Vol 2: Chapter 4-1.

The Na ring contained an abundant amount of food and water. Bread, cheese, jerky, and some snacks; rich in both quality and quantity. There was also enough water to last them several days. But just to be safe, they split the food and water into seven portions. Everyone received enough to last about three days.

Xuan put Shuai’s portion on the table. “This is your portion. As long as you proved you are useful to this group and not our burden, then this food and water belongs to you. Furthermore you will also become a member of our group.”

With his head down, Shuai took the food and water silently. Then he moved to the side and started eating by himself.

The others also ignored him and started eating their own food. After half a day of running and fear, they were hungry and thirsty. Finally now that they obtained some food and water, which were also in a good amount, they started rushing through the meal.

Since Lan couldn’t move one of her hands, Zheng opened the packages for her and poured her a cup of water. These little actions kept her smiling non-stop. She also sat next to him as she ate.

Xuan suddenly asked, “Right, since we have time, tell me, how did you kill that Alien? I’m rather curious.”

Even though the others were still eating, holding a conversation during a meal is a norm for the Chinese. Zheng took a drink then said, “Don’t make it sound like I’m strong. It was so dangerous, we almost died back there. If I wasn’t lucky enough to cut off its tongue at the start, we probably would’ve died.”

Xuan thought for a moment then asked Zero, “Using a desert eagle, how close do you need to be to hit an Alien’s tongue? I mean while they were moving at a very fast speed?”

Zero replied without raising his head, “30% accuracy within 150 meters, 40% within 100 meters, 50% within 50 meters. This is the limit, I can’t raise my accuracy anymore by going closer.”

Zheng smiled bitterly, 50% was just half and half. The Alien’s tongue was strong enough to break through metal. It was especially powerful when being shot from the Alien’s mouth. A human’s head would be as fragile as a watermelon. In other words, once Zero missed, its tongue could kill everyone near it.

Zheng continued, “I was lucky back then and cut it off by surprise. I was only able to hit it because its tongue was left inside Lan’s shoulder. If it’s face to face, we won’t even be able to react when it shoots its tongue out.”

Xuan nodded. “The speed at which Aliens shoot their tongue is frightening, it’s almost as fast as bullets. You also have to consider their mass and weight. A normal steel plate might not be able to block it. Anyway we will first continue with our plan. Then clear a path to the arsenal. Perhaps we can find some suitable weapons there.”

Zheng sighed. “How are you planning to isolate the Aliens? Just send someone out to bait them?”

Xuan pressed some buttons on the control panel while eating. After a moment, a map of the spacecraft appeared on the screen.

“We are in room 27. According to my deduction, and the way those four people and the Alien were going, the Queen should be at… Warehouse 1 or 2. The monitoring system around that place malfunctioned, probably corroded by the Alien secretions. I remember in Alien Resurrection, the Queen will secrete a substance similar to spider silk when it’s laying eggs. This substance is also highly acidic, though not as strong as their blood.”

“That’s why the isolating walls, monitoring system, and even the lights malfunctioned around that area. We can only control the isolating walls from room 16 and beyond. I’ve already noted them in the map. The green area is under our control.”

Everyone looked carefully at the screen. The green area occupied most of the spacecraft, the red area went from room 1 to 15.

Xuan sighed. “Maybe you are feeling lucky that the Aliens’ corrosion only got up to room 15 whereas the arsenal is room 17. But I have to tell you the bad news. Rooms 16 and 17 are on the left and right sides of room 15 respectively. We cannot put down the walls on the hall connecting room 15 and 17. If we are to get the weapons, the Aliens from room 15 can hunt us freely.”

“That’s also the reason for the bait plan. We need to lure the other four Aliens, aside from the Queen, to the halls beyond room 17 then isolate them. Then we can find a safe path to the arsenal. I said it before that I won’t treat human lives so lightly. Even though this plan has a high risk, it directly affects whether we can survive this movie or not. We can not allow anything to go wrong with this plan.”

Zheng stared at the red and green screen for a while, then he sighed. “What if only one or two Aliens come to us? Wouldn’t the plan fail?”

Xuan smiled, but it was Lan who answered him. “Actually there’s a way to lure the Aliens over. Remember when we got chased by them? How did they know we were there? And they didn’t give up no matter what… it’s smell.”

Zheng clicked. “Right, smell. The Alien blood has a very strong scent. Once the other Aliens smell this scent, they would rush over. You mean we will lure them with this scent?”

Xuan nodded. “We still have six grenades. If we bind them together three at a time, it will be powerful enough to damage a stage three Alien. Once one of them is injured, the others will come. And once they step into the hall beyond room 17, we will put down the wall. Shuai can also use the blast from the explosion as cover to run away. This is the whole plan.”

Even though it’s dangerous, it’s not a hopeless situation. Zheng finally felt relieved. Yet a hint of hideous emotion filled the eyes of Shuai, who had been sitting silently with his head down the whole time. He was gripping his hands so tight that he didn’t even realize his nails cut into his hands and blood dripped to the ground.