Chapter 8: A Rip-off?

"What on earth is the origin of these things? They are incredible! There must be a massive conspiracy hidden behind all this!" The two straightened their postures, their interest piqued to a new height, fully intending to press forward with their exploration and unearth the storyline behind Resident Evil!

Yet, neither of them knew how to wield a firearm. Upon encountering the zombie dogs, they quickly found themselves at an absolute standstill.

Attempting to slay a zombie dog in hand-to-hand combat while remaining completely untouched was simply an exercise in futility.

Even if one could manage to pull it off against a hound or two through sheer fortune, the sheer repetition meant that complacency would eventually take its toll.

The duo remained bottlenecked by the zombie dogs for two grueling hours. Turning their heads, they were stunned to find Song Qingfeng already joyfully blasting away with a handgun. They gasped in disbelief, "Brother Song! Where did you get that weapon?"

Lin Shao's eyes went completely round. "The zombie dogs can't even get close to you! That is absolutely legendary!"

"Could it be a dharma artifact crafted by a cultivator? Brother Song, can we get our hands on one of those too?"

Song Qingfeng smirked with immense pride. "Weren't there two choices right at the beginning? Select the first option and you get a gun."

"It was really that simple?"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" The two had been overflowing with confidence from the start, choosing the second option which left them entirely without teammates—a choice that naturally made their endeavor excruciatingly difficult.

"Weren't you two supposed to meet up with someone else anyway?" Song Qingfeng shot them a dismissive glare.

"Forget about that! We're not going anymore! Brother Song, if you had told us earlier that this game was this spectacular, we wouldn't have bothered making plans with anyone else!" The two lamented their colossal miscalculation.

Song Qingfeng immediately wore a look of utter disdain. "This young master told you multiple times already. Did either of you actually believe me?"

"..." Awkwardness washed over their faces, and they fell entirely silent. Recognizing that there was indeed a trick to the trade involving firearms, the two instantly restarted a fresh round, embarking upon a monster-slaying journey with this novel style of weaponry.

"System, does this count as completing the mission now?" Fang Qi glanced around. The other three computers were already occupied, and with himself seated at the fourth, this surely constituted a full house.

"You are the owner of this internet cafe, not a customer."

"..." Fang Qi immediately flipped it a metaphorical middle finger.

"How about I go out right now and find another person?"

"As the proprietor, please do not go outside to solicit customers."

"..." Fang Qi's face darkened instantly. "What do you mean by soliciting?"

With every avenue blocked, Fang Qi plopped himself down in his seat, thoroughly exasperated.

Right at that moment, outside the internet cafe, a burly, heavily built man could be seen marching directly toward the establishment.

"A customer is coming?" Fang Qi's eyes lit up; it was truly a timely blessing.

"I heard two days ago that a black-hearted shop had opened on this street, and yesterday it swindled several customers! I, Liang Shi, despise such dishonest practices the most!" The muscular man looked up at the plaque hanging above the entrance. "Origins? What arrogant phrasing! This must be the place! I shall see for myself exactly how this shop intends to swindle me!"

He pushed the door open and strode right in, bellowing at the top of his lungs, "Who is the owner here?"

Fang Qi quickly stepped forward. "I am."

Liang Shi bared his teeth in a grin. Packed with dense muscle and standing more than half a head taller than Fang Qi, his presence before the young man felt akin to a towering mountain.

Noticing the gleam of excitement in Fang Qi's eyes, Liang Shi laughed gruffly, "What exactly does this shop of yours do?"

"We play games." Fang Qi pointed toward the computers. "Care to give it a try?"

"A try? Of course I will try!" Liang Shi sneered inwardly, thinking to himself, *Does he take me for a fat sheep ready to be slaughtered? Let us see what kind of trickery he has up his sleeve!*

He sat down heavily in Fang Qi's seat with an air of arrogant confidence. "Tell me then, what sort of game is this, and how is it played?"

Fang Qi pointed toward the small blackboard. "Two crystals an hour, and five crystals to activate the game. Seven crystals in total."

