Chapter 2: Hello, Staircase Sprint

Zhang Jie’s words seemed like a beautiful illusion.

Returning to the starting point…

Bringing back the power, wealth, and years of life gained in the “Lord God” space to that once disheartening, even despair-inducing reality was, without doubt, a tempting prospect.

Fifty thousand reward points.

According to Zhang Jie, one would have to survive fifty horror movie cycles without spending a single point to save up that amount.

But how could anyone possibly not spend anything?

Of course, Qian Gu understood that this calculation didn’t take into account side missions or extra gains. But the problem was, side missions and extra rewards were inherently fraught with danger—without investing in one’s own enhancements, there was almost no chance of triggering them.

Except…

“Now!”

Qian Gu’s gaze swept the train car from the corner of his eye.

Though he didn’t yet understand the full situation, there was no doubt—this was his first horror movie cycle, and it was the classic Resident Evil.

The “Lord God” space also offered perks for newcomers.

As long as no veterans raised the difficulty, the first horror movie for newcomers was always a bit easier, with hidden benefits allowing them to earn some seed money for compound growth.

For instance, the much-discussed T-virus case.

But!

You get what you pay for.

If you want to gain something, you must pay a price. A benefit is a benefit—it’s not freely given for nothing.

“Getting that case won’t be easy...”

Qian Gu was realistic.

Not to mention how he'd deal with the mercenaries regarding the case later.

For one, the case wasn’t out in the open. At least right now, Qian Gu couldn’t see it at a glance. If he really wanted to find it, he’d have to spend some time.

Yet soon, he’d be facing…

“Matthew Addison.”

The newcomers all read the name on their Reincarnation Watches in unison. In the distant mercenary squad, a burly black man briefly glowed with a faint light, which vanished instantly.

“That’s the mercenary captain,” Zhang Jie explained. “This horror movie is region-specific; the plot unfolds inside the lab. The ‘Lord God’ set the difficulty so you can’t leave the designated area. If we stray more than a hundred meters from that guy, we’ll just—boom—disappear. Understand?”

This was the restriction.

Within a hundred meters, finding a case hidden God-knows-where was a daunting task. It didn’t seem like a side quest meant to be discovered right at the start.

Still…

“There’s at least a chance.”

Qian Gu took a deep breath, brainstorming for a moment.

But now was not the time.

The screech of the train’s impending stop thundered through the car, the speed gradually slowing. The mysterious shield had vanished, and the mercenaries’ voices drifted to the group.

The Lord God’s cycle had officially begun!

Without further thought, Qian Gu joined the main group, not sparing another glance for the car—after all, there was no use in looking now.

They paused briefly before the steel doors, watching a short cutscene.

“What about them?”

The female lead, Alice, pointed to Qian Gu’s group.

Zheng Zha and the others clearly hadn’t adjusted their mindsets—just watching the cutscene until suddenly, they were prompted for “plot interaction,” which startled them.

“Them?”

The true six-stage willpower captain, Matthew, glanced at Zheng Zha’s group, his brow barely furrowing as he said flatly, “They’re also security here. The company has their records, but I doubt upper management’s orders; aside from that Asian man, who’s a qualified fighter, the rest are just ordinary citizens.”

Qian Gu clicked his tongue inwardly.

“They really aren’t giving us any breaks.”

Identity…

At least in this horror movie, the newcomers had “identities” rather than being anonymous nobodies.

But as for the specifics of their backgrounds, or what Matthew, the mercenary captain, theoretically knew—Qian Gu and the others had no way of grasping that.

He wasn’t like Chu Xuan, the script-genius… No, Qian Gu wasn’t a strategist at all. He was clumsy with words; the notion of bluffing his way through and fabricating a lie to influence the plot was essentially zero.

The reason it was only “essentially zero” was because…

“The laser corridor!”

Qian Gu looked at Zhang Jie, who was being called to scout ahead, and sighed inwardly.

Whether they entered or not, the laser corridor was an unavoidable hurdle. Only after passing through it could he hope to earn his first “pot of gold.”

At least…

A fifty percent chance!

Qian Gu was deep in thought; Zheng Zha, the original protagonist, was getting chummy with Matt; Zhan Lan was observing.

Everyone was busy in their own way.

Well… except for one auntie.

This woman was trembling, unable to speak clearly, gasping desperately, as if some acute illness was about to erupt.

In a peaceful modern city, her condition would have been spotted right away.

But unfortunately, this was the horror movie cycle.

With the tense atmosphere, everyone was preoccupied with their own survival, dreading a zombie attack out of nowhere—no one was paying attention to their teammates.

And more than that, they weren’t really “teammates” yet—just unrelated individuals forcibly gathered together.

A catalyst was needed.

Unfortunately, she was destined to be that sacrificial catalyst.

The situation became clear quickly. When Matthew saw the snapped elevator cable and the gaping black shaft, his face darkened: “Take the stairs. We must reach the lower level in ten minutes. Everyone, move!”

Here it comes!

Qian Gu instinctively took a deep breath, his pulse quickening before he forced himself calm again.

The first death point had begun.

The Hive’s stairs were steep and straight, but wide—perhaps to transport equipment, or to allow large groups of people to move quickly.

Thud, thud, thud!

The sound of tactical boots pounding the steps was rapid and urgent.

The mercenaries descended at breakneck speed, maintaining tactical formation all the while. Each held their weapon ready to gun down any threat that might leap from around a corner.

In such a forced march, anyone without proper physical conditioning would struggle to keep up.

Thud, thud!

Qian Gu pumped his legs, charging down with all his might. Now was not the time to think—just run. Though he hadn’t trained seriously, he was in decent shape—not tall and burly, but a slender, good-looking young man. He managed, though barely, to keep up.

At the back, Zhang Jie, of course, was fine—he was a “veteran.”

As for Zheng Zha, he was in great shape—already showing his “gorilla” physique, a gym regular, a bar-hopper, a ladies’ man—his body hadn’t let him down.

Mou Gang, the middle-aged man, did manual labor for a living—no match for the fitness buffs, but certainly not weak.

Li Xiaoyi, a high schooler at his peak in both mind and body, was fine.

And Zhan Lan? She claimed to be relying on leverage, but she was keeping up, which showed she had stamina too.

So…

Huff, huff!

The auntie lagged far behind, her heart seeming ready to burst from her chest, her face contorting, gulping down the cold, damp air into her nearly exploding lungs.

“Wait… wait up…”

Thud.

She stumbled, crashing into the corner of the stairs.

She couldn’t move anymore…

Her legs refused to take another step…

Maybe… maybe she’d just rest here. Perhaps… this was all just a dream?

“Yes, just a dream, just…”

[Reincarnator has moved more than 100 meters from a plot character. Erasure!]

A cold voice rang in her ear.

The next instant—

Boom!