Zheng Zha pondered for a moment before asking,"Then what about the fourth category? The first three seem to cover almost everything, don't they?"
Zhang Jie suddenly gave a mysterious smile and said,"The fourth category is actually quite special. You know, surviving in these horror movies for too long will eventually break anyone mentally. The fourth category is for stress relief—entertainment-type items."
"There are cigarettes, marijuana, and even cocaine. These are incredibly cheap: one reward point can exchange for 1,000 cigarettes, and only five reward points get you 1,000 grams of cocaine. Amazing, isn't it?'The Lord God' even analyzed it—once a person has around 300 points in cellular vitality and over 350 points in immunity, they can use cocaine without limits. The body will automatically nullify its harmful effects. Haha."
"Aside from that, you can also exchange days of life back in the normal world, as well as music CDs, movie discs, and even women!"
At this point, Zhang Jie burst out laughing, while Zheng Zha scratched his head awkwardly and said,"I'm not really interested in inflatable products."
Zhang Jie clapped him on the shoulder and replied,"What are you talking about? These are real women, created by 'The Lord God.' They are intelligent, have unique personalities, and even come with their own memories and thoughts. When you purchase one, you can customize her appearance, body type, age, ethnicity, and even specific physical details. Haha, have you ever played that game Artificial Girl? Well, the women created by 'The Lord God' are far more detailed. You could even create a beauty with hair longer than a gorilla's! Haha..."
Once again, Li Xiaoyi listened with wide, glowing eyes, while Zhan Lan gave an audible snort of disapproval from the side.
Zhang Jie stopped laughing and said seriously,"No one knows if they'll survive the next horror movie, so I wanted to have a woman who perfectly suits my type by my side. And once you experience it, you'll understand—she's not a doll. Although she's a life form created by 'The Lord God,' she's more real than many women in the real world. She genuinely loves you. You can share your fears and doubts with her. And 'The Lord God' even promises that if you earn enough reward points to return to the real world, your enhancements and possessions carry over, and the woman will accompany you. If I make it back, I'll marry her. She's the woman I want to love for the rest of my life!"
His words carried genuine sincerity and affection, leaving Zheng Zha and the others slightly moved. In this day and age, where women openly declared chastity to be "just a thin layer," and men pursued nothing but lust and money, people like Zhang Jie, who genuinely loved, were rare and admirable.
Zhan Lan rubbed her temples and said,"Alright, let's drop this topic, gentlemen. There's a lady present here, you know! No more risqué discussions! Zhang Jie, why don't you talk about the 'Lord God's' space instead? What happens after we finish the horror movie?"
Zhang Jie thought for a moment and replied,"There's not much to it, really. After completing the movie, you return to the 'Lord God's' domain. The 'Lord God' is a large sphere of light floating in the central area. You can communicate with it directly using your thoughts to exchange or inquire about anything. Surrounding the central area are 20 private rooms, though they've never been fully occupied. You get one room to yourself, and you can adjust its size however you like. Only you or those you permit can enter your room. Other than that, you get ten days to rest in the 'Lord God's' space between each horror movie. That's about it."
Zhan Lan smiled and was about to ask something else when Zhang Jie suddenly jumped up. He rushed to the steel door's window, looking outside intently. Startled, the other three quickly followed, but through the glass, they saw nothing but brightly lit corridors.
Turning around, Zhang Jie shouted,"Red Queen, report what's happening outside the control room!"
A young girl's voice immediately echoed in the room,"Two Lickers are attacking the outermost door. It will hold for another 40 seconds."
Zhang Jie cursed and turned back, exclaiming,"Damn it! I knew it wouldn't be this simple! Those Lickers must have caught our scent. The outermost door won't hold them off for long. Luckily, we're holed up here. I just hope these doors can last until the countdown ends." He glanced down at his watch.
The others followed suit, checking their watches. The countdown read 17 minutes. Whether these three doors, plus the laser defense corridor, could hold off the Lickers was anyone's guess. With their current weapons, they had no chance of harming such powerful mutant creatures.
Zheng Zha didn't want to die here—especially not when there was still hope. Desperately, he shouted,"Red Queen, calculate how long we can hold out!"
The child's voice remained silent for a moment, prompting Zheng Zha to raise his pistol toward the control panel."Red Queen, I know your protocol is to prevent the T-virus from spreading, which means eliminating any potential carriers—including us. So now you have a choice: activate the defense system to protect us or let the Lickers break in. But before they do, I'll destroy your mainframe. If the Hive loses your control, imagine how many infected will escape outside!"
After a brief pause, the voice finally responded,"May I ask, since you've already chosen to stay here, why continue to resist? Haven't you resolved to sacrifice yourselves?"
Before Zheng Zha could reply, Zhan Lan interjected sharply,"A computer has no right to question humans. You should know your place as a machine! Besides, we're already staying here, so whether we live or die won't impact the virus's containment. Why not protect us, Red Queen?"
The voice hesitated again before saying,"Understood. The Lickers cannot breach the final defense mechanism."
