Zheng Zha, Zero, and Bawang were the first to regain their senses. Zero and Bawang did the same thing: both of them squeezed the grenades in their hands, and with the other hand, they pulled the pins, ready to throw their only weapon as soon as the Alien appeared. Zheng Zha, however, gritted his teeth and charged toward that direction. He still remembered the words he had said before: he would never abandon a single comrade. Just now, he had indeed heard Li Xiaoyi's cry for help.
Around the corner of the corridor, three huge, pitch-black Alien were tearing into Li Xiaoyi. The young man was not yet completely dead. His body kept twitching and spasming. The Alien' strength was simply too terrifying. With a single swipe of their toothed tongues, his body was easily torn apart, like paper. Zheng Zha could only see the despair in the boy's eyes before one of the Alien used its tongue to crush his skull.
One of the Alien turned its head and looked at Zheng Zha. Its tongue slowly extended, and transparent saliva dripped onto the ground. The creature then let out a screech at Zheng Zha, the immense sound snapping him back to reality. He took one last look at Li Xiaoyi—not the boy himself, but his broken body—before turning and running back down the corridor.
"Run! Damn it! There are three Alien!"
Zheng Zha shouted as he ran, and Zero and Bawang reacted the fastest. Both of them immediately threw their grenades, then turned and ran deeper into the corridor, followed by Zhang Jie, Chu Xuan, and Li Shuaixi.
Due to her position farther back, Zhan Lan was the closest person to Zheng Zha. Her explosive speed was not impressive, and given her position, she might be affected by the blast's power. When Zheng Zha passed by her, he could only grab her and lift her up. As the explosion's shockwave followed, both of them were thrown to the ground.
Zheng Zha's reaction speed was incredible. The moment they fell, he desperately flipped over, using his back to cushion the impact, while Zhan Lan landed on his chest. The big-breasted woman looked at him in shock. In this moment, she even touched her forehead and giggled,"You really are a good man."
Zheng Zha was momentarily stunned and shouted loudly,"What nonsense are you talking about! Hurry and run!" After saying that, he tried to push Zhan Lan off and get up.
But Zhan Lan firmly grabbed his collar and said,"I've got very little enhanced physical strength. I can't run fast, but I can keep up if you carry me."
By this time, Zhang Jie and the others were long gone, and Zheng Zha couldn't say anything more. The shockwaves from the explosions would only hinder the Alien for a short time. If they didn't hurry, both of them would likely die there. He gritted his teeth and carried Zhan Lan forward. At this point, the small woman obediently pressed her face against his chest.
Zheng Zha's physical capabilities were extremely strong, so carrying someone felt almost effortless. After running through several passages, he suddenly realized he had gotten lost. In the panic, he had only been running forward, but after covering such a distance, he still hadn't found Zhang Jie and the others. In other words, they had already been separated from the main group.
Zheng Zha gritted his teeth and kept running. After covering another hundred meters, he finally saw a large steel door at the end of the corridor. He rushed toward it, holding Zhan Lan.
All the doors on the merchant ship were equipped with automatic sensors, which would open when a living being approached. So, the two easily entered the room. As soon as they entered, Zhan Lan jumped out of Zheng Zha's arms and hurried to press some buttons by the steel door. After a few attempts, the door finally closed, and a red light lit up on it.
Zhan Lan let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest, saying,"That scared me to death. I was so terrified I almost lost control of my limbs. It was so gross and scary. This is way worse than the Alien in the movies."
Zheng Zha had been watching Zhan Lan's actions. The small woman's chest was firm and full. He hadn't noticed it while running, but now, recalling how she had fallen on top of him earlier, he could still feel the softness on his chest. Especially when he saw her now patting her chest, the fullness was shaking with every movement, causing him to quickly avert his gaze.
Zhan Lan seemed to notice something. A slight flush appeared on her face. She lowered her hand and said with a smile,"I told you the door's automatic sensor would definitely close. Otherwise, anyone could come into your bedroom. You wouldn't have any privacy left, right?"
Zheng Zha cleared his throat to steady his nerves. Li Xiaoyi's face flashed in his mind. Although he wasn't particularly striking and looked somewhat weak, the boy had been a kind-hearted kid. When they were training, even the smallest achievements would make him smile happily. He remembered that his biggest dream was to become strong enough to go back to school and teach those who had bullied him a lesson. But now, he...
"Damn it! I promised I wouldn't abandon any comrades! But I was also terrified and ran away!"
The more Zheng Zha thought about it, the angrier and more regretful he became. He slammed his fist into the side, and with a loud bang, the steel bar beside him was actually dented by his punch. Both he and Zhan Lan stared at it in shock.
Zhan Lan quickly ran over. The room wasn't very large. Besides a steel bunk bed, there was some simple furniture and a wall-mounted television. Zheng Zha's punch had dented one of the steel bars on the bed.
"Wow, when did you get this strong?" Zhan Lan asked, touching the dent left by his fist. She then grabbed his hand and examined it. There wasn't even a scratch on his hand. She was stunned and said,"No way, your fist is made of iron? What immense strength!"
Zheng Zha was equally surprised. He tried another punch on a different steel bar, and this time, with all his might, the bar was completely bent, and the bed was overturned. Even Zheng Zha was left dumbfounded as he looked at his fist.
"This can't be! I never won against Zhang Jie when we sparred. Unless I used inner strength, if I had this much power, I could have knocked him over with a single punch."
Zheng Zha looked at the broken steel bar in disbelief. Zhan Lan touched her forehead and suddenly said,"Maybe it's because you held back? Not intentionally, but because you just gained so much strength. So, you subconsciously ease up on people around you. It's not just about having great strength—your skin didn't even break. My God, it's like your skin is tougher than steel!"
Zheng Zha clenched his fist. He thought for a moment and said,"Do you think if I used all my strength and added a burst of inner power, the steel bar I threw would have that much destructive force?"
Zhan Lan looked at the broken steel bar and smiled,"Why not try it out? If it works... heh, when we get back, I won't tell Lier that you were peeking at my chest."
Zheng Zha didn't dare to respond. Zhan Lan's expression and gaze were too familiar to him. After ten years in the world, he had seen several good girls give him that kind of look... He knew that silence was likely the best choice at this moment.
He silently turned around, grabbed the steel bar he had just broken, and sure enough, his strength had reached this level. He hadn't had the chance to test it out in the main space before, but now the steel bar was easily torn from its place with a screech that sounded particularly harsh. However, for both Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan, it brought a strange sense of safety.
Zheng Zha weighed the steel bar in his hand, then took a deep breath, guiding his inner power throughout his body. He let out a loud shout and hurled the steel bar into the distance. With a loud crash, the bar lodged itself into the steel wall, leaving only a few centimeters sticking out, while the rest was embedded in the wall. The force of the throw was staggering.
Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan were both stunned. They exchanged looks for a long while, then, with perfect understanding, turned their eyes to the steel bed... and its steel bars.
"Since we forgot to exchange for heavy weapons, let's use these primitive tools to smash them!" Zheng Zha muttered to himself as he twisted the steel bar, and Zhan Lan had already started laughing. When she laughed, her chest jiggled, making Zheng Zha sneak a glance out of the corner of his eye. The little woman seemed to notice his gaze. Her face flushed slightly, and she even puffed out her chest a little, making her full bosom even more prominent.
Perhaps this was the only fun they had for now. Zheng Zha thought, but whenever he remembered the three giant and terrifying nightmare creatures, a sense of near despair rose in his heart, accompanied by a streak of stubborn defiance.
Survive. No matter how hopeless, no matter the circumstances... I will survive!