“What are we going to do now?” Zheng Zha looked at Li Shuaixi and sighed. Chu Xuan continued pressing buttons on the control panel, then stood up moments later. “In one minute, the external isolation wall will open. The sequence for the remaining walls has also been set. Let’s go; we need to get out to the corridor now. I will explain the full details of the decoy plan to him.”

Everyone followed him to the corridor. Ba Wang had already adjusted the six grenades into two combined charges. The thick isolation wall began to rise, and through the gap, they could see the outer wall pitted and scarred everywhere—scratches and claw marks deeply etched into pure steel. The sight sent a tremor of dread through everyone present.

Chu Xuan took the two combined charges and gestured toward the corridor. “You need to stand at the far end of this corridor, from where you can see space within a hundred meters in a straight line. As soon as an Alien rushes in from the other end, you must immediately pull the pin and throw the bomb. I specifically asked Ba Wang to shorten the fuse time on this pin. Once thrown toward the Alien, it should detonate while still in the air. The moment you toss the combined charge, you must flee backward immediately. Remember, your escape route must curve sharply to the left; every passage you enter must be a left turn.”

“By doing this, you will eventually circle back here after running a large loop. The wounded Alien chasing you will be blocked by the isolation wall dropping behind you. So, as long as you run fast enough to clear two sections of isolation walls, you will be completely safe.”

Li Shuaixi looked down. “What about this isolation wall leading to the control room? Will it close right after I exit?” Chu Xuan nodded. “Yes, that wall will close after you pass through. I will activate it one minute after the explosion sounds. Based on your previous running speed, this timeframe is actually not tight. Oh, right, to attract the Alien, I believe you’ll need to smear some blood on yourself. In summary, for this mission, you just need to keep running left!” At that moment, Ba Wang tossed a dagger to Li Shuaixi, and Chu Xuan handed him the combined charges simultaneously. As Li Shuaixi accepted the bomb, tension filled everyone’s hearts. Zheng Zha even saw Ling Dian’s hand reaching behind his back, where he was gripping that Desert Eagle with infinite ammunition—though no one knew when Zhang Jie had handed it to him.

Against everyone’s expectation, Li Shuaixi turned around calmly. Everyone let out a breath of relief, only to see Li Shuaixi suddenly pivot. He casually tossed one combined charge behind the group. Just as Chu Xuan had predicted, the shortened-fuse charge detonated while still in the air. Fortunately, because Li Shuaixi was tense, he had thrown it quite far; the group was only rattled by the shockwave and sustained no actual damage.

Zheng Zha, standing at the very back, had been hesitant to look at Li Shuaixi’s eyes. Unexpectedly, he was the one most severely affected by the blast. He was nearly thrown into the air by the shockwave. When he landed, his mouth and nose were full of blood, and his vision was a blinding white fog. After several agonizing seconds, he managed to restore his sight, looking directly at Li Shuaixi clutching the detonator ring of the combined bomb in his hand, a ferocious expression contorting his face.

Li Shuaixi laughed hideously. “What’s wrong, genius? Didn’t you want to kill me? Aren’t all of you repulsed by me? All because of that meager bit of food and water? Just so you can hide with me? Damn it, are you people really this cruel? Why must I be the one sent to die? Ah, why? Tell me! I’ve already thrown everything away anyway; if I die, we all die together. I’d rather die by my own hand than end up in the mouths of those Aliens!” Chu Xuan, knocked to the floor by the shockwave, had hit his head against the wall, causing blood to stream down. He stood up and asked calmly, “I am curious. Why are you not afraid to die? My plan, while dangerous, is not one hundred percent fatal. If you follow my instructions, your chance of survival is extremely high. Tell me, why…” Li Shuaixi’s face twisted in fury, interrupting Chu Xuan. “Damn it, stop lying to me! Do you know why I asked that question earlier? It was about that isolation wall after I exit—what would happen to it? What was your answer? That it would activate one minute after the explosion? Stop fucking lying! Do you remember my specialty? Even if I’m useless in other ways, I’ve read countless books, including some military texts. Isolation walls like these in aerospace facilities usually cannot be reopened for half an hour after closing. This is a precaution against someone hacking the entire system. For thirty minutes, not even the computer can override the closing sequence. Earlier, I specifically studied your operating method—you only entered the command to close it; you never entered a command to reopen it!” At this point, Li Shuaixi burst into maniacal laughter. “When I asked you that question just now, it was my last struggle. Damn it, who doesn’t want to live? If there was even a sliver of hope, I’d want to survive, but you bastard were going to push me straight into the jaws of the Aliens! Damn it, tell me! Why did you push me to the absolute limit!” Chu Xuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I underestimated you; that was my mistake… I said this team has no use for dead weight. You are entirely redundant here. I hadn’t planned to abandon you, but when I devised the plan, you showed clear dissatisfaction. The human heart is like that; once there is the slightest hint of resentment, it can easily grow into ugly murderous intent. It is better to eliminate you now than to have you become an unpredictable factor in future plans… I truly hadn't intended to sacrifice you. Although the isolation wall requires half an hour before it can be reopened, if you had kept running forward, I would have channeled you into a passage clear of Aliens, and you could have been released after thirty minutes. But you shouldn't have shown that venomous expression then.”

Li Shuaixi’s expression grew even more deranged, his face contorted as he screamed, “Damn it, why should I be the one to die, and I’m not even allowed to look resentful? Are you the leader of this team? Who the hell do you think you are! If I can’t live, you won’t live either—you’re all coming down with me!” With that shout, Li Shuaixi violently yanked the detonator ring in his hand! And leaped toward...