Infinite terror invades all heavens

Through Chu Xuan's guidance combining logic and empirical evidence, coupled with Wang Yi's demonstration of his amazing abilities, the invisible ice wall between newcomers and veterans was finally cracked open.

Chu Xuan himself, with his extraordinary wisdom and composure, has initially established an indispensable position in the team.

Chapter 15 First Battle Against the Alien (Part 1)

Wang Zongchao remained expressionless, and as if by magic, he took out a classic Type 54 pistol and two gleaming Desert Eagles from the seemingly antique storage bag, handing them to Chu Xuan, Zero Point, and Overlord respectively. He also gave each of them three heavy high-explosive grenades.

"Here, it can be used for self-defense in a critical situation. We'll launch an attack later to test just how capable those so-called aliens really are." As he spoke, he took out a single-soldier rocket launcher and its accompanying ammunition, and handed it to Zhang Jie.

"This is so convenient," Wang Yi thought to himself. With this, the logistical burden has been reduced by ninety percent.

Chu Xuan, upon witnessing firsthand the storage bag's physics-defying storage capabilities, instantly shattered his facade of composure! He abruptly grabbed Wang Zongchao's hand holding the bag, his eyes behind his glasses flashing with an almost fanatical light as he stared intently at the small cloth bag, his voice trembling with excitement:

"Space... space folding? A mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru! Is this really a cultivation artifact?! The vague records in ancient books, those descriptions that modern science considers myths and legends... are all true! They all originated from this Main God Space! My God! If we can analyze the principles of this technology, even if it's just the tip of the iceberg, the technological tree of human civilization will light up a completely new and unimaginable branch! We might even touch upon the fundamental rules of the universe!"

Hearing this, Wang Yi was struck dumb, his mind reeling. Chu Xuan's genuine shock and excitement were undeniable! With his status and authority as a colonel at the Dragon Shadow Base, if a systematic cultivation tradition truly existed in the real world, there was no way he wouldn't have come into contact with it, much less act as if he had discovered a new continent.

However… Zhu Peng’s appearance, and his seemingly miraculous Taoist magic, were undeniably real! Wang Yi’s gaze involuntarily drifted to the young Taoist robe standing quietly to the side.

Aren't they from the same world? A parallel universe? No! I have to find a way to find out the truth when I get back!

Chu Xuan was almost lost in academic frenzy, rambling on and on about the potential technological revolution brought about by cultivation, until the people around him, especially Zhang Jie, showed obvious impatience. Only then did he realize the inappropriate situation. He released Wang Zongchao's wrist with immense regret and reluctance. His look and action sent a chill down the spines of Wang Zongchao and the others around him, who instinctively moved away from him.

Zhang Jie weighed the rocket launcher on his shoulder, looked at the narrow metal passage and low ceiling around him, and finally handed it back to Wang Zongchao with a wry smile. "Using this big thing here will probably wipe out our own people first." He shook his head, took out the two Desert Eagles with unlimited ammo, and decided that this thing was more reliable in complex terrain.

Just then.

"laugh"

With a soft thud as air pressure was released, the heavy metal door of the room slid open slowly without warning! The passageway outside was dark, with only a few emergency lights emitting a ghostly green glow, like the throat of a giant beast waiting for its prey.

Everyone tensed up instantly! The veterans instinctively raised their guns and pointed them outside the door, while Chu Xuan, Zero Point, and Overlord quickly went into battle mode, realizing that the brutal horror movie had officially begun.

Zhu Peng waved his left sleeve, and after a spell, the white paper talismans folded into dozens of paper cranes in mid-air, flapping their wings and scattering away at an extremely fast speed.

However, in stark contrast to the veterans' tension, the thugs who had been taught a lesson by Ying before and were now just recovering, along with a few newcomers who thought they had seen through the "trick," walked out cursing and acting as if nothing had happened. One of them even turned back and sneered disdainfully, "Tch, they're putting on quite a show! This lousy film crew's props are so fake, who are they trying to scare?" They completely ignored Zhan Lan's earlier warnings.

