**Chapter 18: Who's in Charge?!**

As the Xenomorph drones approached the perimeter, Biscuit sensed them first, even before Kris's life-sign detector picked them up.

Slowly, he set his pulse rifle aside, securing it with its strap, and took out his pistol grenade launcher, loaded with an explosive 40-caliber round.

He aimed steadily at the general area where three alien drones loomed at the edge of the landing zone.

As the aliens prepared to make their move, he pulled the trigger, firing a grenade with a *thump*, followed by an impressive explosion.

He managed to take out one of the creatures as the other two lunged toward them.

Biscuit quickly engaged one of the Xenomorphs headed for Kris, landing a *KO*-powered punch that flung it back into a stack of crates near the landing area.

She then charged after it, delivering a follow-up kick that smashed the alien's head like a watermelon—all without getting a speck of acidic blood on her.

Kris didn't miss a beat. He leaped into the air, performing a *geppo* while strafing the other alien with his pulse rifle.

The Xenomorph tried to bite at his heels, but it was in vain.

In desperation, the alien climbed onto some nearby crates, preparing to pounce on him with its gaping mouth—a mistake, as Kris had already swapped his weapon for the pistol grenade launcher.

Kris shot the grenade into the Xenomorph's open mouth before kicking the air below him to gain more altitude.

He didn't escape unscathed, though; the grenade exploded just below him, the shockwave knocking him over to the south entrance security door.

[Kris Kill Count: 3 Xenomorph Drones]

---

Meanwhile, with Zheng and Xuan...

"Why did you decide to volunteer as part of the away team?" asked Zheng.

"I have my reasons..." Xuan replied.

But Zheng gave him a look that suggested he wanted to know more.

"*Sigh* To be honest, when I first saw the movie, I considered this species the perfect specimen in the evolution of the physical body. They adapt their form to the environment based on the host's genetics. They can keep modifying their genes to evolve."

"As a scientist and a naturally curious individual, the opportunity to see and study this fictional species is too tempting," admitted Xuan.

Amazed, Zheng said, "Wow, even if your life would be in danger?"

Xuan responded, "The moment I woke up in one of those pods, my life was already in danger. I was in a secret military base in Beijing, China's second-most top-secret base. I don't believe anyone could kidnap me out of there. Furthermore, my detector device shows that I haven't left the base, yet I am obviously somewhere else."

"All this happened because I received a message saying, 'Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live… a real life?' It came from the internet."

"This message appeared while I was coding. The crucial part is my computer wasn't connected to the internet at the time. I was not aware of any virus that could breach the firewall I coded. So I immediately started to crack the origin and source code of this message. And guess what I found out?"

Xuan adjusted his glasses and continued calmly. "This message is not coded in 0s and 1s. The source code is not a computer program. It's created with characters and symbols. If memory serves me right, the characters are a combination of the oracle bone script, cuneiform script, and hieroglyphics—three of the oldest forms of writing in the world. There are also numerous unexplainable symbols."

"I was curious. You have to understand, when a computer breaks through the limit of 0s and 1s, artificial intelligence can develop. Especially when this message was coded with so many characters. So I chose the option with the most characters and symbols, which happened to be 'YES.' The outcome was miraculous. I ended up here. Even though I don't know what this place is, it's far from Beijing."

"Given that I'm in an unknown situation, it's my duty as a citizen and a scientist to gather all the information I can and, hopefully, send it back to HQ so they can either send rescue or use the information for humanity's future."

"Yeah, Mr. Patriot, but you could have done that without leaving the mothership," Zheng said sarcastically.

"That's because I don't trust you—not you specifically, but the players. Most of the Colonial Marines higher-ups are here, the protagonists are here, and they're all characters with set scripts, structured around duty, hierarchy, and order. What do you think is happening on that ship right now with little to no supervision?" Xuan replied.

---

After the crew located the colonists beneath the fusion-powered atmosphere processing station, they headed there, descending into corridors coated in alien secretions. At the center of the station, they found the colonists cocooned, serving as incubators for the creatures' offspring. When an infant alien burst from a colonist's chest, the marines killed it, rousing multiple adult aliens that ambushed them, killing and capturing many.

When the inexperienced Lt. Gorman panicked, Ripley took command, seizing control of the armored personnel carrier and ramming into the nest to rescue Corporal Hicks, as well as Privates Hudson and Vasquez. She managed to escape the facility once they boarded the carrier. Driven by trauma, Ripley bulldozed her way out, continuing even after running over an alien and leaving the facility far behind. Hicks managed to snap Ripley out of it only once they were safely away.

During the escape, Lt. Gorman was left unconscious after some ammunition containers fell on him. When the others noticed, Hicks asked for a first-aid kit and tended to the lieutenant. But Vasquez, still upset about the team's losses, wanted to "give Gorman a piece of her mind" (or, in other words, beat the living hell out of him). Hicks restrained her.

The injured Hudson then noticed the life signs of the sergeant and other marines still active on the monitor. Vasquez tried to convince everyone to go back and save them, leading to a shouting match with Hudson, who was too shaken to return. She kept repeating, "Leave no man behind!" They quieted down when Ripley reminded them it was too late; the captured marines were already cocooned and carrying aliens within them. The group calmed down, and Hudson asked, "What do we do now?"

They began suggesting ways to kill the aliens, and Ripley said, "The only way is to go back to the Sulaco and nuke the entire facility. That's the only way to make sure they're exterminated."

Burke then made a speech about the facility's value and the rights of the misunderstood creatures, stating he couldn't authorize such an action. Ripley replied, "Well, that's not for you to decide. This is a military operation, and the next most experienced officer besides Hicks is Wu."

She continued, "He was in line for a promotion before this mission. Why don't we ask him what he thinks?"

Burke argued, "What? That guy's just a grunt! Good at killing things—no offense, but he got his reputation exterminating local wildlife. He and his partner, Krueger, made rivers of blood run across Zeros, wiping out bugs. You want to leave a decision like this to a man with that kind of reputation? Go ahead."

"Well, he sounds perfect for the job. Let's get him on the comms," Hicks said.

"I can't believe those two—the Ken and Barbie pair—were that savage. I guess you never really can tell…" muttered Hudson.