Smith Lee and his companions followed behind the main force in a state of panic. They didn't know what to do. They had just come from the real civilized world and were suddenly faced with this fantastical experience. At first, they thought it was just a dream or a dream-like experience. To be honest, Smith Lee felt a burst of excitement at the beginning.
They were already tired of the mundane life, where nothing but work, meals, excretion, and sleep mattered. Smith Lee longed for excitement, sex, one-night stands, fights, even taking drugs. It was all just a way to escape the reality. When you wake up from a dream, it's still reality. He didn't want that kind of world! He wanted a more thrilling life, and now it seemed that everything had stopped in front of him.
So, at first, he was genuinely excited. Not only could he experience countless horror movie scenarios, but he could also use reward points to strengthen himself. As someone who had watched numerous horror movies, as long as the earlier horror movies were among the ones he had watched, he would become stronger and absolutely wouldn't die. When he became strong enough, the characters in the horror movies would be at his mercy. At that time, he could stay in any world at will, live as he pleased, and enjoy the excitement, or even constantly become stronger. Even if he got tired of it all in the end, he could return to reality. Yes! It was like heaven.
At first, Smith Lee really thought this way. However, when the sound of two explosions rang out, it shattered his illusions like a hammer. There was no paradise, and this place was clearly hell. He was just a tiny insect in the palm of the gods, and human life was only as valuable as the last explosion... He didn't want to die! He didn't want to die!
The mercenaries and the male and female leads didn't seem to hear the two explosions. They didn't even notice that two of their group members were missing. As they approached the end of the staircase, a mercenary suddenly exclaimed, "Captain, the Flame Queen has locked onto us. It knows we're here."
The female lead, Alice, asked in confusion, "Who is the Flame Queen?"
Matthew Addison glanced at her and said, "She is the best artificial intelligence system in the country. It controls the entire hive. It's the central mainframe here."
The mercenaries had already descended the stairs by now. Bill White turned back and sneered at the panting group of people. He shook his head and said, "Hold on. If you survive, you should thank your lucky stars. To be honest, you're already lucky. This horror movie has a very low danger level. In fact, it's one of the few horror movies where problems can be solved with bullets. Hang in there. As long as you can survive this horror movie, you'll have a thousand reward points to improve your physique."
As the group continued to advance, isolated research rooms began to appear on both sides of the corridor. These rooms were filled with water, and there were many floating corpses of researchers in them. They appeared pale and horrifying. Smith Lee and the others knew that they had been infected by the T-virus and turned into zombies. Once the central computer restarted, they would break free from their restraints and start attacking humans.
"Trouble," someone among the mercenaries said. "To reach the Flame Queen, we have to pass through these laboratories. They are all flooded now. I don't think we can go through."
Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Rain, J.D., go and see if it's possible to drain the water."
The female mercenary with long hair, unexpectedly named Rain, and another mercenary, J.D., nodded and walked deeper into the corridor, holding their guns.
Matthew Addison looked at the water-filled research facility and said, "Kaplan, Bill White, go find another route to the Flame Queen."
Kaplan raised his gun and followed behind Rain and J.D., while Bill White waved his hand to Smith Lee and the others. He seemed relaxed as he walked in that direction.
When the four of them had walked some distance, one of the male leads, Ryan, suddenly asked, "What exactly happened here? Why do these research rooms look like..."
"Like they were flooded from the inside?" Smith Lee finished the sentence.
Matthew Addison looked at the group and finally spoke, "About five hours ago, the Flame Queen sealed off the entire hive and started killing people using the internal defense system, releasing toxins, cutting off elevators, and closing off research rooms, just like these. It killed everyone in this experimental area."
He paused and continued, "When the company realized that something was wrong here, our small team was sent to shut it down. That's why we're here."
The main characters were all bewildered. Alice bit her finger and asked, "Why would it do that? Isn't it an intelligent computer system?"
Matthew Addison shook his head and said, "We don't know. It could be influenced by external factors, such as computer viruses... or it could be internal manipulation that caused it to malfunction. We don't know..."
While Matthew Addison was speaking, a figure gradually appeared on the glass wall next to Matt. Matt looked closely and realized it was a floating corpse in the water. He screamed and jumped away.
