Smith Lee knew that this space would pull various people from the real world. As long as you selected "YES" when faced with the initial choice, you would be brought to this world. So anyone could be sent here, even if the President of the United States appeared in front of him, it wouldn't surprise him much.
Facing the three fluent and arrogant young men, Smith Lee spoke loudly without paying attention to them, "Everyone, please calm down. We will explain the details shortly. For now, let Xavier Sabato tell us about the details of Alien I, the horror movie."
Xavier Sabato had been carefully observing Smith Lee and the others. At the same time, he also took a look at the people sitting on the ground and the surroundings. After hearing Smith Lee's words, he nodded calmly and said, "Furthermore, the crew members on the spaceship naturally intend to eliminate the aliens. They don't have many weapons, but the flamethrower left the strongest impression on me. However, based on my calculations, this close-range high-temperature weapon has almost no killing power against the aliens, who have super speed and highly defensive exoskeleton. Instead, it can be instantly torn apart by them in close combat."
The three young men seemed startled by Smith Lee's tone earlier. When they saw Xavier Sabato and the others continue to talk without paying attention to them, they angrily shouted. The one with multiple nose and lip rings shouted at Smith Lee, "Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you give us orders? I definitely know you, I know where you live. Believe it or not, we'll bring people to kill your whole family!"
These were just typical street hooligans, always talking about killing people's families. And it seemed like they were some sort of intelligence agents since they claimed to know everyone and where they lived. Before Smith Lee could say anything, Bill White had already coldly smiled and taken out his Desert Eagle from his pocket. He pointed it at the young man with the multiple rings on his face and said, "Shut up! Now is the most critical time for gathering information. Don't make me angry."
The three young men and the people around them immediately panicked upon seeing the pistol. The others quickly moved away, leaving a space around the three young men. The three young men looked at each other and laughed. Surprisingly, even the young man with the multiple rings on his face took out a pistol from his pocket as he said, "Shut up! Now is the most critical time for gathering information. Don't make me angry."
In the instant the young man took out the gun, Bill White didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. With a loud bang, the young man's arm holding the gun was completely shattered. The power of the Desert Eagle was so strong that after hitting his arm, a gentle tear from the immense force caused the young man's arm to break into two pieces.
At first, the young man was stunned and seemed skeptical as he shook his arm. When the excruciating pain reached his brain, he finally started screaming in agony. He and the other two young men immediately fell to their knees. They finally realized that the Desert Eagle in Bill White's hand was not a fake. This realization scared them to the point of losing control. The three of them were no longer as arrogant as before.
The people around the young men started screaming loudly, but Smith Lee noticed that several people remained calm. They silently watched him, Bill White, and the other three. Smith Lee nodded silently, thinking that the new recruits this time were quite good. At least the calmness of these few people was sufficient.
Michael Li quickly ran over and picked up the blood-stained pistol. He fiddled with it and said, "Big Brother Zhang, this is a fake, not the real thing."
Bill White nodded and put the Desert Eagle back into his pocket. He calmly said, "Use the spray to stop his bleeding and bandage his arm. Also, all the new recruits, remember this well: don't point guns at me. I get nervous, and I might make some tense moves!"
Smith Lee turned around and looked around. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to Xavier Sabato, saying, "Aren't you afraid? That's a real gun."
Xavier Sabato pushed the cigarette back and smiled, "I don't smoke. It kills my brain cells. How about you continue talking about the plot details of Alien I?"
Smith Lee smiled and lit the cigarette. He said, "Then I'll trouble you."
"The horror of the alien surpasses everyone's imagination. The members on the spaceship are decreasing. At this moment, a bug appears in the plot of the movie. In the movie, the protagonists discover that one of them is a robot sent by the government to monitor them. The robot's mission is to bring the alien back to Earth and, if necessary, sacrifice the members of the spaceship."
