Aside from the lack of heavy firearms, they also didn’t have any food or water. Without these two things, if they were locked in anywhere, they were very likely to die from starvation or dehydration.
“We’re still newbs. We thought we are veterans from surviving a movie, yet there are still so many things we didn’t prepare. Then we just came in here as if this was a field trip.”
Zheng sighed. Lan nodded, she was looking for something on the wall.
Zheng asked curiously, “What are you looking for?”
She replied without turning her head, “This is a modernized spacecraft, there’s probably some high-tech communication tools. Otherwise the characters would have to speak to each other face to face all the time.”
As she spoke, she found device with buttons hanging on the wall. When she pressed it, a sound came from above, just like when a call was connected but no one was on the other side.
Lan touched her forehead. “There are over forty buttons, assuming each one connects to a room, then we are in the center of the spacecraft, and we shouldn’t be far away from the control room.”
Zheng walked over. The device had 46 buttons. The number 21 was indicated on the device, and the button 27 was painted red.
He tried to follow Lan’s thoughts. If the spacecraft was divided into 46 areas, 1 and 46 were on the edge of the spacecraft. The room they were in, 21, was close to the center, then the special red 27 was probably the control room.
Zheng hesitated. “What if the numbers have nothing to do with the position of the rooms? Like the rooms were numbered randomly. And if that red 27 is not the control room, but instead it’s the security room or something else? It’s too arbitrary to just assume our position like this.”
“Humph, it is arbitrary, yet it’s still better than waiting here for the Aliens to find us. Or do you want to experience the same thing as when the Hunter from Resident Evil was charging at the door? Just staring as the door was broken in and we couldn’t do anything? Even if room 27 is the security room instead, it will probably have some weapons.”
Zheng felt a headache, it’s not wise to get in an argument with women. They would start a lecture when they feel objectionable. He immediately nodded his head. “Yes. Good. No problem. I also think we should go out to search. Anything is better than staying here. I agree with your decision.”
Lan started to smile. “Yes, I knew you are a nice guy. You can accept a lady’s opinion. Hehe. Then I will count on you, please protect me.”
Zheng tied three steel bars to his back, then held onto the thickest and longest one. He didn’t say anything and watched as Lan turned the light of the door from red to green. He took a deep breath and sprinted out.
“Yes. My deduction is correct. Every important room has a communication device and a number. We just passed by room 25. In other words, the control room is near.”
Xuan said to the other four people as they walked out from a room. The other four looked around nervously. Jie suddenly asked, “What can we do if we find the control room? I say we should go look for Zheng and Lan, he’s the strongest one among us.”
Xuan said without emotion, “Regardless of whether they’re alive or dead, in order to find them we have to first get to the control room. We are not familiar with the locations on this spacecraft. We don’t even know where the Aliens are, where the weapons are, where the food and water are, and… do you know where the toilets are? So we have to find the control room and learn the map and locations of the spacecraft, then we will have the ability to fight.”
Jie was about to say something, but at last he remained silent. Zero said coldly, “Hurry up. I keep feeling there’s something following behind us. Even though it’s still far away, this sense of danger is very obvious.”
Kampa also nodded and said in choppy Chinese, “Yes. Very dangerous. I am certain it’s an Alien.”
Xuan frowned. “Okay, we will choose to go through the left hall. Everyone start to run, we have to find the control room no matter what. If my deduction is correct… finding the control room will increase our chance of survival.”
At the same time, Zheng was at a place not far from Xuan. The two cautiously advanced towards room 27. After a while Lan yelled, “Stop. I’ll go check out that room, if something happens… judge the situation yourself.” Then she went into the room alone.
Zheng muttered with a bitter smile. “Easier said than done, judge the situation myself. No matter how I judge it’s still death…”
Even though he complained, he concentrated his attention on the surroundings. His muscles were all tensed up, his hand held onto the steel bar. Yet without any reason, he felt very uncomfortable, as if something dangerous was approaching him. This made his him more nervous.
