Ding-ding, da-doo...
A strange sound echoed through the empty classroom, as if it came from the distant stars—or perhaps from just outside the classroom door.
Was that the bell for class?
"Look, the chalk's floating!" a student cried.
Sure enough, a piece of white chalk suddenly rose into the air, strangely drifting over to the ink-black spot and beginning to write with a rapid scratch, scratch, scratch.
The white chalk wrote words in blood.
"Entrance Exam begins now!"
"Exam setting: Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse!"
"Scenario difficulty: First-year, F-rank (Extremely Easy)"
"Exam objective: Survive for 5 hours."
"Passing the exam: Reward of 200 Study Points, 5 credit points, and 2 Comprehensive Evaluation points. Receive the title 'Freshman.'"
"Failing the exam: Death means failure. Infection by the virus means failure. Upon complete death, you will immediately exit the scenario. Lose 10 years of life. The title 'Rookie Student' will be revoked."
"Restrictions: Weapons or abilities of mass destruction will be disabled. 'Teaching Assistant' abilities will be weakened by 50%. Rewards for missions undertaken by 'Teaching Assistants' will be reduced by 50%."
"Bonus rewards: Kill 10 ordinary zombies to earn 1 Study Point. Kill 5 mutated zombies to earn 1 Study Point. Kill 1 Licker to earn 50 Study Points. Kill Nemesis to earn 500 Study Points and 5 Comprehensive Evaluation points. Kill Alice to earn 1,000 Study Points, 5 Comprehensive Evaluation points, and 1 E-rank Evaluation point. If you obtain Alice's 'Blood of Unwillingness' after her death, there is a 10% chance you will inherit her T-Virus genetic enhancement. Kill Dr. Ashford's daughter, Angela, to obtain a sample of pure T-Virus serum, with a 40% chance of obtaining a perfect T-Virus genetic enhancement. Reward: 2,000 Study Points, 10 Comprehensive Evaluation points, and 1 D-rank Evaluation point. Eliminate all Umbrella Corporation forces to earn 4,000 Study Points, 15 Comprehensive Evaluation points, and 2 D-rank Evaluation points."
"Ultimate reward: Destroy Raccoon City and you will receive the title 'Honor Student.' Reward: 5,000 Study Points, 20 Comprehensive Evaluation points, and 1 C-rank Evaluation point. However, you will become America's public enemy. In all future scenarios set in America, you will be hated by every American faction!"
"Headmaster's advice: Cherish this opportunity. You'll never come across such a good deal again."
Xiong Ba picked up the chalk and drew several underlines beneath the final sentence. "Pay attention to this. The Entrance Exam objective is as easy as ever, and the rewards are as generous as ever, while the penalty is quite light."
Ji Wen said, "The exam begins now!"
Bang!!
In an instant, the entire classroom was filled with dazzling light. Everything beneath the heavens turned pure white...
*******************************
Location: 21-Point Convenience Store, Oak Street, South Raccoon City.
Time: 12:00 midnight, New York time.
Dim, cold, and foul-smelling. A flickering fluorescent light. A broken wire sparked now and then, hissing. Shelves had collapsed, goods lay scattered everywhere, and a pool of half-congealed black blood stained the floor. A cold wind blew in through the shattered window, making a strange, mournful sound.
This was the 21-Point Convenience Store.
At that moment, Yin Kuang and the other "Rookie Students" were crowded into the cramped space.
"Where... are we?" asked the pure-looking but timid girl weakly. The chattering of her teeth made a strange sound.
"How did we suddenly...?"
Even Li Shuangmu, usually so composed, couldn't stop himself from trembling. He instinctively pulled out a pack of Marlboro, lit one, and took a deep drag.
Seeing that everyone was about to start arguing again, Xiong Ba's nearly two-meter frame immediately radiated a fierce, bloody aura. "Damn it! You idiots. If you don't want to die right now, shut up! Didn't your counselor tell you not to be surprised, no matter how unbelievable things get? Do you have pig brains?"
