Chapter 38: Chu Xuan's Thoughts

"Qian Gu, can we take on fifty xenomorphs?"

It was a good question. Zheng Zha thought about it carefully, only to realize he had no answer.

"What are you trying to say?"

With Qian Gu absent, Zheng Zha was overwhelmed by his own blood-rage, Zhang Jie was slacking off, and Mou Gang... well, Mou Gang lacked the nuance for such deep considerations. Consequently, only Zhan Lan was left to think clearly and deal with Chu Xuan calmly.

She cast a subtle glance at Zero and Ba Wang. For some reason, these two newcomers seemed to trust the Major before them, sharing an unspoken understanding.

If Qian Gu were here, none of this would be an issue. The entire team would be united as one; with Qian Gu’s handling and methods, he would have been more than capable of suppressing any hidden agendas the newcomers might harbor.

But! Qian Gu was not here.

The entire Zhongzhou Team currently lacked a certain internal cold-bloodedness, replaced instead by a lingering softness. Even knowing full well that a trap might be waiting, Zhan Lan and the others could not bring themselves to abandon any of the newcomers. After all, they had once been newcomers themselves, and they had not yet lost the most basic sense of empathy.

"Swift action is required." Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses. "We must pick up the pace and push toward the central control room as quickly as possible to open the escape pod doors. Remember, the mission only specified six hours; that doesn't mean we will reach our destination exactly at the sixth hour."

A small trap set by the God. None of the members of the Zhongzhou Team knew exactly how far the central control room was from the escape pods; it was possible they were located at the opposite poles of the joint vessel. If that were the case, given the scale of the Auriga joint vessel—which had been magically expanded and modified—Zheng Zha and the others might need at least another six hours to reach the pods. That would make it twelve hours in total, nearly an entire day or night cycle.

The longer the time dragged on, the more variables would arise.

"Easy for you to say," Zhang Jie scoffed. "Look at those doors—how are we supposed to take swift action?"

The doors were locked. These thick, super-alloy metal doors acted as if they were isolating two different worlds, severing this hall from the rest of the Auriga vessel, leaving it isolated. Breaking through these heavy doors was by no means a simple task.

"I have a way."

Chu Xuan’s voice remained icy, yet for some reason, it carried a hint of warmth to Zheng Zha’s ears. Zheng Zha was overjoyed. "What way?"

Chu Xuan shook the string of energy reactors hanging from his waist. "The energy core technology of these war machines is quite advanced, yet also somewhat outdated. They use a third-type substance to neutralize and adjust the output, ensuring the stability of the energy reactor. But! If one were to disrupt this stability, the energy reactor would become a..."

"Bomb!"

Zheng Zha immediately grasped the subtext; it was simple enough, after all. Primarily, Zheng Zha possessed a natural talent for "blowing things up"—he was the type to understand such concepts the moment they were explained.

"Exactly." Chu Xuan nodded. "The explosive yield of this type of energy reactor is quite high, enough to easily blast open that door, or even serve as an attack method for a final kill."

Zhan Lan looked at the Major with suspicion. "So, it’s basically a high-tech grenade? How long does it take to detonate?"

"One second."

"One second?" Zhan Lan was startled. "Isn't that too short?"

"It relies primarily on its instability. Once that stability is compromised, the reactor reacts rapidly and then explodes," Chu Xuan said, looking away. "One second—at most."

Only one second... Zhan Lan’s brow furrowed. She didn't quite know what to say. The time was too short. Even three seconds would have been enough for veterans like them, given the various enhancements they possessed. But one second? How could they dodge the shockwave of the blast and the shrapnel from the metal doors?

Unless... she cast a dark, lingering look at Arnold.

If it were Arnold, the problem would cease to be a problem. Arnold’s massive frame and exaggerated muscle tissue density were enough to withstand the blast’s shockwave and the flying metal shards. Furthermore, Arnold was a created being, not a true member of the reincarnation team; in terms of pure value, he was not held in the same regard as a reincarnator.

*I have a feeling he’s targeting Arnold...*

Zhan Lan stole a glance at Chu Xuan. He remained calm—cold, even—eating his brightly colored food. He was particularly fond of the apples Zheng Zha had stuffed into his dimensional pouch for some reason, and he was biting into one with vigor.

She could sense the subtle rivalry between Qian Gu and Chu Xuan, but with the two of them in different locations, she wondered how Qian Gu would respond to Chu Xuan’s move.

*How truly annoying!*

***

*...So, Chu Xuan is likely planning to use Arnold to his advantage.*

On the other side of the joint vessel, Qian Gu and his group were busy cleaning up those who knew about or participated in the xenomorph cloning project. Qian Gu himself had fallen into deep thought.

The God’s separation of the team was equivalent to a redefinition of the battlefield. At this very moment, Qian Gu and Chu Xuan were engaged in a remote duel of wits to decide who would occupy the position of "strategist" within the Zhongzhou Team in the future.

*Since the God left Arnold on the other side, it means Chu Xuan will definitely use him.*

Arnold’s position was unique. He was Qian Gu’s created being, a bodyguard—a bodyguard with immense combat power. In the eyes of informed reincarnators, he was not like Luo Li, a created being who served as an emotional anchor; as a pure bodyguard, his perceived value was naturally lower, and he held less weight on the mental scales during critical moments. To the uninformed newcomers, however, Arnold was the most quintessential member of the Qian Gu faction.

If one wanted to target Qian Gu, going after Arnold was the most logical path. As for how he would do it...

*Damn it!*

Qian Gu rubbed his temples, cursing inwardly. He was not a strategist who could read a script; to deduce Chu Xuan’s plan, Qian Gu needed information, details, and the ability to think and synthesize, not to create something from nothing.

The wreckage of the war machines. The Gauss rifles. The reactors...

Given Chu Xuan’s character, he would likely modify them into some form of high-yield, destructive weapon—the kind that inflicts a thousand casualties on the enemy while suffering eight hundred in return. He would probably have Arnold use this weapon. But why, and how? That was not something Qian Gu could easily infer without sufficient intelligence.

However...

*The foundation of everything lies in the fact that the individual or team’s combat power is insufficient to resolve the current crisis!*

Qian Gu took a deep breath. As for combat power, he had prepared more than one trump card for Zhan Lan. As long as she didn't lose her mind to "puppy love," she should be able to figure it out and release them.

*Don't let me down, Zhan Lan.*