Chapter 24: The Rising Biohazard Fever

The afternoon had already arrived, and the first batch of players was starting to log off one after another. Fang Qi was just considering whether he should go up and play for a while himself when he suddenly heard a burst of exclamation: "Aiya! Zi Xin! There's a seat available!"

Immediately following that, Fang Qi only saw two figures, one green and one purple, flash past right in front of him.

"Boss, we finally caught it this time, didn't we!" Shen Qingqing giggled.

Fang Qi took a look, and there were no seats left!

"Uh... you guys can't be serious!" Fang Qi was stunned.

"Boss! Do you really want to play?" Having snagged a seat, Shen Qingqing smiled like a little fox. "Let us play for a few more hours, and I'll let you play first, okay?"

"...You actually dare to threaten me?" Fang Qi said testily. "Believe it or not, I'll close the shop right now and play by myself for the whole day!"

Shen Qingqing was like an old hen protecting her chicks, quickly shielding her computer. "Don't you dare!"

To "protect" her computer, Shen Qingqing hurriedly opened the game and shouted, "I've already started playing! If you close the shop now, you're breaking your word!"

Looking at her anxious expression, Fang Qi found it quite amusing. Good business brought system rewards, so he naturally wouldn't do something as counterproductive as draining the pond to catch the fish; he was merely scaring her.

There was still a grand armchair in his room left behind from before. He simply carried it over, lay down upon it, and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

Originally, Fang Qi thought that those who came here to play Resident Evil would only be warriors, or perhaps, if luck favored him, he might see cultivators.

Just then, a young man entered, dressed in a black satin robe. He was not particularly tall, appeared to be around his early thirties, and sported a small mustache.

Judging by his attire, this young man resembled neither a warrior nor a cultivator.

Yet he possessed handsome, sharp features, and the slight upward arch of his brows gave anyone who looked at him an immediate impression: this was a rather confident man.

Two men followed behind him; judging by their demeanor, they were certainly no ordinary individuals either, yet both deliberately lagged a step behind the mustachioed young man.

"Is this the magical little shop those warriors spoke of?" He frowned, seemingly a bit disappointed. Though the shop's decor looked clean and elegant, the place was indeed rather small.

"Boss!" His voice was deep and resonant.

"Present!" Fang Qi pointed at the small blackboard. "You can take a look before asking questions."

The mustachioed young man glanced at it, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. "Interesting."

He arrived at a good time; it happened to be the peak hour for players logging off.

He found a seat and sat down. "What next?"

Fang Qi skillfully opened Resident Evil and explained some of the basic controls to him.

Upon entering the game, the mustachioed young man's eyes visibly lit up, clearly finding such a game world to be profoundly novel.

He seemed to know how to deal with zombies, for when he encountered his first one, he did not panic at all. Instead, calmly and unhurriedly, he plunged a knife into the zombie's head.

Though he did not look like a warrior or a cultivator, when it came to actual combat, he was by no means lacking in technique; he was even a bit more deft than young warriors like Song Qingfeng.

Without using martial qi, the only thing a warrior could rely on was combat skill.

Yet, ironically, the warriors of this world typically valued martial arts techniques over fundamental combat skills.

Compounded by the initial unfamiliarity and fear, ordinary warriors would usually be thrown into a bit of a frenzy when dealing with zombies upon first playing.

But clearly, this mustachioed young man showed no signs of such distress.

"This is a game?" Although his tone grew calm and his emotions were exceptionally well-concealed, it still carried a faint trace of irrepressible shock.

As he continuously explored the world of Resident Evil 1, it was only now that he began to faintly comprehend what exactly was described by phrases like "biochemical zombies," "an epic story," and "various labyrinthine mysteries"!

Such was the nature of games; there would always be players who accomplished epic feats, fulfilled the protagonist's mission, brought the story to a grand completion, and left behind an abundance of memories—some beautiful, some tinged with lingering regret. There would also always be newcomers joining in, continuing to explore and decipher this world, continuing to feel its charm.

Resident Evil was undoubtedly a superb story. Unlike the fervent atmosphere of clearing the game that filled the internet cafe, the mustachioed young man, having just immersed himself in this narrative, was brimming with enthusiasm for everything unknown.

"This is a game that only a clever person can pass!" Seeing the ingeniously designed contraptions and puzzles within the mansion, he praised it thus.

