Marvel's Death Merchant

Chapter 159 Entering the Alien

Tang Xing was still in Captain Mary's team; for now, he only needed to carry out the fixed storyline raids. Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, they were in the Alien universe. Tang Xing's astonishing strength was the foundation of his power.

The others trained under Zhang Jie's firearms instruction, but Tang Xing certainly wouldn't train like a fool. However, the Samsara Squad's combat strength gradually improved. On the last day, none of them went to train, and they relaxed a bit. At this moment, in the square, everyone was making their final preparations.

"That's basically it. Everyone carries three grenades, a bottle of hemostatic first aid spray, a bottle of oral antidote, a roll of high-efficiency bandage, and a disposable malice amulet. Haha, thank you so much, Zheng Zha. This already costs more than 100 reward points. We really couldn't afford to exchange for it ourselves."

In the center of the square, Zheng Zha used his remaining 1,000 reward points to exchange for a dozen disposable grenades, along with some potions and high-efficiency bandages. In addition, he also specially exchanged for several disposable malice amulets, the effect of which would burn as a warning when evil spirits attacked, and the evil spirits could not harm the holder before the amulet burned out.

Zheng Zha looked at his remaining reward points with a wry smile. He originally had 6502 reward points, but now he only had 276 left, which made him feel quite distressed. However, when he looked at all the auxiliary items in his storage ring, he felt a little better.

Zhang Jie packed his belongings, then put them in his inner pockets. He said, "Although it's only been a few days, we've covered the basics of the training. Remember this from horror movies: anything can happen. We have absolutely no safety guarantees. So, we must be extremely careful. Also… try to help your teammates, but if anyone jeopardizes the safety of the entire team, kill them!"

Tang Xing said thoughtfully, "It's already difficult enough to survive in a horror movie. We can't possibly guard against the disasters brought by the horror movie while also being wary of our teammates' sneak attacks. Don't think it's impossible; that's human nature. We've already reached a mutual understanding, so there's no need to say more. But we can't predict whether those who have just entered this world have ulterior motives. So Zhang Jie is right. Once there are people who hinder us, we must eliminate them to prevent future troubles. After all, if we have internal and external troubles in a horror movie, our chances of survival will be greatly reduced."

Zhan Lan and Li Xiaoyi were clearly still hesitant, while Zheng Zha nodded silently. Then he asked, "How do you go to a horror movie? Do they also just suddenly disappear?"

Zhang Jie shook his head and said, "No, when the time comes, twenty pillars of light will descend from the 'God.' You just need to find one of the pillars and stand inside it. It's usually around this time when you go to a horror movie."

As they were talking, they all sat down on the plaza floor. Strangely, neither of the two bodyguards offered to see them off; perhaps they were all the same kind of people.

About ten minutes later, the ball of light "God" in the square became increasingly dazzling, its intense light becoming as hot and bright as the sun. Then, twenty beams of light shot down from it and appeared in the square. Then, all five people heard the same voice in their heads.

"Enter the beam of light within thirty seconds, target locked, alien begins teleportation..."

This time, Tang Xing deliberately didn't resist. He instantly entered a semi-sleep, semi-awake state, but this state didn't last long. Almost in the blink of an eye, he could see everything around him clearly. He was in a not-so-spacious room. The floor, ceiling, and even the walls were made entirely of steel. There were also many other instruments in the room that Tang Xing had never seen before.

Tang Xing looked around and saw that Zheng Zha had just gotten up and was also looking around at the situation. Ten newcomers were lying on the ground, while Zhang Jie, Zhan Lan and Li Xiaoyi had already stood up. Tang Xing knew that his team's physical fitness was much better than that of these newcomers.

As soon as Zhang Jie regained his footing, he looked down at the ground and said, his face pale, "This is terrible. Fifteen people! This level of difficulty wouldn't appear in a science fiction horror movie like Alien, which can be explained by technology. The 'God' must have changed the difficulty. This is awful."

Zheng Zha and the other two looked at him in confusion. Tang Xing, of course, didn't say anything, while Zhang Jie took a deep breath and said, "I've never encountered such a situation before. It's just that during my first horror movie, I heard from veterans that under certain circumstances, the 'main god' can change the plot and difficulty of a horror movie. Anything can happen in that horror movie, and it usually ends with the death of the entire team. Of course, completing such a horror movie usually yields a very generous reward. Just look at your watches."

Zheng Zha and the others looked at their watches. This time, the data on the watches was completely different from what they had seen in Resident Evil 1. There were no countdown numbers; the entire watch only had one line of data: Kill the alien, and each member of the team will be rewarded with 1,000 reward points plus one D-level horror movie side quest.