"Stop them!" Chu Xuan's calm yet undeniable voice suddenly rang out, breaking the commotion at the doorway. "The Xenomorphs need living hosts as parasites, and flesh and blood as an energy source for growth and activity! Letting them leave is like handing the hunters in the darkness a mobile meal and provisions to strengthen themselves!"

These words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly sobering up some newcomers who had initially intended to let others scout ahead. Ba Wang and Ling Dian reacted swiftly, rushing to the door like two whirlwinds, using their imposing figures and icy gazes to forcefully stop those still trying to rush out. Zheng Zha, Zhang Jie, and the others immediately shouted, "Come back! All of you, come back!" "Don't leave the team! It's dangerous outside!"

The senior's stern warning made those who hadn't yet stepped out hesitate. However, the merchant-looking man and the middle-aged man who had already run out heard the shouts from behind and instead of stopping, they ran even faster like startled rabbits, disappearing around the corner of the passage in an instant.

Wang Zongchao frowned, and with a slight movement, he darted out of the gate like a cheetah and chased after it, disappearing into the dimly lit passage in a flash.

The people left in the room were at a loss for what to do. At this moment, a young man who looked like he had just graduated from university, wearing glasses and appearing somewhat frail, cautiously approached Zheng Zha and the others, and introduced himself with a fawning smile: "I, my name is Li Shuaixi, I am a recent college graduate... Please, please take care of me."

Seeing his sincere attitude, Zheng Zha took the initiative to extend his hand: "Li Shuaixi, right? Welcome to join us."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Li Shuaixi quickly clasped his hands together, bowed repeatedly, and lowered his posture to the extreme.

Wang Yi's lips twitched involuntarily as he watched this scene, internally screaming, "Holy crap! The mighty Emperor Shuai Xi! The formidable figure in the original story who saw through Chu Xuan's scheme and ultimately perished with a bomb! You're just a harmless, quasi-corporate slave looking like a ghost?! Plus this character setting... could you be the hidden protagonist?!"

Just as Wang Yi was internally ranting and raving, trying to relieve the immense pressure in this way.

"what!!!"

Several shrill screams, distorted and filled with extreme terror, suddenly came from the depths of the passage, tearing apart the oppressive silence inside the spaceship like sharp claws!

"Something's happened!" Zheng Zha's expression changed. "Quick! Follow us!"

Everyone immediately sprinted towards the source of the sound. The difference in physical abilities became immediately apparent during the run. Among the newcomers, aside from the physically strong Zero Point and Overlord, and the seemingly frail but steadily moving Chu Xuan, everyone else began to pant and gradually fell behind.

The screams came from a relatively spacious hall of several dozen square meters. The middle-aged man and the businessman who had run out first were slumped on the ground, their fingers trembling as they pointed ahead, making strange hoarse noises from their throats, clearly terrified. In the direction they were pointing, three corpses lay on the ground in extremely contorted positions, and Wang Zongchao was squatting beside one of them, examining it with a grave expression.

When Wang Yi and the others rushed in, they happened to witness this bloody scene.

The three corpses were two men and one woman, their faces twisted and grotesque from extreme pain. Their bodies were mangled beyond recognition, their limbs torn apart, their torsos covered with clear, deep bite marks that revealed the bone, and the ground was stained with thick, dark red blood.

"Kill...the murderer's accomplice!" Upon seeing Wang Yi and his group enter, the slumped merchant and middle-aged man, as if seeing a ghost, let out an even sharper scream and scrambled to escape towards the passage at the other end of the hall. But the Overlord merely snorted coldly, and like an iron tower, he blocked their path completely.

Faced with such a terrible scene, Chu Xuan, Zero Point, and Overlord merely frowned slightly, their eyes becoming even sharper. They quickly shifted their attention to the various entrances and ventilation ducts of the guard hall. Their almost cold professionalism secretly alarmed Wang Yi.

