they had already made their choice. It was like choosing between eating durian or strawberries; since they had already chosen the durian, what difference did it make whether the strawberries were bought or not?

Zhan Lan’s mind seemed to be thinking of something else now; she looked at Chu Xuan, then at Zhang Jie.

This unusual behavior left Li Xiao completely bewildered.

*Hey, hey, hey, big sister.*

*What's going on? Not only did Chu Xuan realize there's something wrong with Zhang Jie, but did Zhan Lan figure it out too?*

*Your train of thought doesn't need to be that big. Zhang Jie does have a problem, but it's not the same problem as Chu Xuan's!*

Zheng Zha patted Li Xiao on the shoulder and handed him a bottle of water. He then helped Zhan Lan sit back down and handed her some food.

Only then did he speak to Chu Xuan

"If we can survive this horror movie... then it must be largely thanks to you."

"If there is anything else, please say it all at once. Since we are now partners sharing life and death, we will trust you absolutely."

His voice grew serious.

"However, the premise of trust is mutual honesty. I will use my life to protect you as a companion, but I don't like being deceived!"

Zheng Zha stared fixedly at the expressionless Chu Xuan, seemingly wanting to see through the thoughts of this man.

But unfortunately, the depths of this man's heart were even deeper than he had imagined. Perhaps only when talking about the genetic lock or cultivation technology, as he had just done, would that brilliance shine through.

Chu Xuan nodded at Zheng Zha.

Before he could answer, Ba Wang, who had always been carefree, suddenly stepped forward to defend Chu Xuan.

"In our mercenary creed, we value unity. In battle, leaving your back to your comrade is the most basic trust and rule. But to achieve these two points, the other party must be a partner you acknowledge, not a useless burden. I think Zero and Chu Xuan think the same way. We are different from you people who live in ordinary environments. We are better suited to survive in this horror movie world. To me, these horror movies are nothing more than one mercenary mission after another."

Looking at Zero, who had been silent while holding his gun, Zheng Zha said, "Alright, we accept that reason."

"Then can you talk about the isolation plan now?"

Zheng Zha said with a wry smile

"To be honest, my heart still trembles when I face an Alien alone; I really don't have much confidence in myself."

"Just thinking about having to face the Aliens three more times, and then the Alien Queen at the end, gives me a headache."

Chu Xuan nodded to everyone present and said

"In this plan of mine, you are indeed the core. If you hadn't unlocked the genetic lock, the final success rate of this plan would be zero."

"As of now, the side effects of the genetic lock and the duration of its use are still unclear. But based on my observations and Zhan Lan's description just now, it means the genetic lock can only be opened once in the near future."

"Only you, having opened the genetic lock, can possibly contend with the Alien Queen. So, if we want to survive, we must find a way for you to kill these three Aliens without sustaining injuries."