Bill White took a drag from his cigarette and said to the mercenary captain, Matthew Addison, "The four of us will stay behind."
Matthew Addison was about to explain their next course of action to the group when Bill White's words left him stunned. After a moment, he asked, "What do you mean? We don't have much time, and I'm not in the mood for jokes."
Bill White dropped his cigarette and said seriously, "I'm not joking. What I mean is, the four of us are going to stay here and hold the fort. As you know, their physical fitness is that of ordinary civilians. During the long run that's coming up, there's a high likelihood they'll fall behind. Rather than taking that chance, it might be safer to stay here."
Matthew Addison looked at Smith Lee's group and then asked again after a moment of silence, "And what about you? Why do you want to stay here too?"
Bill White shrugged and said, "Sorry, I've regained some of my memory, these three people are my friends. I can't leave them behind and run off on my own. Staying here would give me a better chance of protecting them."
The rest of the mercenaries had come over by now, all of them looking at Smith Lee's group with peculiar expressions. Matthew Addison turned to Smith Lee and said, "No way, he saved my life. And I can't just stand by and watch my teammates go to their deaths! Remember, you are also part of my team now, understand? My order is to move out immediately. We're leaving here!"
Jane Lan stood up at this point and said, "Captain, everyone, you know our physical condition. We cannot keep up with you during this escape. Instead of becoming zombie food, don't you think it would be better for us to stay here quietly and wait for potential backup? This may be our only chance of survival, right? If you're still determined to have us follow you to our deaths, then I have nothing more to say."
Matthew Addison fell silent again for a long while before finally saying, "I understand... Kaplan, activate the defense system for the laser channel. You guys stay in the mainframe room of the Flame Queen, that's the safest place... Just wait quietly, if we're not dead yet, we'll let the company know about your situation... Don't die."
Bill White took Smith Lee's group and hid in the Flame Queen's mainframe room. After they'd done that, Kaplan activated the defense system for the laser channel, and the lights along the channel lit up again. Smith Lee's group looked out through the glass window in the steel door at the mercenaries on the other side of the channel. Both sides saw pity in each other's eyes.
Once the mercenaries had left through the sewer, Jane Lan laughed cheerfully and said, "Did you see? Their eyes were filled with pity. I wonder what their expressions will be like when they face the crawlers."
With three layers of sturdy steel doors protecting them, and a laser defense channel outside the final steel door, this place was very safe. Comparatively speaking, this place was definitely the safest spot in the entire Beehive Experimental Base, given the path the characters in the story had to take. The four of them immediately relaxed, and Bill White cheerfully passed cigarettes to Smith Lee.
"Does the 'Main God' still have cigarettes?" Smith Lee asked after taking a drag. The cigarette tasted pure and delicious, definitely higher-grade than anything he'd ever smoked before, so he asked curiously.
Bill White squinted and said, "The 'Main God' has a lot of things you can exchange for, so many that I haven't been able to look at them all. There are four main categories. The first is technology, such as firearms, bulletproof vests, and even some weapons you only see in science fiction movies. But their prices are too high, more than I can afford... The second category is myth and magic, like magic scrolls, Chinese Daoist charms, amulets, and swords and the like."
Michael Li excitedly said, "Are those the kinds of weapons that appear in video games? They must be very powerful, right?"
Bill White glanced at him and said, "I don't know about their power, but the items in the myth and magic category are twice as expensive as the technological ones. I guess they must be used in some movies about ghosts and monsters. I'm not exactly sure what they do."
Smith Lee asked curiously, "Movies about ghosts and monsters?"
"Yeah, like..." Bill White thought for a moment and said, "Ju-On!"
At the mention of this, everyone shuddered as if surrounded by ghostly shadows.
"Do you know why I say that this Resident Evil is a relatively easy movie? Because everything here can be explained with technology and reality. You can kill the monsters, you can hide and run away. As long as you aren't infected with the T-virus and you have enough weapons, then you can survive."
A look of fear flashed in Bill White's eyes, and he continued, "Those movies that can't be explained by technology or reality, those are the most terrifying nightmares. You don't know when you'll die, you don't know why you'll die, you might not even know if you're dead or alive. Fear is always around you, it's everywhere. That limitless fear feels like it will drag you into the abyss of hell..."
