Mu Xing thought of a possibility: if he destroyed the projection device and its accompanying identity verification device at the start of the projection, would it be possible to prevent system authentication?
If the system failed to authenticate his identity, it wouldn't open the passage door for him, and he could potentially stay in place for 24 hours.
The logic made sense, but Mu Xing didn't believe things would be that simple.
So, he had to find a second escape route.
Mu Xing surveyed the situation above his head and the exhaust fans on both sides.
Since they could exhaust air, it meant there were ventilation ducts behind the fans and in the ceiling.
This might be a path to survival different from the main entrance.
Fortunately, the passage wasn't very high, only about two and a half meters, and at 1.78 meters tall, he could reach the ceiling with a running jump.
While there was still time, he attempted a running jump.
He leaped high, slapped the ceiling, and tested its hardness.
“Bang…”
There was always a way out; it wasn't heavy steel plate, just a layer of decorative tin.
The lamp covers and the projector's location were absolute weak points.
Not only that, when the virtual projector was working, a probe-like projection device would extend from above, lasting for about ten seconds.
This was his chance.
Just as he waited for the projector to descend, a loud banging sound suddenly came from outside the door.
Immediately after, the green light turned on prematurely.
Mu Xing’s expression changed slightly as he stepped back, realizing something.
Hiss…
The door automatically opened, and in the dim green light, the hideous monster stood with its arms splayed, its scythe-like bone spikes trembling.
Eyes met, and Mu Xing immediately gave up resisting.
The moment he closed his eyes, he didn't even feel pain this time.
A strong sense of weightlessness surged, and his consciousness rapidly blurred.
This time, he must have died from decapitation.
Just as Mu Xing lost consciousness for the last time, he heard the broadcast of the virtual projection.
“Welcome, CEC maintenance engineer Brandt Keyes, ID 0654, to the Ishimura Planet Cracker…”
Clearly, the system this time identified not Mu Xing, but the monster.
…
“Whoosh!”
Waking up again, Mu Xing was calmer than ever before.
His sixth death had just given him another important clue.
The monster was indeed an employee of the Ishimura spaceship; he just didn't know what it had gone through to become the grotesque monster it was now.
A virus? Or some kind of biochemical experiment?
This information was crucial for Mu Xing.
Also, the monster's hearing was incredibly keen; he had only jumped and clapped the ceiling, and it had awakened.
This meant that his act of destroying the projector device would inevitably attract the attention of the monster outside.
Additionally, there was an identification probe outside the door that could recognize the monster's identity and automatically open the door.
This meant his plan to destroy the projector device and hide in this passage for 24 hours was ruined.
According to his estimation, from waking up the monster to the door opening, he had ten seconds.
Although ten seconds was short, it was double the five seconds of survival time if he rushed out.
Moreover, there were other ways to further extend this time.
After waking up again, Mu Xing immediately got up, focusing all his attention on the ceiling above his head and the fans within the wire mesh guards on both sides.
Unfortunately, he no longer had suitable tools; otherwise, by unscrewing the protective mesh, these high-speed rotating fans could also be utilized.
“That’s right, the fans!”
Mu Xing subconsciously exclaimed, having thought of something.
This time, he positioned himself in advance, waiting for the projector to descend.
When the projector cast a virtual image, it would extend and retract, lasting until the projection ended.
He had to find a way to pull it down.
He counted down in his mind, and at 50 seconds, the projector began to descend.
At the same time, Mu Xing took a running jump, grabbed the projector with one hand, then extended both hands and gripped it tightly.
He had always been disciplined; a gym membership his former colleague had bought was given to him when the colleague quit and moved to Modu after only a few uses.
Their relationship was good, so the colleague left the gym card to him.
Mu Xing felt it was a shame to waste the remaining time, so he specifically went to the gym and lifted weights for a few months, achieving some minor success.
As he gripped the projector with both hands, he used his lower back, lifted his legs, and pushed against the ceiling.
At the same time, he exerted force with both his legs and hands, using every ounce of his strength.
The Ishimura spaceship's ceiling was filled with ventilation ducts and various wiring.
For convenience during routine maintenance, they were not welded shut, usually using a latching structure.
So, with his limbs exerting force, he directly pulled that panel down, simultaneously tearing the wires connected to the projector and revealing the ventilation ducts in the ceiling.
At the same time, with a bang, Mu Xing almost crashed to the floor.
Fortunately, he exercised regularly and had good reflexes; when he landed, his legs quickly bent at the knees, preventing him from falling onto the alloy floor.
The loud noise also successfully attracted the attention of the monster outside.
The monster began to awaken, and Mu Xing dared not hesitate, quickly taking another running jump.
Before the door opened and the monster rushed in, he hooked the ventilation opening with one hand and flipped himself up, climbing inside.
At the same time, the monster with its scythe-like bone spikes rushed in.
Its eyes quickly searched, then locked onto Mu Xing above its head.
It swung its bone spikes at him, but couldn't reach, missing by nearly thirty centimeters.
“Hahaha, you bastard, come chase me!”
Mu Xing laughed loudly, venting the frustration in his heart.
However, before he could celebrate, he saw the monster slowly retreat, then follow with a swift running jump upwards.
“I’ll f*** your mother!”
Mu Xing swore loudly.
What kind of zombie would take a running jump into a ventilation duct?
In the last moments of his Life, Mu Xing only managed to crawl a few meters into the ventilation duct before being caught.
Indeed, one should not be too arrogant, nor should one gloat over small victories.
In the last moments of his Life, Mu Xing shouted at the monster: “Brandt!”
The monster, just as he had imagined, suddenly froze, as if it truly possessed self-awareness.
But the next second, it was as if it was being forcibly controlled, launching a merciless attack on Mu Xing.
…
Dying once again, the frustration and despair in Mu Xing's heart had diminished significantly; at least he had found a way to leave this place alive.
Now, there were two problems to solve.
First, he had to find a way to delay the monster from entering the passage.
Second, he also needed to find a way to distract its attention, so that the monster wouldn't immediately notice him on the ceiling after entering the passage.
He already had a solution for the first problem: Mu Xing noticed a loophole in the door's system identification mechanism.
That was, when the identification device on one side of the door was performing identity recognition, the identification device on the other side would pause.
In other words, the identification devices on both sides of the door could not perform recognition simultaneously.
And when there were people on both sides of the door, the system could not just identify one side and open the door.
Instead, it needed to identify the people on both sides separately, and only after confirming both identities would it open the door.
This gave Mu Xing a time difference.