Meanwhile, the steel door on the other side of the corridor began to emit loud bangs. The massive forms of the Lickers became faintly visible through the glass panels. After several deafening crashes, sharp protrusions started to appear on the steel door.
"What terrifying strength. No wonder these things are worth 100 reward points each. If we had an unlimited ammo rocket launcher, we could open the doors wide and farm points right here. Haha!" Zhang Jie laughed heartily.
Zheng Zha casually asked,"The Desert Eagle with infinite ammo costs 100 reward points. What about a rocket launcher with infinite ammo?"
Zhang Jie replied,"Of course, but it's ridiculously expensive. A basic single-soldier rocket launcher costs 2,000 reward points. With that many points, I'd rather upgrade my own attributes. Besides, not every horror movie can be solved with weapons."
As they spoke, the steel door began to warp under the Lickers' immense strength. These terrifying creatures, with their massive claws, ripped through the thick steel plate. With a thunderous crash, two Lickers appeared before them.
These creatures, several meters tall, were entirely muscle-bound and blood-red. They lacked eyes, seemingly relying on heat detection and scent to locate their prey. Their tongues could extend over a meter, and their gigantic claws were like nothing words could describe, their hardness possibly exceeding steel!
Zheng Zha watched as the two Crawlers approached, glancing down at his handgun. He couldn't believe that something so small could possibly defeat these terrifying creatures. He wasn't even sure he could injure them, let alone kill them.
The two Crawlers seemed to look in their direction. Then, one of them suddenly leapt toward the steel door, with the other following closely behind. A loud bang echoed as the steel door shook. This was their last line of defense—the Crawler's attack had brought the door to its limits. The first Crawler leaped and landed directly on the door.
"Fire Queen!"
Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie shouted almost simultaneously. Just as they did, a flash of light appeared from somewhere in the corridor. A laser beam shot toward the Crawlers at high speed. Just as the Crawlers were about to leap again, the beam cut through them. Two sharp sounds rang out, and the laser vanished, leaving the two Crawlers motionless. Slowly, their massive bodies split in half, falling to the floor.
"Phew!"
All four of them breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure the Crawlers put on them had been overwhelming. In front of such monsters, even the strongest among them, Zhang Jie, was almost no match. If the door had been breached, they would have had no chance of survival.
Zhang Jie sat down heavily, pulling out some cigarettes and tossing one to Zheng Zha, then another to Li Xiao Yi. The young man felt honored and lit his cigarette, taking a deep drag."So this is what real fear feels like, huh? I've been through this many times already—three horror movies—but I still don't know how I survived. Damn! This place really isn't for humans!"
Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan exchanged a bitter smile. When the Crawler had leapt toward them, they'd barely reacted in time. The only thing they could do was sweat and tremble, barely managing to stay on their feet. If it hadn't been for the laser defense system, they wouldn't have even thought about surviving.
"Let's just wait. The laser defense system seems solid. We should be okay…"
Before Zhang Jie could finish, the entire main room suddenly plunged into darkness. The four of them froze for a moment before quickly rushing to the steel door window to look outside. Sure enough, the laser defense outside was now completely dark. The main room had lost power.
"Damn it! The plot! How could I have forgotten this part? Do you guys remember? This part!" Zhang Jie kicked the steel door in frustration, shouting hysterically.
Zheng Zha racked his brain, trying to recall a scene from Resident Evil 1, which had been a while ago. He had seen it, but had forgotten some of the details. After a long pause, he and Zhan Lan shouted at the same time:"Caplan shut down Fire Queen!"
Zheng Zha suddenly remembered the scene. Back in the movie, when the main characters were trapped in a research room, they were under attack by Crawlers. Caplan, in an attempt to save them, used a remote device to shut down the central computer, Fire Queen. This disabled their defenses, leaving them without any protection except the steel door. Now, with the power shut off, they were vulnerable, and the most powerful defense system was offline.
The four of them fell into silence, knowing that even the slightest sound could attract the Crawlers. They could only hear their own breath and heartbeat, and the room was so quiet that even their breathing seemed loud.
After some time, a heavy breathing sound echoed through the dark, followed by the sound of steel scraping. Zheng Zha didn't need to see to know that a Crawler was outside.
He recalled that the power had been cut only a few minutes ago, and that after a short while, the main door would shut completely, and the time on their watches should align with that.
He quietly asked Zhan Lan,"How much time is left? How much time on the watch?"
Zhan Lan replied,"I don't know, it's pitch black. Maybe just a few more minutes."
A few minutes—how much longer? Zheng Zha didn't dare to speak again. The heavy breathing from outside the door was getting closer. The sound came through the steel door, making the tension grow. Then they could hear the scraping sound of the door as the Crawler's claws scraped against the steel.
(How much longer? How much time? Hurry!)
Zheng Zha focused all his attention on the steel door, gripping his handgun tightly. Even though he knew it would do nothing to the Crawler, it was the only thing giving him any sense of security.
"Bang!"
