Zheng Zha felt he was decaying, rotting from the age of twenty-four until old age, eventually dissolving into the soil to become just a name—no, not even a name, because no one would remember you. No one would recall a minor white-collar worker, whether genuinely refined or merely pretending to be cultured; he was just a speck of dust in this mortal world.
He yearned to change something, to forge meaning for himself... “Do you wish to grasp the meaning of life? Do you truly want to... live?” When Zheng Zha opened his computer at the office today, this sentence suddenly popped up on the screen. It was clearly just a petty trick by some immature hacker trying to catch attention; whether he chose yes or no, the result was always downloading a virus. Zheng Zha sneered and moved to close it, but as his finger touched the mouse, a peculiar palpitation made him pause.
“Do you wish to grasp the meaning of life? Do you truly want to... live?” A wave of confusion washed over Zheng Zha, an inexplicable attraction pulling him to rest his finger on the left mouse button. He gently clicked YES, and instantly, he lost consciousness... Cold, vibrating... The moment he woke, Zheng Zha shot up from the floor. He looked around frantically, his memory of the office instantly colliding with the environment before him. Yet, within seconds, he cleared the confusion.
“Not bad. You’re the best quality among those who arrived this time.”
A cold voice cut through the air.
Zheng Zha turned his head and saw only a black-haired youth staring at him with a sneer. This youth looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five, utterly ordinary in appearance, yet his face was marred by several scars that made him look quite terrifying and grotesque.
The black-haired youth held a cigarette. He took a deep drag, then his gaze swept past Zheng Zha to look behind him. Only then did Zheng Zha realize that five other people lay near him—three men and two women. Besides them, there were over a dozen foreigners present in this enclosed space.
This was a carriage, and it was moving at an incredible speed. The coldness and vibration were sensations transmitted directly from this moving car.
“What is this place? Who are you people? Why am I here?” Zheng Zha rapidly questioned them, making sure to use English because of the foreigners present.
The foreigners glanced at him a couple of times before looking away. Only the black-haired youth took another deep breath. “Think carefully. It should have already implanted everything into your mind.”
Think carefully? Zheng Zha began sifting through his memories. He only remembered clicking YES on the computer screen when he saw the prompt, “Do you wish to grasp the meaning of life? Do you truly want to... live?” and then falling unconscious... Wait. Zheng Zha suddenly felt something new added to his mind: Survival and Life... This was a game. Who created this game was inconsequential; perhaps it was the gods, perhaps demons, or maybe aliens or humans from the future. Regardless, he was now a participant in this game, or rather, he had become one.
When an individual, feeling lost and decaying in the mundane city life, chooses this game, they are transported into the settings of various horror films.
“This time it’s Resident Evil 1. Rookies, you’re actually quite lucky; encountering such an easy horror film for your first run. Even if you die, it should be an easy death.”
The black-haired youth took the last puff of his cigarette and fiercely crushed the butt in his palm.
“Are you saying that we have only entered our consciousness into a computer, like something out of a Xuanhuan novel? If we complete this game, our consciousness will return to our bodies, and we can live again?” A short, plump man sitting on the floor next to Zheng Zha asked.
The black-haired youth pulled out a pistol from his coat—a Desert Eagle. He began fiddling with the weapon while saying, “Whether it’s the consciousness, I don't know, but you will feel pain, you will be injured, and you will die. Also, you misunderstood. After completing this mission, you move on to the next unknown horror film. You might have seen that film, or you might not have. Every time, the ‘Main God’ brings in new members to replace those who died in the last film. The number of people ranges from seven to twenty each time. In other words, Resident Evil 1 is a horror film with very low inherent danger, which is why there are only seven of us total this time.”
The plump little man sneered. “How do you know those who died haven’t returned to their bodies? Maybe they chose death themselves.”
The black-haired youth suddenly looked up, a chilling light flashing in his eyes. In that instant, the youth seemed to transform into a black panther. Everyone watched as he bent his knees and sprang; the next second, he was pinning the plump man down, the Desert Eagle jammed into the man’s mouth.
“Do you want to try dying? Can you even imagine that infinite terror? I’ve survived three horror films. The first was A Nightmare on Elm Street 1. Fifteen newcomers participated in that one, along with two veterans who had survived two films. But do you know the ending? They were all killed in their dreams. Only one other person and I survived. Do you want to know the feeling of being killed by an utterly absurd dream? Do you want to see everything around you turn into writhing, rotting flesh in a gloomy factory, watching your own body slowly being crushed piece by piece by a pair of shears? You piece of trash! Do you want to die?” The black-haired youth roared madly, the killing intent in his eyes so palpable that the plump man was paralyzed with fear, the muzzle still jammed in his mouth, preventing him from even begging for mercy.
Zheng Zha and the other two men and two women pulled the black-haired youth away. The youth sneered, walked back to his original spot, and continued fiddling with his gun. “Death in a horror film is real death. And you will die agonizingly, tortured by the demons of these films. If you aren't determined to survive, if I were you, I’d commit suicide immediately.”
A bespectacled young woman nearby spoke up. “So, there’s no way for us to return to our bodies?” The black-haired youth sneered again. “I’ve been saying it: you didn't just send your consciousness into a computer. Do you think this game is something achievable by human technology? No, this is the masterpiece of a god. We are like insects to them, captured and thrown into these horror films to struggle for their amusement. Our flesh and spirit entered this world together. We cannot go back—at least, I believe we cannot go back.”