Everyone was startled, even Smith Lee and the others. They all looked in that direction and saw the pale body of a woman floating inside the glass wall.
Although Matthew Addison and his group appeared somewhat uneasy, they quickly calmed down. Only Smith Lee's group felt chills running down their spines. Perhaps when they were sitting and watching a movie, they didn't feel it, but in this real situation, especially when they realized that the body was already a zombie, this eerie horror was beyond words.
Smith Lee was staring at the body in a trance when suddenly a small hand patted his shoulder. At this moment, any movement would scare them to death. He jumped several meters in fear and turned his head to see the girl with glasses standing there, smiling.
"Hey, maybe we should introduce ourselves, right? After all, we're about to rely on each other...," the girl said with a smile.
The three men seemed to have no objections. The girl with glasses continued, "My name is Jane Lan. I'm a writer by profession. I used to complain about not having the desire and inspiration to write before coming here, but unexpectedly, I ended up in this world full of infinite inspiration. Well, I guess that's karma."
Smith Lee smiled kindly and said, "I'm Smith Lee. I'm a company executive. Uh, I did complain about the boring reality world before. It felt like everything was decaying day by day. So, I wanted some excitement... but the excitement here is just too intense."
Jane Lan giggled and shook hands with Smith Lee, saying, "Kindred spirits, indeed. I felt the same way."
The middle-aged man smiled innocently and said, "Moo Gang. Well, I can't compare to you intellectuals. It's just that name. I'm a truck driver. I did complain about my stingy wife and my useless son before. I was disappointed with the real world. When I was playing games online with my friends, I clicked on that confirmation button, and then I ended up here."
Finally, the calm and indifferent young man, said, " Michael Li, a high school student Before coming here, I had complained about many things. But being here isn't so bad. If I don't die, I can become a superhero. And according to Bill White, it seems like the enhanced abilities can be kept if we return. I can't stand being bullied in school anymore. If I can go back, I'll definitely kill those bastards!"
A fierce look appeared on his face. The other three glanced at each other. They knew that this young man must have been a constant target of bullying at school. His complaints must have stemmed from deep disappointment in the real world. Looking at it this way, everyone who came here had one thing in common: disappointment and dissatisfaction with the real world.
At this moment, Bill White and another mercenary returned. As Bill White passed by Jane Lan, he deliberately slapped her on the buttocks. Caught off guard, Jane Lan let out a scream, but Bill White had already walked towards Matthew Addison, laughing.
"Captain, we found another route, but it might take more time to get there. We can return to this point, then go through the B Restaurant and head directly to the destination. This route may take twice as long...," one of the mercenaries said.
At the same time, the other two scouts also came back. Rain, the long-haired female mercenary, said, "Captain, we can't go through over there. This floor has been completely submerged."
Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Okay, let's take the second route. Time is running out. Everyone, hurry up."
Helpless, Smith Lee and his companions had to follow the main force back. Fortunately, this time the mercenaries didn't run. They didn't know how far they had walked, but they finally stopped outside a metal door. One of the mercenaries used a computer to open the door, and then a few people cautiously entered the room.
It was a vast hall filled with numerous small containers. These containers were about several cubic meters in size and exuded a chilling aura. Anyone who had watched Resident Evil would know that this was the storage for frozen Lickers. Once the main computer shut down, these Lickers would become the most terrifying creatures, much stronger than zombies.
A mercenary looked at the computer screen and said, "This is the B Restaurant... according to the map."
Matthew Addison walked up to him and looked at the computer. Matt, on the other hand, said, "Perhaps there are some secrets hidden here, secrets that the company doesn't want outsiders to know..."
Matthew Addison glanced at him without saying a word. He just said to the mercenary beside him, "J.D., Rain, Bill White, you stay here and keep an eye on the prisoners and the exit."
At this moment, another female mercenary suddenly spoke up, "Captain, the toxic gas here shows zero. It's possible that there was no gas released here. Perhaps the defense system malfunctioned."
Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Good. J.D., Rain, Bill White, there might still be survivors hiding here. Search around, but don't go too far. You must keep an eye on the prisoners and the exit. Understood?"
All three nodded, and only Bill White smirked and took out a cigarette from his pocket. Those who had watched the movies would know—survivors? No, there were no survivors. There were quite a few zombies instead.
