They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 384 Gene Lock

"Brother Zheng Zha... what's wrong with him?"

Looking at Zheng Zha convulsing on the screen, Li Xiaoyi's voice trembled slightly.

Chu Xuan didn't answer. He simply pushed up his glasses with a blank expression, tapped the control panel a few times, and connected to the internal communication system in Zheng Zha's room.

"I am Chu Xuan. Tell me about your situation."

A series of static crackled through the communicator, followed by Ba Wang's slightly rough and shaken voice:

"Chu Xuan? Where are you? Zheng Zha... he just went crazy to save me, and punched an alien to pieces!"
Their heads were smashed off! The remaining two monsters ran away when they saw that scene.

And then...and then Zheng Zha became like this."

"So that's it, it's a gene lock..."

The words contained a wealth of information, but Chu Xuan's expression remained unchanged; he simply spoke calmly.

"Gene lock?"

This unfamiliar term stunned everyone present.

"Each of our genetic sequences contains a vast amount of information inherited from our ancient ancestors, which is essential for surviving in harsh environments."

But as civilization progressed, humanity no longer needed to constantly face life-or-death struggles, and these violent, primitive genes were 'locked up.'

"You can understand it as a kind of self-protection mechanism of the body. But when an individual faces the threat of death or is under extreme mental stimulation, there is a very small probability that they can break through this shackle and unleash the body's potential in a way that goes beyond the norm."

Chu Xuan's voice echoed in the quiet supply room. He paused, as if organizing his thoughts into more easily understandable language:

"Just like the occasional news report, someone is burned by a hot iron bar in a fire but doesn't realize it until they escape the danger;
Or perhaps an elderly woman, in an attempt to save her grandson who was trapped under the car's wheels, briefly lifted a corner of the vehicle.
Or perhaps a mother ran at a speed far exceeding that of a world champion in the 100-meter dash in order to catch her child who was falling from a building.

These things seem like miracles to ordinary people, an abnormal surge of adrenaline, but they are merely the most superficial manifestation of unlocking the genetic code.

Everyone listened in stunned silence, as these seemingly familiar urban legends were given a completely new interpretation by Chu Xuan.

Zhang Qi stood aside, listening quietly. Chu Xuan's explanation was interesting and consistent with his understanding.

But he always felt that something was strange about it.

The gene sequence that any organism can express is only a very small part of its total gene sequence.

However, those unexpressed parts are not locked away, but rather traits that have been selected, eliminated, and preserved by the natural environment during the long evolutionary history of the species.

Evolution, in essence, is the process by which traits that adapt to the environment are preserved and expressed.

Chu Xuan's meaning was more like... that within the human body of this world, there exists an incredibly powerful genetic template that is actively "locked up".

Unlocking this lock is not about passively adapting to the environment, but about actively taking control of that forgotten power.

The difference between them is like heaven and earth.

"I've marked the location of the weapons depot for you. It's a relatively spacious place with sturdy gates, and most importantly, it has what we need most right now."

Zheng Zha's condition won't last long, let's meet up first..."

Chu Xuan didn't give everyone much time to think before issuing the next order.

Once the decision was made, no one dared to delay for even a moment longer.

Li Shuaixi and Li Xiaoyi checked the doorway and confirmed that there was no unusual activity.

After a brief rest, the group once again stepped into the deep passage that resembled the esophagus of a steel behemoth.

The atmosphere was even more oppressive than before during this march.

Everyone's nerves were on edge. Any slight sound, whether it was the dripping of condensation in the pipes or the groaning of the metal structure in the distance due to temperature differences, was enough to make their hearts jump.

However, to everyone's surprise, they did not encounter a single alien along the way.

"Phew... What good luck! Have all the monsters left?"

Li Shuaixi leaned against the wall, breathing heavily in a low voice, a hint of relief on his face as if he had survived a disaster.

"It's not luck."

Zhang Qi's voice was soft, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"The explosive power Zheng Zha just displayed has exceeded their understanding of 'food'."

"The first principle of life is reproduction, and the second is survival."

Chu Xuan's voice came from ahead, serving as a supplement to Zhang Qi's reply.
"They have just acquired three new parasites and have plenty of food."

They will not risk being annihilated to hunt an enemy with a strong counterattack capability unless absolutely necessary.

They are likely hiding in a nest now, waiting for new members to be born.

Chu Xuan's words were calm and cruel, especially the words "food" and "parasite," which pierced Li Xiaoyi and Li Shuaixi's hearts like two cold needles. They inevitably recalled the three torn remains, and their stomachs churned.

