Chapter 9: Time to Settle the Score (Please continue reading! Please add to your collection!)

“What do you mean?”

Matthew was initially startled when Wu Xian mentioned the mission assigned by Umbrella Corporation, but the next sentence left him even more perplexed.

Splitting up? So they didn’t intend to follow him anymore!

But didn’t he know the Hive was going to be sealed off? If they weren’t leaving with him, did they actually plan to stay in this hellhole?

“We still have our own tasks to complete. Besides... don’t think you can rest easy after this,” Wu Xian waved his hand and then addressed the Red Queen, who had already been rebooted once: “Pull up the surveillance footage from Restaurant B and let them see what’s really going on.”

“That’s against regulations,” the Red Queen replied, her last act of defiance as an AI.

“This is an order. Don’t make me say it twice.” Wu Xian flicked the remote in his hand, signaling her to obey.

Reluctantly, the Red Queen complied and brought up the surveillance footage from Restaurant B. Everyone watched in horror as the bodies, thought to have perished in the gas, one by one “came back to life,” their limbs stiff as they slowly shuffled toward them.

“Holy shit! What the hell is going on?!”

From an outsider’s perspective, the more detached the view, the clearer it became just how unnatural these “undead” were. Many were already decomposed, intestines spilling out, yet still crawling painfully forward—hardly human anymore.

“Zombies, undead... call them what you will. These are the hazardous experimental products of Umbrella Corporation, and that’s why you were tasked with sealing off the Hive.”

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Matthew swore repeatedly, even kicking the central computer workstation hard to vent his frustration. After calming himself, he said bitterly, “No wonder those bastards only gave us three hours. Turns out it’s because of these damn things.”

“What do you mean? If we don’t leave within three hours, are they planning to bury us alive down here? How dare they...”

At that moment, Ryan—the male character who had been following Alice—spoke with fierce intensity.

“Why wouldn’t they? As long as they protect their research secrets from leaking, losing a few lives is a small price to pay.”

Wu Xian sneered, then, to everyone’s shock, pressed the detonation button on the bomb remote.

“Boom——————!!!!”

A brilliant flash erupted on the screen, then darkness. The ground beneath them shook violently. Two with weaker constitutions, Zhan Lan and Li Xiaoyi, nearly fell, their faces pale with fear.

“You’re crazy! You’re crazy!” Alice, who had been silent since the laser channel, suddenly shouted, joined by the Red Queen’s alarmed voice.

“Don’t worry, I only blew up Restaurant B. The amount was too small to bury the Hive,” Wu Xian said with a smile.

A series of notification sounds rang in his mind—aside from the side mission of destroying Restaurant B, there were rewards for killing zombies and “lickers.” All told, he earned thousands of points; this was a windfall.

Ignoring the Red Queen’s protests, Wu Xian removed her motherboard, handed it along with the remote to Matthew, and casually said:

“There should be plenty more of those things. If you want to run, do it fast.”

“Remember, their weakness is the head. Other parts—no matter how badly smashed—won’t kill them outright. Try not to get bitten or scratched; infection is almost guaranteed, turning you into one of them.”

“Also, the Hive houses other monsters—zombie dogs and ‘lickers’—much tougher than the zombies. If you encounter them, the bombs I’ve set might come in handy. At least you’ll die with some dignity.”

Matthew’s expression grew complicated. His gaze softened from irritation to understanding. “Come with us. With your abilities, you have a better chance of getting out.”

“I told you, I have other things to do. And look at those dead weights. With their physical states, do you really think we can all safely return the same way?”

Wu Xian shrugged, his face full of unspeakable meaning.

Under the watchful eyes of Alice and the mercenaries, Zheng Zha and the others felt awkward.

Though, being treated like useless snacks by others—well, it was embarrassing.

“Fine then, good luck,” Matthew said helplessly. “Kaplan, activate the laser channel defense system when you leave. Stay inside; it’s at least safer.”

“Don’t worry. If we survive, we’ll report your situation to the company... Even if they want to abandon you, we’ll push to expose everything here to the outside world. They’ll be forced by pressure to send a rescue team!”

With that, he began ordering his team to prepare for extraction, leaving some weapons for the Central Plains team and teaching them how to use them.

Meanwhile, the heroine Alice approached Wu Xian hesitantly. “Excuse me... you’ve regained your memories, right? Do you know who I am? Why did Umbrella Corporation create those terrifying things?”

“Sorry, I don’t know much about you. The only thing I can tell you is that you’re very important to Umbrella Corporation, and...”

Wu Xian looked at the biohazard heroine. He had to admit, Alice was truly beautiful in this era—except her headlights were a bit understated, she was nearly flawless.

Thinking of her fate in the later films, he felt a pang of pity. Finally, he used his mental powers to compress his voice and send it directly into Alice’s ear.

The content caused the blonde woman’s pupils to dilate sharply, disbelief etched across her face.

“Remember this, and fight to survive. I hope one day in the future, we’ll meet again.”

...

“Why don’t we leave with them? Aren’t we supposed to stick close to the mercenaries?”

After the mercenaries and Alice left, Zhan Lan suddenly asked. Everyone else showed expressions of confusion and worry.

“You’re afraid of being erased by the Main God, right? Look at your watches. Has anything changed?”

Everyone froze, then immediately looked at their wrists.

Sure enough, the mission details on their watches had changed. There was no longer any requirement to follow Matthew or Alice—only a countdown remained.

“The original countdown was three hours—the time Matthew mentioned for sealing off the Hive’s external passages.”

“In other words, once that time’s up, our horror movie mission ends, and we can return to the Main God’s realm.”

“...I see. So that’s why you want to stay here.”

Zhan Lan suddenly understood, eyes gleaming. “In the story, Alice and the others enter the mainframe room’s sewer, cross a perilous suspended passage, and even after boarding the carriage, they’re chased by ‘lickers.’ There’s no truly safe place.”

“Compared to that, at least here there’s the laser channel. As long as we survive until the countdown finishes, we can leave safely.”

“Exactly. You’re really smart.”

Wu Xian smiled slightly, then turned his gaze coldly toward Zheng Zha.

“The mission is over. Now, it’s time we settle the score.”