Chapter 1: Super Internet Café System
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
Inside the glorious country of Dajin was a magnificent place called Jiuhua.
Jiuhua was a city, a metropolis that not only incorporated all of the military, cultural, and commercial aspects of the country but was also known as the core of the southern region of Dajin.
As the sun hung high up in the sky, rows and rows of horses could be seen pulling heavy carts, each containing countless goods from all over the country.
On the other side of the thick city walls were innumerable shops and storefronts and a multitude of pedestrians who were clustered on the city's tightly-knit streets.
Off to the side, a few warriors rested under the shade of green willow trees while successful cultivators rode their carriages on the wide, four-lane roads.
At times, the curtains of their carriages would be lifted by the wind, exposing their sage-like appearances.
There were more warriors and cultivators in the city than one could count, and the people were packed like sardines everywhere. This was a rare sight to see, even in a country like Dajin.
However, there was a special occasion; a new term was about to begin at Lingyun Academy. Therefore, the warriors, who were attracted by the sheer fame of the academy, made the city even more bustling than usual!
In the eastern corner of the city stood a small shop. While everything was happening in the city center, the owner dragged out a bench and sat down in front of his shop, cooling himself off with a fan. He poked his head out in anticipation...
Sure, this place was a metropolis, but the shops by the edge of the city barely had any customers. On top of that, this specific location was even worse than the others. However, this was the only inheritance that Fang Qi's deceased father left him after he somehow arrived in this world.
This used to be a shop that sold random things, like healing ointments and ordinary weapons. Aside from the things that no one wanted, Fang Qi had sold everything that used to be in stock.
Originally, Fang Qi wanted to sell this store, but he later changed his mind.
Because...
At this thought, he looked up at the sign above him - Origins Internet Club!
The name was really cool, but... it was an internet café!
An internet café in this new world?
For this to make sense, we will have to start from the day before yesterday.
...
- The day before yesterday's morning -
"Another day of boredom..." Fang Qi yawned as he climbed out from his bed and scratched his bed-head that was shaped like a bird's nest.
Suddenly, he thought he heard a weird sound coming from nowhere. Wait, were they coming from his head?
Surprised, he exclaimed, "Am I hallucinating?"
He quickly became alert and listened intently, "The system has been successfully activated, would you like to run it?"
"System?" It was as if the sky had rained delicious meatballs on him while he was sleeping! Completely disregarding what system it was, Fang Qi decided to activate it first and find out later.
"Beep! The system has been successfully activated!"
"Yes!" Exhilarated, Fang Qi waved his fists in the air. With his new system, he will finally be capable of cheating in life!
However, he didn't know what his new system was for.
"A system that will let me be pretentious and face-slap others?"
"A system that will help me make amazing elixirs?"
"Or, could it be a super-warrior system...?
He was instantly excited by the possibility of being able to beat up everybody that he didn't like. If so, men with exceptional abilities would bow down before him, and all women would fawn over him. What a life!
At that moment, another voice sounded in his head again, "The Super Internet Café System has been successfully activated!"
"What in the world?"
Fang Qi felt the air around him freeze as he stood there for 30 seconds in complete shock.
Then, he asked in complete confusion, "What system did you say you were?"
"The Super Internet Café System," the electronically-synthesized voice in his head answered.
"What? What did you say?" Fang Qi asked, not sure if he heard right.
"The Super Internet Café System," the voice answered again in a mild tone.
"..." Fang Qi was flabbergasted. Why didn't he get a weapon or elixir system? Why would he need an internet café system?
Was he really going to open up an internet café in this world? Did this place even have internet?
Perhaps... if local area networks counted...
"Stupid f*cking system!" Fang Qi couldn't help but curse in his head.
"Please do not curse at the system," once again, the electronically-synthesized voice rang in his head. "Since this is the host's first-time offense, you will only be issued a warning this time around. If you curse at the system again, you will be punished."
"..." Fang Qi was at a loss for words, but he was a little worried about the system's punishment. Therefore, he had no choice but to ask, "Tell me what you can do first."
"The system has just issued you your first task. Host, you may check your task interface."
"Task interface?" At this though, Fang Qi's mind turned to the task interface, and as expected, saw his first task in the taskbar.
[New player task: open an internet café.
Task reward: four sets of computers and various equipment, one PC game - Resident Evil One: Virtual Reality Remake.
If the task is left incomplete: the system will look for another host.]
...
That was the gist of it. Fang Qi finally got a system and was determined not to let it go to waste. Therefore, he was now the owner of an internet café located in this new world. Moreover, he opened his internet café with his Super Internet Café System!
He spent the day before yesterday cleaning up and arranging the internet café, and he used the entire day yesterday playing games. In a nutshell, today was the official opening of his internet café.
