Chapter 22: Even the Young Lady Can Talk Tough

The moment Liang Shi launched the game, he promptly swapped his handgun for a dagger.

Perhaps influenced by Fang Qi, he was not the alone; several others had intuitively traded their firearms for blades.

"..." Fang Qi glanced over, "Are you all planning on a collective knife-only run?"

"Heheh... my hands were itching!" Liang Shi scratched his head.

"No need to rush," Fang Qi smiled, "When it comes to the knife speedruns later, you'll have plenty of chances to practice."

Ever since they started playing Resident Evil, Song Qingfeng, Lin Shao, and a few others felt a noticeable, significant improvement in their own strength; furthermore, this game was far more interesting and thrilling than grinding away at martial arts, making them daily regulars.

"Knife speedruns?" Since it was still early morning, the group of five including Song Qingfeng, Lin Shao, Xu Luo, and Li Xi had all rushed over, catching a new term by chance, prompting Song Qingfeng to ask quickly, "What's that?"

"A playstyle that relies entirely on skill to clear the game," Fang Qi explained, "You'll understand once you finish it."

Fang Qi recalled that the official Resident Evil 1 Remake from his previous life included Real Survival and Invisible Enemy modes unlocked after clearing, whereas the knife speedrun was a self-imposed challenge invented by the players themselves.

To have the protagonist complete the entire journey using only a dagger—if this were reality, no one would subject themselves to such masochism.

But games were different; upon clearing, many experts were no longer satisfied with the existing difficulty, so why couldn't there be an even more brutal challenge?

Thus, the knife-only run was born.

And the system's Virtual Reality Remake of Resident Evil 1 had directly integrated this extremely masochistic knife-only mode right after clearing!

Of course, if one could complete this difficulty under virtual reality conditions, they would undoubtedly be the elite among elites!

Because this demanded incredibly formidable combat techniques! Otherwise, with the Hunter's devastating attack power, most people couldn't withstand even a single strike!

"Hearing that, it seems I really need to practice with the dagger more!" Song Qingfeng laughed heartily and started the game.

Soon, a scaly, monstrously terrifying creature appeared on his screen!

A Hunter!

"Young Master Song, you've finally encountered a Hunter?!" Lin Shao and the others immediately gathered around to watch!

"A Hunter?!"

Even more people in the internet cafe looked over; seeing a Hunter meant the game had progressed to the mid-to-late stages.

"Doesn't that mean someone is about to beat the game soon?!"

"Right, you guys play first." Fang Qi rubbed his stomach, which was already pressing against his spine, remembering he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

The T-Virus modification could be seen as a form of evolution, advancing a living organism into a higher, more perfect physical state; this was the true function of the T-Virus!

Yet looking across the entire history of Resident Evil, few had ever achieved a truly perfect evolution; almost everyone infected mutated into monsters.

Fang Qi's evolution, however, occurred without a single trace of mutation, rendering it flawlessly perfect!

But this also consumed a vast amount of energy within his body, leaving him with an overwhelming wave of hunger right now.

"Auntie Wang! Give me a basket of meat buns!"

"A... a whole basket?" Though martial artists had large appetites, eating to this extent was unheard of.

Auntie Wang from the bun shop next door froze instantly.

Did he think these were mini steamed buns?

"How about... two baskets instead?"

"...I see the young lads in your shop haven't had breakfast either, are you buying it for them?" Auntie Wang finally snapped out of it, "Right... coming right up!"

Auntie Wang lifted the steamer lid, and Fang Qi casually grabbed two buns, stuffing them into his mouth.

"Slow down, careful it's hot!" Auntie Wang chuckled, "Little Qi, what kind of business are you running lately? It's doing much better than when Old Fang was around."

She clicked her tongue: "That young master in the purple robes is no ordinary figure; even the city guards treat him with absolute reverence. Mind you don't offend him."

"I know!" Fang Qi responded indistinctly while chewing on a bun.

"Delicious!" The buns of this era were substantial, free from concerns about preservatives or artificial flavorings, with a perfectly balanced filling, and combined with Fang Qi's enhanced body, he had devoured over a dozen in no time.

Only then did the gnawing hunger in his belly finally subside a little.

