Yujin!
A silent scream echoed in Zhang Jie and Daniels's hearts! They weren't voiceless.
It was simply that fear had frozen them, leaving them unable to make a sound for the moment.
Facing Fuming in the sky, Zhang Jie's legs went weak.
He was already at the end of his strength, and now he had no courage left to resist.
Die.
It wouldn't matter if he died.
It was far better than being gutted by the Xenomorph in a few moments.
Zhang Jie thought carefully and even found himself wanting to laugh.
To be honest, a day ago, he could never have imagined that one day he would be killed by a cultivator stepping on a sword in the sky.
'This kind of death… isn't so bad.'
Zhang Jie slowly closed his eyes, silently waiting for death.
"Da da da da da!"
Footsteps sounded nearby!
Zhang Jie didn't have time to open his eyes before he was tackled!
He felt warmth in front of him and quickly opened his eyes.
This!
Daniels?
"What are you doing?"
Daniels didn't answer, instead looking up at Fuming, who was about to strike again from the sky!
Surprise flashed in Fuming's eyes!
This expression was so rare on his face!
"Did you tell her about the mission?"
Huh?
Zhang Jie's mind raced, reaching a conclusion that seemed almost impossible!
They were all clustered around Daniels, inching closer, trying to figure out from her every word and action whether she was an important character in the original story, maybe even a key part of the mission.
In this movie, Daniels's character was a bona fide PhD—her mind was far sharper than anyone else present.
She instantly recognized her importance. She pounced on the immobilized Zhang Jie, catching Fuming completely off guard.
Fuming's sudden halt confirmed Daniels's judgment. She couldn't be killed by these people.
"Interesting." Fuming spoke calmly, pulling something out and dropping it from high above.
Daniels didn't flinch. She raised her hand and caught a small canister.
"This is a medical spray." Fuming paused, then continued, "I've never seen an original character who is both so smart and brave. He hasn't unlocked his gene lock, so he's practically useless."
Fuming made a hand seal, retracting the golden light. "For the sake of your bravery, this reincarnator's life will be spared."
"Consider it a way to let him protect you for now."
"I won't kill him… for now."
With that, Fuming turned, hands behind his back, and flew off into the distance.
"He just… left like that!?"
Zhang Jie muttered in confusion, while Daniels sprayed the medical mist onto his leg.
"No! Keep it for now. Let's see how he does first! My watch hasn't registered any casualties yet!"
Along the banks of the clear underground currents, Ruan Wei, Xiao Yehui, Nova, the one-armed lady, and the original characters—an elderly white man, Bordy Becklin, and a black woman, Kate—walked slowly together.
Their faces still showed signs of shock, their eyes flickering with unease and anxiety.
Anyone who knew their destination was the Xenomorph queen's lair wouldn't feel at ease.
The tense atmosphere hung heavily between them, as if it could erupt at any moment.
Ruan Wei finally couldn't hold back, his voice heavy with obvious resentment. "This is all your squad's fault! If it weren't for you, how would we have ended up like this?"
Xiao Yehui's expression darkened. She retorted, "Ruan Wei, that's not true! Meng Yao and Da Qiang were going to steal our reward points anyway. They never saw us as human. No matter what I did, this day would have come sooner or later."
Ruan Wei's face grew even uglier. He shouted angrily, "Strength lies in numbers! Don't you get it? If we weren't divided into squads, how could she have dared to attack us in front of so many people? Xiao Yehui, you're just a foolish pig pretending to be smart. This is all because of your stupidity!"
"Heh." Xiao Yehui crossed her arms. "You really think that without dividing the squads, Meng Yao wouldn't have torn us apart? You're giving yourself too much credit."
"I'd rather give myself credit than have you pretending to be clever all the time!"
Xiao Yehui sneered, her words dripping with sarcasm. "Ruan Wei, you're nothing but a self-righteous man without any leadership skills. I thought you were just scared of dying. Now I see that cowardice is only the tiniest part of your despicable character!"
