Chapter 214 – Near the Exit
Tu Ran led the two of them quickly along the corner of the wall. All three crouched, doing their best to minimize their presence to avoid drawing the attention of the alien species. They also had to constantly be mindful of the angles of the bullet and missile launchers around them, staying alert for any sudden targeting.
Who knew if these old systems would mistakenly classify them as aliens as well? If a cannon shot came their way, the thick-skinned aliens might be able to withstand it, but their human bodies certainly couldn’t.
Everything had to be handled with extreme caution.
They successfully made it more than halfway when they finally saw the exit. Indeed, there was a massive flat mirror.
Before Tu Ran could feel relieved, she saw the reflection of a horde of alien species in the mirror.
They were of all kinds.
They had all gathered near the exit.
It might have been because this area was designed as the exit to the underground passage, and there were no shooting devices installed overhead. The bullets and bombs from other areas couldn’t easily reach this spot. The aliens weren’t foolish — even though the bombs wouldn’t kill them, they still hurt. Knowing there were fewer bombs here, they had all crowded in.
A few were fighting over territory, but most were quietly hiding, not moving.
Tu Ran felt a headache coming on. From the looks of things, there was no way they could escape without confronting these aliens.
“What should we do?” Min Tao asked, staring at the aliens and gripping his gun tightly. “Should I go and distract them?”
“They might not be drawn to you. Outside, it’s a rain of bullets, and they fear pain too.” Tu Ran thought for a moment, then pulled out a grenade, removed the pin, and threw it.
The distance was far, but the moment the grenade hit the ground, it exploded.
The three of them dropped to the ground at the corner, shielding themselves from the blast.
The sound of the mirror shattering rang out in a flurry, accompanied by the whimpering of the alien species.
Cautiously, Tu Ran lifted her head to look and was nearly stunned — despite the powerful grenade, the aliens hadn’t scattered.
Even the few aliens that had previously fought fiercely over territory became still, warily scanning their surroundings, standing on the same line of defense.
Indeed, their thick skins proved resilient.
Instead, the mirror behind them had been shattered into pieces, revealing the passage beyond.
Some aliens noticed the opening and tentatively began to crawl inside.
Tu Ran’s heart tightened. Was the exit covered by only one mirror? Was the passage inside unobstructed?
Two aliens had already entered: an ape-like creature and a Herog monster. When the third alien tried to follow, it couldn’t get through; the passage was now blocked.
Tu Ran breathed a sigh of relief. There must be another door inside.
The grenade hadn’t scattered them but had pushed them into the passage. If they opened the door to leave, these aliens might follow them out.
That was a problem. Just then, the communicator vibrated twice.
It was a message from Xie Xu.
[I have cut off all the surveillance near the passage. You can use your abilities freely.]
Tu Ran was taken aback. She had thought Xie Xu had control over the door but hadn’t expected she would have to rely on her own abilities.
“If I use my abilities to escape, I’ll also lead the aliens out.”
Xie Xu quickly replied, [The aliens will escape on their own. You just need to follow them out.]
Tu Ran was impressed by Xie Xu’s quick thinking.
“Understood.”
Tu Ran put away the communicator, carefully assessed the situation at the exit, and threw in two smoke grenades.
The white smoke quickly spread among the aliens, obscuring their figures and making it impossible to see what was happening inside from the outside.
“Stick close to me and move,” Tu Ran whispered, then crawled into the thick white smoke.
They kept to the corner of the wall, and once they were enveloped in the thick smoke, Tu Ran slowed her pace to ensure the other two kept up.
In the dense white smoke where visibility was reduced to zero, the ground was covered with shards of broken mirrors, making unavoidable noises when stepped on.
The three of them were on edge.
Fortunately, some of the aliens were also moving around, which helped mask the sounds made by Tu Ran and the others.
Finally, they turned into the passage. They only needed to avoid the ape-like alien and the Herog monster.
Tu Ran’s goggles clearly displayed the approximate positions of these two aliens in the smoke. The Herog monster was very close to them, its eight tentacles spread out like a spider’s web across the entire passage. Two of these tentacles, positioned one above the other, were directly in their path.
The goggles automatically measured the distance between the two tentacles: 1.45 meters.
The distance from the lowest tentacle to the ground: 0.65 meters.
The width of each Herog monster’s tentacle: 0.35 meters.
It wasn’t too difficult to get through. They had practiced similar maneuvers countless times at the base. As long as they moved gently upon landing, the Herog monster wouldn’t notice them.
The Herog monster was currently blinded by the smoke grenade and was tearfully squinting, possibly about to adjust the angles of its tentacles at any moment.
Opportunity was fleeting.
Without hesitation, Tu Ran made a decisive move, stowing her submachine gun, minimizing her body size, and propelling herself forward. She leaped into the passage like a nimble fish, rolling smoothly and silently onto the ground.
Min Tao and Shen Yunhe followed closely behind.
This obstacle posed no challenge for them.
The Herog monster remained completely unaware that three humans had just slipped past its tentacles.
Next, they faced the ape-like alien.
According to the notes from Xi Chunzhi that Tu Ran had seen earlier, there were some characteristics of the ape-like aliens recorded.
They were very intelligent, the highest IQ among all the aliens, and closest to humans in their intelligence. They were adept at forming alliances and could communicate seamlessly with other aliens. Their combat ability was not strong, and their senses were not as acute as those of other aliens. Often, they were the strategists within their alien groups.
At that moment, the large ape-like alien was clinging to the gap in a metal door, holding a piece of metal that it had apparently pried from somewhere. It was trying to force the door open with the metal piece, clearly attempting to unlock it.
Tu Ran wasn’t sure whether to call it smart or foolish.
If she said it was foolish, it was still using a metal piece to pry open the door, which was a step above the aliens outside who stood dumbly blocking bullets.
If she called it smart, it was trying to pry open a human-made security door with just a small metal piece, which was nothing short of a pipe dream.
The smoke grenade had burned out, and the thick smoke would clear soon. They had to act quickly.
Tu Ran signaled Shen Yunhe and Min Tao to stay put and approached the ape-like alien alone.
She planned to find a gap, as long as it was big enough for her hand to fit through.
From the image analyzed by her goggles, there was a vacant space in the lower right corner of the metal door where the ape-like alien only had its tail positioned.
Tu Ran moved decisively towards that spot, but as she got within less than a meter, she was blocked by the ape-like alien’s tail, which was moving up and down erratically. The tail was also exerting force along with its upper limbs, and was completely blocking the door.
