All around, more zombies kept shambling into view. Their staggering, unsteady gait and rotting forms were horrifying, but their slow movements made them manageable for now. Zheng Zha, fully focused, maintained a five-meter safety zone around himself. Still, the growing number of undead steadily drained the ammunition in his pistol. By the time he was down to his last magazine, dozens of headless corpses lay at his feet.
On the other side of the corridor, the mercenaries had forced open the door to a research room, only to be met by a swarm of zombies spilling out. The soldier who opened the door was caught off guard and dragged inside, his agonizing screams chilling everyone to the core. For Zheng Zha and his group, witnessing this up close was far more harrowing than any movie depiction. Fear gripped their hearts, each second heightening their desperation.
"Back to the Red Queen's chamber! Retreat!" Matthew Addison's shout echoed down the hallway.
Unnoticed by them, over a dozen zombies had shuffled into the space between Zheng Zha's group and the mercenaries. The smell of decay grew overwhelming. Li Xiaoyi's voice broke with panic as he cried,"Brother Zheng Zha, shoot! Shoot them!"
Anyone familiar with the movie knew the stakes: a single bite or scratch from a zombie meant inevitable infection. With the anti-virus serum left in the train car far beyond their reach, being bitten was tantamount to death.
Zheng Zha's heart raced as he watched the mercenaries retreat farther down the corridor. His tension only mounted with the steady influx of zombies from around the corner and the diminishing rounds in his gun.
"Ten... nine... eight..." Zheng Zha mentally counted the remaining bullets. Just as the zombies drew dangerously close, their heads began exploding one after another.
Zhang Jie stormed in from behind, shouting,"What the hell are you doing? Didn't I tell you to stick with the others? Do you even know what's coming? There's a Licker in this area about to break free!"
Without waiting for a response, Zhang Jie fired his Desert Eagle in rapid succession. Each thunderous shot dropped a zombie with unerring precision. He didn't pause to check his handiwork, sprinting toward the mercenaries. Zheng Zha and the others quickly followed, snapping out of their daze.
(His speed is at least 20% faster than ours... enhanced muscle tissue?) Zheng Zha speculated, even as he struggled to keep up. He couldn't help but notice how his body felt slightly disconnected from his thoughts. His neural reflexes far outpaced his physical abilities—a dissonance that was particularly evident during the earlier firefight. It felt as if an adult were wielding a child's toy hammer—awkward and imprecise.
Thanks to Zhang Jie's infinite-ammo Desert Eagle and his seemingly flawless marksmanship, the four of them managed to slip into the central computer chamber just as the mercenaries sealed the heavy steel door behind them. The groaning, clawing zombies were left trapped outside.
As the door slammed shut, Zheng Zha, Li Xiaoyi, and Zhan Lan collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. Zhang Jie, by contrast, remained unflustered, his demeanor as composed as ever. Despite their lungs being full, their hearts raced uncontrollably from sheer terror. The three struggled to catch their breath, their fear so overwhelming that it took a near brush with suffocation before they finally calmed down.
"Not bad at all," Zhang Jie remarked, holstering his Desert Eagle with a smirk.
Zheng Zha, still winded, looked up and asked,"What do you mean?"
Zhang Jie glanced at the mercenaries inspecting their fallen comrades in the laser trap corridor. Lowering his voice, he explained,"The most dangerous thing for newcomers is their first horror movie. It's all about mindset. First, you need to understand your situation. I've seen too many newbies die because they thought this was all some illusion or a prank show. They die the fastest—and the worst. But this time, you three adjusted surprisingly quickly. Especially you and Zhan Lan. Among all the people I've met, your composure is remarkable. Not only did you grasp the reality of our situation, but you managed to suppress your fear and act rationally. That speaks volumes about your potential."
"Second," he continued,"overcoming fear isn't enough. In the first movie, you're just an ordinary human. Even if you're lucky enough to know the plot, survival is far from guaranteed. This phase is basically a brutal game of chance—a filter to weed out the unlucky. If you make it through the first movie alive, you'll earn rewards and strengthen your body. For example, this Desert Eagle and my physical enhancements. Do you get it now?"
With that, Zhang Jie pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit one, offering another to Zheng Zha as he said,"Congratulations, rookies. Surviving... feels pretty damn good, doesn't it? Like the peak of an orgasm—a rush you won't find anywhere else."
Li Xiaoyi eagerly extended his hand."Big Brother Zhang, can I have one too?"
Zhang Jie shot him a sidelong glance."A brat like you? I can smell the milk on your breath. Don't try to act tough. Stick close to us if you want to live."
Embarrassed, Li Xiaoyi scratched his head."Big Brother Zhang... I'm already at negative ten points. What should I do?"
Zhang Jie froze for a moment before laughing."Not a single reward point, and you're already in debt? Kid, your luck is something else. Listen, if you survive this movie, you'll earn 1,000 reward points. But if you're still in the red when it's over... well, you'll be erased on the spot."
Li Xiaoyi's face fell, his expression turning bitter. Zheng Zha chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. Before they could dwell on it, frantic pounding sounded from the sealed door. Alice's voice came from the other side."Open the door! Hurry!"
The mercenaries rushed over, but Zhang Jie didn't wait. He unlatched the door himself, letting Alice and Matt slip through. Countless zombie hands clawed at them through the gap. Zhang Jie grinned, pulling out his Desert Eagle and firing several rounds. The gun's immense power blew apart the zombies' arms, buying enough time for him to slam the door shut again.
"Status report!" Matthew Addison demanded."What's the situation outside? Can we go back the way we came?"