Wang Zongchao stood up from beside the corpse, his tone calm yet tinged with gravity: "Besides the obvious bite and claw marks from a large beast, the most fatal wound is in the abdomen—a large hole forcibly torn open from the inside. Judging from the size and shape of this wound... it seems that, besides the one in the movie, a new alien has already burst through the chest!"

Chu Xuan also squatted down beside the corpses. He gestured with his finger along the holes in the chests of two of the corpses, then gestured again along the one with a large hole in its chest. After a long while, he stood up with a grave expression and said, "It really is the Empress... Strangely, their growth should require a lot of meat, so why was so much meat left behind?"

Just then, Zhu Peng, who had released a paper crane to probe the surroundings, suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, "Something's wrong! Within my perception range, there's no sign of any living person besides us! But something is rapidly approaching, carrying a strong killing intent!"

The voice just fell.

"Hiss!!"

A chilling, inhuman roar, filled with cold killing intent, came from the corner of the passageway they had come from! Accompanied by a heavy, ear-piercing noise of hard objects scraping against the metal floor, it sent shivers down everyone's spine!

Chapter 16 First Battle with the Alien (Part 2)

Wang Zongchao and Chu Xuan's eyes sharpened almost simultaneously. Without exchanging a word, the two swiftly pressed themselves against the walls on either side. Zero and Overlord also reacted quickly, each occupying one of the other two corners of the lobby, and the four instantly formed a simple crossfire defensive formation.

Ying had already pulled Wang Yi behind her, blocking the wall where Wang Zongchao was. Her muscles were tense, and she was in a state of combat readiness. Her cold gaze was fixed on the direction from which the sound came.

"Zheng Zha! Olfactory map!" Wang Yi shouted hurriedly, suppressing his discomfort.

Zheng Zha was startled, then reacted and immediately activated the silver soul seed [Scent Map] he had obtained from Resident Evil 1. A faint, shadowy zombie dog phantom flashed behind him. Zheng Zha closed his eyes and concentrated, then suddenly opened them a few seconds later, speaking rapidly, "On our way here, there were three moving objects with a strong smell of blood! Two in front, huge and fast! One behind, smaller and agile, and it... it seems to have the scent of a feline?"

Zhu Peng then added, confirming Zheng Zha's perception: "That's right, the two big guys were followed by a small tail, their aura was concealed, and they did indeed have some characteristics of cats." After saying that, he suddenly slammed the rectangular iron box he had been carrying on his back heavily to the ground, the metal box hitting the ground with a dull thud.

Upon receiving the warning, everyone gripped their weapons tightly, their hearts pounding in their throats, staring intently at the dark corner of the passage.

"Thump...thump...click..."

The heavy footsteps and the sound of claws scraping the ground grew closer, like the death knell of the Grim Reaper.

Finally, under the almost suffocating gazes of everyone, two enormous, ferocious figures slowly revealed their terrifying full appearance from the shadows at the corner of the passage!

Nearly three meters long and almost two meters tall, its streamlined torso is covered in a dark, gleaming, polished carapace that shimmers with a cold metallic sheen, exuding an extreme beauty of power and slaughter. Its disproportionately long, slender head is perfectly smooth, eyeless, with only a gaping maw below, filled with ferocious fangs and constantly dripping thick saliva, resembling an insect's mandibles. A tail, full of joints and sharp as a spear, swings nimbly and dangerously behind it.

Aliens! And there are two of them!

This perfect hunter from the depths of nightmares brings unparalleled visual impact and mental oppression simply by existing!

"what--!!!"

After a brief silence, the newlyweds screamed in despair, as if that could dispel the bone-chilling fear.

The moment the scream rang out, the closest alien slammed its hind legs into the ground, transforming into a black lightning bolt and carrying a stench of blood as it lunged straight at Wang Zongchao, who was standing at the very front! It was so fast that it left only a blur in the air!

"Good timing!"