The girl with glasses walked up to Bill White and whispered, "I have a question. Can we change the plot of the movie here?"
Bill White nodded and said, "Go on, what else do you want to ask?"
She smiled, her laughter sounding like the tinkling of silver wind chimes. She said, "So, can we use plastic bombs here? If we kill all the crawlers in this room, won't we get thousands of reward points?"
Bill White also smiled and said, "That's true. Yes, if we blow up this place, we will get thousands of reward points. But I have two questions to ask you. First, will they give us time to set up the plastic bombs?" He pointed to the mercenaries.
"They have no idea what these things are or what consequences the shutdown of the main computer will bring. If they see us doing something they can't understand, the most likely outcome is that they will shoot us first. It's highly likely that they will release the crawlers prematurely. The 'God' won't let you change the plot so easily. Even if you do change it, it's likely to increase the difficulty and unexpected events. Understand?"
After answering his own questions, Bill White continued, "The second question: what do you think is the greatest reliance for us to survive in horror movies?"
The girl with glasses was momentarily stunned. She touched her forehead and said, "Strength? No, luck? Not really. It's hard to say. Sometimes good, sometimes bad... Maybe it's knowing the plot well?"
Bill White smiled and said, "Bingo, you're right. Knowing the plot well is our greatest reliance. So, until we have absolute confidence, I won't change the plot. And if someone tries to forcefully change the plot to gain reward points, I don't mind sending them to hell."
At this moment, Smith Lee stood beside the two of them, listening silently. He noticed Bill White staring at him with a peculiar gaze, making him feel uncomfortable. That gaze was filled with pity and ridicule, as if... as if he was looking at a dead person. It made him feel extremely uneasy.
Just then, Captain Matthew Addison spoke, "Alright, let's move. The rest of you stay here."
As they walked through several iron gates along the way, they arrived at a central computer control room. However, the central computer, the Flame Queen, had already gone out of control, and they could no longer directly control the entire laboratory from there.
Among the mercenaries, there was a computer expert named Kaplan. He opened three laptops directly. From Smith Lee's perspective, he was clearly a top-level computer player, with his hands constantly moving on the keyboards of the three laptops. However, after a few minutes, the door leading to the central computer location remained tightly closed.
Another female mercenary couldn't help but ask, "Why is it taking so long?"
Kaplan didn't even turn his head and said, "The Flame Queen is an intelligent computer, and its defense system is very comprehensive. If it could be easily bypassed and breached, it wouldn't be used as the main computer for the laboratory..."
As they were speaking, there was a soft sound, and the tightly closed door finally slowly opened. Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Pack up the equipment!" Then, he turned around and looked at Smith Lee and the others.
"You guys stay here."
Behind the door was a corridor more than ten meters long, but the walls on both sides were made of glass, completely different from the steel walls outside the door.
After Matthew Addison finished speaking, he walked inside on his own. He was extremely cautious, taking every step with utmost care. Even so, when he reached the middle of the corridor, he was suddenly startled. The glass walls on all sides lit up abruptly, and this sudden change was enough to make an ordinary person's legs go weak with fear.
Kaplan's voice came out of the communicator, saying, "Don't worry, it's just automatic motion-sensing lights. There's nothing to be concerned about."
(Clearly, it's an automatic defense system laser. What automatic motion-sensing lights? And there's nothing to be concerned about...)
Smith Lee thought to himself. He wanted to say something, but at that moment, a small hand grabbed him. When he turned his head, he saw the girl with glasses standing next to him, shaking her head gently.
Matthew Addison had already placed the transmitter, a device similar to a cell phone, on the sensing device of the door. Kaplan immediately pressed something on the keyboard. After a short while, there was a slight sound, and the door leading to the central computer finally began to slowly open.
Matthew Addison heaved a sigh of relief. He beckoned to the people outside the corridor and said, "Alright, bring the equipment over."
Alice suddenly asked, "What equipment? What is it?"
Kaplan, who was closest to her, said, "This is a device that can shut down the Flame Queen. It can emit a strong electric current, disrupt the mainframe, and make it restart..."
At this moment, the mercenary holding the device was about to enter the corridor when Smith Lee finally couldn't help but shout, "Wait! Don't you think something is strange? This device for shutting down the Flame Queen seems too useless. You're just going to restart it like this. I don't think things are that simple. There might be something peculiar in this corridor."
