Black Blood in the Heart (1)

Zheng Zha's storage ring contained plenty of food and fresh water. There were bread, cheese, lean meat, and a few snacks, all abundant in both quantity and quality. The fresh water was enough for everyone to drink for several days. However, just in case, they divided the food and water into seven portions, with each person receiving enough to last for about three days.

Chu Xuan placed Li Shuaixi's portion of food and water on the table. "This is your share. If you can prove you're useful to this team and not a burden, then this food and water is yours. After you prove yourself, you'll be a member of our team."

Li Shuaixi silently lowered his head, took the food and water, then slunk away to eat and drink greedily by himself.

The others ignored him, each picking up their own food and water and eating heartily. The running and fear of the past half-day had left everyone hungry and thirsty. Now that they finally had food and water, and the portions were sufficient, their eating and drinking appeared somewhat reckless.

While Zhan Lan was eating, since she couldn't move one hand easily, Zheng Zha silently helped her tear open the food packaging and poured her a cup of fresh water from a small plastic container. These actions made the young woman Zhan Lan giggle incessantly. As a result, she sat next to Zheng Zha while eating.

Chu Xuan suddenly asked, "Right, since we have some free time now, tell us how you killed that Alien. I've been very curious about this."

Although the others were eating and drinking, discussing matters over a meal seemed to be a habit at Chinese dinner tables. Zheng Zha took a sip of water and said with a wry smile, "Don't make me sound like I'm some kind of hero. The situation back then was truly a matter of life and death. We almost died there. If I hadn't been lucky enough to cut off the Alien's tongue first, we might have been the ones who died."

Chu Xuan thought for a moment and then asked Zero Point, "If you were using a Desert Eagle, how many meters away could you hit the Alien's tongue? I mean a moving Alien, and one that's extremely fast."

Zero Point replied coldly without looking up, "Within 150 meters, a 30% hit rate. Within 100 meters, 40%. Within 50 meters, 50%. That's the limit; I can't improve the hit rate any further."

Zheng Zha gave a wry smile. A 50% chance was just a coin toss. The Alien's tongue was hard enough to cut through metal, and its power when extended was immense. A human head was like a fragile watermelon in front of an Alien. In other words, if Zero Point missed, let alone whether the bullet would hit someone, the Alien's tongue alone could instantly kill anyone who got close to it.

Zheng Zha continued with a wry smile, "It was pure luck back then. I managed to cut off that long tongue by surprise. Because its tongue was stuck in Zhan Lan's shoulder at the time, I was able to hit it easily. If it were face-to-face, its tongue would shoot out too fast for us to even react."

Chu Xuan nodded. "The speed at which the Alien's tongue extends is terrifying, almost as fast as a pistol bullet leaving the barrel. And you have to consider its weight and size. Ordinary steel plates might not even withstand that force. In short... let's stick to the plan first: isolate the Alien, then clear the passage from here to the armory. Maybe we can find suitable weapons there."

Zheng Zha sighed and asked, "Then how do you plan to isolate the Alien? Send someone to be a bait?"

Chu Xuan ate while casually pressing some buttons on the control platform. A moment later, a map of the entire merchant ship's passages appeared on the large screen, with important rooms and connecting passages marked with numbers.

"We are at position twenty-seven. Based on my calculations and the direction the Alien took with those four people earlier, the Alien Queen should be in... warehouse one or two. The surveillance systems around there have already failed, possibly corroded by the Alien's secretions. I recall in the Horror Movie 'Alien 4', the Alien Queen secretes something like spider silk when laying eggs. These substances are also acidic, though not as strong as Alien blood."

"So, the isolation walls, surveillance systems, and even lighting equipment in that area can no longer be used. The areas where we can use isolation walls are in rooms numbered sixteen and beyond... I've marked them on the map. Green indicates the areas where isolation walls can be used."

As Chu Xuan spoke, he kept pressing buttons on the control platform. Soon, the entire map gradually displayed a mixture of green and red.

Everyone looked closely at the large screen. The green area occupied most of the merchant ship, while the red area was only from rooms one to fifteen.

Chu Xuan sighed. "Everyone might think the Alien's corrosive range only reached room fifteen, still a good distance from the armory in room seventeen, so you feel lucky, right? But I have to tell you some unfortunate news: room sixteen and room seventeen are on either side of room fifteen. In other words, we can't lower the isolation wall connecting room seventeen to room fifteen. The circuitry there is likely corroded and ruined. If we go to get weapons, the Aliens in room fifteen can hunt us freely because we won't be able to isolate them."

"This is precisely why the bait plan must be put into action. We need to lure all four Aliens, excluding the Queen, into the passage beyond room seventeen, and then isolate them one by one. This way, we can find a safe path to the armory in room seventeen. I've said it before, I won't waste lives carelessly. Although this plan is extremely dangerous, it's crucial for us to survive this Horror Movie. This plan absolutely cannot have any mishaps."

Zheng Zha looked at the red and green intersecting display on the large screen for a long time before sighing and asking, "What if only one or two Aliens come? Wouldn't that be both dangerous and unable to complete the plan?"

Chu Xuan smiled without speaking. Instead, Zhan Lan, sitting next to Zheng Zha, said, "Actually, there's a way to lure all the Aliens over... Remember when we were chased by the Aliens? How did they know where we were? And why did they chase us so desperately... It was their scent."

Zheng Zha suddenly realized, "Right, scent. Alien blood has a very strong odor. Once other Aliens smell it, they'll rush over quickly. You mean we should use this scent to attract the Aliens?"

Chu Xuan nodded. "We still have six grenades here. Three tied together should be powerful enough to injure a mature Alien and make it bleed. Once one Alien is injured and bleeding, the others will rush over quickly. As soon as they step into the passage beyond room seventeen, we can quickly isolate them. Li Shuaixi can then use the explosion as cover to escape into the safe zone. This is the entire bait plan."

Although dangerous, it wasn't a guaranteed death sentence. Zheng Zha finally breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Li Shuaixi, who had been sitting silently with his head bowed not far away, had a ferocious glint in his eyes. He clenched his fingers tightly, not even noticing his nails digging into his flesh, as blood dripped onto the ground, a gruesome crimson.