"This is where the bug is. According to the robot's dialogue in the movie, the government knew about the presence of aliens before the spaceship reached the extraterrestrial ruins. The government's plan was to sacrifice the members of the spaceship to retrieve the living alien. But is this possible? Instead of sending scientists or military personnel to retrieve the alien, they send a robot to infiltrate the members of the spaceship. Moreover, this robot is not the leader of the spaceship members. In other words, the members of the spaceship have a high chance of not bringing back the alien. They only need to take a look inside the ruins and come back. So, isn't the government relying on a chance to obtain the alien? This is simply impossible. No government would make such a foolish move, abandoning a military force that would unquestionably follow orders and choosing a merchant group that might or might not bring back the alien. This is absolutely impossible!"
Smith Lee, Bill White, and the others exchanged glances. They finally understood why the "Main God" had brought so many new recruits this time. Because of the plot bug in Alien I, the "Main God" must have increased the difficulty and even completely modified the plot. Their greatest reliance within the horror movie had disappeared, and they would no longer be able to foresee the direction of the plot in advance.
Xavier Sabato had been carefully observing the expressions of the four of them. He continued, "Afterward, the remaining members of the spaceship plan to blow up the ship and escape to the space escape pods. However, two more members are killed during the escape, leaving only one survivor, the protagonist. She finally manages to escape into the escape pod, and the alien follows her inside. The protagonist puts on a spacesuit and opens the door of the escape pod. Due to the vacuum of space, the air inside the pod quickly escapes, and the suction force also pulls the alien out. Afterward, the protagonist survives, becoming the only surviving member."
"I have finished explaining the plot. Can you four tell me something now? For example, what is this place? If I guess correctly... this is the spaceship with the aliens, right?"
Upon seeing the bewildered expressions of Smith Lee and the others, Xavier Sabato smiled and said, "I was just testing the waters earlier, but now I'm quite certain... I need you three to explain the situation, otherwise, I can't imagine why I would be here."
Bill White and Jane Lan wanted to speak, but Smith Lee interrupted them with a wave of his hand and asked, "When did you watch Alien I, this horror movie?"
Xavier Sabato adjusted his glasses and said, "It was about seven years ago. It's still fresh in my memory since it hasn't been that long."
Smith Lee and the surrounding people were astonished. Something from seven years ago was still fresh in their memory. Did that mean they were all people without memories?
Xavier Sabato suddenly spoke to the group of newcomers, "Did all of you see and understand the meaning of life on a webpage? Do you truly... want to live? Is that your choice?"
People around him answered, although their accents varied, they all gave affirmative answers, and everyone chose the "YES" option.
"At the time, I was using my computer to write a program when this option appeared on the programming interface. The most crucial part is that my computer was disconnected from the internet, and I had no knowledge of any viruses that could breach my self-made firewall. So, I immediately started deciphering the origin and source code of this option. But can you guess what I discovered?"
Xavier Sabato adjusted his glasses and continued calmly, "This text is not composed of the computer's 0s and 1s. Its source code is not an electronic program but consists of peculiar symbolic characters. If my memory serves me right, these symbolic characters are composed of three ancient scripts: oracle bone script, bamboo and silk script, and cuneiform script. There are also enigmatic symbols that cannot be explained on a large scale. But without a point of reference, it is impossible to translate."
"I was extremely curious because, as you all know, when a computer surpasses the limits of 0s and 1s, it signifies the emergence of artificial intelligence. Not to mention that this text is composed of so many different scripts simultaneously. So, I chose the option with a much higher character count, 'YES,' and disregarded the option with only a few characters, 'NO.' The result was astonishing. I ended up here, although I don't know where this place is. But it should be very far away from New York, right?"
Smith Lee looked at the stunned crowd, and to be honest, he was also quite shocked. It seemed that the newcomers this time were truly extraordinary. But who exactly were they?
Smith Lee hesitated and asked, "Who exactly are you? Why do you think this place is far away from New York?"
Xavier Sabato smiled and said, "If I couldn't deduce these questions with my IQ of 220, then I would truly be wasting my life. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Xavier Sabato... Colonel. Before coming here, I should have been at the New York Hidden Dragon Military Base. As the second-largest top-secret military base in China, just after the Longxing Military Base, I can't believe that someone could have kidnapped me from there. Moreover, my detector shows that I haven't left the Hidden Dragon Base. I thought for a long time and could only come up with one possibility: I had indeed left the Hidden Dragon Base, but my detector still showed no sign of leaving even a step."