The mercenaries suddenly stopped, and everyone looked at him strangely. The girl with glasses let go of his hand, sighing, and moved away to stand next to the main character Alice.
Matthew Addison walked out of the corridor and looked coldly at him. After a long while, he finally said, "Alright, you and you, come with us... referring to Smith Lee and the middle-aged man, Moo Gang.
Smith Lee and Moo Gang suddenly felt a chill, as anyone who had seen this movie knew that this corridor was a death trap. Once someone entered, they would definitely die. Even the highly skilled mercenary captain died under the lasers in a horrific and miserable manner, being sliced into countless small pieces.
Smith Lee finally understood why Bill White had looked at him with that gaze. Yes, he couldn't help but try to change the plot. But the inertia of the plot itself was not to be changed. Even if it were changed, the "God" might increase the difficulty several times because of it, just like now.
Moo Gang suddenly screamed, "No, I don't want to go in!" He screamed and ran back towards where they came from. Before Smith Lee and the others could react, the mercenaries pulled out their guns and shot him, sending him flying. When he hit the ground, he had already turned into a corpse riddled with bullet holes.
"Wow!"
Smith Lee and Zhang Jie couldn't help but vomit. They saw a living person turned into a lifeless body right before their eyes. Smith Lee felt particularly guilty because this person basically died because of his meddling.
Matthew Addison looked coldly at him and said, "I had suspected you from the beginning. Although your identities are registered in the company's records, you don't look like company security at all. Now you want to stop us from restarting the Flame Queen? Alright, Zhang Jie, you and you, come with us."
Smith Lee felt a chill throughout his body. He had just vomited, and his stomach didn't feel well. Matthew Addison didn't show any mercy, dragging him along with the others towards the entrance they came from.
They walked halfway and passed several steel doors. Then, they arrived at a central computer control room. Of course, the Flame Queen, the central computer, was already out of control, so they couldn't directly control the entire lab anymore.
The person among the mercenaries who was most skilled in computers was named Kaplan. He directly opened three laptops. From the perspective of Smith Lee and the others, he was an expert in computers. His hands were constantly pressing on the keyboards of the three laptops. However, after a few minutes, the door leading to the central computer's location remained tightly closed.
Another female mercenary couldn't help but ask, "Why is it taking so long?"
Kaplan, without looking back, said, "The Flame Queen is an intelligent computer. Its defense system is very well-equipped. If it were easy to bypass its firewall, it wouldn't be used as the main computer for the lab..."
As he spoke, there was a soft sound, and the tightly closed door finally slowly opened. Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Pack up!" After that, he turned around and looked at Smith Lee and the others.
"You guys stay here."
After the door, there was a passage over ten meters long. However, the sides of the passage were all glass walls, completely different from the steel walls outside the door.
Matthew Addison finished speaking and walked into the passage by himself. He was very cautious, taking each step with great care. Even so, when he reached the middle of the passage, he was still startled because the glass walls on all sides suddenly lit up. This sudden change was enough to make an ordinary person's legs go weak with fear.
Kaplan's voice came out of the communicator, saying, "Don't worry, it's just automatic motion-sensing lights. There's nothing to be concerned about."
(Clearly, it's an automatic defense system laser. What automatic motion-sensing lights? And there's nothing to be concerned about...)
Smith Lee thought to himself. He wanted to say something, but at that moment, a small hand grabbed him. When he turned his head, he saw the girl with glasses standing next to him, shaking her head gently.
Matthew Addison had already placed the transmitter, a device similar to a cell phone, on the sensing device of the door. Kaplan immediately pressed something on the keyboard. After a short while, there was a slight sound, and the door leading to the central computer finally began to slowly open.
Matthew Addison heaved a sigh of relief. He beckoned to the people outside the corridor and said, "Alright, bring the equipment over."
Alice suddenly asked, "What equipment? What is it?"
Kaplan, who was closest to her, said, "This is a device that can shut down the Flame Queen. It can emit a strong electric current, disrupt the mainframe, and make it restart..."