Zheng Zha shook his head and said, "This movie is an old movie from a long time ago. Although it is a classic, I did watch it a long time ago. I have basically forgotten the details of the plot, and I only remember some of the story."

Li Xiaoyi shook his head and said, "These days I've only watched a few of the latest horror movies. Who knew 'The Main God' would choose such an obscure film?"

Tang Xing, of course, wouldn't say anything. In the end, only Zhan Lan chuckled twice. She said seriously, "You guys are really unprofessional. Since we're in this situation with our lives in a horror movie, we should naturally watch the oldest horror movies too. And ever since I guessed that this space existed in ancient times, I've also looked for some modern horror stories to watch. As for the plot of this alien..."

"...The story of the Xenomorph takes place sometime in the future. In that time period, humanity had already developed interstellar travel technology and established colonies between several solar systems. However, unfortunately, humanity still had not found any extraterrestrial life until the very beginning of the Xenomorph."

Before Zhan Lan could speak, a voice interrupted. Tang Xing shook his head, knowing the most important person had arrived. At that moment, an ordinary-looking man with glasses sat up from the ground. Although his appearance was unremarkable, his eyes were unusually calm, giving him an air of wisdom. Qi Huan knew that one of the key players for the Zhongzhou team had appeared here. (To be continued...)

Chapter 160 Chu Xuan

The group exchanged glances, and Zheng Zha was the first to react, saying, "Zheng Zha, welcome, new member." As he spoke, he extended his hand to the man.

The man hesitated for a moment before shaking hands with Zheng Zha and said, "Chu Xuan, if you don't mind, could you tell me where this place is?"

Tang Xing thought to himself, "This is Chu Xuan, the wisest man, but he's still no match for the boss."

At this moment, Zheng Zha and the others exchanged wry smiles. He replied, "You sound like you're very familiar with the plot of Alien 1. Could you tell us the details of this horror movie's plot first?"

Chu Xuan remained seated on the ground, adjusting his glasses as he said, "If you insist on persisting..."

Then, Chu Xuan began to recount the plot of Alien 1. Although his language was very concise, everyone already had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

However, Chu Xuan had only spoken halfway when a voice interrupted him, saying, "I said, alright, I've been listening to you spouting nonsense so early in the morning. I mean, what the hell is this place?"

Tang Xing and his friends looked up and saw that the other newcomers had also sat up, looking around in confusion. Among them were three young men with brightly colored hair, who were looking at them impatiently. The leader, dressed in a hippie style with a nose ring and numerous lip rings, said rudely, "Who are you guys? We were at an internet cafe, how did we suddenly end up here?"

Facing the three fluent and arrogant young men, Zheng Zha ignored them and said loudly, "Please be quiet, everyone. We will explain the specifics in detail later. Now, let's ask Chu Xuan to tell us about the details of the horror movie Alien 1."

Chu Xuan had been carefully observing Zheng Zha and his group of five, while also taking note of the people sitting on the ground and the surrounding environment. Upon hearing this, he nodded calmly and said, "Continue. The members of the merchant ship naturally intend to eliminate the aliens. They don't have many weapons; the one that impressed me the most was the flamethrower. Of course, based on my calculations, this kind of close-range high-temperature weapon has almost no lethality against the aliens, who possess super-fast speed and extremely high defensive shells… but it can tear you apart in an instant at close range…"

The three youths seemed startled by Zheng Zha's tone. When they saw Chu Xuan and the others ignoring them and continuing to talk, they became enraged and roared. The one with the bronze rings on his face yelled at Zheng Zha, "Damn it, who do you think you are?!"

These were just street thugs, and they seemed to be intelligence agents too, knowing everyone and where everyone lived. Before Zheng Zha could speak, Zhang Jie had already pulled the Desert Eagle out of his pocket with a cold smile. He pointed at the young man with a face full of brass rings and said, "Shut up. Now is the most important time to gather intelligence. Don't make me angry."

The three youths and their companions panicked upon seeing the handgun. The bystanders quickly moved aside, creating a clearing around the three youths. They exchanged glances and burst into laughter. The youth with the bronze rings on his face even pulled a handgun from his pocket, saying, "Where are you from? Damn it, if you're going to buy fakes, you'd buy a USB one like this. Desert Eagle? That's ridiculous. You think just anyone can get a real Desert Eagle? It's obviously fake..."