Xavier Sabato showcased his watch, claiming that it had been redesigned. As a renowned scientist, his watch could communicate with the main computer of the Hidden Dragon Base. Besides continuously transmitting signals to the main computer to determine his location, the watch also displayed how far he had left the Hidden Dragon Base.
"That means I instantaneously left the space I was in. So, in this space, it's natural that my watch cannot receive electronic signals from the Hidden Dragon Base's main computer. It would still think I'm inside the Hidden Dragon Base. This is the only reason I can deduce. Now it seems that this bizarre reason is actually true?"
Smith Lee, Bill White, and Jane Lan exchanged glances. Smith Lee suddenly said, "Jane Lan, please explain to them what this place is and why we ended up here."
Jane Lan's eyes brightened, and she giggled, "Thank you for this opportunity... hehe. When we return, I'll personally cook a few dishes for you. You should know that girls have weaker physical strength than you men. Let's add a hundred reward points to cellular vitality and muscle strength when we go back."
Then Jane Lan explained the situation to the group, particularly emphasizing that they would be trapped in countless horror movies, and for each movie they survived, they would earn a thousand reward points. These reward points could be exchanged for weapons or strengthening their bodies. Currently, they were in the movie Alien I, and their mission was displayed on the recently appeared watch: to kill the alien. However, the girl hid the sub plot of the horror movie, which was a shared piece of information among the four of them and couldn't be disclosed to a newcomer right away.
Most of the newcomers either wore expressions of disbelief or appeared panicked. Among the newcomers, besides Xavier Sabato, who calmly surveyed the surroundings, there were two others who calmly looked at the four of them. Smith Lee was amazed to find that among the crowd, there was a tall and muscular white man.
Smith Lee walked up to the two and extended his hand, asking, "May I know your names?"
One of them was slightly slender, but it was evident that his entire body was tightly muscled from regular exercise. He didn't shake hands with Smith Lee but instead stepped back and said, "You can call me Zero. I don't want to answer any other questions."
The white man, on the other hand, cheerfully grabbed Smith Lee's hand and said, "Kanpa Lovski, you can call me Kanpa."
Smith Lee looked at the others. Apart from the three small-time hooligans who remained kneeling on the ground, there were five others. Two were middle-aged men with potbellies. Judging by their glossy hair and the fact that they held briefcases carefully, they were definitely business people who knew each other in the real world. The other three were a young man and a young woman. The two men appeared to be in their twenties, with one of them glancing around astutely, while the other flirted and joked with the white-collar woman. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be white-collar workers. After the earlier panic, they seemed to have regained their composure.
Smith Lee shook his head and said loudly, "Now, please tell us your previous occupations, ages, and what you are most skilled at. Only then can we allocate our responsibilities."
These people seemed hesitant. Xavier Sabato spoke up first, "Although you say that, it doesn't mean what you're saying is true. Is there anything that can prove you're not lying? For example, the things you claim to be able to exchange or your superhuman physical abilities?"
Bill White sneered and said, "Do you think surviving a horror movie is that easy? 'A near-death experience' doesn't even begin to describe its horror. Maybe those who have survived about twenty movies would meet your requirements. With that level of physical ability, they could easily punch through steel plates."
Xavier Sabato shook his head and said, "No, you misunderstand. I didn't mean to mock you. I just want to eliminate any distrust among us for smooth cooperation... Looked at Zero and Kanpa Lovski."
Then he continued, "Just show me the hemostatic spray and bandages you used before."
Bill White nodded to Michael Li, and the young man immediately tossed the bandages and hemostatic spray from his pocket to Xavier Sabato. However, the bespectacled man asked, "Who has a dagger, preferably a sharp one?"