Wang Zongchao's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Without dodging or evading, the internal energy of the Seven Heavens of Ice and Fire and the vast blood and qi honed by the Present Tathagata Sutra erupted instantly! He shifted his feet, his figure moving slightly to the side like a ghost, narrowly avoiding the alien's thrusting inner jaws and sharp forepaws. At the same time, his right hand, fingers together, seemed to expand instantly, carrying a scorching aura. With a sleek and swift hand chop, he struck the alien's relatively vulnerable neck and head junction with lightning speed!

"Bang!!"

With a muffled thud, like a heavy hammer striking a tough rubber tire, the alien's forward momentum abruptly halted, letting out a painful screech. Tiny cracks appeared in the bony carapace of its neck! Wang Zongchao's strike, imbued with the combined forces of ice and fire and immense power, had failed to sever its head directly!

But the alien's counterattack was extremely swift! The excruciating pain from its injury made it even more ferocious, and its steel whip-like tail, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, lashed out at Wang Zongchao's waist and abdomen from an extremely tricky angle!

Wang Zongchao reacted faster than expected. His left hand moved as if sealing off a battle, releasing a surge of icy internal energy in an attempt to block. However, the power and speed of that tail far exceeded his prediction!

With a sharp "snap," the tail was deflected, but the sharp bone at its tip still managed to cut a deep, bone-revealing gash on Wang Zongchao's left forearm!

Even more terrifying, the alien's highly acidic blood hissed and emitted acrid white smoke the moment it came into contact with the air and the wound, and began to frantically corrode his flesh and combat suit!

Wang Zongchao didn't even flinch, seemingly oblivious to the pain. In the instant the alien froze, stunned by the successful attack, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. His injured left arm, instead of retreating, lunged forward, locking the base of the alien's lashing tail like an iron clamp! Simultaneously, his aura surged, his right fist retracting to his waist, his entire body's power converging like a river, focusing on a single point!

"die!"

With a low roar, like a thunderclap, Wang Zongchao's right fist, like a cannonball, carrying a violent energy of intertwined ice and fire and a martial will to shatter everything, slammed into the crack in the alien's neck that he had cleaved with his hand!

"boom!!!"

This time, it wasn't a muffled thud, but a shattering sound like a watermelon exploding! The alien's tough head, along with half of its neck, exploded instantly under Wang Zongchao's furious blow, like an egg crushed by a tremendous force! Dark green acidic blood and shattered tissue splattered everywhere!

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!"

Wang Zongchao withdrew his fist and retreated with lightning speed, but his arm and fist were still corroded by the splashed strong acid, leaving his skin torn and his bones barely visible. The scene was shocking!

"Instructor Wang!" Wang Yi was terrified and prepared the treatment almost at the same time that Wang Zongchao retreated.

The Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul instantly bloomed in his palm, and the two yellow soul rings shone brightly. Countless pure white petals containing boundless vitality seemed to have life of their own, quickly covering Wang Zongchao's injured arm.

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, the horribly corroded wound by the strong acid visibly stopped deteriorating. New granulation tissue grew wildly, the charred dead skin peeled off, and tender new skin quickly covered it... In just five or six seconds, the horrific injury on Wang Zongchao's arm had already healed by about 70-80%! Only some superficial red marks remained!

Almost at the same time that Wang Zongchao was fighting the first alien, another alien pounced on Zhu Peng in the corner!

Facing this terrifying space hunter, Zhu Peng remained unfazed, even a faint, cold smile playing on his lips. Instead of retreating, he abruptly opened the rectangular iron box that had been resting on the ground!

"Roar!"

A roar, inhuman and filled with violence and death, came from the box! The next moment, a tall figure with bulging muscles, unnaturally grayish-white skin, and obvious stitches at the joints leaped out of the box! It was the Reptile Corpse he had created in Resident Evil 1!

