The Mysterious Resurrection at the Beginning of Infinite Terror

Chapter 10 Alien 1

Wang Lin opened his eyes, and the cold metallic touch and the deep hum of his circulatory system instantly enveloped him.

It wasn't the tranquility of a personal space, nor the damp decay of a beehive, but a near-sterile coldness, carrying the smell of metal and engine oil.

The pillars of divine light disappeared one after another, and fifteen people appeared in a narrow metal cabin. On the walls were control panels flashing various indicator lights and data, and outside the portholes was the eternal, star-studded, pitch-black deep space.

Alien 1! The spaceship "Nostromo"!

The difficulty and brutality of this instance far surpasses that of Resident Evil. Monsters like the Xenomorphs, with their exceptional abilities to lurk, hunt, and evolve, are a nightmare in the confined environment of a spaceship. Even more troublesome is…

His gaze swept quickly across the crowd.

The four veterans were Zheng Zha, Zhan Lan, Zhang Jie, and Li Xiaoyi. Zheng Zha's expression was much calmer than during the Resident Evil crisis; his eyes were sharp, and his body seemed stronger, clearly enhanced during his time in the Main God Space. Zhan Lan remained calm, while Li Xiaoyi appeared somewhat nervous. Zhang Jie… still had that same lazy yet scrutinizing demeanor, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

There were eleven newcomers. They included men, women, and children, all with a uniform look of bewilderment and fear on their faces. But Wang Lin's gaze instantly locked onto three of them.

A young man wearing non-prescription glasses and with an almost indifferent expression calmly pushed up his glasses, his gaze sweeping over the cabin structure, control panel, and even the clothing and posture of everyone. He was so calm that he didn't seem like a newcomer who had just been pulled into a horror movie.

Chu Xuan!

thigh!

A man with a stern face, a lean physique, and a silent demeanor, habitually maintains a posture that suggests he can exert force or conceal himself at any moment, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

Midnight! He did indeed show up this time.

There was also a tall, burly man with a fierce and restless look in his eyes, who was clearly no pushover.

The other newcomers each had their own characteristics: there were trembling students, white-collar workers trying to remain calm, and panicked housewives.

"Not bad, fifteen people this time." Zhang Jie's voice broke the silence. He exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze lingering on Chu Xuan and Zero for a moment longer. "Looks like the main god is giving away a lot this time. Newbies, welcome to Alien 1."

"Alien?!" Zheng Zha's expression changed, clearly aware of the horror of this movie. "That kind of monster..."

"That's right, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, with highly acidic blood, capable of lurking and assassinating, and even able to lay eggs on your face." Zhang Jie's tone was sarcastic. "Really 'lucky'."

Hearing the description, the newlyweds were even more terrified, and some began to sob.

Chu Xuan spoke at this moment, his voice flat and even: "Based on the information instilled by the Main God and judging from the current environment, we are on the cargo ship 'Nostromo.' It's possible that after receiving the signal from planet LV-426, the Xenomorphs may have already boarded the ship, or even completed their parasitism on the crew. What is the mission objective?"

He skipped over the fear and doubt, getting straight to the point. This absolute rationality surprised both Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan.

Zhang Jie glanced at Chu Xuan and read aloud: "Main Quest: Survive for 72 hours while being hunted by aliens. Quest Reward: 1000 reward points for each survivor. Bonus Quest: Eliminate all aliens (including the Alien Queen). Bonus Reward: The entire team receives one C-level side quest and 3000 reward points."

"Survive for 72 hours... Eliminate all Xenomorphs..." Chu Xuan frowned slightly. "There's a contradiction in the mission. Given our current personnel composition and the unknown number of Xenomorphs, actively eliminating them is extremely risky. The best strategy should be to hold our ground and use the spaceship's environment to buy time. But the reward for 'eliminating all Xenomorphs' is substantial, suggesting that this is possible, or... there might be an opportunity to quickly eliminate the Xenomorphs."

His analysis was quick and accurate, immediately giving the panicked crowd a glimmer of logic.

Zheng Zha couldn't help but say, "Then we should first find a safe area to hold, and at the same time try to understand the situation of the aliens."

"Naive." Chu Xuan looked at Zheng Zha, his eyes showing no contempt or arrogance, but simply stating the facts. "Holding out requires food, water, weapons, reliable fortifications, and intelligence. We know nothing about the ship's structure, the aliens' stealth and destructive capabilities are unknown, and the fortified position could become a trap. First, we need maps, weapons, and... confirmation of the existence, number, and type of aliens."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over all the new recruits, especially those who were clearly physically weaker and emotionally broken: "In the process of acquiring necessary supplies and intelligence, someone needs to take on the risks of reconnaissance and probing. The survival probability of new recruits is extremely low, and their fear and mistakes are more likely to drag down the whole group. The rational approach is, when necessary, to use some new recruits as bait or sacrificial pawns to probe the alien's patterns, in order to obtain survival information for the core members."

