A Brush with Death

Ye Wudao and his companions followed the main group in a state of panic, unsure of what to do next. Having just transitioned from the real civilized world, they were suddenly confronted with these surreal experiences. At first, they truly believed it was all just a dream, or an experience akin to a dream. To be honest, at the beginning, Ye Wudao felt a surge of delight.

He had grown tired of the mundane, water-like reality, where life was nothing more than a cycle of working, eating, excreting, sleeping, and waking up. He craved enough excitement, sex, one-night stands, fights, and even methamphetamine use—yet, all of these were still part of reality. When you woke up from sleep, it was still the same reality. He didn't want such a world! He desired a life filled with more thrills, and now it seemed as if such a life was right in front of him.

So, at the start, he indeed felt a wave of joy, not only could he experience countless horror movie scenarios, but he could also use reward points to strengthen himself. As someone who had seen countless horror movies, as long as the first few were among those he had watched, then he would grow stronger and would absolutely not die. When he became powerful enough, even the characters in the horror movies would not be able to harm him. At that time, he could stay in any world, live as he pleased, enjoy the thrills, and keep getting stronger. Even if he grew tired of it all, he could return to reality. Yes! This was nothing less than paradise.

At first, Ye Wudao indeed thought this way, but when the two explosion sounds came, it was as if a hammer had shattered his illusions in an instant. There was no paradise, and this place was not paradise at all; it was clearly hell. He was just a tiny insect in the palm of the gods, and human life was worth no more than the sound of that explosion just now... He did not want to die! He did not wish to die!

The mercenaries and the male and female protagonists seemed not to have heard those two explosion sounds, and they didn't even notice that two people were missing. As they approached the end of the stairs, one of the mercenaries suddenly said loudly, "Sir, the Fire Queen has locked onto us; it knows we are here."

The female protagonist, Alice, asked strangely after hearing this, "Who is the Fire Queen?"

Matthew Addison glanced at her and said, "It is the best artificial intelligence system in the country. It controls the entire hive and is the central main computer here."

The mercenaries had already descended the stairs, and Zhang Jie looked back with a sneer at the panting crowd. He shook his head and said, "Keep going; you should thank God for surviving. To be honest, you have been lucky enough. This horror movie has a very low level of danger. In fact, it is one of the few where bullets can solve problems. Keep going; as long as you can survive this horror movie, you will have a thousand reward points to improve your physique."

As the team continued to delve deeper, isolated research rooms gradually appeared on both sides of the corridor. These rooms were all filled with water, and in addition to the water, there were many researchers' bodies floating in them. The pale appearance was quite terrifying. Ye Wudao and others knew that they had been infected with the T-virus and had become zombies. Once the central computer restarted, they would break free and start to move, eating people.

"Damn it."

One of the mercenaries said, "To get to the Fire Queen, these laboratories are a necessary passage, but now they are all flooded. I don't think we can get in anymore."

Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Rain, J.D., go check if there's any possibility of draining the water."

The long-haired female mercenary, surprisingly named Rain with such a masculine name, and another mercenary named J.D. both gripped their guns and walked deeper into the corridor upon hearing this.

Looking at the flooded research rooms, Matthew Addison said, "Kaplan, Zhang Jie, find another way to the Fire Queen."

Kaplan raised his gun and followed Rain and the other two, while Zhang Jie waved casually at Ye Wudao and the others, strolling off as if relaxed.

Once the four had moved far enough away, one of the male protagonists, Ryan, suddenly asked, "What exactly happened here? Why do these research rooms look like..."

"Like they've been filled with water from the inside?"

Matthew Addison looked at everyone and then said, "About five hours ago, the Fire Queen manipulated the closure of the entire hive, then began to kill using the internal defense system, releasing poison gas, cutting elevators, sealing research rooms—just like these. It killed everyone in this experimental area."

He paused and continued, "When the company realized something had gone wrong here, our team was sent to shut it down. That's the purpose of our being here."

The protagonists were all astonished. Alice bit her finger and asked, "Why would it do that? Isn't it an intellectualized computer system?"

Matthew Addison shook his head and said, "We don't know for sure. It might have been influenced externally, such as by a computer virus... Or it could have been sabotaged by someone from the inside. These are..."

While Matthew Addison was speaking, a figure gradually materialized on the glass wall that Matt was leaning against. Matt looked closely and realized it was a corpse floating in the water. He jumped back in fright, crying out loud.

Everyone was startled, and even Ye Wudao and the others jumped up, all looking over to where a pale female corpse was floating inside the glass wall.