But compared to their initial breakdown, they were now able to barely suppress the urge to vomit.

And so, the journey was filled with close calls but ultimately without serious danger.

After a long and winding journey, everyone finally pushed open a heavy metal door marked "ARSENAL" and breathed a long sigh of relief.

The weapons depot was very spacious, with rows of weapon racks neatly displaying various firearms.

Zheng Zha has recovered. Although his face is still pale, his eyes have regained their clarity.

He was sitting on a box of ammunition, chewing on high-energy compressed biscuits to replenish his expended energy.

Meanwhile, Ba Wang, Ling Dian, and Zhang Jie were like mice that had entered a rice granary, excitedly rummaging through the warehouse, placing futuristic-looking rifles and magazines full of ammunition on the ground.

Upon seeing Zhang Qi and the others enter, Zheng Zha merely raised his head as a greeting before continuing to eat.

The aftereffects of unlocking his genetic potential left him without the strength to even speak.

Chu Xuan ignored the others and walked straight forward. He picked up a pulse rifle from the ground, removed the magazine, pulled the bolt, and began to inspect it with practiced ease.

"M41A pulse rifle, 10mm caliber, caseless ammunition."

Unfortunately, it's just the standard model.

Chu Xuan finished his examination and shook his head slightly.

"According to the settings, the 'Nostromo' is, after all, a civilian transport ship, not a warship, so it's understandable that it's not equipped with smart machine guns and heavy weapons."

As Zhang Qi spoke, he stepped forward and picked up a magazine.

"The projectile is too light, so even with electromagnetic acceleration, its initial velocity upon exiting the barrel is limited."

It would be difficult to inflict an effective penetrating wound on a creature with such a high-density exoskeleton.

This type of lightweight standard weapon was designed with ammunition capacity, recoil control, and versatility in conventional battlefields in mind. While its ammunition capacity and firing stability may have surpassed those of gunpowder weapons of our time, the power of a single bullet likely didn't see a significant improvement.

After examining it, Zhang Qi said to Chu Xuan that this was the conclusion he had drawn after touching the alien exoskeleton.

"I see... If it's just a matter of insufficient power, then that's fine..."

Unexpectedly, after listening to Zhang Qi's analysis, Chu Xuan was not disappointed at all; instead, his eyes behind his glasses lit up.

He nodded, as if he had found an interesting topic, and looked at Zhang Qi.
"In traditional gunpowder weapons, it's simple to increase the power: increase the bullet caliber and the amount of propellant."

However, for electromagnetic weapons, the core factors determining their power are the output power of the energy core and the magnetic field strength of the coils.

Chu Xuan placed the rifle flat on a table and began disassembling its power supply module.
"For any mass-produced standard equipment, in order to ensure its reliability, durability and the safety of soldiers, the manufacturer will set a security threshold at the firmware level."

But now, we don't need it to last for ten years, we don't even need it to fight a war.

All we need is this... just enough to get through this horror movie.

"You mean, hack its energy management system, remove the power limit, and allow the capacitors to discharge instantaneously under overload, releasing all the energy that would normally be enough for a hundred shots in just ten or even five shots, in exchange for several times the kinetic energy output of the normal mode?"

Zhang Qi immediately understood his meaning and replied.

"more than."

Chu Xuan's fingers lightly traced across the disassembled circuit board.
"We also need to optimize the array excitation sequence of the accelerating coils to achieve a higher magnetic field synchronization rate and minimize energy loss during conduction."

While it would significantly accelerate the aging of the barrel and coil, and even pose a risk of barrel explosion, theoretically, it could increase the power of a single bullet by three to five times!

The two of them talked back and forth, and the content of their discussion was completely beyond the comprehension of the others present.

Terms like "firmware limitation," "capacitor instantaneous discharge," and "coil array" are like gibberish to them.

Zheng Zha, Zhang Jie, Ba Wang, and Ling Dian, these four veterans who had experienced life and death, looked at each other blankly.

Aren't they from the same era? How come these two are already modifying futuristic weapons?
Wow! Are all college students this awesome these days?

Zhang Jie finally couldn't hold back and complained in a low voice.
"Let's forget about Chu Xuan who wears glasses; he's a national researcher."

But Zhang Qi… isn’t he just a computer science student? How does he even know about weapons modification? Do universities still teach that these days?

"Um...I think...not all college students are this awesome..."

Standing to the side, Li Shuaixi scratched his head, looking extremely embarrassed and even a little ashamed.

As a fellow college student, he felt that he had wasted his years of university education...

(End of this chapter)