Chapter 128: Turning the Battle into a Marathon

"Thud—"

Zhou Shu was struck hard by the barbed tail of the Xenomorph Queen, slamming directly into a metal water tank.

"Cough, cough!"

He slid off the dented metal panel, clutching his chest and coughing up blood.

"Damn it, this thing is impossible to fight!"

*Cough, cough—ptui!*

Despite the pain, he stood up and stretched his limbs. Before the Queen could charge, he lunged at her again.

Following his charge were a dozen sharp metal shards, spinning rapidly as they struck the Queen’s body just ahead of him. If this were a human, such an attack would have been a critical hit, but for the Xenomorph Queen—standing over four meters tall, with a ten-meter tail and weighing several tons—it merely caused a small spray of blood. It didn't even qualify as bleeding; it was just a bit of cellular tissue, having no effect on her at all.

Zhou Shu had tried many ways to finish her off, but because she was different from the previous Alien Queen, he couldn't even replicate the movie tactic of pinning her with chains and dragging her into the ocean to be frozen again. In the film, the Alien Queen could shed her egg-sac, evolving from a mere "brood mother" into the ultimate combat-oriented Xenomorph. The problem was, while she could voluntarily shed her egg-sac, she couldn't shed her tail.

For a Xenomorph, its two most lethal weapons were the retractable inner jaw and the barbed tail. The inner jaw was mainly for "executions"—used only when the prey was already captured and incapable of resistance—so their primary weapon remained the tail. If categorized, the inner jaw was a "dagger," while the tail was a "spear." You don't throw away your long-range weapon on the battlefield just to keep a short one.

However, the fused, mutated Queen was different; she could discard anything, even her own head, and be fine. Zhou Shu had tried hooking her tail with chains and pushing the massive water tank into the sea, but other than forcing her to shed some "minced meat," it had no effect.

Just like the last time, Zhou Shu died shortly after. When he reloaded his save at the cave entrance, he felt a sense of numbness. It wasn't that he wasn't trying; it was just that the Queen was incredibly difficult to deal with. Judging by stats, the leader of the Ascension Society was much stronger than this Queen, yet even he had been ground down by sniper fire. This Queen, on the other hand, simply refused to die!

Looking at his stats, he could easily protect himself from the Queen’s attacks now. The only reason he kept dying was his choice to stay on the offensive, never backing down. After a long war of attrition, the Queen didn't even want to fight him anymore; she just wanted to leave Antarctica. But Zhou Shu wouldn't let her go—he insisted on a final verdict!

Sitting in the snowmobile, Zhou Shu checked his stats again.

[Hunter System (Simulation Mode)]
[User: Zhou Shu (Recruit)]
[Spirit: 4.37 (+0.74)]
[Strength: 3.34 (+0.68)]
[Agility: 3.52 (+0.72)]
[Stamina: 2.65 (+1.48)]
[Physique: 3.39 (+0.96)]
[Special Abilities: Bullet Time, Anomaly Sensing, Psychokinesis (Impact 22%)]
[Weapon Proficiency: Firearms (Mastery 66%), Powered Exoskeleton Operation (Mastery 45%)]
[Auxiliary Equipment: Elite Powered Exoskeleton Armor (Good Condition)]
[Source Quality: 21.54]

All attributes had increased significantly. After nearly a hundred reloads, the resistance to other stat stimuli had grown, slowing the growth curve, but his Stamina had surged, higher than it had ever been after previous cycles. This was partly due to deliberate training and partly due to passive necessity.

The Queen was simply too cooperative. Ever since his stats broke through 3 and approached 4, the pressure she exerted on him had diminished. If you ignored her "bug-like" ability to survive, they were evenly matched. His Strength had increased the least, but he was now strong enough to grab her tail and fling her away, though the damage was negligible, so he rarely did it. Most of his strength gains came from resisting her in combat—for instance, when she tried to use her weight to crush him, he could now push her back.

His Agility had seen similar gains through combat. Only his Stamina had improved, not from fighting, but from... running away.

In the beginning, the fused Queen had been full of confidence, treating Zhou Shu like a bug to be crushed. As the fight dragged on, she realized how formidable this "bug" was. The bug couldn't kill her, and she couldn't kill the bug. It was incredibly awkward. Having absorbed the memories of many humans, she knew how terrifying human weapons were—incendiary rounds were her natural enemy, not to mention nuclear weapons. Humans were reckless enough to drop those on their own kind, let alone on an enemy like her in Antarctica.

