Chapter 15: Reckless Fighter
"Why is one person missing? Where is Zhang Jie?"
James frowned upon seeing the incomplete team of Reincarnators.
"According to him, it's impossible to escape the Hive from the monsters in B Restaurant."
Chu Xuan calmly explained, "He hopes to die here peacefully."
"You mean he chose to wait for death rather than fight his way out with us?"
Rain, the tomboy, couldn't help but interject, "Is he crazy?"
"Don't worry about whether he's crazy or not. Two things are certain."
Fang Ge used an unconventional method to urge the team forward:
"First, falling into the hands of such a bioweapon will definitely lead to a miserable end. Second, for ordinary security personnel, even if they leave the Hive, the theft of the virus will be blamed on them. The subsequent 'dereliction of duty' issue will be enough to make Zhang Jie walk on thin ice for the rest of his life."
"You mean he's worried about his family being purged by the company, so he chose to die in the line of duty?" James finally understood.
As for why Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan, who were clearly 'freeloaders', weren't worried about such things...
Even though Zheng Zha saved his life in the passage, he didn't believe that a rookie like Zheng Zha wasn't connected. And the even weaker Zhan Lan was out of the question!
The gap between those with connections and ordinary people was not small; perhaps these two would even be considered to have 'attained meritorious service by atoning for their crimes' after getting out...
Bad money drives out good—Umbrella Corporation deserves to go bankrupt!
"What a shame for an excellent soldier."
Sighing lightly, James no longer dwelled on Zhang Jie's choice. He then drew the pistol and magazine from his waist and handed them to Fang Ge.
"You know better than us what we'll encounter next. Take this gun for self-defense... Where are your cases?"
"The cases would interfere with our movements, so we had no choice but to abandon the easily leaked T-Virus and carry the green antidote close to us."
As Fang Ge spoke, he took out a small bottle of green liquid, the antidote, from his inner jacket pocket.
Of course... he also carried the T-Virus original solution on him, but he kept it a secret.
Zheng Zha and the others also received pistols from the other mercenaries; it was clear that the mercenaries had discussed this in the past five minutes.
Every bit of firepower was crucial at this moment.
Walk.
It wasn't a full sprint, but a vigilant, quick walk.
There was still un-drained standing water on the ground, and the squad quickly arrived at the research lab cluster area that had originally been submerged. Because the Hive was powered down and Red Queen was shut off, most of the water that had filled the rooms had been drained.
But without a doubt, being drowned... would not prevent people infected with the T-Virus from turning into zombies!
—It's coming...
Fang Ge released the safety on the pistol in his hand, ready to fire at any moment.
"Target sighted! Clear?"
The moment the mercenary spoke, all sorts of zombies in the room were attracted by the sound and began moving purposefully towards them!
"Fire!"
Guns roared, and the air felt hot and smelled of gunpowder; the glass around the research lab seemed to vibrate.
"Da da da, da da da da da..."
With continuous bursts of fire, facing a mercenary squad that had intelligence on zombies and was fully organized,
these zombies posed no threat at all. The dozens of zombies in the room were quickly neutralized.
People often fear unknown monsters, but once the veil of the unknown is lifted, weak monsters can only endure human wrath.
"Ceasefire." James raised his fist, giving the order.
"The commotion is big enough. This way, nearby zombies will also be attracted."
Chu Xuan's breathing was steady, showing the composure expected of a soldier:
"This is also a central area of the Hive, and it's well-connected... Leave some explosives in this room so we can use a delayed Explosion to attract the zombies' movements. As long as we don't make too much noise while advancing, we'll face fewer zombies."
—You really aren't afraid of Zhang Jie dying here; this distance from the main control room can hardly be called a safe distance...
Fang Ge always liked to speculate on Chu Xuan's thoughts with the most extreme malice.
James clearly approved of his suggestion. He nodded slightly and ordered:
"JD, place a C4 here, set the timer for six minutes."
At this point, there was no need to consider the company's property losses.
According to estimations, in five more minutes, the creeper in B Restaurant would revive, and the bomb would then attract their attention.
JD's movements were swift, allowing the squad to continue advancing.
To ensure they could leave the Hive as quickly as possible, taking a straight path was an excellent choice.
If it was just about ensuring progress, then most of the zombies didn't need to be killed.
Moreover... time was almost up.
"Crunch!"
The crisp sound of glass attracted the attention of the others, but not to the point of stopping their steps.
"No need to be so startled..."
Fang Ge drank the contents of the glass bottle in one gulp, then grinned lightly, saying,
"The antidote can also take effect orally, just like common special medicines... it just takes longer to work."
