Zhao Heng

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Zhao Heng (赵衡)
Alias(es)	Ethan Winters — role-playing identity in the Resident Evil dungeon 19
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Longsword Guild; core member 17 58
Occupation/Role	Top-tier player; Longsword Guild player and public forum celebrity 17 21 58
Status	Active during the Cross-Realm Arena 183 185 186
First Appearance	Chapter 17, “Instance Goes Live” 17

Power Progression

Milestone	Chapter	Details
S-rank dungeon clear	17	Cleared the S-rank Mist City Corridor, established himself as a prominent Longsword Guild core member, and publicly claimed to have mastered its mechanics 17.
Longsword Guild star player	58	After four years of dungeon clears and accumulating 60,000 Survival Points, became one of the guild’s celebrated star players 58.
Sequence 16 player	183	Entered the Cross-Realm Arena as a Sequence 16 player, making him the highest-sequence member of his five-person team 183.

Background / History

Four years after the world became gamified, Zhao Heng was known as a flamboyant Longsword Guild core member and a forum celebrity among ordinary players 17. He gained major attention after clearing the S-rank Mist City Corridor, posting that its mechanics were already understood and that S-rank dungeons could no longer challenge him 17. When Lu Xiu’s privately constructed Resident Evil was announced as an S-rank dungeon, Zhao Heng publicly dismissed it as an imitation of a system dungeon and promised an easy clear 18.

His confident public persona grew out of an earlier humiliation. When the gamified world had first appeared, Zhao Heng was an unprepared office worker who entered a dungeon with coworkers, panicked after witnessing a colleague lose an arm to a monster, and wet himself in terror 19 21. He spent the following years building strength, status, and arrogance partly to bury that memory 58.

Zhao Heng next appears inside a role-playing horror dungeon, where his abilities are stripped away and he is forced to act as an ordinary man named Ethan Winters 19. The instance places him at an isolated Louisiana farm after an email from his missing wife draws him to the estate 19.

The dungeon steadily breaks down his confidence. Its lack of obvious enemies, disgusting scenery, and enclosed spaces make him increasingly uneasy, irritated, and frightened 19 20. He discovers a hidden basement through a videotape clue, encounters a corpse in the water, and eventually finds Mia locked in a cell 20.

After Zhao Heng frees Mia, the escape route is sealed and Mia becomes unstable, later attacking him like a monster 21. His panic during the chase exposes the cowardice he had tried to bury behind an arrogant persona 19 21.

Later, Zhao Heng appears with Lin Xiaoman and Jiang Qiu as one of Longsword Guild’s top players attempting Sekiro 58. Believing that a pure-combat dungeon would be his specialty, he enters intending to erase the shame left by Resident Evil, only to be repeatedly killed by the Blazing Bull and fail the instance 58. The dungeon’s difficulty damages his confidence and self-image after he fails to progress as expected 58.

When Titanfall goes online, Zhao Heng enters expecting the instance to be easier than Lu Xiu’s promotional run made it look 81. He struggles with the Jump Kit, turns on system assist to move forward, then tries to master the controls himself 81 82. After reaching the battlefield, he attempts to copy Lu Xiu’s actions but is quickly killed by accurate, intelligent IMC infantry 82.

During the Cross-Realm Arena, Zhao Heng is assigned to a five-person Nine Provinces defense team as its sole Sequence 16 player 183. Recalling the dangers of Sekiro, he initially urges the team to fight Prison Rock players rather than advance on the Heavenly Watchtower and confront the Wolf Played by the Constructor 184. Zhao Heng and his team choose to search for Prison Rock players instead of rushing directly to the Heavenly Watchtower 185. They discover Prison Rock’s group near the starting point, surrounded by fog and pursued by Emma, then retreat when the situation becomes too dangerous 185. Zhao Heng’s group later exploits instance mechanics by luring enemies to delay Gran’s group, using familiarity with Lu Xiu’s dungeon as a home-field advantage 186.