Inside the glass doors was a well-arranged internet café. The floors were hardwood, the walls were painted white, and there were four sets of luxury computer desks and chairs in the middle of the room, each with their own shiny new PC and gaming devices. He even saw devices that looked like the super-advanced VR headsets in the world he used to live in before he somehow came to this world.
The system explained to Fang Qi that those devices were called Virtual Reality Machines, the key for playing any VR games.
Although there were only four sets of computers, each was top-of-the-line, and the overall ambiance of the internet café was pretty good.
It was apparent that no electricity existed in this world, but the computers screens were on; no outlets or power cords were even needed.
There weren't a lot of icons on the computer desktop, only an icon of a white-faced zombie for Resident Evil One.
Beside the door, a blackboard about a meter high hung on the wall, not only listing the prices of the internet café but also the rules and regulations.
Opening up an internet café in this world wasn't a big deal. It was something new, so people were bound to come and try it out.
However, the rules and regulations written on the blackboard caused the current scene; no one was there except for Fang Qi!
Here were the rules:
1. Business hours: 8 AM to Midnight.
2. One hour costs two crystals. Activating Resident Evil One costs five crystals. Each person can only play for six hours per day.
3. If you want to play, play. If you don't, leave. No causing trouble and no cursing at the owner. Those who do not abide by these rules will be asked to never return.
4. Play in a reckless and immoral manner at your own risk.
Fang Qi knew if playing here only cost a couple of bronze or even silver coins an hour, people would still come in and try. However, one hour at his internet café costs two crystals!
Setting that aside, activating Resident Evil One costed five crystals?
Five crystals were equivalent to 5,000 gold coins!
Why would anyone ever want to play?
No one would ever pay 2,000 gold coins for an hour of gaming and 5,000 gold coins to activate a game.
What was worse, the system gave him another task: his internet café had to be filled up in three days.
Fang Qi was speechless with the system's next-to-impossible task. Although the system only provided the best of the best, the problem right now was that no one even wanted to give his internet café a try!
Fang Qi opened the thick glass doors of his shop and walked in. He sat down in front of a computer and muttered to himself, "What if... I play a round myself?"
As Fang Qi was hesitating, a young man wearing a bright blue robe, who looked about 15 or 16-years-old, suddenly pushed open the door and barged into the internet café, as if he was in a hurry to do something.
His clothes were custom-made, but they were still as tight as they could be. The button in front of his belly looked like it was about to burst open from all his fat.
However, this fatty's steps were lighter than feathers, unlike those who lacked exercise.
After walking in, the fatty's eyes immediately landed on Fang Qi. "Qi, why are you still guarding this shop of yours? Oh, and why didn't you tell me that you're in a new business now? If you told me, I could've helped advertise for you."
Fang Qi knew this fatty; he was Wang Tai, the son of the owner of Huaxian Pavilion, a restaurant on the neighboring street. The original owner of Fang Qi's body didn't have many friends, but this fatty was one of them.
Chapter 2: Resident Evil One: Virtual Reality Remake
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
Fang Qi gently pulled his sleeves up and glanced at him, his tone a little unfriendly. "Do you have a problem with it?"
Wang Tai asked, "Do you still remember that Lingyun Academy is holding its entrance examinations tomorrow? Time's almost up; have you signed up?"
Fang Qi shook his hands. "I'm not going to go. I need to tend to this shop."
"Tend to this shop?" Wang Tai froze for a second as he carefully looked Fang Qi up and down. "Did you give up?"
Then, he chuckled and pulled up a bench to sit on. "It's good that you gave up though. This might not be your cup of tea, but something will be. In my opinion, you don't have to put all your eggs in one basket."
He then stuck out his carrot-sized fingers and made a cross with them. "I think learning martial arts is no better than farming these days. My dad already saw through that. He said if I still don't get in this year, he's going to send me to a school so I can study and become a scholar."
Wang Tai blabbed on and on, his saliva flying everywhere. Fang Qi, however, laughed nonchalantly as he got up from his chair. "I didn't give up. I... never wanted to go in the first place."
"What do you mean?" Wang Tai was immediately confused by what he said; he remembered clearly that Fang Qi once swore he was going to get into Lingyun Academy and make something of himself.
Has he really changed?
Fang Qi sat back down and pointed at the computer in front of them. "Take a look at this."
Wang Tai scratched his head. "I didn't get to ask you yet, but what does your new shop do? This? What's this?"
"This is called a computer," Fang Qi said. "Consider it a spiritual artifact. But, you can't do a lot on it yet. There's only one game called Resident Evil."
"Game?" Wang Tai thought back to the games he used to play as a child and laughed. "Aren't we too old now to still play games?"
"Why don't you try it out yourself?" Fang Qi couldn't explain himself clearly, so he pointed at the blackboard. "Of course, you will have to pay first."
"It's just money, how much are we talking?" Wang Tai glanced over at the blackboard and burst out in laughter. "Seven crystals an hour? You've got to be kidding me!"