About a minute later Lan came out happily. She smiled. “Great, my deduction is correct. This is room 23, room 22 is definitely in one of the halls we passed by. If we just follow this path, then we will get to the control room. Hmm? Your face looks pale, are you too scared?”
Zheng forced a smile. “I don’t know why. I am feeling a bit worried. Perhaps we should find somewhere to hide for a while.”
Lan shook her head, and said in a serious tone, “We can’t. It’s already dangerous being separated from the group, especially since we are so close to the control room. We have to get there first… I know, maybe you are not feeling well? But can you hold on for a little longer?”
Zheng smiled bitterly. “Then let’s go. My body is in good condition. It’s just feeling a little worried… Ayyy. I’ve never seen a woman like you, being so tough. Normal women would be too scared to move in this situation.”
Lan laughed. “Hehe. I’ve been tough since I was a little girl. My parents died on my twelfth birthday. They got in a car accident when they went out to buy a birthday cake. If I’m not tough enough, I won’t live till now. So, for such a good girl like me, you have to do your best to protect me…”
Pah!
As Lan made a turn on the corner, she was still talking to Zheng with laughter. Suddenly a tongue full of teeth shot out from the side and penetrated her shoulder. Blood splattered and painted Zheng’s eyes red. He felt as if he was still hearing that laughter in his ears, and that line: “You have to do your best to protect me…”
“NO!”
Zheng’s eyes were bloody red. Whether it was from the anger he felt or Lan’s blood, he didn’t know. When the girl disappeared around the corner, he charged forward but he used too much strength and ran into the wall.
His enhanced reaction speed saved him at that moment. Everything slowed down, he felt every movement took a great deal of energy even with his physical fitness. His body felt as if it was going to tear up. The ground, air, even the wall; there’s seemingly a force from every object pulling on his body to prevent him from moving too fast. He had never experienced this phenomenon before.
So when he reached close to the wall, the air felt so condensed, like it was liquid. He could even step on the air and jump at the wall. Then he kicked on the wall to make the turn. The first thing he saw was an Alien dragging Lan. This Alien was a size smaller than the one before but it’s still over two meters tall and three meters in length. It dragged Lan towards the deeper end of the hall. The girl’s left shoulder was crushed. Her body filled with blood. There is only despair and a hint of longing in her eyes.
Zheng suddenly understood that longing, that’s the hope for life and future. Even though he never saw his own eyes, he knew when he was in a hopeless situation he must have had that hint of longing in his eyes. He’s certain of it!
In Zheng’s eyes, Lan’s image became Xiaoyi’s, about to get ripped apart and become a pile of flesh. Or it become himself. When he gets dragged by an Alien, he would have the same despair and longing, then get ripped apart… He doesn’t want this! He has to save this girl no matter what!
“Ahh!”, Zheng screamed like a madman. He could almost see every movement the Alien made as everything slowed down. The jump he made off the wall shot him straight towards the Alien.
This all happened in an instant. From Lan’s perspective, Zheng charged at the wall then kicked at it in a weird angle. That kick made a muffled sound, and embedded two footprints on the steel wall. Then he disappeared from her eyes. She couldn’t follow that kind of speed.
Zheng reached the Alien. He could see the saliva dripping off its mouth, and that long tongue. He swung his steel bar at its tongue with pinpoint accuracy. With a dull sound, Lan fell on the floor. The Alien started to scream like crazy. Acid sprayed from its broken tongue. The tongue was cut in half.
“Ahhh!”
It wasn’t over yet. Zheng screamed along with the Alien. He lost all sense. His eyes were bloody red and filled with frenzy. It may have been the blood of Lan, or they’d really turned red.
As Zheng landed behind the Alien, he swung at its back. With a sound of metals colliding, the steel bar got bent. Though the Alien did not look good either. The exoskeleton on its back cracked and acid poured out from the wound. At this point, the ground was filled with craters from the acid.
