Chapter 22: 21 Qi Ming Arrived—Kill Them All

Seeing the human who had previously driven him back, the Zuluk alien was surprised but continued advancing.

Having chased Xi Tiao Ning and the others all this way, he was brimming with momentum and confidence.

Qi Ming was even more direct—he rushed forward swiftly and engaged in combat himself—Fire Punishment Palm!

The base is about to self-destruct; we must end this quickly.

The Zuluk alien crossed his twin blades before his chest in defense, yet was still shoved back several meters, nearly falling to the ground.

Seeing the Zuluk alien—who had earlier deflected bullets and chased them relentlessly—pushed back by Qi Ming’s “plain and unremarkable” palm strike, Emi and the others felt their spirits lift.

Xi Tiao Ning looked at Morohoshi: “Captain, do you really believe he was just an archaeologist before joining the team?”

Is archaeology in Shenzhou such a high-risk job that it requires someone this fierce to step in?

“Hard to say, but he’s undoubtedly our ally—we must trust him,” Morohoshi said, leaning on his cane, ready to rush forward and support Qi Ming.

The Zuluk alien attacked again, refusing to believe it—feinting with his spear-knife, then spinning it with wrist strength, executing a move similar to “Ang Tiao Dao,” aiming for a lethal strike from an unexpected, treacherous angle.

Qi Ming swiftly twisted his wrist to evade, easily blocking the alien’s fierce assault.

With him holding the front line without taking damage, the four behind him seized their chance to fire, riddling the Zuluk alien with bullets that sparked fire across his body.

Qi Ming gave him no chance to recover—he leapt into the air and drove his knee into the Zuluk alien’s head—Heaven-Piercing Knee!

Struck again, the Zuluk alien realized that if he didn’t flee now, death was certain—he scrambled away in disgrace.

“Emi, do you know how to shut down the base’s self-destruct sequence?” Qi Ming didn’t pursue; he turned to Emi.

Emi quickly replied: “Use the main control computer in the command room to activate the backup system, then cancel the program.”

Qi Ming nodded: “Good, let’s go to the command room!”

Seeing Qi Ming didn’t recklessly chase after the Zuluk alien, Tongshan walked over to Morohoshi: “Boss, your new team member isn’t just incredibly strong—he has great strategic awareness.”

Morohoshi wanted to agree, but ended up sighing: “He’s just too calculating—he’s lost his sincere heart in human interactions…”

The group hurried to the command room; along the way, they passed frightened employees who rushed up to them, trembling, asking what to do, begging they didn’t want to die.

Tongshan did his best to calm them, but with little effect.

Many had nearly lost their sanity under the threat of death, clutching at the group like lifelines, refusing to let them go.

Xi Tiao Ning frowned, considering whether to clear the crowd by force.

“Don’t worry—it’s just a minor glitch in the main program. We’ll fix it in the command room. Rest assured, I don’t want to die either,” Qi Ming stepped forward.

His genuine calmness greatly soothed their nerves; beside him, Yamanaka muttered: “Being good-looking really is impressive—he’s more effective than the strategist.”

Thus, Qi Ming led the way, calming the panicked civilian staff into standing their ground, while taking along technical staff like Dr. Yagami who thought they could “help.”

When they reached the command room, they found the door locked from the inside.

Kishida pulled out a tactical cutting saw and traced a rectangular outline on the door, initiating flame cutting.

But the command room door was designed to nuclear-blast standards—five centimeters thick; under normal circumstances, it would take half an hour just to cut through.

And the self-destruct sequence would activate in one minute!

Xi Tiao Ning asked Kishida: “Don’t you have any C2 explosives?” She wanted to blow the door open.

Kishida, drenched in sweat, replied: “No, and even if I did, C4 wouldn’t be enough to blow it open.”

“Are we really going to end here?” Even the usually composed Xi Tiao Ning grew anxious.

With the main control system offline, the fully sealed offshore base was becoming a metal coffin burying them all.

Many broke into cold sweats; the agony of waiting for death left them nearly collapsed, barely able to stand.

“I’ll do it.” Qi Ming stepped out from the crowd, took a deep breath, and kicked hard at the spot Kishida had just cut.

Dr. Yagami: “Qi Ming, don’t waste your strength—human power can’t possibly work under these conditions… Am I dreaming?!”

With a thunderous crash, before everyone’s stunned eyes, the door—renowned for withstanding nuclear blasts—dented inward slightly.

“Our Victory Team’s equipment really is top-notch,” Qi Ming glanced at his shoe, then kicked again and again, deepening the dent.

The deafening impacts echoed through the narrow corridor, making everyone’s head buzz.

Emi murmured: “He’s practically a superhero.”

Tongshan looked at Morohoshi—where the hell did you find this man?

Yamanaka: “This isn’t scientific!”

Kishida swallowed hard, eyes wide with shock: “Biologically, there are creatures capable of kicking open a six-ton door—but such beings aren’t called humans.”

In that moment, both realized that during the earlier “sparring match” in the command room, Qi Ming had held back.

If he’d gone all out, he probably could’ve shattered their skulls.

Dr. Yagami also looked conflicted—he’d previously followed Qi Ming’s news, heard the new recruit had clashed with seniors, and had planned to comfort him, saying Japan was like this, everyone had gone through it, just endure and it’d pass.

Now it seemed… maybe you were the one doing the bullying.

“Qi Ming, use this—it’ll save you energy,” Emi handed him a standard door ram: a solid iron bar with two handles, extremely simple.

She explained that no hydraulic door breakers were available at the moment, so they’d have to make do with this.

“This is good,” Qi Ming gripped the handles, swung the bar, and after ten seconds of pounding, smashed through a hole large enough for a person to crawl through.

Afterward, he patted Kishida on the shoulder: “People’s physiques aren’t the same—you don’t need to feel inferior.”

Kishida: “I didn’t feel inferior!”

With the base about to be destroyed, Xi Tiao Ning had no patience for jokes—whether Qi Ming was human, normal, or not, they’d find out during the mandatory all-personnel medical examination in two days.

She entered the command room, weapon in hand, facing Dr. Tang’s stunned gaze.

Wait—you guys opened this door?

The command room held only him; the woman in sunglasses who had protected him was gone.

Yamanaka, the second to crawl through, fired an anesthetic round, knocking Dr. Tang to the ground.

Emi and Kishida immediately activated the backup system and canceled the self-destruct sequence.

The deadly countdown stopped. The entire offshore base, filled with people who had been paralyzed by terror, gasped wildly with relief, feeling that simply being alive was a miracle.

Strategist Tongshan finally relaxed, patting Qi Ming on the shoulder: “Qi Ming, you saved everyone at TPC—you are unquestionably a hero of humanity.”

Qi Ming found a spot to sit: “Emi and Kishida contributed greatly too.”

This surprised Kishida and the others—given Qi Ming’s usual domineering demeanor, he’d have simply claimed all the credit and said something like “Of course.”

Now he’s being so humble… is he just putting on an act because Strategist Tongshan is here?

No, that doesn’t fit—he once openly beat up seniors in front of the higher-ranked Kenzo. He’s truly unpredictable.

At that moment, Morohoshi somehow managed to briefly awaken Dr. Tang, restoring his self-awareness—he was no longer a puppet of the Bila aliens.

“Be careful—there’s a cosmic alien spy among us!” His first words upon waking sent a chill through everyone.

(End of Chapter)