Although people here mainly used the Earthly Branches to calculate time, Wang Tai still knew what the word 'hour' meant.
(TL: Earthly Branches is just another way to determine the time, one branch is equal to approximately two hours.)
His family was considerably wealthy since they owned a restaurant in a big city like this. However, seven crystals were still a big number, especially for a young man who didn't even have a source of income!
"I'm not kidding; that's how much it costs," Fang Qi said in all seriousness.
Upon seeing Fang Qi's expression, Wang Tai's face fell. "Qi, seriously? I came to support you, and you're really going to rip me off like this?"
Fang Qi completely anticipated this reaction, so he explained, "Why would I rip you off? If you trust me, just pay up and try. If you're not satisfied afterward, I'll refund you your money. What do you say?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Tai's expression softened a little. "Really?"
He glanced at Fang Qi suspiciously before pulling up a chair and sitting down.
Since he could get a refund, why not try out the game?
He took out seven shiny crystals and placed them onto the computer desk. "Let me make things clear; I don't care what this is. At the end of the day, it's just a game that will only give me momentary happiness. I will not easily give up seven crystals for this if it's not worth it!"
He was going to use this money to bribe the proctors at the exam tomorrow. However, Wang Tai was fine with leaving it on the desk for now. Fang Qi's figure was so weak that he would almost immediately break in half from a warrior's slap. Their combat skills were not on the same level at all!
Truth be told, he didn't think any game could be worth this much money. All he wanted to do was find out what Fang Qi was up to.
Fang Qi didn't get angry at what he said. Instead, he laughed, "Sure, I promise you that in the future, I'll refund you your money even if you are just a little bit unsatisfied."
"Hey-yo!" Wang Tai immediately burst out in laughter. Then, he glanced at the black 'spiritual artifact' on the desk before looking back at Fang Qi.
He said, "I, Wang Tai, will now find out what it is about this game that gave you such confidence!"
He stood up and picked up the chair he was sitting on. It wasn't that heavy, so he couldn't help but ask, "This thing won't fall apart, right? Oh, it's also a little small."
"Small?" Fang Qi asked. With his skinny torso, he picked up another chair with ease, as if he were picking up a small chicken. Then, he put the chairs together and removed the handles in the middle, immediately transforming the two into a giant chair that was a meter wide.
Wang Tai grinned. "That's much better."
After letting himself fall into the chair, Wang Tai noticed that although the chair seemed light, it was actually very sturdy! It didn't even shake when he sat down!
The chairs, desks, and even the sign outside were all provided by the system. No wonder people said that systems always provided the best of the best! These chairs and desks were so sturdy, it seemed like even an earthquake wouldn't be able to shake them loose.
People in this world had no idea what computers were and how games were played, not to mention virtual machines.
Since Fang Qi had just opened this internet café, he decided to teach Wang Tai how to use all this stuff.
Soon, with his help, Wang Tai clicked open the Resident Evil Icon and put on his virtual machine.
[Resident Evil!]
Along with the game's opening animations and music, Wang Tai immediately felt a heavy and creepy sensation climbing up his spine.
Then, Fang Qi helped him load the options, and the game quickly began.
The opening animation was incredibly clear. Wang Tai felt like he wasn't observing through a computer screen; rather, he was actually there in the game, seeing the plot unfold with his own eyes!
Although the game was originally in English, everything was translated into the players' native languages. Therefore, Wang Tai could understand everything that was happening.
Resident Evil One took place in a mansion overrun by zombies, which was the beginning of this entire biohazard epidemic.
The 'mansion' was a nursing home established by the Umbrella Corporation in Raccoon City with secret biochemical labs in the basement.
The first scene was Alpha Team heading over to the mansion in a helicopter, in search of the members of Bravo Team.
"What's this? A new flying spiritual artifact?" Wang Tai marveled at the helicopters in the air with curiosity. "Is this a new spiritual artifact a cultivator created?"
However, he was thinking of something else, Did this dude find himself a powerful sugar-daddy cultivator to rely on? This thing looks super real! Even so, I'm never going to hand over seven crystals to him willingly!
As soon as the game began, a voice sounded in his ears, "Would you like to enter virtual reality mode?"
"Yes!"
"Please click [Enter]."
"Will do!" Wang Tai immediately chose [Enter] and felt the scenery around him change!
He suddenly felt like everything in front of him was at his fingertips! He literally felt like he could touch everything before him!
He was like a lost soul, drifting in the darkness. In front of him was the dark wilderness, and he saw five people lurking in the shadows.
Fang Qi recognized them; they were the members of Alpha Team in Resident Evil One!
"Oh my god!" Wang Tai almost jumped up from his chair in fear. "Why am I here?"
"Stop howling!" Fang Qi couldn't help but roll his eyes at Wang Tai. "If you just think [Exit], an option to exit will pop up. This is called virtual reality technology."