Smith Lee, Bill White, and Jane Lan looked at each other. They didn't really have any close-combat weapons. At that moment, the white man, Kanpa Lovski, took out a black sharkskin dagger from his pocket. He generously tossed the dagger to Xavier Sabato. It was then that Smith Lee and the others noticed that both the white man and Zero were intently watching Xavier Sabato.
Xavier Sabato decisively made a cut on his wrist, as if the hand wasn't part of his body. The blood vessels were instantly severed, and blood flowed out like water. Jane Lan and the white-collar woman screamed, while the other ordinary newcomers were amazed. Then Xavier Sabato picked up the hemostatic spray and sprayed it on his wrist. Astonishingly, the blood quickly coagulated, and within a few seconds, the bleeding completely stopped. He swiftly wrapped his wrist with the bandages and then tossed the sharkskin dagger and the medicinal bandages back to Kanpa Lovski.
Smith Lee and the others looked at each other in astonishment. They realized that both Kanpa Lovski and Zero had done the same. After everything was done, Kanpa Lovski casually said, "I'm a member of an international mercenary group, and I'm the top firepower specialist. You can call me the Warlord. Honestly, I would prefer it if you were lying. This is truly a lousy place."
Zero threw the medicinal bandages back to Michael Li, who was still wrapping his wrist. After a moment, Zero coldly said, "I have no name. Just call me Zero. I'm a professional assassin specialized in long-range precision sniping. Unfortunately, it seems that my skills are not needed in this movie, and there are no sniper rifles here."
Smith Lee nodded. Before he could speak, Bill White laughed and said, "That's right. You guys are quite powerful. The four of us have survived horror movies before. I've survived four, and they've survived one each. But it seems that we underestimated the situation. We should exchange some heavy weapons with limited ammunition. After all, the exchange points for consumables are very cheap."
Then Jane Lan explained in detail how everyone would return to the "Main God" space after completing the mission and the categorization of exchangeable items. After finishing her explanation, a smile appeared on her face, indicating that she had received the one hundred reward points.
Xavier Sabato adjusted his glasses and curiously asked, "But why is he the strongest among the four of you?" After speaking, he directly looked at Smith Lee. In fact, both Zero and the Warlord had been observing Smith Lee the whole time, but they hadn't said anything.
Smith Lee smiled and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter if I say it. Each time someone survives a horror movie, they receive a thousand reward points. This is a fixed reward. In addition, the 'Main God' in the horror movie assigns some tasks. Completing these tasks will earn additional sub plot points and extra reward points. Look at the watch; it displays the mission for this horror movie and the rewards after completion."
"I completed a task in the previous horror movie, so I gained some extra reward points. After strengthening, I became slightly stronger than them."
Xavier Sabato seemed to have more questions, but at that moment, the only door in the room slowly opened. Everyone looked toward it, but there was nothing outside the opened door.
"The horror movie has begun!"
Bill White swiftly pulled out a Desert Eagle from his pocket and aimed it at the open door. However, after several minutes, there was still no sign of anyone outside the door.
Smith Lee and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Then they saw the two middle-aged men with briefcases nonchalantly walking toward the door. Smith Lee quickly warned, "Don't go out recklessly. This is your first horror movie, and you are much more vulnerable than us. You are also in much greater danger than us in this horror movie! If you want to gather information, it should be us who go out."
Zero sneered from the side, "Do you think they're going out to gather information?"
As they spoke, the white-collar man and woman also followed them out. Then the three small-time hooligans ran out as if escaping for their lives. Smith Lee faintly heard the two middle-aged men with briefcases say, "Hey, do they think we don't know? They randomly set up a movie scene and brought in some actors to scam money? They're just increasing costs. Look at how pathetic they are, claiming to be professional assassins. If he's a professional assassin, then I must be Superman."
The white-collar man and woman also whispered in agreement. Only the three small-time hooligans ran out without saying a word, pushing past the four of them and running into the depths of the corridor. In the end, among the newcomers, only four people remained: Xavier Sabato, the Warlord Kanpa Lovski, Zero, and the seemingly clever ordinary young man.
