Chapter 14: This Internet Cafe Does Not Offer Overnight Service

Needless to say, Fang Qi had been forced to waste two Magnum bullets earlier simply because he was distracted by talking to them.

Fang Qi’s bare-handed chop against the Hunter had struck a heavy chord of awe into their hearts; if they had harbored a trace of indifference before, they now revered him as a god among men, so who would dare utter another word?

The group fell silent immediately, watching quietly from behind.

As Fang Qi ventured deeper, the monsters appeared with increasing frequency, and even those watching from the rear began to feel an immense pressure!

Yet, as they watched one Hunter after another collapse beneath Fang Qi, a sliver of confidence finally flickered in their anxious hearts: "The boss is so strong, surely there won't be any danger..."

"Where on earth did these monsters come from?" At this moment, their desire to know grew even stronger—what was the culprit behind all this, and where would the protagonist's path ultimately lead?

To them, this game was a massive enigma, constructed by the monsters plaguing the mansion and the fragmented words left behind by the deceased, but now, they watched Fang Qi rely on his formidable strength to search out and gather the missing members of Bravo Team one by one, merging with his teammates and pressing deeper, which could not help but make their blood boil!

This was nothing short of a hero! A single man piercing through all illusions, breaking past countless obstacles, and shattering the enemy's conspiracies entirely! It was absolute bliss!

"Before long, I will also rescue my teammates one by one! And then smash the enemy's plot to pieces!" The few behind Fang Qi felt their hearts surge with excitement, wishing desperately that they were the ones playing right now!

And at this point, they felt that as the game exploration reached this stage, they must be very close to the truth!

This left them impatient to keep watching, urgently wanting to know what the ensuing plot of Resident Evil would be!

They were even more desperate to know what the ultimate fate of the protagonist and his teammates would be!

"How many levels do you think the boss is?" Lin Shao asked in a low whisper.

"Probably around level ten." Xu Luo thought about it; he was already level 5 himself, so the boss ought to be several levels higher than him.

"I think it's more than that," Song Qingfeng shook his head and said, "I reckon he's at least past level ten."

"Look, why did the boss suddenly pull out his gun?!" While the two were discussing behind Fang Qi, they suddenly saw his footsteps hesitate slightly, and immediately after, he drew his gun directly from the backpack on his back!

"What does the boss want to do?" To think that even a Hunter could be killed with a knife, yet the boss had actually taken the initiative to draw his gun?

Inside this mansion, what else could possibly threaten him?

Zombies? Zombie dogs?

Absolutely impossible!

"Could it be that we're about to meet the real mastermind?!" Although the countless monsters and traps filling the mansion continuously blocked everyone from approaching the truth, they gradually sensed that the truth might really be getting close!

In the beginning, the players were merely exploring and conducting a rescue here—a very simple rescue operation commonly seen in many other works—making it entirely accessible even to players encountering this piece for the first time, just like Song Qingfeng and the others, who had successfully immersed themselves into the roles of the story.

But as the exploration progressed, who exactly designed this mansion, where did these monsters come from, and why did they exist?

What did the words "Resident Evil" truly encompass?

It was unknown.

Therefore, they were intensely curious to know the truth behind everything, and seeing that Fang Qi seemed about to unveil the mastermind, the breathing of the few individuals could not help but quicken.

Yet right at this moment, they saw Fang Qi suddenly furrow his brows; he seemed to have sensed something and stopped!

Then, Fang Qi exited the game.

???

What was the meaning of exiting the game at a time like this?

"Boss! You're not playing anymore?!" The group was instantly dumbfounded.

You got us this tense, and now you're just quitting?

"Yeah!" Fang Qi nodded, and it was plain to see from his face that he was truly exhausted; he pointed to the time in the bottom right corner of the screen, "It's about time to close."

It seemed that in the future he really had to close the shop and log off on time; resting too late yesterday, combined with nearly a whole day of desperate life-and-death combat, had exacted a massive toll on him.