Ruan Wei panicked. "Say that again!"
Xiao Yehui looked at him with the kind of disdain only a woman could have for a man. "What? You still dare to hit me?"
Ruan Wei was completely enraged. He lunged forward and grabbed Xiao Yehui by the neck.
"Wretched woman! Wretched woman!"
All of Ruan Wei's confusion since arriving in Alien: Covenant—from briefly leading the squad with pride, to being chased by Xenomorphs, implanted with Xenomorph embryos, undergoing surgery, and being planted with bombs—was now vented on Xiao Yehui's neck.
He looked like he was trying to strangle her to death.
But no woman could match a man in strength. Ruan Wei's upper body pressed down on her, and Xiao Yehui's eyes bulged as she struggled for air.
At that moment, the silent one-armed old woman finally acted.
She picked up a stone and smashed it hard against the back of Ruan Wei's head.
Ruan Wei screamed in pain, releasing Xiao Yehui. He spun around, staring at the old woman in disbelief.
A flash of satisfaction appeared in the old woman's eyes. She had finally seized the chance to retaliate for Ruan Wei's earlier attack with his black gun.
"You old hag!" Ruan Wei roared, attempting to fight back, but the one-armed woman had already stepped back a few paces. Her gaze was sharp, alert, and proud.
"I'm warning you, don't dawdle!" The old woman placed her hand on her hip, her missing arm no obstacle. "I'm not afraid of you. No matter how scary you are, do you want a Xenomorph to fight? No? Then back off!"
"Keep dawdling, and the Xenomorph in my stomach will come out—and you'll pay for it!"
"You!"
Ruan Wei knew this Aunt was right. He scanned everyone around him and saw the disapproving looks on their faces.
His reputation was completely ruined!
Xiao Yehui took the opportunity to step aside. Watching the scene, her heart was a mix of emotions.
The internal conflicts within this team had reached an irreconcilable point. For such a squad to survive on a planet filled with constant danger would be nothing short of a miracle.
Nova, holding her gun with both hands, didn't waste time arguing with them. She moved swiftly, carefully exploring the underground currents.
She scanned the depths of the stream. The flashlight's beam couldn't illuminate everything, and she had no idea what lay at the very end.
A sense of fear crawled over her body.
Suddenly, a strange sound came from deep within the underground current!
Nova's nerves immediately tightened. Without hesitation, she placed her gun on the riverbank, took a deep breath, and plunged into the icy water.
The water was clear, but underground, the light was dim, and visibility was limited.
Nova widened her eyes, straining to adapt to the murky environment.
She sank deeper into the river.
At that moment, she saw a creature slowly moving along the bank!
It was massive, its skin smooth and wet, glinting with a metallic sheen.
Its tail was long and flexible, and its head was a terrifying structure filled with sharp teeth and a transparent inner jaw.
Nova's heart skipped a beat.
Was this just a "worker bee" type of Xenomorph?
A wave of dread hit her. She realized that Meng Yao might have been right.
If there really was a Xenomorph queen's nest here, the danger they faced would far exceed their expectations.
This planet might be far more dangerous than they had imagined, with Xenomorph numbers and activity levels beyond their calculations.
As the footsteps of the "worker bee" grew distant, Nova surfaced, her face pale.
She gasped for air, steadied herself, and pressed the walkie-talkie on her shoulder.
"There's a Queen Hive."
The moment the message came through, Mengyao's voice replied.
"That's great, darling. I knew you were the only useful one in this team. Go take a look and see if there's an unusually large Xenomorph. If there is, report back to me."
Nova seemed to have expected Mengyao's change in tone. She spoke calmly, "I can go look, but you need to give me a chance to survive. And you have to tell me why it's necessary to find the Xenomorph Queen."
Mengyao was silent for a moment before slowly replying, "Have you ever seen an anime…"
"Called Parasyte from Japan?"
****
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