Mission

Inside and outside a house were often two entirely different worlds.

From natural caves in primitive times, branches and leaves used to shelter against wind and rain, nests built in trees, and even deliberately piled stone structures, all the way to humanity constructing one spectacular landmark after another with an almost boastful attitude, "houses"—things no longer limited to the simple function of "living"—had always served as tangible boundaries separating inside from outside, blocking and concealing.

At this very moment, the people inside were still enduring the immense psychological pressure brought on by the crisis while bustling about this small villa, continuing to open doors, rummage through boxes, and search for supplies like protagonists in a traditional Western RPG.

They carefully but forcefully pried open dusty cabinets, lifted carpets and tablecloths covered in "stains" too unpleasant to dwell on, felt around gaps behind wooden racks that had likely once held wine bottles, tried to pull open every undamaged drawer and inspect its contents. The more experienced shop owner, Lu Yun, even stubbornly kept tapping along the walls and listening, trying to find possible hidden compartments within...

These "visitors," who were in some ways more dedicated than burglars breaking into a home, naturally had no idea that they had just successfully drawn the brief attention of another "uninvited guest" outside.

Of course, that was not important. At least, it meant little for their current situation.

Focusing on what lay before them was the key to everyone's survival.

He Qiu, who had long grown accustomed to swiftly catching fleeting images due to his work, was quick-eyed and quick-handed. From the narrow crack beneath an overturned wardrobe in a sitting room—a gap too small to fit even a few Cantonese cockroaches—he successfully found a newspaper that had neither been contaminated by any strange and untouchable marks nor suffered too much damage.

...Great. The whole damn thing was in English!

He Qiu's expression, which had just shown a hint of pleasant surprise, immediately darkened again.

There was no helping it. As a poor student who had given up the chance to attend university after graduating high school, faced with a foreign language he could not understand at all, he could only find someone to help him first.

Besides, in this Western-style villa where a tragedy had clearly occurred, no one wanted to leave the others' sight for too long.

After one glance, he could only barely determine that he had found something of some value. Still carefully keeping the dining knife tucked in his sleeve, he quickly returned to the living room and gathered the others, who had also found little and looked somewhat ashen, to study its contents.

"This should be a newspaper from within the past three or four months."

Compared with the others, the middle-aged shop owner Lu Yun had spent years dealing with print media when he was younger. With just one touch, he made his judgment based on the natural drying and discoloration of the wood-pulp-heavy paper.

The newspaper's contents were simple as well—using the only phone at the scene and its offline dictionary, they quickly skipped over the missing-person notices that occupied large sections of the paper and found several major reports.

Translated haltingly, their general contents were nothing more than—"The British Government has issued a warning: an unknown 'Immunodeficiency Rabies' is rapidly spreading through southern Ireland, with cases of transmission to other regions already appearing..." "Patients whose initial symptoms include skin ulceration will, as the infection deepens, display symptoms akin to heightened hunger and loss of reason. Scotland Yard urges the public to reduce unnecessary outings and remain at home..." "The Army Guard is relocating important personnel. Royal Free Hospital north of London is no longer accepting patients..." and other news that sounded especially troubling.

Great. At least they could confirm their approximate location and uncover a few related clues.

But judging from the government propaganda in this newspaper, it had the distinct air of trying to cover things up until the lid could no longer be kept on, then simply giving up...

All he could say was, it truly was the grand British tradition!

Seeing this, He Qiu felt only a numb sense of unsurprised inevitability. He even instinctively thought that, if he ever got the chance, he absolutely had to revisit that unforgettable political propaganda piece that was read as a TV drama but written like a documentary—Yes, Prime Minister!

It was way too realistic!

Of course, objectively speaking, this information could not offer them much practical help with their current predicament.

Understanding the situation was one thing. Being able to change reality was another.

If He Qiu remembered correctly, based on what he had learned while watching dramas online in the past, dealing with something as "indiscriminate" as zombies was like fighting a forest fire—if the danger could not be extinguished in its early stages, what came afterward would easily become a snowballing accumulation of peril.

As for the current silence outside in the city, without a single human voice... that snowball had probably already rolled completely out of control!

