Chapter 116: Return to Reality

"Look, there are bloodstains on the floor here," Alice said, crouching down and pointing to the marks. "They look like they've already coagulated."

Matt Addison walked over, took a look, and said, "No, that's impossible."

"Why is it impossible?" James asked, stepping over to examine the congealed blood.

"Because... because blood only clots after death," Matt replied.

*Scritch, scritch...* A sound of metal dragging across the floor echoed through the room.

"What is that noise?" Lucy asked loudly. She was already furious; after all, no one would be in a good mood after a lunatic had bitten a large chunk of flesh from their arm.

No one answered her, for she soon discovered the source of the sound. A figure with a horrific appearance came into view, dragging a long-handled fire axe and limping toward them.

"My God, what is that!" Chad Kaplan roared, staring in shock at the "humanoid monster" that continued to advance despite half of its face being missing.

"Good heavens!"

"Oh, my God!"

Slowly, the members of the assault team were surrounded by monsters emerging from every direction, paralyzed for a moment and forgetting to fire their weapons.

This was Chen Yun’s first time being this close to the greatest threat in the Resident Evil universe: zombies. Watching these hideous, nauseating living dead, his brain momentarily stalled, and he only snapped back to reality when the sound of gunfire erupted.

"Damn it, why won't they die!" Chad Kaplan fired over a dozen shots at a "monster," only to watch in horror as it wobbled and climbed back to its feet. He shrieked in terror.

"Shoot them in the head! They’re already dead; they’re living corpses—they're zombies!" Chen Yun shouted.

James shot Chen Yun a suspicious look. Recalling Chen's earlier warning, he thought to himself that this kid was no simple character. He immediately ordered, "Aim for the heads! Conserve ammunition. DJ, go open the elevator doors."

"Don't touch the elevator!" Chen Yun exclaimed, startled by James's command. The elevator was surely filled with people who had failed to escape and turned into zombies; opening it would only invite further danger.

"Why?" James asked.

"Because there are definitely zombies in that elevator," Chen Yun said with ironclad certainty. "If we could think of using the elevator to escape, others would have thought of it too."

"...Fine. Everyone, return to the original route," James commanded.

The assault team members were elite soldiers. With Chen Yun's guidance, they quickly cleared more than half of the zombies in the B-restaurant, but a grim problem soon arose.

"Captain, we're almost out of ammo," Chad Kaplan reported.

"Conserve your bullets. We'll split up and search for an exit as quickly as possible," James said, his expression grave.

Hearing this, Chen Yun sighed. He had been too impulsive, rushing into this instance dungeon with nothing but youthful vigor, failing to prepare even the most basic ammunition. He shook his head helplessly. With everyone running low on bullets, they were all in grave danger.

*Forget it, my mission is to protect Alice. As for the others, I'll let fate take its course.* Having made up his mind, Chen Yun stayed close to Alice.

"Don't be afraid," Alice said, clearly much warmer toward Chen Yun. "Stay with me."

"Thank you," Chen Yun replied, seizing the opportunity.

"I'm curious, what do you do for a living? How did you know these people were living corpses? And that their weakness was the head?" Alice asked suddenly as they walked.

"I... I don't know. I just saw it and it came to me," Chen Yun said, brushing it off. He couldn't exactly tell her he’d seen it in a movie; that would sound absurd.

"I see," Alice said. Recalling her own fragmented memories that surfaced from time to time, she assumed Chen was like her and stopped dwelling on the question.

Gradually, the two wandered through the corridors until they reached a room. The first things to catch their eyes were a row of dog cages with their wire mesh doors torn open.

Chen Yun’s eyes narrowed. Remembering the plot, he quickly warned, "Be careful! The animals in those cages must have turned into zombie animals too."

Before he could finish, a series of low growls echoed, and one, then two, then three zombie dogs emerged from the shadows.

*Damn it! Why are you guys coming out so fast? The script isn't supposed to go like this!* Chen Yun cursed silently.

"Ding! Player game time is nearly over. Please select the items you wish to take out. This game will automatically save in 90 seconds. Any items taken out will be stored in your inventory."

Hearing the system prompt, Chen Yun’s face crumpled. If it rains, it pours; this was exactly the kind of timing he feared most during combat. To think he’d encounter it on his very first foray into Resident Evil—what rotten luck!

"Exit game!" Chen Yun glanced at Alice, who was walking ahead, sighed, and whispered the command in his heart.

"Player has exited the game. Zero items selected for extraction. Time remaining until next entry into the Resident Evil world: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds..."

With a flash of consciousness, Chen Yun returned to reality, and the entire Resident Evil world froze the moment he logged out.

After a long while, Chen Yun looked at the scenery outside his window and muttered to himself, "This world is so much better. I hope the horrors of Resident Evil never come to pass—it’s too terrifying. But I was too hasty this time, unprepared for everything. Thank goodness for the assault team, or ten lives wouldn't have been enough to survive. Next time, I must be fully prepared—food, medicine, and especially guns and ammo. Even if I can't use them, I can give them to others. Wait!"

Chen Yun suddenly realized that if he could use his phone in the instance, could he use his mount? If he could...

An aerial combat vehicle as a pink mount—that would be an absolute game-changer in Resident Evil!

"Time to grind for proficiency! New mount, here I come!"

Four hours later...

"Player's Level 4 driving skill proficiency is maxed. Once the player reaches Level 20, you may seek a Level 5 Master to learn Level 5 driving skills."

"My god, grinding proficiency is torture," Chen Yun said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "A full 800 times of throwing the car, opening the door, sitting in, starting the engine, and letting the car vanish. And this is only a Level 4 mount. How much proficiency will the Level 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 mounts require? Especially the Level 9 aircraft carrier..."

Just imagining the scene gave him a headache.

"Don't think about it. I'll go crazy if I keep thinking. Let me just see what the materialized aerial combat vehicle looks like." Chen Yun took out the model of the aerial combat vehicle and placed it on the floor.

"Does Player Chen Yun wish to bind the Level 4 Pink Evolving Mount: Aerial Combat Vehicle?"