HISD Chapter 31 Battle with the Xenomorph, Searching for an Exit
The alien ship formed a solid wall outside the dimly lit corridor of the building.
"What's your name?"
Dream Tifa glanced at the girl following behind them, recognizing her as the same classmate she had saved earlier by moving the desk.
The girl answered softly, "My name is Bai Xiaolu. Just call me Xiaolu."
"You weren't hurt just now, were you?"
"I'm fine, just some bruising on my arm." Xiaolu showed her slender arm, already marked with purplish bruises. She lowered her voice anxiously. "Now that the whole building is blocked off, how are we supposed to get out of here?"
"I don't know either. But just follow him."
Tifa whispered with quiet pride, staying close behind Yi Meng. For some reason, she had more confidence in him than she did in herself.
Truthfully, the hallway was dim and suffocating, but Yi Meng's steps remained steady, as though the darkness didn't faze him at all.
"We'll find Pan Hu first, then search for an exit." Yi Meng lowered his voice. "No matter what happens, don't leave my side."
Both Tifa and Xiaolu nodded.
Their current exam room was on the fifth floor. Pan Hu's classroom was on the third, near the stairs, so heading downward was already on their route.
Yi Meng tightened his grip on the metal desk leg in his hand, using his static consciousness to connect with the cameras in the corridor and classrooms, scanning ten meters ahead for threats.
The three of them moved safely through the fifth-floor hallway, approaching the stairwell—
Suddenly—
Yi Meng's expression darkened. He pulled Tifa and Xiaolu down into a crouch on the sixth-floor landing.
"Shh."
He raised a finger to his lips.
Both girls immediately held their breath, understanding.
Rustling.
A faint crawling sound echoed up from below, and to their dismay, the source was slowly creeping upward.
Soon, they saw it.
A shadow nearly two meters tall emerged, slithering up toward the fifth floor. Its sleek, elongated head glistened as it peered into the corridor, eyeless face dripping with saliva, jagged inner jaws twitching, its exoskeletal frame shifting with sinister strength.
It was a predator, far more terrifying than any lion or tiger.
Xiaolu clamped both hands over her mouth, trembling violently, terrified of letting even a whimper escape.
Thankfully, the alien creature seemed not to notice them and turned to continue climbing toward the fourth floor. Its tail, sharp and bone-like, swayed as it moved.
But just as it turned—
Yi Meng exploded into motion, leaping forward. The sharpened tip of the metal desk leg pierced straight into its skull. The alien shrieked in agony, yellow blood spraying everywhere!
The sizzling acid hissed against the floor, burning holes instantly.
He actually attacked it head-on?!
Xiaolu froze in shock, completely unprepared for this.
Even Tifa hadn't expected Yi Meng to strike first. But after a single stunned moment, she launched herself into action, delivering a powerful kick to the creature's side. Her strike sent the xenomorph flying a meter away—her strength, in that instant, seemed even greater than Yi Meng's.
The desk leg began to melt from the acid.
Yi Meng quickly released it and charged at the flailing alien.
The towering, monstrous body of the xenomorph loomed over his slender frame, utterly mismatched in size and power.
The creature slammed against the ship's wall, then lashed its inner jaws forward at incredible speed, aiming straight for Yi Meng's head.
Xiaolu gasped in horror, convinced Yi Meng was about to die.
But his body suddenly accelerated, as if forewarned. His head snapped to the side just in time to dodge the deadly strike.
In the next heartbeat, Yi Meng's right hand chopped downward like a blade, a faint white gleam flashing across his nails. His hand had become a sword.
Slash!
The xenomorph's neck split halfway open, yellow acid spraying. Yi Meng darted aside again, then followed up with another decisive strike.
With a sickening thud, the alien's head rolled across the ground, its blood corroding the floor beneath it.
"Haa… haa…"
Yi Meng panted heavily, sweat soaking through his uniform, his temples burning hot.
It was his first true battle against one of the invading horrors. On the surface, it looked like he'd won "easily"—but in reality, it had been razor-close.
If he hadn't known the xenomorph's hunting tactics—that though it lacked eyes, it sensed prey through heat signatures…
If he hadn't attacked first before it could ambush him…
If his AI-like mind hadn't been able to process every frame of its movements through the cameras and guide his body flawlessly…
If Tifa hadn't landed that perfect kick to keep it off balance…
If this had been a fully matured xenomorph instead of a juvenile…
If he hadn't had the innate sword-forming ability in his fingers…
The outcome might have been very different.
He was still too weak—especially in raw physical strength.
