Chapter 12: Not Playing the Same Game

The two of them were beginning to grasp a fraction of the game’s peculiar charm; after all, a place where one could unleash lethal techniques at whim and simply restart upon death was not something encountered just anywhere.

Yet, was the difficulty of this game not a measure too severe?

"To wager against us using monsters that cannot be killed—aren't you few taking this a bit too far?" Li Xi was clearly displeased.

Lin Shao, his face painted with pride, tossed his head back and said, "Who says they can't be killed? We've already slain several of those zombies!"

"Slain several?" Li Xi sneered. "Just now, I used the Li family's Finger Sword to shatter that creature's entire chest, and it still didn't die. Brother Lin, why don't you tell us exactly how you managed to kill several?"

"And it's not just Brother Lin," Xu Luo chuckled with a smirk. "This young master has also slain a few. As for Brother Song..."

He gestured toward Song Qingfeng beside him. "Brother Song has already killed over a dozen!"

"How is that possible?!" The two were instantly struck with immense shock; how could they have slain so many of these dreadfully troublesome monsters?

Lin Shao and Xu Luo seemed to thoroughly enjoy the awe in their eyes, laughing, "Why wouldn't it be possible? Otherwise, why do you think you fell so far behind us during the evaluation?"

"How did you kill so many zombies?" Li Xi looked at them and asked, "Could there be some sort of trick to it?!"

Seeing Li Xi’s desperate anxiety, the young men exchanged a knowing look and smiled, "Of course there is! Do you want to know?"

An expectant light immediately kindled in Li Xi’s eyes.

"Well, if you come to play here tomorrow..."

"Naturally, it will be my treat for you brothers!" Li Xi interjected hastily.

Only then did Lin Shao give him a look that signaled approval of his quick wit, smiling with satisfaction. "Headshot!"

"Headshot?" Li Xi's eyes rolled as the realization struck. "The weakness is actually the head?!"

He immediately entered the game to try it out, and to his surprise, it worked flawlessly! A zombie whose head was blasted apart indeed did not revive!

"How did you even discover this!" Li Xi was suddenly filled with admiration for them. "To think there was such a method!"

The group laughed heartily, feeling a bit lightheaded under the worshipful gazes of the two newcomers.

Equipped with a way to deal with the monsters, adventuring through this bizarre world felt more secure, and the two fell to playing with growing excitement, becoming utterly unstoppably engrossed.

Yet, despite their fervor, their gameplay was hardly spectacular; compared to the veterans, it fell drastically short.

After watching for a while, the group lost interest and cast their eyes elsewhere.

Lin Shao caught sight of Xu Zixin nearby and couldn't help but marvel, "There are girls playing this too?"

Then he looked up at her screen, as if discovering a new continent. "Brother Song! Quick, come look! She actually chose Jill?!"

What shocked him even more was watching this girl control Jill to retrieve a shotgun, simultaneously triggering a trap within the room, only for her teammate, Barry, to kick the door open and rescue her just in time!

"What the hell! How does she have a teammate helping her!" The group was completely bewildered; they had been playing for so long and were still entirely solitary!

How did she get a teammate right from the start?

It had to be said that Resident Evil 1 treated female players with much more leniency; not only did Jill start with a firearm, but she also possessed a lockpick, allowing her to gather ammunition from many locked places. Furthermore, with Barry occasionally stepping in to assist, Jill’s route was naturally less arduous than Chris’s.

The only disadvantage she had against Chris was her fragile health, making it easy for her to be instantly killed later in the game if she wasn't careful.

The other two were also left dazed by the sight; wasn't this a bit too pleasant an experience?

Lin Shao quickly spoke up, "Miss, could we ask how this character was selected?"

Xu Zixin had never encountered such a novel and entertaining way to play; though it was indeed somewhat terrifying, having a teammate’s help mitigated the fear. Her method of blasting zombie heads had also been learned from Barry, making her progress far smoother than that of Song Qingfeng and his companions.

She was entirely absorbed in her game when she heard someone calling out to her. Removing her virtual headset and turning around, she was surprised to find three people standing behind her, watching!

People actually gathered to watch someone play a game?

And they were asking how she selected this character?

How else could one select a character?

Utterly mystified, she replied, "When the game started, choosing option 1 gave me this character."

"Isn't option 1 Chris?" The three were instantly dumbfounded.

"That's not right..." Xu Zixin said. "The first option I saw was Jill."

"!!?" Xu Luo's face darkened; when he chose option 1, it was always Chris, so why was it Jill when she chose it?

"Could it be because we are men?" The three exchanged looks.

"..."

"..."

"It might very well be for that exact reason..."

Men could only choose male characters while women chose female characters; there was nothing inherently wrong with that logic, but the problem was, why did the females receive such superior treatment?!

"Well, I wouldn't know about that. I'm going back to my game."

Fascinated by the fact that someone was playing as Jill, the group immediately grew intrigued and began watching intently from behind her.

"Miss, there's ammunition under that table!"

"And that drawer over there—there's a clue inside it!"

"Over here too, there's a key!"

Under their collective guidance, Xu Zixin did manage to scavenge quite a few useful items, and she couldn't help but look upon them with a bit more respect. "I didn't expect you all to know so much."

"Of course!"

