Chapter 7

"Saving Captain James of the STARS team, three STARS members, earned 6000 reward points, B-level side mission completed."

Chuci looked thoughtfully at the milky white pop-up window in front of him, glancing at the other newcomers. From their expressions, it seemed they hadn't noticed it, so it appeared only he could see it.

At the same time, a familiar Pikachu icon below the pop-up made Chuci extremely excited, but with people all around, he could only remain silent for now.

When Kaplan regained control of the security door and opened the life-or-death door, Chuci had already finished a game of Spider Solitaire on another computer and unexpectedly found another retro game, 3D Pinball, and was setting up the control keys.

The six people panted heavily, having narrowly escaped death, even the usually expressionless James showed a look of relief.

Chuci pressed the 'Z' and '/' keys haphazardly to reflect the ball back, his eyes looking at the high schooler, a teasing smile on his face: "Young man, someone as restless as you would only last half a minute in a movie."

"Chuci, did you know about the defense system in the corridor beforehand?" James, regaining his composure, realized something was off and cast a cold gaze at Chuci.

"Defense system? No, I didn't know." Chuci shook his head: "After all, from your information, it's easy to know that Red Queen has been monitoring us. Regardless of her reasons for slaughtering the people in the Hive, I can deduce that she wouldn't let us dismantle her easily. So, I professionally modified the transmission terminal's commands, switching any system Red Queen activates to the end-of-shift bell."

James nodded, seemingly accepting Chuci's explanation, but then suddenly asked urgently: "Have you recovered your memory?"

"Huh?" Chuci looked at James in confusion.

"Never mind, you saved my three subordinates, so I owe you a life." James, not detecting any inconsistencies, changed the topic: "Can we go in and disconnect the central computer now?"

"Anytime, but I suggest you wait for me. I might be able to try cutting off Red Queen's access to the main hard drive, transferring her to a backup hard drive to ensure the Hive's normal operation." Chuci remembered that in the plot Zhong Ziyun had introduced to him, a power outage had led to the release of zombies. If they didn't cut the power, the next part would be much easier.

James said: "Give me a reason."

Chuci scratched his head and tentatively said: "Because I might be a company employee, so I need to protect company property? How does that sound?"

"Fine, I'll give you ten minutes."

Chuci breathed a sigh of relief, immediately sitting in front of the computer to transfer Red Queen's database. While transferring, he also directly hacked the backend, opening the source code for observation. After all, an AI like Red Queen was irresistible to an IT guy like him.

If Chuci hadn't cut the network and reduced the computational load beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to toy with her so freely.

The data transfer was quick, and in less than seven minutes, the core logic library of Red Queen had been initially transferred. The remaining database was pre-stored on the backup motherboard, so switching to the operational database would ensure normal operation.

Thus, Chuci began modifying the Hive base's control commands, completing the initial setup in ten minutes.

"Done, I've disconnected the hard drive in Area 1 to operate independently, and the hard drive storing the data has been powered off. Once inside, you won't need to cut the power. I'll make the main hard drive eject automatically, and you can just take it out."

As soon as the setup was complete, another pop-up window appeared in front of Chuci.

"Changing the outcome of the Hive base, saving all members of the STARS team, earned 15000 reward points, A-level side mission completed."

James and Kaplan entered the server room, while the other characters watched from the corridor. The newcomers gathered and whispered to each other, and no one was paying attention to him. Chuci immediately focused his mind on the small icon, silently chanting: "Dawn Full Function Alpha Version!"

A semi-transparent window immediately appeared in front of the pop-up. Chuci almost shouted out loud, how familiar the interface was! Then, he skillfully activated the fuzzy search function, inputting 6000, and a large amount of data appeared. He then input 15000 to narrow it down, and finally 21000, reducing the variable to fifteen items. He then directly saved the code record, planning to do the final screening when he received more reward points.

At this point, Chuci had a good idea of how he ended up here and was also relieved that he had somehow implanted a cheat into the System, making it his personal cheat.

"Mission completed." James and Kaplan came out of the server room, the black captain looking relaxed. He checked his watch and said: "Time is tight, we need to take Red Queen's motherboard back to the company. Kaplan, how is the Hive situation?"

Kaplan pressed a few buttons on the computer: "Everything is fine, all defense systems are off, we can leave the Hive along the original path."

As the STARS team organized their equipment, Chuci also gathered with the other newcomers.

From the moment they descended from the mansion, Chuci had noticed that the STARS team had installed a pulse current device at the entrance, set for three hours. If this movie only went through one scene, then leaving the Hive would mark the end of the movie.

