Vol 1: Chapter 2-2.
Kaplan turned on three computers. His computer skills were definitely first class in Zheng’s eyes. His hands were typing non-stop across three keyboards, yet several minutes passed and the door leading to the central computer was still closed.
Rain asked, “What’s taking so long?”
Kaplan replied without taking his eyes off the computer, “Red Queen’s defenses are in place. She’s making it difficult.”
Just as he finished talking, the door finally opened. One nodded, “Let’s pack it up.” Then he turned to Zheng’s group, “You stay here.”
Behind the door was a corridor about ten meters long, with walls made of glasses, different from the steel and metal walls on the outside.
One walked in first. He was moving very cautiously, being careful with every step. Even then, when he reached the center of the corridor, his whole body shivered. Because the glass walls suddenly lit up.
Kaplan’s voice came from the speakerphone, “The lights are automated. Nothing to worry about.”
‘It’s obviously the lasers from the self defense system. Automated lights and nothing to worry about?’, Zheng thought.
Then as he was about to say something, a hand pulled him. He turned around and saw Lan shaking her head.
One finished setting up the transmitter, it was a device similar to a cell phone. He put it on the sensor of the door. Kaplan started typing again. After a while, the door on the other side of the corridor finally opened.
One let out a deep breath and waved to the people outside, “Move up.”
Alice sudden asked, “What is that?”
Kaplan was nearest to her, “That’s what will shut the Queen down. Delivers a massive electrical charge. Scrambles the mainframe and forces it to reboot.”
As the mercenaries were about to enter the corridor, Zheng couldn’t help but shout, “Wait, wait. Don’t you feel strange? This computer seems too useless just letting you reboot it like this. I don’t think things are this simple, there’s probably something wrong with this corridor.”
The mercenaries stopped and looked at him. Lan let out a sigh and took off her hand. Then she moved over to where Alice was.
One came out from the corridor and silently stared at Zheng. “Okay. You, and you, will come with us.” He pointed to Zheng and Mou.
Their hands and feet suddenly got cold from hearing that. They knew this corridor was a death trap. Anyone that entered will die, even One, he was sliced into little pieces.[1]
Zheng finally knew why Jie looked at him like that back there. Yes, he couldn’t help but try to change the plot. Yet it’s difficult to sway the plot from its momentum. Even when it did change, God would increase its difficulty just like this.
Mou put his hands on his head and screamed, “No, I don’t want to, I don’t want to enter it!” As he screamed, he started running back from the way they came. Before Zheng’s group could react, the mercenaries took out their guns and shot him. By the time his body dropped to the ground, it became a corpse.
“Wahh!” Zheng and Xiaoyi started vomiting. A life was taken away in front of them. Zheng was feeling terrible inside, because he couldn’t mind his own business and caused Mou’s death.
One looked at him coldly, “I was suspicious of you from the beginning. Even though your identities were registered in the corporation, you don’t seem like a security operative. And now you’re trying to stop us from rebooting the Red Queen? Okay, Zheng, come with us.”
Zheng felt frozen. His stomach was still feeling uncomfortable from the vomiting. One didn’t give him a break, grabbed his hands and entered the corridor with the others.
Once everyone was inside, just like what happened in the movies, the doors to both sides of the corridor closed up. One and the mercenaries were holding on their guns cautiously, then talked to his speakerphone, “Kaplan?”
Kaplan panicked, “Some kind of dormant defense mechanism. Opening the door tripped it.”
“Put it back to sleep.”
Kaplan was sweating, “Working on it.”
“Hold your positions. Everyone stay calm.”
Zheng was terrified, he knew the plot had started moving and he became part of the plot. As anticipated, the glass walls dimmed, then a thin laser appeared between the walls. This laser started moving toward the mercenaries and Zheng.
One was the first to react. He brought down the two people beside him. Zheng was focused from the beginning. He threw himself on the ground when the laser appeared. The laser barely touched his shoulder. He could feel that sharpness and heat passing through his shoulder. Other than this, his mind was totally blank.
“Medic! Medic!”, One shouted.
This brought Zheng’s mind back to consciousness. He turned around and saw the medic’s head slowly falling down. Then it stood on the ground. It’s eyes staring at him like a curse.
