Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 46 Zheng Zha's Gene Lock
Mu Xiang spoke several times but received no response, and he realized something was wrong.

Fully armed Zheng Zha couldn't possibly be killed by a single alien, but no one responded to him on the other end of the headset.

"Mu Xiang, where are you? We're already in the control room!" Zhang Jie's voice rang out, and finally someone answered Mu Xiang.

“I’m still here. I’ve killed one alien, and the other one ran away. Now I’m going to check on Zheng Zha’s situation.” Mu Xiang replied calmly. “Neither Zheng Zha nor Zhan Lan’s headsets are on, otherwise I should be able to hear something.”

When Mu Xiang reached the corner, he was taken aback by what he saw in the dimly lit corner not far away.

Fully armed Zheng Zha collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently. Zhan Lan knelt beside him, helpless. On the other side lay the torn-to-shreds alien, its death far more gruesome than the two Mu Xiang had killed. If shown to the aliens, it would be a restricted R-rated film.

Seeing Mu Xiang running over, Zhan Lan opened her helmet and said urgently, her voice trembling with tears, "Zheng Zha was like this right after he killed this alien! What happened to him? I can't open his helmet, I can't see anything at all!"

“It should be that the gene lock has been unlocked,” Mu Xiang said, watching Zheng Zha’s spasms. Then he turned off his own headset so that no one else could hear. “After the gene lock is unlocked for the first time, just as Chu Xuan said, a highly toxic substance will be produced in the body, and at the same time, the internal organs will spasm, causing loss of respiratory control.”

Zhan Lan looked at Mu Xiang with confusion, wondering why he was so calm.

“We can’t help him, or rather, not helping him is the best help we can give him. The toxic substance can’t kill him immediately, and he’ll be safe once he returns to the Main God Space. The only problem is that his lung spasms are causing him to be unable to breathe… But his power armor has a built-in life support system that will actively supply oxygen in this situation, so we just need to wait for his adverse reactions to subside.” Mu Xiang looked at Zheng Zha, whose spasms had lessened. “Now I need you to tell me what just happened. Logically speaking, with his armor, an alien shouldn’t be able to force him into this state.”

Why does your unlocking sound like your breath?

When Zhan Lan and Mu Xiang reported the situation, Zheng Zha had calmed down, but he was about to cough after a few breaths.

Mu Xiang then realized that Zheng Zha had broken off one of the alien's arms in one go, and it had retreated. But when Zhan Lan came to meet up with Zheng Zha, she was snatched away by the alien that fell from the sky after only exchanging two words. It turned out that the alien had only hidden in the steel-framed ceiling, intending to catch another one to take back.

Looking at the small crack on Zhan Lan's exoskeleton shoulder armor, Mu Xiang nodded to himself, thinking that the defense was decent, but then asked in confusion, "Then why is Zheng Zha like this?"

Zhan Lan touched her forehead: "At the time, I didn't want to use the Fire Resistance Ring directly. Maybe it would be more appropriate to save it for the Queen. That alien couldn't kill me in one go... I was waiting for you and Zheng Zha to come and save me, but Zheng Zha suddenly shouted something about partners and bonds and rushed up. That shout startled me."

"And then the alien was turned into this?" Mu Xiang looked speechlessly at the debris scattered on the ground, including some charred remains.

Zheng Zha sat up, took a breath, and said, "Mu Xiang? I vaguely heard you mention the gene lock just now. Does that mean I've entered that state?"

Mu Xiang smiled and explained it to him again, but he felt a little strange. He had three reasons for dragging the thug along: first, to lure the aliens; second, to create chaos and expose the unreliability of Chu Xuan and his companions; and third, to let Zheng Zha adapt to the situation. But Zheng Zha unlocked his genetic potential at this moment, and all the injuries on his body were probably self-inflicted… truly a naturally resilient body. After saying this, Mu Xiang slapped Zheng Zha's leg and deliberately said to Zhan Lan, "Although Zheng Zha doesn't use his headset and isn't good at using the life detector, he's really a good man. He went into overdrive just seeing you get touched."

Zhan Lan's face immediately turned red, and she pulled her mask back on. Zheng Zha didn't dare to say anything, just grinned foolishly.

If you guys weren't all wearing armor, you'd probably be kissing for three minutes by the time I got here...

Mu Xiang mentally complained as he led the two toward the presumed control room.

Whether out of genuine curiosity or to break the awkward silence, Zhan Lan asked, "What were those three grenades? I really thought I was going to get blown up."

Zheng Zha didn't know what she was talking about, so Mu Xiang explained the situation at the time, and then sneered: "If that was a real grenade, and Zhan Lan and I didn't have any armor, we would have been the first to be injured... Then the aliens would have dealt with us first, and the three of them would have escaped. As long as they ran faster than their teammates, you understand? The key is that you can't blame them, after all, that's how grenades are played. We're not playing a game where you can blame your friends for getting hurt."

Stopping and peering into the room, Mu Xiang glanced at the numbered area and continued, "I gave them foam grenades. They're not lethal on their own; their purpose is to explode into highly effective foam glue—you know, that yellowish stuff—to restrict the movement of creatures. Normally, one foam grenade wouldn't be enough to trap an alien, but I didn't expect the three of them to live up to my trust and throw them all over! A full three cubic meters of foam glue—the alien won't be able to get out for a while. So I'm really grateful to them."

Hearing the sarcasm in his words, Zheng Zha couldn't help but say, "You knew they would do this, so you gave me this?"

Mu Xiang nodded and said, "That's right, I was on guard against them as soon as we made contact. At least in this horror movie, none of them are trustworthy... Zero and Overlord are both from the so-called dark world, so of course they prioritize themselves, and therefore they won't trust us or make any sacrifices."

"Chu Xuan's stance is the same as theirs, and even more dangerous... I know Chu Xuan; he's a ruthless calculating machine who prioritizes his own interests above all else. So I will establish my authority and be aggressive, because compared to them, we veterans are actually novices in this cruel environment... If we make any concessions, they will take the initiative."

“I must deal with him with the same mindset, otherwise we will unknowingly fall into his trap.”

“So the three of them will naturally form an alliance... I can also tell they want to bring me in, after all, they need my fighting power.” As he spoke, Mu Xiang looked at Zheng Zha, who still needed to be supported to walk, with amusement. “Of course, once they know you have unlocked your genetic lock, you will also be considered useful.”

Then he patted Zheng Zha's helmet: "But who gives them the right to judge who's useful or not? We're the team! We're the veterans!"

Three fully armed men entered the control room. Mu Xiang removed his helmet, popped a lemon candy into his mouth, and looked at Chu Xuan and the other two with a half-smile: "How was the grenade? If you like, I can give you a few more."

(End of this chapter)