"Why are you suddenly taking the antidote?" Zheng Zha couldn't help but ask, puzzled.
"This means I don't have to worry about zombie bites... and thus, I have the potential to become bait."
Fang Ge spoke calmly, but the others only thought he was crazy. Zhan Lan's wide eyes were filled with disbelief.
"I'll break away from the team and use running and gunshots to attract the zombies' attention. You guys seize the opportunity to move... Once the indoor zombies gather into a group because of my gunshots, you can then turn back and clear them all with a grenade, which saves ammunition and maximizes the team's go ahead speed."
Bioweapons had this one drawback: their senses were too singular and keen.
This way, every 'Explosion' would occur behind the team, and the zombies attracted by the Explosion would not create a 'blockade'.
"...We will ensure your safety." Seeing this, James could only make such a promise.
One bottle of the limited antidote had already been consumed by Fang Ge; there was no reason to 'switch people' to execute this tactic.
He could only choose to respect the choice of his savior.
Zheng Zha greatly admired Fang Ge's selflessness.
But if Fang Ge was someone who had risen above base interests, someone who completely prioritized the collective over the individual...
Such a person might exist in reality, but they shouldn't have come to Main God Space, right? After all, it only takes in people who are disappointed with reality.
He suspected that this young man simply had a severe self-destructive tendency and was 'seeking thrills'.
Zheng Zha had also engaged in thrill-seeking behavior, but that was nothing more than going to bars, playing with women... even drug use remained only at the observation stage.
The threshold for 'playing with one's life' was a bit too high. Was this reckless fighter really just a game planner?
In a way, Zheng Zha was right.
Fang Ge just liked to play with his life, just liked to operate.
His gun skills were excellent from being tempered in games; while not professional level, they were among the top tier of amateurs.
A slight adaptation to the 'updated, more realistic' ballistics and recoil was more than enough to deal with zombies.
First, fire to attract zombie attention, then use the gun to deal with threatening zombies, and then use movement to gather the zombies into a group—everything proceeded as he planned.
Two magazines and three grenades allowed the squad to cover more than half the distance.
Fang Ge's movements were so practiced it didn't seem like his first time doing this. Zhan Lan's peripheral vision followed her savior; the handsome young man seemed to be a complete 'expert'.
Fang Ge only felt his blood flow getting faster and faster, as if it was gradually boiling.
Of course, he wasn't afraid of ordinary zombies; even when facing a creeper, Fang Ge was confident he could kill it with one shot while his Gene Lock was open.
Yes, Gene Lock.
To become a top-tier speedrunner, efficiently opening the Gene Lock was a mandatory course.
After all, one of the main factors Main God used to judge the start of the final battle was when a Reincarnator's Gene Lock reached the 'Fourth-Order Advanced' stage.
And to open the Gene Lock, a certain external pressure was needed, and the player had to concentrate and possess strong willpower.
For Fang Ge, the world record holder for speedrunning, who ended the final battle in the sixth Infinite World in three minutes and twenty-five seconds... he undoubtedly possessed these two self-elements.
Every moment, every instant!
After all, in a way, the Gene Lock was a very idealistic system. Players who naturally believed in 'invincible with me' had some advantages compared to the Reincarnator NPCs in the original work.
As long as Fang Ge faced strong external pressure—for example, being pinned down by a creeper—he would definitely be able to open his Gene Lock, provided his physical condition allowed it.
C-grade body strengthening stably opened the First-Order Genetic Lock, B-grade strengthening stably opened the Second-Order Genetic Lock, and A-grade strengthening stably opened the Third-Order Genetic Lock.
Only a mere two or three individuals among the nearly ten million players of Infinite World could achieve this.
Fang Ge was one of them.
No other reason, just sheer practice—this was the ultimate of being tempered through countless trials!
Even if he couldn't compare to Zheng Zha, who was known as the 'Lock-Opening Saint Body' for being able to open the Second-Order Genetic Lock with C-grade strengthening,
no one would question Fang Ge calling himself a 'Lock-Opening Genius'.
What truly limited his lock-opening was often insufficient physical fitness or the plot development not allowing it.
Just like now, if he faced a creeper directly, even Fang Ge in an unenhanced state had a 30% chance of opening his Gene Lock—but once successful, it would inevitably force Zhang Jie to begin his 'Captain Assessment'.
How could he save Zhang Jie while still showcasing his skills in battle?
The 'T-Virus original solution' Fang Ge had just consumed existed precisely for this purpose!