But!

The main mission required them to survive for 24 hours in this world!

This meant that after the Hive, either the movie would continue to the second scene or transition to an unknown scene, or it would directly start the sequel!

From the introductions of the other newcomers, the latter two scenarios were more likely. Given the STARS team's actions, Chuci didn't think he would have the chance to ask the other newcomers about the sequel. So, Chuci needed to prepare a backup plan.

When Chuci was about to ask about the sequel, Gao Yuan spoke first, suspiciously probing: "Did you get a reward?"

"Huh?" Chuci was momentarily taken aback.

"I'm asking if you got a reward from the System for saving the STARS captain in the laser corridor." Gao Yuan asked again, and the others also looked at Chuci.

Chuci slightly frowned, feeling very annoyed. He hadn't planned to hide it, so he said: "Yes, I saved James and three STARS members, earning 6000 reward points."

"Damn, you're so lucky." Gao Yuan said sourly, his face full of jealousy. The others offered lukewarm congratulations, but their expressions clearly showed they weren't sincere.

Chuci didn't care and asked Zhong Ziyun, who had shown him kindness from the start, about the sequel.

"Resident Evil sequel? Yes, there are five parts. After the first, it directly goes to the second, telling the story of Alice leaving the Hive and surviving in a city surrounded by zombies..." Zhong Ziyun quickly summarized the plot for Chuci, including the characters they would encounter and the fate of Raccoon City.

"High-precision tactical nuclear bomb?" Chuci mused, looking up at the ceiling as if his gaze could penetrate the layers of flooring and the 800 feet of soil below.

If that's the case...

Chuci thought for a moment and made up his mind, also expressing his idea to the other newcomers: "What if we stay hidden in the Hive until the 24 hours are up, is that possible?"

The other newcomers were taken aback. Shang Manxue hesitated: "But..."

"We are 800 feet underground, deeper than most nuclear shelters, enough to withstand a nuclear blast."

"But what if the System gives us another mission? Without Alice, we're dead." Shang Manxue was still hesitant. Among the newcomers, only Chuci had received a reward so far, and hiding until the end seemed too passive.

This was the general opinion of most newcomers. They hadn't truly faced zombies and hadn't experienced being surrounded by them, so they naturally wanted to be more active.

Hadn't they seen Chuci's active performance and even earning a reward from the System through his computer skills?

Inequality is more troubling than scarcity! If Chuci hadn't received a reward, the others might have agreed with his idea. But since Chuci had received a large reward, and the process seemed simple, the others couldn't help but have thoughts.

'Chuci is just a tech guy, I'm not worse than him, I can also carve out a place for myself.' Such thoughts lingered in the minds of the other newcomers.

Especially Liu Dian, who might look like a nouveau riche, but since he had become one, he certainly wasn't lacking in cunning and means. He had also seen Resident Evil, and the current situation was several times better than the original. The main combat force, the STARS team, had no casualties, making it a great opportunity to earn reward points.

"I think the System won't give us a mission that's certain death..."

Chuci tried to continue convincing the newcomers, but Liu Dian hastily interrupted: "If you're scared, just hide here and wait for the return. I think following the protagonist, with the main force protecting us, would be safer."

The purple-haired girl, Gu Qingqing, hesitated for a moment and then sided with Liu Dian: "The Hive base hasn't lost power, but there are still hundreds of zombies and many Lickers. I think leaving is a wise decision."

The crowd is always blind. With someone leading, the others also expressed their desire to leave, finally turning their gaze to Zhong Ziyun, who hadn't given her opinion yet.

"I... I think everyone is right." Zhong Ziyun, though logically agreeing with Chuci's idea, couldn't resist the others' gazes and followed the majority.

"Alright, since you've decided..." Chuci sighed, looking helpless, as if he had given in.

The other newcomers nodded in satisfaction, planning to say a few words of solidarity, but Chuci added: "Then let's part ways here. Good luck to you all."

Everyone looked at him in surprise, and Zhong Ziyun asked: "Why? Isn't it better to stay with everyone?"

Chuci raised a finger and shook his head: "I just think it's safest here."

"Don't try to persuade him, let him stay alone with hundreds of zombies in this sealed underground base." The handsome man gloated: "He'll probably hide in the server room, relying on the laser corridor for protection until he goes back after a day of hunger."

"Good luck to you all." Chuci remained seated in the computer chair, showing no intention of moving.

PS: Thank you to "Beautiful Loli Under the Sky" for the tip, and to "Wind Blows Through Chaos. Universe!" for the suggestions.

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