Chapter 13: The Most Reliable Weapon in Resident Evil Is Actually...

Fang Qi cautiously evaded its relentless pursuit. The hunter moved with blinding speed, its strikes exceptionally crisp and decisive!

This was a hunting methodology honed and perfected over years of predation—simple, yet incredibly swift and efficient!

But after enduring these recent skirmishes, Fang Qi had long grown familiar with its predatory habits.

Lunging forward, it sought to restrain Fang Qi with its powerful twin claws!

Had he truly been ensnared by those massive arms, Fang Qi’s strength would never have sufficed to break free. Without a doubt, the monster would have instantly severed his neck with a single bite!

Yet after dozens of lethal engagements and countless drills practiced between life and death, Fang Qi had committed every single one of the hunter’s maneuvers to memory!

Not merely memorized, but deeply etched into his mind, including the subtlest precursors to its strikes!

Though the hunter was fast, it did not possess the ultimate, human-reaction-defying speed of a licker. Combined with the precise anticipation Fang Qi had forged through repeated trials, he neatly sidestepped the hunter's claws with a single crisp movement!

The spacious side hall granted Fang Qi ample room to bypass the hunter's frontal assault.

Flanking, when dealing with a creature of such massive build, was absolutely an optimal choice!

Capitalizing on the moment before the monster could recover from the momentum of its forward lunge, Fang Qi instantly choked the beast from behind. As if rehearsed ten thousand times over, his dagger plunged with absolute precision into the crown of its head!

Splat!

A stream of dark crimson blood, mingled with brain matter, oozed from the wound!

Aghast with pain, the hunter thrashed frantically. Its colossal strength unexpectedly threw Fang Qi straight through the air!

Crash!

Fang Qi’s body slammed violently against the wall, the heavy impact fracturing the masonry behind him!

Such sheer might caused everyone's heart to sink! This power had already surpassed humanity by far too wide a margin!

Merely flinging someone aside while thrashing produced such a devastating effect; if a regular attack landed cleanly, what would the outcome be?!

The answer required no second thought: absolute death!

Such a heavy blow left Fang Qi dizzy and disoriented, his entire body beginning to grow numb!

Yet the hunter was already advancing toward Fang Qi once more!

Step by step it marched before him, then raised its massive claw high into the air, swinging it down with brutal force!

"It's over!" The hearts of the onlookers behind Fang Qi plummeted to the depths. This monster was simply too powerful! Its vital spot had been pierced by a dagger, yet it still wasn't dead?!

They felt that no matter how strong Fang Qi was, he was likely finished this time!

Next, an unbelievable turn of events unfolded before their eyes!

Fang Qi suddenly surged upward, evading the fatal strike at the absolute, hair's-breadth precipice of time! Concurrently, a pitch-black dagger had, at some unknown moment, driven itself directly into the creature's throat!

The wall where Fang Qi had just been collapsed with a roar under the hunter’s claw!

But within the hunter's turbid eyes, the last vestige of light finally faded.

Its massive physique, as if suddenly deprived of all support, collapsed limply to the floor!

"De... Dead?!"

Behind Fang Qi, a sharp collective gasp arose as everyone stared at the screen in utter disbelief.

Such a terrifying monster had been struck in its vital points three times, slain outright before it could even unleash half its prowess!

Three strikes to kill! Virtually unscathed!

How was that possible?!

One had to remember that choosing Chris meant one could not utilize a martial artist's inner qi within the game! Therefore, to slay these monsters, one could only rely on pure combat technique!

Every slash seemed precisely calculated. Despite his own profound weakness, he had easily decapitated a powerful foe using nothing but basic movements!

He hadn't even deployed a single martial arts technique!

It was simply inconceivable!

So combat could actually be conducted in this manner!

It was a thoroughly exhilarating, blood-pumping battle!

If the group had previously considered Song Qingfeng a genius for discovering the zombies' weaknesses and slaying over a dozen of them, then Fang Qi now existed as nothing short of a god in their eyes!

Fang Qi naturally had his own designs when he dared to switch to the dagger to face the hunter!

The dagger, named the Survival Knife in-game, was also referred to by some simply as the knife.

As the most iconic melee weapon in the Resident Evil franchise, the dagger's status was unshakeable.

With its limited reach and feeble damage output, it was true that many would not treat it as a primary weapon, but rather as a final recourse when ammunition was utterly depleted—something to stir a minuscule yet defiant will to resist in a perilous, hostile environment.

However, the dagger also possessed advantages unparalleled by other firearms: it had no usage limits, it was simple and convenient, and it was unlikely to alert surrounding enemies.

Furthermore, the dagger dealt exceptionally high damage to hunters and zombie dogs. While it took roughly four shotgun blasts to eliminate a hunter, it took only five to six slashes with a dagger, meaning the knife's lethality against a hunter was almost comparable to a shotgun!

Just as Resident Evil 2's protagonist Leon once remarked: "A knife's more reliable than a gun in some situations."

