Chapter 39: The Xenomorph Queen

"I believe there is another path we can take," Zhan Lan said.

"Another path?" Zheng Zha scratched his head. "Doesn't that mean we have to go around... cough, cough!"

Zhang Jie elbowed Zheng Zha in the ribs, cutting off his words and leaving him coughing instead.

"Hmm?"

Chu Xuan looked at Zhan Lan, scanning her up and down before his gaze settled on her wrist. More precisely, it landed on a silver disc attached to her watch strap.

"A preparation from Qian Gu?"

"Yes." Zhan Lan nodded firmly, raising her voice so everyone could hear, and held up her hand. "This is one of the trump cards Qian Gu prepared for the China Team."

A trump card? And only one of them? Ling Dian merely glanced at it, remaining silent as was his nature.

Bawang laughed heartily. "What a remarkable Eastern youth. That boy named Qian Gu dresses like a wizard; I suppose this must be one of his wondrous wizard spells, then?"

"Uncle Mou," Zhan Lan called out to Mou Gang, "please."

Mou Gang offered a simple, honest smile and took the disc from Zhan Lan. It was the size of a watch face. He drew upon his Dantian as if opening a sluice gate, pouring all his inner energy into the disc to ignite the runes etched upon it. Theoretically, this disc did not require such a massive amount of energy to activate—otherwise, Zhan Lan would not have been tasked with carrying it.

However! If sufficient energy were invested, the spell's effects would be far greater.

Five seconds passed in a flash. Eighty percent of the inner energy in Mou Gang’s body was drained, swallowed by the small disc.

The next moment, the disc disintegrated. It was a single-use item that blossomed into a massive magic formation. The complex, interlacing array radiated an astonishing pressure, making it nearly impossible to breathe, as if the only natural response was to submit. Among those present, only Zheng Zha, whose combat level was already significant, and Chu Xuan, the "Super Adjuster," remained unaffected.

"Roar!"

A roar, familiar yet strange to Zheng Zha and the others, erupted from the formation. Jet-black body, jagged, menacing spikes.

A Rampage Bear! It was the very same creature that had wreaked havoc in the Umbrella Corporation hive during the Resident Evil scenario. Now, it stood within the Auriga-class joint vessel, exuding the terrifying aura of a berserk beast.

Bawang looked at himself, then at the Rampage Bear, and bared his teeth. "I don't think I can take this bear on."

Zhang Jie clicked his tongue but said nothing more.

"So, this is the trump card Qian Gu left behind?" Chu Xuan surveyed the Rampage Bear, a look of incongruous shock appearing on his face. "It truly is..."

A terrifying monster indeed. As a creature that stood out even among second-tier combatants, the Rampage Bear’s reputation was well-earned.

Meanwhile, Zhan Lan continued to pull out scrolls.

*Mage Armor! Bull's Strength! Stoneskin!*

These were all auxiliary spells designed to complement the silver disc inscribed with the "Summon Monster" spell. As the effects took hold, the Rampage Bear’s massive body surged and doubled in size. Every muscle swelled, and a powerful, invisible force seemed to saturate its flesh. Its natural armor was also reinforced, working in tandem with the Mage Armor to protect it.

"Bear, tear it open!" Zhan Lan shouted, pointing at the metal door.

*Roar!*

With a thunderous growl and a charge, the air grew viscous, then was instantly displaced. The shockwave swept outward, extinguishing the lingering embers of the fire on the ground, blowing all the debris to the far end of the corridor, and slamming violently against the glass. Only Zhan Lan and her group, standing well behind the Rampage Bear, managed to avoid the brunt of it.

*Rrrrrip—*

The bear’s paws unsheathed long, sharp claws, plunging them directly into the metal door. Every fiber of muscle erupted with power, focusing into a single point. The door—which even Arnold had struggled to dismantle quickly—was ripped apart as easily as a human tearing through a textbook.

It was unimaginable, truly shocking.

Zhan Lan tilted her slender, elegant neck and gave a soft, pleased laugh.

"Let's go. Make it quick."

...

"The Rampage Bear, combined with those spells, is more than enough for a trump card." Qian Gu’s brow slowly smoothed out. Unless they encountered a problem requiring pure intellect, any obstacle involving brute force was no longer an issue for Zhan Lan, now that she had a Rampage Bear baby. It was only a matter of time. Besides, the vast majority of the team's combat power was concentrated with Zheng Zha anyway.

"In a sense, they are least afraid of problems solvable by violence." The only prerequisite was that Chu Xuan didn't start pulling any wild schemes.

*Rrrrrip—*

As he was thinking, Qian Gu reflexively stopped. A thick, formidable tail spike of a Xenomorph shattered his Mage Armor, grazing the flesh on his chest before striking Zhao Yingkong, slamming the talented assassin into the wall and piercing through her shoulder.

"Brother Qian!" Li Shuaixi stammered. "It's a damn Xenomorph Queen!"

Looking at its appearance, it was almost indistinguishable from a normal Xenomorph, but its size was three times that of a standard one. Standing seven or eight meters tall, with a tail extending over ten meters, its jet-black carapace made it clear to anyone at a glance that this was a pure, unadulterated monster.

The Queen of the Xenomorphs, the one who commanded them all—the most powerful entity in a Xenomorph hive! And this monster was standing right before them.

The Queen stood tall, Zhao Yingkong’s body dangling from its tail, looking down at Qian Gu as if he were an ant.

"Qian Gu, what do we do? What do we do!"

The intimidation factor of a Xenomorph Queen was beyond anything a regular Xenomorph could compare to. Its sheer size alone was enough to make the timid lose control of their bowels or be frightened out of their wits. Although Li Shuaixi had followed Kong Mingde to pick off a few straggling Xenomorphs and had thought he was fearless, seeing the Queen revealed that his confidence was nothing more than a bloated, false perception.

"Hmm?" Qian Gu squinted at the Xenomorph Queen. "Blocking the path?"

It was strange. The creature didn't attack; it had only launched that initial ambush to snatch Zhao Yingkong, and now it stood blocking the way. It wasn't killing, nor was it advancing or retreating. Its intent to obstruct the path was clear. But why here...

"Wait!"

Pieces of information flashed through Qian Gu’s mind. After a brief reorganization, the situation became clear.

"So that's how it is..."

His gaze shifted past the Xenomorph Queen and into the room behind her. There was no mistake. There were two Xenomorph Queens here! The one that hadn't appeared yet was a cloned Queen, infused with human DNA, and it was currently undergoing a behavior typical of human mammals.

That is—

Viviparous birth!