The VR technology his system provided was much more advanced than the one in the world he used to live in! No wonder Wang Tai was scared by it.
Wang Tai thought 'exit' in his mind, and a special light screen appeared before his eyes.
[Would you like to exit?]
Feeling anxious, he quickly clicked [Exit] and took off his VR headset. Then, he looked around frantically. "Did... did I really exit?"
After a few seconds, he stared at Fang Qi in a daze. "Are you sure that wasn't another world I was just in?"
It wasn't his fault for asking this question; what he just saw was so realistic that it felt like he was there, experiencing everything that just happened!
Fang Qi pointed at himself and asked, "Do you think I have the ability to create a whole other world just for you to play a game in?"
Wang Tai immediately shook his head. "No!"
He had never seen something so magical, so he asked curiously, "So was that really just a game?"
"Of course it is; it's called Resident Evil One: Virtual Reality Remake." Although Resident Evil One was an old game, the system would never really give Fang Qi a 1990s version that blurred out all the scary parts.
Chapter 3: Wang Tai's Gaming Experience
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
Wang Tai had never heard of or seen a game like this!
Therefore, he put on the VR headset again and went back to playing. The prologue was still playing, and Alpha Team had already descended from the helicopter.
The leader of Alpha Team, Albert Wesker, led the group. The two main characters of the game, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, walked at the back.
They looked exactly like the characters in the original Resident Evil game, but if one were to lean forward and examine them closely, they would realize that these two looked like real people!
Every detail on their bodies was immaculate, down to their skin, hair, and even pores!
Wang Tai reached out; he could even feel their body temperatures!
The expressions on their faces were so realistic that they looked like real people!
Wang Tai hovered over them like a ghost as he closely observed everyone in the game. "They look like the people from the Daling Empire."
"Actually, not really. People there don't dress like that... Plus, the women in Daling have wide shoulders and broad hips; none of them are as pretty as she is!"
The main female character in Resident Evil One, Jill Valentine, was also one of the female leads of the second Resident Evil movie.
Jill was beautiful to begin with. Unlike the Caucasian actress in the movie, Jill had both eastern and western features in the game. Her military uniform made her look valiant and heroic.
Fang Qi remembered that back when he first started playing Resident Evil One; she was a goddess in all the male players' minds.
In the later official remakes, Jill became even prettier and more delicate. Now, her looks in the system's black technology game were more mesmerizing than ever, so it was only normal for Wang Tai to drool all over her.
Wang Tai wasn't a coward; after realizing that there were no immediate dangers around him, he became curious about his surroundings. This place felt like another world. He could wander around back and forth and watch others, but the others couldn't see him. He felt like a god watching over the people!
This was a magical feeling that he had never experienced, and he couldn't help but ask again, "Is this really a game?"
"Of course it is!" Fang Qi crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against a computer desk with a smile on his face. For a game worth seven crystals, being realistic was only a small part of its value.
To make the game easier to explain, he thought of an example. "You can think of this game as one where royal families and aristocrats go hunting for monsters."
"Hunting monsters? Ha, nice!" Wang Tai became even more immersed in the game upon hearing this. In this world, hunting monsters was a high-end activity only aristocrats and cultivators got to go on!
Fang Qi didn't want Wang Tai to play without background information, so he gave the latter a rundown on the basics of Resident Evil, such as how to use guns, what zombies were, and what the Umbrella Corporation did.
Wang Tai didn't have a problem with the weird names in the game since people in Daling had weird names as well.
However, new and interesting information like M Country, research companies, and viruses were cooler and more imaginative than the novels he had read in the past!
Moreover, he could tell that these characters weren't created randomly; there was a complete system behind this game! He felt like a world with these characters really existed! Everything felt so real!
Then, the plot advanced. Quickly, a team member who was left behind was ripped to pieces by four zombie dogs.
Gasp!
Wang Tai began studying martial arts at a young age, so he wasn't a person who would become dizzy at the sight of blood. However, that man was standing there, alive and healthy a second ago, just to be torn apart by zombie dogs in the next. The scene was so gross that Wang Tai couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
"Someone... died!" Wang Tai shivered, engrossed by the scene and affected by the creepy ambiance around him.
Barry and the other team members wandered off while the main characters, led by Albert, barged into the mansion!
"Please choose your identity within one minute," suddenly, an audio prompt rang out from the computer, and two options appeared before Wang Tai's eyes.
[1. Chris Redfield.]
[2. I am a special agent who was sent here to investigate as well. I'm now meeting up with Alpha Team.]
This was different from the version that Fang Qi had played; instead of the second option being 'Jill,' the system invented another mode.
"This..." Wang Tai asked anxiously, "What should I choose?"
"You don't even know how to use a gun yet, so you should choose Chris." Wang Tai was the first player at Fang Qi's internet café, so the latter quickly give him a hint, "The second option is like a 'master mode,' and you won't receive any help from teammates. Your attributes will be adjusted as well."
