Chapter 24: Under One Person and Entering the Alien World

Cold, but not trembling.

Waking from a half-asleep, half-awake state, Wu Xian sat up from the metal floor with practiced ease. He raised a hand to stifle a yawn, looking as though he hadn't had enough sleep.

In reality, however, the opposite was true.

Over the past few days, Wu Xian’s sleep quality had been excellent, and he had woken up naturally almost every morning. He had even slacked off on the Zhongzhou Team's intensive training sessions, much to the near-tearful relief of Zheng Zha and the others.

His motive for doing so was simple: he wanted to lurk in the mysterious space, waiting for newcomers to arrive, desperately hoping for a powerhouse he could latch onto like a barnacle.

Perhaps his inner prayers were answered, for just last night, a newcomer truly did arrive.

Regrettably, the newcomer was no titan, but rather a lazy slacker who wanted to latch onto Wu Xian’s own leg.

This new Wu Xian hailed from the world of *Under One Person*. It sounded promising at first, but the catch was that he had arrived at a rather early point in time, transmigrating directly into the Republic of China era, just before the Jia-Shen Rebellion.

Like the other versions of Wu Xian, this one began his life as an orphan.

In that era, however, for an orphan with no parents, surviving was an agonizingly difficult struggle. One careless moment could lead to starving on the streets, only to be butchered and consumed by other desperate refugees, with the remaining bones boiled down for soup.

Fortunately, this Wu Xian’s luck was not entirely rotten. Because of his exceptional natural talent and bone structure, he caught the eye of the wandering immortal Zuo Ruotong, who brought him back to the San-Yi Sect.

The rest of the story is hardly worth detailing; after a series of trials, the newcomer successfully became Zuo Ruotong’s disciple and was taught the "Triple Inversion of Life" cultivation technique.

As an aside, Lu Jin had already joined the sect two years prior. By that timeline, a certain "Untainted" immortal had likely already broken ties with Zuo Ruotong and apprenticed himself to the ghost-handed Wang of the Quan-Xing sect. Perhaps it was for this reason that Zuo Ruotong had traveled far enough to cross paths with Wu Xian on his way back.

One could only say that the threads of fate are truly wondrous.

Of course, that was not the point. The point was that because the *Under One Person* Wu Xian was still young and had only reached the first stage of the Inversion, his strength was of little consequence to the others—it was a luxury, not a necessity.

Conversely, by receiving the attribute bonuses from three other Wu Xians at once, his own vitality and cultivation had surged in a leap-frogging fashion. He estimated that after he woke up and practiced for a few more days, he would reach the second stage of the Inversion. He was absolutely ecstatic.

"As expected, those who 'leech' shall be 'leeched' in turn... No, that's not right. How can you call it leeching when it’s among kin? That is clearly the result of one's own hard work and struggle!"

He brushed off his own sophistry and focused his mind. He examined the new metal nameplate in his hand before turning his attention to his surroundings.

Just as the original story described, the room was constructed entirely of a strange, alien metal, filled with incomprehensible instruments. They were clearly inside the spaceship from the first *Alien* movie.

Nearby, figures lay strewn about in disarray. A quick sweep with his psychic energy revealed that, excluding the four members of the Zhongzhou Team, there were ten others.

Adding himself, the captain, that made fifteen in total—exactly as in the original story.

Still the fifteen-person difficulty? That shouldn't be right...

With this thought, Wu Xian glanced at the information on his "God" wristwatch. His pupils contracted, and he felt as if his entire body had frozen.

—[Main Mission: Pilot the Nostromo back to Earth. Before doing so, eliminate all Xenomorphs on the ship. Each member receives one B-rank side quest and 5,000 reward points. Failure results in a deduction of 7,000 points.]

—[If a reincarnator's score is negative at the end of the main mission... Erase!]

That the main mission had changed was within Wu Xian's expectations. After all, he had been farming points quite aggressively in the last *Resident Evil* scenario, and every official member of the Zhongzhou Team now possessed at least one C-rank enhancement. With both him and Zheng Zha having unlocked the second stage of the genetic lock, a significant increase in the horror movie's difficulty was only natural.