"My goodness!" Liang Shi cursed silently. As expected, it was a thoroughly black-hearted shop!

Liang Shi narrowed his eyes, a dangerous arc forming at the corner of his lips. He produced seven crystals and slammed them onto the desk. "Then you had better teach me how to play it properly!"

Without reading too much into the gesture, Fang Qi nodded and reached out to collect the crystals.

Yet Liang Shi extended his hand to block him, offering a cold smirk. "But what if your game isn't entertaining and turns out to be entirely unworthy of this many crystals?"

Fang Qi found it amusing. He had encountered this type of person more than once or twice over the past couple of days. Pointing toward Song Qingfeng and the others, he replied, "How could it possibly not be worth it? Why don't you ask them?"

Song Qingfeng cast a casual glance over his shoulder and chuckled softly, "It is naturally worth it. If the prices in this shop aren't justified, then no shop in the world is."

"Is this how this shop deceives people?" Liang Shi cast a freezing glance at the group, laughing inwardly. *Hiring a few wet-behind-the-ears boys to act as shills?*

He scoffed openly, "I should believe whatever anyone else says? Do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

"Then what do you propose?" Fang Qi frowned slightly.

Liang Shi tapped the desk heavily, sneering, "If I find it unworthy..."

"You are going to smash my shop to pieces?!" Before he could even finish his sentence, Fang Qi cut him off with an entirely expressionless face.

"..." Liang Shi scratched his head, staring at Fang Qi in sheer astonishment. "...How did you know?"

Fang Qi grumbled inwardly, *Every single one of you possesses the exact same linear mindset, how could I not know? Could none of you change the script for once? Like splashing filth at the door or staging an injury inside the shop?*

Then again, if it were not for these stubborn skeptics, many potential customers would have already turned right at the door and left.

Finding his inner thoughts laid bare, Liang Shi could only snort with a hint of resentment. "Then I shall test it first! Let us see what kind of underhanded tricks you are playing!"

With Liang Shi occupying his computer, Fang Qi had nothing better to do, so he dragged a stool over to sit nearby. "Put on the virtual reality headset and double-click Resident Evil 1 on the screen to enter the game."

Very quickly, Liang Shi sensed that something was amiss. Staring at the incredibly lifelike surroundings encompassing him, he gasped, "What is this place? Is it another world?"

"This is called virtual reality technology." Fang Qi had long anticipated this exact reaction. "The method to exit is already written on the small blackboard."

Liang Shi immediately followed the instructions to exit, and sure enough, he found himself swiftly pulled back from the game.

Immediately afterward, he plunged back into the experience, feeling once again as though he were physically present in an entirely different realm!

How on earth could this be a black-hearted shop?!

He stared in utter shock at the ordinary-looking proprietor beside him. To call this a divine establishment would be far more accurate!

Swallowing hard, he managed to speak, "You say this is a game?"

"Naturally it is a game." Seeing that the man had already reached the character selection screen, Fang Qi added, "Even if you choose not to immerse yourself fully into the game world, you can still operate it using the keyboard."

With that, he demonstrated the character selection and basic controls to him.

"To think such a thing is possible...?" Just moments ago, Liang Shi had been pondering how best to demolish this fraudulent establishment.

"Impossible... how could this unremarkable owner possess such incredible capabilities?" He found it difficult to reconcile within his mind. This was supposed to be a swindling shop, and he had come with the sole intention of teaching its owner a lesson. Yet now, why did everything feel entirely inverted?

"No! This must be some kind of deceptive illusion." He hastily drew a deep breath to steady his racing thoughts. "I must examine this closely; I will surely uncover the flaw within it!"

"Owner... then... what should I do now?"

"Aren't there prompts provided within the game?" Fang Qi remarked. "Did you not watch the opening cinematic just now?"

"The storyline...?" Only then did he recall the mention of another squad that had vanished, and that they had arrived to conduct a search and rescue mission.

"Could it be that I am meant to play the role of a rescue operative here?"

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