Although Matthew Addison and his team looked a bit unnatural, they quickly calmed down. Only Ye Wudao and his companions were left chilled, perhaps not feeling it when sitting down to watch a movie, but being in the actual situation, especially knowing that the corpse was now a zombie, the eerie horror was indescribable to outsiders.

Ye Wudao was staring at the corpse when suddenly a small hand patted his shoulder. At this moment, any movement could be terrifyingly fatal. He was startled and leaped several meters away, only to turn his head and see the girl with glasses standing there, giggling.

"Hey, I suggest we introduce ourselves. After all, we're about to start relying on each other for survival," the girl with glasses said with a smile.

The three men seemed to have no objections, so the girl continued, "My name is Zhan Lan, Zhan from Zhan Tianyou, and Lan meaning 'mountain wind' as in 'Lan'. Hehe, it sounds like a boy's name, doesn't it? I'm a writer. Before I came here, I was always complaining about lacking the desire and inspiration to write. I didn't expect to end up in this world full of infinite inspiration. Hehe, I suppose this is karma."

Ye Wudao smiled kindly and said, "Ye Wudao, Zheng from Zheng Chenggong, and Zhe from Nezha. I'm a company executive. Well, before I came, I did complain that the real world was too boring, so bland that it felt like people were decaying day by day, so I wanted some excitement... Only the excitement here is a bit too intense."

Zhan Lan giggled and shook Ye Wudao's hand, saying, "Kindred spirit, I thought the same way."

The middle-aged man gave a simple smile and said, "Mou Gang, Mou as in 'mou', and Gang as in 'steel'. I'm not as cultured as you all. Anyway, that's my name. I'm a long-haul truck driver. Before I came here, I did complain about my wife being too stingy and my son not being promising. In short, I was very disappointed with reality. I clicked on that confirmation while playing games online with friends, and then I ended up here."

The unremarkable young man then spoke up, "Li Xiaoyi, a senior high school student. I've complained about many things before, but actually, coming here isn't so bad. As long as I don't die, I can become a superman. And from what Zhang Jie implies, if we can return, it seems like these enhanced abilities might be retained. I can't stand being bullied at school anymore. If I can go back, I will definitely kill those bastards!"

This youth's face revealed a ferocious expression. The other three exchanged glances, knowing that this young man must have been a constant target of bullying at school. His complaints were undoubtedly rooted in a deep disappointment with the real world. It seemed that everyone who came here shared one common trait: complaints and disappointment with reality.

At this moment, Zhang Jie and another mercenary walked back. As he passed by Zhan Lan, he deliberately slapped the girl's buttocks hard. Caught off guard, Zhan Lan only managed a scream before Zhang Jie laughed and walked towards Matthew Addison.

"Sir, we've found another route, but it will probably take more time. We should head back here, then go through the B dining area, and from there, make our way directly to the destination. This path might take twice as long," the mercenary with Zhang Jie said.

By this time, the other two scouts had also returned. The long-haired female mercenary named Rain said, "Sir, there's no way through there. This floor is completely flooded."

Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Alright, then we'll take the second route. Time is running out, everyone hurry up."

Reluctantly, Ye Wudao and the others had to follow the main group back again. Fortunately, this time the mercenaries didn't run. After walking for an unknown distance, they finally stopped outside a metal door. One of the mercenaries used a computer to open the door, and then the front few cautiously entered with their guns at the ready.

This was a vast hall filled with countless small containers, each about several meters cubic. From the containers, a chilling air continuously emanated. Anyone who had seen Resident Evil knew that this was the warehouse where the crawlers were frozen. Once the main computer was shut down, these crawlers would become the most terrifying alien creatures, their horrifying power a hundred times greater than that of the zombies.

A mercenary looking at the computer said, "This is B dining area... At least that's what the map says."

Matthew Addison walked over to him and looked at the computer. Matt, however, said beside him, "Maybe there are some secrets hidden here, secrets the company doesn't want the outside world to know..."

Matthew Addison glanced at him but said nothing. He only said to the mercenaries around him, "J.D., Rain, Zhang Jie, you stay here and watch the prisoners, then guard the exit."

At this moment, another female mercenary suddenly said, "Sir, the gas levels here show zero. It's possible that no gas was released here. Maybe the defense system here is out of control."

Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Good, J.D., Rain, Zhang Jie, there might still be survivors hiding here. Search around, but don't go too far. You must first watch the prisoners and the exit. Understand?"

The three of them all nodded, only Zhang Jie sneered, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and those who had seen the movie should know, survivors? No, there were no survivors, but there were quite a few zombies.

