If We Meet Again on the Road, Will You Draw Your Sword Against Me?

Countless metal ribbons, possessing both the rigidity of steel and the suppleness of silk, instantly wrapped the Xenomorph—which had recovered a fifth of its health and transitioned from near-death to critical injury—into a tightly bound mummy. Subsequently, countless spikes erupted from the inner walls of this steel coffin. Had the Xenomorph been in peak condition, these ordinary metal spikes would not have pierced its exoskeleton; however, this Xenomorph, having just been transferred from the intensive care unit to a high-dependency ward, was in no such state. Its exoskeleton had already been riddled with too many cracks and holes of varying lengths, depths, and sizes by Chu Xuan. Thus, although some spikes were blocked, a great many pierced through those very fissures and gaps!

And this was merely the appetizer.

As the metal spikes embedded themselves into the Xenomorph's body, before the acidic fluids could even corrode and dissolve them, they suddenly detonated!

Although each individual spike was small, and their remaining mass was further reduced by corrosion, there were simply too many of them—dozens in total. Consequently, the simultaneous explosion of dozens of micro-bombs caused catastrophic damage.

The one-fifth of the health bar the Xenomorph had just recovered was instantly wiped out. Had it not been wrapped airtight by the steel ribbons—a coffin in all but name—the creature would have been transformed into a giant firework, spraying acidic blood into every corner of the room.

"Chu Xuan, are you still alive?" A clear voice drifted in from outside the door.

"I can last another minute." Despite having been eaten down to his upper torso by the Xenomorph, Chu Xuan remained remarkably calm, as if it were not he who was on the verge of death.

"Sigh, seeing you like this, I truly don't know what to say! It seems that no matter what I say, it carries no meaning." Wang Zhen walked in from the doorway, looked at Chu Xuan—who was reduced to a torso yet possessed eyes of unnatural stillness—and said helplessly, "I want to ask you a question: if we meet again on the road in the future, will we share wine and laughter, or draw our blades against each other?"

"What do you think?" Hearing this pointed question, a ripple appeared in Chu Xuan's tranquil, mirror-like eyes as he countered.

"Although I would love to say we'd share wine and laughter, if I think carefully about our personalities, I feel... there is a ninety percent chance we would draw our blades!" Wang Zhen slowly retracted the gentle smile from his face and answered with utmost sincerity.

"We have only just met and barely exchanged a few words, yet you seem to understand me well. I do not know the reason, nor do I wish to know. As for the reunion you speak of, I believe it will not happen, but my intuition tells me that perhaps there truly is a chance!" Chu Xuan's voice grew fainter. "If we do meet again... kill me! The dead... do not return to life, and whoever returns will not be me."

"Your IQ is so high, your intuition must be very accurate! I trust your intuition." Wang Zhen looked at Chu Xuan, who had closed his eyes and ceased breathing, and whispered, "Actually, regardless of whether you said those words or not, I would have killed you first anyway."

"In chaotic times, kill the saintly first; in team battles... one must always kill the strategist first!" Wang Zhen muttered to himself. Though they were difficult to kill, if the opportunity arose, one truly had to eliminate the strategists first, for the variables they influenced were simply too great.

Throughout his journey, Wang Zhen had truly been a "commander of the air force," failing to lure out a single Xenomorph!

Had he not coincidentally sensed a Xenomorph here, he likely would have continued his streak of coming up empty. Although he hadn't lured this one out either, he had at least been the one to finish it off—that much was certain! Therefore, even if he hadn't used a fishing rod or bait, but had instead beaten it to death with a stick, it was still his catch; by rounding up, it was equivalent to him having caught it himself.

Wang Zhen did not know why he hadn't been able to lure out a single Xenomorph, but he now knew who these creatures were looking for! Furthermore, he had figured out why these Xenomorphs ignored him—a large, fragrant, and delicious piece of bait—to hunt down Chu Xuan and Zheng Zha instead. Much like the lions, tigers, crocodiles, and leopards of the African savanna, their targets were not the strongest or the most robust, but the "four great angels"—no, the "four great delicacies": the old, the young, the sick, and the weak!

And then, the problem arose! How could a highly intelligent alien species like the Xenomorph overlook the string of hooks buried within Wang Zhen, the largest and most fragrant piece of bait?

On the other hand, while the others were thin, small, and stringy, they didn't carry hooks! One only needed to open their mouth, rush over, and start biting—that was all there was to it! Such a simple task meant that no matter how many other flaws they had, they were no longer flaws.

Comparing the two, the attraction of Wang Zhen's hook-laden, fragrant bait to the Xenomorphs plummeted! Unless these Xenomorphs devoured Chu Xuan, Zheng Zha, and the others completely, only then, desperate for their sole remaining food source, would they rush over to bite, hooks notwithstanding!

"Since these brainy, clever Xenomorphs are now hell-bent on bullying the weak and avoiding me, I shouldn't be foolishly wandering around trying to fish. I'll stick to the old method: besiege a point to strike at reinforcements!" Wang Zhen felt somewhat unwilling, but since the Xenomorphs were giving him a wide berth, he had no choice but to abandon the healthy, soul-soothing hobby of fishing and return to his old trade of siege warfare.

Now that Chu Xuan, Zero, and Ba Wang were all dead, only Zhang Jie, Zheng Zha, and Zhan Lan remained. I must go and guard these three, otherwise, I won't be able to find or touch any Xenomorphs!

Of course, Wang Zhen had a small question: why did these two Xenomorphs come to attack Chu Xuan's group? Logically speaking, Zhang Jie, Zheng Zha, and Zhan Lan should have been easier to attract, as they were relatively weaker!

Wang Zhen turned and walked out the door, beginning his search for the trio. He hadn't gone far before he sensed their positions. However, based on the locations of the two groups and the tracks left by the Xenomorphs, Wang Zhen easily analyzed a particularly interesting result: the two Xenomorphs that killed Chu Xuan's group had actually abandoned Zhang Jie's group to pursue them instead.

"Interesting! It seems that old silver-tongued fox Zhang Jie made a move! Although Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan have talent and potential—and Zheng Zha even exchanged for a Double C-Rank Mutant Vampire Lineage and Intermediate Internal Energy Enhancement—their mentalities haven't shifted. They are merely pigs being rapidly fattened. To kill a Xenomorph, unless Zhang Jie puts in the effort, or... they trigger a genetic lock!"

"It is impossible for Zhang Jie to put in the effort, so there is only one possibility: Zheng Zha triggered his genetic lock! However, while triggering the lock allows him to kill a Xenomorph, he would inevitably fall into a backlash afterward, becoming even more useless than a 'combat power of five' weakling. The only way they could mask their presence and prevent the Xenomorphs from hunting them is if that old fox Zhang Jie, wanting to avoid fighting, used some underhanded trick to mask their scent, causing the Xenomorphs to lose them and turn toward Chu Xuan's group instead!" Wang Zhen narrowed his eyes, sensing the distant position of the trio, and muttered to himself.

Strangely enough, Wang Zhen sensed a Xenomorph again! And it was heading directly toward the location of Zhang Jie's group!

It was still turning a blind eye to Wang Zhen. It was simply absurd!