The Alien’s speed was just as fast. Even when Zheng felt the surroundings slow down, he was only on par with the Alien’s speed. When the Alien swiped at him with its claw, he could barely raise his arm to block it in time. With a loud sound, the impact knocked him to the ground, and the whole hall vibrated. Blood poured down from his head from the impact.
Zheng fought for his life at this point. He doesn’t have a shell as tough as the Alien’s exoskeleton. When he blocked the swipe, it left a few holes on his arm. Not only that, the Alien is so powerful that when Zheng’s head hit the ground he almost fainted. He bit his tongue at that moment, the pain from it kept him awake.
He didn’t even plan to get up, he pulled another steel bar from his back and swung it with all he had at the Alien’s feet. His physical strength and the buff from Qi knock the Alien to the ground. As the Alien fell, it raised its tail and stabbed at Zheng’s leg. The Alien’s combat instincts are so strong, it lives up to being a species that evolves for killing and survival.
Zheng’s mind went blank. He felt as if his body was moving on its own. Countless instincts on combat rose to his mind. He dodged to the side then rolled back, that pulled his leg out from the tail. Then he kicked at the ground and jumped at the Alien, while he stabbed at its mouth with the steel bar.
He let go of the bar in the Alien’s mouth and pulled another one from his back. He kept stabbing at the Alien’s head with it, non-stop, even when the acid from the Alien’s blood sprayed all over his body. He looked like he’d gone insane and wanted to tear the Alien to pieces. Fortunately Lan reacted in time. She ignored her injuries and jumped at Zheng. She knocked both of them to the ground a few meters away. That’s when Zheng slowly woke up.
The front of his body felt painful and a burning sensation. He quickly took off all his clothes and attempted to wipe off the acid on his body. The acid caused a sizzling sound on the ground and corroded the steel like melting ice. Yet, Zheng’s skin only turned a bit dark, there was no sign of corrosion, which surprised Lan quite a bit.
As Lan stopped his bleeding with the hemostasis spray, she said with a light voice, “It’s great to be alive. Thank you… But why isn’t there any injuries on your skin? The Alien’s blood should be highly acidic.”
Zheng wiped off all the acid on his body. His mind is still blank. Everything that happened felt like a nightmare. He was basically fighting by instinct, especially after the Alien stabbed his leg, he felt like a chain within his body had broken off.
“Maybe it’s because I have high stats in cell vitality and immunization. At least my skin is burned dark by the acid.”
As he tried to take out another hemostasis spray from his ring, his whole body went into a seizure. A painful and paralyzing sensation started from his internal organs, like countless ants crawling on them. Then this pain spread to his bones and marrow, then it moved along with his blood to the skin. Gradually all he can see is whiteness, he felt as if he was about to die.
‘Just think about it. Apes reached this limit and became human, then what will humans become when we reach it?’
‘Needs a substance similar to the epinephrine hormone that can only be produced by the human body. The crucial point is… it’s a poison. You probably heard of stories like a mother lifting a car to save her son. This actually happened but this woman died soon afterward. Scientists found a micro amount of this substance in her blood.’
‘… Genetic constraint…’
Zheng remembered Xuan’s words on genetic constraint. He doesn’t know if he accidentally unlocked this genetic constraint, but he knew that he is struggling on the brink of death. The seizure on his internal organs is getting stronger, blood bled through his mouth and nose. Then his lungs also start to have seizures, he can barely breathe in any air. He opened his mouth wide struggling to breathe.
Lan reacted instantly. She held onto Zheng’s body and put her lips on his, trying to give him air. After about ten seconds, Zheng’s internal organs slowly calmed down, then his lungs also started to breath, the pain on his skin faded. But Lan didn’t know and continued giving him air. At the same time she also wept and mumbled, “Don’t die. Please. Don’t leave me alone. Please stay alive with me…”
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