But were these rewards not a bit too exaggerated?

Not only had the reward points increased fivefold, but the side quest had jumped from a D-rank for everyone to a B-rank for everyone. Was the difficulty of *Alien 1* really this extreme? This had already completely surpassed *Ju-On*!

After all, in *Ju-On*, a group of people had to share a single B-rank reward, whereas here, everyone received one. They were simply not on the same level.

Wu Xian’s mouth twitched. He suddenly dared not imagine what kind of "magically modified" plot he would encounter next.

Surely... there wouldn't actually be hundreds or thousands of Xenomorphs surrounding them, right?

As he pondered this, the other members of the Zhongzhou Team began to stir.

By now, they were all wearing D5-series Vibranium armor modified by the "God." The sleek lines fit their bodies perfectly, radiating a cold metallic aura that gave them the distinct look of futuristic soldiers.

Except for Wu Xian. Clad in his Black God suit, he was not a futuristic soldier, but a future god of war.

"Captain..."

Zheng Zha was the first to rise from the floor. He shook his head, and upon seeing the dense crowd of figures lying around, he paused, his expression darkening.

"There... there are too many people. According to what you said, Captain, the more people there are, the more dangerous the horror movie. This is the 'God' trying to kill us... Wait! What is the main mission this time... Oh, holy crap! Five thousand points and a B-rank side quest for everyone? Is the 'God' insane?"

Hearing of such generous rewards, Zhan Lan and the others did not look happy, but terrified, as if they had already envisioned being surrounded by a sea of Xenomorphs.

The mental image was too vivid—it was bone-chilling!

"Calm down. Don't panic yet."

Wu Xian projected his psychic energy to soothe them, his voice calm. "Remember what I told you? The 'God' won't issue a mission that is guaranteed to be fatal. Since it dared to bring so many people here, it believes we have the capacity to survive this movie."

"What we need to do is give it our all and strive to ensure everyone returns to the God's space alive... though, of course, that 'everyone' doesn't yet include those lying on the floor."

The four members of the Zhongzhou Team nodded. Even the soft-hearted Zheng Zha did not argue. Clearly, after Wu Xian’s careful "cultivation," he had undergone some changes, at least understanding that he shouldn't scatter his compassion indiscriminately.

Taking care of newcomers? Saving fellow humans?

Sorry, we aren't close, and we refuse moral blackmail. Maintaining one's conscience and bottom line to the point of not giving up easily is already quite commendable.

Of course, it was possible to receive more care from the veterans, but one had to at least demonstrate value that could catch their eyes.

Otherwise, they would have to rely on their own luck to survive and return to the God's space. Only then would they truly become members of the Zhongzhou Team.

"Alright, let's wake these newcomers up and explain the situation regarding the God's space..."

As he spoke, Wu Xian carefully examined the ten figures on the floor.

A classic pair of white-collar professionals, a middle-aged man with a briefcase, and three young punks who looked like they belonged to a delinquent gang...

But they were unimportant. Unless the "God" had hidden other potential candidates among them, these people would fulfill their roles as cannon fodder and be gone in at most three chapters.

The only thing Wu Xian regretted was failing to see a burly Russian man who resembled "Bawang."

He wondered if it was the butterfly effect, or if the "God" deemed that Mou Gang now possessed the qualifications to replace him—or perhaps both.

With that thought, Wu Xian turned his gaze to the three people he was actually interested in.

The first was a lean man in black. According to the feedback from his psychic energy, the man possessed impressive physical attributes.

Wu Xian could even sense that the man was showing signs of waking; his muscles were subconsciously tensing, and his heart rate was noticeably increasing.

Clearly, this was someone who had undergone rigorous training in reality. His strength was quite outstanding among ordinary people—he was either a special forces operative or a top-tier assassin.

And according to the original novel's plot, he was, in all likelihood, the man who was most reliable—Zero.