The instant he drew his gun, Zhang Jie pulled the trigger without hesitation, and a deafening bang rang out. The young man's gun-wielding arm was completely severed. The Desert Eagle's power was immense; after hitting the arm, the immense force tore it apart effortlessly. By the time everyone regained their senses, the young man's entire arm had been severed in two by the bullet.

However, the young man was initially stunned. He shook his arm as if he didn't believe it. When the excruciating pain traveled from his nerves to his brain, he finally screamed wildly. He and the two young men beside him immediately knelt on the ground. They finally realized that the Desert Eagle in Zhang Jie's hand was not a fake. This realization terrified them so much that they wet themselves. The three of them were no longer as arrogant as before.

The people around the young man screamed loudly, but Zheng Zha noticed that several people remained very calm. They just silently watched him and Zhang Jie and the other four. Zheng Zha nodded to himself, thinking that the quality of the new recruits this time was really good. At least these people were calm enough.

Li Xiaoyi cleverly ran over and picked up the pistol from the bloodstains. He fiddled with it for a moment and said, "Brother Zhang, this is a fake, not the real thing."

Zhang Jie nodded and put the Desert Eagle back in his pocket. He said calmly, "Just use the spray to stop the bleeding, and bandage him up while you're at it... Also, all you newbies, remember this: don't point your guns at me. I'll get nervous! I might do something rash!"

Faced with Zhang Jie's threat, the newcomers finally quieted down. Zheng Zha glanced back, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and offered one to Chu Xuan, saying, "Aren't you afraid? That's a real gun."

Chu Xuan pushed the cigarette back and laughed, "I don't smoke, that would kill my brain cells. How about it? Do you want me to continue talking about the plot details of the horror movie Alien 1?"

Zheng Zha smiled, lit a cigarette, and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Immediately afterward, Chu Xuan finished recounting the entire plot of Alien 1 and even pointed out the problematic element he believed to be. After hearing Chu Xuan's analysis, compared to Tang Xing's coldness, Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie exchanged glances. They finally understood why "The Main God" had added so many newcomers. Because there was a problem with the plot of Alien 1, "The Main God" must have increased its difficulty or even completely modified the plot. Their greatest reliance in horror movies had disappeared, and they would no longer be able to predict the plot's direction in advance.

Chu Xuan observed Tang Xing, Zheng Zha, and the others' expressions and then came to a conclusion: "I've finished explaining the plot. Now, can the four of you tell me something? For example, where is this place? If I'm not mistaken... this is the space merchant ship with the alien creature, right?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zha and the others exchanged surprised and suspicious glances. He then smiled and said, "I was just testing them, but now I'm somewhat certain... However, I would appreciate it if the five of you could explain the situation, otherwise I still can't understand why I'm here."

Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan both wanted to speak, but Zheng Zha waved his hand to interrupt them and asked first, "When did you watch the horror movie Alien 1?"

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses and said, "It was about seven years ago. It's something I saw in such a short time, so I still remember it quite well."

Zheng Zha and the others around them were secretly astonished. They still remembered things from seven years ago so vividly. Did that mean they were people who had no memory?

Tang Xing simply watched all this silently, saying nothing. While Chu Xuan wasn't the smartest, he was certainly above average, so Tang Xing still hoped to get to know him; after all, he was a legend. (To be continued...)

Introduction begins in Chapter 161

Chu Xuan suddenly addressed the group of newcomers, saying, "You all probably saw the option 'Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to truly...live?' on the webpage, right?"

People around answered, and although their accents varied, they all answered affirmatively, and everyone who came chose "yes".

Next, Chu Xuan began to share his thoughts. It must be said, his intelligence was truly remarkable. After their conversation, Zheng Zha and the others, who were complete novices when it came to advanced technology, were utterly bewildered. Tang Xing simply smiled without saying a word; he wouldn't say anything to Chu Xuan, and watching his performance was a good option as well.

Chu Xuan did this to demonstrate his abilities. Although he hadn't fully grasped his own situation, he had already put himself in a safe position.

Zheng Zha looked around at the stunned crowd. To be honest, he was also quite shocked. It seemed that the newcomer who came this time was really something else. And who exactly was this newcomer?

Zheng Zha asked hesitantly, "Who exactly are you? Why do you think this place is very, very far from Beijing?"

Chu Xuan smiled and said, "If I can't deduce these problems with my IQ of 220, then I've really lived in vain. Let me introduce myself again, Chu Xuan... Colonel. Before coming here, I should have been at the military base. As the second most secret military base after the base itself, I really don't believe that anyone could have kidnapped me from there. Besides, my detector shows that I haven't left the base. I thought about it for a long time and could only think of one possibility that could cause this situation. I have clearly left the base, but the detector shows that I haven't moved an inch."