At the same time, Zhu Peng had somehow already grasped an ancient bone flute in his hands and placed it to his lips. A mournful, eerie, and seemingly soul-capturing flute melody began to rise, and along with the melody, a thick, bone-chilling mist began to emanate from his body, subtly obscuring his figure.

Driven by the flute music, the crawling corpse, like the most loyal puppet, fearlessly met the onrushing alien! It had no intelligence, no fear, only a killing instinct driven by magic! Its sharp claws clashed fiercely with the alien's bone claws, producing a piercing sound like metal clashing!

The Xenomorph possesses immense strength, swift movements, and an extremely strong fighting instinct. However, the strength of the Crawler Corpse General is equally formidable. More importantly, under Zhu Peng's exquisite flute control, although its movements are slightly stiff, it always manages to block and counterattack in the most effective and direct way, like a tireless, painless killing machine. Zhu Peng is hidden in the icy mist, his black robe billowing. Whenever the Xenomorph attempts to use its speed to bypass the Corpse General or looks for an opportunity to fire its mandibles, one or two paper talismans burning with eerie blue flames appear to come alive, accurately striking the Xenomorph's joints, mandibles, or the ground, either slowing its movements, interfering with its senses, or creating small-scale ice explosions that force it back.

For a moment, the alien's formidable strength and agility seemed somewhat hampered by the Corpse General's relentless pursuit and Zhu Peng's relentless interference with his magical techniques. Several wounds were torn open on its body by the Corpse General's sharp claws, and dark green acidic blood gushed out continuously.

However, the terrifyingly corrosive nature of the alien blood caused immense trouble for the Corpse General. The acidic blood splattered onto the Corpse General's grayish-white skin and muscles, immediately hissing and emitting white smoke, leaving behind charred pits and even beginning to erode the internal tendons, affecting the smoothness of its movements.

Zhu Peng frowned slightly, worried that it might affect the corpse general's combat strength. He suddenly took two steps forward, and with his right hand, he flung out a white porcelain bottle with blue patterns from his sleeve. The bottle seemed to have eyes, and it smashed accurately into the crawler corpse general's chest!

"Snapped!"

The porcelain bottle shattered, bursting forth a large cloud of crimson blood mist exuding a strong, pungent stench! This blood mist seemed to possess a spirit, quickly adhering to the corpse's entire body. Upon contact with the remaining alien acidic blood on its body, it emitted a sizzling sound. The two neutralized each other, finally condensing on the corpse's surface into a thin, translucent blood-like membrane, resembling a pale crimson armor, effectively preventing further erosion from the strong acidic blood for a short period!

Just as Zhu Peng was controlling the Corpse General in a fierce battle against the Alien,

Zheng Zha suddenly roared, "Don't linger! The stench of blood has attracted even more! Let's finish this quickly! More than a dozen aliens have appeared in the front and back passages."

He doesn't have the exquisite martial arts moves of Wang Zongchao, nor the unpredictable Taoist magic of Zhu Peng, but he has the power from his vampire bloodline and the soul seed hunted from the world of Resident Evil!

"Drink!"

Zheng Zha let out a low roar, his eyes instantly turning a faint blood red—a sign that his vampire energy was being activated. His blood seemed to boil, and a cold, powerful force instantly flowed through his limbs, greatly enhancing his speed, strength, and reflexes!

At the same time, two distorted phantoms vaguely appeared behind him: one was a muscular [Tyrant Soul Seed] brimming with berserk power, and the other was a [Crawler Soul Seed] on all fours, brimming with hunting instincts! The phantoms of the Soul Seeds significantly boosted his strength and agility, especially the [Crawler Soul Seed], which granted him a beast-like sense of danger and the ability to climb and absorb!

At this moment, Zheng Zha seemed to transform into a humanoid ferocious beast! He suddenly exerted force with his feet, leaving a shallow dent in the solid metal floor. He shot forward like an arrow, bringing with him a foul stench, and rushed straight towards the alien that was fighting with the crawler corpse general!

