The Role of Newcomers is to Transition

Chapter 4: The Role of a Newbie is to Transition

Some time later, at the town police station.

"Yes, yes, if we recall any other important information, we will notify you immediately. Until then, please allow us to stay here for a while."

Suzuki bowed deeply to the town police officer. He waited several seconds after the officer left, leaving the lounge to him and the other newcomers, before carefully lifting his head and letting out a sigh of relief. As a Japanese man living near Yokohama, he had always harbored a subconscious sense of awe toward American police.

"Whew..." He exhaled softly.

"Is this really okay, Suzuki-kun?" Another of the newcomers looked at him cautiously—the only student among the group who knew the plot. "If we just stay here, can we really complete that so-called mission? Aren't we supposed to board that helicopter?"

"It's not mandatory to board it." Suzuki adjusted his glasses, speaking with absolute confidence. "Didn't you see the mission details? The penalty for failure is 'none.' In other words, even if we don't board the helicopter, it just means we face a failed mission with no penalty. As long as we can avoid the final nuclear blast, we can stay anywhere."

"Oh, is that so?" The newcomer who asked was an office lady, a mature woman. She patted her chest, her ample neckline heaving slightly with deliberate effect. "How amazing, Suzuki-kun. But if that's the case, couldn't we just flee the city? Surely the military hasn't been mobilized yet."

Suzuki was about to speak.

"We can't do that." Another middle-aged salaryman spoke up, half a step faster than Suzuki. "I've watched several films in the Alien series, including the prequel. And just as Suzuki-kun said earlier..." He nodded slightly toward Suzuki.

Suzuki made a shrugging gesture, and their gazes crossed for a fleeting moment.

"It all started yesterday. The Yautja ship crashed from the sky, and from it escaped the Predalien and many Facehuggers..."

Suzuki pursed his lips slightly, avoiding the salaryman's meaningful gaze. He was certain that when he had vaguely explained the plot, he hadn't mentioned the exact time of the ship's crash. This meant he wasn't the only one who knew the plot of this installment.

He wasn't special; he had simply failed to keep his composure.

Having lost this invisible confrontation, the salaryman's tone rose slightly.

"The ship crashed outside this town, and coincidentally, there is a promotional poster for the town right here." He pointed to the wall of the lounge, where a conceptual map of the town surrounded by forest sat right under his fingertip. "Outside the town is nothing but forest—a forest perfect for hunting. There's certainly no shortage of large animals there for the aliens to parasitize and hunt. If we try to leave the town without taking the main road, we'll surely run into those aliens in the woods."

"It's also possible there are no aliens hiding in the forest. That Yautja will..." Suzuki gritted his teeth.

However, the salaryman interrupted him once again.

"Wolf only cares about the Predalien, because it is a disgrace to their clan. And given the intelligence of the aliens, once they finish their initial parasitization, they certainly won't choose to gather in one place."

Wolf was the name, or title, of that Yautja. This was information never revealed in the film itself, only found in peripheral materials and setting guides.

"So we cannot leave directly. At least not yet." The salaryman spoke, outlining a plan that Suzuki had roughly conceived but failed to fully articulate. "We must stay here until the tension in the town rises. Only then can we use our 'intelligence' as an excuse to urge the police to escort us out of town. Even if we encounter a National Guard blockade on the way, having a police escort will give us much more room to maneuver."

The office lady's eyes lit up.

"How brilliant!" She clasped her hands in front of her chest, looking at him with admiration. "The timing of leaving the town must be carefully calculated—I never would have thought of that!"

"Just a bit of life experience," the salaryman said with a light wave of his hand. "More importantly, the whereabouts of those two seniors, and that strange, powerful Chinese man who said he wanted to take the initiative—their actions might have a significant impact on us. There's still plenty of time to adapt to changing circumstances, so we need to keep our spirits up."

"Is that so... I've learned something new again." The office lady blinked; no one knew when she had applied the subtle makeup that enhanced her cuteness.

However, in the corner of the lounge, the last man—a guy in work clothes who hadn't said a word from the start—let out a mocking sneer.

"Heh—" He appeared to be an auto mechanic; only when he rolled up his sleeves did the others notice how brawny he was.

"Those 'seniors'? They're a bunch of losers. The fat guy is a weak-willed, spineless NEET. The woman is a parasite who can't survive without clinging to the strong. I've seen plenty of people like that. You think they didn't follow us because they have other plans? Wrong. They just don't know whether to listen to that Chinese guy or come with us. If I'm not mistaken, they're probably still hiding on the roof of that hospital."

He continued.