That young man cautiously approached the group and said, "Can I join you? Although all of this sounds unbelievable, I still hope to be with you. By the way, my name is Smith Lee, and I am... heh, just recently graduated from college and haven't settled into a profession yet. But before coming here, I watched many horror movies and read fantasy novels online, as well as explored mythological stories from various countries."
Smith Lee and Bill White looked at each other. Smith extended his hand to Smith Lee with a smile and said, "Welcome to the team. Although none of us are guaranteed to survive, at least we won't abandon our comrades."
Bill White put away his pistol and then asked, "What should we do next? We can't just stay here indefinitely, can we?"
"Information!" Jane Lan and Xavier Sabato said simultaneously. Then both of them smiled at each other. Xavier Sabato waved his hand and said, "You go ahead. My strength lies in analysis. I don't have much confidence in strategizing."
Jane Lan touched her forehead and laughed, "Hehe, I'm a writer, so I have the most confidence in strategizing. But of course, if there's anything wrong, please remind me."
"The four of us conducted an analysis before you woke up. To be honest, Alien 1 is not that difficult. Throughout the movie, there is always only one alien. If we compare the difficulty of survival in horror movies, its difficulty is even lower than that of Resident Evil 1. Both are sci-fi horror movies that can be explained with modern technology. But why does Resident Evil have only seven people, while this horror movie has fifteen? We believe that the plot has changed, and the difficulty has correspondingly increased due to the 'Main God.'"
Xavier Sabato nodded and said, "Resident Evil 1, huh? If we make that comparison, the Lickers in Resident Evil 1 are not necessarily weaker than the alien, and their numbers are even greater. I think your inference should be correct. The difficulty of surviving Alien 1 should definitely not be greater than that of Resident Evil 1. If the plot has changed... what do you think we should do now?"
"Information!" Jane Lan affirmed. "We need to understand to what extent the plot of this horror movie has changed and why the difficulty has been significantly increased. Moreover, we can't determine the specific power of the alien just by watching the movie. We have to face it directly in battle to understand its speed, strength, and other factors. Only then can we decide how to kill the alien."
Smith Lee saw Xavier Sabato also nodding and said, "Since that's the case, let's explore the cargo ship now. It would be best if we can encounter plot characters. If we encounter the alien, I'll take on the fight. Bill White's Desert Eagle is an unlimited ammunition weapon, and if possible, Zero can provide sniper support. If we use our internal energy, I believe we should be able to escape no matter what."
Just then, several screams suddenly came from the other end of the corridor. Judging by the sound, they seemed to be from the two middle-aged men and the white-collar couple. The eight people in the room exchanged glances and then ran towards the sound. Except for Smith Lee and the others who had strengthened their bodies, Xavier Sabato, Zero, and the Warlord were remarkably fit and managed to keep up with the speed of Smith Lee's group. Only the young man ran out of breath and quickly fell behind.
Smith Lee turned his head, sighed, and ran to grab the young man's arm, leading him to run in the middle of the group. Even so, the young man still appeared exhausted.
The place where the screams came from was a large hall of tens of square meters. The middle-aged men and the white-collar couple were sitting on the ground, trembling with fear. On the opposite side they were pointing at, three bodies lay stiff on the ground. The bodies belonged to a blonde woman, a black man, and a white man. Their faces were contorted in extreme agony, as if they had experienced great pain before their deaths.
As soon as Smith Lee's group entered, the middle-aged men and the white-collar couple ran in fear towards the other end of the room. Smith Lee sighed and didn't bother to chase after them. He just crouched down next to the bodies and carefully examined them. After a few glances, his face turned pale, and he asked, "In Alien 1... how many aliens appear in total?"
Xavier Sabato confidently replied, "One. My memory won't make mistakes in such details."
Smith Lee stood up with a pale face. Under his feet, the three bodies had deep holes in their chests, indicating that the alien larvae had burrowed out from inside them. One of the bodies had a large hole in the chest and abdomen, as if a significantly larger alien larva had burst out. Just imagining the size of such an alien was absolutely terrifying.
"Soon, we will have to face three... or even more and larger aliens."