Chapter 23: What Is Genius? Let's Talk About Games

To the players of this world, Resident Evil 1 could indeed rival an epic masterpiece!

Its main storyline was simple enough, true, but in this world, such individual heroism—where a single person saves all their teammates—was something even contemporary biographical novels rarely dared to depict to such an extent. For if one's literary skill was slightly lacking, it would only strike the reader as unrealistic.

Yet this game, Resident Evil 1, was different, for every step of its progress was carved out by the players themselves! Could one truly disbelieve what one had personally experienced?

What was more, its internal details were exceptionally brilliant, including the portrayal of each and every character!

After Fang Qi cleared the game, everyone else continued their own biochemical journeys. Along the way, every teammate they personally encountered and saw was flesh and blood.

For instance, Rebecca, the young female medic of S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team on her very first mission, was a prime example. Though this girl appeared to possess little combat capability, she was remarkably erudite and multi-talented; whether it was bandaging wounds, administering medical care, compounding various necessary medicines, or even solving certain puzzles, this clever girl could offer no small amount of help.

As for Uncle Barry, who accompanied Jill, less need be said. This middle-aged man, carrying a tremendously powerful Magnum and boasting off-the-charts combat prowess, had rescued Jill from peril time and again.

Then there was Richard, the wonderful teammate who fought to the death to save the player's life. His demise moved many female players to absolute tears, and left male players misty-eyed as well.

At this time, things like gaming forums did not yet exist, but that did not hinder these players from an otherworldly realm from discussing the plot.

To them, a world like Resident Evil was simply too bizarre and fantastical, and thus it was all the more capable of piquing their curiosity and desire to explore.

Furthermore, the various malice-filled puzzle stages were highly topical in their own right.

The Wind and Moon Pavilion.

Compared to the Cloud Mountain Tavern, although this was likewise a restaurant and tavern, this place could be considered one of the very best in the entire Jiuhua City.

The entire pavilion was situated in the most bustling district of Jiuhua City. Furnished with tables and chairs crafted from thousand-year pearwood, it was elegant yet unreservedly grand. Those who came and went were either rich or noble, and there were even cultivators mingling among them.

"Zixin, I don't usually see you come here very often. Why did you suddenly pick this spot today?" Opposite the ancient, unsophisticated tea table, a young woman clad in green had just taken her seat. It was none other than Shen Qingqing, who muttered in a low voice, "Though today is truly infuriating; to think there wouldn't be any seats left so early!"

"Don't even mention it!" Xu Zixin lifted her teacup and took a light sip. The Pre-Rain Longjing tea possessed an invigorating aroma, which finally soothed her slightly depressed mood. Her eyes gazed wistfully out the window.

"Why don't we talk about Resident Evil instead," Shen Qingqing said with a giggle. "You still haven't told me where these zombies came from."

"Oh, that..." Xu Zixin was clearly not averse to this topic. Judging by the current situation, this was also the best way to pass the time. "It seems to be a potent toxin called the T-Virus... Any human, animal, or plant infected with this toxin will undergo mutation."

"To think it could be so terrifying..." Shen Qingqing could not help but reveal a hint of worry. "Won't this kind of thing leak out? If it does, I'm afraid everyone in that city called Raccoon City will suffer..."

"Didn't you see the ending the owner played out?" Xu Zixin said with a lost laugh. "The entire mansion was blown to smithereens. How could it possibly leak out?"

"True!" Hearing this, Shen Qingqing felt much more at ease.

Not far from the two of them, however, there were several other people discussing the exact same matter.

Judging by their age and attire, they seemed to be disciples of the Lingyun Academy as well.

If Song Qingfeng were present, he would certainly recognize the youth in white and the young lady in white beside him as Xi Qi and Xi Xiaoyun.

"That fellow Song Qingfeng and his lot actually arrived so early!" Xi Qi slammed the table with a loud smack, his face flushed with anger. "That 'Origins Internet Club' too—when they say there are no seats left, there are truly no seats left! Where on earth did all these people come from?!"

"Young Master Xi, forget it," a square-faced youth said. "Anyway, they can only play for six hours. We can just go over a bit later; we don't have to worry about not getting seats!"

"Damn it, why can't they limit the computer time to one hour?" Xi Qi said, looking thoroughly displeased.

"If only we could limit Song Qingfeng and the others to one hour, while we get twelve hours every day, hahahaha... Just thinking about it feels amazing!" The square-faced youth began to indulge in a daydream.

If that could truly happen... Xi Qi also smiled faintly, his mood improving tremendously at the thought. "True. Anyway, they only have six hours. Won't they have to obediently yield the seats to us afterward?"

"By the way, Wang Yuanjiang, how far have you played?" He looked toward the square-faced youth. "Let us properly ponder the tricks within this Resident Evil. We cannot let Song Qingfeng and his group monopolize the spotlight!"

"..." At this time, there were no gaming forums, so they were like individual offline forums, engaging in all sorts of discussions with great relish.

"Resident Evil? Origins?" A mustachioed young man of about thirty-odd years sitting not far away felt a wave of bewilderment. "What strange names..."

While casually picking up a few bites of side dishes, he inclined his ear to listen to these utterly fresh and peculiar anecdotes.

Nalan Mingwen of the A-class in the Yellow House was recognized by all the mentors of this generation's Lingyun Academy as the most naturally gifted, peerless genius in hundreds of years!