At this moment, the mercenary holding the device was about to enter the corridor when Smith Lee finally couldn't help but shout, "Wait! Don't you think something is strange? This device for shutting down the Flame Queen seems too useless. You're just going to restart it like this. I don't think things are that simple. There might be something peculiar in this corridor."
The mercenaries suddenly stopped, and everyone looked at him strangely. The girl with glasses let go of his hand, sighing, and moved away to stand next to the main character Alice.
Matthew Addison walked out of the corridor and looked coldly at him. After a long while, he finally said, "Alright, you and you, come with us... referring to Smith Lee and the middle-aged man, Moo Gang.
Smith Lee and Moo Gang suddenly felt a chill, as anyone who had seen this movie knew that this corridor was a death trap. Once someone entered, they would definitely die. Even the highly skilled mercenary captain died under the lasers in a horrific and miserable manner, being sliced into countless small pieces.
Smith Lee finally understood why Bill White had looked at him with that gaze. Yes, he couldn't help but try to change the plot. But the inertia of the plot itself was not to be changed. Even if it were changed, the "God" might increase the difficulty several times because of it, just like now.
Moo Gang suddenly screamed, "No, I don't want to go in!" He screamed and ran back towards where they came from. Before Smith Lee and the others could react, the mercenaries pulled out their guns and shot him, sending him flying. When he hit the ground, he had already turned into a corpse riddled with bullet holes.
"Wow!"
Smith Lee and Michael li couldn't help but vomit. They saw a living person turned into a lifeless body right before their eyes. Smith Lee felt particularly guilty because this person basically died because of his meddling.
Matthew Addison looked coldly at him and said, "I had suspected you from the beginning. Although your identities are registered in the company's records, you don't look like company security at all. Now you want to stop us from restarting the Flame Queen? Alright, Zhang Jie, you and you, come with us."
Smith Lee felt a chill throughout his body. He had just vomited, and his stomach didn't feel well. Matthew Addison didn't show any mercy, dragging him along with the others towards the entrance they came from.
The group had just entered the corridor, just like in a scene from a movie. The doors on both sides closed simultaneously. Matthew Addison no longer paid attention to Smith Lee (formerly known as Zheng Zha) and, along with the other mercenaries, cautiously observed while holding their guns. He also asked through the communicator, "Kaplan?"
Kaplan hurriedly responded, "It's some dormant defense mechanism. Once too many people pass through the doors, it will activate after they enter."
Matthew Addison said, "Then let it continue dormant!"
Kaplan was already sweating profusely as he continuously pressed the keys on the keyboard. He answered, "I'm doing my best!"
Matthew Addison helplessly instructed his subordinates, "Stay where you are and don't move."
After hearing these words, Smith Lee felt a chill all over his body. He knew that the plot had already started, and he had become a part of it. Sure enough, the walls on both sides dimmed abruptly, and a laser beam appeared between the glass walls, slashing towards the mercenaries and Smith Lee!
Matthew Addison reacted the fastest and swiftly pushed the two people next to him to the ground. Since Smith Lee had been paying attention to that direction, he had already fallen to the ground the moment the laser beam appeared. It only grazed his shoulder, giving him a sharp and scorching sensation as it passed by. Besides that, his mind went blank.
"Medic! Medic!"
Matthew Addison's voice yelled loudly. This voice brought Smith Lee back from his blank state. He turned his head to look and saw the female mercenary who served as a medic, slowly moving her head before it fell directly in front of him. The dead eyes staring at him seemed like a curse, a mockery.
"No, no! I don't want to die!" Smith Lee shouted frantically. For some reason, the more he shouted, the calmer he felt. He began to recall every detail of this scene from the horror movie, "Resident Evil."
Matthew Addison supported one of the mercenaries whose finger had been severed by the laser beam. At this moment, another mercenary shouted, "Sir, another beam is coming!"
This time, the laser beam formed at a height around their legs. Smith Lee remembered the details of this scene. The beam would pass through the first mercenary, then move higher when the second mercenary jumped, cutting them into pieces. He only had one chance, and if he failed, he would be killed by the laser beam! He didn't know if the plot would change at this point, so he could only believe in the movie scenes he knew.
The laser beam swiftly approached the four of them. The mercenary on the ground couldn't move and was quickly killed. The remaining two mercenaries kept retreating. Smith Lee widened his eyes and focused on the movements of the mercenary. One second, two seconds. At this critical moment, time seemed to slow down. He couldn't hear any sound anymore, and everything around him seemed to be in slow motion.
