Chapter 6: The Advancing Alien

Out of the corner of his eye, Li Xiao caught a glimpse of Zheng Zha already clutching Zhan Lan and diving toward the other side.

In that brief moment, Li Xiao did not hesitate in the slightest, following Chu Xuan’s group as they ran far away.

The next instant, three grenades blossomed with fire simultaneously.

The shockwave generated by the high-explosive grenades was incredibly powerful in this narrow corridor.

The intense, explosive flames knocked everyone flat onto the ground.

However, the moment he hit the floor, Zheng Zha relied on his superior reflexes to turn around, shielding the soft jade in his arms tightly.

After crashing heavily onto the ground, Zhan Lan felt the hot breath of the man beneath her and said with a smile

"I didn't expect you to still be a gentleman at a time like this."

Zheng Zha couldn't spare a thought for the pain in his body and quickly stood up while holding Zhan Lan: "What crazy talk is that? Why aren't you running yet?"

As he spoke, Zheng Zha intended to push her away, but who would have thought that Zhan Lan would lunge forward and hug him

"I'm not as fast as you. Only if you carry me can I survive."

Zheng Zha gritted his teeth and scooped up the beauty who had thrown herself into his arms, sprinting forward rapidly.

Zhan Lan, who had taken advantage of the situation to lean on him, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

——

Running into the room, Chu Xuan immediately closed the metal door they had come through.

Everyone held their breath, not daring to pant loudly.

Zero pressed his ear against the door, and after a moment, he said

"There’s no movement outside, but it looks like we’ve been separated from those two."

With no immediate danger, Li Xiao finally had the time to look around.

The room the five of them had entered was filled with a futuristic, mechanical aesthetic.

There were dense arrays of buttons and various operating equipment of different shapes and heights.

In the center of the room, there was only a screen-like device.

It could be described as a very minimalist sci-fi style.

Li Xiao slumped into a mechanical chair, trying hard to calm his heart, which felt like it was about to jump out of his chest.

Zhang Jie also sat down nearby and lit a cigarette.

He said with a hint of melancholy

"I think we should take a break. Our main combat power has run off."

As he spoke, he took out two more and handed them to Zero and Wang.

The three of them puffed away for a while before Zero suddenly said coldly

"I have an inexplicable feeling that thing is still following us. Although it’s still far away, this aura of danger is very distinct."

Wang nodded in agreement and chimed in: "Yes, it’s very dangerous. I’m certain that it’s the Xenomorph."

Chu Xuan looked at the other four.

After glancing around the room, his expression remained calm as he said faintly

"It seems our luck is good; we’ve actually found the ship’s central control room. This will make things much easier."

As he spoke, he had already walked up to the central platform.

Zhang Jie exhaled a cloud of smoke and nodded

"Not bad. This is the first piece of good news I’ve heard since coming to this horror movie.

After all, that big guy from just now was too terrifying!"

Zhang Jie’s expression darkened as he added

"I wonder what happened to those two. There were three Xenomorphs, after all."

Chu Xuan remained calm, seemingly indifferent to their survival.

With a fanatical gleam in his eyes that no one else could understand, he stood at the central control console.

His hands moved like a blur, busy with a flurry of activity.

A few minutes later.

Following Chu Xuan’s operations, several layers of garbled code popped up on the screen on the platform.

Then, countless different images appeared on the large screen.

Li Xiao, who had been watching the whole time, immediately realized

These were the real-time surveillance feeds from inside the entire ship.

From the moment Chu Xuan found the console to his initial use of it, less than three minutes had passed.

Seeing this, Li Xiao was thoroughly impressed.

He secretly applauded in his heart; he could only say that Colonel Chu, the crystallization of human intelligence, lived up to his reputation.

Regardless of anything else, as a teammate, he was truly top-tier.

"Found them!"

"However, it looks like they aren't in good shape."

Chu Xuan spoke up suddenly.

Hearing this, Zhang Jie and the others, who were taking the opportunity to rest, gathered around immediately.

Chu Xuan pulled up a feed from a corner.

In a metal dormitory, blood was oozing from a wound on Zhan Lan’s shoulder.

Zheng Zha’s thighs, arms, and chest were all stained bright red.

Although they looked severely injured, they were still able to move freely in the surveillance footage, with Zheng Zha helping Zhan Lan bandage her shoulder.

Chu Xuan suddenly said to the others with interest

"It seems there is one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?"

Zhang Jie stared intently at Zheng Zha on the screen; he was in no mood for jokes right now.

He said irritably

"Do you even need to ask? Zheng Zha is the strongest fighter among us."

"If he’s injured now, how are we supposed to face the Xenomorph Queen?"

Li Xiao really wanted to say that when it came to stirring up emotions, Zhang Jie was truly a master.

He was worthy of being the "wolf" guide who had single-handedly orchestrated three team wipes.

It was a pity he had met another ruthless character.

Chu Xuan shook his head and said directly: "The bad news is, look at the area around their room."

"Those three Xenomorphs are wandering nearby.

No, to be precise, they are hunting them."

Wang asked impatiently: "Then what is the good news?"

"Look at this screen!"

Chu Xuan said with deep meaning.

"The good news is that the mission is already one-quarter complete."

"If I’m not mistaken, Zheng Zha has successfully killed one Xenomorph."

Chu Xuan specifically zoomed in on the Xenomorph corpse in the corner of the corridor.

The terrifying creature that had been so fearsome just moments ago was now thoroughly impaled by three spiral spikes—it was practically ready to be roasted over a fire.

Of course, Li Xiao felt it probably wouldn't taste very good.

Seeing the dead Xenomorph, the group was overjoyed.

A creature that could be killed, no matter how powerful, seemed a little less intimidating.

Afterward, everyone watched as Chu Xuan operated the console for a while longer.

A green light suddenly lit up on the platform.

"Is that you, Chu Xuan? Can you hear us?"

Zhan Lan’s urgent voice came through.

Chu Xuan spoke into a device on the platform that acted as a microphone.

"Zhan Lan, is that Xenomorph corpse thirty meters to the right of your room door one that you killed?

Have you found the ship’s armory yet?"

Zhan Lan replied quickly: "No, we didn't have time to look for the armory. Zheng Zha killed that Xenomorph!"

"He must have opened his genetic lock just now!"

Before Zhan Lan could finish, Zheng Zha sighed and said

"The situation is complicated. We’ll talk when we meet. Where are you guys now?"

"How were you able to access the communications for our room?"

Chu Xuan continued: "The five of us have found the ship’s control room."

"We’ve gained some authorization, which is how we found you via surveillance."

"If you hadn't happened to enter that room, it wouldn't have been easy to contact you."

"By the way, my display shows that you two are currently in the ship’s kitchen."

"I hope that without affecting your running speed, you will carry as much food and water as possible..."

"............"

"............"

"............So, I’m sorry."

"You only have two minutes and forty-five seconds now, because there are five of us in the control room."

"Once the time is up, I will close the door."

"The countdown... begins!"

After confirming there were no Xenomorphs near the control room, Chu Xuan opened the sealed metal door.

They waited for the return of Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan.

(End of chapter)