Never mind that he was currently only at the peak of the Body Refining Stage; even if a higher-ranking warrior were to come, it would be difficult to endure such high-intensity continuous combat.

It was also fortunate that this was in a game; if it were in reality, a battle of this intensity would have been enough to cause the physical body of a warrior several tiers stronger than him to collapse multiple times over!

But Fang Qi's state had clearly declined, which was precisely why he had drawn his gun directly!

He could feel that if another Hunter came, he would already lack the energy to deal with it.

Let alone the bosses that followed!

Fang Qi sighed softly, realizing that the game was by no means entirely free of physical and mental wear...

"...Close?" Upon hearing this news, the group could not help but feel frustrated, "How can it be closing already?"

Fang Qi pointed his finger at the small blackboard: "Business hours are from 8 to 12, what do you mean 'closing already'?"

"..." The group glanced at the time on the computer, and it really was twelve o'clock!

How did time fly so fast?! The group felt a wave of frustration.

"Can't you close a bit later?" In truth, the internet cafe's operating hours were not strictly set in stone, but since Fang Qi genuinely intended to close now, he naturally shook his head.

Fang Qi pointed to the small blackboard, expressionless: "Closes at twelve, written loud and clear."

Li Xi and the others weren't having it either: "Boss, look at how many people are still here, why not play a bit longer?"

"Still playing?" Fang Qi could tell from their attire that they all came from wealthy and noble backgrounds, "Do you normally play until twelve? If you don't go back, your families will probably report you missing to the City Guard."

Speaking of this, the expressions of the group instantly changed: "Oh my god! Won't there be a curfew in Jiuhua City at this hour?!"

"It's over, it's all over!" Wang Tai, who was still staying at Fang Qi's place at this time, immediately said anxiously, "Does that mean I can't go back?"

"Boss..." The group looked at Fang Qi with faces full of gloom, "Look, since I can't go back anyway... why don't you be kind and take us in to stay the night, how about it?"

"...!" Fang Qi was utterly speechless; these few minors actually wanted to pull an all-nighter?

"Regrettably, this internet cafe does not provide overnight services!"

"Looking at you few who are rich and noble, you're not ordinary citizens; even if you get caught, the worst that happens is the City Guard fines you some money! As for Fatty, you can go upstairs to sleep."

Xu Zixin had just watched the boss solve several mechanisms, and the methods used had given her a glimpse of the trick, so she was just preparing to try it out herself later, yet it was closing?

She could not help but look at Fang Qi resentfully: "I watched the boss play for ages just now, and I barely played at all myself, can't you just let us play a bit longer?"

Fang Qi instantly wore a face full of black lines: "You secretly learned so much from me and I didn't hold a grudge, yet you're holding a grudge against me."

Xu Zixin stamped her foot in anger, extending a slender, green-onion-like finger: "Just a tiny bit longer!"

Fang Qi said: "Wait until business hours."

"You really refuse to do this the easy way!" Li Xi's expression instantly turned hostile.

"Brother Li!" If Song Qingfeng had only felt the mystery of this shop before, he had just witnessed Fang Qi's strength, which was absolutely not something anyone could carelessly provoke!

"I advise you best not to act recklessly!" Song Qingfeng said, "Furthermore, feel your own strength."

"Strength?" Li Xi and the other newcomers heard Song Qingfeng's words and were briefly stunned, but they immediately perceived that their own strength had actually grown noticeably!

"What is going on?!" The expressions of the few individuals transformed from shock to utter astonishment!

Song Qingfeng looked toward Fang Qi: "I think we should let the boss explain this."

"Virtual reality." Fang Qi had obviously expected this long ago, pointing at the computer screen, "You can understand it as you truly having fought inside for so long, so as that strength improves, you will also follow and improve to a certain extent."

After a pause, he added: "But it is also virtual, so the game character can start over."

"How is that possible?!" Everyone, in this single instant, was shocked beyond measure!

Just the fact that one could start over after death was already heaven-defying enough, and now they discovered that it could actually increase one's strength?!

