Chapter 109: Death Only Makes Me Stronger!

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【You have died!】
【You have died again!】
【You have died again and again and yet again!】

After dying time and time again—he had lost count of how many times—Zhou Shu stood blankly at the entrance of the ice cave, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the depths below.

Since entering the "Alien vs. Predator" plot segment, his respawn point had been fixed at this cave entrance. Everything that had occurred before—the expedition team's arrival, the entry of the Predators, and the escape of the Thing—was inevitable; he simply could not stop them.

Thus, he was destined to face the "Abominable Queen," a fusion of an Alien Queen and the Thing, in a head-on confrontation.

Sighing, Zhou Shu lamented that training was never easy.

Kate noticed his demeanor and asked with concern, "Zhou Shu, shouldn't we just head back to the vehicles and call for reinforcements? You look exhausted."

Zhou Shu paused for a moment before turning his head. "It's fine. You go ahead and call for support; I’m going down to check the situation."

Seeing that he could not be persuaded, Kate stopped trying. She had seen how resolute he was when he fought the monsters earlier, so she ran toward the vehicles, hoping to summon reinforcements quickly.

However, Zhou Shu knew the reinforcements she would call were useless. The most powerful security forces had already followed Weyland and the others into the pyramid, and by now, they were likely all dead.

Truth be told, the way they would snap open their briefcases and reveal the firearms inside was quite cool. It was just a pity that they were up against monsters; ordinary firearms were completely ineffective.

As Kate left, Zhou Shu entered the ice cave yet again.

He checked his status panel as usual. He had grown much stronger, but he felt he still couldn't defeat the Abominable Queen. That thing was simply too overpowered.

【Hunter System (Simulation Mode)】
【User: Zhou Shu (Recruit)】
【Spirit: 2.72 (+0.79)】
【Strength: 1.61 (+0.65)】
【Agility: 1.69 (+0.72)】
【Endurance: 1.51 (+0.50)】
【Physique: 1.73 (+0.64)】
【Special Abilities: Bullet Time, Anomaly Sensing】
【Weapon Proficiency: Firearms (Mastery 61%), Powered Exoskeleton Operation (Mastery 45%)】

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【Auxiliary Equipment: Elite Powered Exoskeleton Armor (Good Condition)】
【Essence: 2.75】

After more than sixty cycles, Zhou Shu had become numb to the pain of death. His endurance remained the lowest, but at least it had finally surpassed 2. Now, all his stats were above 2.

His agility had grown the fastest because he had dodged and maneuvered in front of the Abominable Queen so many times. A single moment of carelessness meant death, and under the pressure of survival, he had almost mastered "Lingbo Weibu" (a legendary footwork technique).

His strength had also grown, though not as much as his spirit. After an initial period of "boredom," the appearance of the Abominable Queen had brought the thrill of mental stimulation back. Facing various ways to die repeatedly, his mental growth rate had skyrocketed from mediocrity to the top spot.

This time, not only had his attributes increased, but his weapon proficiency had also risen. Yes, he had tried every possible way to take down the Abominable Queen, but all had failed.

Take firearms, for example: their existing weapons couldn't even scratch the Abominable Queen. Even if they did penetrate, physical bullets were useless against the Thing, which could disperse at will.

Plasma pistols were effective, however. According to the film, these plasma weapons caused melting, explosions, and electromagnetic interference—the perfect bane for the Thing. Well, to be honest, those three effects combined were the bane of most living beings, and even mechanical or electronic equipment.

Melting could directly erase parts of the Thing's "body," and explosive damage had a similar effect, though it was more useful for preventing them from rapidly re-aggregating.

The electromagnetic interference, however, was truly powerful.

While battling the Abominable Queen, Zhou Shu hadn't just been taking hits; he had been observing. Research showed that these cells of the Thing communicated via weak electromagnetic induction. Once they aggregated into a "small life form," they could combine and disperse by mimicking sound signals, but the initial cellular aggregation relied on these weak electromagnetic pulses.

A single plasma blast could disrupt this electromagnetic connection, preventing them from communicating effectively and making it impossible for them to re-aggregate.

The problem was that the Abominable Queen was too tanky. Not only did it have a massive health pool, but it was also agile. A few shots in rapid-fire mode wouldn't kill it; instead, it would trigger a frenzy, causing it to risk its own injury just to finish Zhou Shu off.

As for charging up a massive shot, it was too slow. It was questionable whether it would even hit, and he would likely be killed while "charging." So, that wasn't very practical either.

He had also tried using the Elite Powered Exoskeleton Armor to bomb the Abominable Queen, but again, hitting the target was the primary issue. The Abominable Queen's agility was too high, and as a natural killing machine, it was extremely sensitive to danger—Zhou Shu suspected it had a "sixth sense" or "alert" capability.

Moreover, the armor lacked incendiary weapons. The firepower it carried might have worked on a standard Alien Queen, but it wasn't enough for the Abominable Queen.

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Even with high-explosive charges, if he blew it to pieces, it would simply discard the damaged tissue and remain a giant monster, or worse, use the blast to its advantage and disperse into many smaller entities to grind Zhou Shu to death.

Although Zhou Shu had Bullet Time, his physical attributes were vastly inferior to the Abominable Queen's. Even in Bullet Time, he couldn't completely wipe out the swarm of "Abominations" surrounding him. If even one slipped through, he would be dead.

There was another problem: the armor was too small. Facing an Abominable Queen that stood over 4.5 meters tall and had an absurd length, the two-meter-tall armor was at a severe disadvantage. He stood no chance in a direct confrontation. He couldn't even manage a point-blank exchange without being swatted away.

If Zhou Shu had a mech—not a massive one, but something like the 3.5-meter Hulkbuster or the 4-meter AMP suit from Avatar—it would be in the same weight class as the Abominable Queen. At the very least, he wouldn't be easily swatted away.

That would allow him to fight at close range. Even without powerful plasma cannons, he was confident he could take down the Abominable Queen with just mechanical fists and flamethrowers.

Actually, a fighter jet would do the trick if a missile could hit—a single specialized warhead would suffice. But the problem was, there were no fighter jets here. And in certain situations, fighter jets were indeed useless.

This was true here, and it would certainly be true for certain scenarios in the real world. Ultra-large mechs might indeed just be easy targets, but if limited to specific frameworks, they could become gods of war!

A thought suddenly struck Zhou Shu!

In the real world, massive mechs tens of meters high might be useless, but small mechs restricted to three or four meters could have many applications—whether commercial or military.

With this thought in mind, he punched a Predator to death, grabbed its gear, and speared a small Alien with its own staff.

When he finally faced the Abominable Queen again, he laughed aloud. "Haha, I’m back!"

"Every time you kill me, I grow stronger. Eventually, I will take you down!"

The four people behind him watched him, their jaws dropping in shock.

"It’s over, it’s over. We have no hope left; Zhou Shu has started talking gibberish."

"Yeah, what is he saying about growing stronger every time he dies?"

"We should run. Run as far as we can."

"What are you talking about? We should go up there together. Maybe we can work together to kill that monster..."