He was utterly weary of the dull, lukewarm reality of everyday life; beyond the cycle of going to work, eating, excreting, sleeping, and waking, he craved true stimulation—[BLANK], one-night stands, even doing crystal meth—but even those felt mundane. Everything was still just reality; sleep it off, and reality remained. He did not want this world! He wanted a life drenched in more intensity, and now, it seemed, that life was standing right in front of him.

So, at first, he felt a surge of delight. Not only could he experience the events of countless horror movies, but he could also use Reward Points to strengthen himself. Because he had watched countless horror films, as long as the initial ones were among those he knew, he would grow stronger and stronger, absolutely impervious to death. When he became powerful enough, even the characters within those horror films would be powerless against him. Then, he could linger in any world he wished, live as he pleased, gorge on stimulation, or simply continue to grow stronger. Even if he eventually tired of it all, he could always return to reality. Yes! This was sheer paradise.

At the very beginning, Zheng Z certainly thought so. But when those two explosions ripped through the air, it was as if a hammer had instantly shattered his fantasy. There was no paradise; this was clearly not paradise. This was distinctly hell, and he was merely a tiny insect trapped in the palm of the gods. A human life was worth barely more than the sound of those last two blasts... He didn't want to die! He refused to die! The mercenaries and the main protagonists seemed not to have heard the two explosions, nor did they notice the slight reduction in their numbers. As the end of the staircase grew nearer, one mercenary suddenly called out loudly, "Sir, the Red Queen has locked onto us. It knows we are here."

The heroine, Alice, asked in confusion, "Who is the Red Queen?" Matthew Addison glanced at her and replied, "She is the best artificial intelligence system in the country. She controls the entire Hive and is the central mainframe here."

The mercenaries had already descended the stairs. Zhang Jie turned back, sneering at the panting group. He shook his head. "Keep going. Be grateful to heaven if you survive. Honestly, you’re already quite lucky. This horror movie is one with a very low danger rating. In fact, it’s one of the few where bullets might actually solve the problem. Push through; if you survive this movie, you’ll each receive one thousand Reward Points to improve your physical condition."

As the unit pushed deeper, isolated research labs gradually appeared on either side of the corridor. These labs were completely flooded with water, and floating within were the corpses of numerous researchers. Their pale, exposed bodies were horrifyingly visible. Zheng Z and the others knew that these researchers had succumbed to the T-virus and become zombies, set to awaken and feast once the central computer rebooted.

"This is bad."

One of the mercenaries muttered, "To reach the Red Queen, we have to pass through these labs. Now they’re submerged. I don't think we can get through."

Matthew Addison nodded. "Rain, JD, go check if there’s any way to drain the water."

The long-haired female mercenary, whose name was surprisingly masculine, Rain, grasped her weapon and headed deeper into the corridor with the other mercenary, JD.

Matthew Addison looked at the flooded research facility. "Kaplan, Zhang Jie, you two find another route to the Red Queen."

Kaplan raised his rifle and followed the other two. Zhang Jie, however, waved dismissively toward Zheng Z and the others, walking casually in that direction.

Once all four were gone, Ryan, one of the male protagonists, suddenly asked, "What exactly happened here? Why do these labs look like..." "They were flooded from the inside?" Matthew Addison surveyed the group before finally stating, "About five hours ago, the Red Queen seized control and sealed the entire Hive. Then, she began using the internal defense systems to kill people: releasing toxic gas, cutting off elevators, locking down labs—just like this. She wiped out everyone in this experimental sector."

He paused, then continued, "When the corporation realized something was wrong here, our small team was dispatched to shut her down. That is why we are here."

The protagonists exchanged looks of utter bewilderment. Alice bit her finger. "Why would she do that? Isn't she an intelligent computer system?" Matthew Addison shook his head. "We don't know. Perhaps she was influenced externally, like a computer virus... or perhaps an internal operative manipulated and sabotaged her. These are all possibilities..." As Matthew Addison spoke, a figure gradually manifested on the glass wall Matt was leaning against. Matt stared closely and realized it was a corpse floating in the water. He shrieked and scrambled backward.

Everyone was startled, including Zheng Z’s group, who jumped back too. All eyes turned to that spot, where a pale female body drifted inside the glass wall.

Although Matthew Addison and his men looked visibly unsettled, they quickly regained their composure. Only Zheng Z’s group felt a chill run through their limbs. Watching this on a screen while eating popcorn was one thing; being truly immersed, especially knowing that corpse was a zombie, meant the inherent horror was beyond anything an outsider could comprehend.

Zheng Z was staring intently at the corpse when a small hand suddenly patted his shoulder. At this moment, any disturbance could be terrifying, causing him to leap several meters away. Turning around, he saw the bespectacled girl standing there, giggling.

"Hey, why don't we introduce ourselves? After all, we’ll soon have to rely on each other for survival."

The bespectacled girl said with a smile.

The three men seemed agreeable. The bespectacled girl then introduced herself. "My name is Zhan Lan; the 'Zhan' from Tianyou Zhan, and 'Lan' from mountain wind Lan. Hee hee, it sounds like a boy's name, doesn't it? I'm a writer. Before coming here, I constantly complained about lacking the desire or inspiration to write. Who knew I'd end up in this world of infinite inspiration? Haha, I suppose this is karma."

Zheng Z smiled warmly. "I'm Zheng Z; the 'Zheng' from Zheng Chenggong, and 'Zha' from Nezha. I’m a company manager. Uh, before coming here, I also complained that the real world was too boring, so dull it felt like I was rotting day by day. I was looking for stimulation... though the stimulation here is a bit too intense."

