The Life-Saving Laser Corridor (Part 1)

Zhang Jie took a drag from his cigarette and said to mercenary captain Matthew Addison, "The four of us are staying behind."

Matthew Addison had been about to explain the next part of the operation to them, but Zhang Jie's words left him stunned. After a moment, he said, "What do you mean? We don't have much time. I don't have time for jokes."

Zhang Jie tossed away his cigarette butt and said seriously, "I'm not joking. I mean the four of us should stay here and guard this place. I think you know that the three of them have the physical fitness of ordinary civilians. During the long escape ahead, there's a very high chance they'll fall behind. Rather than accept such a high possibility of failure, it would be safer to stay here."

Matthew Addison looked at Zheng Zha and the other two. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What about you? Why are you staying here too?"

Zhang Jie shrugged. "Sorry, but I've recovered some of my memories. These three are my friends. I can't abandon them and run away alone. I can protect them properly if I stay here."

The other mercenaries gathered around, watching Zheng Zha's group with strange looks in their eyes. Matthew Addison looked at Zheng Zha and said, "No. He saved my life, and I can't just stand by and watch my teammates go to their deaths! Remember, you're my teammates now too. Got it? My order is to move immediately. We're leaving this place!"

Zhan Lan stood up then. "Captain, everyone, you all know our physical condition. There's no way we can keep up with you if we run all the way there. Rather than turn into those zombie monsters, wouldn't it be better for us to stay here quietly and wait for the possible arrival of follow-up rescue forces? Isn't that our only chance of survival? If the captain still insists on making us follow you to our deaths, then I have nothing more to say."

Matthew Addison fell silent again for a long time before finally saying dejectedly, "I understand... Kaplan, activate the defense system in that laser corridor. You'll stay in Fire Queen's main control room. That's the safest place... Wait quietly. If we're still alive, we'll report your situation to the company... Don't die."

Zhang Jie led Zheng Zha and the other two into Fire Queen's main control room. Only then did Kaplan activate the defense system in the laser corridor. The lights on both sides of the passage lit up once more. Through the glass window in the steel door, Zheng Zha's group watched the mercenaries standing at the steel door on the other end of the corridor, looking back at them. Both sides saw pity in each other's eyes.

After the mercenaries had all left through the sewers, Zhan Lan finally said with a grin, "See that? Their eyes were full of pity. I wonder what expressions they'll have when they face the Lickers."

With three sturdy steel doors protecting them, and a laser defense corridor outside the last one, this place was extremely safe. At least compared to the route the plot characters had to take, this was undoubtedly the safest place in the entire Hive facility. The four of them immediately relaxed, and Zhang Jie happily pulled out cigarettes and kept offering them to Zheng Zha.

"Does the Main God have cigarettes too?" Zheng Zha took a drag. The cigarette tasted exceptionally rich and smooth, clearly far better than anything he had smoked before, so he asked curiously.

Zhang Jie narrowed his eyes and said, "You can exchange for a lot of things at the Main God's place. Too many—I haven't even finished looking through them all. There are four major categories of exchange items. The first is technology, such as firearms, body armor, and even weapons that only appear in science-fiction movies. But they're far too expensive for me to afford... The second category is Magic and Legends, such as magic scrolls, Chinese talismans, and various protective charms, swords, and the like."

Li Xiaoyi said excitedly, "Are they like the weapons that appear in games? They must be incredibly powerful, right?"

Zhang Jie gave him a sidelong glance. "I don't know whether they're powerful or not, but Magic and Legends items cost twice as much as technology items. I think they're meant for Horror Movies involving ghosts and monsters, though I'm not too clear on their exact effects."

Zheng Zha asked strangely, "Horror Movies involving ghosts and monsters?"

"Yeah, for example..." Zhang Jie thought for a moment. "Ju-On: The Grudge!"

The other three felt a chill run through their entire bodies, as if ghostly shadows were lurking all around them.

"Do you know why I said Resident Evil 1 was a relatively easy Horror Movie? Because everything here can be explained through technology and reality. You can kill the monsters, and you can hide or run away. As long as you haven't been infected with the T-virus and have enough guns, you can keep living."

A flash of fear crossed Zhang Jie's eyes as he recalled, "Those Horror Movies that can't be explained through technology and reality are the most terrifying nightmares of all. You don't know when you'll die. You don't know why you'll die. You don't even know whether you're really dead. Terror is always beside you. It's everywhere. That endless horror feels as if it's dragging you into the abyss of hell..."

Zheng Zha patted Zhang Jie on the shoulder, then sat beside him and asked, "A Nightmare on Elm Street 1, right?"

Zhang Jie nodded bleakly. "You can't imagine what we went through in that one. More than a dozen people died, every one of them horribly. We wanted to escape. The person who had survived several Horror Movies led us to steal a truck. We drove along the highway without stopping. Nobody dared sleep, and even those who couldn't help falling asleep would quickly be shaken awake by the others. We held on like that for five days..."

