Branching Paths (2)

Zhang Jie had never seen Zheng Zha throw a steel rod before. He stared blankly for a long time, then started slapping Zheng Zha on the shoulder, laughing heartily, "Good kid! When did you get this strong? Were you hiding this from me when we sparred before?"

Zheng Zha chuckled wryly as he rubbed his shoulder. He drew his Spiral Thorn and said, "No, I only discovered this strength recently, and my stamina isn't great. Every time I throw one, it consumes some internal force. Based on my current internal force and recovery speed, I can only throw five before needing about five minutes to rest."

"Five rods?" Zhang Jie scratched his head. "Five is still good. I don't believe those Aliens' shells are tougher than thick steel plates. It's a shame you only just found out about this strength. Without practice, you lack accuracy. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't even bat an eye at those Aliens."

Zheng Zha chuckled bitterly again. The power of those Aliens wasn't as simple as Zhang Jie described. Besides their immense strength and bizarre speed, what made them truly terrifying was their ability to ambush and kill from the shadows. He had encountered Aliens twice on the merchant ship, and both times, people had died due to their sneak attacks. While they could likely kill people even without ambushing, lurking in the shadows made the Aliens the most terrifying existence.

"Actually, the truly terrifying aspect of Aliens is their sneak attacks. Last time, Zhan Lan and I..." Zheng Zha stopped as he noticed Zhan Lan spacing out. He quickly asked curiously, "Zhan Lan, are you thinking about something?"

Zhan Lan said bitterly, "I'm wondering why Chu Xuan took them away. Logically, with his intelligence, he wouldn't be unaware of the danger behind Room 15. Why would he willingly walk into that danger? Could it be that a greater danger will appear if we stay here?"

Zheng Zha's heart skipped a beat. He and Zhan Lan shouted almost simultaneously, "Alien blood!"

Zhang Jie looked at them strangely and asked, "What Alien blood? I don't understand what you're talking about."

Zheng Zha's face was also full of bitterness. "The quarantined Aliens. I've also watched the Horror Movie Alien 4. The Alien under isolation and monitoring escaped by damaging its own body and releasing highly corrosive blood. If we just quarantine the Aliens, they might not immediately harm themselves. But if we advance towards Room 15, these Aliens, to protect their nest, might self-mutilate to escape. In that case, the ones facing these three Aliens won't be Chu Xuan and his group, but us behind them! How ruthless! Could it be that he's been plotting against us since he started scheming against Li Shuaixi?"

Zhan Lan shook her head. "No one has that much calculating ability. He doesn't know our personalities that well, so how could he have been plotting against us for so long? I think this was probably a spur-of-the-moment decision. Since he saw we had decided to form our own team, he just used us as shields."

Zheng Zha calmed down at this point. He began searching on the large screen. After a moment, he finally said coldly, "Since he's not benevolent, neither will I be. He needs to know that we're not his pawns to be manipulated at will. Let's see who dies in the end!"

Room 22, the washroom.

Zheng Zha and the other two arrived here at their fastest speed. After pulling them into the room, he had Zhan Lan lock the door. Then, he found a shower stall and rushed in. From inside the stall, he said, "You two hurry up and wash off the sweat and other smells. Then, smear the food I gave you all over yourselves. Make sure to cover your entire bodies, understand?"

Zhan Lan immediately found a shower stall and went in without a word. Only Zhang Jie stood there holding a bag of cheese, looking lost. However, he began washing himself as Zheng Zha had instructed. After washing for a while, he suddenly heard Zhan Lan call out loudly, "Zheng... Zheng Zha, my arm is inconvenient, and I can't wash off the bloody smell. Can you... can you come help me?"

Zhang Jie immediately stopped what he was doing. With incredible speed, he pressed his ear against the wall, a sly grin spreading across his face as he listened intently. However, before any sounds came from Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan, they heard a metallic scraping sound from the hallway outside. The sound was extremely grating, like someone dragging a steel brush across the floor as they walked.

The three froze instantly, not daring to move. Even Zheng Zha, who had just entered Zhan Lan's shower stall, could only stare awkwardly at Zhan Lan's bare upper body, while he himself was completely undressed.

The sound stopped abruptly at the washroom door. The three felt their hearts stop beating. The only sound in the entire washroom was the rushing water. Apart from that, the three didn't even dare to breathe, standing rigid and holding their breath.

The invisible pressure outside the door lingered for an unknown amount of time, perhaps ten seconds, perhaps several minutes. By the time the sound of the steel brush dragging on the floor gradually faded away, the three were on the verge of suffocation. As soon as they relaxed, they began breathing frantically, as if they had never breathed so freely in their lives.

After that, the three stopped talking. Zhang Jie no longer tried to eavesdrop on their conversation. He picked up the cheese and began smearing it on his body. The other two also rigidly scrubbed themselves, then smeared some liquid food. This entire process took less than a minute, demonstrating the boundless potential of humans.

Just then, the same grating sound of metal scraping returned from the main washroom entrance. Everyone perked up their ears and held their breath. With the experience from the first time, they were no longer as tense. As expected, just like the first time, the sound stopped at the washroom door. However, this time the process was much shorter, and the sound quickly moved away from the washroom towards the other end of the corridor.

Zheng Zha's heart stirred. He suddenly ran out of the shower stall. He picked up a few Spiral Thorn steel rods from the floor. Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan poked their heads out of their stalls, looking at him with expressions of bewilderment.

"The reaction was the same for both Aliens. I hope it's the same this time..."

Zheng Zha whispered to them. Then, a faint scraping sound began to approach from the other end of the corridor. The breathing of the three grew increasingly tense, especially Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan, who had no idea what Zheng Zha was planning. Perhaps only Zhan Lan had a slight inkling. It was this uncertainty that made the two of them even more tense and fearful.

The sound drew closer and closer to the washroom. The three were so tense they could almost hear their own heartbeats. The part of the Spiral Thorn steel rods that Zheng Zha gripped turned pale, and the immense force even caused the rods to dent slightly.

The sound, as before, stopped at the washroom door. Zheng Zha could even faintly hear a low, grinding sound coming from the washroom door.

Without further hesitation, Zheng Zha poured all his internal force and physical strength into the Spiral Thorn steel rods. Three rods were thrown out fiercely. With three hissing sounds, the three rods pierced through the steel door and shot out. Then, a wild, beast-like roar echoed from outside the door