Chapter 30: Facing the Alien

Half an hour?

The expressions of the newcomers changed instantly, and they subconsciously clutched their chests.

The veterans, such as Qian Gu, had avoided the Main God’s first parasitic trap thanks to pre-cast Mage Armor, so they felt little concern. However, Zheng Zha and the others, raised with the values of modern society, were filled with apprehension.

"Qian Gu, is there any way to handle this?"

Qian Gu glanced at Zheng Zha, saying nothing, and instead calmly observed the newcomers.

"Is there a way?" Kong Mingde grew visibly agitated. "Great masters, please don't scare me! Is there really a solution?"

"I don't want to die!" Li Shuaixi was on the verge of tears.

"Let’s try it first."

Qian Gu walked over to an unopened glass chamber containing a parasitized subject—a Caucasian male with a robust physique who was currently lost in a deep, induced slumber.

"Arnold."

Arnold strode forward and raised his hand; it looked less like a fist and more like a siege ram.

*Crack!*

The bulletproof alloy glass was shattered completely. A large hand crushed the soft "corpse" of the facehugger, dragged the sleeping man from the alloy frame, and threw him onto the ground.

Pulling a dagger from the Magic Rope space, Qian Gu reached out and began to palpate the man’s chest.

"Found it."

He located the spot and plunged the blade in!

Blood immediately sprayed, pumped out by the pressure within the vessels, splashing across the floor. The Caucasian man let out a sudden, piercing shriek. The pain of having his chest sliced open was unbearable; had Arnold not broken his spine, he would likely have been writhing frantically.

"Er..." Zheng Zha nudged Zhan Lan. "Qian Gu seems much colder after putting on those glasses."

"It seems so, but..." Zhan Lan clutched her head and sighed. "We should probably worry about ourselves first."

Almost in an instant—

Zheng Zha, Mou Gang, Zero, and the others with combat experience felt their hair stand on end. They instinctively dove to the ground, leaving only Li Shuaixi and Kong Mingde—the truly "ordinary" ones—in a state of confused panic.

*Squelch!*

A pitch-black, barbed tail tore through the air, leaving a shallow gash on Zheng Zha’s back before slamming into the alloy floor.

Visible to the naked eye, the alloy floor of the aviation base—technology far beyond the modern era—was dented by the impact, with a hole punched clean through the center by the barbed tail.

"Damn it! It’s an Alien!"

Zhang Jie cursed loudly. "You two, hurry up and find somewhere to hide!"

*Tat-tat-tat!*

Gunfire erupted as bullets poured from Zhang Jie’s Desert Eagle. Unlike the weapon from *Resident Evil 1*, this Desert Eagle now featured a faint, nearly invisible runic structure on the barrel, shimmering with a subtle arcane light.

The power was different.

Zero and Ba Wang, both experts in firearms, could hardly believe their eyes. Was that really a Desert Eagle? Or was it some sort of anti-material weapon capable of piercing armor?

The walls of the parasitic laboratory were shredded, with every bullet penetrating deep into the structure, creating a metal-spray effect. The Alien that had attacked was already lying beside a shattered glass chamber. Its jet-black outer shell was pulverized, and highly corrosive body fluids spilled out, leaving it barely recognizable.

[Alien killed, 100 reward points obtained.]

"Whew—" Zhang Jie exhaled, blowing across the muzzle like a cowboy. "Qian Gu’s enchanting is really something else!"

3rd Circle: Elemental Weapon.

A spell made permanent on Zhang Jie’s gun via a 5th Circle Permanency spell, its effect was to turn a non-magical weapon into a magical one, infusing it with one of five elements: fire, lightning, thunder, acid, or cold. Clearly, Qian Gu had imbued Zhang Jie’s gun with fire.

"Magical weapon?" Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses, looking thoughtful.

However, that wasn't the priority. He glanced at Qian Gu, who was still performing the surgical experiment, and said calmly, "I believe we should prepare for battle."

"Why?"

"Because..."

*Crack!*

*Crack!*

The sound of shattering glass echoed repeatedly. One after another, Aliens leaped from the glass chambers, their barbed tails whipping through the air.

Five! There were five Aliens in total!

"Fire!"