Suddenly, the angle changed, and Chris's muscular body froze!
"What's wrong?" The team was surprised to see Chris acting weird, so they all glanced over at him.
Wang Tai felt he was now inside Chris's body and was seeing what Chris was seeing.
Then, the others pointed their guns at him, immediately sending goosebumps all over his body.
Just now, when the others were killing the zombie dogs, he saw what those guns were capable of!
He seemed to feel the threat of death! A chilliness crawled up his spine all the way to his brain!
How is this just a f*cking game?
He even suspected that he might die in the game if he were shot by these people!
"Fang Qi!" Wang Tai quickly called out Fang Qi's name.
The latter replied slowly, "Here!"
Although Wang Tai was in virtual reality, he could communicate with the outside world while he was playing.
He asked, "Will anything happen to me... if I died in the game?"
"No, it'll just force you to exit," Fang Qi replied nonchalantly.
"..." Upon hearing what Fang Qi said, Wang Tai swallowed nervously. "This game is so f*cking real!"
But...
He could go on adventures and fight monsters, but he didn't have to die? This place was a warrior's heaven!
"There's more to this game; you'll find out more as you play." Fang Qi raised his arms and stretched his body. As his sleeves fell down, they exposed his muscular arms which seemed capable of explosive strength.
His system's black technology wasn't as simple as that; if it were, Fang Qi would've given up upon hearing its impossible tasks.
Wang Tai, on the other hand, was as nervous as he could be, feeling as if spiders were crawling all over his body.
However, now was not the time to blank out. He looked back at his teammates' weird glances, calming himself down and saying, "No... Nothing."
"Chris, search this area; Jill and I will secure the doors," the team leader, Albert, quickly overlooked Chris's abnormality and gave an order to him.
"So, am I someone else now?" Wang Tai exclaimed as he looked around at the realistic scene before him, "I'm really not going to die?"
"Even if you do, it'd be him who dies, not you." Fang Qi pointed at the screen.
"Right, you have a point!" Wang Tai finally came back to his senses.
Upon seeing the fatty this immersed in the game, Fang Qi didn't want to keep talking to him. Therefore, he turned on the computer beside Wang Tai to play a round himself.
To his surprise, as soon as his game loaded, a pig-slaughtering howl came from beside him!
Fang Qi turned around and saw Wang Tai falling out of his chair and crawling under the table.
The computer screen showed a hallway, where a zombie was chewing on Wang Tai's, or Chris's body. Blood and flesh splashed everywhere, along with bloody letters written on the screen that read: [Game Over!]
"Fatty, why are you under the table?" Fang Qi couldn't help but laugh.
Wang Tai removed the VR headset and wiped the sweat off his forehead before confirming that it was Fang Qi who was standing before him. He sighed in relief and patted his fat chest, exclaiming, "I f*cking thought it was a human, f*ck! It scared me to death!"
Wang Tai was still scared as he thought back to the scene that just happened. That thing was incredibly strong! He stabbed it with a dagger multiple times, but it wasn't affected at all!
But...
Wasn't he bitten to death just now?
He looked up and down his body but didn't see any injuries!
"Nothing happened to me?" He saw himself being ripped apart, but his body was completely intact!
Did that mean he could go on as many adventures as he wanted to in this world without the fear of dying?
He could be able to do whatever he wanted to!
He had been practicing martial arts for so many years, and he was still well and sound; what was he afraid of in this video game?
Upon confirming that nothing bad would happen to him, Wang Tai felt a rush of exhilaration shooting up into his brain. If I'm not going to die, then I'm going to kill it this time!
Then, he eagerly placed his VR headset on again and went back to playing.
Chapter 4: The Horror of being Wrecked by a Zombie
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
It was a world perfect for warriors!
Wang Tai controlled Chris, who had a dagger in his hand, as he quietly moved to the corner of the room.
On the other side of the wall, the zombie was still standing there with its back toward Wang Tai as it was munching on the leftover pieces of a corpse on the ground.
As if it smelled the fresh scent of a living human, the zombie slowly turned around, exposing its pale, gross, lifeless face that had specks of flesh and blood still on the corners of its mouth!
That was the famous 'Turning Around Zombie' from the original Resident Evil!
However, what was different was that in the original game, the zombie was computer generated, allowing the player to watch this zombie's movements before fighting it.
Yet, at this moment, the zombie seemed so real that it felt like it was standing right in front of Wang Tai!
The zombie's gross face, paired with the darkly-lit room and oppressing surroundings, was incredibly scary, justifying Wang Tai's previous reaction and quick death.
Many people were terrified of this scene from Resident Evil!
Fang Qi had watched it many times before and had become immune to it. However, this scene still left a newbie like Wang Tai so horrified that his hands began to shake.
