Real Man

After advancing about a hundred meters, Little Fatty spotted the door mentioned in the diary. It was hard to miss, set beneath a curved wall of thick concrete. The wall was a seamless whole, and it seemed the diary's claim that "even a direct nuclear strike couldn't break through" wasn't just hot air.

The curved structure stood at least twenty meters from the other cells, leaving the area in front of the door completely empty.

Kirk walked up to the door. Little Fatty gave him a tense nod, and Kirk used the key from the diary!

He inserted it into the lock. A minute passed, but nothing happened. No mechanical gears clicked into place, no belts whirred, and no laser guns swept the area.

The group went from being on high alert to exchanging baffled looks. Someone gave a couple of decidedly unserious coughs, and before long they were chatting and laughing with ease.

Kirk and Little Fatty's faces darkened. What kind of rotten joke was this? They'd been coaxed into scraping together every last cent to buy birth control pills ([High Protein Potassium Injection]), massage oil ([Stone Skin] potion), Viagra ([Adrenaline]), and bottom's medicine ([Polymorph] potion). They'd come rushing over, eager to bend over and battle the boss for three hundred rounds, and now the other side had gone silent. What the hell was going on?

"Maybe this key doesn't open this door at all. Maybe they changed the lock after the key went missing. Maybe... There are all sorts of possibilities." Mori blew a smoke ring, taking a drag before tossing the cigarette to the ground and grinding it out. He beckoned for everyone to leave.

Kirk suddenly heard a faint sound, almost too quiet to make out. The entire prison began to shake.

An electronically synthesized voice issued a warning: "Warning! The highly classified C-03 area is opening! All guards, take note! The highly classified C-03 area is about to open! Unauthorized entry is subject to Clause 04!"

The mottled concrete wall began sliding back from the center, retracting to either side of the Steel Door and revealing it in full.

It was a massive block of steel. The specially made stainless steel radiated the cold, piercing chill and authority of advanced technology.

Then, driven by hydraulic presses and accompanied by the clacking of complex machinery, the steel door slowly opened. Kirk saw that it was at least a meter thick!

What could possibly need to be hidden so deep beneath America's most dangerous maximum-security prison?

What secret could have led the guards to immediately execute prisoners after the great catastrophe?

What kind of conspiracy had resulted in so many riot police being deployed deep inside this prison, only for every last one of them to die?

When the door had fully opened, an elevator stood beyond it. It was a large one, four meters by four, spotless and gleaming.

There was no turning back now. They had to steel themselves and press on. Kirk entered first, with Little Fatty close behind. The Plot Characters filed in after them.

Kirk looked at Mori's carefree expression, and his restless heart gradually settled. That man was like an unyielding rock, a reassuring presence with a strength all his own.

With T-Dog, Guillermo, and several other Plot Character gunmen, there were nearly ten of them in all, fully armed. Even if danger awaited them, they wouldn't be helpless.

The elevator seemed to descend for a long time before finally stopping. There was no floor display inside, but Kirk reckoned they were now deep underground.

System Prompt: "Contractors No. 4444 and No. 4445 have discovered a hidden Main Plot location—the U.S. military's top-secret laboratory (military designation: JBA-2B) (Kirk: That designation is cool. I like it. Bring it on).

Silver Hidden Main Mission Progress 1—[Exploration] has officially begun! Explore the JBA-2B laboratory and search for the truth behind the great catastrophe."

Kirk's expression turned grave. In the story, Rick woke up in a hospital and went straight into the great catastrophe. Nobody asked why. It seemed everyone, like the writers, took it for granted that this was simply what was supposed to happen. The third season had ended, and there still hadn't been a single word explaining why the catastrophe had happened across the entire world. No one asked why, only how to survive. (Walkers all over the world: Can somebody give us an explanation?)

But there was clearly a huge mystery here. Anyone who managed to investigate and uncover it would undoubtedly reap enormous rewards. It seemed this hidden mission woven into the Main Plot was about finding and exposing the cause of the worldwide catastrophe. It might even involve making major changes to the story and influencing its course.

