Chapter 17

The man with the gun couldn't take it anymore: "Don't waste time, just shoot him. It's not the first time you've killed someone!" He pulled the trigger, but Ma Le's dynamic vision and reflexes were almost ten times those of an ordinary person. As soon as he noticed the man's hand applying force, he lunged forward, dodging the bullet.

When "Hua Zai" saw the big guy charging at him, he instinctively raised his knife in front of him. Ma Le, however, didn't dodge and let his chest meet the tip of "Hua Zai's" knife. With his current physical condition at around thirty points and naked armor at fifteen points, plus defensive damage reduction, an ordinary person's strength couldn't penetrate his defense. The knife pierced the skin but couldn't advance any further. Instantly, Ma Le grabbed "Hua Zai," and countless tiny tentacles enveloped his body, decomposing the flesh and integrating it into Ma Le's body. Ma Le then instantly transformed into "Hua Zai's" appearance.

"Devil, devil, devil!!" The man with the gun behind him was already terrified by the scene, forgetting to run. He just cried and shot at Ma Le frantically, but the pistol bullets could only cause single-digit damage. Ma Le walked up to him, took the gun, and lifted him by the neck with one hand.

"I was still struggling with how to get a legal identity without harming innocent civilians, but you two scumbags just delivered yourselves. The heavens are still kind to me... Seriously, what's the point of talking to you, you can't even understand Chinese..." As he spoke, Ma Le increased the force on his hand, breaking the man's neck and stopping his struggle.

This "Hua Zai" Anderson had good physical attributes, and Ma Le felt his strength hadn't decreased much. With this special face, he didn't hesitate to incorporate this appearance into his permanent memory.

Ma Le searched the man with the gun for the remaining ammunition, threw his body into a nearby trash can, and then started searching his pockets. This clothing, like the others, was not decomposed but directly worn. He quickly found the keys. During the absorption, he had read "Hua Zai's" identity, address, and family information. "Hua Zai" was originally named Anderson Li, twenty-seven years old, a descendant of Chinese immigrants. He lived in Chinatown with his parents, but on the day the virus broke out, his parents were near Pennsylvania Station and became the first infected.

Anderson's family ran a small restaurant, originally operated by his parents, while he himself was idle and a petty thug. After his parents died, he lost his income source and teamed up with another person to rob and kill.

Following the memory, Ma Le arrived at Anderson's residence. The house was small but could accommodate a family of three. Now, living alone, it felt spacious. Anderson's room was messy, with a strange smell. The single bed had a crumpled blanket, an old computer, and scattered pornographic DVDs. The table was full of leftover takeout and instant noodles, and the floor was greasy from spilled soup, sticking to his shoes... Ma Le wasn't a fussy person; he could stay in a place full of corpses for a few days, so this wasn't a problem. But since there were clean rooms, why make things difficult for himself?

It was already dark, and the house still had electricity and water. Ma Le took a refreshing shower and changed into a nightgown, which he had memorized from absorbing a zombie in the infected area. Unlike living beings, clothing structures were simple and not limited by memory. As long as they were made of natural materials like pure cotton or real leather, he could remember and change into them at any time. This was one of the reasons Ma Le frequently absorbed zombies, to collect various styles of clothing for future convenience.

He turned on the TV, which still received channels. After absorbing Anderson, Ma Le's English improved slightly, but he still found it challenging to understand English programs, managing to grasp about 70-80% of the content. The news was all about the infection in Manhattan. The Blackwatch's cleanup work was impressive; although TV signals were still received, phone and internet connections were cut off. Manhattan was now an isolated island with no contact with the outside world, and the outside world only speculated it was a new infectious disease. No one knew that Manhattan had become a hell filled with zombies and mutated monsters.

Turning off the TV, Ma Le leaned on the sofa, looking at a few items on the coffee table: a test tube with red liquid, a DVD, a gun, several dozen bullets, and over ten thousand dollars in cash.

The test tube was a reward for killing the first Hunter. The spine he received was too large to carry and had been lost. The DVD was given to him when Jiang Dahu received a side mission and was not taken away when the veteran left. The gun and bullets were taken from the robbers today, and the ten thousand dollars were found by searching dozens of rooms and killing hundreds of zombies in the infected area. Unfortunately, Americans didn't have the habit of keeping cash at home or on their person. The infected area was a no-go zone, and almost no one dared to search for valuables. Ma Le had to work hard for four days to get just over ten thousand dollars, which was not very efficient.

Besides these items, he had hidden many weapons in the infected area's apartments, and some were left in the building where he absorbed Blackwatch.

Ma Le entered the Prototype world on the evening of the tenth day after infection and should leave on the evening of the seventeenth day. After tonight, he had about two more days before returning. How should he spend these two days? Now in a safe zone, the threat from mutated creatures was greatly reduced, and his training objectives had been achieved. The priority was to maximize the benefits before leaving!

Ma Le picked up the DVD. As a new player without the guidance of a Miracle Badge, the only task he could confirm was this DVD. Delivering it to either Blackwatch or Alex would complete the task, and there should be a reward, possibly triggering other missions.

Delivering it to Blackwatch would be easy; he just needed to absorb a Blackwatch soldier and pretend to hand it over to the commander. However, Ma Le didn't want to do this. Alex was the protagonist of this world, and opposing the protagonist in any movie, game, animation, or novel never ends well! As a lone individual, Alex would value each person who helped him and wouldn't mistreat him.

Deciding to give the item to Alex, the key was how to find him. Moreover, Ma Le had other concerns. This monster had tried to kill him a few days ago, and although Xia Yingying said it was due to her illusion, what if Alex recognized him? Even if he didn't, as the Prototype, Alex would surely recognize that Ma Le was an infected human. If he delved into the past, Ma Le's mediocre English would make it difficult to explain, causing trouble.

While deep in thought, Ma Le accidentally accessed a memory from Anderson. It was when his parents were first infected, and Pennsylvania Station was in chaos. Many people were bitten by zombies, and doctors were helpless. Only a pathology expert at St. Paul's Hospital remained calm, seemingly very familiar with the zombie virus. Although he couldn't cure it, his efforts effectively prevented further spread. But this person was taken away by the military...

Ma Le suddenly remembered the expert's identity. He was a significant character in the game's plot, having worked at Gentek and being very familiar with the Blacklight virus. Ma Le remembered a part of the plot where Alex was betrayed by the military and injected with a pathogen that weakened the Blacklight virus, causing him to lose most of his abilities. The expert then created an antibody to cure him.

Ma Le couldn't remember the doctor's name, but the clue about St. Paul's Hospital was useful. He remembered that in the later plot, Alex often went to a hospital to find this expert, which should be St. Paul's Hospital. The fact that the expert was taken away by the military, as mentioned in Anderson's memory, was also mentioned in the game. Since he eventually helped Alex, the expert must still have some freedom.

Additionally, Alex had almost lost his memory, so the DVD wouldn't be of much use to him. Ma Le guessed that it would likely be given to the expert for research. Therefore, delivering it directly to the expert should also count as completing the task, bypassing Alex. Even if he was seen afterward, gaining the expert's trust would prevent Alex from acting rashly.

"Alright, that's the plan. Tomorrow, I'll go to St. Paul's Hospital and find that unnamed doctor!" Ma Le found a breakthrough and felt refreshed. However, he then frowned, picked up the gun and the ten thousand dollars, and muttered, "But before that, I need a more suitable weapon!"