Chapter 12: Operation Bait

Chu Xuan said, looking toward Zhang Jie

"Of course, if you have any other trump cards that can guarantee we kill these two Xenomorphs without injury, or if you can confront the Queen head-on, I would also agree."

Zheng Zha, who had displayed many miraculous feats along the way, had undoubtedly become the focus of Chu Xuan's attention.

Seeing this, Zheng Zha waved his hands helplessly: "Don't look at me. Even a rich man's pantry is empty now."

Only then did Chu Xuan withdraw his gaze.

He pushed up his reflective glasses and continued

"Therefore, my isolation plan is...

Bait!

Use bait to separate the Xenomorphs, then lure them into the isolation corridors I have designed.

This way, we can kill them separately.

So, the bait for this plan will be Li Xiao and Ba Wang!"

Hearing this, everyone looked at the unremarkable Li Xiao.

This young man, who looked ordinary and had poor physical stamina, yet could remain calm and composed in the face of corpses and Xenomorphs.

But this good psychological quality wouldn't be enough to keep him alive when facing a Xenomorph!

Compared to Ba Wang, who stood frozen in place, Li Xiao on the other side didn't have much of a reaction to these words; he didn't even stop the chewing motion of his mouth.

Although this young man wasn't very old, he exuded a certain quality.

Ba Wang, standing where he was, finally came to his senses.

His tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and in the end, he chose to follow Chu Xuan's arrangement.

"Fine. As long as the mission is completed in the end, I can comply with this plan!"

On the other side, Li Xiao, stuffing a burger into his mouth, also raised his hand.

With a relaxed and easygoing expression, he said: "Me too, I fully support this plan!"

Li Xiao's reaction was as if he were agreeing to a casual date, completely devoid of psychological burden.

However, Chu Xuan's plan and the two men's reactions left the three veterans at a loss.

Zheng Zha, who had wanted to say something, had the words on the tip of his tongue but didn't know what to say in the end.

He looked at Ba Wang, who was warming up, and Li Xiao, who was eating his burger in large bites, feeling both doubt and confusion.

But more than that, he felt shock and admiration.

Zhan Lan said in a daze

"Is this the difference between ordinary people from the normal world and soldiers who have experienced war?"

"I used to think these were just spirits embellished in books and biographies; I never expected to see it for myself one day."

"Compared to you two, Zheng Zha and I truly still have the mindset of ordinary people."

Hearing a certain word, Zheng Zha asked in confusion: "War?"

Zhan Lan looked at Li Xiao

"That's right. Because I can't imagine someone who just graduated from college being indifferent when facing hideous, terrifying Xenomorphs and the remnants of human bodies."

"I think only something like war could shape a person like this!"

Zheng Zha looked at Ba Wang and Zero, who showed no surprise, and realized it only then.

It seemed he was the last one to guess it.

Seeing Zhan Lan misunderstand him, Li Xiao went along with it. Besides, it seemed Chu Xuan and the others thought the same way.

Why should he bother denying it?

Chu Xuan looked at the two of them silently; it seemed Li Xiao's attitude and actions had surprised him.

He withdrew his gaze and said to the stunned Zheng Zha beside him

"Rest assured, I don't intend to send them to their deaths. Although the danger of being bait is indeed great, these two are the most suitable candidates."

"Zhang Jie is the one who has experienced the most horror movies, and his physical fitness is far superior to ours."

"I can plan out all subsequent actions. Zero's close-quarters combat and sniping abilities are both outstanding, and that may also include the firearms in the merchant ship's armory."

"Therefore, Li Xiao, who has the worst stamina, and Ba Wang, whose abilities conflict with the others, are the most suitable candidates."

Having said this, Chu Xuan turned his head to Li Xiao and said

"Sorry, I'm being quite direct."

Li Xiao, sitting cross-legged on the ground, didn't mind at all

"It's fine. You're telling the truth. I've spent the last two years eating, drinking, and playing, so my physical fitness has indeed declined."

Chu Xuan nodded at this and said calmly

"Under normal circumstances, everyone has their own talents and strengths. I would never measure someone by numbers and abilities."

"To put it more colloquially, I would never be as utilitarian as I am now. But you must understand our current situation; we are fighting against death."

He looked at Zheng Zha and said

"So, any tiny mistake could lead to all of us dying here!"

"Only by reasonably utilizing every person in our team can we possibly find a glimmer of survival in this dead-end situation."

"Actually, the most suitable bait would be Zhan Lan, but in the current situation, if she went, she might not be able to effectively delay the Xenomorphs."

Zheng Zha's expression was a bit dazed. He said in a low voice

"But, but I was an ordinary person when I first came in, too. It was only after strengthening that I could have my current skills!"

Chu Xuan remained indifferent, calmly questioning: "But do we have the time? Does he have that kind of opportunity? To be precise, can we even survive this horror movie?"

For some reason, a nameless fire rose in Zheng Zha's heart.

He was very angry because he feared death; he was terrified of it.

That was why he clearly understood the extreme terror of facing death head-on.

That feeling of being on the edge of death was like standing before an abyss.

It was even more so because of these two "baits'" disregard for their own lives.

Zheng Zha opened his eyes wide, glared at Chu Xuan, and roared angrily

"Chu Xuan, even with my physical fitness, facing a Xenomorph alone is a brush with death. Let alone ordinary people like Li Xiao—in a one-on-one situation, don't they have even the slightest hope?"

Seeing Zheng Zha suddenly lose his composure, Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan quickly walked over from left and right, holding the increasingly agitated and angry Zheng Zha.

But before they could offer any words of persuasion, Li Xiao, the "protagonist" who had been silent all this time, spoke up.

"Zheng Zha, face reality. If I go, I might die. If I don't go, I might not survive when we eventually face the Xenomorph Queen."

"Even if the god of luck favors me and I survive this time, I don't know if I'll have the courage to face a Xenomorph again next time."

"At the very least, when I heard this plan just now, I wasn't afraid. In fact, thinking about facing a Xenomorph alone, I'm actually quite excited—my heart rate even sped up a bit!"

Zheng Zha, Zhang Jie, and Zhan Lan's eyes went wide upon hearing these slightly insane words.

They looked at the young man as if seeing him for the first time, unable to believe it.

Zero leaned against the corner of the room, looking at the young man sitting cross-legged with a calm expression.

He muttered: "Is this 'if you're not crazy, you won't survive'?"

"A madman created by war?"

Looking at the team with their varied expressions, Zhan Lan finally sighed and walked to Zheng Zha's side to comfort him in a low voice.

Zhan Lan looked at the deafening silence of the group and decided to break the deadlock.

She asked with slight curiosity

"The war you just mentioned—does war still exist in the outside world? How come I've never heard of it?"

Chu Xuan, at the console, paused for a moment before speaking slowly.

"I have to admit, in the development of human civilization, war has always been a derogatory term."

"Yet, this derogatory term has run through the entire history of human civilization. War never started, because it never ended."

After saying this, Chu Xuan seemed to have no desire to speak further.

Zero continued

"War is a struggle that has nothing to do with good or evil, right or wrong, or humanity."

"The reason I joined the ranks of assassins is also..."

Hearing this, Zhang Jie shook his head with a profound expression.

Zhan Lan, who had originally wanted to liven up the atmosphere, saw that it had become even more stifling and was left feeling awkward.

A few minutes later, Li Xiao, who was guarding the surveillance screen, finally saw what he had been waiting for.

He clapped his hands, and only after seeing everyone look over did he speak.

(End of chapter)