Xiong Ba had deliberately lowered his voice. It seemed the 50% reduction in his abilities was affecting him quite a bit, making him wary. Yes, the "Entrance Exam" scenario was very easy, but even the easiest scenario wasn't a free lunch. At this "University," nothing came free. Even relatively easy science-fiction movie scenarios had powerful enemies.
For instance, Nemesis, Matt the Tracker, and Alice could easily kill them, the "second-year students." The benefits of the "Teaching Assistant" title weren't so easy to claim.
Everyone fell silent.
Ji Wen said, "Now, choose which one of the three Teaching Assistants you want to follow. After that, we'll split up."
Li Shuangmu was taken aback. "Split up? Why?"
"Hmph! I know what you're thinking. But I don't need you telling me what to do." Ji Wen showed the handsome guy no courtesy. "You have ten seconds to choose."
The three of them stood from left to right: Otaku, Ji Wen, and Xiong Ba. Otaku seemed the least reliable, since he was completely insane—but his black magic seemed pretty powerful. As for Ji Wen, she was a woman who had always been rather aloof. She would have been a decent choice, but she didn't inspire much confidence. Xiong Ba was the best choice on paper: tall and imposing. But he was also the most brutal and bloodthirsty, so everyone kept their distance.
What a difficult choice.
But they only had ten seconds. They had to choose someone. No one was foolish enough to go it alone. In a strange place like this, following one of the three Teaching Assistants was undoubtedly the safest option.
So, the group made their choices quickly.
There were thirty people, twelve of them girls, and all twelve chose Ji Wen. Not a single boy picked her. Of the eighteen boys left, eleven chose Otaku, while seven chose Xiong Ba.
Yin Kuang, Wei Ming, Wang Ning, and Li Shuangmu's temporary group of four chose Xiong Ba. As Li Shuangmu put it, "He may be cruel and bloodthirsty, but he's more straightforward than the other two."
In the end, the shy, pure-looking girl hesitated, then stepped away from Ji Wen's group and joined Xiong Ba's. She attracted quite a few sidelong glances.
Someone couldn't help thinking wickedly, "Could such a cute girl withstand that bear's abuse...?"
Once the groups were formed, the three Teaching Assistants bade one another farewell.
"Be careful," Ji Wen said.
"You too," Xiong Ba replied.
Otaku waved. "No need to worry about me at all."
Then Yin Kuang watched Ji Wen's group and Otaku's group leave. Why didn't Xiong Ba's group leave? Because Xiong Ba didn't want to go yet. Simple as that.
After watching Ji Wen and Otaku leave, Xiong Ba plopped down on a sofa in the convenience store and casually grabbed a drink, sipping it at his leisure. Yin Kuang and the others could only stare at him speechlessly. They kept glancing outside, clearly regretting their choice to follow Xiong Ba.
Yin Kuang clenched his fists and worked up the courage to ask the question he'd been wanting to ask. "Teaching Assistant... Senior, can I ask you something?"
Xiong Ba grunted. It wasn't clear whether he was agreeing or refusing.
"I want to know, what happens if we die... I mean, if our lifespan runs out."
Yin Kuang's lifespan was short. He had only 34 years to live. He was already nineteen, which meant he had only fifteen years left. Under the rule that each death cost ten years of life, he could only die once. So he wanted to know what would happen after he died a second time, when his lifespan was exhausted.
Xiong Ba let go of the straw. "Death. Complete death."
"Ah!" everyone cried.
"What about the real world?"
Xiong Ba shook his head. "I don't know. Nobody does. Because no one who's entered the 'University' has ever left... No, there's a rumor that one 'Senior' once left the 'University' and returned to the real world. But not long afterward, he came back."
"What happened?"
"I don't know," Xiong Ba said. "They say he died suddenly not long after he came back. No one knows what he went through, or why he suddenly returned after leaving the 'University.' After that, though, no one ever talked about leaving the 'University' again."