"Unbelievable!" He admired every single detail within the game as if appreciating a piece of art. "To think that a mere game could contain so much content, from architectural design to mechanism and puzzle layouts. Not only that, but these weapons also appear remarkably logical, and their construction is even more intricate than the spiritual artifacts crafted by many master blacksmiths! The entire game is simply brimming with master-level craftsmanship everywhere!"

Yunshan Tavern.

"Old Liang, out of everyone here, you've been playing Resident Evil the longest and have the most experience. Can you tell us how to pass that hallway hung with so many paintings?" Sitting across the table was a warrior clad in tight-fitting black attire—none other than Big Black from before.

The two sides had originally only crossed paths and were not considered well-acquainted, even harboring a few minor frictions and grudges in private. Yet this time, they had all gathered together.

It was truly for no other reason than the fact that ever since they started playing Resident Evil, they felt they no longer shared any common language with anyone else.

Liang Shi said, "Are you talking about that gallery? It's actually not that hard. The order of the paintings is infant, childhood, youth..."

Big Black poured himself a bowl of wine and slammed it down his throat. "In all my life, I, Big Black, have never seen a room rigged with so many traps. If it weren't a game, whoever the hell could walk out of there alive, I'd write them a hundred expressions of utter surrender! And those zombies, I have no idea where they came from! They can even infect others. If we ever encountered such things in reality... just thinking about it is terrifying!"

"If those wicked cultivators could refine such things, I'm afraid our Jiuhua City would have been wiped out long ago!" Wu Shan spoke of this with some lingering trepidation. "Once blood is drawn, infection is certain, gradually turning one into their killing tool, with no cure except for a serum! This kind of thing is simply more terrifying than a plague! Thankfully, it only appears in a game."

"..."

Such bizarre conversations gradually drew the attention of more and more people. At a table adjacent to them sat a warrior dressed in a simple blue-gray robe, bearing an iron sword upon his back. Seeing that they spoke openly without avoidance, he asked curiously, "What are you brothers discussing? Has some major event occurred in Jiuhua City over these past few days?"

The few turned their heads to look, only to find quite a number of people leaning in, as if terrified of missing a single shred of useful information.

Liang Shi possessed a generous nature; he let out a hearty laugh, making no attempt to conceal it. "What we are discussing is a small shop in the Eastern District called the 'Origin Internet Club'."

"A world of virtual reality?"

"An epic-like story?"

"And all kinds of monsters rising from the dead?"

"What on earth are you all talking about?" Everyone listened in complete bewilderment, and the warrior with the iron sword on his back stared blankly at them. "Why do we feel the more we listen, the less we understand?"

"Though I don't understand, it sounds incredibly impressive..."

Liang Shi smiled and said, "Empty talk here truly cannot make it clear. How about I take you all to have a look?"

"Then we shall trouble Brother Liang!"

"Is this the small shop?" The gray-clad warrior bearing the iron sword was named Fu Jianghe, and he seemed to have arrived in Jiuhua only recently.

"Pfft! What good things could such a small shop possibly have?" The one speaking was a square-faced man clad in brown leather armor named Li Kuan. Seeing how remote the location was and how small the storefront appeared, his originally expectant expression instantly morphed into disappointment and disdain. "Could it be that Liang Shi and the others were exaggerating?"

"Brother Li is right. Hearing them praise it to the heavens earlier, I thought it would be some extraordinary place, but it turns out to be nothing more than a remote little shop." A lean man spoke up in agreement. "Though we trust your character, Liang Shi, this kind of small shop... is truly... falling short of its reputation, isn't it?"

"It truly falls short of its reputation!"

"They hyped it up way too much, didn't they?"

"Oh, there are quite a few people!" Stepping through the door, they discovered that there were actually a great many people inside this little shop.

However, when they caught sight of the prices written on the small blackboard, their expressions instantly changed.

"By this calculation, wouldn't it cost seven crystals all at once?" Fu Jianghe spoke up immediately. "Could this place be a scam shop?! Who is the owner?"

Li Kuan also looked at Liang Shi with an unpleasurable expression. "Brother Liang, what is the meaning of this? If you are playing a joke on us, this is not funny at all!"

Liang Shi said calmly, "There is no need for you brothers to be like this. Whether it is a joke or not, you will know once you try it. Think about it, though a few crystals are indeed quite a sum, would I really make fools out of you just for this small amount?"

The others thought about it, and it did seem to make sense.

Li Kuan casually patted the shoulder of a youth playing a game nearby, who happened to be Lin Shao.

"Friend, pardon the interruption, but it costs seven crystals just to try this thing, and you're actually willing?"

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