The girl with glasses next to Ye Wudao suddenly walked over to Zhang Jie and whispered, "Here, I want to know one thing, can we change the plot of the movie?"

Zhang Jie nodded and said, "Go on, what else do you want to ask?"

She laughed, her laughter very much like some kind of silver wind chime, and she said, "So, can we use plastic explosives here? As long as we kill all the crawlers in this room, wouldn't that get us thousands of reward points?"

Zhang Jie also laughed and said, "That's true, blowing up here will get thousands of reward points, but I have two questions to ask you. First, will they give us time to place the plastic explosives?" He pointed to those mercenaries.

"They don't know what these are, nor do they know what the consequences would be if the main computer is shut down. If they casually see us doing something they can't understand, the most likely result is that they will shoot at us first, which could release the crawlers prematurely. The 'Main God' won't let you change the plot so easily. Even if it does change, it's also likely to increase the difficulty and accidents. You know that, right?"

After asking and answering himself, Zhang Jie immediately asked another question, "The second question, what do you think is our biggest reliance on living in a horror movie?"

The girl with glasses was stunned for a moment, she touched her forehead and said, "Strength? No, luck? It's not, it's too unpredictable, sometimes good, sometimes bad... It should be knowing the plot, right?"

Zhang Jie smiled and said, "Bingo, you're right. Knowing the plot is our biggest reliance, so I will never try to change the plot without absolute certainty. And if someone tries to forcibly change the plot to get reward points, I don't mind sending him to hell."

Ye Wudao was standing beside the two at this moment, listening quietly, but he noticed Zhang Jie looking at him with a strange gaze, which made him very uncomfortable. That gaze was filled with pity and mockery, as if... as if looking at a dead man, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

At that moment, the mercenary team leader, Matthew Addison, said, "Alright, let's begin the operation. The rest of you, follow me."

Zhang Jie acted naturally, staying close behind the main group, seemingly searching for something on both sides. The mercenaries didn't comment, but Ye Wudao and the others understood that it was because Zhang Jie couldn't stay more than a hundred meters away from Matthew Addison, so he had to stay with the main group.

After passing through several steel doors, they arrived at the central computer control room. Of course, the central computer, the Fire Queen, was now out of control, and this place could no longer directly control the entire laboratory.

The most computer-savvy mercenary, named Kaplan, opened three laptops. From the perspective of Ye Wudao and the others, he was absolutely top-notch at handling computers, his hands clacking away on the three computers. But several minutes passed, and the door leading to the central computer's location remained tightly closed.

Another female mercenary couldn't help but ask, "Why is it taking so long?"

Without turning his head, Kaplan said, "The Fire Queen is a smart computer, and its defense system is very comprehensive. If it were easy to break through its firewall, it wouldn't be used as the main computer for the laboratory..."

As he spoke, there was a soft sound, and the tightly closed door finally began to open slowly. Matthew Addison nodded and said, "Pack up the equipment!" After that, he turned to look at Ye Wudao and the others.

"You stay here."

Beyond the door was a passage over ten meters long, with walls made entirely of glass, completely different from the steel walls outside the door.

After saying that, Matthew Addison walked in by himself, moving very cautiously, each step showing enough care. Even so, when he reached the middle of the passage, he was still startled because the glass walls around him suddenly lit up. This sudden feeling was enough to scare an ordinary person into feeling weak in the knees.

Kaplan's voice came from the intercom, saying, "Don't worry, it's just automatic sensing lights. There's nothing to worry about."

(Clearly, these are the lasers from the automatic defense system, not just sensing lights, and there's plenty to worry about...)

Ye Wudao thought to himself, and he suddenly wanted to say something. At that moment, a small hand held him back. When he turned his head, he saw the girl with glasses standing beside him, gently shaking her head.

Matthew Addison had already placed the transmitter, a device similar to a mobile phone. It only needed to be placed on the door's sensing device, and Kaplan immediately started pressing keys again. After a while, there was a soft sound, and the door to the central computer finally began to open slowly.

Matthew Addison let out a breath and called to the people outside the passage, "Alright, bring the equipment over."

Alice suddenly asked, "What equipment? What is it?"

Kaplan, who was closest to her, said, "This is the device that can shut down the Fire Queen. It can emit a strong electric current, mess up the mainframe, and make it restart..."

At this time, the mercenary holding the device was about to walk into the passage. Ye Wudao couldn't help but shout loudly, "Wait, wait a minute, don't you think it's a bit strange? This intelligent computer seems too useless, just letting you restart it like this. I don't think things will be that simple. There may be something special in this passage."