Still, Kirk would rather never have accepted this lucrative mission. No matter how good the rewards were, he'd have to live long enough to claim them. He was the cautious, steady type—a "builder" in gaming terms. He wasn't opposed to adventure, but he definitely didn't want to get himself killed.

Unfortunately, Little Fatty had somehow gotten his hands on that damned diary. The Space had enthusiastically forced them into this, without so much as asking or using protection, triggering this absurd mission against their will. It seemed determined to get them killed.

He sighed. What was done was done. No matter what, he had to figure out a way to survive.

His gaze drifted to the others. Mori, T-Dog, Guillermo, and several other tough guys were with them. Maybe the key to his and Little Fatty's survival lay with these Plot Characters?

Even after scraping together everything he had, Kirk's survival skills only matched T-Dog's. Mori was probably stronger than him. He wasn't confident he could make it through this ordeal alive.

"Big Bro! I found a laboratory!" Little Fatty came running over excitedly.

Kirk shook his head and pulled himself together. If he was going to die, he might as well face it without regrets. He followed Little Fatty.

As he looked around, Kirk couldn't help but be horrified. The containers lining the room were large incubation tanks, made of transparent glass and filled with blood-red and yellow liquid, much like the amniotic fluid in a human womb. Pale, humanoid forms could just barely be seen within. They were all dead, and every one of them had mutated.

"Big Bro, what are these things?" Little Fatty asked, trembling with fear.

"According to the System Prompt, this is a secret U.S. military laboratory. And these people were up to something shady. After the great catastrophe, they even deployed riot police to execute all the prisoners! It looks like they were conducting biological experiments, and then there was a biological leak? Like what Umbrella Corporation did in Resident Evil?"

"Then are we going to face a super Walker later?" Little Fatty pressed.

"Yeah. Judging by what we've seen, that's very likely." Kirk nodded grimly. At least there was one good thing: many of the skills he'd obtained after entering this world were aimed at Walkers. For example, [Walker King] increased his damage against Walkers by twenty percent. That would come in handy.

"Hey!" Mori suddenly came over and grabbed Kirk by the neck. "You little idiot, I don't know what you two have been whispering about. Is there something I should know?"

"Well, based on what we've seen, one or more terrifying Walkers are going to attack us soon. We're a little nervous," Kirk answered honestly.

"I don't know what the hell a Walker is, but I'll kill it either way," Mori said unconcernedly. "If you're scared, hurry home and crawl back to your mama."

Damn, of course I want to go home, but this goddamn Space... Kirk grumbled inwardly.

Kirk and the others opened the laboratory computer and investigated. After a while, it played an audio diary. (Kirk: This prison is messed up. The prisoners love writing, and the evil bosses love recording audio. Is there anyone here who likes taking selfies like Edison Chen?)

"...We're close to success. Subject 03, the biological test subject, is undergoing its final adjustments. The biological weapon we developed using the genes of Asian populations is nearly perfect..."

"...The cells seem to have stabilized. Those black cells can strip people of their memories while leaving their instincts intact. It's fascinating..."

"...Congress actually wants to investigate us. This is ridiculous..."

"...That bitch Hillary betrayed us! Unforgivable. But I'll make her shut up. Even as a former president's wife and the current Secretary of State, she can't stand against the powerful political forces backing me. There'll be a suitable replacement for her. But I need Philip to speed up his experiments..."

"...What is Philip hiding from us? I know his daughter has been infected with an unknown virus. It's very similar to the virus we're using in our experiments... What is Philip planning?"

"...Philip's gone mad. He actually plans to take some of the experimental serum home in secret to save his daughter! I won't allow it! Philip must be severely punished!"

"I've fired Philip and thrown him in prison. He can watch our success from less than a hundred meters away."

"...Good God, Philip actually had someone write a section of the virus's genetic code in advance! The laboratory is out of control. The test subjects have escaped! They're biting people everywhere! Eating them! Damn it... Ah!" (Screams and sounds of chewing.)

Kirk and Little Fatty tightened their grips on their weapons. They had clearly stumbled upon a shocking secret. Kirk's thoughts churned. "Philip? A researcher? Could he be the evil Governor Philip? Same name, same surname? What are the odds?"