Dungeon / Arena Record

Instance / Event	Chapter	Notes
Mist City Corridor	17	Cleared the S-rank dungeon and publicly stated that he had mastered its mechanics, a feat that established his forum reputation 17.
Resident Evil role-playing dungeon	19–21	Stripped of abilities, plays Ethan Winters, explores the Baker estate, frees Mia, and is forced into a psychological horror scenario that exposes his cowardice; ultimately fails to clear it 19 20 21 58.
Sekiro	58	Attempts the dungeon as a Longsword Guild top player, repeatedly dies to the Blazing Bull, and fails to clear it despite viewing pure combat as his specialty 58.
Titanfall	81–82	Struggles with Jump Kit controls, relies on system assist, then dies after trying to imitate Lu Xiu’s battlefield approach 81 82.
Cross-Realm Arena match	183–186	Serves as the Sequence 16 member of a five-person defense team, chooses to seek Prison Rock players, flees Emma, perfectly deflects a Samurai General, and lures enemies to delay Gran’s group 183 184 185 186.

Personality

Zhao Heng presents himself as arrogant and confident, but that confidence is fragile under fear and uncertainty 19. His public forum posts are conspicuously high-profile: after clearing Mist City Corridor, he declared S-rank dungeons easy and claimed that no S-rank dungeon could stop him 17. He similarly underestimated Lu Xiu’s Resident Evil before entering it 18.

The Resident Evil dungeon is especially effective against him because it removes his usual abilities and gives him no clear enemy to fight 19 20. His arrogance is partly a defense against the shame of his early cowardice, when he was overwhelmed by bloody dungeon scenes and humiliated himself in front of coworkers 19 21 58.

He reacts poorly to psychological pressure: irritation turns into fear, and fear turns into panic when Mia attacks him 20 21. The instance forces him to confront a past cowardice that shaped his later arrogant persona 19 21.

Outside pure horror scenarios, Zhao Heng shows better tactical judgment. In the Cross-Realm Arena, he makes quick decisions, works with teammates, and uses the environment and enemy behavior to create advantages 185 186. Even after the group’s victory, however, he interprets their success as proof of their own overwhelming strength rather than fully crediting the instance mechanics that enabled it 186.

Abilities & Skills

Top-Tier Player Experience

Zhao Heng is regarded as a top-tier player and is grouped with Longsword Guild’s elite players during the Sekiro attempts 21 58. He is a Sequence 16 player during the Cross-Realm Arena and is the strongest member of his five-person team by sequence level 183.

• Cleared the S-rank Mist City Corridor and gained public recognition as a Longsword Guild star player 17.
• Capable of entering high-difficulty instances attempted by major guild players 58.
• Still vulnerable to unfamiliar mechanics, psychological pressure, and Lu Xiu’s unusually demanding dungeon design 19 58 82.
• His status does not prevent repeated failure in instances built around precision, fear, or nonstandard movement 21 58 82.

Tactical Decision-Making

Zhao Heng shows strategic thinking during the Cross-Realm Arena 185 186.

• Rejects an immediate advance on the Heavenly Watchtower because it would require facing numerous bosses while leaving Prison Rock players unaccounted for 185.
• Recognizes that the Divine Heir’s immortality may make the arena objective more complicated than it appears 185.
• Chooses to locate Prison Rock players rather than blindly rush the objective 185.
• Recognizes when Emma’s pursuit and Prison Rock’s two Sequence 17 players make direct confrontation too risky and retreats with his team 185.
• Helps exploit instance mechanics by luring Samurai General, Chained Ogre, Taro Troop, and other enemies into Gran’s pursuing group 186.

Combat Fundamentals

Zhao Heng’s familiarity with Sekiro allows him to apply its combat knowledge even after the arena removes the dungeon’s normal role-playing restrictions 185 186.