Unkillable with powerful physical strength and no sense of pain, when had ordinary people ever encountered this kind of monster?
He had never seen a monster as scary as this one!
Although it was still the same game from the 1990s, the freedom and realness of VR would overload the players' senses, making the game much better than the original version.
A strong sense of excitement and nervousness drove Wang Tai's adrenaline through the roof as he dashed toward the zombie with the dagger in his hand, a hint of anticipation among his fear!
This time, he performed better than he did previously. He held the dagger tight in his hands and pushed it deep into the zombie's chest!
But, he made one crucial mistake.
He wasn't Fang Qi; how could he have known that one had to destroy the zombie's head to kill it!
Not only did his attack fail to kill the zombie, but it also provoked its urge to kill. With a furious howl, it charged towards Wang Tai like crazy!
After humans turned into zombies, they would gain immense strength and become two-to-three times stronger than regular men. Therefore, the zombie immediately pushed Wang Tai to the ground and bit at the artery on his neck with its yellow teeth!
"Why can't I kill this monster?" Wang Tai screamed crazily; he had stabbed the zombie in a vital spot, but it didn't die. Not only that, why did it also go berserk?
The good thing was, he wasn't as inexperienced as he was last time, and he prepared himself mentally this time around. He quickly stopped the zombie's bite with his hand but was immediately left on the defensive.
Wang Tai pushed the zombie's neck back with one hand so that it wouldn't bite him, and he then pushed his dagger into the zombie's temple repeatedly and ferociously with the other hand!
Soon, the zombie finally lost its strength and slowly fell to the floor.
"It's finally dead!" Wang Tai replayed the horror this gross monster brought upon him in his head as he breathed heavily. Being able to kill an undead monster with such insane strength gave him more exhilaration than fright! He felt a strong sense of achievement blossoming from the bottom of his heart!
He was a warrior! Moreover, so many people in this world were born to admire power and bravery! Being able to kill a powerful monster validated his pride! It felt awesome!
After climbing up from the floor, he looked around but didn't see anything worth looking into. Therefore, he turned around to leave.
Is that horrendous monster the 'zombie' Qi was talking about? At that moment, Wang Tai developed a strong sense of interest in this game. It was such a weird and unique game with monsters that he had never even heard of. He had never seen a world like this in the novels, so he was eager to find out what else this world contained.
He couldn't wait to keep looking around!
These monsters are super strong. I'm glad I can go back into the game after dying.Wang Tai complained about how hard the game was. After all, all new players had to first be wrecked by the zombies before learning how to deal with them.
Suddenly, Wang Tai saw a semi-invisible white ball of mist leave the zombie and enter his body, immediately giving him a warm and comfortable sensation. Then, he noticed that his strength grew as well!
- After a while -
After killing his first zombie, Wang Tai quickly killed a few more before finally figuring out that he had to destroy the zombies' heads. Then, he picked up a handgun he found in the lobby and killed a few more zombies.
He was overjoyed by the challenges he faced and the adrenaline rushes he got from the horror; although zombies were powerful and scary, he always felt a sense of achievement when killing them!
Suddenly, a message popped out on the computer screen. [Dear customer, your balance is insufficient, please pay to continue.]
"That's it?" Wang Tai removed the VR headset and jumped up from his chair. "Fine, I admit that this game is really fun; I would consider playing it for one or two crystals, but seven? It's such a rip-off!" Although he was already addicted to this game, his seven crystals were supposed to be used to bribe the proctors tomorrow!
If it were any other day, he might pay that amount. However, that money was not for spending on irrelevant matters!
Wang Tai's face became twisted before he even finished his rant.
Fang Qi exited his own game to see Wang Tai's expression. "Do you feel it?"
"Feel...?" Wang Tai waved his fists in the air and kicked his legs. Then, his face became even more twisted. "How did my strength and speed both improve? What happened?"
"Both improved? Did you level up?" Fang Qi wasn't surprised. He opened Wang Tai's player interface and saw the small 'Lv 2′ in front of the experience bar under Chris's avatar.
There was no such thing as levels in the original Resident Evil One, but the one the system provided him with was a little different. The characters inside could level up, and their strength, reaction speed, and other aspects would also increase! Moreover, this increase would also be reflected in the players themselves!
This was the true greatness of the system's black technology!
Wang Tai was flabbergasted!
He was still in the Body-Forging Realm, meaning that he was still a warrior-in-training. A comprehensive increase in his combat ability meant that he would be able to become an official warrior much faster!
There was another benefit to playing this game.
Since Lingyun Academy's entrance examinations were tomorrow, he might be accepted if his strength increased even more!
Not only was this game new, fun, exhilarating, and addictive, it was also capable of enhancing his strength!
Warriors had to practice martial arts tediously and rigorously temper their bodies over and over again in order to achieve the same benefits.