“No, no! I don’t want to die!” Zheng screamed like a madman. As he screamed, his mind felt calmer than ever. He started recalling this scene in the movie.
One was holding onto a mercenary who lost his fingers. Then someone shouted, “It’s coming back!”
This time the laser will start from ankle height. Zheng recalled the details of this scene. He remembered it will move past the first mercenary and curved up when the second mercenary jumped, cutting him in half. He only had one chance, if he failed, the laser will kill him. He didn’t know if this part was changed due to his interference, but he could only trust on what he knew.
As that laser quickly moved towards them, the mercenary on the ground was killed. The remaining two started backing up. Zheng put his full concentration on the mercenary in the front. One second, two seconds, it’s as though time had slowed down in this life and death situation. He couldn’t hear anything, and his surrounding felt slowed down.
“Mental capacity limit broken! Rewarded 500 points, mental capacity increased by 20 points, reaction speed increased by 30 points!”
A rigid and dignified voice sounded by Zheng ears. But he couldn’t hear it. His whole attention was on that mercenary. At last, the moment he jumped, Zheng threw himself on the ground. The laser moved past him, that white light was like Death’s scythe. At that moment, Zheng believed Jie’s words. Their whole body was transported to this game, this work of the gods, or maybe devils. They… could die here!
The laser curved up as expected and cut the mercenary in half. After the laser passed, Zheng quickly got up. He looked behind and saw through the window on the door, that Lan was standing outside with tears in her eyes.
Zheng gave her a smile then he grabbed One and ran near the door. He could only hope that the plot didn’t change from this point on. This laser would stop when it almost reached the door. It was no use trying to dodge it as it will turn into the shape of a net. All he could do was stay near the door and pray. Please follow the plot and end everything!
One was struggling to get out of Zheng’s grip. “Let go of me! This place will get us cut in half! Let me go!”
Zheng grabbed his collar and said, “Trust me! There’s no way to dodge it this time. Stay close to the door and we can still try our luck! Trust me!”
The third laser had formed and started moving towards them. It’s path was going to cut them in half. One was struggling to get down but Zheng wouldn’t let go of him. He had his whole body clung to the door then closed his eyes.
“Live, I want to live, even if I am in a situation like this, I still want to live!”
Perhaps his praying reached the gods, the laser quickly opened up into the shape of a net as it approached them. One let out a scream. As he was in despair, the laser dimmed down and disappeared a few centimeters in front of him. He could feel a heat wave touched his face. For a moment, he couldn’t believe he was still alive.
Zheng opened his eyes. He didn’t see the laser disappear but he knew he succeeded. Knowing the details of the plot allowed him to stay alive from the edge of death. He was never this close to death in his twenty-some years of life. Death was so close it grazed his shoulders.
“What’s this?”
As Zheng was thinking about his luck, he found a little ball of light on One’s collar. He picked up the ball of light then it disappeared in his hand. A sense of warmth went from his hand to his body, an extraordinary comfortable sensation.
“Rank B side quest reward. Rewarded 5000 points.”
The same rigid and dignified voice appeared. Zheng then remembered he heard something before. It was 500 points and increased mental capacity by twenty points and reaction speed by thirty points. That was like a thousand points already if you were to enhance yourself; the same amount you would get for surviving a movie.
These 5000 points were like a gift from heaven. Zheng was pleasantly surprised. When the door opened and several people rushed towards him, he was still standing there in a daze.
Xiaoyi tapped his shoulder, “You’re amazing! You survived that!”
Zheng’s thoughts came back to reality. He shook his head with a bitter smile. He didn’t even know what to say. It was too much stimulation for a normal person from a peaceful world.
Lan came over also, “You deserved it. I was reminding you not to interfere all along but you didn’t listen. Jie was right. Our biggest defense here is not luck but knowing the plot. Your luck won’t always be there for you. Stop being so impulsive from now on. No one wants to die here.”
Zheng shook his head and didn’t reply. He didn’t know if he should tell them about the rewards. Rank B side quest reward? What did that mean? Did that mean you changed the plot or saved a cast member that was supposed to die? Or survived a dangerous scene?
He didn’t know. That was so dangerous just now, he almost died in there. And the middle age man died because of him. So he was too afraid to change anything from now on. Jie probably wouldn’t let him do anything again. Because no one knows what’s going to happen now. Maybe everyone will die here, including the players, the cast, and even the main characters.