Yi Meng sighed inwardly. His victory had come only from flawless precision and hard-earned knowledge.
Were xenomorphs strong?
Yes—individually terrifying. Ten unarmed adults would struggle to kill one.
But against firearms, especially in the hands of a trained soldier, they could be shredded.
They were fast, lethal ambushers, but ultimately fragile against sustained firepower.
As Yi Meng reviewed the battle in his mind, Bai Xiaolu simply stared, dumbstruck.
He had taken down a two-meter-tall monster by himself.
What kind of terrifying prodigy was this?!
Suddenly, Xiaolu understood why someone like Dream Tifa, the pride of their school, would fall for him.
If not for the overwhelming competition, she might have tried to win his attention herself.
…
On the third-floor corridor—
Pan Hu sat slumped on the ground, trembling in despair.
Just meters ahead, a security agent fell to his knees, the back of his skull pierced clean through by an alien's inner jaws. His rifle clattered to the floor as a towering, fully grown xenomorph loomed over him.
Pan Hu's eyes flickered with hope as he spotted the weapon within reach. But before he could move, the alien turned its deadly gaze toward him.
His body froze, paralyzed by fear.
And then—
A cup smashed against the xenomorph's head.
Pan Hu blinked, eyes widening. Through the dim light, he glimpsed the white-shirted figure of Yi Meng.
"Boss…"
Tears welled in Pan Hu's eyes. "Run!"
"Stop whining. Remember our old tag-team plan?" Yi Meng stepped calmly out of the shadows.
The xenomorph hissed, its attention locked onto Yi Meng, and charged.
"Of course I remember!" Pan Hu gritted his teeth, forcing himself to his feet.
In the narrow corridor, Yi Meng drew a deep breath and charged straight at the onrushing alien.
To anyone else, it looked like suicide.
At the last instant, Yi Meng slid forward in a daring tackle, skimming beneath its lunging body. He rolled past its slashing tail, exchanging positions perfectly with Pan Hu, who seized the rifle.
The alien spun to attack—
"Come on!"
Pan Hu roared, eyes red, pulling the trigger.
Muzzle flashes lit the darkness as bullets tore into the alien's body. Yellow acid splattered everywhere as it shrieked in pain.
The fully grown xenomorph screeched, retreating into a hole in the ship's inner wall, vanishing into the shadows.
Pan Hu kept firing desperately into the void, venting all his fear and rage.
Yi Meng clapped his shoulder. "Save your ammo. We still need to find a way out."
Panting heavily, Pan Hu asked eagerly, "Boss, wasn't I awesome?"
"…Yeah." Yi Meng didn't know how else to respond.
At that moment, Tifa and Xiaolu emerged from hiding.
Pan Hu instantly turned red with embarrassment, realizing they must have seen him crumpled on the ground earlier.
…
With Pan Hu now with them, the group made their way down to the first floor. But many students were trapped there too, blocked off by the alien ship.
"We're sealed in! What now?" Pan Hu gaped in horror. The massive ship encircled the building almost entirely, cutting them off from the outside.
Worse, more alien creatures were crawling out, turning the exam hall into a hunting ground.
"Follow me."
Yi Meng led them toward the storage room on the first floor.
The door was shut tight. When he opened it, Pan Hu nearly pulled the trigger in fright.
Inside lay a person unconscious, their face clamped by a grotesque creature with spindly legs and a long tail wrapped tightly around their neck.
"What is that?!"
Tifa and Xiaolu recoiled in disgust.
"That's a facehugger."
Yi Meng's expression didn't change as he stepped forward. "Laid by a xenomorph queen, it attaches to a host and implants an embryo, using the body as an incubator until the young alien bursts free."
"Ugh!"
All three covered their mouths, horrified at the thought of it latching onto them.
But the next moment shocked them even more.
Yi Meng reached down and grabbed the creature directly.
"Yi Meng!" "Boss!" "Wait, what are you doing?!"
But the facehugger dangled limply in his hand, lifeless. Its legs and tail hung slack.
"Once it's implanted an embryo, the facehugger dies, like a bee after stinging."
Yi Meng sliced it open with his sharpened fingers, then hurled the corpse against the storage room wall. Its acidic blood burned rapidly through the surface, creating a hole wide enough for a person to pass through.
Through the gap, they could see the outside world beyond the building.
Tifa, Pan Hu, and Xiaolu all froze in astonishment.
"Let's go. You can get out from here." Yi Meng said quietly.
From the moment he recognized the alien ship, he knew it wasn't truly O-shaped, but more U-shaped.
Which meant one side of the building wasn't sealed completely.
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