Chu Xuan showed his watch, which, according to him, had been redesigned. For national treasure-level researchers like himself, to prevent being hijacked by spies, their watches could communicate with the main computer at the Dragon Shadow Base. Besides continuously sending signals to the main computer to pinpoint their location, the watch would also display how far they had traveled from the Dragon Shadow Base.

"That means I instantly left the space I was in, so the watch naturally couldn't receive electronic signals from the Dragon Shadow Base's main computer. It would still think I was in the Dragon Shadow Base, which is the only reason I could deduce. Now it seems that this incredible reason is actually true?"

Zheng Zha and the others exchanged glances, and he suddenly said, "Zhan Lan, why don't you explain to them where this place is and why we are here?"

Zhan Lan's eyes lit up, and she chuckled, "Then thank you all...hehe. When we get back, I'll personally cook you a few dishes. You know, my stamina is a bit weaker than yours. I'll put all 100 reward points into cell vitality and muscle tissue strength when we get back."

Then Zhan Lan explained the situation to everyone, especially detailing how they would be endlessly cycling through countless horror movies. Surviving each movie would earn them 1,000 reward points, which could be exchanged for weapons or physical enhancements. They were currently standing in the movie *Alien 1*, and their newly appeared watches displayed their mission: kill the alien, of course. However, the details about the side quests within the horror movies were still hidden; this was shared intelligence among the five of them, and they couldn't just tell a newcomer.

Everyone could clearly see that most of the newcomers either looked incredulous or panicked. Apart from Chu Xuan, who calmly looked around, there were two other newcomers who calmly observed the four of them. Zheng Zha, standing to the side, was surprised to find that there was a tall and strong Caucasian man among them.

Zheng Zha walked up to the two men, extended his hand, and asked, "What are your surnames, gentlemen? Does this gentleman understand Mandarin?"

One of them was slightly thin, but it was obvious that his body was covered in very taut muscles. He did not shake hands with Zheng Zha. Instead, he took a step back and said, "You can call me Zero Point. I don't want to answer any other questions."

The white man, on the contrary, casually shook Zheng Zha's hand and said, "Kampa-Rovsky, you can call me Campa. Of course I understand Mandarin, but I'm not used to speaking it yet... You have a strong hand."

At this moment, Zheng Zha shook his head and said loudly, "Now, please tell us your previous profession, age, and what you are best at, so that we can assign your respective responsibilities."

These people seemed to hesitate. Chu Xuan spoke first: "Although you say so, it doesn't necessarily mean that what you say is true. What can prove that you are not lying? For example, the items you exchanged, or your superhuman physical abilities?"

Zhang Jie sneered and said, "Do you think it's so easy to survive a horror movie? Nine times out of ten, it's not even enough to describe how terrifying it is. Maybe someone who has survived about twenty movies can meet your requirements. With that kind of physical strength, you could definitely punch through a steel plate."

Chu Xuan shook his head and said, "No, you misunderstood. I didn't mean to be sarcastic. I just wanted to ease everyone's guard so that our cooperation could go smoothly." After saying that, he looked at Zero and Campa-Rovsky.

Then he added, "Just show me the hemostatic spray you used before, and those bandages."

Zhang Jie nodded to Li Xiaoyi, and the boy immediately tossed the bandages and hemostatic spray from his arms to Chu Xuan. Unexpectedly, the bespectacled man then asked, "Does anyone have a dagger? Preferably a sharp one."

Zheng Zha and the others exchanged glances. They didn't actually have any melee weapons. At that moment, the white man, Campa-Rovsky, suddenly took out a black sharkskin dagger from his pocket and generously tossed it to Chu Xuan. Only then did Qi Huan and the other five realize that the white man and Zero were both staring intently at Chu Xuan.

Chu Xuan first made a decisive cut on his wrist, as if the hand wasn't his own body. The blood vessels were immediately severed, and blood gushed out like water. Zhan Lan and the white-collar woman screamed, and the other ordinary newcomers were secretly astonished. Then, Chu Xuan picked up the spray and sprayed it on his wrist twice. Miraculously, the blood quickly scabbed over and closed. A few seconds later, the bleeding from Chu Xuan's wrist had completely stopped. He quickly wrapped a bandage around his hand several times, and then threw the sharkskin dagger and the medicine bandage to Campa-Rovsky.

Zheng Zha and his group exchanged glances, only then realizing that Campa-Rovsky and Zero had both done the same thing. After all that was done, Campa-Rovsky said nonchalantly, "I'm an international mercenary, a top-tier gunner. You can call me by my nickname, Overlord. To be honest, I'd rather you were lying. This really is a terrible place."