• Identifies that enhanced Ashina enemies retain recognizable attack trajectories despite gaining greater agility and combat intelligence 185 186.
• Performs a precise Perfect Deflect against a Samurai General’s odachi strike, creating an opening for his team to escape 186.
• Uses enemy aggro, terrain knowledge, and coordinated movement to compensate for his team’s sequence disadvantage against Prison Rock 186.

Mechanical Adaptation

Zhao Heng attempts to adapt to Titanfall’s Jump Kit system despite early failure 81 82.

• Uses system assist after struggling with the controls 81.
• Attempts to master movement without relying completely on assistance 81.
• Fails when he tries to copy Lu Xiu’s combat route without matching her skill or battlefield awareness 82.

Psychological Resistance

Zhao Heng’s greatest weakness is fear-based pressure 19 21.

• Performs poorly when stripped of abilities and forced into the role of an ordinary person 19.
• Becomes increasingly anxious in environments with no visible enemy or clear objective 19 20.
• Panics when Mia turns hostile, revealing the cowardice behind his confident exterior 21.
• Retains an intense instinctive fear of the Wolf Played by the Constructor after his Sekiro experiences 184 186.

Equipment / Items

• Long Blade — Weapon Zhao Heng carries during the Cross-Realm Arena; he uses it to perfectly deflect a Samurai General’s odachi 186.
• Jump Kit — In-instance mobility equipment from Titanfall; Zhao Heng struggles to control it and uses assisted mode to continue 81 82.
• Flashlight — Item drawn from his system inventory while exploring the dark Resident Evil house and basement 20.
• Videotape — Clue item found in the Resident Evil house; leads him toward the hidden basement route 20.

Relationships

• Mia — In-instance wife of Ethan Winters; Zhao Heng finds her imprisoned, frees her, and is later attacked by her transformed state 20 21.
• Lin Xiaoman — Fellow Longsword Guild top player; both are among the guild players who struggle in Sekiro 58.
• Jiang Qiu — Longsword Guild leader and fellow top player associated with Zhao Heng during the guild’s Sekiro attempts 58 69.
• Wild Wind — Teammate during the Cross-Realm Arena; works with Zhao Heng while analyzing enemy movements, locating Prison Rock players, and adapting to the situation 183 185 186.
• Lu Xiu — Constructor whose dungeons repeatedly humble Zhao Heng; he dismisses her early work, then fails Resident Evil and Sekiro and unsuccessfully attempts to imitate her Titanfall verification performance 18 48 58 81 82.
• Wolf Played by the Constructor — A recurring source of fear for Zhao Heng due to his unsuccessful Sekiro attempts; its appearance in the arena immediately causes him and his teammates to hide and avoid confrontation 184 186.
• Gran — Prison Rock opponent indirectly countered by Zhao Heng’s group, which lures enemies to delay Gran’s team 185 186.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Public S-Rank Star Player

Before confronting Lu Xiu’s dungeons, Zhao Heng is presented as a highly visible Longsword Guild core member whose S-rank Mist City Corridor clear earns him celebrity status among ordinary players 17. His loud declarations that S-rank dungeons are easy establish the arrogance that later makes his failures especially conspicuous 17 18.

*Resident Evil* Horror Trial

Zhao Heng’s first major role is as a top-tier player rendered powerless in a psychological horror dungeon 19. His experience shows how Lu Xiu’s instances can defeat players without relying on traditional combat difficulty 19 20 21.

Top Player Humbled by Lu Xiu’s Dungeons

Through Sekiro and Titanfall, Zhao Heng becomes one of the recurring examples of skilled players misjudging Lu Xiu’s instance design 58 81 82. His failures highlight the gap between watching Lu Xiu clear a dungeon and actually reproducing her performance 82.

Cross-Realm Arena Tactician

In the Cross-Realm Arena, Zhao Heng shifts from panicked victim to useful battlefield teammate 183 185 186. His group’s decision to exploit enemies and instance mechanics helps show Nine Provinces’ home-field advantage against Prison Rock players 186.