"As for that Chinese guy, I can tell he's both aloof and arrogant. He doesn't look down on anyone else; he simply doesn't see them at all. Someone like that will surely suffer at the hands of the aliens soon enough. After all, he looks like the type to jump straight into a sewer to fight an alien one-on-one—I just don't know if the alien in the sewer would be willing to fight him fairly."

Suzuki finally found an opportunity to interject.

"My great-grandfather went to China in the last century and fought their army. He said the people of that country were uncommunicable savages. It seems he was right."

"You don't look like someone with a family crest, Suzuki-kun," the mechanic smiled, the mockery in his voice undiminished. "Judging an individual by a stereotype of their group is the act of a fool. Even if the uniform you're wearing isn't from the University of Tokyo, you should know that much."

He shifted his tone.

"But you're right, that man is indeed impossible to communicate with. But that's fine. Since he wants to take the initiative, he's bound to cause a scene. If he dies early, so be it, but if he really does stir up some trouble, wouldn't that be to our advantage? The police will value the information we hold even more, and they'll provide even better protection for our personal safety."

His logic was sound.

His conclusion went a step further than the middle-aged salaryman's. And as he clenched his fist, the muscles in his arm bulging, he became the central figure of this small team.

The corner of the salaryman's eye twitched imperceptibly, though he forced a smile.

The office lady quickly and naturally shifted the object of her admiration, her eyes practically sparkling.

Suzuki, however, suddenly felt a wave of stomach pain.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." He covered his mouth and turned to leave.

"I have tissues here, do you want—" The office lady reached out as he left.

Naturally, he didn't stop.

The remaining three exchanged a brief glance.

"Such an impatient kid," the mechanic said, defining Suzuki's behavior. With the salaryman's agreement, the group began to discuss the next step of their plan.

Ten seconds later...

Bang! Suzuki slammed his fist onto the windowsill of the restroom—he had intended to hit it hard, but at the last second, he subconsciously held back ninety percent of his strength.

"Damn it, damn it all..." He gritted his teeth, clenching his jaw.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions within. What had happened could not be undone, but at least future opportunities could still be seized.

There was still a chance; it could still be salvaged. He had finally changed to a new environment; he couldn't keep acting the way he did back at school...

Exhaling.

Some of the old bruises on his body began to ache faintly once again.

He patted his face and took several deep breaths in succession. Just as he intended to return to the lounge...

Something seemed to be crawling in the corner of his vision.

He turned his head instinctively—

Thwip.

The steel pipe was thrown.

Si Ming raised an eyebrow.

The tiny creature crawling in the shadows was precisely struck by the weapon, which was coated in Night Battle Qi, pierced through, and pinned to the ground, where it twitched slightly.

--[Killed one Facehugger, gained 50 reward points.]

The voice rang out.

The Main God's notification echoed in Si Ming's mind the instant the kill was confirmed. Almost at the same moment, he realized the unexpected discrepancy represented by this notification.

Wrong! Something is wrong!

It was already the second day; how could there still be a Facehugger active in the sewers that hadn't successfully managed to parasitize a host!?

His thoughts raced.

His body had already taken action.

Si Ming, who had only been holding his breath while guarding the sewer entrance without rashly venturing deep inside, kicked off hard. His figure moved sharply in a vertical trajectory. The moment he leaped out of the sewer, he heard and saw something slam into the spot where he had been standing just a moment before!

It was a Xenomorph.

But there shouldn't have been any Facehuggers.

The Predalien, capable of reproduction, used a direct egg-implantation method. Yet, at this moment, a tiny detail from the original film quietly and clearly flashed into Si Ming's eyes!

It was the later stage of the plot, when the Xenomorphs had fully spread and the National Guard had been wiped out. At that time, a surveillance map had appeared on the screen showing crisis red dots covering the entire town at an exponential rate!

Too fast.

Even if the time for a Chestburster to develop into an adult were shortened, this was still too fast. Unless, from the very beginning, the number of Xenomorphs was far greater than anticipated.

Si Ming thought of the crashed ship; he knew all the Facehuggers originated from a leak in the containment pods. The wreckage clearly belonged to a small research vessel. Therefore, as research samples deliberately kept behind, these individuals locked in the containment pods likely all possessed special traits!

--Queen Facehugger.

The thought flashed through his mind.

His toes touched the ground once more.

The Battle Qi within his body erupted, and his physical strength surged dramatically. The moment he touched the ground, his figure shifted rapidly to the side, just barely dodging a swift tail-spine strike.

Was the lure trap discovered?—No, it wasn't discovered. The counter-trap had failed to close in; this was merely the predatory instinct of the Xenomorphs causing them to act with caution.

The next moment, the Samurai Edge pistol was in Si Ming's grip. He aimed at the second Xenomorph appearing in the shadows of the bridge arch and pulled the trigger with precision.

Bang!