After everyone had eaten, Chu Xuan opened all the surveillance channels, and the large screen was instantly divided into many small screens. Chu Xuan kept moving his hand in the air as if drawing something in the void. After a while, his face turned pale as he said,"Alright, I've recorded the sequence to deactivate the isolation walls. The closest alien is in Room 22, and another one is moving from Room 20 toward Room 19. If we attract their attention within five minutes, we can isolate one of them, while the other will be drawn toward us. Then, we'll begin the bait plan."
Zheng Zha looked at Li Shuai Xi and sighed, asking,"So, what should we do?"
Chu Xuan continued pressing buttons on the control panel, then stood up and said,"The isolation wall outside will open in one minute. The rest of the shutdown sequence is set. Let's go to the corridor; I'll explain the details of the bait plan to him."
The group moved toward the corridor. The six grenades were modified by Ba Wang into two combined bombs. The thick isolation walls slowly began to rise, revealing the walls outside, covered with deep gouges and scratch marks. These were pure steel walls, and the sight sent a chill through everyone.
Chu Xuan took the two combined bombs and pointed to the corridor, saying,"You need to stand at the other end of the corridor. From there, you can see up to 100 meters. As soon as the alien comes rushing down, pull the fuse and throw the grenade. I asked Ba Wang to shorten the fuse time, so it will explode while still in the air. Once you throw the grenade, you must run back immediately. Remember, your escape route should go left at every turn."
He continued,"By doing so, you'll eventually loop around and come back here. The alien chasing you will be blocked by the isolation walls behind you, so as long as you run fast and get through the two walls, you'll be completely safe."
Li Shuai Xi lowered his head and asked,"What about the isolation wall leading to the control room? Will it close after I leave?"
Chu Xuan nodded,"Yes, it will close after you leave. I'll open it again a minute after the explosion. Based on your previous running speed, this won't be tight. By the way, to attract the aliens, you'll need to spill some blood on yourself. All you need to do for this mission is run left."
Ba Wang then tossed Li Shuai Xi a knife, and Chu Xuan handed him the combined bombs. As Li Shuai Xi took the bombs, everyone's heart raced with tension. Zheng Zha even noticed Zero extend his hand to his back, revealing the Desert Eagle handgun with infinite bullets, though he didn't know when Zhang Jie had handed it to him.
Unexpectedly, Li Shuai Xi turned around calmly. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but then Li Shuai Xi suddenly spun around and tossed a combined bomb behind the group. As expected, the grenade, with its shortened fuse, exploded in midair before it hit the ground. Fortunately, Li Shuai Xi had thrown it far due to his nervousness, so the group was only hit by the shockwave and didn't sustain any actual injuries.
Zheng Zha, standing at the back, was the one most affected by the explosion. The blast almost lifted him off his feet, and when he landed, blood poured from his nose and mouth. For a moment, everything was white. After a few seconds, he regained his sight, just in time to see Li Shuai Xi holding the pull ring of the combined grenade, his face twisted into a malicious grin.
Li Shuai Xi sneered,"What's wrong, genius? Didn't you want to kill me? Isn't it just for that little bit of food and water? Just to hide with you guys? Damn, do you really have to push someone to this point? Why should I be the one to die alone? Why, huh? Tell me! I'll die, but at least it's better than dying in those aliens' mouths!"
Chu Xuan, shaken by the shockwave, stood up with blood dripping from his head. He calmly asked,"I'm curious, why aren't you afraid of dying? You know, my plan, though dangerous, doesn't guarantee death. If you follow my instructions, your chances of survival are actually very high. Tell me, why..."
Li Shuai Xi interrupted, his face contorted in fury,"Damn it, stop lying to me! Do you know why I asked that question earlier? It was to check what would happen to the isolation wall after I left. How did you answer me? You said it would open a minute after the explosion? Don't bullshit me. Remember what my specialty is? I may not be talented, but I've read a lot of books, including military ones. These kinds of aerospace isolation walls usually can't be opened within half an hour after closing. It's to prevent someone from controlling the system remotely. Even the computer can't open the wall within that time frame. I specifically watched your operation, and you didn't set up the command to open it after closing!"
Li Shuai Xi laughed maniacally,"When I asked you earlier, it was my last struggle. Damn it, who doesn't want to live? If there's even the slightest hope, I want to survive. But you son of a bitch are pushing me into the alien's mouth! Damn, tell me, why the hell are you forcing me into a corner?"
Chu Xuan took a deep breath, his eyes closed."I underestimated you. It was my mistake… I said it before, this team doesn't need useless people. You're a liability to us. I wasn't going to abandon you, but when I made the plan, you showed dissatisfaction. People's hearts are like that. Once there's even a slight discontent, it can turn into ugly murderous intent. Rather than let you be an unpredictable factor in future plans, it's better to deal with it now... I wasn't planning to sacrifice you, though. I had planned to isolate you in a safe passage, and after half an hour, I would have released you. But you shouldn't have shown such a vengeful expression at that time."
Li Shuai Xi's expression twisted with madness as he shouted,"Damn it, why the hell should I go to my death? And I can't show a vengeful expression? Are you the leader of this team? What are you?! If I die, none of you will live, we'll all die together!"
With a furious cry, Li Shuai Xi pulled the trigger on the combined grenade!