Smith Lee patted Bill White on the shoulder and sat next to him, asking, "Are you talking about A Nightmare on Elm Street?"
Bill White nodded dejectedly and said, "In that one, you can't imagine what we went through. More than ten people died, each death more gruesome than the last. We wanted to run, a survivor who had been through a few movies stole a truck, we drove along the road for miles and miles. No one dared to sleep, and even those who couldn't help but doze off were quickly woken up by others. In this way, we persisted for five days..."
"But soon, a small town appeared before us. We cried tears of joy as we drove the truck into the town, only to discover that this was the same town from the Nightmare on Elm Street movie! And the experienced driver, at some point, he had transformed into the demon from our nightmares! He laughed menacingly at us..."
Smith Lee watched as Bill White shook as if from fear. This man, who had always been so composed, seemed on the verge of breaking down. He could only change the subject and said, "So, can those mythical and magical items kill that nightmare demon?"
Bill White took a deep breath of his cigarette and shook his head, "I don't know. That was my first movie. The fact that I survived was purely due to luck. Do you know how I got the scars on my face? They were cut by the demon's scissors! I have never had them healed by the 'Main God', I want to remember all of this! If I ever encounter him again, I will definitely kill him!"
Smith Lee and the other two exchanged a glance, a fear reflected in their eyes, the fear of facing the unknown future.
Bill White continued, "To kill that dream demon, you can get 5,000 reward points, plus one B-level horror sub plot. That was the only time I ever saw a horror sub plot."
Suddenly, Jane Lan asked, "What is a B horror sub plot? Is it important?"
Bill White nodded and said, "This leads to the third type of redeemable items, the auxiliary class, which includes antidotes, immunity boosters, and various healing potions, consumables like bullets, and even some high-tech products, such as invisibility reflectors that can hide your body. In addition to these, there are also some enhancement items.
"When I first saw these redeemable enhancement items, I laughed out loud... For example, the Spider-Man mutation gene. The explanation of this enhancement item is that it allows you to possess the mutant gene lineage of the main character in the Spider-Man movie, increasing your intelligence by 20 points, spirit by 20 points, cell vitality by 50 points, nerve response speed by 100 points, muscle tissue strength by 100 points, immunity strength by 150 points, and also possess the spider silk skill just like Spider-Man in the movie, only needing 2,000 reward points.
Smith Lee and the others were stunned. Jane Lan did some quick calculations and said, "Enhancing these attributes requires over 4,000 reward points, and you also get the spider silk skill. I remember the spider silk in the movie was stronger and tougher than steel wire. This enhancement is so worth it, why didn't you enhance it?"
Bill White smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "I really want to enhance it. If I could have this kind of gene mutation, at least in movies like Resident Evil, I would basically not die. But this kind of enhancement attribute requires the use of horror sub plot counts. One A-level horror sub plot can be exchanged for three B-level side stories, B-level can be exchanged for three C-level, and so on. The lowest is D-level. So far, I have only seen one such mission, so this opportunity is rare.
Smith Lee suddenly felt dry and parched. He resisted the urge to reveal that he had one B-level sub plot. He just asked, "What level of sub plot does the Spider-Man mutation gene require?"
Bill White lit another cigarette and said, "It requires a B-level sub plot. I've also noticed several D-level enhancement attributes, such as Chinese authentic Qigong, which can increase spirit by 10 points, cell vitality by 20 points, nerve reflex speed by 20 points, muscle strength by 30 points, immune strength by 20 points, and possess a weak 'qi', which is preliminary internal strength. But those advanced martial arts training methods all require B-level or A-level side stories. Chinese authentic Qigong requires 500 reward points plus one D-level sub plot.
"Then there's the T-virus evolution mode from Resident Evil, which is the T-virus inside the female protagonist. It enhances intelligence by 20 points, spirit by 20 points, cell vitality by 50 points, nerve reflex speed by 50 points, muscle strength by 50 points, immune strength by 100 points, and possesses the T-virus evolution function. It requires 1,500 reward points plus one C-level sub plot. Ha, the female protagonist's luck is really good, she suddenly got such a good thing.