The bespectacled girl possessed a calm demeanor. She pondered for a moment. “Listening to your tone, it sounds like there is a hope of returning?” The black-haired youth looked up and glanced at her. “The quality of the newcomers this time is truly excellent... Yes, there is indeed a hope of returning.”
At those words, the six people, including Zheng Zha, held their breath, staring intently at the black-haired youth.
“For every mission completed, that is, for surviving this horror film, you will receive one thousand Reward Points. These thousand points can be exchanged for many things, for instance, the right to live in this horror film world for one hundred days...” the black-haired youth stated flatly.
A middle-aged man next to the bespectacled girl remarked, “Are you insane? Who would want to live longer in such a horrifying world? Isn’t that courting death?” The black-haired youth sneered without responding, but the bespectacled girl rubbed her forehead. “No, I think I understand what he means. Horror films are categorized. One type, like this Resident Evil scenario, is technological horror, explainable by science, completely devoid of ghosts or demons. In other words, outside the immediate location where the story is unfolding, the rest of the world should be normal...” The black-haired youth snapped his fingers. “Bingo! Correct. The extra one hundred days of life can indeed be spent living normally in other parts of this world. Consider it: after enduring several trials of survival and death, what kind of happiness would it be to live peacefully and without constraint in the normal zones of this world...” Zheng Zha shuddered. He seemed to grasp the purpose of this world’s existence. Yes, it was the suffocating monotony of his former life that made him feel stagnant. But after experiencing countless horrors and deaths, a mundane existence truly would be the happiest aspiration.
The black-haired youth continued, “Besides exchanging for days of life, you can exchange for many other things. Take this Desert Eagle with infinite ammunition, for example; it only costs one hundred points, equivalent to ten days of living rights. Furthermore, a person's overall stats—including intelligence, mental fortitude, cellular vitality, nerve reaction speed, muscle tissue strength, and immune strength—can each be upgraded by one point per day of living rights exchanged. A normal person’s six stats are all rated at one hundred. In other words, as long as you survive this horror film, you can double your current strength. Survive one hundred horror films, and you will become a superhuman!” The bespectacled girl, however, asked calmly, “So, returning to square one, back to our own world—how many Reward Points does that cost?” “Fifty thousand points!” The black-haired youth pulled out another cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag. “You would need to survive fifty horror films without spending any points to reinforce yourself, which is practically impossible.”
Immediately, several people fell silent. According to what this black-haired youth said, surviving fifty horror films without using Reward Points for enhancement was fundamentally unachievable.
“Of course, one thousand points per film is the base reward. You can also earn extra money within the horror films. For instance, by explaining all this to you just now, according to the ‘Main God’s’ rules, I am rewarded one hundred Reward Points for educating the newcomers. Also, you should have noticed the strange watch you are all wearing, right?” The black-haired youth raised his left hand, revealing a watch made of black, pure metal, ancient and simple in style.
Everyone looked at their own left wrists. The watch displayed several data points: first, a countdown timer showing three hours and seven minutes; second, summarized data names, such as Zombie Count, Creeper Count, Newcomer Count... “For every ten zombies killed, you earn one Reward Point. For every Creeper killed, you earn one hundred points. For every newcomer killed... you earn one thousand points...” The black-haired youth finished speaking and looked maliciously at Zheng Zha and the others. Among them, only Zheng Zha and the bespectacled girl looked back calmly.
“Of course, that’s negative Reward Points...” The black-haired youth sneered at Zheng Zha and the girl. “Alright, ask any remaining questions quickly. This horror film is about to officially begin.”
The bespectacled girl looked at Zheng Zha; upon a slight nod from him, she continued, “I have two or three more questions. I’ve seen Resident Evil 1. The ending involves the T-Virus outbreak reaching Raccoon City from the laboratory. So, if we escape the lab in this carriage before that happens, wouldn't it be easy to survive?” The black-haired youth nodded. “Look at your watch. Is there a name in the upper left corner? Say it out loud.”
“Matthew Addison!” Several people spoke the name simultaneously, then watched in astonishment as a black man among the foreign soldiers emitted a faint glow. The light lasted only a moment before the man returned to normal.
“That’s the captain of the mercenaries in the movie. This film is designated a regional horror scenario. The plot is confined strictly to this laboratory. To limit the difficulty, the ‘Main God’ prevents us from straying too far from the plot zone in such films. If we move more than one hundred meters away from this Matthew Addison, we will... simply cease to exist. Understand? Once the character in the plot dies, this restriction transfers to other plot characters. It’s interconnected; we can only fight desperately to survive within this horror film.”
The black-haired youth explained.
Zheng Zha suddenly asked, “What is that ‘Main God’ you keep mentioning?”
“The ‘Main God’ should be whatever manages our entry into this horror film cycle. It grants us Reward Points, and exchanges are processed through it. The ‘Main God’ is a ball of light; frankly, I have no idea what it truly is,” the black-haired youth said, gesturing vaguely.
The bespectacled girl nodded. “Last question... What does this countdown number represent?” She pointed to the number ticking down on the watch.
“It’s the duration you must remain in this horror film. When the time runs out, you can return safely to the ‘Main God’s’ location, claim your reward, and then face the next horror film.”
The black-haired youth took a deep drag from his cigarette. Just then, the carriage began to slow down gradually. The youth quickly finished his smoke, pulled out the Desert Eagle, and said, “Alright, the plot starts now. They can hear our conversation from this point forward. Remember, being overheard discussing these topics will deduct ten points for every sentence. The negative balance will be deducted from your next reward. Rookies... survive well!”