Playing this game, he felt like he had become the main character in a novel; he was literally adventure-seeking in another world! What an amazing and magical feeling!
Most importantly, he felt so happy when he figured out the monsters' weaknesses and subsequently defeated them!
A game this awesome could be used to enhance his strength? He wouldn't have anything else to worry about since he didn't need to bribe the proctors anymore!
It was so f*cking awesome!
Although he didn't know which cultivator created this great thing, it now seemed like two crystals per hour was not expensive; instead, it was almost too cheap!
After letting go of his real-life worries, Wang Tai, a native in this world, finally understood the beauty of the game!
But, he touched his nearly-empty pocket...
In there was some money he needed for tomorrow's examination expenses!
He immediately pulled Fang Qi over and whispered quietly, "Qi, I need to discuss something with you. If I play here a few more hours, can you... give me a discount?"
He knew that bribing proctors might not work. Also, making a last-minute effort of going home and practicing martial arts was super boring and useless; he really didn't want to do it.
It was much better to play a couple hours of games here.
Fang Qi, on the other hand, sighed and shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to give you a discount; I can't."
Then, he pointed at the little blackboard by the entrance. "It doesn't say 'discounts' on there."
"But... Qi, we're best buddies; how can you be so stingy?" Wang Tai was immediately infuriated.
"If I am stingy, I wouldn't have given you pointers." One could only understand the beauty of this game by experiencing it for themselves. Fang Qi didn't like spoilers; therefore, he thought that he was already being pretty generous by giving hints and background information to Wang Tai just now.
"I wouldn't have helped anyone else," he added.
Upon seeing how resolute Fang Qi was, Wang Tai had no choice but to give up. He asked with a slightly disappointed tone, "Can I at least pay you tomorrow?"
Fang Qi didn't reply; instead, he glanced over at the blackboard again.
Immediately understanding what he meant, Wang Tai muttered under his breath, "You're such a d*ck."
Then, he threw a few crystals onto the desk. "Let the game continue!"
Chapter 5: Your Playtime has reached the Limit
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
After Fang Qi accepted the crystals, the notification on the screen that was prompting Wang Tai to pay immediately disappeared.
While Wang Tai was enjoying himself, a young man in a green robe and a fierce-looking man walked in after curiously looking up at the sign.
Upon entering through the glass doors, the young man glanced at the people inside and asked, "Who is the owner of this shop?"
"Can I help you?" Fang Qi casually greeted them.
"Origins?" The young man looked at Fang Qi with disdain and pointed at the sign outside, "So now anyone can just name their shops like this? What does your shop do?"
Fang Qi didn't explain; instead, he pointed at the game that Wang Tai was playing and said, "See for yourselves."
That young man walked up behind Wang Tai and glanced at the computer screen. The scene displayed on the screen looked incredibly realistic, shocking the young man.
He asked, "What's this? What's the fat guy doing?"
"He's controlling the person on the screen," Fang Qi explained.
The young man in green didn't believe him. "The person on the screen is moving by himself. How can you say that the fat guy is the one controlling him?"
Fang Qi sneered at this young man and thought, Those who have never seen computers before will definitely be shocked.
Although he really didn't want to waste his time with these two people, he thought about the task the system gave him: To fill his internet cafe up with people.
Therefore, he patted Wang Tai's shoulder and said, "Exit the game and show him."
At the time, Wang Tai was completely absorbed in his game. However, he had no choice but to exit the game upon hearing Fang Qi's request.
He turned around to ask, "What's up?"
As expected, the person on the screen froze immediately.
The young man in green was flabbergasted. Was this fat boy really controlling the person inside?
He pointed at the screen with slight suspicion in his tone and asked, "Were you really controlling that person just now? How did it feel?"
"It's super awesome! I get to go on adventures in another world, and I can start over when I die! It's even better than the monster hunts that those noblemen go on!"
After all, Wang Tai didn't know a lot of fun things, so he could only use monster hunts as an example.
While he talked, Wang Tai waved his hands in the air with excitement. However, he quickly remembered that time was precious, so he promptly shook his hands and said, "If you're interested, play for yourself. I'm going back to the game now."
Upon seeing this, the young man was intrigued.
What does this fat boy mean when he said 'go on adventures in another world'? Can I enter a world like this as well? If that's true, then it would be awesome!
Therefore, he immediately asked Fang Qi, "I want to try, how can I play?"
Fang Qi pointed at his blackboard and said, "The prices are all written on there."
"Seven crystals?" The young man's face darkened as he sneered, "Do you take me for a fool? Ordinary spiritual artifacts cost no more than five or six crystals, and your game cost seven crystals an hour?"
"There's a five crystal charge to activate the game for the first time. Afterward, it's just two crystals an hour," Fang Qi explained nonchalantly.
"How do I know that the two of you aren't working together to trick me?" Seven crystals weren't a lot to the young man, but he didn't want to throw them away just like that.