Alice shook her head grimly."The entire route is overrun. There's no way through."
Silence fell over the group. Kaplan, the team's computer expert, clutched his head in despair."We're trapped. The Red Queen's chamber has no alternate exit. We're doomed."
Ryan, the man responsible for unleashing the T-virus, suggested hesitantly,"Can't we just stay here? If we don't return, the outside team will send reinforcements. This place should be safe, right? I don't want to face those things again."
His words hung awkwardly in the air. The mercenaries exchanged uneasy glances until Kaplan coughed and admitted,"There might not be any reinforcements coming..."
Ryan, his voice filled with anger, grabbed Kaplan by the collar and shouted,"What do you mean there might not be a rescue team? Are they just going to leave us here to die?"
Matthew Addison let out a heavy sigh and explained,"Our orders were to retrieve the Red Queen's core and then seal the Hive from the outside world. Do you remember the passage between the mansion and the Hive? If we don't make it back in three hours, that entire tunnel will be sealed off. Completely. This damned corporation… Now I finally understand why they gave us those orders. This place… it's full of monsters like those things!"
Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie exchanged a knowing glance. The three-hour countdown on their watches suddenly made perfect sense. Their survival depended on lasting until the Hive was sealed. Until then, they had to avoid being scratched or bitten by the infected, steer clear of large groups of zombies, and, most crucially, survive any encounters with the Licker—a creature that no amount of bullets could easily stop.
Ryan released Kaplan, though his face remained flushed with rage. He barked,"No. No way. They can't do this to us. They can't just leave us buried down here like this!"
Rain, the long-haired female commando nursing a bloody wound on her hand, muttered bitterly,"It's the safest way to protect their precious secrets. If we're all dead, there's no risk of anyone leaking anything." She winced as she pressed her injured hand, still oozing fresh blood.
A heavy silence fell over the group. Ryan, still trembling with frustration, eventually managed to calm down, though his voice was tinged with desperation."They tell us this now? Half a mile underground, and only now we find out? Why the hell didn't they warn us before?"
None of the mercenaries responded, keeping their heads low. Finally, Alice broke the silence, her voice cutting through the tension."Arguing won't get us out of here. Let's figure out a way to leave. We need to find another exit." Without waiting for a reply, she picked up the bag containing the Red Queen's core and started heading toward the control room.
Matthew Addison called after her,"What are you doing with the core?"
"Rebooting her," Alice replied over her shoulder.
As the group began to follow Alice, Zheng Zha turned to Zhang Jie, who had been silently smoking a cigarette."Aren't you going to go check it out?"
Zhang Jie let out a cold chuckle."What's there to see? I've already watched the movie. Instead of wasting energy on scripted drama, I'd rather conserve my strength. It'll come in handy when we need to kill more zombies later."
Zhan Lan, seated nearby, brushed a strand of hair from her face and suddenly asked,"Zhang Jie, I've got a question."
Zhang Jie nodded, gesturing for her to continue.
With a playful smile, she asked,"How do we get back to the'God's Realm'? Does a light beam carry us away? Do we vanish into thin air? Or does a portal just appear out of nowhere?"
Zhang Jie took a long drag from his cigarette and replied,"I have no idea. All I know is that the moment the mission is completed or the countdown ends, I suddenly find myself back in the main hall of the God's Realm. So don't worry too much about being stranded here. As long as you're alive when the timer hits zero, you'll make it back. Even if you're infected with the T-virus, or something else, as long as you're conscious when you return, all traces of the virus or injury will be wiped clean. Missing a limb? That'll cost you ten reward points to fix."
Zhan Lan frowned thoughtfully."Wait. Did you mention missions?"
Zhang Jie smirked."Of course. I've told you before—we're just bugs struggling to survive. Who knows when the next mission will pop up? Remember how, when you first arrived, you couldn't stray more than 100 meters from the main characters? That was a mission. It's a way to increase the difficulty. In some movies, we can complete optional tasks for additional rewards, but they usually just make surviving even harder."
Zhan Lan sighed and said,"This complicates things. I was thinking…" She trailed off, her expression unreadable."Never mind. Forget I said anything."
Zhang Jie tilted his head and asked,"What were you planning? Spit it out."
Before Zhan Lan could reply, Zheng Zha spoke up, his voice steady but curious."You were considering staying here, weren't you?"
Zhan Lan's eyes widened momentarily in surprise before she laughed and admitted,"That's right. If we're instantly transported back as soon as the time's up, no matter where we are, why risk following the movie's storyline? Based on the plot, going with them means dealing with deadly sewers, precarious walkways, internal conflicts, and an almost certain showdown with the Licker. Even the train isn't guaranteed to be safe. But here? This room is secure."
Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie exchanged another glance, both startled by her sharp reasoning. Zhang Jie finally nodded, his tone serious."You're worried the God's Realm might throw us another curveball, like assigning us a specific character to follow after they've already left us behind. If that happens, we're screwed. Is that what's bothering you?"
Zhan Lan nodded."Exactly. If it weren't for that risk, staying here would be the safest option."
After a moment of thought, Zhang Jie sighed and said,"Fine. We'll stay. The God's Realm doesn't issue missions that make survival impossible. If it does assign us a task, it won't be something like following someone a mile away. That would be a death sentence. Once we decide, we stick to it. We'll stay here."
The four huddled together, whispering their plans. When the mercenaries emerged from the control room, the group greeted them with forced smiles, pretending to be just as optimistic.
Zheng Zha thought to himself, It's not just me who wants to survive. Everyone here does. When faced with death, all anyone wants is to live.
All anyone wants is to survive.