Chapter 27: Just a Little Interesting?

"We might as well take a look." Lin Shao, too, had already encountered a Hunter, but the creature was simply too absurdly powerful. For youths who had only just achieved the rank of official warriors, it was far too grueling an ordeal. Indeed, even Liang Shi, a young and high-ranking martial master, found himself plagued with a splitting headache when facing the Hunter without the aid of his martial qi.

Lin Shao clearly showed signs of exhaustion from such high-intensity combat. "It just so happens that the movie version can't be played, only watched, so we can treat it as a bit of a rest."

"Are we really going to watch it?" Though hesitation flickered in Song Qingfeng’s heart, his tongue still guarded the unyielding integrity of a hardcore gamer. "It's not even the same story anymore. What's there to see?"

"I'm a bit tired from fighting, so I might as well take a look on the side." Finding themselves utterly bogged down in their own frustrating battles, Lin Shao and a few others simply decided to watch the movie, curious to see just how different this cinematic tale would turn out to be.

"Not even the same story?" Upon hearing this, Liang Shi and his companions shook their heads repeatedly. Wasn't the sequel to the game version precisely what they had been waiting for? If it wasn't the same story, what was the point of watching?

The cost of three spirit crystals, combined with the loss of over an hour of computer time, was an immense expense for men like Liang Shi. It was not worth wasting.

Though Xu Zixin’s words had aroused the curiosity of quite a few people, tastes differed from person to person after all. Just because Xu Zixin found it magnificent did not mean everyone would agree.

Moreover, everyone present was a devoted gamer. The moment they heard that the protagonist had changed, they revolted, leaving the majority of the crowd content to remain as onlookers for the time being.

Consequently, only a limited few, including Lin Shao, Xu Luo, and Shen Qingqing, were actually watching.

"The equipment here is so incredibly advanced!"

"So this is the very place where the T-virus was researched?"

"This is completely devoid of humanity! To shut everyone inside the laboratory and leave them to turn into zombies?!"

Witnessing the transformation process of these zombies, the group grew more astonished the longer they watched. If the game version of Resident Evil 1 was a horror title with a novel theme, then the movie version of Resident Evil 1 was an unimaginable, apocalyptic catastrophe!

In the game, the players beheld a squad of heroes and an unforgettably grand conclusion; in the movie, however, what lay before their eyes was an immense disaster!

Every dread speculation regarding the terrible T-virus, along with the anxieties that had previously existed only in their minds, became reality. Humans who possessed their own thoughts and consciousness one moment were transformed into ravenous, undead monsters the next!

The shock brought by this massive impact was, in certain respects, even greater than that of the game!

Yet, they discovered that although the humans of this world did not cultivate martial qi, their combat experience was remarkably shrewd and veteran!

They considered not only themselves and their adversaries, but even the surrounding environment with absolute clarity; victory or defeat could very well hinge upon a single, minuscule detail!

The dazzling brawls and gunfights, paired with a flight for survival that remained perpetually choked with tension, held the group utterly spellbound, terrified to miss even a single detail.

It was not until the conclusion, where everyone had turned into zombies, that the few of them finally snapped out of their long, lingering daze.

"Well?" Seeing that the time was about ripe, Song Qingfeng could not resist asking, "Didn't I say it would be boring?"

"It was too shocking!" To his surprise, Lin Shao spoke up with a face full of astonishment. "The content of the game is merely the tip of the iceberg! In this movie, there is a far vaster world! And just now, I witnessed everything the protagonist experienced with my own eyes!"

"A world on the brink of destruction!"

"A biochemical virus endangering the entire world?!"

"Is it truly that incredible?"

"Should we try it too?" Li Xi and Li Ping exchanged a glance.

"...Is it really that good?" Song Qingfeng remained somewhat skeptical.

For these children of wealthy families, three spirit crystals were not a vast sum, but they were by no means a small amount either. Spending three spirit crystals just to purchase the plot of Resident Evil was proof enough of their love for the work, but not everyone possessed such capital.

A few players whose hands were not quite as flush, including Wang Tai, still maintained a hesitant attitude.

After all, playing games could benefit one's cultivation, whereas a movie was merely something to look at. Though they hungered for it, they did not dare to spend blindly now.

Gravely depressed, Wang Tai said, "Qi, can't this movie be like the game, where we can watch from the side of the screen?"

Fang Qi felt somewhat helpless. "There's nothing I can do about that either."

It was, after all, something produced by the system.

Right at that moment, a sudden gasp of surprise erupted from nearby. "Zixin! You actually killed a Hunter with a knife?!"

Shen Qingqing’s eyes were filled with absolute shock. Not only was it a knife-kill against a Hunter, but she had slain the beast with a knife upon their very first encounter!

Though the process had been rather arduous, it was enough to leave anyone astounded!

"What?!"

"Someone actually knifed a Hunter?! Aside from the boss, who else can knife a Hunter to death without using martial qi?"

This single cry of astonishment instantly drew the gaze of everyone in the room!

They saw that although Jill on the screen appeared slightly disheveled, a Hunter did indeed lie dead at her feet. One could see that aside from knife wounds, there were no other blemishes upon the Hunter's body!

"Is that really Xu Zixin?"

