As the familiar state of semi-consciousness washed over him, Zheng Zha quietly absorbed the feeling of that moment. Each time he passed through that hazy threshold, he seemed to sense something profound, yet the sensation vanished instantly, leaving him only with a vague impression.

When Zheng Zha fully regained awareness, he found himself standing in a bustling hall teeming with people. Everywhere he looked, crowds milled about, all clad in various military uniforms. He stood precisely in the middle of this surging mass, yet the surrounding people deliberately created an empty space around him, leaving a distinct, unoccupied clearing amid the throng.

Zheng Zha’s first instinct was to look down. To his astonishment, not a single newcomer was standing near his feet. At that exact moment, a voice echoed in his mind.

“Team Southern Flame, Team Forest Two has already entered the Star River Station Team One world. Killing members of the opposing squad whose Gene Locks are not yet unlocked will yield a reward of two thousand points, and one C-level side mission. Killing members of the opposing squad whose Gene Locks are unlocked will yield a reward of seven thousand points, and one B-level side mission. If one of our own team members is killed, it counts as minus one point; killing an enemy member counts as plus one point. The final tally multiplied by two thousand will be the reward points distributed to the remaining members of both teams.”

After hearing this announcement, Zheng Zha quietly looked at the others. The other six clearly heard the groan issued by the “Main God.” Baxiang immediately stuttered, asking, “How can there be two teams? Besides us, there are two other teams?”

Zheng Zha shook his head. “I don’t know about this situation. In the captain’s permissions granted to me by the ‘Main God,’ there was no mention of any upper limit on the number of teams participating in combat—or rather, as long as the environment permits, the Main God could potentially place ten teams into a horror movie world simultaneously!”

Chu Xuan remarked coolly from the side, “Instead of dwelling on these questions, it’s more productive to discuss the possible locations of the Southern Flame Continent and the Forest Continent. If ‘Flame’ refers to literal heat, then Southern Flame Continent might correspond to the region of South Africa. As for the Forest Continent, several places fit the description, but considering the size and forest coverage, I suspect it refers to Brazil—the Forest Continent being South America.”

Luo Gandao found this odd. “They are both relatively underdeveloped countries. No wonder Team Central Continent is the strongest among us.”

Chu Xuan glanced at him silently. “That’s not the point. ‘Strong nation’ refers to national strength. Do you dare claim you could fight local natives to the death in a jungle? Therefore, in this horror movie reincarnation cycle where attributes can be enhanced and one can constantly grow stronger, people from developed areas are not necessarily superior. In fact, those who have unlocked or possess the potential to unlock their Gene Locks are far more likely to survive in a horror movie world.” With that, Chu Xuan turned his attention back to his watch.

Zheng Zha and the others snapped back to attention and looked at their own watches. In reality, even if they managed to completely wipe out the opposing team, it didn’t necessarily mean they had fulfilled the entire objective; it might often involve an entirely unrelated mission.

“Survive for twenty days. Every hundred bugs killed rewards one point. Every ten flying bugs killed rewards one point. Every single Laser Bug killed rewards ten points. Every single Fire-Spitting Bug killed rewards one hundred points.”

Zheng Zha read the contents on his watch aloud. He paused, then mused, “Why aren't there any reward points listed for the Brain Bugs? Could it be that these Brain Bugs are—”

Almost in unison, the surrounding voices exclaimed excitedly, “A side mission?”

Zheng Zha nodded sharply. “Exactly, it must be a side mission! A side mission so obviously presented before our eyes! It would be too much of a waste not to claim it. However, this horror movie is clearly an extremely difficult sci-fi war film, so why are there only seven of us? Does the Main God think this horror movie is very easy?”

Chu Xuan stated calmly, “The difficulty can be called very low, or very high. Based on our current environment, we are already in space—this is likely a battleship. If we can hijack the captain and crew of this vessel and pilot it into the vastness of space, hiding outside the battleship’s navigation coordinates, twenty days will pass in the blink of an eye. Even if we don't do that, we only need to break one of their legs, and we can safely spend these twenty days aboard this ship, never needing to fight on the Bug homeworld. After all, our current identity is that of Alliance soldiers.”