The mercenaries all stopped suddenly, and everyone looked at him strangely. The girl with glasses sighed and let go of his hand, stepping back to stand beside the female protagonist, Alice.

Matthew Addison walked over from the passage. He looked at Ye Wudao silently for a long time before he finally said, "Alright, you and you will come in with us too." He pointed at Ye Wudao and the middle-aged man, Mou Gang.

Ye Wudao and Mou Gang suddenly felt ice-cold. Anyone who had seen the movie knew that this passage was a death trap. Absolutely no one who entered would survive, not even the best mercenary captain, who died a gruesome death under the lasers, cut into countless small pieces of flesh.

Ye Wudao finally understood why Zhang Jie had given him that look. Yes, he couldn't help but want to change the plot, but the plot itself was resistant to change. Even if it did change, the 'Main God' might increase the difficulty several times over, just like now.

Mou Gang suddenly held his head and shouted, "No, I don't want to, I don't want to go in!" As he spoke, he actually ran back the way they had come, screaming. Before Ye Wudao and the others could react, the mercenaries had already drawn their guns and shot him flying out. When he landed, he had become a corpse riddled with bullet holes.

"Wah!"

Ye Wudao and Li Xiaoyi vomited violently. A life was brutally turned into a corpse right before their eyes. Ye Wudao felt particularly distressed because this person had essentially died due to his meddling.

Matthew Addison coldly looked at him and said, "I've been suspicious of you from the start. Although your identities are registered in the company's records, you don't seem like company security at all. Are you still trying to prevent us from restarting the Fire Queen? Alright, Ye Wudao, come with us."

Ye Wudao went ice-cold all over. Having just vomited, he still felt uneasy in his stomach. Without any courtesy, Matthew Addison dragged him and the rest of the mercenaries further in.

As soon as they entered the passage, just like what had happened in the movie plot, the doors on both sides closed simultaneously. Matthew Addison could no longer pay attention to Ye Wudao. He and the other mercenaries cautiously watched with their weapons, and he also asked into the intercom, "Kaplan?"

Kaplan urgently replied, "Some kind of dormant defense mechanism, it activates after too many people pass through the door."

Matthew Addison said, "Then keep it dormant!"

Kaplan was sweating profusely, his hands constantly tapping on the keyboard as he responded, "I'm trying!"

Matthew Addison helplessly said to his men, "Stay where you are and don't move."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wudao went ice-cold all over. He knew the plot had begun, and he had become a part of it. Sure enough, the lights on both sides of the walls dimmed, and a laser line appeared between the glass walls, slashing towards the mercenaries and Ye Wudao!

Matthew Addison reacted the quickest, pushing the two people next to him to the ground. Ye Wudao, who had been paying attention, dropped to the ground the moment the laser line appeared, so it only grazed his shoulder, with a sharp and scorching sensation as if it had brushed past his shoulder. Apart from that, his mind went completely blank.

"Medic! Medic!"

Matthew Addison's voice shouted loudly. This voice snapped Ye Wudao out of his daze. He looked over and saw the female medic's head slowly moving, then her head dropped right in front of him, her dead, staring eyes seeming like a curse, or like a mockery.

"No, don't! I don't want to die!" Ye Wudao screamed frantically. For some reason, the more he screamed, the calmer he felt inside. He began to recall every detail of this scene from the movie Resident Evil.

Matthew Addison was supporting a mercenary whose fingers had been cut off by the laser line. At this moment, another mercenary shouted, "Sir, another one is coming!"

This time, the laser line formed at the level of their legs. Ye Wudao remembered the details of this segment in his mind. He recalled that after the laser line passed the first mercenary, it would rise higher as the second mercenary jumped up, then dismember him. He had only one chance, and failure would mean death by the laser line! He didn't know if the plot would change here, so he could only choose to trust the movie plot he knew.

The laser line began to swiftly approach the four of them. The mercenary on the ground, unable to move, was quickly killed. The remaining two mercenaries kept retreating backward. Ye Wudao watched the mercenary's movements with wide eyes and full concentration. One second, two seconds, at this critical moment of life and death, Ye Wudao felt as if time had slowed down. He could no longer hear any sound, and everything around him seemed to slow down.

"Mental threshold breached! Reward points: 500 points, Mental Attribute increased by 20 points, Nerve Reaction Speed increased by 30 points!"

A rigid yet solemn voice cut through Ye Wudao's ears, but he could no longer hear anything. He could only focus intently on the mercenary's movements. Finally, the moment the mercenary leaped, Ye Wudao suddenly threw himself to the ground. The laser line streaked past his eyes, the white light like the grim reaper's scythe. In that instant, Ye Wudao believed Zhang Jie's words; they had indeed entered this so-called game with their physical bodies. This was the masterpiece of the gods or perhaps the game of demons, and they... could die!

