Infinite Space

Chapter One: Biohazard Crisis

Wang Ye always felt as though he were merely existing in reality. From punching in at work to punching out, from eating to excreting, from sleeping to waking up, he couldn't discern his purpose. It certainly wasn't in the chubby, oily-smiling face of his boss, nor in the bodies of the so-called white-collar women he encountered at the bar, and certainly not in this vast sea of steel and concrete—the modernized urban jungle.

Wang Ye felt as though he were slowly decomposing, aging from twenty-four to old age, and then becoming nothing but soil, fading into oblivion. No, not even a name would persist, for nobody would remember him. Nobody would recall a mere white-collar worker, whether genuinely refined or merely pretending to be bourgeois. He was just a speck of dust in this world.

He longed to change something, to find his own purpose...

"Do you wish to comprehend the meaning of life? Do you yearn to truly... live?"

As Wang Ye opened his computer at the office that day, a sentence suddenly flashed on the screen. Clearly a gimmick by some immature hacker seeking attention. Whether he clicked 'yes' or 'no,' it would result in downloading a virus. Wang Ye scoffed, intending to close it, but a strange sensation made him pause as his finger hovered over the mouse.

"Do you wish to comprehend the meaning of life? Do you yearn to truly... live?"

Wang Ye felt bewildered, an inexplicable allure gripping him, compelling him to press 'YES' with a gentle click of the mouse, and then he lost consciousness...

Coldness, trembling...

As he awoke, Wang Ye sprang up from the ground, his gaze darting around in panic. The office environment in his mind and the one before his eyes momentarily blurred, but within seconds, he regained clarity.

"Not bad, you're the most promising among this batch," a cold voice echoed.

Wang Ye turned to see a black-haired young man, his face adorned with several scars, staring at him with a cold smirk. The young man appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five, with a very ordinary appearance, save for the scars which lent him a terrifying aura.

Holding a cigarette, the black-haired youth took a deep drag before casting a glance towards someone behind Wang Ye. There lay five others beside him—three men and two women. Among them were several foreigners in this enclosed environment—a compartment in a moving train, hurtling at an alarming speed. The coldness and tremors emanated from this compartment.

"Where are we? Who are you people? Why am I here?" Wang Ye bombarded those around him with questions, using English due to the foreigners present.

The foreigners glanced at him before turning away, except for the black-haired youth who took a deep breath. "Consider it carefully. It should all be implanted in your mind."

"Think carefully?" Wang Ye began to piece together his memories. He remembered clicking 'YES' on the computer screen when the message "Do you wish to comprehend the meaning of life? Do you yearn to truly... live?" appeared, and then he lost consciousness...

Wait a minute. Wang Ye sensed there was more—survival and life...

This was a game. It didn't matter who devised it—gods, demons, aliens, or even future humans. He was now a player, a part of this game.

Placing a choice amidst the city's decay felt surreal. When players chose this game, they would be thrust into various horror film scenarios.

"This time, it's the first installment of the Biohazard Crisis. You rookies are fortunate. You've encountered such an easy horror film on your first attempt. Even if you perish, it'll be swift," the black-haired youth remarked, crushing the cigarette butt firmly in his palm.

"So, we've essentially entered our consciousness into a computer, akin to a fantasy novel? Upon completing the game, our consciousness will return to our bodies, and we'll be revived to resume our lives?" queried a chubby man beside Wang Ye on the ground.

The black-haired youth withdrew a Desert Eagle handgun from his pocket, adjusting it as he spoke. "Whether it's just consciousness, I cannot say. But you'll experience pain, injury, and death. And you're mistaken. Upon completing the game, you'll progress to the next unknown horror film. Whether you've seen it before or not, the 'Main God' recruits new players to fill vacancies left by the deceased. The number of participants ranges from seven to twenty each time. This Biohazard Crisis is low-risk, hence only seven of us are here."

The chubby man smirked. "Are you out of your mind? Who would seek to prolong their stay in this horrifying world? Isn't that akin to seeking death?"

The black-haired youth chuckled but remained silent. The woman with glasses, however, touched her forehead thoughtfully. "No, I believe I understand. Horror films come in various forms. This is a technological horror film, where everything can be explained scientifically, devoid of supernatural elements. Except for the story's setting, it should resemble a normal world..."

The black-haired youth snapped his fingers. "Precisely! Correct! Extending one's stay by a hundred days entails living normally in other parts of this world for that duration. Imagine, after enduring numerous tests of survival and death, being able to live calmly and carefree—it's a blissful thought..."

Wang Ye shuddered, grasping the purpose of this world. Yes, it was the ennui of existence that made him feel decayed. After undergoing countless horrors and deaths, the prospect of an ordinary life became alluring.

The black-haired youth continued, "Apart from prolonging your stay, you can exchange points for various benefits. For example, this Desert Eagle with unlimited ammunition only requires a hundred points, equivalent to ten days' stay. Furthermore, the average quality of a person—intelligence, mental strength, cellular vitality, nerve reaction speed, muscle tissue strength, and immune strength—each point in these six attributes can be exchanged for a day's stay. An ordinary person has a strength value of one hundred in each aspect. Surviving this horror film once will double your strength. Surviving a hundred films will render you superhuman!"

The woman with glasses interjected calmly, "So, to return to our original world, how many points are needed?"

"50,000 points!" The black-haired youth retrieved another cigarette, lighting it with a deep inhale. "To return, you must survive fifty horror films without utilizing reward points to enhance yourself."

Silence enveloped them. Surviving fifty horror films without strengthening oneself with reward points seemed insurmountable.

"Of course, the basic reward for each film is one thousand points. You may also earn extra rewards within the film. For instance, explaining these rules to newcomers, as I've done, earns a hundred points. Additionally, you may have noticed the peculiar watch you're wearing?" The black-haired youth raised his left hand, revealing a black, metallic watch.

All eyes turned to their left hands, where the watch displayed various data: a countdown of three hours and seven minutes, along with summaries of zombie, crawler, and newcomer counts...

"The kill count determines your reward points. Every ten zombies slain earns one point, every crawler earns one hundred, and every newcomer...