Someone like Song Qingfeng, who had just broken out of the Body Refining stage and become an official martial artist possessing Martial Qi not long ago, could already be called a pride of the Lingyun Academy. Yet Nalan Mingwen had already reached the late stage of an official martial artist, and her goal was already set toward marching into the Martial Master realm!

Such terrifying talent simply could not be spoken of in the same breath as the other disciples! Entering the Black House ahead of time was only a matter of time!

Her appearance featured bright eyes, white teeth, and skin like congealed fat.

Her lips were not a faint pink like those of ordinary beautiful women, but carried a trace of bloodless white, akin to congealed frost.

Yet it was not a frail, sickly state; rather, it possessed a striking touch of cold, bewitching beauty.

Her eyes were also as cold as snow. Her entire being, just like her name, exuded a chilling air that rivaled snow and defied frost, making people dare not approach her.

If the chosen talents of the Lingyun Academy's A-class were compared to a cluster of stars, then she was the bright moon. When the bright moon hung in the sky, the cluster of stars lost their luster!

Disciples of her status mostly lived in seclusion and rarely made public appearances. But according to regular reasoning, a favored child of heaven like her, as long as she appeared, would become the focus of all disciples no matter where she was.

But she discovered that things seemed to be somewhat beyond her expectations.

Over the past few days, she had already encountered it several times; disciples were all discussing incomprehensible vocabulary such as "Tyrant," "Rocket Launcher," and "Zombies"!

And now, in the Wind and Moon Pavilion, she had accidentally chanced upon a dozen or so disciples actually gathered around a single table, discussing these very things as if no one else were around?!

"Truly blind to greatness!" Beside her, a woman dressed in black revealed a look of disdain, glaring slightly at these disciples. "Miss Nalan, let us leave."

"No." Nalan Mingwen shook her head gently. Far from leaving, she actually found it rather interesting.

Reasonably speaking, for a genius like her, other disciples would normally be falling over themselves to curry favor with her! It absolutely should not be like this.

Although she was a newcomer, her ambition was by no means small. Originally, she had thought that with her capability, as long as she employed a few methods, she would soon be able to forge the geniuses of the entire A-class, who hailed from various great clans, into a monolithic force for her own use. But now...

Such a situation was practically playing a joke on her!

"Let us listen to what they are discussing."

Driven by a hint of curiosity, she came to a halt beside the several disciples.

"If you ask me, when marrying a wife in the future, one should marry someone like Rebecca—gentle, considerate, clever, and erudite..." the square-faced youth held forth eloquently among the crowd.

"Pfft, hahahaha! You, of all people, are thinking of Rebecca? I think a female zombie suits you quite well!"

"I think a Hunter is not bad either!"

"Scram, scram, scram!" The square-faced youth instantly became angry from embarrassment. "Once this young master's rocket launcher is in hand, I will blow every single one of you to pieces!"

"The owner already said that the method to obtain the rocket launcher requires you to use Chris or Jill to cripple the Tyrant at the very least. Otherwise, even if it is thrown down, you won't have a chance to use it. With your meager strength, you're still a hundred years too early! Go get the shotgun first!"

"By the way, have you guys heard? Song Qingfeng and his group figured out the method to obtain the shotgun and the Magnum today!"

"They solved two puzzles so quickly...?!"

"How could it be that fast? I heard that for the shotgun's acquisition method, Song Qingfeng's group tried using the door-jamming method many times and failed. Each time, the mechanism broke and they were crushed to death directly. In the end, they traded the acquisition method of the Magnum with that fat boy Wang Tai to get it..."

"That is still very impressive! The Magnum... the ultimate weapon the owner used to fight the Tyrant!"

Nalan Mingwen's willow-leaf brows knitted slightly.

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt," the woman in black stepped forward and asked. "May I ask what you all are discussing?"

"We are talking about a game in a small shop called 'Origins Internet Club' in the East District." Seeing that it was Nalan Mingwen, the square-faced youth was startled in his heart. He hurriedly turned around and replied with some constraint.

"A game?" Nalan Mingwen frowned slightly, not expecting it to turn out to be this result. Her elegant brows knitted even deeper.

"Simply playing around and losing one's ambition!" The woman in black glanced at the few individuals with contempt, letting out a cold snort. "As geniuses of the Lingyun Academy, to think you would be so unprogressive! Miss Nalan, let us ignore them!"

"No." The corners of Nalan Mingwen's lips curved slightly upward. "It is very strange."

"Strange?" the woman in black said. "What is there to be strange about this?"

A light of wisdom gleamed within Nalan Mingwen's cold eyes. "If it were just a few people losing their ambition in play, that would be one thing. But with so many people all discussing this matter, I feel that what they are discussing is not as simple as just a game."

If one or two people were said to be wasting their lives on frivolous play, it would still be easy to understand.

But now, so many disciples were completely obsessed with a single game?!

No matter how one looked at it, it was somewhat hard to believe.

"If there is time, I shall go and take a look."

"You decide to go to a place like that?" the woman in black instantly said in a panic. "To be able to bewitch so many people, it is bound to be an unwholesome place. How can you put yourself in danger! Just let me go."

"What is there to worry about within the city?" Nalan Mingxue's lips curled into a faint, subtle arc. "Do not worry, I am merely going to look around. Let it be tomorrow. Lanyan, accompany me."

...

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