"Brother Song has already cleared several stages!"

"That is quite impressive then," Xu Zixin nodded. She found herself growing fonder of this game by the moment; not only was it fun, but it was actually beneficial to one's cultivation! She felt that if she continued playing like this, it wouldn't be long before she achieved a breakthrough!

Song Qingfeng and the others felt like the profoundly skilled martial seniors found in biographical novels; after imparting their grand wisdom, a wave of pride washed through their hearts.

Right at that moment, a voice suddenly drifted over from the side: "Brother Song! Look at what the boss is fighting! Why is it different from what we're fighting?"

"The boss?" Speaking of the shop owner, they realized that although they knew he played every day, they had never actually witnessed him playing this game with their own eyes.

What exactly did it look like when the boss played?

At that thought, nearly everyone turned their gaze toward Fang Qi's screen.

This glance was no casual matter; what they saw truly startled them.

He saw that what Fang Qi faced was a half-man, half-beast monstrosity, its entire body covered in scales, its claws immensely long, and its visage incredibly hideous!

What on earth was this?!

He had originally thought that zombies were the most terrifying entities within this place, but who knew there were other monsters?!

Moreover, one look at this creature made it plain that it was something a mere zombie could never hope to compare to!

"Didn't Brother Qingfeng say the most powerful monster here was the zombie dog? What is this?" The young boy of thirteen or fourteen pointed at Fang Qi's screen, asking in confusion.

"Be quiet!" Song Qingfeng's expression changed instantly.

Were they even playing the same game?

His expression became exceedingly grave; it was clear even through the screen that this monster was immensely difficult to handle!

But they quickly realized that what Fang Qi held in his hand was nothing more than a dagger!

Song Qingfeng and the others were utterly stupefied!

!!!

???

What on earth did he mean by using a dagger?

Fang Qi was seen crouching low, entirely focused, keeping his eyes locked tightly onto the monstrosity before him!

Hunting a Hunter with a dagger was nothing to be rushed; positioning, evasion, and the timing of a counterattack—not a single one could be missing!

Though the blade could inflict severe damage, relying solely on a dagger to fight such a beast remained an immense ordeal!

Through an endless barrage of battles, Fang Qi had studied its hunting patterns! He did this to master its most common offensive maneuvers! Only then would there be a glimmer of hope!

"Young Master Song!" Lin Shao cried out in alarm, "Could it be that we'll have to face this kind of monster later too?!"

"Highly likely?! Watch how the boss fights!" Song Qingfeng's countenance grew increasingly grim; the scale-covered fiend upon the screen seemed only more terrifying the longer one stared at it!

It looked like a standing, tailless dinosaur, its entire form radiating an aura of extreme peril!

It was like a veteran, brutally vicious hunter, coldly contemplating the prey right before its eyes!

Even ordinary zombies were already so formidable, and the zombie dogs were a nightmare in everyone's eyes, leaving no room for carelessness even with guns in hand!

They had actually believed the most horrifying creatures in this mansion were the frenzied zombies or the zombie dogs, so who could have known such a thing existed?!

In his view, this sort of monster was absolutely not something to be dealt with using a dagger!

Yet Fang Qi was dealing with it using a dagger right now!

Song Qingfeng only wanted to know now how exactly Fang Qi was going to handle this thing!

With a fierce leap, its massive physique whipped up a sudden squall of wind, pouncing before Fang Qi in the blink of an eye!

"So fast!"

An outcry immediately erupted from behind Fang Qi.

Strong on the outside but hollow within? Such velocity and the howling wind it dragged along proved beyond doubt that this monster possessed tremendous speed and power!

Coupled with those thick, long claws, no one doubted for a moment that if this slash connected, Fang Qi's head would likely be severed from his body!

So intense was the moment that everyone's breath caught in their throats!

But at that very instant, Fang Qi moved as well!

His body, already pressed very low, suddenly ducked even further, and the next thing everyone saw was a gleam of a sharp blade thrusting violently upward!

An attack like a stroke of divine genius; the Hunter seemed almost to throw itself into the blade, and as the two opposing forces collided, the dagger easily sliced open its underbelly!

The very moment they clashed, a grievous wound was instantly inflicted upon this Hunter!

Yet to expect to kill the Hunter just like that was still far too simple a thought!

Without a single moment's hesitation, Fang Qi rolled to his side!

His positioning was highly calculated; during the standoff with the Hunter just now, he had already placed himself near the entrance of a side hall!

The corridors within the mansion were extremely narrow, so much so that the Hunter's burly frame could block the entire passageway just by standing there, making a battle against it in the corridor immensely disadvantageous!

Riding the momentum of that single roll, Fang Qi had now tumbled into the side hall!

Blood slowly oozed from the gash, clearly provoking the Hunter's feral rage! The moment Fang Qi entered the side hall, the Hunter pursued him inside closely on his heels!

Clawing, pouncing, tearing, biting—it exerted a predator's instincts to the absolute limit!

Everyone watched the battle with rapt attention, not daring to utter a single sound, nor daring to drift focus for even a fraction of a second.

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PS: Chatting with the outside world while playing the game defaults to having opened the external communication option beforehand, and performing actions in reality after playing defaults to having exited virtual reality mode; these details will not be repeatedly written every time such a plot point occurs.

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