His speed was astonishing, even leaving a blurry afterimage! The alien's keen senses seemed to detect the threat from its side and rear. It lashed out with its long, steel-whip-like tail, whistling through the air, and aimed precisely at Zheng Zha's waist and abdomen!

If it were the Zheng Zha of the past, facing such a swift and fierce attack, he would probably have been forced to dodge in a sorry state. But now, with the dual enhancement of vampire energy and the two great soul seeds, his dynamic vision and nerve reaction speed have reached an astonishing level!

Just as the tail was about to reach his body, Zheng Zha made an almost impossible twisting motion while charging forward at high speed. His body twisted as if it had no bones, narrowly avoiding the deadly tail tip from grazing his waist! The sharp bone spikes even tore through his combat uniform, leaving a trail of blood, but he seemed oblivious!

Taking advantage of the gap created in that split second, Zheng Zha had already rushed to the side of the alien! The alien seemed not to have expected its prey to be so agile. Its blood-red maw, full of fangs, suddenly opened wide, splitting open like flower petals, revealing the inner fangs that were ready to be unleashed and were strong enough to pierce through steel plates!

At this critical moment!

Zhu Peng, who had been playing the bone flute hidden in the icy mist, suddenly raised his eyes with a cold glint, and the flute music became sharp and piercing, rising a syllable! The crawler corpse seemed to have received a death order, completely ignoring the alien's waving claws, and suddenly lunged forward, using its massive body to tightly embrace the alien, forcibly immobilizing its movements for a moment!

"Now!"

Zheng Zha's eyes flashed with a blood-red light as he seized this fleeting opportunity! He didn't use any weapon, but instead frantically concentrated the surging vampire energy within his body onto his right fist! Instantly, his entire right fist was enveloped in a thick, viscous, liquid-like red light, emanating a chilling and ominous aura that sent shivers down one's spine!

"Die!"

With a roar, Zheng Zha's punch, which gathered all his strength and vampire energy, struck the relatively vulnerable connection between the alien's spine and head, exposed by the corpse general's embrace, like a blood-red meteor!

"Bang!!!"

A dull, deafening crash, like the sound of breaking leather, rang out! This time, it wasn't the kind of physical pulverization that Wang Zongchao used, but a different kind of destruction!

The fist, enveloped in vampire energy, seemed to possess a corrosive and erosive quality. The moment it touched the alien's hard, bony carapace, the dark, shiny carapace hissed as if splashed with strong acid, quickly becoming dull and soft! Then, the terrifying force contained within the fist penetrated the body like a destructive force!

"Hiss—!!!"

The alien let out an unprecedented scream of pain, its massive body trembling and convulsing violently! From the point where Zheng Zha had struck it, an abnormal dark red pattern rapidly spread across its carapace, as if its internal structure was being rapidly destroyed and disintegrated by some force!

Zhu Peng seized this excellent opportunity to finish off his opponent! His right hand, which had been hidden in his sleeve, suddenly shot out, his fingertips holding a purple talisman that flashed with dazzling lightning!

"Five Thunder Generals, Train General, soaring through the sky and crashing to the ground, driving thunder and rushing clouds, by imperial decree!"

A mantra imbued with Daoist principles was uttered, and the purple talisman spontaneously combusted without fire, transforming into a blazing white lightning bolt as thick as an infant's arm, extremely yang and powerful. Like a spear of judgment hurled by a thunder god from the heavens, it tore through the dim air, carrying righteous energy, and struck the alien head that had been severely injured by Zheng Zha and tightly bound by the corpse general!

"Boom!!"

A flash of lightning and a deafening roar echoed throughout the lobby, making everyone's eardrums tingle!

Under the internal erosion of the vampire energy and the external bombardment of the Supreme Yang Thunder Technique, the alien's head could no longer withstand it. It first turned charred black, and then, like a smashed pottery jar, it suddenly exploded! Dark green liquid and broken shells flew everywhere!

Its massive body twitched a few more times before finally collapsing to the ground, where it remained motionless.