endless horror

The Desire to Survive

Minutes later, everyone regained their composure from the gruesome deaths. Matthew Edison patted Ye Wudao on the shoulder, grateful that the mercenary captain, who should have died in the tunnel, was alive. This was a significant twist in the plot, though he might still meet his end at the jaws of a zombie or the claws of a crawler—no one could predict. Matthew glanced at the others and coldly said, "Let's continue."

"Continue?" one of the protagonists, Ryan, exclaimed loudly. "What do you mean, continue? No way am I going back into that tunnel!"

Matthew turned his gaze to Kaplan, the tech-savvy mercenary, who was sweating profusely. "Yes, yes, I've shut down all defense systems, all of them..."

Matthew pressed, "All of them? Confirm?" Without waiting for Kaplan's response, he picked up a device from the ground and headed toward the far end of the tunnel.

Kaplan frantically typed on the keyboard; this time, the entrance door didn't close. The female lead, Alice, followed the script and stepped inside, after which the door leading to the central computer's Flame Queen chamber sealed again. Ye Wudao and the others exchanged glances, knowing they were about to face the horror of a zombie outbreak.

Zhan Lan whispered to Ye Wudao and Li Xiaoyi, "Don't stray too far from Zhang Jie. Avoid getting bitten or scratched by zombies. In the movie, anyone infected with the T-virus turns into a zombie within thirty minutes. I calculated that the antidote needs to be administered within about ten minutes to be effective. Remember, stick close to Zhang Jie; he survived three horror movies—he can make it through this one too."

Ye Wudao and Li Xiaoyi nodded. Zhan Lan suddenly laughed, "By the way, do you guys feel disgusted by killing?"

Li Xiaoyi replied, "I felt sick when I first got here, and I wasn't used to the atmosphere. But after throwing up earlier, I feel a lot better. If I closed my eyes, I think I could even kill."

Ye Wudao thought for a moment; he felt the same relief after throwing up. Having faced a life-or-death situation, he no longer felt the unreality of being in this world. He realized he was gradually blending into this horror film, and as long as he could survive, he was willing to kill—be it humans or monsters!

Zhan Lan continued, "Alright, let's look for opportunities to pick up their weapons. If you see a zombie alone, take the chance to kill it—those are bonus points! Remember, the head! That's the zombie's weak spot!"

As she spoke, the lights in the room suddenly dimmed. They all knew that Matthew Edison had shut down the central computer, and the defense systems that had kept the zombies and crawlers at bay were now completely offline. The laboratory had become a world for these creatures. After the painful twists in the plot they'd experienced, none of them dared to change the course of events this time. They could only watch as the central computer was disabled, knowing they were about to face death.

In the darkness, Ye Wudao felt Li Xiaoyi trembling beside him; even Zhan Lan was shivering slightly. He couldn't help but whisper, "Are you scared?"

Li Xiaoyi replied, "Yeah, I'm really scared."

Zhan Lan, however, said, "I'm just too excited..."

Ye Wudao suddenly found her demeanor frightening and dared not ask more. Instead, he looked up at the source of light, silently awaiting what was to come.

Seconds later, the room brightened again, and Ye Wudao knew it had begun!

Matthew Edison and the female lead emerged from the central computer room, the weary mercenary glancing at the bodies in the tunnel. "We can't deal with them right now. Let's take the Flame Queen's mainboard back to the company. Kaplan, what's the situation in the hive?"