Smith Lee only felt that happiness came so suddenly, which means, as long as he survives this movie, he can enhance quite a few attributes, and he will have more confidence in future movies.
Bill White suddenly said mysteriously, "There are also some highest-level enhancement attributes, but they all seem to be things that tempt people's desires. I don't believe those enhancement attributes really exist... For example, God Bloodline, the six types of enhancement attributes basically make you a superhuman, and you can also possess special skills, godly power, requiring an S-level sub plot plus 50,000 reward points. Haha, isn't it exaggerated? There's even more exaggerated, cultivation methods of immortality, the six types of attribute changes are not as big as the God Bloodline, but it has a special skill, cultivation, the explanation is, it allows you to become an immortal step by step, requiring an S-level sub plot plus 70,000 reward points. Haha, I laughed my head off when I saw this last time.
Smith Lee and Jane Lan both chuckled, only Michael Li's eyes were shining brightly.
Smith Lee thought for a moment and asked again, "What about the fourth type? The first three types seem to cover everything, right?"
Bill White suddenly showed a mysterious smile and said, "The fourth type is the good stuff, you know, if you keep living in such movies, people will eventually break down, right? The fourth type is entertainment items that can help people vent their horror.
"There are cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, these things are super cheap, a few reward points can exchange for a thousand fractions of reward points, a kilogram of cocaine only requires five fractions of reward points, how about that? Isn't it super cheap? The 'Main God' analyzed that for ordinary humans, about 300 points of cell vitality and 350 points or more of immunity are needed. At that time, you can smoke cocaine indefinitely, the human body can automatically eliminate its damage, haha.
"In addition to these, the number of days lived in the normal world is also included in the entertainment category for exchange, as well as music CDs, movie CDs, and even the exchange of women!"
When Bill White got to this point, he laughed out loud. Smith Lee scratched his head and said, "I'm not interested in rubber products."
Bill White patted Smith Lee on the shoulder and said, "What are you talking about, they are real women, 'Main God'-created real women! They have intelligence, individual personality, and their own memory and thinking. When you purchase this woman, you can choose her appearance, body shape, age, race, and even you can choose her body details. Haha, have you ever played a game called 'Artificial Girl'? The details of the 'Main God'-created women are much more detailed than that, you can even create a beauty with longer hair than an orangutan, haha..."
Michael Li's eyes lit up again, while Jane Lan snorted beside him. Bill White stopped his playful banter and said seriously, "No one knows if they can survive the next horror movie. That's why I want a woman by my side who fits my preferences. And once you try it, you'll know. She's not just a doll. Although she's a life created by the 'Main God,' she's even more real than many women in the real world. And she truly loves you. You can share your fears and cowardice with her. And the 'Main God' also said that as long as you have enough reward points to return to the real world, your enhanced attributes won't change, and the things you exchanged will be given to you. This woman will also accompany you back... If I can go back, I will marry her. She is the woman I will truly love for a lifetime!"
His words carried seriousness and affection, making Smith Lee and the others feel a sense of respect. In this era, women have long been proclaiming that virginity is just a thin layer, while men have become acquainted only with desire and money. For someone who loves sincerely, Smith Lee and the others secretly admired and respected him.
Jane Lan touched her forehead and said, "Let's not continue this topic, gentlemen. We have a lady present, so no lewd discussions allowed! Bill White, tell us about the situation in the 'Main God' space. What happens after completing the horror movie?"
Bill White thought for a moment and said, "Actually, nothing special happens after completing the horror movie. We return to the 'Main God.' The 'Main God' is a large luminous sphere floating in the central area. You can communicate with it directly using your consciousness for exchanges or inquiries. Surrounding the central area are twenty independent rooms, but unfortunately, they have never been filled. You have your own room, and you can freely change its size. Only those you agree to can enter your room. Besides that, after each horror movie, we have ten days to recuperate in the 'Main God' space. That's basically it."
