Professional Indoor Close Combat

Just as Zhang Jie, Zheng Zha, and Zhan Lan wrapped themselves in thin space blankets—commonly known as survival blankets—the three blurry yellow-red heat signatures in the Xenomorphs' infrared vision suddenly vanished when they were still dozens of meters away!

The two Xenomorphs, which had been tracking their prey with relentless speed, were forced to halt. Due to their physiology, their eyesight was merely average; they relied primarily on infrared vision to hunt like snakes. This was especially true for long-distance tracking, where they depended on infrared to provide detailed information. Thus, with a space blanket that cost only a dozen yuan from Taobao or Pinduoduo, Zhang Jie had cleanly KO'd the Xenomorphs' most relied-upon sensory ability!

Once the Xenomorphs lost the infrared images of Zhang Jie and his companions, they stopped their sprint and engaged in a form of communication incomprehensible to others to determine their next move.

Because they could no longer track the trio after losing their infrared signatures, the two Xenomorphs—acting under orders from their direct superior to collect as much food as possible—did not resort to blind guessing. Even without the infrared images, they began a carpet-search of the area where the signatures had last appeared!

However, since their mission was to gather food, they could not afford to spend too much time meticulously scouring one area for the three humans. Instead, they turned and charged toward three other infrared signatures located slightly further away.

Although Wang Zhen secretly grumbled that Zheng Zha and the others were too gullible—blindly trusting everything Chu Xuan said without even checking their IDs or household registration books—the truth was that the identities of Chu Xuan's group were indeed genuine. Moreover, with Chu Xuan's IQ of 220, it was hardly difficult for him to hoodwink someone, which explained why Zheng Zha and his team were so easily swayed.

Chu Xuan also believed his own intellect was beyond compare. Regardless of whether he was truly emotionless or simply lacked the capacity for it, he never really took Zheng Zha's group seriously, which explained the slight air of arrogance in his tone.

Awed by Colonel Chu's world-shaking wisdom, Zheng Zha and the others could only submit to his command!

Take the current situation, for instance: despite being newcomers who had just entered the Infinite Space, the three of them had parted ways with Zheng Zha—who had just killed a Xenomorph—to head into battle with Zero and Ba Wang.

"Pick up the pace! I have a bad feeling about this," Chu Xuan said calmly, his face devoid of expression.

Zero and Ba Wang also looked grim. If Chu Xuan could sense something was wrong, they could naturally sense the palpable malice as well.

"Shouldn't those two Xenomorphs be hunting Zhang Jie, Zheng Zha, and Zhan Lan? Why have they turned around to chase us?"

"According to what they said, after the mission, we return to a rest station called the God Hall. There, we can use something called the God to exchange for special powers and magical items ranging from low to high tiers. Just like that man with the scar, Zhang Jie, who carries two Desert Eagles with infinite ammo. I assume those three possess the ability or items to specifically mask themselves from Xenomorph perception," Chu Xuan said calmly, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Agreed! When I was on a mission in Canada, I used something called a space blanket. It's a thin layer of aluminum foil; as long as you wrap it around your body, it reflects your body heat and prevents hypothermia. Although it's cheap, it's extremely thin and light. Folded up, it's no thicker than a Playboy magazine. It's essential survival gear for the wild—you can stuff it into any crack, and it takes up no space or weight," Ba Wang said thoughtfully, rubbing the stubble on his jaw.

"I've used them too! They're very effective in the wild, though I've never used one indoors," Zero added.

"It seems my information gathering was incomplete, leading to a flaw in my deductions. We wanted to use Zheng Zha, Zhang Jie, and the third person to draw the Xenomorphs' attention so we could scavenge for weapons and defensive positions. But, just as men harbor designs against tigers, tigers harbor designs against men. Both sides had the same idea!" Chu Xuan suddenly stopped before a closed door, fiddling with the switch while speaking softly.

"You mean we wanted to use them as shields, and they wanted to use us to lure the Xenomorphs away?" A flash of embarrassment crossed Ba Wang's rugged face as he asked helplessly, "But how could the three of them be so certain that a piece of junk like a space blanket could block a Xenomorph's perception?"

"We could guess how the Xenomorphs perceive distant prey. The moment I mentioned masking perception, you both immediately brought up space blankets. We all clearly deduced that they possess snake-like infrared vision. Given the miraculous nature of the God they described, it wouldn't be difficult for them to obtain items even more effective than a space blanket. If so, wouldn't blocking the Xenomorphs' perception be a matter of course?" Despite the critical situation, Chu Xuan remained unhurried, responding to Ba Wang while continuing to tinker with the switch.

"F-U-C-K!" Ba Wang couldn't help but curse.

"Unnecessary. We are just strangers who have just met. Unless you use hypnosis, it's impossible to make others fully trust you. Besides, if the Xenomorphs come, they come. We have weapons in our hands; we should be able to put up a fight. If we can't kill a Xenomorph, why should anyone else listen to us?" Chu Xuan replied.

Before he could finish, the closed door slid open silently.

Knowing time was tight and the Xenomorphs could arrive at any moment, the three walked into the unremarkable room. Inside, a metal shelf was strewn with a few handguns, assault rifles, shotguns, several magazines, and boxes of shells. The weapons looked not only old but poorly maintained; otherwise, they wouldn't have been discarded so carelessly on a metal rack.

The three had no time to be picky. Since this was an industrial mining ship and not a military vessel, the weapons were meant for defense and certainly wouldn't be brand-new, high-end gear. Each of them tucked a handgun into their waistbands, then grabbed an assault rifle and several magazines. Ba Wang even took an extra shotgun.

Just then, all three felt a terrible premonition. Zero and Chu Xuan immediately moved to either side of the room, while Ba Wang, despite his bear-like build, moved with surprising agility. He ducked and slid behind the metal rack, using the two-meter-tall structure as a shield.

No sooner had they found cover than two blue-black, metallic-sheened Xenomorphs appeared silently outside the door, one after the other!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang..." Behind the rack facing the door, Ba Wang, acting as the mercenary fire-support specialist, was always responsible for suppression. Seeing the Xenomorphs charge in, he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger of his shotgun!