A System Prompt appeared: "Warning! Warning! Contractors No. 4444 and No. 4445, you have uncovered the ultimate secret hidden in This World's Main Plot! Silver Hidden Main Mission Progress 1—[Exploration] is complete. Silver Hidden Main Mission Progress 2—[Survival] has begun!"

"Experiment Subject 03, Five Mutations, is about to appear. Kill it!"

"Notice: Due to the laws of the Space, the original Dark Gold Hidden Main Mission has been forcibly downgraded to a Silver Hidden Main Mission. Experiment Subjects 05 and 11, who would originally have appeared, will no longer appear. Subject 03 has regained the 'Vital Part' attribute in its brain. Attacks against it will deal double damage! Corresponding rewards have been deducted."

At that moment, a heavy sound slammed against the floor, and the entire laboratory shook. Kirk sighed and said to Little Fatty, "Get ready to face fate, brother! If I don't make it out alive, whatever you do, don't tell my family!"

Little Fatty's expression was equally solemn. "Big Bro, same for me. Don't tell my mom I suffered so much before I died!"

Then Mori kicked them both forward. "We need meat shields up front! Move!"

Kirk looked closely at the big guy who'd dropped from above. He was a huge fat man.

[5th Mutation Corpse King]

[Description]: America is the most advanced nation in the research of biological weapons. It has long been conducting research into genetic weapons targeting potential enemy nations. This prison near Atlanta, Georgia, is a secret biological weapons research facility. Unfortunately, people keep getting burned by the stones they throw. The great catastrophe is the latest massive stone Uncle Sam has dropped on his own foot. This yellow man, a death-row prisoner convicted of a serious crime, was subjected to repeated, inhumane experiments and infections. He has undergone five mutations. He was the one who broke through that door and escaped. The U.S. SEAL Team lost an entire unit before capturing him. Now it's your turn.

[Weight] 1,000 kilograms (Kirk: Are yellow men really this fat? Little Fatty: I guess I'm not fat, then.)

[Strength] 25 points (reached the maximum allowed by the Novice Trial Space's laws)

[Agility] 7 points (you can't expect a one-ton ball of flesh to run as fast as Usain Bolt)

[Stamina] 25 points (reached the maximum allowed by the Novice Trial Space's laws)

[Intelligence] + [Wisdom] + [Charisma] = 3 points (no explanation needed.)

[Skills]

1: [Brute Force Charge] When the 5th Mutation Walker starts running, its impact is equal to that of a car traveling at 100 kilometers per hour. It deals damage equal to the Walker's Strength × 2, plus a distance-and-speed modifier. If the victim is thrown into an obstacle, they take additional damage.

2: [Slaughter Tear] The fat man loved eating meat when he was alive. He got a thrill from tearing chunks of flesh apart, and that preference stayed with him after death. Once he grabs an opponent and starts tearing, the opponent must pass both a Stamina check and a Fortitude check or die. Passing results in crippling injury or severe wounds.

3: [Thick Fat] When this guy underwent surgery, the scalpels weren't long enough to pierce his fat layer, much to the researchers' dismay. In the end, they had to use a chainsaw. His thick layer of fat reduces physical damage by 25%, while his slippery skin causes 25% of ranged bullets to miss automatically.

4: [Gene Mutation] His Health Points regenerate at a rate of 5 points per second. When his health falls below 50%, the rate increases to 10 points per second. When he is near death, below 10%, he regenerates at 30 points per second. Scared yet?

5: [Giant Physique] This fat man was chosen because he'd been hit by a ten-ton GMC in a car accident and had been completely fine apart from a broken leg. The American researchers discovered that he even had a trace of pure ancient Giant blood! Thanks to the blood of his ancestors, this fat man gained a bonus of 3,000 Health Points.

6: [Boss Template] How could a Silver Plot Boss be a pushover? His Health Points increase by another 3,000. (If this were a Dark Gold Main Plot mission, his Health Points would increase by another 10,000.)

7: [???]

8: [???]

"Damn!" Little Fatty and Kirk cried out at the same time. "What a real man!"

Little Fatty wept. "My ass is done for. Seriously, no amount of medicine can save it now."

Look for the uncensored first release at

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