"Five spikes?" Zhang Jie scratched his head. "Five spikes would work too. I don't believe those Xenomorph shells are tougher than thick steel plates. It's a shame you only just discovered this strength, with no practice or accuracy. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't even bother regarding the Xenomorphs as threats."

Zheng Zha gave a wry smile. The strength of the Xenomorphs was far more complicated than Zhang Jie made it sound. Beyond immense power and uncanny speed, what truly terrified people about them was their ability to deliver a single, lethal strike from the shadows. He had encountered Xenomorphs twice on the merchant ship, and both times, people had died due to their sneak attacks. While they probably could have killed people even without ambushing them, in any case, the Xenomorphs lurking unseen were the most terrifying presence.

"Actually, what makes the Xenomorphs truly terrifying is their ambush tactics. Last time, Jialan and I..." Zheng Zha stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Jialan staring blankly into space. He quickly asked with curiosity, "Jialan, what are you thinking about?" Jialan replied bitterly, "I'm wondering why Chu Xuan left with them. Logically, with his intelligence, he wouldn't overlook the danger behind Room 15. Why would he willingly go and face that danger? Does it mean there's an even greater danger awaiting us if we stay here?" Zheng Zha’s heart skipped a beat, and he exclaimed almost simultaneously with Jialan, "The Xenomorph blood!" Zhang Jie looked at the two of them strangely and asked, "What Xenomorph blood? I didn't understand what you were talking about."

Zheng Zha also spoke with a bitter expression, "The isolated Xenomorphs. I've seen Alien Resurrection. The Xenomorph under isolation monitoring only escaped by damaging its own flesh, letting its highly corrosive blood flow out. If we just isolate the Xenomorphs, they might not immediately damage their own bodies. But if we advance toward Room 15, those Xenomorphs, in order to protect their nest, might self-mutilate to escape. Then, facing those three Xenomorphs won't be Chu Xuan and the others, but us standing behind them! What a cruel person. Could it be that he has been plotting against us since he calculated against Li Shuaixi?" Jialan shook her head, "No one has such profound calculating ability, and he isn't that familiar with our personalities. How could he have been plotting against us since so long ago? He probably made that decision on impulse. Seeing that we had already decided to form our own team, he just let us become his shields."

Zheng Zha calmed down at this point. He began searching the large screen for something. A moment later, he finally stated coldly, "Since he shows no benevolence, I shall show no righteousness either. He must know that we are not pawns in his hand, not to be squeezed as he wishes! Let's see who actually dies in the end!" Room 22, the washroom.

Zheng Zha and the other two arrived here at top speed. After pulling the two into the room, he immediately told Jialan to lock the door. Then he rushed into a shower stall himself. Inside the stall, he instructed, "You two hurry up and wash off the sweat and other smells! Then, smear the food I gave you all over yourselves. Make sure every inch of skin is covered, got it?" Jialan, without a word, immediately found a shower stall and rushed in. Only Zhang Jie stood there holding a package of cheese, looking lost. But he still began washing as Zheng Zha instructed. After showering for a moment, he suddenly heard Jialan exclaim loudly, "Zheng... Zheng Zha, my arm is inconvenient, I can’t properly wash the smell of blood off. Could you... could you come over and help me?"

Zhang Jie instantly stopped what he was doing. He pressed his ear against the wall with incredible speed, then pulled a lecherous, squinting expression as he listened carefully. However, before the sounds from Zheng Zha and Jialan reached him, he heard a screeching sound of metal scraping from the corridor outside, an extremely grating noise, like someone dragging a steel brush across the floor as they walked.

The actions and sounds of the three instantly ceased. Everyone froze stiffly, not daring to move at all. Even Zheng Zha, who had just stepped into Jialan's shower stall, could only stare awkwardly at Jialan’s exposed upper body, while he himself had completely shed all his clothes.

The sound stopped abruptly when it reached the washroom door. The three instantly felt as if their hearts had stopped beating. The only sound in the entire washroom was the gurgle of running water. Beyond that, the three dared not even breathe, standing rigidly, holding their breath.

It was unclear how long that invisible pressure stood outside the door—perhaps ten seconds, perhaps several minutes. In any case, by the time the sound of the steel brush scraping the floor gradually faded away, the three were practically suffocating. The moment they relaxed, they began breathing frantically, as if they had never breathed so freely in their entire lives.

After that, the three said no more words. Zhang Jie gave up trying to eavesdrop on them and started incessantly rubbing the cheese all over his body. The other two also scrubbed themselves stiffly, then smeared some liquid food onto themselves. This entire process took less than a minute, demonstrating the boundless potential within a person.

Just then, that ear-splitting sound like grinding steel returned again from the main washroom entrance. Everyone pricked up their ears and held their breath. With the experience from the first time, they were not as tense as before. Indeed, just like the first time, the sound stopped at the washroom entrance. But this time, the pause was very brief, and the sound quickly moved away from the washroom toward 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-pierced steel bars from the floor. Zhang Jie and Jialan both poked their heads out of their stalls, watching him with expressions full of bewilderment.

"The reaction of the Xenomorphs was the same both times. I hope it’s the same this time..." Zheng Zha quietly told the two. Then, a faint scraping sound gradually approached from the other end of the corridor. The breathing of the three grew tense again, especially Zhang Jie and Jialan, who had no idea what Zheng Zha intended to do. Perhaps only Jialan faintly guessed something. Because of this uncertainty, the other two grew even more nervous 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-pierced steel bars held by Zheng Zha’s fingers was already turning pale blue; the immense force had even dented the spikes slightly.

The sound indeed stopped at the washroom door, just like the previous two times. Zheng Zha could even vaguely hear a low, grinding noise coming from beyond the door.

With no further hesitation, Zheng Zha poured all his internal energy and physical strength into the spiral-pierced steel bars. He violently threw three bars in succession. With three sharp hissing sounds, the three steel bars pierced through the steel door and shot out. Immediately, a wild, beast-like roar echoed from outside the door... Jump to