Chapter 7

"Damn it, there are too many of them! Fall back, fall back quickly!" The mercenary who was alone at the back, blocking the zombies, shouted loudly to Qian Youliang and the others.

More and more zombies were coming in through the main gate. The mercenaries, who had retreated under fire, quickly regrouped with Qian Youliang and the others at the back. However, behind them, more and more zombies were surging into Restaurant B through the main gate.

"There's no way out that way, we can't get through!"

Kaplan, who had just been terrified, panted heavily as he reported the situation. Matthew Addison, who had no other choice, gritted his teeth.

"Retreat! Retreat, all of you back to the Queen of Flames' main server room!"

No one wanted to stay here any longer. As soon as the order was given, everyone quickly began to move back. Except for Alice and the prisoner, who got lost in the chaos, the others returned to the main server room without much hindrance under the cover of heavy fire.

The mercenaries closed the door, locking the zombies outside, and breathed a long sigh of relief. They also understood the reason for the appearance of the zombies.

When the power was turned off, the locks that held them were also opened. In other words, they had released these monsters with their own hands.

But now was not the time to regret. The mercenaries immediately reorganized on the spot.

Qian Youliang was taking deep breaths. From fighting the zombies to being surrounded by them, the mental strain had drained much of his energy and stamina. Suddenly, his main god watch lit up, and he looked at it. The task on the watch had changed.

"Main Task (Part 2): Survive for 3 hours, 2:59."

Just as Qian Youliang was looking at his watch, there was a sudden rush of footsteps at the door.

The mercenaries, in perfect unison, raised their guns. The door was suddenly forced open from the outside, and Alice and the prisoner, who had freed himself from his handcuffs, quickly squeezed through the gap. Behind them, countless zombie hands were pulling at them. The mercenaries in the corridor rushed over and fired their automatic rifles at the zombies to help Alice and the others escape.

"Close the door, they're right behind us!"

Matthew Addison quickly asked Alice and the prisoner, "What's the situation outside? Is the way we came still passable?"

Alice shook her head and said, "The place is swarming with those things. They're waiting for us on that road. There's no way we can get through."

The mercenaries fell silent. Kaplan, who was very skilled with computers, held his head and said, "We can't escape. There's no other way out of the Queen of Flames' main server room! We're finished!"

The male protagonist, Ryan, who had triggered all this in the story, suddenly said, "Can't we stay here? When they realize we haven't returned, they'll send reinforcements. I think this place should be safe! I don't want to face those undead things again."

The mercenaries looked awkward. Ryan asked curiously, "Is something wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Kaplan coughed and said, "There might not be any reinforcements..."

Ryan angrily grabbed his collar and asked, "What do you mean? What do you mean there might not be any reinforcements?"

Matthew Addison sighed and said, "Our orders were to bring back the Queen of Flames' motherboard and seal off all the passages between the hive and the outside world. Remember the passage between the building and the hive? If we can't return there within three hours, the entire passage will be sealed... The damn company executives, I finally understand why they gave us these orders. They knew all along that this place was full of those things!"

Ryan released Kaplan, but his expression became even more panicked. He shouted, "No, they can't do this. Are they planning to bury us alive down here?"

The female mercenary, Rayne, whose hand had been bitten, said, "To protect the research secrets from being leaked, this is the safest method... If we all die, there will be no one to leak the secrets." She frowned and squeezed her bleeding hand.

Everyone fell silent. Ryan calmed down slightly but was even more angry. "To tell us this only when we're half a mile underground? Why didn't they tell us earlier?"

The mercenaries lowered their heads in silence. Alice suddenly spoke up, "Stop arguing and think about how to get out! We need to find an exit and leave this room!" She picked up the bag containing the Queen of Flames' motherboard from the table and turned to walk towards the main server room.

Matthew Addison quickly asked, "What are you going to do with the motherboard?"

"Of course, I'm going to restart it!"

Alice's presence as the female protagonist instantly commanded the room. Everyone was taken aback by her authority. She truly lived up to her role.

"Oh no, I don't think this is a good idea."

Although he knew it was the last resort, Kaplan, the computer expert, still tried to dissuade her. Having faced the Queen of Flames before, he understood its nature better.

It pretended to be breached, luring the targets into a trap before starting the slaughter. It even used human tactics to eliminate them...

In a place full of moving corpses, once this hostile supercomputer was restarted, it might find an opportunity to finish them off at any moment!

But Alice's reasoning was also very compelling, and it was something no one could refuse.

"She knows how to leave this place."

In the main server room, Alice smoothly installed the motherboard and had Kaplan reset the circuit breaker—this way, if the situation went wrong, Kaplan could directly destroy it.

As Alice completed the startup of all components, a red light suddenly appeared in front of them. The harsh voice of the supercomputer rang out, and a red holographic image of a little girl appeared before everyone.

"Oh, so you're here." She said mockingly, "It seems the things I've collected are beyond my control."

"What is the mission here?" Alice asked straightforwardly, without engaging in banter.

"Research and development."

"What is the T-virus?" asked the other male protagonist, Matt.

"The T-virus, short for 'Tyrant,' is a new type of RNA virus. The T-virus is a significant breakthrough in medical science and can become an expensive military weapon..."

Seemingly bound by the rule that the computer cannot disobey humans, the Queen of Flames played the role of a responsive information provider, giving a comprehensive introduction to the T-virus.

"Even after death, the bodies remain alive, with hair and nails continuing to grow, and cells undergoing metabolism. The brain maintains a faint electrical charge, which only disappears after several months. The T-virus can generate strong oscillations to maintain cell growth and provide electrical impulses, essentially bringing the dead back to life."

"Bringing the dead back to life?" Alice was surprised, and the others were not much better.

"Not exactly. They only have the most basic motor functions, possibly some memory, but no intelligence. They are driven by basic neural impulses and instinctive needs, primarily to satisfy their hunger," the Queen of Flames explained to everyone, her voice melodious but chilling to the listeners.

"The most effective way to kill them is to sever the spinal cord or destroy the brain. I'm curious why you knew this from the start after watching the surveillance footage."

"That's not your concern, Queen of Flames." Matthew Addison interrupted the Queen of Flames' curiosity, more concerned about her unusual behavior.

"Why did you want to kill everyone down here?"