That’s what a horror movie is. No one is absolutely safe. Everyone can die. They are merely struggling to survive.
1. That Resident Evil laser death trap scene can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8gfGhVL3qs
After a few minutes, everyone recovered from the bloody event. One thankfully patted Zheng’s shoulder. This mercenary leader that was supposed to die in the corridor now lived. This would interfere with the original plot considerably. Of course he may die to zombies or Hunters later, no one could predict it.
One looked at everyone, then said, “We will continue!”
“Continue?” Spence shouted, “Continue what? You kidding me? There’s no way I’m going down there.”
One turned to Kaplan. His face was full of sweat, “Yes, yes. I turned off all her defenses. All…”
One repeated, “All? You positive?”
Without waiting for Kaplan to respond, One picked up the device and walked through the corridor.
Kaplan was still typing. This time the door didn’t close. Alice followed like in the original plot. After they went through, the door to the Red Queen closed again. Zheng’s group looked at each other. They knew they were going to face the theme of Resident Evil: zombies.
Lan said to Zheng and Xiaoyi in a low voice, “Don’t get too far away from Jie. Don’t get bit by zombies. In the movie, once you get infected you will become a zombie in thirty minutes. I did a rough calculation, the vaccine only works within ten minutes of getting bit. Remember to stay close to Jie. Since he lived through three movies, he will probably survive this one.”
They nodded. Then Lan suddenly smiled, “Right and do you feel disgusted from the murders?”
Xiaoyi replied first, “I felt disgusted when I’d just arrived here. And I wasn’t accustomed to this place. But after vomiting before, I feel like I have loosened up. If I do it with my eyes closed, I think I can kill someone.”
Zheng thought for a bit. He too felt much better after vomiting, especially since he experienced life and death. He got rid of the surreal sensation he had and slowly integrated into this movie. As long as he could survive, killing monsters, humans, he’s willing to do anything.
Lan continued, “Ok, then find a chance to pick up their guns. If you see a zombie got separated from the pack, then kill it. These are reward points! Remember, head, that’s their weak point.”
Then the room dimmed down. They knew One had turned off the central computer. At the same time, the defense system that isolated zombies and Hunters stopped working. After what happened to Zheng, they didn’t dare to change the plot this time and just waited as the central computer was shut down. Then they will have to go face to face with death.
In the dark, Zheng could feel Xiaoyi shivering non-stop. Even Lan was shivering. He asked, “Scared?”
Xiaoyi answered, “Yea, very scared.”
Though Lan said, “Too excited…”
Zheng suddenly felt Lan was terrifying. He didn’t ask anymore questions and turned to the only light source. Silently waiting for what’s going to happen next.
After a minute, the room lit up again. Zheng knew everything was starting!
One and Alice came back from the central computer room. One looked exhausted, he took a look at the corpses in the corridor, “We will bring the Red Queen’s main circuit back to the corporation first. Kaplan, how’s the Hive?”
Kaplan turned to his computer, “Good, all defenses are down. We can leave the Hive in a straight line.”
One nodded, “Ok, then now…”
Before he finished, gunshots came from Dining Hall B. One looked at Kaplan then they ran out of the room. Alice and the other cast followed. Then Zheng’s group followed.
When Zheng reached Dinning Hall B, he took notice of those cases containing Hunters. The lights on the cases had turned from green to red. Just thinking about how many of them were in this room sent goosebumps up his spine. This wasn’t something a human could rival.
One asked, “What’s wrong? I heard gunshots.”
Rain lost a piece between her thumb and index finger. It was bloody and horrifying. “Sir, we found a survivor. But he’s gone mad. He bit me…”
One frowned, “So you opened fire?”
Rain shouted in reply, “But Sir, he’s gone mad!”
“He’s gone,” Jie suddenly said. He looked at the pool of blood on the ground and said, “He was here just then but he’s now gone.”
One walked over to the pool of blood. The blood was already half solidified. This definitely wasn’t like fresh blood. He felt a bad premonition.
One stood up and shouted, “We’re leaving immediately!”
Rain felt strange and asked, “Sir? Aren’t our orders to wait here for backup after we get the Red Queen’s main circuit?”
One shook his head, “There’s no more backup. Prepare to leave!”