Zhan Lan giggled and shook Zheng Z's hand. "A kindred spirit! I felt exactly the same way."

The middle-aged man smiled honestly. "I'm Mou Gang; the 'Mou' character and the 'Gang' character. Sigh, I can't compare to you educated folks. Anyway, that’s my name. I’m a long-haul truck driver. Before coming here, I often complained that my wife was too stingy and my son wasn't promising. Basically, I was deeply disappointed with reality. I clicked 'confirm' while playing an online game with friends, and then I ended up here."

Finally, the young man with an otherwise unremarkable demeanor spoke up. "Li Xiaoyi, a high school senior. I complained about many things before coming here, but actually, being here isn't so bad. As long as I don't die, I can become superhuman. And based on what Zhang Jie implied, if we can return, these enhanced abilities might remain. I can’t stand being bullied at school anymore. If I get back, I swear I'll kill those bastards!" A ferocious expression crossed the young man's face. The other three exchanged glances, realizing this youth must have been a perpetual victim of bullying at school. His complaints showed utter disillusionment with the real world. It seemed everyone who arrived here shared one common trait: dissatisfaction and disappointment with reality.

Just then, Zhang Jie and another mercenary returned. As he passed Zhan Lan, he deliberately gave her backside a hard slap. Caught completely off guard, Zhan Lan only managed a scream before Zhang Jie was already laughing as he walked toward Matthew Addison.

"Sir, we found another route, but it will take more time. We should return here, then cut through Restaurant B to reach our destination directly. This route might take twice as long."

The mercenary accompanying Zhang Jie reported.

At that moment, the other two scouts returned. The long-haired female mercenary named Rain reported, "Sir, that way is completely impassable. This entire floor is submerged."

Matthew Addison nodded. "Alright, we take the second route. We're running low on time. Everyone, let's move quickly."

Reluctantly, Zheng Z's group followed the main force back the way they came. Fortunately, the mercenaries were not running this time. After walking an unknown distance, they finally stopped before an iron gate. One of the mercenaries used a keypad to open it, and the first few men cautiously entered with their weapons raised.

It was a vast hall filled with countless small containers, each about a few cubic meters in size. A chilling aura emanated constantly from these containers. Anyone who had seen Resident Evil 1 would know this was the containment warehouse for the Lickers. Once the main computer was shut down, these Lickers would become the most terrifying alien creatures, their destructive power a hundred times greater than the zombies.

One mercenary looked at a nearby computer. "This must be Restaurant B... according to the map."

Matthew Addison walked up beside him to look at the screen, while Matt muttered nearby, "Perhaps there are secrets hidden here—secrets the Company doesn't want the outside world to know..." Matthew Addison glanced at him without speaking, merely instructing the mercenary beside him, "JD, Rain, Zhang Jie, you three guard the prisoners here, and secure the exit."

Then, another female mercenary suddenly interjected, "Sir, the gas sensors here read zero. Perhaps this area wasn't subjected to poison gas. It might be that the defense system went haywire."

Matthew Addison nodded. "Good. JD, Rain, Zhang Jie, there might be survivors hiding here. Search around, but don't stray too far. You must secure the prisoners and the exit first, understood?" The three nodded, only Zhang Jie sneered, pulling out a cigarette from his coat. Anyone who had seen the movie knew the truth: survivors? No, few survivors, but plenty of zombies.

The bespectacled girl next to Zheng Z suddenly walked over to Zhang Jie and whispered quietly, "While we're here, I have one question: can we change the plot of the movie?" Zhang Jie nodded. "Go on, what else?" She laughed, the sound reminiscent of tiny silver wind chimes. "Then, can we use plastic explosives here? If we kill all the Lickers in this room, won't we get several thousand Reward Points?" Zhang Jie also laughed. "That's true. Yes, blowing this place up would net you several thousand points. But I have two questions for you. First, will they give us time to plant plastic explosives?" He gestured toward the mercenaries.

"They don't know what these things are, nor the consequences of shutting down the mainframe. If they see us doing something they can't comprehend, the highest probability is that they will shoot us first, likely releasing the Lickers prematurely. The 'Main God' won't let you alter the plot so easily, and even if you do, it will probably increase the difficulty and introduce surprises. Do you understand?" Zhang Jie answered his own questions, then continued, "The second question: what do you think is our greatest reliance for surviving a horror movie?" The bespectacled girl paused, touching her forehead. "Strength? No. Luck? Not really, it’s too unpredictable, sometimes good, sometimes bad... It must be familiarity with the plot?" Zhang Jie smiled. "Bingo. You got it. Familiarity with the plot is precisely our greatest reliance. So, unless I have absolute certainty, I will never try to change the story. And if anyone tries to forcibly alter the plot to gain Reward Points, I won't hesitate to send them to hell."

Zheng Z now stood beside them, listening silently. He noticed Zhang Jie gazing at him with a strange look—a look filled with pity and mockery, as if... as if he were looking at a dead man. This made him extremely uneasy.

Just then, the mercenary captain, Matthew Addison, called out, "Alright, action stations. The rest of us will follow me."

Zhang Jie acted naturally, staying behind the main group, seemingly searching left and right. The mercenaries didn't question it, but Zheng Z and the others knew the real reason: Zhang Jie could not move more than a hundred meters away from Matthew Addison, so he had to stay close to the main body.

After passing through several more steel doors midway, the group arrived at a central computer control room. Of course, now that the central computer, the Red Queen, was out of control, they couldn't directly operate the entire laboratory from here.

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