Furthermore, another key point was that the publication date printed clearly on this local newspaper—already full of layout errors and overlapping characters from cheap ink—was around the turn of the millennium...

"Fuck!"

"Holy shit!"

He was desperately squeezing his increasingly numb brain cells, trying his best to piece together crucial truths from the information he knew. Yet at that exact moment, he suddenly heard Lu Yun, who was also struggling to decipher the words obscured by oily stains on the paper, and Du Qifeng, who was keeping watch by the window, cry out in alarm almost simultaneously!

This was bad!

His whole body jolted. Before He Qiu, who had realized some troubling possibility, could even speak, he nearly leaped to his feet as well.

He immediately understood why the two had reacted so unwisely.

As a familiar flash of silver passed through his vision, vast fragments of faint light, like countless tiny blocks of color, suddenly appeared before his eyes without warning. They flickered and converged. Innumerable indistinct images and symbols poured down like a waterfall before finally condensing into a phantom projection—

[You have encountered relevant world-setting information. Exploration Score +1. Temporary personal panel unlocked.]

[Your current identity: Visitor]

[Temporary language translation function unlocked.]

[Please review the relevant information.]

As lines upon lines of text flowed down from the indigo light screen before him like water, a feeling that was clearly terrifying yet inexplicably fervent surged from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

It felt as though his skull was about to explode!

It was the profound tremor that came from having one's worldview shattered when truly facing something beyond common sense!

For a brief moment, his mind went blank.

He Qiu did not notice the cries of the others, nor did he care that the university student Du Qifeng's voice had begun to tremble. "Just as I thought..." "I knew this was something like the Main God Space..."

He did not even realize what he was doing. He merely raised a hand on instinct and reached toward the latest glowing line before him, letting his fingers easily pass through the words floating in midair without finding any substance.

Clearly, at this moment, everyone's gaze inside the house was strangely focused on what appeared to be an empty patch of space before them.

And what they saw was likely visible only to themselves.

[Current world instance—Biohazard Apocalypse]

[World Type: Newcomer Trial]

[Difficulty Rating: One Star / Low]

[Main Quest One: Survive for twelve hours (Current survival time: 3:22:51)]

[Main Quest Two: Reach an Exploration Score of five (Current cumulative Exploration Score: 1)]

[Main Quest Reward: After clearing this instance, receive 10–100 Universal Points based on performance in this quest (as this scenario is a Newcomer Trial, quest rewards obtained after clearing +400%); no penalty for failure.]

[Additional Notice: Once a Visitor completes any main quest, the Newcomer Trial will be considered cleared. They may choose to activate their Main God ID and immediately exit this world.]

[Additional Notice: Under the current mode, a Visitor is merely an invested consciousness. Death, injury, and all other conditions within the instance will not cause any effect on the original body other than psychological trauma. Seize this opportunity and participate actively.]

[Note: "Hello, Visitor. Goodbye, Visitor."]

By comparison, the so-called temporary personal panel was concise and straightforward.

[Temporary Visitor: He Qiu (Main God ID not activated)]

[Universal Points: 0]

[Rating: None]

Just three simple lines, and then it abruptly ended, yet they stirred his heart intensely.

His gaze lingered especially long on the words "Main God ID not activated" and "Universal Points."

His eyes swept over the newspaper on the table. Once he confirmed that he could suddenly understand its contents, He Qiu finally raised his head slowly.

Looking at the others in the room, who had yet to fully recover their senses, the young photographer lifted his still slightly trembling hands and slapped his face hard, trying to loosen muscles that had already stiffened somewhat.

The corners of his mouth pulled upward with difficulty, but he still forced out what might have been the friendliest smile of his life.

"Everyone, calm down. I know you're all excited, but our situation still isn't safe..."

Yet as soon as the last words left his mouth, He Qiu turned his head. His gaze swiftly passed over the unsettled, suspicious faces in the room before finally landing, with barely concealed fervor, on the youngest among them—the university student who still carried a scholarly air.

"Ahem." He cleared his dry throat, his voice carrying a faint trace of barely perceptible anticipation and urging. "Brother Du, you know, compared to young people like you, us old guys really don't understand this stuff. We'll probably have to rely on you to explain first—what exactly is this so-called [Main God Space]...?"