These words were like ice water poured over their heads, sending chills down the spines of all the newcomers, who stared at Chu Xuan in terror.

"What did you say?!" Zheng Zha roared in fury, striding up to Chu Xuan, his eyes blazing. "What do you take them for? Tools? Sacrifices? We're a team! We should help each other and do our best to keep everyone alive!"

Chu Xuan calmly adjusted his glasses: "Acting on emotions. With limited resources and unknown threats, preserving our vital forces (referring to veterans and newcomers with special qualities) is the optimal solution. Allowing worthless units to consume resources and increase risks is irrational. Your kindness will only lead to more meaningless deaths, including your own."

"You...!" Zheng Zha clenched his fists, trembling with anger. Zhan Lan also frowned, clearly disagreeing with Chu Xuan, but was intimidated by his cold logic.

Li Xiaoyi and the other newcomers fell silent, the atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point, and a split was imminent.

Just as tensions were about to rise, Wang Lin stepped forward and stood between Zheng Zha and Chu Xuan.

"Gentlemen, hold on a second." Wang Lin's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly. He first looked at Zheng Zha, nodded slightly to signal him to calm down, then turned to Chu Xuan, "Chu Xuan, your analysis is very logical and efficiency-oriented. Zheng Zha's idea is based on basic human decency and the foundation of team cohesion. In my opinion, your goals are actually the same—to ensure that as many people as possible in the 'team' survive. The difference lies in your definition of 'team' and how you allocate risk."

Chu Xuan turned his gaze to Wang Lin, his eyes behind his glasses sharp as a knife: "Who are you?"

"Wang Lin, I've just experienced a horror movie," Wang Lin said frankly. "I think it's pointless for us to argue about who should be sacrificed, because we haven't even seen the enemy's face, and we don't even have decent weapons. The most urgent task is to solve the problems of information asymmetry and resource scarcity."

"Oh?" Chu Xuan seemed slightly intrigued. "You have a solution?"

"Part of it." Wang Lin pointed to his eyes (hinting at the Eye of Lie Detection), then touched the contract paper in the pocket of his tactical vest. "First of all, regarding the Xenomorph, I happen to know some 'settings'."

He said quickly and clearly:

"First, the alien blood is a strong acid that can corrode the spaceship's metal. It cannot be used for close-quarters combat; energy weapons or maintaining distance are required to attack vital points."

Second, they prefer to be active in ventilation ducts and dark corners, and are sensitive to vibration and sound, but their vision may rely on heat sensing or other methods.

Third, above the ordinary aliens is the "Queen," which is enormous, has an extremely strong egg-laying capacity, and is the core of the nest.

Fourth, the alien larva "facehugger" requires a live host to parasitize, and the process of bursting out of the chest kills the host.

Fifth, flames and low temperatures have a significant suppressive effect on them.

Some of this information was gleaned by Chu Xuan in the original story through testing the lives of newcomers, while some was already known from the plot. Wang Lin released it all at once, instantly reducing a significant amount of unknown risk.

Chu Xuan's pupils contracted slightly as he stared intently at Wang Lin: "Source of the information?"

"Similar to your 'inference,' combined with some... special channels," Wang Lin said vaguely. "You can choose to verify it, but I suggest not using living people to verify the strong acid blood and facehugger parasites."

Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan looked at Wang Lin in surprise, not expecting him to know so much.

Chu Xuan remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly rapidly processing and assessing the authenticity and value of this information. Then, he nodded: "The information is valuable; we'll adopt it for now. This changes our initial strategy. The priority of acquiring weapons and maps remains the same, but we can reduce unnecessary exploratory sacrifices. However, the issues of resource allocation and risk-taking still exist."

"That's my second point." Wang Lin took out the ivory-yellow contract paper and pen. "We can establish a preliminary 'team action code' to clarify rights, obligations, and risk compensation, thereby reducing internal friction and suspicion."

He quickly wrote down the core terms on the paper:

"I. Basic Principles: Under the premise of doing what is possible and not endangering their own core survival, team members should help each other and must not actively frame or attack teammates."

II. Information Sharing: Those who have access to key information about missions, monsters, and the environment must disclose it during team discussions.

III. Risks and Rewards: Those who voluntarily undertake high-risk missions (such as reconnaissance and luring the enemy) will have the right to priority distribution of spoils (such as the right to agree on the distribution of weapons, supplies, and reward points obtained subsequently) after the mission is successful. Other members are obligated to provide necessary support when they carry out the mission.