Over the past two days, Fang Qi had met plenty of customers like him; they were all interested but thought the game was too expensive.
"My shop is right here, and I won't be able to run away anyways. Why would I trick you?" Fang Qi shrugged and said, "It's fine if you don't believe me. I'm going back to my game now."
"F*ck!" The young man was surprised; ordinary shop owners would bow down to him with respect upon seeing a customer of his status come in.
What is this owner of a god-knows-what shop so pretentious about?
He glared at Fang Qi, trying to detect any hints of deception on his face. Unfortunately, he didn't see any!
Moreover, this owner really ignored him and went back to playing his game!
"Fine!" the young man said as his expression turned icier than ever, "I'd like to see what's so amazing that costs seven crystals an hour!"
"Man, pay him!" (TL Note: 'Man' is the actual name of this guy's servant)
"I'm here, Young Master!" The grey-clothed man immediately bowed before the young man. Then, he suggested, "Would you like me to try it out first?"
"No! I'll try it out myself!" He waved his hand and glared at Fang Qi arrogantly, saying, "If your game isn't worth the money, I swear I will smash everything in here into pieces!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Qi laughed, "Try all you want. If you don't think it is worthy enough, you can do whatever you want to this shop."
"Good, remember you said that!"
The young man smirked and said, "Don't beg me to go easy on you by then!"
"Whatever makes you happy."
After clicking on the 'Resident Evil' icon, the young man put on his virtual machine and quickly entered the game.
Is there actually another world in here? The young man's face was filled with disbelief upon seeing the realistic animations before him.
Can I really control another person in another world? Those two really aren't trying to trick me, right?
"Bizarre murder cases have recently occurred in Raccoon City." The screen locked onto Alpha Team, that was flying in their helicopter as the background information was introduced. "There are outlandish reports of families being attacked by groups of about ten people. Victims were apparently eaten."
"Bravo Team was sent to investigate, but they soon disappeared!"
The introduction of Resident Evil One was extremely simple; yet, the limited number of words left so many questions unanswered that the player would immediately get a feeling of how difficult and complex the game was!
After all, the system's black technology was even better than the VR technology in the world he used to live in. Therefore, people in this world, who had never seen computers before, would immediately be dumbstruck by the scene in front of their eyes.
"Is this really a game?" the young man asked in shock; everything in the game, from the people to the surroundings, seemed so real! He felt like he had opened the door to another world!
"What else do you think it is?" Fang Qi said, "You can control your character with the keyboard and mouse as well."
Then, he taught the young man how to use them.
"If you use a keyboard and mouse, you won't have as much freedom to move around. Only by using the VR machine will you feel like you are actually in the game. It's your choice."
The young man was completely flabbergasted!
He then glanced over at Wang Tai's and Fang Qi's screens; their screens showed the same scene and people as if they were in the same world, but none of them could meet each other! It felt like there were identical yet completely separate worlds behind the screens!
How is that possible? This is amazing! How can something this amazing exist in this world?
He finally began believing in this game; seven crystals really weren't that much, considering the experience he just had. This was an experience even 70 crystals couldn't buy!
He then pointed at the screen and asked, "Are there side effects to playing this game?"
"If being scared by monsters counts, then yes..."
Upon hearing what Fang Qi said, this young man couldn't wait any longer and went back to playing the game.
As the search began, he was profoundly impressed by each character and object, from the mysterious world to unkillable zombies to the zombie-filled mansion.
The life-like scenes and battles gave him a pleasure he never felt before!
A thought suddenly popped into his head, Oh! Doesn't this kind of intricate plot only exist in novels?
At this thought, he remembered something else, Does this mean these people... are equivalent to the main characters in a novel?
Novels can only be read, and words alone can never satisfy my craving for action. In addition, the endings of the novels are controlled by the authors. However, this shop has a game that allows me to be one of the main characters? So I can control the fate of these characters? In a sense, I have the opportunity to write my own novel?
No wonder the shop owner called this a 'game'! It is indeed a game! Not only that, it is a unique game that I never would've imagined existed in this world!
As a person in this era, there was nothing much to do aside from gambling, frequenting brothels, and hunting.
This game was much more different than the traditional games he was used to!
Who designed something like this?
His hands trembled in excitement; there were countless novels, but their qualities varied, and none of their plots were as imaginative as this one.
After he experienced life-like combat where each punch was satisfying on its own, he was completely hooked onto the exciting plot. With his fists clenched, he declared, "If I'm the main character, then I, Song Qingfeng, will reveal the conspiracy in this world, and I shall save my teammates and escape together!"
Every man in this world wanted to go on an adventure so stimulating that their blood would boil in exhilaration!
He had a feeling that defeating the monsters would be easy as pie if he were to use his special weapon. Now, all that was left was to give it a try.
Suddenly, a notification popped up on his desktop. "Your playtime period has ended."