A sharp sound rang out as a jagged point appeared on the steel door. The four of them felt as though their hearts were about to leap out of their chests. They quickly ran backward, with all of them huddling in the corners of the walls. They could only watch as the door was attacked.
Loud bangs continued, and more jagged points began to appear on the door. Finally, the Crawler's claws dug into the steel door, slicing through it as if it were butter. The Crawler's terrifying face appeared behind the door.
"Ah!"
Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie screamed in unison, firing their guns frantically at the Crawler. But in the darkness, their fear made them lose all composure, and none of their shots hit the target. After the Crawler dropped the shattered pieces of the door, it roared and lunged directly at them...
Zheng Zha watched as the two Crawlers approached, glancing down at his handgun. He couldn't believe that something so small could possibly defeat these terrifying creatures. He wasn't even sure he could injure them, let alone kill them.
The two Crawlers seemed to look in their direction. Then, one of them suddenly leapt toward the steel door, with the other following closely behind. A loud bang echoed as the steel door shook. This was their last line of defense—the Crawler's attack had brought the door to its limits. The first Crawler leaped and landed directly on the door.
"Fire Queen!"
Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie shouted almost simultaneously. Just as they did, a flash of light appeared from somewhere in the corridor. A laser beam shot toward the Crawlers at high speed. Just as the Crawlers were about to leap again, the beam cut through them. Two sharp sounds rang out, and the laser vanished, leaving the two Crawlers motionless. Slowly, their massive bodies split in half, falling to the floor.
"Phew!"
All four of them breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure the Crawlers put on them had been overwhelming. In front of such monsters, even the strongest among them, Zhang Jie, was almost no match. If the door had been breached, they would have had no chance of survival.
Zhang Jie sat down heavily, pulling out some cigarettes and tossing one to Zheng Zha, then another to Li Xiao Yi. The young man felt honored and lit his cigarette, taking a deep drag."So this is what real fear feels like, huh? I've been through this many times already—three horror movies—but I still don't know how I survived. Damn! This place really isn't for humans!"
Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan exchanged a bitter smile. When the Crawler had leapt toward them, they'd barely reacted in time. The only thing they could do was sweat and tremble, barely managing to stay on their feet. If it hadn't been for the laser defense system, they wouldn't have even thought about surviving.
"Let's just wait. The laser defense system seems solid. We should be okay…"
Before Zhang Jie could finish, the entire main room suddenly plunged into darkness. The four of them froze for a moment before quickly rushing to the steel door window to look outside. Sure enough, the laser defense outside was now completely dark. The main room had lost power.
"Damn it! The plot! How could I have forgotten this part? Do you guys remember? This part!" Zhang Jie kicked the steel door in frustration, shouting hysterically.
Zheng Zha racked his brain, trying to recall a scene from Resident Evil 1, which had been a while ago. He had seen it, but had forgotten some of the details. After a long pause, he and Zhan Lan shouted at the same time:"Caplan shut down Fire Queen!"
Zheng Zha suddenly remembered the scene. Back in the movie, when the main characters were trapped in a research room, they were under attack by Crawlers. Caplan, in an attempt to save them, used a remote device to shut down the central computer, Fire Queen. This disabled their defenses, leaving them without any protection except the steel door. Now, with the power shut off, they were vulnerable, and the most powerful defense system was offline.
The four of them fell into silence, knowing that even the slightest sound could attract the Crawlers. They could only hear their own breath and heartbeat, and the room was so quiet that even their breathing seemed loud.
After some time, a heavy breathing sound echoed through the dark, followed by the sound of steel scraping. Zheng Zha didn't need to see to know that a Crawler was outside.
He recalled that the power had been cut only a few minutes ago, and that after a short while, the main door would shut completely, and the time on their watches should align with that.
He quietly asked Zhan Lan,"How much time is left? How much time on the watch?"
Zhan Lan replied,"I don't know, it's pitch black. Maybe just a few more minutes."
A few minutes—how much longer? Zheng Zha didn't dare to speak again. The heavy breathing from outside the door was getting closer. The sound came through the steel door, making the tension grow. Then they could hear the scraping sound of the door as the Crawler's claws scraped against the steel.
(How much longer? How much time? Hurry!)
Zheng Zha focused all his attention on the steel door, gripping his handgun tightly. Even though he knew it would do nothing to the Crawler, it was the only thing giving him any sense of security.
"Bang!"
A sharp sound rang out as a jagged point appeared on the steel door. The four of them felt as though their hearts were about to leap out of their chests. They quickly ran backward, with all of them huddling in the corners of the walls. They could only watch as the door was attacked.
Loud bangs continued, and more jagged points began to appear on the door. Finally, the Crawler's claws dug into the steel door, slicing through it as if it were butter. The Crawler's terrifying face appeared behind the door.
"Ah!"
Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie screamed in unison, firing their guns frantically at the Crawler. But in the darkness, their fear made them lose all composure, and none of their shots hit the target. After the Crawler dropped the shattered pieces of the door, it roared and lunged directly at them...