Upon hearing this, the others nodded in silent agreement. Typically, the “Main God” would assign them an identity based on their location. If they had appeared in a deserted warehouse, they might have needed to resolve their identities, but appearing in this crowded hall suggested a situation very similar to Resident Evil—the Main God had already arranged their roles.

Zheng Zha let out a breath. “Alright, standard procedure: let’s all choose. Do we choose to survive the twenty days safely, gaining only one thousand reward points but avoiding conflict with the other two teams? Or do we enter the Bug homeworld, securing large amounts of reward points and a side mission on the battlefield, though we might also clash with the other teams? It's a vote between a large reward or potential death, even team annihilation. Everyone vote.”

Baxiang and Luo Gandao were the first to speak. Baxiang, true to form, laughed broadly. “Naturally, we enter the Bug homeworld and fight like hell!”

Luo Gandao hurried to counter, “Of course, we break our own legs and stay here!”

After saying this, they immediately looked at each other. Luo Gandao quickly averted his gaze, then burst into another hearty, unrestrained laugh. Baxiang merely grunted unhappily.

Wang Xia didn't hesitate either. He quickly chimed in, “I think what Chu Xuan said is absolutely correct—danger equals reward. Since we face danger anytime we are alive, we might as well constantly challenge danger. That way, we only grow stronger. I choose to enter the Bug homeworld.”

Zhan Lan nodded, smiling sweetly. “I’ll choose the Bug homeworld too. This time, we don’t have newcomers dragging us down. We just need to fight cautiously, and since everyone is so strong, I think it should be fine, right?” Zero Point nodded indifferently, not saying more than a single word. Chu Xuan stated calmly, “I also think we should enter the Bug homeworld. Because there are no newcomers, this horror movie will be a contest of management. In fact, besides potentially fighting the other team, I think there’s a possibility of peaceful coexistence with them. Zheng Zha, do you remember what the captain of Team Indian Continent told you? When two teams meet, they cautiously observe each other’s strength. If the strength difference is minimal, they exchange notes on their experiences in the horror movie reincarnation cycles. If these two teams are similar in strength to us this time... among the exchanged notes, might there be rules regarding legendary magic?”

Zheng Zha shook his head slightly. Sometimes he truly didn't know what to make of Chu Xuan. For instance, when he discovered new knowledge, the fervor he displayed was hardly that of a desireless Genetic Human. Since obtaining the three symbols and inscription rules for legendary magic last time, Chu Xuan’s obsessive pursuit of knowledge had become almost pathologically intense. In fact, if Chu Xuan’s rationality wasn't so strong, he might have returned to the Ghost Realm world to seek out these rules—it was entirely possible.

Zheng Zha announced, “Alright, six to one. Then the seven of us will venture onto the Bug homeworld. Let’s assign tasks now. Baxiang, your position remains the heavy fire support. Judging from the movie plot, the Bugs possess razor-sharp close-combat abilities; they can easily tear anyone apart once they get close. Moreover, their numbers can be described as a swarm—even the numbers shown in the movie plot alone are terrifying. The ‘Main God’ often escalates the difficulty of movie plots. So, Baxiang needs to sweep large areas against the Bugs, killing as many as possible—these are all reward points…”

“Zero Point’s targets are the flying bugs and the large-sized bugs. The power of your Gauss sniper rifle is more suitable for dealing with these larger creatures… Wang Xia is responsible for blowing up the bug holes or large clusters of bugs; setting up mines also requires attention… Zhan Lan is responsible for constantly scanning for bugs moving beneath our feet, and also for watching out for members of the other teams approaching us… Chu Xuan is the only one besides me who can freely pilot the Green Goblin Skateboard, so your task is to use the Skateboard to provide timely support to team members, and also ensure Zhan Lan’s safety… Finally, Luo Gandao…”

Before Zheng Zha could finish, Luo Gandao urgently interjected, “Wait, wait a minute. Why don’t I just break my leg and stay here on the ship? Haha, that way everyone can fight without worry, and no one needs to protect me, the newcomer, anymore! Hahaha…”

Zheng Zha exchanged glances with the others, then he too laughed, throwing an arm around Luo Gandao’s shoulder. “No need. We won’t be protecting you, the ‘newcomer.’ Haha, just remember to keep up with our pace, otherwise, without protection as a ‘newcomer,’ if you fall into a pile of bugs, won't you be shredded completely?”

