Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan were lying on the ground, still tightly embracing each other. The intense tension and fear had left them both stunned, unable to recover for quite some time. It wasn't until they heard the sound of footsteps from the other end of the corridor that they barely managed to separate themselves a little.
Zheng Zha didn't think that lying on the ground with his limbs spread out would look cool; he was simply exhausted. In truth, he had been in a state of fear ever since he rushed into the room, terrified that the excruciating pain he had experienced earlier would return. Fortunately, it seemed that he had only overexerted himself this time and didn't trigger any gene locks. It appeared that the gene lock wasn't something that could be activated just by desire.
Soon, Zhang Jie and the other five arrived from the corridor. Except for Zhang Jie and Li Shuai Xi, Chu Xuan, Bawang, and Zero Point all had serious expressions on their faces. They had all witnessed Zheng Zha's incredible speed when he had escaped earlier, especially the way he had used a sudden burst of power to rebound off the alien at the end. Without that moment of leverage, they wouldn't have made it through the isolation wall, and the speed and reaction time involved were beyond human capabilities. They couldn't replicate it.
Chu Xuan squatted beside Zheng Zha and asked seriously,"How are you? Did you injure anything? How long will it take to recover your previous combat abilities?"
Zheng Zha, lying on the ground, weakly replied,"I think it's just exhaustion. I didn't get injured anywhere. If I rest well, I should be able to recover my combat abilities in about half an hour."
Chu Xuan's expression brightened, which was rare for him. A reaction like that only occurred when something truly significant happened, a huge surprise. He stood up and said,"It's a pity we didn't get any food or fresh water. If we had, my plan could have gone into effect. Now we'll need to think of another way, but it's no big deal. The initiative has swung back to balance, and we're not just helpless prey anymore. We'll be able to fight back."
After that, Zhang Jie carried Zheng Zha on his back, and Zhan Lan, who hadn't really exerted much energy, had just been frightened and was soon able to stand up and follow behind the others.
"This is the control room for the entire spaceship. Although it looks complicated, the operating system is actually quite similar to the one in a rocket launch base, and it's easy to grasp the controls," Chu Xuan explained as they sat in room 27, which was the control room of the spaceship. He briefly explained the functions of the control platforms and buttons, but honestly, only he understood what he was saying. The others barely understood, but they could probably manage to operate it by following the basic instructions.
Zheng Zha thought to himself, This complex operating system is really just easy for you, isn't it? But he didn't say it aloud. Deep down, he was just thankful that they had someone like Chu Xuan in this group. Compared to the others, people like him were the most valuable for the team's success.
At this moment, Zhang Jie set Zheng Zha down from his back. Zheng Zha suddenly spoke up,"Actually, I managed to get a lot of food and water from the room. If we ration it, we should be able to last for several days."
Chu Xuan and the others looked at him with strange expressions, while Zhang Jie excitedly exclaimed,"It's a spatial ring, right? You're saying it's in the ring, right?"
Zheng Zha smiled and nodded. Chu Xuan immediately asked what a spatial ring was. When Zhang Jie explained that it was a cultivation tool and that it had been exchanged for a high price from the"Master," Chu Xuan became even more excited. He grabbed Zheng Zha's hand and closely examined the ring, speaking fervently,"Is it really a cultivation tool? Really a cultivation tool? Wow, I've seen references to such things in many documents. I've always suspected that such objects existed in the past! Hahaha, so they come from this space! If we can unlock the secrets behind this technology, humanity might evolve to unimaginable heights!"
Chu Xuan, undeterred by the strange looks from the others, continued enthusiastically,"Do you all know that many inexplicable ancient tools have been found, both domestically and internationally? They no longer have energy sources, and we can't even power them with our electricity or other energy. Based on the materials, these tools were created by a highly advanced civilization in the distant past, but the timeline is strange. These tools date back from over ten thousand years ago to just a thousand years ago. Some of the most recent ones were made around a thousand years ago. A civilization of this level was hidden from us, and we didn't even realize it—how could that be?"
He went on passionately,"So researchers have divided into two schools of thought. One argues that these were made by aliens hidden within Earth's civilization, though I really dislike this view. They blame everything unexplainable on extraterrestrials, allowing for endless speculation without evidence. Another group believes these were made by legendary immortals or gods from Western myths. Though this theory sounds fantastical, at least these researchers are trying to find clues, and they've actually uncovered some evidence."
Chu Xuan then looked at the others and said,"Do you understand what this means? It means that humanity's progress will not only be based on technology anymore. This unknown technology is no longer part of external science; it is internal science, the most advanced kind!"
Zero Point suddenly interrupted coldly,"What does external or internal science have to do with our situation now? I'd rather just have the food and water from that ring."
Chu Xuan sighed, his excitement dying down as he lowered his voice,"Forget it, you wouldn't understand. But just know that if we uncover the secrets of cultivation, it will be humanity's greatest breakthrough after unlocking the gene locks!"
Zheng Zha and the others exchanged helpless glances. Despite Chu Xuan's calm and wise demeanor, when it came to something he was passionate about, he became more excited than anyone else. Right now, he was still holding onto Zheng Zha's hand, his eyes practically gleaming with excitement.
Zheng Zha sighed and said,"Since we have enough food and water, what's your next plan? To study cultivation, you'll need reward points to exchange for it, right? That's an extreme exchange requiring tens of thousands of points, and we need to stay alive to earn those."
Chu Xuan slowly came back to his senses, reluctantly letting go of Zheng Zha's wrist. The motion and expression left everyone feeling uncomfortable, but he calmly sat down and said,"Since we have enough food and water, we can follow two possible plans. First, we monitor the various corridors and record the alien positions. When they separate, we can deploy isolation barriers to trap them in different corridors. Then, we can find a safe passage to the weapon room, number 17. Once the aliens are isolated, we can safely retrieve weapons, and with Zheng Zha's close combat abilities, we can eliminate them one by one. This is the only battle strategy I can think of."
Zheng Zha's heart skipped a beat. He really didn't want to face those terrifying creatures in close combat again. He quickly asked,"What's the other plan? Didn't you say there were two?"
Chu Xuan sighed,"The other plan… involves another room in the isolation section, a cryogenic chamber for hibernation. People sleep in there, using very little energy. After we're well-fed and rested, we can sleep in there, and the control room's navigation will be set to the return route. We would return with the aliens."
Zhang Jie suddenly asked in confusion,"Return? Where are we returning to?"
"Earth!" Chu Xuan replied."We take the aliens to Earth, where the Earth government can fight them off with their military. Then, we'll be safe. But of course, it's also possible that the aliens will wipe out humanity in this timeline, and we will face an endless army of aliens. We could survive a few more years… before we die."