"Spiritual threshold breakthrough! Reward: 500 points. Increased mental strength by 20 points and enhanced reflexes by 30 points!"
A stiff but solemn voice passed by Smith Lee's ear. However, he couldn't hear anything anymore. He could only focus on the mercenary's movements. Finally, the moment the mercenary jumped, Smith Lee quickly lay down on the ground, and the laser beam passed by in front of his eyes. The white light seemed like the scythe of death. In that instant, Smith Lee believed in Bill White's words. They had indeed entered this so-called game together with their physical bodies. This was the masterpiece of the gods or perhaps the devil's game. They... would die!
As expected, the laser beam abruptly moved higher when the mercenary jumped. The jumping mercenary was completely dismembered. After the laser beam passed, Smith Lee stood up from the ground. He looked back at the glass window of the steel gate, and the girl with glasses was also standing outside, tears in her eyes.
Smith Lee could only give her a slight smile before he dragged Matthew Addison and pressed against the entrance they came from. Now, all he could do was pray that the plot wouldn't change in the slightest. This laser beam would end when it approached the gate. There was no hope of avoiding it. It would turn into a web-like formation, tearing apart anyone in its path. The only thing he could do was press against the gate and pray to the heavens, following the script as shown. Let everything come to an end!
Matthew Addison struggled desperately, saying, "Let go of me! We'll both be cut in half if we stay in this position! Let go!"
But Smith Lee firmly held onto his collar and said, "Trust me! Trust me! We have no other way to avoid it. Press against the gate tightly. That's the only way we can rely on luck! Trust me!"
The third laser beam gradually formed and swiftly approached the two of them. Judging by its position, it would cut them in half. Matthew Addison desperately tried to lie down on the ground, but Smith Lee held onto him and refused to let go. Smith Lee pressed his entire body against the gate, even closing his eyes slowly.
"To survive, to struggle even in this situation, I want to live!"
Perhaps a deity opened their eyes, or maybe Smith Lee's prayers had an effect. The laser beam suddenly transformed into a web-like formation when it approached them. Matthew Addison managed to utter a curse in despair, and at that hopeless moment, the laser web gradually faded away. It disappeared centimeters in front of him, and a faint sensation of heat still rushed toward his face through the air. In that instant, he could hardly believe that he had survived.
Smith Lee blinked his eyes, not seeing the disappearance of the laser web. However, he knew that he had succeeded. The familiar plot inertia pushed him forward once again. He had finally struggled and survived through death. In his over twenty years of life, he had never come so close to death. The trajectory of death had passed by his shoulder, so close!
"What is this?"
While Smith Lee was marveling at his luck, he suddenly noticed a small ball of light appearing on the collar of Matthew Addison, whom he had been pulling. He curiously picked up the light ball. The small light ball, a few centimeters in size, disappeared between his fingers. A warm breath seemed to enter his body through his fingertips, giving him a strange and comfortable sensation.
"Completion of B-level horror sub plot. Reward: 5,000 points!"
The same solemn voice as before rang out. Smith Lee then recalled that when the laser beam passed, he seemed to have heard something. Upon careful recollection, he seemed to have received a reward of 500 points, increased mental strength by 20 points, and enhanced reflexes by 30 points. Converted, this was already 1,000 points of reward. According to what Bill White said, this was the reward they could obtain by experiencing a horror movie.
As for the 5,000 reward points, it felt like a big surprise, leaving Smith Lee trembling. He didn't know what it meant by completing a B-level horror sub plot. Did it refer to changing the course of the plot or saving a character who was supposed to die in the plot? Or was it about overcoming a highly dangerous scene in the plot?
He didn't know because what just happened was indeed very, very dangerous. He almost died inside, and he was almost the one who caused the death of Moo Gang, the middle-aged man. So, he didn't dare to try changing the plot any further. Perhaps Bill White and the others would also not allow him to change the plot anymore because no one could predict what would happen next. It was possible that everyone would die here... including them, including the characters, and even the protagonists in the movie!
This was a horror movie, where no one was absolutely safe. Everyone could die. They were just struggling bugs, all struggling to survive!