Of the six present, Baxiang was already gravely wounded, facing imminent death without immediate treatment. Zhang Jie’s arms were nearly corroded away, rendering any firearm useless. Zheng Zha possessed the strongest combat power, yet his right arm was shattered, and his internal energy severely depleted, leaving his fighting capacity doubtful for the short term.

Zero Point had excellent sniping skills, but the weapon in his hand resembled a submachine gun—a light weapon whose power and accuracy were insufficient to kill an Alien. Chu Xuan excelled at analysis and planning, but his practical use of firearms lagged far behind Zero Point and Baxiang. As for Zhan Lan, there was even less to say; though she had trained for days, her skill with firearms was inferior even to Chu Xuan’s.

Zheng Zha nodded. “Yes, almost all of us are injured now. Luckily… we’ve killed every Alien so far. Since nothing has rushed out of Room Fifteen after all this time, there should only be the Queen left inside.”

Chu Xuan stated, “That one Queen… is enough to kill all of us. We basically have no way to harm it. The Queen is about three times the size of a standard Alien. If I conservatively estimate its carapace thickness to be only double that of a regular Alien, even that thickness cannot be pierced by ordinary bullets… Perhaps heavy weaponry, high-precision sniper rifles, or armor-piercing rounds could damage it, but in our armory, we only found these light weapons. Alas, this is just an ordinary merchant vessel.”

Zheng Zha pondered. “What if we could breach its shell? Then we could all focus our bullets on the exposed parts. Could that kill it?” Chu Xuan looked at Zheng Zha curiously. “I don’t engage in illogical deduction. If you can breach its shell, please provide sufficient proof.”

Helplessly, Zheng Zha picked up an ordinary spike. Besides the two remaining spikes rigged with explosives, this was the only one left completely intact. He stood up, took a deep breath, channeled his internal energy, and hurled it forward. Just like the demonstrations before, the spike buried itself deeply into the steel wall beside them.

Chu Xuan stared intently at the embedded spike, then sighed. “You are not left-handed, yet your right arm is already… It is my fault. If I had known you possessed such great fighting capability, I would never have allowed you to sustain such severe injuries. Yes, just as you said, if we can blow open the Queen’s carapace, we have a very high chance of killing it. Moreover, if your throwing accuracy were slightly better and you hit its head directly, we might even achieve an instant kill.”

Zheng Zha gave a wry smile. “I can’t aim that accurately, after all, I’m attacking with my left hand. And my stamina now only allows for one or two more throws. Instead of risking a shot at the Queen’s head, it’s more practical to target its body.”

“Indeed!” Chu Xuan nodded. “The chance of hitting the body is higher. Our probability of killing the Queen… is around thirty percent. That’s quite good; sufficient for us to take this risk. Let’s divide the tasks then. Zheng Zha, you…” Zheng Zha suddenly interjected, “Wait. You only need to be responsible for your companions. Let’s divide the responsibilities between our two groups. Our side will handle breaching the Queen’s shell and providing some covering fire. Yours will be to protect us while also providing fire support. How about that?” Chu Xuan bit his finger thoughtfully. “Is this what you call an alliance? Very well. We only need to be responsible for our respective duties. I accept your proposal, but please note one thing: this means I no longer need to devise plans specifically to protect you. We will share the danger with absolute fairness.”

Zheng Zha let out a cold laugh. “We require exactly that fairness. Why should we need your protection? Is it just so you can design a scenario to abandon us later? Don’t make me laugh. We need your intellect, and you need our strength. Our relationship is simply that straightforward!” Chu Xuan said nothing further. He quietly retrieved several weapons from the armory, then proceeded to explain the pros, cons, and usage of each to the trio. Finally, Zhan Lan chose the Desert Eagle with infinite ammunition that Zero Point was not using, while Zheng Zha picked up a semi-automatic rifle, slightly more powerful at close range.

Seeing that Zheng Zha and the others had armed themselves, Chu Xuan spoke up. “We are actually quite lucky. If time had shifted forward another day or two, we wouldn’t be facing three Aliens, but seven! Those four individuals are probably already parasitized by now. Therefore, we must kill the Queen in the shortest possible time, or once those four Aliens hatch, we are absolutely doomed in our current state.”

“Besides that, there is one more thing you must pay attention to: once the Queen is injured and its blood begins to flow, we must kill it in the shortest time possible. Alien blood is extremely corrosive. Furthermore, the Queen is positioned near the edge of the merchant ship. If its blood corrodes a large hole there… we could be sucked directly out into space, ending us instantly!” Zheng Zha inwardly marveled. If one overlooked Chu Xuan’s cold-blooded nature, the man was undoubtedly a supreme genius in analysis and planning. Not a single detail escaped his notice, and he even factored in the personalities and reactions of everyone present. Although he disagreed with some of Chu Xuan’s methods, having such a person as an ally would certainly be a massive advantage for survival in this horror scenario! Chu Xuan continued, “Everyone, tuck your trouser legs completely into your boots, just like I’ve done. Next, we will be traversing the Alien nest. Their secretions, while not strong acid, are corrosive substances. So, tie your trouser legs and boots tightly and securely to briefly isolate you from those materials. Also, do not casually touch the walls later. If you see Alien eggs—those huge, oval objects—shoot them down immediately. Do not approach them carelessly. That’s basically it; the rest will rely on everyone’s on-the-spot judgment.”

Finally, everyone thoroughly checked their weapons one last time. Zhang Jie and Baxiang were truly incapable of fighting. Chu Xuan’s original intention was for them to stay put for now, but Zheng Zha worried about the possibility of more Aliens sneaking past them into the armory. Thus, he insisted that Zhang Jie accompany the main group. As for Baxiang, he was a member of Chu Xuan’s squad; according to Chu Xuan’s plan, he would simply be left lying there alone, his life left to the discretion of fate.

The moment Zheng Zha stepped out of the armory, he glanced back at Baxiang lying on the ground. The man was already semi-conscious. A sense of desolation washed over him. He then shifted his gaze away from the armory, looking ahead at the dim light beyond Corridor Fifteen—the Alien nest… It looked like an entrance to hell. Death… or the end of the horror film?