As veteran players, the crowd was quite familiar with her face.

"How could she be so fast?!" Song Qingfeng felt a wave of shock and resentment. One had to understand that he had practiced for so long and was still a fraction short. Even if Xu Zixin's cultivation was significantly higher than his, martial qi could not be deployed here!

He had originally been the one who advanced through the game the fastest aside from Fang Qi—the number one man of Resident Evil!

Just because he was stuck here at the Hunter, he had lost a considerable amount of time, allowing the others to slowly catch up!

Yet he had not been worried, because everyone else would have to pass this Hunter hurdle; otherwise, without heavy-caliber ammunition at the Tyrant, it would be entirely impossible to break through.

But now, someone had actually knifed the Hunter directly, surpassing him in the blink of an eye?!

This was something he found somewhat unacceptable no matter what!

Shen Qingqing marveled, "How did you do it?"

"It seems..." Xu Zixin recalled the process of dealing with the Hunter just now with some perplexity. "I feel as though after watching the entire movie, many of the protagonist Alice's combat techniques became imprinted in my mind... and my control over my entire body became much more flexible and meticulous..."

Everyone could not help but recall the matter of their strength rising after playing Resident Evil for a long time.

Could a movie possess such an effect as well?!

"Boss! This is cheating!" Thinking of this, Song Qingfeng shouted righteously, "To use such methods to entice me into watching the movie version!"

Fang Qi shrugged. "I didn't force you. All expenditures in this shop are strictly voluntary."

"..." Song Qingfeng's face turned grim.

To the side, Lin Shao and Xu Luo roared with laughter. "I say, Young Master Song, just yield! The movie version is genuinely fantastic!"

"Young Master Song!" Li Xi smiled. "Let's watch it together! If you're not satisfied, we'll find trouble with these fellows!"

"Fine, fine, fine!" Under the egging of the crowd, a sullen Song Qingfeng finally pulled out three spirit crystals. "Let it be known first, I am only watching this to improve my strength. I have absolutely no interest in the contents of the movie."

Half an hour later...

"My god! There are actually so many zombies?!"

"What marksmanship! This female lead is simply magnificent!"

"What on earth is that thing? Why does it feel even more powerful than a Hunter?!"

"Dodging bullets like that... that's too incredible!"

"..."

Once the movie concluded, Lin Shao and Xu Luo hurriedly asked, "Young Master Song, what did it feel like?"

"...Uh." With a dark face, Song Qingfeng said in great embarrassment, "It seems to be somewhat interesting..."

"Is it truly only *somewhat* interesting?" Lin Shao, Xu Luo, and the others chuckled directly.

"Get lost! I'm going to fight the Hunter first!" Song Qingfeng's face grew even darker.

Not long after, upon the screen, one could see Song Qingfeng clutching a dagger. Though he was drenched in blood from head to toe, lying beneath his feet was indeed a Hunter!

He had waited a very long time for this exact moment!

Though he could not yet dispatch the Hunters with the seamless, fluid grace of Fang Qi, the formidable monstrosity had finally collapsed beneath his feet.

It was, without a doubt, a monumental stride forward.

Moreover, his condition was considerably better than Xu Zixin's had been.

"I did it!" Song Qingfeng exhaled a long, heavy breath.

"Watching the protagonists fight yields so much insight," Song Qingfeng said, clicking his tongue. "I feel my handling of the finer details is vastly superior to before..."

"That impressive?!" Liang Shi, watching one Hunter after another fall to the blade, could no longer sit still.

"Sir! Give me a copy of the Resident Evil 1 movie version too!" Liang Shi felt like weeping, sensing that at this rate, the savings of his past years would soon be entirely drained.

"Me too!" Wang Tai finally lost his composure as well, gritting his teeth.

"Let me go first!" Quite a few players who had previously been fiercely loyal to the game were now beginning to lose their patience.

"..."

"Good heavens, the quality of this movie version is absolutely no lesser than the game!"

"And there is so much background lore! I finally understand the true meaning behind Resident Evil!"

"These spectacles! Is this truly just a biographical novel? How did the author ever conceive this?!"

"Though the protagonist changed, it is simply too magnificent!"

"Even the most popular biographical novel out right now, 'The Martial Immortal,' bores me to tears, but this... the more I watch, the more energized I become. It is far too thrilling! This laboratory is vastly more perilous than that mansion we visited!"

"I cannot help it, I am somewhat infatuated with this dashing foreign lady! Talk about crisp and decisive!"

By this time, a great number of people had already arrived at the internet cafe. Fang Qi could not help but feel fortunate that he had previously established the queueing rule. Furthermore, because the rules of six hours per day and closing at midnight had already become deeply ingrained in everyone's minds, it was quite clear they complied with the new regulation as well.

Consequently, though the atmosphere throughout the internet cafe had grown rather fervent, and many players who had not yet secured a machine were equally full of anticipation for the movie, it was by no means chaotic.

This particular moment had actually become the most popular hour for the entire internet cafe. Yet, while the cafe was bustling, the players who arrived later were bound to feel depressed.

Xi Qi and her companions arrived precisely at this juncture.

Gazing upon the internet cafe overflowing with crowds, Xi Qi's expression stiffened: "No seats left again?!"