Black Blood in the Heart (3)

When Li Shuaixi had been walking with his head down earlier, he was already several meters away from the others. Then, when he threw the first bomb, he ran several more meters forward. This put him over ten meters away from the group, so they could only watch helplessly as he pulled the pin. Even Zero Point, holding the Desert Eagle, couldn't react. He had already been knocked to the ground by the shockwave of that first bomb.

"You all die! I..."

Li Shuaixi pulled the pin and laughed maniacally. Just as he was about to throw the bomb at the group, the bomb in his hand suddenly detonated. From the moment he pulled the pin to the entire bomb exploding, only about a second had passed. He didn't even have time to throw it before the massive explosion and shockwave surged towards the others.

"No!"

Zheng Zha's eyes split with rage. He stared blankly as the fiery shockwave closed in. Fortunately, Zhan Lan, who was beside him, suddenly tackled him to the ground. Only then was the man forced onto the ground, watching the flames pass just above his nose. He could almost smell the scent of burning flesh within the blast.

No! How can life be so fragile? Why is life so fragile!

Zheng Zha leaped up from the ground and charged madly into the white smoke. Pushing through the outer layer of smoke, he immediately saw Li Shuaixi, blown to unrecognizable pieces, lying on the ground. The young man's body was charred black. From his hands up to his chest, everything was gone. Besides shredded flesh, the only thing left on the ground was the black blood flowing from his chest. It turned out that the blood in a person's heart wasn't entirely red; after being blown apart by a bomb, it... also turned a charred black.

"Why? Why did the bomb explode as soon as he pulled the pin?"

Zheng Zha emerged from the smoke and walked silently to Chu Xuan, asking, "Why?"

Chu Xuan, who was closest to the explosion's center this time, had blood constantly flowing from his nose and mouth. He wiped his bloody nose and said, "That's right. The bombs were made by Overlord at my request. One would explode after a few seconds, and the other would explode the moment the pin was pulled. When I handed him the two bombs, the one that would explode after a few seconds was on the outside, so he could only choose to use the first one..."

Zheng Zha landed a fierce punch on his face. Before Chu Xuan could finish his sentence, he was sent flying. However, Zero Point immediately aimed the Desert Eagle at Zheng Zha, while Overlord stepped between Chu Xuan and Zheng Zha.

Chu Xuan slowly sat up from the ground. He spat out a tooth and said calmly, "This is the true nature of the decoy plan. Did you really think a small wound with a bit of blood would attract the Aliens? Impossible. Their sense of smell is keen, but during the Queen's incubation period, they guard the nest. You saw it on the surveillance screen; they were heading towards the nest. Therefore, a large amount of blood and flesh was needed, along with the Alien blood on your skin, to attract them. If my guess is correct, the Aliens are heading this way now. If you want to die, stay outside the isolation wall." With that, he stood up and walked silently into the control room.

Zheng Zha became even more enraged upon hearing this, but under the threat of Zero Point's Desert Eagle, he could only roar furiously, "So what he said is correct? You abandoned him from the start, intending to kill him? Why did you two help him? Partnering with someone like him, we wouldn't even know when we'd be abandoned! What kind of partners are we then?"

Chu Xuan turned around and said coldly, "I didn't intend to abandon him at first. Initially, I planned for each of us to contribute some blood, and then he would only need to... forget it. I don't need to explain this to you. Just know this: everything I've done is so that everyone in our team can survive this Horror Movie. I've absolutely done nothing wrong!"

Zheng Zha's voice grew colder. He said fiercely, "Abandoning a partner, letting him be blown to death, and then using his blood and flesh to attract Aliens – that's not wrong? Then what do you think is right! Do you two think the same way? Is life really that insignificant?"

Chu Xuan continued walking away without looking back, saying, "I gave him a final chance. If he hadn't used the second bomb to blow us up, completely following my plan to attract the Aliens, as long as he could injure one Alien, others might also be attracted. Plus, he could have hidden in the safe isolation zone between the two corridors. Unfortunately, mortal wisdom... is only filled with resentment. It's truly too petty."

Zero Point remained silent. He kept the gun pointed at Zheng Zha and backed away. After retreating more than ten meters, he turned and left. Only Overlord stood there and said earnestly, "Our creed as mercenaries emphasizes unity. In battle, giving your back to your comrade is the minimum trust and rule. But to achieve these two points, the other person must be a partner you acknowledge, not a useless burden. I think Zero Point feels the same way. We are different from you people who live in ordinary environments. We are more suited to surviving in this Horror Movie world. These Horror Movies, in my opinion, are just one mercenary mission after another. Chu Xuan did the right thing, choosing a method that would allow most people to survive and complete the mission. Li Shuaixi didn't make me feel like I could trust him with my back, and in the final test, he chose self-destruction..."

Zheng Zha stood there stunned. It wasn't until the isolation wall slowly descended that Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan pulled him into the quarantined area. Only then did he look up and ask them, "Does it really have to be this cruel? To survive, must we abandon others? Or if we harbor a trace of resentment, we must drag everyone down with us... Then what are we? The next pawns to be used and discarded by them?"

Zhang Jie said fiercely, "I don't give a damn what they want to do. Being with those three guys makes me feel incredibly insecure. I thought Chu Xuan was smart and could come up with a good plan to save us, but now it seems smart people are just too damn insidious. No, being with them makes me even more insecure! Zheng Zha, I'll go get the Desert Eagle back later. Even if I can't, it's fine. After they isolate the Aliens, the three of us will go our own way! Don't let them sell us out without us even knowing."

Zhan Lan sighed and said, "But... are we really going to act on our own? It might be better to stick together and get through this Horror Movie. In the next one, we can distance ourselves from those three."

Zheng Zha looked at Zhan Lan silently and said fiercely, "No, we're acting on our own later! I don't want to see them again... If you can't trust your comrades first, then why should your comrades trust you first! I will never abandon any partner by my side. If I can save a comrade's life, they will definitely save mine when I'm in danger! That's why I will absolutely not stand with them again!"