The laser indeed shot upward as the mercenary jumped, and the mercenary was completely dismembered. After the laser line passed, Ye Wudao sprang up from the ground. He looked back and saw the girl with glasses standing outside the glass of the steel door behind them, her eyes brimming with tears.

Ye Wudao only had time to offer her a faint smile before he dragged Matthew Addison and pressed themselves against the door at the entrance from which they came. Now, he could only pray that the plot would not change at all. The laser would end near the door. There was no point in trying to evade it; it would turn into a grid and tear apart anyone. The only thing he could do was to press against the door and pray to the heavens, as shown in the plot, to put an end to all of this!

Matthew Addison struggled desperately, saying, "Let go of me! We will both be cut in half at this position! Let go of me!"

But Ye Wudao clutched his collar tightly, saying, "Trust me! Trust me! This time we can't dodge at all. Pressing against the door is our only chance to take a gamble! Believe in me!"

The third laser line was gradually forming, and as it formed, it swiftly slashed towards the two of them. According to its trajectory, it would cut them in half. Matthew Addison tried with all his might to throw himself to the ground, but Ye Wudao held on to him tightly, not letting go. He himself pressed his entire body against the door and even slowly closed his eyes.

"To live, to want to live, even if it means struggling in such a situation, I want to live!"

Perhaps the divine opened their eyes, or perhaps Ye Wudao's prayers took effect. The laser line turned into a grid as it neared the two of them. Matthew Addison only had time to mutter a curse before his moment of despair. The laser grid gradually faded, and then the grid disappeared a few centimeters before his eyes. A faint heat still rushed towards his face through the air. In that instant, he could hardly believe he had survived.

Ye Wudao opened his eyes. He did not see the disappearance of the laser grid, but he knew he had succeeded. The familiar plot, once again propelled by inertia, had allowed him to struggle and live through death. In the past more than twenty years of life, he had never been so close to death. The trajectory of death had brushed past his shoulder, so close!

"What is this?"

As Ye Wudao was marveling at his luck, he suddenly noticed a small light ball appeared on the collar of Matthew Addison's shirt that he was pulling. He curiously picked up the light ball, and the light ball the size of a few centimeters disappeared between his fingers. A warm breath seemed to enter his body from his fingers, a peculiarly comfortable and strange feeling.

"B-level horror sub-plot completed, reward points: 5000!"

The rigid yet solemn voice echoed again, and Ye Wudao now recalled that he seemed to have heard something as the laser line passed by. Upon closer reflection, it appeared he had received a reward of 500 points, a 20-point increase in mental power, and a 30-point increase in nerve reaction speed. This translated to a total of 1000 reward points, as Zhang Jie had mentioned, which was the reward one could get from surviving a horror movie.

As for the 5000 reward points, it was as if a huge pie had fallen from the sky, shocking Ye Wudao over and over. He couldn't tell whether it was the joy of survival or the surprise of the reward, but in any case, when several people rushed towards him as the door opened, he still stood there, dazed.

The young man, Li Xiaoyi, rushed to Ye Wudao's side and slapped his shoulder vigorously, saying, "You did great! You actually survived in such a situation!"

Ye Wudao was slapped back to his senses. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. He didn't know what he was feeling, and he didn't know what to say at the moment. Having just survived a life-and-death situation was too much of a shock for an ordinary person who had just come from the ordinary world.

The girl with glasses, Zhan Lan, also came over and said, "You deserved it. I've been warning you not to change the plot, but you didn't listen. What Zhang Jie said was actually correct. Our biggest reliance here is not luck but our familiarity with the plot. Your luck can't always be with you. Don't be so impulsive in the future. None of us want to die here."

Ye Wudao shook his head and didn't speak. He didn't know whether to mention the reward or not. What did B-level horror sub-plot mean? Did it mean changing the direction of the plot? Or saving a character who was supposed to die in the plot? Or getting through a very dangerous scene in the plot?

He didn't know because all of that was very, very dangerous. He almost died inside, and that middle-aged man, Mou Gang, was almost killed by him, so he didn't dare to continue trying to change the plot. Perhaps Zhang Jie and the others wouldn't let him change the plot again because no one could predict the direction from then on, and it was very possible that everyone would die here... including them, including the character figures, and even the protagonists in the movie!

This is what a horror movie is like; no one is absolutely safe, and everyone can die. They are all just struggling worms, all struggling to survive!