Beside him, Auntie Wang watched in a daze and smiled: "Do young martial artists these days really eat this much? Good thing my boy went off to study, or he'd eat my bun shop right into bankruptcy!"

Fang Qi laughed and asked casually, "By the way, Auntie Wang, do you know where Old Uncle Zhou moved to?"

"Do you have some business with him?"

"Nothing much," Fang Qi said, "If possible, I'd like to take over his shop space."

"I see." Auntie Wang thought for a moment, "Old Man Zhou did mention entrusting someone to sell the place; I'll ask around for you when I get a chance."

"Great, thanks Auntie Wang." By the time he finished his buns, Fang Qi spotted Xu Zixin and Shen Qingqing, two beautiful girls, walking down from the street corner, waving at him with bright smiles upon seeing him.

"Boss! Since we came so early today, won't you let us play a bit longer?" Shen Qingqing recalled yesterday's novel game with lingering desire, and remembering how she was restricted before even finishing half of it, she felt a fresh wave of frustration.

"No, it's six hours for everyone." Fang Qi remained entirely unmoved, then pointed inside the shop, "Actually, it's not early at all."

"Not early?" Shen Qingqing stepped into the shop in surprise.

Immediately after, Shen Qingqing let out a sharp cry: "Boss! Why are there no seats left?!"

"No seats?!" Xu Zixin also quickened her pace into the shop, finding it to be exactly true! All eleven seats were completely filled, plus one person standing!?

"Boss, why are there so many people today?!" To think it was entirely packed?! Xu Zixin gritted her teeth at the sight; she had thought she was early, only to find not a single seat left upon entering!

"I don't know either..." Fang Qi was also somewhat bewildered; everyone had arrived so early today that in the time it took to eat a bun, even his own seat was gone.

"...You don't know?" Xu Zixin felt herself laughing out of pure exasperation, "Boss, is this any way to run a business?"

"Yes, it is." Fang Qi pointed at himself.

Looking at the innocent-faced Fang Qi, Xu Zixin suddenly felt an urge to hit someone.

"This lady won't stoop to your level." After fuming for a while, Xu Zixin finally snorted coldly.

But for her and Shen Qingqing... were they supposed to just wait here?

The two exchanged glances; how could six hours be easily waited out?

Shen Qingqing stamped her foot: "Boss, can't you just change the playtime to three hours?"

Fang Qi said, "I wonder who was just complaining that six hours was too short..."

"...Boss, I was wrong, okay?" Shen Qingqing wanted to cry but had no tears.

Xu Zixin took a deep breath and sighed, "No wonder the boss fixed the time strictly at six hours; he foresaw this situation long ago."

Fang Qi shrugged, "I told you all, every single rule in this shop has its purpose."

"How about... we come back later?"

"This is infuriating!" Shen Qingqing stamped her feet in rage, glaring into the shop with flailing arms, "Tomorrow this young lady will wake up at six o'clock! I'll leave you all eating my dust!"

After tossing out her fierce parting words, Shen Qingqing finally made a reluctant compromise, "Let's come back later then!"

"You kid, business is truly booming!" Auntie Wang couldn't help but laugh, "What exactly are you selling in that shop? I see none of their statuses are low, won't anyone try to seize it?"

"Don't look at Auntie Wang's shop having few people now; when it's busy, the lines stretch back several rows!" Once Auntie Wang started talking, she became somewhat long-winded, "I remember last year a few young men tried to cut the line, and ended up fighting right in front of my door, tsk tsk..."

Bringing this up, Auntie Wang still appeared somewhat shaken.

Fang Qi had originally intended to just listen casually, but very quickly, he detected a few troubling details.

It was true enough that the patrons in his own internet cafe were reasonably well-behaved, but that was only because there was always a machine available for everyone to play. Even when the seats were entirely filled, one needed only to wait a short while, passing the time easily enough by chatting with friends about the lore of Resident Evil.

But if the clientele grew any larger, would it give rise to the very chaos Auntie Wang had just described?

Before his translocation, he had frequented his fair share of net cafes. Such places were notoriously fertile ground for unruly disruptions—an utterly distasteful prospect. Therefore, in his own establishment, such behavior was absolutely out of the question.

"Perhaps I should add another rule?" His eyes darted thoughtfully as he stepped back into his shop.