IV. Command and Control: In cases of clear crisis and time urgency, the person with the most relevant capabilities or information shall propose an action plan, and others shall respond quickly. Routine decisions shall be made through team consultation.

V. Leaving the Team: Leaving the team is permitted due to serious ideological differences or an assessment that the action carries excessive risk, but after leaving, the individual must not do anything that harms the interests of the original team.

The terms are not complicated, but they clearly define some bottom lines and incentives.

"What can this restrain?" Chu Xuan looked at the seemingly ordinary piece of paper.

"It's an 'agreement'," Wang Lin said. "Signing your real name signifies acceptance. Those who violate it will bear the 'cost.' The cost might be worse luck, making a mistake at a crucial moment, or other intangible consequences. In horror movies, even a small misfortune can be fatal." He said this half-truthfully, emphasizing the binding force of the contract.

Zheng Zha immediately stated, "I agree! Rules are better than no rules! I'm willing to sign!" He was the first to sign his name.

Zhan Lan thought for a moment and then signed. Li Xiaoyi followed suit.

Zhang Jie squinted, looked at the contract, then at Wang Lin, smiled, and signed his name, "Zhang Jie."

At midnight, he silently stepped forward and signed his name. His handwriting was strong and powerful.

Seeing this, the other newcomers hesitated for a moment, then signed one after another. The burly man with the menacing look curled his lip, but still signed.

In the end, only Chu Xuan remained.

Everyone was watching him. Chu Xuan picked up a pen, examined the terms, glanced at Wang Lin, and finally signed "Chu Xuan" on the paper.

The moment he put pen to paper, the light on the contract paper brightened slightly again, and a clearer sense of constraint was established among the fifteen people. Wang Lin could feel that this fragment seemed to have been "completed" a little bit more, and the multi-person contract was indeed effective.

"The contract is established." Wang Lin put away the papers. "Now, we are a team with basic rules. Based on the information available, I propose:"

"First, Zheng Zha, Zhang Jie, Ling Dian, myself, and two other new recruits who volunteer and are physically fit (Wang Lin pointed to the burly man and the other relatively calm young man) will form an exploration team. Our objective: to obtain a map and monitoring access to the ship from the bridge, and search along the way for armories or locations where weapons and supplies may be stored. Chu Xuan, Zhan Lan, and Li Xiaoyi will lead the remaining new recruits to find an easily defensible area with a water source and controlled ventilation (such as a medical room or a sturdy cargo hold) to establish a temporary safe point. Maintain communication via communicators."

"Second, the exploration team's operational guidelines: prioritize information gathering and avoid direct confrontation with the aliens. In the event of an encounter, focus on driving them away and hindering them, utilizing flames (if a flamethrower or flammable material is found) and the terrain. Once safety is confirmed, notify personnel at the safe point to regroup or evacuate."

"Third, everyone should be aware of ventilation openings and shaded areas during the operation, remain quiet, and use anything at hand to make makeshift weapons or alarm devices."

Wang Lin's proposal combined intelligence gathering, establishing a base, and risk control. The exploration team consisted of the strongest fighters at present (Zheng Zha after his enhancement, Ling Dian with high quality, and Zhang Jie who was unfathomable), while the security team had Chu Xuan, a wise man, in charge of analyzing intelligence.

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses: "A very reasonable division of labor. I'd like to add one more thing: If possible, the exploration team should try to obtain the ship's engineering robots or repair tools, which may be useful for creating traps or obstacles. Also, pay attention to collecting any possible traces of the aliens' activity (slime, corrosion marks, molting), as this is crucial for determining their numbers and activity patterns."

Seeing that Chu Xuan did not object and even offered useful suggestions, Zheng Zha's expression softened slightly, and he nodded: "Okay, let's do it this way. Everyone, check what you have on hand and prepare to move out."

The tense atmosphere eased temporarily due to the contract and Wang Lin's plan, and the team did not split up immediately.

Zhang Jie took a deep drag on his cigarette, watching Wang Lin organize and coordinate, a cryptic smile playing on his lips. He muttered to himself, "The contract... the rules... are interesting. This newcomer isn't as simple as he seems. Chu Xuan... finally, someone of real importance has arrived. This show is getting more and more interesting."

He flicked away his cigarette butt and also checked the ordinary-looking handgun on his person.

Wang Lin felt the faint warmth of the contract paper in his arms, knowing that the real test had only just begun. The shadow of the aliens had already loomed over this silent spaceship, and how long could the fragile balance within the team last?

He must make good use of his prophetic abilities and the power of the covenant to forge a higher path to survival amidst monsters and human hearts.