Jane Lan smiled and was about to ask something else when Bill White suddenly stood up and rushed to the window of the steel door. The others were startled and followed him, looking through the glass window into the corridor. However, all they saw was a well-lit passage, with nothing else.
Bill White turned around and exclaimed, "Flame Queen, report what's happening outside the control room!"
A little girl's voice instantly resounded in the room, "Two Lickers are attacking the outermost gate. The gate can hold for another forty seconds."
Bill White immediately cursed and turned to face them. "Damn it, I knew things wouldn't be that simple! Those Lickers must have smelled our scent. The outer gate can't stop them at all. Fortunately, we hid here. I wonder how long those two gates can hold... Check the countdown on your watches carefully."
Smith Lee and the others looked at their watches. The countdown showed seventeen minutes, but they had no idea if the three gates plus the laser defense passage could withstand these formidable mutated creatures. With the weapons they had, it was impossible to harm such powerful creatures.
Smith Lee didn't want to die here, especially when there was still hope of survival. He quickly said, "Flame Queen, calculate how long we can hold on!"
The child's voice didn't sound again. After a moment of waiting, Smith Lee pointed his gun at the mainframe and said, "Flame Queen, I know your program doesn't allow the spread of the T-virus, which means you have to kill any living beings that could potentially cause virus spread, including us, right? So now, make a decision. Activate the defense system to protect us, or let the Lickers come in. But before they come in, I will destroy your mainboard. Then the entire hive will lose your control. Imagine how many virus carriers will rush outside."
There was a moment of silence before the child's voice finally spoke, "May I ask a question? Since you have chosen to stay here, why do you still struggle to survive? Haven't you already decided to sacrifice yourselves?"
Smith Lee hadn't spoken yet, but Jane Lan spoke loudly from behind him, "Computers shouldn't question humans so casually. You should understand that as a computer. Moreover, we have already chosen to stay here. Whether we live or die, the virus won't spread, right? So why don't you protect us? Flame Queen, little girl..."
After a brief pause, the child's voice spoke again, "Understood. The Lickers cannot pass through the final defense system."
During this gap in the conversation, the steel door on the other side of the corridor had already made a loud noise. The massive bodies of the Lickers could faintly be seen protruding through the glass window of the steel door. After a few loud noises, the group could even see some sharp protrusions on the steel door.
"What a terrifying power! No wonder it costs 100 reward points for each monster... If we had a rocket launcher with unlimited ammunition, we could open the doors wide and earn reward points here. Haha..." Bill White said with a laugh.
Smith Lee casually asked, "How many reward points does the Desert Eagle with unlimited ammunition cost? And how about the rocket launcher with unlimited ammunition?"
Bill White replied, "Of course, the Desert Eagle with unlimited ammunition costs 100 reward points, and the cheapest single-use rocket launcher is 2,000 reward points. With that many reward points, I might as well enhance my own attributes. Besides, not every horror movie can be safely completed with weapons."
During their conversation, the steel door on the other side had already deformed entirely. The Lickers' sharp and enormous claws were terrifyingly powerful, tearing apart the steel plates that were over ten centimeters thick. With a loud bang, two Lickers appeared in front of everyone.
These Lickers had bodies several meters long, covered in muscular reddish skin. They had no eyes but seemed to rely on heat sources and smell to detect living beings. Their tongues could extend to over a meter in length, and their huge front claws had evolved into indescribably massive appendages, as hard as steel or even stronger!
Smith Lee looked at the two Lickers and then at the handgun in his hand. He couldn't believe that he could kill these horrifying creatures with just a handgun. It was fortunate enough if they could even harm them.
The two Lickers glanced towards their direction in the corridor. Suddenly, one of them pounced forward, and the other followed closely. With a loud bang, everyone felt a strong vibration in front of the steel door. This was their last line of defense against the Lickers. In an instant, one of the Lickers had already leaped onto the steel door.
"Flame Queen!"
Smith Lee and Bill White shouted at the same time. Almost simultaneously, a light flashed somewhere in the corridor, and a laser beam rapidly formed, shooting towards the two Lickers. Just as the Lickers were about to pounce at the steel door again, the laser beam passed through them. With two soft sounds, the laser beam disappeared, and the two Lickers split apart, their massive bodies splitting in half from the middle.