Tang Xing listened to them with a smile. Now wasn't the time for idle chatter; these people were, after all, his future companions, and therefore very important. (To be continued...)

Chapter 162 Gene Lock

Zero tossed the medicine and bandages back to Li Xiaoyi. He kept turning his bandaged wrist, and after a moment he said coldly, "I don't have a name. Just call me Zero. I'm a professional assassin, specializing in long-range precision sniping. Unfortunately, this horror movie doesn't seem to need my skills, and there are no sniper rifles here."

After the group introduced themselves, Zheng Zha nodded. Before he could speak, Zhang Jie laughed and said, "Not bad, you guys are all quite strong. All five of us survived the last horror movie. I survived four horror movies, and the other four survived one. But it seems we really made a mistake. We should have exchanged for some heavy weapons with limited ammunition to use in the meantime. Anyway, the exchange points for those consumables are very cheap."

Next, Zhan Lan explained in detail that everyone would return to the "God" space after completing the task, as well as the categories of items that could be exchanged. After she finished explaining everything, a smile appeared on her face, indicating that she had already obtained the 100 reward points.

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses and asked curiously, "But why is he the strongest among the five of you?" After saying that, he looked directly at Zheng Zha. In fact, Zero Point and Overlord had also been paying attention to Zheng Zha, but they hadn't said anything.

Zheng Zha smiled and said, "Actually, it's okay to say it out loud. Each time you survive a horror movie, you get a thousand reward points. That's a fixed reward. In addition, the 'God' will issue some tasks in the horror movie. After completing these tasks, you can get horror movie side story points, plus extra reward points. Look at your watch. It shows the tasks for this horror movie, plus the rewards you can get after completing them."

"I completed a mission during the last horror movie, so I got some extra reward points. After the upgrade, I seem to be slightly stronger than them."

However, Tang Xing knew that the strongest person was definitely not the seemingly powerful Zheng Zha, not to mention Zhang Jie, a semi-guide with double-A level telekinetic power. And putting Tang Xing aside, Chu Xuan seemed about to ask something when the only door in the room suddenly opened slowly, drawing everyone's attention. But there was nothing outside the opened door.

"The horror movie is starting!"

The moment the door opened, Zhang Jie yanked his Desert Eagle out of his pocket and pointed it at the door, but several minutes later, there was still no one in sight.

Zero sneered from the side, "Do you think they're going to gather intelligence?"

Hearing these words, Tang Xing almost laughed. There are people like this in the world who clearly lack confidence but still try to show off. If they weren't so insecure, why would they speak so loudly, as if afraid others wouldn't hear them, as if they were trying to embolden themselves? It's utterly incomprehensible.

The white-collar worker didn't say a word, but the three thugs, as if fleeing for their lives, pushed past the five and ran into the depths of the corridor without uttering a sound. Of the newcomers, only four remained in the end: Chu Xuan, Overlord Campa-Rovsky, Zero, and that seemingly clever but ordinary young man.

The young man cautiously approached the group and said, "Can I join you? Although it all sounds incredible, I still hope to be by your side. By the way, my name is Li Shuaixi. My occupation is... hehe, I just graduated from university and don't really have a job yet. But before coming here, I watched a lot of horror movies and read a lot of horror stories at home. Oh, and I've also read fantasy novels online and mythological stories from various countries."

Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie exchanged glances. He smiled and extended his hand to Li Shuaixi, saying, "Welcome to the team. Although we may not all survive, at least we won't abandon our comrades."

Seeing this, Tang Xing shook his head. Even if he wanted to expand his team, he should at least check what kind of people they were. If he just randomly picked some cheap companions, they'd probably be too lazy to even use them as cannon fodder. This was clearly an unwise choice, and also a characteristic of a "saintly" person.

After the group finished discussing, Zheng Zha suggested exploring the merchant ship. He proposed that if they encountered any aliens, he would fight them himself. He also handed Zhang Jie's Desert Eagle to Zero, asking him and Tang Xing, the "ice block," to provide fire support.

Suddenly, several screams came from the other end of the corridor. Judging from the voices, they should be from the two middle-aged men and the white-collar worker. The nine people in the room exchanged glances and ran towards that direction at the same time. Apart from Zheng Zha and the others who had already enhanced their bodies, Chu Xuan, Ling Dian, and Ba Wang all had amazing physical abilities and were able to keep up with Zheng Zha and the others while running. Only the young man was panting heavily and was soon left far behind by the others.