Chapter 12

After finding enough food and water to last seven people for a day and a night, the group of six left the supermarket with Alice on their backs. I held the gun, and you held the knife, heading west... uh, no, towards the second research institute, whose location was unknown.

However, would this blind search be effective?

The answer was obvious.

After walking for more than five hours, several of them were on the verge of developing blisters on their feet. They hadn't seen the second research institute, or even a building with the word "institute" on it, but they had encountered quite a few zombies. Everyone knew that this wasn't the time to tangle with the zombies. Thanks to Tang Ya's quick thinking, they managed to avoid large groups of zombies. As for the scattered ones, Tang Cheng and Li Guodong could easily deal with them.

Although no danger had occurred yet, everyone was getting impatient.

"Hey, are we really going to keep looking for the second research institute?" Finally, Zhang Yi couldn't hold back any longer. He turned to look at Tang Cheng, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction.

Zhang Yi was indeed a straightforward person, but his straightforwardness referred to his intelligence. In terms of personality, he was no different from most young people: impulsive, impatient, lacking perseverance, and prone to shirking responsibility.

While trying to avoid the zombies and keep moving, Zhang Yi, who wasn't in great physical condition, was already exhausted and under immense mental pressure. This made him start to complain, and the first target of his complaints was naturally Tang Cheng, who had proposed this mission.

Tang Cheng shrugged, seemingly indifferent to Zhang Yi's attitude. "Of course, so we have to keep going."

"But when will this end?"

"Of course, when we find the second research institute."

"Do you even know where the second research institute is?"

Sighing, Tang Cheng said, "I'm really worried about your intelligence. If I knew, would I be wasting time talking to you?"

"You!" Zhang Yi, already annoyed by Tang Cheng's dismissive attitude, was now furious. "Are you even serious about completing the mission?!"

Tang Ya, seeing Zhang Yi's red face and bulging neck, knew things were about to get bad... Although she had known from the start that a team formed so casually wouldn't have much unity, at least everyone had the same goal and no conflicting interests. They could stay together until a situation arose where someone had to be sacrificed for the greater good. But she hadn't expected a conflict to erupt at this moment. If Tang Cheng and Zhang Yi continued arguing, the team might fall apart.

It wasn't that Zhang Yi couldn't tolerate Tang Cheng, but that Tang Cheng might leave the team!

Although Tang Ya wasn't particularly experienced, as a high-achieving student, she had seen some true geniuses. According to her, geniuses often had unique and peculiar quirks. Some might just be unsociable and reclusive, while others could be considered crazy or mentally ill.

In Tang Ya's eyes, Tang Cheng was one of these people, and perhaps even more peculiar.

To be honest, interacting with such people was very difficult because they were too self-centered and didn't care about others' opinions. When conflicts arose, normal people could resolve them through communication, but with these people, communication was almost impossible, and persuasion even more so.

This was evident in how Tang Cheng handled Alice. If Li Guodong hadn't asked, Tang Cheng wouldn't have explained his reasons and would have chosen the more dangerous path of going alone.

On the other hand, dealing with people like Tang Cheng was also easy because as long as you went along with them, they wouldn't harm you.

So, while Zhang Yi's outburst might not bother Tang Cheng, it could lead him to leave the team, which Tang Ya didn't want. She instinctively wanted to mediate.

"Alright, calm down," Li Guodong said before Tang Ya could speak. "Zhang Yi, I know you're anxious, but I also said that now isn't the time to blame anyone. We're all in the same boat, and if the boat capsizes, no one survives. Instead of wasting energy arguing, let's think of solutions."

Hearing Li Guodong speak, Zhang Yi's anger subsided, and he lowered his head, not daring to contradict his savior.

What he didn't know was that without Tang Cheng and Alice's shots, Li Guodong wouldn't have had time to save him.

Then, Li Guodong turned to Tang Cheng. "Brother Tang, I know you're capable, or perhaps you don't care about our current situation, but please consider the feelings of us ordinary people. We've been walking for more than five hours, and everyone is exhausted, both physically and mentally. We still don't know where the second research institute is... Time is running out, and we can't keep walking aimlessly, can we?"

Upon hearing this, not only did Zhang Yi glare at Tang Cheng, but even Lu Xiaotian, who usually didn't like Li Guodong, nodded in agreement.

But Tang Cheng countered, "Who said we're walking aimlessly?"

"Eh?" Everyone was taken aback, and Tang Ya quickly asked, "Do you have any leads?"

Tang Cheng smiled. "No leads, but I do have some ideas. If you want to hear them, I don't mind sharing. We have nothing better to do anyway."

"Listening intently!" Everyone perked up, except Zhang Yi, who pretended not to care and turned away.

"Originally, I didn't think it was necessary, but since you're all so sincere..." Tang Cheng began with a somewhat provoking opening, then explained, "First, about this cycle world... let me clarify, I don't have concrete evidence, so everything I say is a guess. You can believe it or not, but I won't explain further."

"Since this cycle world has dungeons, quests, equipment, and rewards, we can basically treat it like a game. And as we all know, no game has an impossible quest."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Then, the special side quest we received has no clues, and the only possible source of information, Alice, is unconscious. From an information standpoint, if we don't get lucky, the quest is almost impossible to complete. But... this contradicts the basic principle of games I mentioned earlier."