Luo Gandao was about to say something more, but Chu Xuan pushed up his glasses and stated calmly, “It’s not guaranteed safety even on this battleship, unless this battleship happens to be the one piloted by the female protagonist of the plot, and you must pray that the current time is not during the Federation's second major assault. Otherwise, the place with the highest actual mortality rate might be right here on the battleship. After all, opposing the bugs with our current strength is not an absolute dead end, but if this battleship is destroyed by the Bugs’ laser cannons, then no matter how strong you are, it’s useless. Do you understand?”

Luo Gandao stared blankly at Chu Xuan, replaying the movie’s plot in his mind. After a long pause, he finally nodded silently. Zheng Zha then continued, “Luo Gandao’s task is close-quarters combat against any bug that gets too near a team member, while also providing long-range support fire to Baxiang against the swarms. If the team is surrounded by a large number of bugs, you must draw their attention and use your electrical attacks at the opportune moment… These are everyone’s combat roles. Any questions?”

The others had no issues, but Luo Gandao opened his mouth several times. In the end, he said nothing, merely nodding silently.

Just then, a voice boomed from an unseen speaker: “Soldiers of the Fourth Mobile Unit, report to the Third Hall. Repeat, soldiers of the Fourth Mobile Unit, report to the Third Hall. Squad groupings are underway. The Klendathu landing operation will commence in fourteen hours. Repeat…”

Everyone exchanged glances. They knew this horror movie had officially begun. Sure enough, people began filing into the surrounding area, and the open space where the seven stood was quickly swallowed by the crowd. The seven quickly huddled together and squeezed their way out of the throng. They moved along the edge of the hall, following the crowd toward the exit.

“As expected, we are not with the protagonist of Starship Troopers. The movie mentioned that the male lead, Johnny Rico, was a Private Second Class in the Sixth Mobile Unit…”

Chu Xuan said as they walked, “And Klendathu is the location of the movie’s first landing operation. That is the Bug homeworld. As a result of the Bugs’ attack power and numbers far exceeding the Federation Army’s expectations, ten thousand soldiers died in that single battle… I hope this Fourth Mobile Unit is not the entire force that was annihilated in the original movie…”

“Don’t worry,” Zheng Zha said softly. “Our strength is constantly growing… As long as we are careful, failure won't happen… In this horror movie world, I absolutely will not let anyone die. We will all return alive!”

As he spoke, the group slowly moved along with the crowd, drawing ever closer to the Third Hall…

Starship Troopers is a sci-fi war film set in the future. In the entire galaxy, besides humanity’s technological power, there exists the Bug race, which relies on biological evolution for strength. They can even launch eggs into space to hatch on other planets—a race unfamiliar to humanity, which mistakenly believes this race to be quite weak.

The Bugs took advantage of humanity’s ignorance, launching a meteor attack on the surface of Earth, resulting in the destruction of a major city and the deaths of millions. Subsequently, the Bugs continued to assault humanity with meteors, prompting the Human Federation to declare war on them. This is the central conflict of Starship Troopers. In the film, humanity’s first move was to dispatch massive fleets directly to attack the Bug homeworld, but due to underestimating the Bugs’ power, large portions of the fleet were destroyed, and ten thousand landing soldiers were killed, dealing a significant blow to military strength. This was the human first landing operation in Starship Troopers—the Klendathu operational plan—which serves as the entry point for Zheng Zha and his team into this horror movie world.

Zheng Zha gazed through the transparent glass at the edge of the hall. Looking out, he could actually see space, where starlight glittered, and a yellowish planet hung not far from the battleship—that was the Bug homeworld they were about to enter… Klendathu! Jump to