Xiong Ba fell silent for a moment, then said, "Actually, according to the usual rules, once you've earned enough credits and met the Comprehensive Evaluation requirements, you can go to the 'Headmaster' and claim your 'Graduation Certificate.' Then you can leave the 'University.' But as far as I know, no one has ever managed to get a 'Graduation Certificate.' So my advice is to stop worrying about all that and study hard. Maybe one of you will manage to get that damn certificate."
"But... what about our parents and families in the real world?" Yin Kuang asked anxiously.
"Nothing we can do about them," Xiong Ba said. "I'm worried about my younger sister, too. She has cancer. I'm very, very worried..." Xiong Ba leaned back against the sofa. "No one's there to pay for her chemotherapy, and those wolves in white coats at the hospital will throw her out without a second thought. I dream of getting out. But what can I do? The only way is to stay alive, get my 'Graduation Certificate,' and take the 'Cancer-Curing Drug' back with me. If those wolves dare do anything unforgivable to my sister, I'll show them what a real wolf looks like..."
Xiong Ba's voice was very soft, almost inaudible. Yet the thick, bloody aura filled the entire convenience store.
Xiong Ba seemed tired from talking, so he closed his eyes to rest. The thick, bloody aura faded along with it.
"What should we do?" Li Shuangmu asked. "Just stay cooped up here and wait five hours?"
Wang Ning shook his head. "Absolutely not. If surviving five hours were that simple, Ji Wen and Otaku wouldn't have left. Since they did, they must have their reasons. Besides, if the rewards were that easy to get, they wouldn't be rewards. My years of gaming experience have taught me that only difficult missions bring generous rewards. Stand around doing nothing, and the only ending is game over!"
Yin Kuang said, "Exactly. Right now, all we know is that we're in Raccoon City from Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse. We don't know anything else. The only thing we can do is follow our Senior."
Wei Ming curled his lip. "If this really is a movie world, I'd rather go exploring on my own. I always thought Resident Evil was exciting when I watched the movies. Now that we're actually here, it'd be a shame not to take a look around. But, seriously, do you really believe this is the world of Resident Evil? It's just too unbelievable."
"I'm not doubting it," Wang Ning said. "So far, has anything that's happened in front of us not been unbelievable? And yet it all happened."
Yin Kuang deeply agreed.
Li Shuangmu stepped forward. "We're teammates now. Let's get to know one another. We'll have to fight side by side soon. No matter how strong one person is, they can't beat a team. If you can, tell us about your abilities too, so we can plan our tactics better."
He began by introducing himself.
Then came Wang Ning, followed by Wei Ming. Yin Kuang introduced himself too. Even the description of his special ability was unclear, so he didn't mention it. Instead, he said that "Hardworking" was his special skill.
After that, a chubby young man stepped forward. "My name's Zeng Fei. That's 'Fei' as in flying, not 'Fei' as in fat. My special skill is 'Precision Strike.' My regular skill is 'Qualified Soldier.' Health +6, Strength +1, Perception +2, Charisma -1. Using a gun improves my shooting accuracy. I spent some time in the army and have a bit of talent for shooting."
As he spoke, he raised the sniper rifle in his hand. Yin Kuang didn't recognize the weapon. Li Shuangmu seemed to know what it was, but didn't explain it to everyone. Now wasn't the time.
The next person said, "My name's Liu Xiatian. My special skill is 'Sprint.' I was a track-and-field student and a short-distance running champion. I also have an ability called 'Two-Second Burst.' It's an active skill: when activated, it increases my Strength and Speed by one each, but only for two seconds. The drawback is that I'm weakened for four seconds afterward."
Finally, it was the timid girl's turn. "I... I'm Qian Qianqian. My skill..." She swallowed. "'Pitiable.' It adds ten to my Charisma. That's... that's all."
"..."
The boys all looked at her, speechless.
Xiong Ba stood up. "Finished introducing yourselves? Then let's go." His tone was just as gruff as ever, but sharp-eyed Li Shuangmu and Yin Kuang both sensed a difference. Xiong Ba seemed to treat them a little better than before.
Before you continue