Lan walked over to Jie and asked, “You just reminded them, aren’t you afraid of changing the plot?”
Jie laughed, “You guys are the fearless ones. You changed the plot as a newbie and survived. Look at your watch, One’s name is not there anymore.”
Lan and Zheng looked at the watch, it was blank on the place where One’s name used to be.
Jie sneered at them, “We’re free to move from now on. Remember you can do anything as long as it means surviving.”
He thought for a moment and added, “If I was in your position–with the lack of stamina, reaction speed, and weapons–I would follow the group back to the Red Queen’s room. At least you will be safe for a little longer.”
Lan smiled, “You’re actually quite a nice person. You’re just not good at expressing yourself.”
Jie laughed, “Nice? Don’t joke around. I just didn’t want you to hinder me earning points. Don’t be mistaken, there are no good people in this world. As long as I can survive, I don’t mind using you three as meat shields.”
The tone of his words sent a chill down their spines.
At the same time, a metallic sound came from afar. Rain and JD moved over cautiously. After a few steps, a man wearing a white robe came out from the corner. A few people lumbered and stumbled behind him.
JD pointed at them, “Stop there! Otherwise I will open fire!”
These “people” obviously wouldn’t stop there. They were already infected with the T-virus. Soon after, numerous people lumbered out from all sides of the room. Some were in uniforms and some in robes. Some of them had started rotting, and there were some with totally deformed legs. Zheng even saw one with only half it’s head left.
“Stop! I’m going to shoot!”
Bang!
One was the first to shoot at these zombies. A zombie holding a hammer was knocked down. But he quickly got back up. After getting shot over ten times, it didn’t even bleed much.
Bang!
Jie shot with his desert eagle. It blew up the zombie’s head like a watermelon. “You guys go find an exit. Leave this to me!”
One hesitated for a while and shouted, “Okay, everyone remain in formation. JD, go find an exit. Rain, keep an eye on the prisoner. Everyone else, follow me.”
Zheng looked back at Jie. He waited for the zombies to approach then shot at them all at once. The few zombies closest to him all got shot in the head. His accuracy and speed were way higher than a normal person.
Zheng felt he could follow Jie’s movements. He read some books on MMA. There were two types of visual acuity. Distant visual acuity measured how far you could see and dynamic visual acuity defined your eyes ability to discern fine detail in moving objects.
It seemed like dynamic visual acuity was related to reaction speed. He could see Jie’s movements clearly which meant the difference between their reaction speeds wasn’t that big. And he was disgusted at first by the blown up zombies, but he’s feeling quite natural now. This was probably related to his mental capacity.
‘It seems like those rewards really enhanced my abilities!’
Zheng was overjoyed. He stayed calm and followed One. Then One turned around and gave him a gun and two magazines. “I can’t take care of you guys. There’s fifteen rounds of ammo in each magazine. Follow what Jie did and go for their heads.”
Zheng understood it more than anyone. Even though he never used a gun before, he was shooting very fast thanks to his enhanced reaction speed. He was smart enough to only aim for zombies within ten meters. Ten meters was his effective shooting distance.
The other people didn’t know about this and just saw him getting headshots without aiming. One nodded and left his back to Jie and Zheng.
Xiaoyi saw it and was full of excitement. “Zheng that was amazing! You’re probably used to shooting? How many points was that?”
One turned around to him. “Points?”
Xiaoyi’s face darkened. Zheng knew he’d probably heard a warning that deducted his points. Poor dude was in the negatives before he earned one point.
One looked at the three of them then turn back to the zombies. Lan patted her chest and muttered. “That was dangerous. I thought the plot’s going to change again.”
Lan actually had a nice body and her face is quite pretty. Zheng and Xiaoyi was staring at her when she patted her chest. She realized it and said, “Is Jie going to be alright? We can’t see him anymore.”
Zheng knew she was trying to digress so he answered casually, “He’s probably all right. He’s stronger than us and he has that desert eagle with unlimited ammo. Shit. If I survive this I will get one for myself.”
Lan touched her forehead, this seemed to be a habit of hers. She had a larger forehead than the average person.
“One hundred points can enhance someone’s power by a tenth. After I survive I have to ask Jie about the details on exchanges. But we don’t have time to talk about this. You should just concentrate on protecting us.” She smiled at Zheng.
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