Zhan Lan’s sharp cry rang out. She pulled the trigger of her submachine gun, the bullets—further enhanced by "Magic Weapon"—possessing superior piercing power. Under the control of her weak but steadily trained telekinesis, she adjusted the trajectory of every shot. Not a single one was wasted; she struck all five, knocking back their barbed tails.

At the same time, everyone felt the temperature in the room rise.

Fire!

Unlike the flames produced by Zheng Zha, these were orange-red, streaked with a hint of scarlet, dancing in the palm of Mou Gang’s hand. Mou Gang wore a pair of gauntlets—a link of pure metal and flexible material inscribed with the same runic structure as Zhang Jie’s pistol. Now, fueled by his "Yang-Evil" internal energy, they erupted with flame.

He stepped forward, and the alloy floor offered no more resistance than mud. Mou Gang tore through the air, which had grown thick and viscous, and appeared beside an Alien. He clamped his fingers down, and a flame half a man’s height surged up, enveloping the Alien’s entire head.

*Crunch—*

A teeth-grinding sound followed, accompanied by the crackling of burning flesh.

Mou Gang planted his feet and swung his arm. He tossed the Alien, sending half of its body flying over ten meters until it slammed into the wall. He was left holding only a charred, brittle shell, which crumbled into dust at the slightest rub of his fingers.

With a body modified by Qilin blood and internal energy possessing "Yang-Evil" properties, his explosive combat power was stronger than any C-grade Qi enhancement. In terms of sheer destructive force, a C-grade Qi enhancement couldn't even compare.

Meanwhile, Zheng Zha moved as well.

Already having activated his "Xing-form" erosion, Zheng Zha didn't bother with his guns; he charged forward just like Mou Gang. Similar to Mou Gang, his primary attack was fire—vampiric magic, Red Flame!

However, the manifestation was different.

The Red Flame flowed over his hands like water, quiet and dark, almost black, resembling a pair of dark-red silk gloves. Zheng Zha’s raw physical stats, such as muscle density, couldn't match Mou Gang’s, even with the energy enhancement. He felt the air grow viscous, resisting his advance, and he couldn't tear through the resistance as easily.

Even so, his speed remained swift. In the blink of an eye, he appeared above an Alien and slashed down with one hand.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss—*

It was like a hot knife through butter.

The Alien’s entire skull was split open. Under the corrosive burning of the condensed Red Flame, the internal tissues vanished in an instant, leaving behind only an empty husk.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. To most of the newcomers, the Aliens had jumped out, the woman among the veterans had pulled her trigger, and in the span of a heartbeat, two Aliens had gone down. It was like watching magic!

"To be so fast..." Zhao Yingkong watched Zheng Zha and Mou Gang, clenching her fists, wanting to rush out and test herself against the Aliens.

But someone was faster.

Gunfire rang out again. Bullets with adjusted trajectories hit the same spot, their enhanced penetration piercing through the Alien before tearing it apart.

[Alien killed, 100 reward points obtained.]

"Telekinesis is actually quite useful," Zhan Lan said with a giggle, glancing at the result.

"Two left. Thanks for that."

A cold voice came from behind them. A massive "mountain of flesh" charged forward like a cannonball.

*Stone Skin!*

*Enlarge Person!*

*Mage Armor!*

*Permanency: Bull's Strength!*

With the four spells active, Arnold was like a bio-monster. Every movement triggered a faint sonic boom. He tore an Alien apart as if it were paper, and with his foot, he crushed the outer shell of another. The corrosive blood couldn't even penetrate the outermost layer of his Mage Armor.

Qian Gu walked over, dragging the Caucasian man, who was barely breathing but otherwise indistinguishable from a corpse.

"The surgery was successful. Who wants to go next?"

Indeed, the surgery was a success. The Alien larva parasitic in the man's chest had been ripped out and crushed to a pulp. The chest had been sewn back together with crude stitches, the flesh bonded in a way far more barbaric than field surgery. The sunken chest made one wonder if it was empty inside.

"Um... Great Master..."

Kong Mingde, thoroughly terrified and having dropped all pretense, spoke honestly. "This..."

Qian Gu shook the man.

"Relax. With a combination of False Life and Life-Sustenance, you will recover within an hour."