Zheng Zha's eyes were completely bloodshot, and it was unclear whether it was from anger or from the blood of Zhan Lan staining his eyes. As the girl was dragged down the corridor and disappeared from view, he screamed and charged forward. His steps were so forceful that he even crashed straight into the wall.
His neural response speed, which was three times faster than an average person's, saved him at that moment. Everything around him seemed to slow down. Every movement he made required immense effort. Despite his current physical prowess, it felt exhausting, and his body seemed to be torn apart with every motion. The ground, the air, and even the approaching walls all seemed to exert a tearing force, trying to slow him down. This sensation was something he had never experienced before.
When he was closest to the wall, the air around him thickened as though it were liquid. He even stepped onto the air, leaping towards the wall. Pushing off from it with his feet, he finally flipped himself around. The first thing he saw was a Xenomorph dragging Zhan Lan. The creature was slightly smaller than the one he had encountered before, but still towering at over two meters tall and three meters long. It was pulling Zhan Lan deeper into the corridor. Her left shoulder was almost pulverized, and she was covered in blood. Her eyes held nothing but despair and a strange, lingering attachment.
Zheng Zha suddenly understood that attachment in her eyes. It was the hope for life, the hope for a future. Though he had never seen his own eyes, he was sure that in many moments of despair, he must have had that same look—hope, that brief flicker of attachment, just before everything collapsed. He was certain of it.
In Zheng Zha's eyes, Zhan Lan, dragged by the Xenomorph, seemed to transform into Li Xiaoyi, about to be torn apart by the creature, becoming a pile of unrecognizable meat, or even into himself, as he too would be dragged away by the Xenomorph and devoured. He couldn't allow that! He had to save this strong woman, no matter what, and he would make sure she survived.
"Ah!" Zheng Zha screamed in rage.
Because the world around him was slowed, he could clearly see each movement of the Xenomorph. The air had thickened, allowing him to leap several meters with his push off the wall, charging directly at the Xenomorph.
All this happened in a split second. To Zhan Lan, Zheng Zha seemed to slam into the wall with incredible force, then launch off of it with a speed she couldn't follow. The sound of the steel wall reverberated as it was dented by the impact of his feet, creating two deep imprints. Zheng Zha shot off like a cannonball, beyond her ability to track.
By the time Zhan Lan blinked, Zheng Zha had already hurtled toward the Xenomorph. He could even clearly see the saliva dripping from its mouth and its long, sharp-tongued, spitting at him. As he leaped over the creature, he swung his steel bar with precision, slicing through the Xenomorph's tongue. The tongue snapped off with a dull thud, and Zhan Lan fell to the ground. The Xenomorph screamed in agony, the severed tongue spraying out highly corrosive liquid, most of it being sliced clean off.
"Ah!"
But that wasn't all. Zheng Zha screamed too, his eyes devoid of any rationality, only filled with a blood-red rage. He couldn't tell if it was Zhan Lan's blood or his own rage that had turned his vision red.
When Zheng Zha landed, he swung his steel bar violently into the Xenomorph's back, producing a metallic crunch. The steel bar bent at the impact, but the Xenomorph wasn't doing well either. Its carapace cracked open, spilling corrosive liquid, and the floor was already pitted with the acidic substance.
The Xenomorph was incredibly fast. Even though Zheng Zha felt everything slowing down around him, he was only able to match the creature's speed. When the Xenomorph swung its massive claw at him, he could barely raise his arm to block it. The blow sent him crashing to the ground with a tremendous force. The entire corridor trembled from the impact, and Zheng Zha's head smashed against the floor, blood pouring from his skull.
At this point, Zheng Zha was fighting for his life. Unlike the Xenomorph with its ironclad carapace, his body was vulnerable. When he blocked the strike, his arm was pierced with several holes. The Xenomorph's overwhelming strength nearly knocked him unconscious. Thankfully, in that crucial moment, he bit his own tongue, the sharp pain keeping him conscious.
He didn't intend to get up. Instead, he pulled another steel bar from his back and swung it at the Xenomorph's legs. The combined force and internal energy caused the creature, which was three times his size, to be knocked to the ground. But even as it fell, its tail stabbed deep into his thigh. The Xenomorph, clearly evolved for killing and survival, was no slouch in battle.
Zheng Zha's mind went blank. It was as if his body was acting on its own. Combat instincts surged in his mind. He twisted his body and rolled backward, causing the Xenomorph's tail to slip out of his wound. Then, he kicked off the ground and leaped back at the creature, driving the steel bar into its mouth.
He released the bar and grabbed another, stabbing it repeatedly into the Xenomorph's skull. Even as the creature's corrosive blood drenched him, he didn't notice. His frantic state made it seem as if he were trying to rip the Xenomorph apart. Thankfully, Zhan Lan reacted quickly. Though injured, she jumped up and threw herself at Zheng Zha, knocking both of them several meters away.
It was only then that Zheng Zha slowly came to his senses.
His body felt like it was burning from the inside out, hot and painful. He quickly tore off his clothes, trying to wipe away the corrosive liquid. As it touched the floor, it hissed, melting the steel beneath him like ice. But to his surprise, his skin, though blackened, didn't seem to be damaged at all.
Zhan Lan, applying a blood clotting spray to her shoulder, looked at him in shock and said,"It's amazing that you're alive... but how is it possible that your skin isn't harmed? The Xenomorph's blood is highly acidic. A small touch would melt bones."
Zheng Zha wiped off the liquid and, still dazed, thought back to the battle. Everything felt like a nightmare. He had fought purely on instinct, especially when the Xenomorph's tail had pierced his thigh. He felt as if something inside him had unlocked.
"Maybe my cells are highly resilient and immune... and it's not like nothing happened. My skin's been burned to a charred black," he said with a bitter smile.
As he reached into his storage ring to retrieve more spray, his body suddenly seized up violently. A paralyzing pain began in his internal organs, spreading throughout his body. It felt like countless bugs were crawling inside him, their movements worsening as they reached his skin. The pain intensified, making him feel as though he were dying.
"You can imagine this... when monkeys reach their limits and become human, then a human who pushes past those limits—what happens then?"
Zheng Zha recalled the conversation with Chu Xuan about genetic locks. He wasn't sure if he had unknowingly unlocked his own, but he could feel death creeping closer. His insides spasmed more violently, blood poured from his mouth and nose, and his lungs began to seize. He could barely breathe, gasping for air, his chest heaving in desperate attempts to inhale.
Zhan Lan reacted immediately, holding the convulsing Zheng Zha tightly, pressing her lips to his and blowing air into his lungs. After several seconds, Zheng Zha's internal spasms slowly began to subside, and his breathing resumed. The pain on his skin gradually diminished, but Zhan Lan didn't stop. She kept blowing air into him, sobbing as she did so, whispering softly,"Please don't die... please, don't leave me alone... Please, stay with me. We have to survive together..."