"...But then a town appeared before us. We cried with joy and drove into it, only to discover that it was the town from A Nightmare on Elm Street! And that veteran who had been driving all along had somehow turned into that dream demon! He grinned at us..."

Zheng Zha watched Zhang Jie shake as if he had a fever. This man, who had always seemed so calm, looked as though he was on the verge of collapse. Zheng Zha could only change the subject. "So, the Magic and Legends items can kill that dream demon?"

Zhang Jie took a deep drag and shook his head. "I don't know. That was my first Horror Movie. Surviving was entirely luck. Do you know how I got the scars on my face? That demon cut them into me, snip by snip, with his scissors! I never healed these scars at the Main God's place. I want to remember all of it! If I ever meet him again, I'll definitely kill him!"

Zheng Zha exchanged looks with the other two. Fear showed in all three of their eyes—the fear of the future.

Zhang Jie continued, "Killing that dream demon earns five thousand Reward Points, plus one B-Class Side Story. That was also the only time I ever saw a Side Story appear."

Zhan Lan suddenly asked, "What is a B-Class Side Story? Is it important?"

Zhang Jie nodded. "That brings us to the third category of exchange items: support items. There are antidotes, immunity boosters, Healing Potions, and various other support medicines. There are also consumables like bullets, and even some ultra-tech products, such as an Invisibility Reflector that can conceal your body. Besides those, there are also enhancement items."

"When I first saw those enhancement items available for exchange, I laughed myself sick... For example, the Spider-Man Mutant Gene. Its description says it grants you the mutant gene bloodline of the protagonist from the Spider-Man movie, increasing Intelligence by twenty points, Mental Power by twenty points, Cell Vitality by fifty points, Nerve Reaction Speed by one hundred points, Muscle Strength by one hundred points, and Immunity Strength by one hundred and fifty points. It also grants the same Spider-Silk ability as Spider-Man in the movie, and only costs two thousand Reward Points."

Zheng Zha and the other two were all stunned. Zhan Lan counted on her fingers and said, "Enhancing those attributes would require over four thousand Reward Points, and it even comes with a Spider-Silk ability. I remember the Spider-Silk in the movie was tougher and stronger than steel wire. That enhancement is such a bargain. Why didn't you get it?"

Zhang Jie gave a bitter smile and waved his hand. "Of course I wanted it. If I had that kind of genetic mutation, then in Horror Movies like Resident Evil, I basically wouldn't die. But these kinds of enhancements consume Side Story opportunities. One A-Class Horror Side Story can be exchanged for three B-Class Side Stories, a B-Class can be exchanged for three C-Class Side Stories, and so on. The lowest rank is D-Class. So far, I've only seen a task like that once. Opportunities like this are something you can only hope to encounter."

Zheng Zha's mouth immediately went dry. He held back from mentioning that he possessed one B-Class Side Story and merely asked, "What rank of Side Story does the Spider-Man Mutant Gene require?"

Zhang Jie pulled out another cigarette and lit it. "It requires a B-Class Side Story. I've also looked at a few D-Class enhancements. There's Authentic Chinese Qigong, which increases Mental Power by ten points, Cell Vitality by twenty points, Nerve Reaction Speed by twenty points, Muscle Strength by thirty points, and Immunity Strength by twenty points. It gives you a weak form of qi, which is basic Internal Force. But those profound martial arts Cultivation Methods all require B-Class or A-Class Side Stories. Authentic Chinese Qigong costs five hundred Reward Points plus one D-Class Side Story."

"There's also the T-Virus Evolution Mode from Resident Evil, meaning the T-virus inside the female lead. It increases Intelligence by twenty points, Mental Power by twenty points, Cell Vitality by fifty points, Nerve Reaction Speed by fifty points, Muscle Strength by fifty points, and Immunity Strength by one hundred points. It grants T-virus evolution abilities and costs one thousand five hundred Reward Points plus one C-Class Side Story. Heh, that Beauty of a female lead really was lucky, getting such a good thing for nothing."

Zheng Zha only felt that happiness had come too suddenly. This meant that as long as he survived this Horror Movie, he could enhance quite a few attributes and have a much better chance in future Horror Movies.

Zhang Jie suddenly said mysteriously, "There are even some top-tier enhancements, though they look like nothing more than bait to tempt people's desires. I don't believe those enhancements really exist... For example, the Divine Bloodline. Its six enhancement attributes basically turn you into Superman, and it even grants special abilities—divine power. It requires an S-Class Side Story plus fifty thousand Reward Points. Hahaha, ridiculous, right? There's something even more ridiculous: a Cultivation Method. The changes to the six attributes aren't as great as the Divine Bloodline, but it grants a special ability, cultivation. The description says you can gradually become an immortal as ageless as the sun and moon. It requires an S-Class Side Story plus seventy thousand Reward Points. Hahaha, I laughed myself sick when I saw that last time."

Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan both smiled faintly, while Li Xiaoyi alone listened with shining eyes.