She feared Zhou Shu was stalling for time until human reinforcements arrived with "the big stuff," so she started running. Whenever she ran, Zhou Shu gave chase. She hadn't expected that not only could she not beat him in a fight, but she also held no advantage in a footrace. Zhou Shu didn't just chase; he used Predator weapons, peppering her with shoulder cannon blasts and throwing discs. None were fatal, but each one cost her a chunk of flesh. While she had the ability to "disperse," her bulk was what made her powerful. Her main body could withstand the Antarctic cold, but her "smaller fragments" couldn't; they would freeze to death.

Somehow, Zhou Shu had an endless supply of throwing discs. They were incredibly durable, resistant to corrosion, and her acidic blood barely touched them. The two of them would run for tens, sometimes over a hundred, kilometers across the Antarctic wastes. If he kept whittling her down, he would eventually grind her to death. It would take a long time—hence his initial frustration—but she didn't know his limits and couldn't gamble on it, so once she was injured enough, she would stop running and fight to the death.

When she stopped, it was Zhou Shu's turn to run. But the Xenomorph was a near-perfect war machine; combined with the Shape-shifter's fusion ability, she could adapt her strengths. Although the adjustments were limited, she could divert capacity into Stamina to catch Zhou Shu and finish him in close combat. She had used this when he chased her, but Zhou Shu would accurately target her legs with discs and cannons. These attacks weren't fatal, but they would trip her up, allowing him to catch up, only for the stalemate to repeat once she repaired herself.

Through this cat-and-mouse game, Zhou Shu had died many times, but he had lost count of the kilometers he'd covered. Stamina was built bit by bit this way. If the first few dozen cycles were quick fights, the subsequent ones were "map-running" marathons. Once, he’d pushed so hard he’d seen green vegetation in the frozen wastes before his lungs effectively exploded.

Fortunately, it was all worth it. All his stats were now over 4, and his Spirit—the leader of the pack—had exceeded 5. He was now confident he could take down the Four-Armed Black Sky alone without any help. Of course, he would still need high-powered firearms.

He hadn't gained a transformation ability, which was a slight pity, but his base form could now exert his full combat potential without needing a specialized state. According to the Bureau of Demon Suppression, Heavenly Master-level demon hunters only used such forms because maintaining full power was too taxing. He, however, felt no such drain; he could exert his full strength anytime, anywhere. Perhaps it was the initial "marrow cleansing" from the Source Quality energy.

His biggest gain was the growth of his Psychokinesis, which had jumped from "Weak" to "Usable." At the "Usable" level, he could manipulate objects in the "kilogram range." At 22%, he could lift 20 kilograms. He could already lift himself, but it lacked grace, so he’d wait for more power before showing off.

"Usable" Psychokinesis was enough to play with "flying swords." It was the stuff of cultivation—something many yearned for, even if most thought it fake. His sword couldn't take heads from a thousand miles away, but maybe from fifty or a hundred meters? His actual control distance was tied to his Spirit stat (ten times the value), currently around 50 meters. He could launch a blade further by giving it a push at the limit of his reach, but he would lose control of it then.

Actually, he was more interested in something else: an electromagnetic cannon. A sword was too big to carry, but he always carried coins for Agility training. Using coins as "bullets" was essentially the same thing. In the modern era, carrying a steel sword was unreasonable, but a handful of coins? Well, people used phones to pay now, but carrying coins was still more reasonable than a sword from centuries ago!

He wasn't Magneto, and his power wasn't magnetism, so he couldn't build a true electromagnetic cannon. But the principle of projecting ammunition remained the same. In the virtual battlefield, he tested it: his coin shots already packed as much punch as a pistol bullet. His Psychokinesis was still weak, but as it leveled up, it would eventually match a cannon shell.

At his current pace, that would be... tomorrow or the day after? In the real world, that is. He would hit his hundredth cycle tonight, and after adding points tomorrow, he might just level up. If not tomorrow, then the day after, by which time he'd surely hit two hundred cycles. He refused to believe he wouldn't upgrade!

Speaking of which, he had over 20 units of Source Quality—plenty to burn! After killing Tong Tianhua, he'd gained less than 1 unit, so he’d spent time scavenging the battlefield. He wasn't just looking for survivors; he was absorbing energy. There were no heavy machines, but the "Super Vanguard" powered armor and superhumans with 2 or 3 points in Strength acted like mini-excavators.

He steadied his mind, instructed Kate to go seek reinforcements (as usual), and charged into the ice cave. He didn't need the "elevator" anymore; he could just run down. Running back up was just as easy. With all stats over 4, this icy path was nothing. As he sprinted through, Xenomorphs died at his touch, and Predators fell at a glance. The other survivors were stunned.

"What... what just ran past?"
"Was that... a person?"
"A person?! How could a person be that strong? I don't believe it!"
"Believe it or not, I'm leaving this hellhole! I don't want to stay here another second!"

Before they could fully process it, a massive roar echoed through the cave.

"ROAR!!"

Everyone shuddered and scrambled toward the exit.