Chapter 1: Fusion with the Blacklight Virus
"Where am I?"
Chang Wei stared dumbfounded at the towering skyscrapers before him. It wasn't that he was some country bumpkin who had never seen the world, but the entirely English signage surrounding him left him at a complete loss.
The streets were devoid of the familiar Chinese characters he knew, and every passerby had a foreign face. The way they looked at him felt strange—an expression he was all too familiar with, as it mirrored how people in his home country looked at foreigners.
Except now, he was the foreigner.
"I remember… I was playing Prototype earlier..."
Chang Wei struggled to recall, and then he saw a man in a black leather jacket with a hood, someone who looked eerily familiar.
"Is that… Alex Mercer? A cosplay?"
Having just played the game, Chang Wei immediately recognized the figure. But before he could confirm his suspicions, the man was surrounded by a group of people.
This scene triggered a strong sense of déjà vu in Chang Wei, making his pupils contract and his mind momentarily go blank as if struck by lightning.
When he came back to his senses, he saw the Alex Mercer look-alike smashing a test tube-like object on the ground.
"Hiss—!"
A sharp pain shot through Chang Wei's left eye as a shard of glass from the test tube embedded itself into it. The unknown liquid within the tube seeped into his bloodstream.
"Arghhhhh!"
Clutching his eye in agony, Chang Wei soon found the pain overwhelming to the point where it abruptly disappeared.
This is a game!
The only thought left in Chang Wei's mind was this. It seemed he had somehow transmigrated into the Prototype game world. And for some inexplicable reason, he had been struck by a shattered test tube, blinding one of his eyes. This was unbelievably unlucky.
What he didn't realize was that the Blacklight Virus from the test tube had already entered his body. Feeling dizzy and disoriented, Chang Wei instinctively decided to stay far away from Alex Mercer and the people chasing him.
As for rushing over to snatch the Blacklight Virus from Alex Mercer, Chang Wei didn't have the guts for that.
However, he soon noticed something wrong with his body. His dizziness worsened, and eventually, he had to find an empty alley to collapse against a dirty wall, not caring about the filth on the ground.
"Unknown virus detected... Activating Super Virus System!"
"Virus analysis complete: Blacklight Virus DX-1118 C…"
Chang Wei didn't know how long he had been unconscious. When he woke up, a notification appeared before him, informing him that he had successfully fused with the Blacklight Virus.
"Super Virus System?"
He discovered that this system could fuse and optimize viruses. However, it required something called "gene points," which could only be obtained by killing and consuming other organisms.
"I fused with the Blacklight Virus? Am I human or a virus now?"
Panicked, Chang Wei examined himself, and the system provided an answer: he could no longer be considered human, nor was he purely a virus. Instead, he had become a new type of lifeform. The Blacklight Virus had reconstructed his genetic code, turning him into a new human species. The virus had become a part of him.
The system explained that he could merge with other viruses in the future or choose to fully evolve and optimize the Blacklight Virus.
The system seemed to impose no mandatory tasks, granting him complete freedom.
"I'm still too weak right now. At best, I'm just slightly stronger than Alex Mercer was right after his resurrection..."
Chang Wei contemplated his next move: he needed to hide until the infection outbreak occurred or locate Elizabeth Greene, the virus mother, and release her.
But when Chang Wei stepped out of the alley, he found the streets already overrun with infected.
"How long was I unconscious?"
Only now did Chang Wei realize he might have been out for a long time. The sheer number of infected suggested that the outbreak had already begun. In the original storyline, Alex Mercer's initial virus release was quickly contained by Blackwatch.
An infected spotted Chang Wei and charged at him.
The infected from the Blacklight Virus were incredibly strong—comparable to mutants or elite zombies in other apocalyptic settings. However, in the Prototype world, they were commonplace.
This particular infected had evolved blade-like arms. Chang Wei dared not face it head-on. The blades created by the Blacklight Virus were far harder than steel, capable of slicing through a car's shell with ease.
Unlike Alex Mercer, Chang Wei wasn't a virus masquerading as a human. He had no idea if his body could regenerate after being torn apart, so he quickly dodged.
Fortunately, his reflexes seemed to have improved significantly. The infected's charge missed him, and Chang Wei retaliated with a punch.
Splatter!
The infected's head exploded like an overripe watermelon, spraying gore everywhere.
Chang Wei felt nauseated, but his body seemed to come alive. Black and red biomatter flowed from him, snaking like tendrils that pierced the infected's body.
Within moments, the tendrils had completely absorbed the infected, leaving not even a drop of blood behind.
"You have gained 10 gene points!"
The system notification startled Chang Wei.
"Holy crap! I'm this strong already?"
He stared in disbelief at his clean hands. Everything had been devoured.
With his newfound strength, his fear quickly dissipated. He didn't feel any lingering disgust or fear, possibly because those emotions were now suppressed—or perhaps his body no longer produced such hormones.
None of that mattered. Chang Wei was now exhilarated, eager to hunt and slaughter.
He was ravenous.
"What's that thing?"
Blackwatch soldiers soon noticed Chang Wei. To them, he looked like an ordinary man, yet every infected he encountered was effortlessly torn apart.
Infected bodies were resilient enough to deflect bullets. Only Blackwatch soldiers equipped with high-caliber automatic rifles and perfect headshot accuracy could suppress them.
Yet this man shredded infected with ease, his body covered in sinister, writhing tendrils that consumed the remains of his victims. He seemed like a unique type of infected.
Bang!
A bullet struck Chang Wei's head, leaving a gaping wound. For a brief moment, his mind went blank. But soon, his brain tissue regenerated, and his thoughts returned.