Chris himself was highly proficient with a dagger. Even if Fang Qi might have been clumsy at the start, he had already begun practicing frantically with the knife over the past few days because he was already strategizing how to clear the game!

Those three flawlessly executed strikes condensed all of Fang Qi's experience from countless life-and-death struggles against the hunter, with perhaps a tiny dash of luck.

"To think there are monsters this powerful later on?" Xu Zixin stared astonished at Fang Qi's screen. "To duel this kind of monster without using martial qi, how does he do it!"

She had originally thought the shop owner was just an ordinary citizen, but reflecting on it now, how could the owner of such an establishment be an ordinary man!

"Bo... Boss, what kind of monster is this?" Song Qingfeng suppressed the shock in his heart, asking with feigned composure, "Is it the commander of these zombies? Were those cannibalism incidents caused by it?"

"Commander?" Fang Qi curled his lip. He had just rounded a corner when another hunter leaped out!

"Holy crap!" The group was instantly stunned!

What was going on? Another commander? Could the leader of this mansion be a pair of monster brothers?

Armed with the experience of his first, near-flawless victory, Fang Qi's confidence swelled significantly.

Fang Qi took considerably longer this time compared to the previous encounter, though it still appeared relatively safe. After spending some time, the second hunter was also dispatched!

Seeing that the hunter did not pose as grand a threat to Fang Qi as they had imagined, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

It looked like this was probably the strongest monster in the mansion, right?

There shouldn't be any more monsters coming out, right?

Just as the thought crossed their minds, they watched Fang Qi traverse a corridor, only for yet another hunter to spring forth.

!!!

???

Another one?

What was the situation?!

Moreover, they noticed that as Fang Qi continued forward, the path ahead was no longer a room, but a stone corridor; clearly, Fang Qi was no longer inside the mansion proper.

Could this place already be nearing the monsters' nest?!

An unbelievable conclusion gradually dawned upon their minds. Could it be that this terrifying monster was merely...

And Fang Qi’s subsequent words validated the suspicion in their hearts: "The hunter, a late-game minion."

"A... a minion?! You mean this is just a lackey?!" Although a term like "minion" did not belong to this era, it did not hinder their understanding of it.

Listening to Fang Qi’s calm tone, it seemed this truly was just a minion!

But, was this really just a minion?! How could the minions of the later stages be this powerful?!

"No... Boss, do you mean to say that the depths of this mansion are filled with things like this?" Song Qingfeng was clearly finding this revelation hard to accept; if these were all just minions, then wouldn't the zombies they fought be completely third-rate?!

No wonder the Boss couldn't even be bothered to ask about their game progress; in his eyes, their shallow research wasn't even worth a glance!

A burning flush of embarrassment rushed to the faces of the young men.

Yet...

Could they perhaps learn from the Boss's experience in dealing with Hunters? When the time came, could they also show off a neat trick like knifing a Hunter?

At this thought, their eyes went wide, instantly locking onto the screen.

"Boss, if that's the case, isn't it possible to encounter two such monsters appearing at the same time?" Lin Shao asked a question that brought a sense of despair to everyone.

"...Encounter two?" Fang Qi reached into his backpack and pulled out a silver-white revolver. The group noticed that the muzzle of this gun seemed a whole size larger than a regular pistol, and its barrel was considerably longer too!

Its cold, majestic frame seemed to flaunt its extraordinary nature to everyone without the slightest reservation!

"My Magnum isn't here to reason with you!" Fang Qi grinned, pulling the trigger just as the Hunter lunged forward!

A deafening roar shattered the air!

Boom!

The lunging Hunter was instantly blasted backward by the shot, a gaping, gruesome bloody hole instantly torn into its flesh!

It was a shocking sight!

Before the Hunter could even push itself off the ground, Fang Qi followed up with another shot!

Only then did the Hunter finally collapse to the floor, dead as could be!

"This gun...?!" Seeing that it could leave the mighty Hunter completely defenseless, the young men stared at the peculiarly designed pistol in Fang Qi’s hand, their eyes turning green with envy!

If they weren't separated by a screen, they would have wanted to snatch this immensely powerful, precious weapon right then and there!

"Boss, what kind of gun is this?"

"A Magnum."

Indeed! This was none other than the most famous Magnum from Resident Evil! Of course, when Fang Qi had first played the classic version as a child, he usually just called it a revolver.

In truth, "Magnum" was shorthand, originally referring to large-caliber pistols that fired Magnum rounds, such as the Desert Eagle, with the firearms being predominantly Magnums.

Having fired only two shots with the Magnum, Fang Qi immediately stored it back into his backpack.

"Why did the Boss put the gun away again?" Lin Shao could not help but ask in confusion.

After all, with a weapon of such immense power, why take the risk of using a knife?

"The ammunition is likely precious," Song Qingfeng said with a frown, clearly speaking from personal experience.

In fact, having reached his current progress in the game, he was already beginning to face an ammunition crisis.

Song Qingfeng was entirely correct; the bullets for this thing were incredibly precious—each one spent was one less remaining!

Therefore, unless he encountered true danger, he was unwilling to waste them.

.