"But you said it's all a guess. What if your guess is wrong, and the quest is indeed impossible?" Zhang Yi couldn't help but interject.

Tang Cheng smiled but didn't respond, looking at Zhang Yi as if he were an idiot.

Tang Ya, however, took on the role of mediator. "No, theoretically, that's impossible. Regardless of whether the creator of this cycle world is human, divine, demonic, or ghostly, and regardless of their purpose, whether to kill us or something else, if there are rules, there must be a way to reach the end. Even in a brutal arena, there's always a winner, even if they die after winning."

"Right," Tang Cheng agreed. "A game company might release a game full of bugs, but they would never release a game where you can't level up or complete quests. Even if you're banned after reaching the max level, the company will still try to extract as much value from the players as possible... If there were a game with impossible quests, I'd say only an idiot would create such a game, and only an idiot would play it."

The five idiots left Zhang Yi red-faced and speechless.

The others couldn't help but laugh, even Tang Ya and Su Buqing, who covered their mouths to stifle their laughter. Tang Cheng's words were crude but made sense.

Tang Cheng wasn't deliberately targeting Zhang Yi. He continued, "The value for game players is money, but what's the value for us, the challengers? In my view, it's potential and effort. Like the arena mentioned earlier, the audience doesn't want a predictable fight; they want a thrilling and suspenseful one where the outcome is unknown until the end. So... every quest has a chance of completion, and the difficulty, barring any surprises, should be within our limits. Only then will the challengers strive, their potential will be unleashed, and the audience will be satisfied."

"Finally, applying these rules to our special quest, we can rule out the possibility of the second research institute being outside Raccoon City. Also, since we've been walking and the streets are still crowded, the second research institute can't be too far... or it must be within a ten-hour reach."

"Third, and most importantly, information."

"Right, we lack information. Without it, we might pass by the second research institute without even knowing it," Lu Xiaotian said urgently. "How do you explain this?"

Tang Cheng smiled. "We don't know the information about the second research institute, but that doesn't mean no one does. Since the quest gives no clues, if my guess is correct, the information will come to us soon."

"What?" Everyone was shocked.

"Is... this really just a guess?" Tang Ya couldn't help but ask.

"Yes," Tang Cheng nodded.

"But if it's a guess, it could be wrong. Why are you so confident?" Tang Ya asked, noting that Tang Cheng's tone and expression showed no doubt, only absolute confidence in himself and his theory.

Tang Cheng looked at her seriously. "Because I use Pantene."

Tang Ya was speechless, and the others were equally stunned, thinking, "How much advertising fee did Pantene give you?!"

As they walked and talked, they soon reached a corner. At that moment, Tang Cheng's expression changed, and he quickly drew his gun, rushing to the front.

At the same time, a figure darted out from the corner.

Click!

Click!

Before the others could react, Tang Cheng's gun was already pressed against someone's head, and a black gun barrel was pressed against his head.

"Who are you? Identify yourself!" Tang Cheng shouted, not at all like someone with a gun to his head.

Feeling the mid-teen vibe, the person holding the gun to Tang Cheng's head paused. "A... a living person?"

The voice was clear and slightly sweet, indicating a young girl... or possibly a feminine boy.

"If you shoot, I won't be a living person," Tang Cheng said, examining the person in front of him.

It was undoubtedly a girl, around seventeen or eighteen, a white girl with a delicate and beautiful face, short black hair, and a look of determination, though her eyes showed a hint of fear.

"Ah! S... sorry!" The girl, realizing something, quickly lowered her gun and bowed. "When I heard footsteps, I thought it was one of those monsters and almost shot... I'm really sorry!"

Tang Cheng, with a stern face, put away his gun. "It's common sense to expose your chest when apologizing."

"Eh?" The girl was taken aback, instinctively looking down at her small chest.

"Whose common sense is that?!" Tang Ya's exasperated voice rang out, and she walked up to the girl, smiling. "He's joking, don't listen to him."

When Tang Cheng rushed out, Tang Ya was startled, thinking it was another zombie. When she realized it was a girl, and the girl was wearing a police uniform, she felt relieved and approached to communicate... She was afraid Tang Cheng's strange words would scare the girl away.

"I see," the girl said, looking innocent. "I thought you Easterners expose your chest when apologizing."

Upon hearing this, the other five, except Tang Cheng, were in tears... The face of Easterners was lost!

Tang Ya didn't want to discuss chests and quickly changed the subject. "Are you a police officer in this city?"

The girl nodded, looking proud. "I'm Rebecca, a member of the elite police force STARS, Bravo Team. I specialize in pharmaceuticals and serve as the medic, though I'm still a rookie..."

Her voice trailed off at the end.

When Rebecca mentioned this, Li Guodong, Tang Ya, and Su Xiaoqing were unaffected, but Lu Xiaotian and Zhang Yi were visibly startled, and even Tang Cheng looked at Rebecca with a strange expression.

Rebecca, though an elite police officer, was still an eighteen-year-old girl. Being stared at by three men, she blushed and felt uncomfortable, her eyes darting around. "I... is there a problem?"

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