Chapter 11: The Platform

“Oh my god!”

Kaplan, the young mercenary, shouted out loud.

They all knew how many bullets a Desert Eagle held—there was no mistaking it.

“Damn!”

Zhang Jie shook the Desert Eagle; the barrel was glowing red. “The barrel can’t take it anymore.”

“That’s enough.”

The recent burst of firepower had cleared the way for everyone to retreat. The zombies were insignificant, and the zombie dogs had been taken down, posing no real obstacle to their escape.

“Let’s move quickly. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”

The path ahead was, if anything, completely clear.

The wave of zombies pursued from behind, while Qian Gu and the others ran ahead. Though somewhat disheveled along the way, they had at least kept their lives—and avoided any scratches—arriving safely back at the story’s starting point: the train platform.

The train meant to carry them all to the Hive was now stopped on the tracks, ready to depart at any moment.

A faint glow still lingered inside, a symbol of hope and survival.

“Finally...”

Matthew Addison and the others breathed a sigh of relief. The relentless zombie wave had been shaken off through constant movement. After narrowly escaping death, they were finally about to leave this den of cannibals—the greatest nest of Umbrella Corporation’s sins.

But although they exhaled, it did not mean Qian Gu and the others could relax.

Zhang Jie touched the now-cooled barrel and asked, “How many were there?”

“Just one, I think?”

Zhan Lan sounded uncertain.

Qian Gu shook his head. “Forget how many were in the original story. From now on, everyone stay sharp and hold the last post.”

He and the other Recyclers walked at the rear of the group, his voice low.

“This is the final destination.”

Zheng Zha was taken aback. “What? Not heading back to the surface?”

“First, there isn’t enough time,” Qian Gu shot him a sidelong glance. “Second, don’t forget, Resident Evil isn’t just one chapter. At the end of the first game, there were people above waiting to knock us out with anesthetics.”

A deadly net.

A trap.

To describe this Hive as such was no exaggeration.

Zombies surged from below, and Umbrella’s forces above had no intention of letting them live.

Either they’d become rotting flesh inside the zombies’ guts,

or Umbrella’s bioweapons.

“So what’s next?”

Zheng Zha looked at Qian Gu, sensing the college student had other plans.

“There are three people here we saved,” Qian Gu checked his pistol. “There are a few more who haven’t triggered their rewards yet.”

Meanwhile, Zhan Lan had already found the code box on the train from memory, a faint smile on her face.

“How much?”

“A D-level side storyline.”

Only that?

***

The difficulty of obtaining a D-level horror side storyline was simple. Normally, it shouldn’t...

Wait!

“It really isn’t difficult.”

Qian Gu thought it over and suddenly understood.

At the story’s end, for rookie recyclers who had endured a life-or-death ordeal, acquiring the code box would indeed be difficult, even life-threatening, perhaps yielding only a C-level horror side storyline.

But!

What if it was at the story’s beginning?

With good memory, excellent physical condition, and eloquence—just these three—one could retrieve the code box early in the cycle and easily keep up with the team.

What is hard is not easy, and what is easy is not hard.

That said, Qian Gu didn’t regret it.

Simply put, he didn’t meet those requirements. Except for Zhang Jie with his Hypnotic Eye, no one on the Recycler team did.

“Uh, Qian...”

Li Xiaoyi scratched his head awkwardly. Though he hadn’t accidentally revealed anything this time to cost reward points, he hadn’t gained any extra either!

“Don’t worry. There should be a big reward coming up soon, not just the minimum.”

Qian Gu reassured him casually.

At that moment, his heart suddenly jumped—a strong, rare thump that nearly burst from his chest, pumping blood fiercely through his body. Instinctively, he lunged, knocking Zhan Lan to the ground.

“Qian Gu!”

“They’re Crawlers!”

“Open fire!”

Zheng Zha and the others shouted.

Qian Gu felt a burning pain in his back—his flesh torn along the spine, the vertebrae laid bare. Lying on the ground, his whole body trembled, barely able to move.

“Just as expected!”

At the story’s end, side rewards became more difficult.

Crawlers!

The B-Restaurant had ceased operation, all devices shut down. Umbrella’s anesthetized bioweapons—the Crawlers—were unleashed, the most terrifying killers haunting the entire Hive in Resident Evil’s first chapter.

One?

Two?

No!

Dozens, even hundreds!

But...

That was the last danger Zhan Lan faced in securing this side reward.

“Qian Gu! Qian Gu!”

Zhan Lan was panicking, patting his face. “Are you okay?”

“Stop that.”

Qian Gu pushed himself up with trembling hands, forcing himself upright and letting Zhan Lan crawl out from beneath him. “Tell me the situation.”

“There are two Crawlers,” Zhan Lan swallowed hard and relayed what she had seen. “But Zhang Jie has them blocked outside.”

“Not much time left.”

Qian Gu pushed up hard; his spine creaked as he stood and glanced at the Recycler wristwatch.

He couldn’t overdo it—if the Host God got provoked, two more Crawlers could arrive.

“Captain!”

Qian Gu called out.

“Qian Gu?” Matthew Addison looked toward him. “Get down! Medic, tend to him!”

“No need.”

Qian Gu waved his hand and smiled. Despite the bleeding back, he still looked composed.

“You all go ahead; we’ll cover the rear.”

“Don’t joke!”

Matthew Addison roared. “No! You saved our lives and are my teammates. I won’t watch you throw yourselves away! That’s an order—Medic, now!”

“Captain, B-Restaurant is full of those monsters,” Qian Gu raised his trembling gun. “If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”

“Qian!” Ryan was agitated. “I’m staying too, Captain!”

“Enough!”

Matthew Addison took a deep breath and focused on Qian Gu’s group.

“Let’s... move!”

The train began to move.I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.