endless horror

Advance, Lair!

"Reluctantly, I have to admit it—we're in bad shape," Chu Xuan muttered, lowering his head.

There were six of them left. Ba Wang was gravely injured and would die soon without immediate treatment. Zhang Jie's arms were almost entirely corroded, rendering him unable to handle firearms. Ye Wudao, the strongest fighter among them, had a shattered right arm and was heavily drained of energy, leaving his combat abilities uncertain.

Zero had excellent sniping skills, but the gun in his hand was more like a submachine gun—lacking the power and precision needed to kill an alien. Chu Xuan was a sharp strategist, but his marksmanship couldn't compare to Zero's or Ba Wang's. As for Jia Lan, she was hardly worth mentioning; though she'd trained for a few days, her shooting skills were even worse than Chu Xuan's.

Ye Wudao nodded grimly. "Yes, we're all basically incapacitated. But at least... we've taken down all the aliens so far. Nothing's come out of Room Fifteen for a while, so I'd guess only the queen is left in there."

Chu Xuan sighed. "The queen alone is enough to kill all of us. We don't stand a chance. She's about three times the size of a regular alien, and I estimate her exoskeleton is twice as thick. Regular bullets won't cut it. We'd need heavy weapons, precision sniper rifles, or armor-piercing rounds to do any real damage. But all we have are light arms—after all, this is just a cargo ship."

Ye Wudao pondered for a moment. "What if we break her shell? Could we all focus on her vulnerable spots and take her down with bullets?"

Chu Xuan gave him a skeptical look. "I don't work on fantasy scenarios. If you can break her shell, show me how."

With a bitter smile, Ye Wudao picked up one of the spiral spikes they'd rigged with explosives. Only one remained intact. He stood, took a deep breath, focused his internal energy, and hurled it at the steel wall. The spike lodged deep into the metal, just like his previous demonstrations.

Chu Xuan stared at the spike and sighed. "You're not even left-handed, and now your right arm is useless... This is partly my fault. If I'd known you were this capable, I'd have done more to prevent you from getting so injured. As you said, if we can crack the queen's shell, we have a shot. If your aim were more accurate and you hit her head directly, you might even kill her outright."

Ye Wudao laughed wryly. "My aim isn't that good. I'm using my left hand now, and I only have enough strength for one or two more throws. Better to aim for her body instead of risking a miss."

"Agreed," Chu Xuan nodded. "The odds of hitting the body are better. I'd say our chances of killing the queen are around thirty percent. That's not great, but it's enough to take the risk. Let's assign roles. Ye Wudao, you—"

"Wait," Ye Wudao interrupted. "Just handle your own people. We'll break the queen's shell and provide fire support. You and your team focus on protecting us and giving cover fire. Sound fair?"

Chu Xuan bit his lip thoughtfully. "So this is what you mean by 'alliance.' Fine. As long as we stick to our parts, I agree. But don't expect me to create plans specifically to protect you. We'll share the danger equally."

Ye Wudao smirked. "That's exactly what we want—fairness. We don't need your protection, only to be manipulated and discarded later. We need your brains, and you need our strength. It's that simple."

Chu Xuan said nothing more. Instead, he pulled out several weapons from the armory, explaining their pros, cons, and proper use. In the end, Jia Lan picked the infinite-ammo Desert Eagle that Zero wasn't using, while Ye Wudao opted for a short-range, semi-automatic rifle with a bit more firepower.

As Ye Wudao and the others armed themselves, Chu Xuan remarked, "In a way, we're lucky. If we'd waited another day or two, we'd be facing not three aliens, but seven. Those four missing people are likely already parasitized. We have to kill the queen as soon as possible, or once those aliens hatch, we're dead."