"Phew!"
All four of them let out a sigh of relief. The oppressive power of the Lickers was too overwhelming. In front of them, ordinary people appeared minuscule. A single swipe of their claws could instantly end a life. Even Bill White, the strongest among them, was only slightly stronger than an average person. He had no chance of winning against the Lickers. Once the door was broken, they would undoubtedly die!
Bill White sat down heavily on the ground and took out a few cigarettes, not only handing one to Smith Lee but also throwing one to Michael Li. It made the young boy feel both surprised and honored. He lit the cigarette and took a deep breath, saying, "Now you know what fear and horror mean, right? I've already experienced this situation several times in three horror movies. Damn it! What kind of situation is this? This is no place for humans to be!"
Smith Lee and Jane Lan exchanged bitter smiles. When the Lickers jumped over, their reactions were even worse than Bill White's. Aside from sweating profusely, their bodies were trembling so much that they could hardly stand. Fortunately, the laser defense system saved their lives; otherwise, they would have lost the desire to escape.
"Let's continue to wait. This laser defense system is good. We should be able to..."
Before Bill White finished his sentence, the entire control room suddenly dimmed, startling the four of them. They quickly jumped up and rushed to the window of the steel door, looking outside. Indeed, the laser passage had turned pitch black. The entire control room had lost power.
"Damn it! The plot! How could I forget about this part? Do you all remember? This part of the plot!" Bill White kicked the steel door and shouted frantically.
Smith Lee racked his brains to recall this scene from Biohazard 1. It was a horror movie from a long time ago, and although he had seen it, he had forgotten some of the details. After thinking for a while, he and Jane Lan simultaneously exclaimed, "Kaplan deactivated the Flame Queen!"
Smith Lee remembered this scene. At that time, the male and female protagonists were locked in a research room, and the steel door of the room was under attack by Lickers. To save them, Kaplan used a remote control to deactivate the central mainframe, the Flame Queen. As a result, their location lost its defensive capabilities, and apart from the door, the most powerful laser defense system immediately became ineffective!
Gradually, the four of them calmed down. They knew that any slight noise could attract the Lickers now. So they refrained from speaking further. Even so, in the eerily quiet darkness, the sound of their breathing and heartbeats was still audible.
It was uncertain how much time had passed when a heavy panting sound gradually emanated in the darkness, accompanied by the sound of steel scraping. Smith Lee knew without looking that there was a Licker outside.
He remembered that not long after the power was cut off, probably just a few minutes later, the female protagonist and others would return to the surface from the carriage, and the sealed door would be completely closed. The time on their watches should be similar to when the door closed.
Smith Lee whispered to Jane Lan beside him, "How much time is left? How much time on our watches?"
Jane Lan replied, "I don't know. It's pitch black; no one can see... Maybe a few more minutes."
A few minutes, how many minutes exactly?
Smith Lee dared not speak anymore because the heavy panting sound was now outside the steel door. The sound of panting came through the door continuously, making everyone more and more nervous. Then, they even heard the sound of the Licker scraping against the steel door with its claws.
(How much time is left? How many more minutes? Hurry up!)
Smith Lee stared intently at the steel door, gripping the handgun with the remaining bullets tightly. Even though he knew that the handgun couldn't cause any harm to the Licker, it was his only psychological support at the moment.
"Bang!"
With a loud noise, a sharp protrusion suddenly appeared on the steel door. The four of them felt as if their hearts were about to jump out. They quickly ran backward, pressing themselves against the corner of the wall. They could only watch helplessly as the steel door.
The loud noise continued, and more sharp protrusions appeared on the steel door. Finally, the sharp claws of the Licker pierced through the door. Like cutting through butter, it tore apart the steel plate that was over ten centimeters thick. The horrifying face of the Licker appeared behind the steel door.
"Ah!"
Smith Lee and Bill White shouted at the same time. They frantically shot at the Licker with their handguns, but in the darkness and with both of them nearly losing their sanity out of fear, not a single bullet hit the Licker. After throwing away the fragments of the steel door, the Licker roared and leaped towards the four of them...