"However, fighting for too long keeps the spirit too tense, and the burden placed on the body will also reflect onto yourselves to a certain degree." Fang Qi spoke from deep personal experience, "Not a single rule I have set here is without meaning."

"Very well then..." Xu Zixin cast a resentful glance at Fang Qi, finally giving in, and walked out with lingering reluctance.

"I suppose we should head out as well," Song Qingfeng said, clearly still yearning for more, and at those words, Li Xi and the others knew there was no staying.

"Pack it up, pack it up!" Li Xi muttered dejectedly, consoling himself in his heart, "It’s only for one night anyway, it'll pass in a flash."

"But speaking of which, that game is truly thrilling... it completely leaves you begging for more!" Once outside the door, Li Xi was the first to speak up.

"Isn't it though," Lin Shao added excitedly, "Before this, I never could have imagined that a game could be played like that!"

"By the way, Xiao Ping'zi, how far did you get? Did you run into the zombie dogs yet?"

At this mention, the group immediately directed their gazes toward the youngest youth among them.

"Yes," the boy called Xiao Ping'zi nodded, seeming to harbor a touch of excitement amidst his lingering dread; as a wealthy young master, had he encountered a horde of zombies in reality, he probably would have wet himself in terror right then and there, but the game was different—though he felt the horror of the undead, he did not need to fear!

"I killed a few." At this point, even he himself admired his own courage; this was exactly the sort of valor a martial artist ought to possess, he thought to himself.

"Not bad!" Lin Shao laughed heartily, having long forgotten how he himself had once turned pale as a ghost from sheer terror upon facing the zombies.

"If you ask me, the monsters the boss killed were the truly terrifying ones," the group discussed as they walked along, "I think they were called... Hunters? They were just too powerful! Zombies only look frightening, but they can't hold a candle to the Hunters!"

"And besides, zombies used to be human!" Song Qingfeng recalled the scene of his own infection and transformation into a zombie, "I just wonder what those Hunters used to be."

"Actually, I don't care about any of that, I'm just envious of that girl," Xu Luo complained, "It's just too unfair! Do you guys remember that shotgun? How many times were we crushed to death by that ceiling trap? We exhausted every method and still couldn't get it, but look at her! The moment she got trapped, someone saved her, and she just walked away with the gun."

"If we could get that weapon out too, along with the Magnum the boss used, I don't think surviving the later stages would be entirely impossible for us."

"I agree... that gun shouldn't be impossible to obtain," Song Qingfeng stroked his chin, a glimmer of astute wisdom flashing in his eyes, "I originally thought it was purely a trap designed to lure us to our doom, but looking at it now... just as Jill could be saved to bypass the mechanism, is it possible there's some method we could use to disarm the trap ourselves?"

Exchanging thoughts word by word, before they knew it, the time they usually spent discussing martial arts had been entirely overtaken by Resident Evil.

...

Inside the shop, Fang Qi began to clean up the premises, and with Fatty Wang's assistance, the chore was finished rather quickly.

"Qi'zi, do you think I can get that shotgun?" Having finished sweeping the entire internet cafe, Wang Tai was still preoccupied with the shotgun; the moment the others left, he eagerly spoke up to ask.

"Of course you can," Fang Qi replied, "Jill's scenario has a slightly lower difficulty, but the gap between the two characters wouldn't be so glaringly obvious..."

Though he was rather reluctant to give spoilers, Fang Qi, evidently in a good mood, still casually dropped a few hints.

Hearing Fang Qi's explanation, Wang Tai's eyes lit up as he said, "You mean to say that we can find a broken shotgun somewhere in the mansion, swap it out for the good one to hang back on the rack, and the trap will be resolved effortlessly?"

Wang Tai clapped his hands and shouted in admiration, "This trick of switching the real with the fake is absolute genius! How did you ever think of that?"

"It wasn't my idea," Fang Qi smiled faintly, "It's written in something called a ' walkthrough'."

"A walkthrough?" Wang Tai looked on, thoroughly impressed despite not having the slightest clue what that meant.

...