Chapter 26: Central Continent Exchange 【Part 1】
"I've really hit the jackpot this time!"
As soon as Zheng Zha connected to the Main God Space from his stool, a satisfied smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
Zheng Zha obtained 1 D-rank side plot and 800 reward points from Spence. When he killed Matt, he received 1 C-rank, 1 D-rank, and 4000 reward points. When he rescued James, he received 1 D-rank and 1000 reward points.
He broke the critical value of 500 points, killed three creepers, and several zombies. He barely sustained any injuries from beginning to end, and repairs only cost him a few points.
Adding the 'big pot meal' for the survival of the plot characters in the final Death Stairs stage, he received 5 D-rank side plots and 5000 reward points.
"In total, that's 1 B-rank side plot, 2 D-rank side plots. And 12,599 reward points! Tsk tsk, the rewards for completing side plots are truly generous…"
But recalling the suffering he endured in Resident Evil… he still felt a chill.
However, as Zhang Jie said, this was already equivalent to the minimum earnings from more than ten horror movies, plus so many valuable side plots…
Presumably, he could become very strong, and future horror movies… would also be very easy, right?
Even if it was just for Loli, he had to survive.
"Snap out of it! Snap out of it!"
Fang Ge waved his hand in front of Zheng Zha's eyes, stopping him from daydreaming.
Still thinking of an easy time? The Roll Continent team will roll you so hard your mother won't recognize you!
Chu Xuan was even more significant; he emotionlessly reported his earnings:
"After deducting repairs, I still have 13,623 reward points, and one B-rank, one C-rank, and one D-rank side plot each."
Among them, killing Spence earned him 2 D-rank and 1500 points.
Saving James earned him 4000 points, 1 C-rank, and 1 D-rank.
Killing the mutated creeper earned him 2000 points and 2 D-rank.
The 'big pot meal' for the survival of the plot characters in the final Death Stairs stage earned him 5 D-rank and 5000 points.
The most significant was that he took down a staggering 19 creepers, truly living up to his title as a 'mutated human', which resulted in his reward points even surpassing Fang Ge's.
"Finally, we're getting to the main topic…"
Zhan Lan straightened up, cutely counting on her fingers:
"I only managed to get 1 D-rank side plot from Spence, and then I got the reward that all of us got for the mercenaries and Alice escaping the Hive… Repairs also deducted over four hundred reward points from me."
"I only have 2 C-rank side plots and about six thousand reward points."
"Can you guys stop 'humble-bragging' in front of me? I've never seen so many side plots and reward points in my life!"
Zhang Jie's eyelids twitched; the Main God Space had truly changed.
6000+2 C-rank is 'only'? Then what is my 1000 points? Am I a pauper?
He quickly blurted out his 'Jie-isms':
"You guys are really rich now! After this job, I'd want to eat whatever I want, drink whatever I want, serve two bowls of rice, eat one, and dump the other…"
"Damn it… Main God, first, give me a braised Tyrannosaurus Rex tail to taste the flavor!"
—Tyrannosaurus Rex tail? Is that a hint for the next horror movie?
Fang Ge knew Zhang Jie wouldn't do anything 'meaningless'.
A Tyrannosaurus Rex tail, over five meters long, suddenly appeared before everyone, indeed braised, looking fragrant and tender, making one's mouth water.
"Don't waste it, why is it on the ground?"
Zheng Zha reached out and poked the huge cross-section, which only existed in 'anime', his eyes full of heartache.
"This stuff is very cheap; a mere Tyrannosaurus Rex isn't some magical creature… I tell you, there's so much to enjoy in the Main God Space's food area. As long as you're willing to spend, you can even buy dragon liver and phoenix marrow!"
Zhang Jie said casually, directly digging into the dragon tail, eating with oil dripping from his mouth.
"The Tyrannosaurus Rex is a carnivorous theropod dinosaur. As an apex predator, from a food chain perspective, it's not a good choice for meat… the color isn't vibrant at all."
Chu Xuan had no intention of trying it. He pushed up his glasses, his gaze shifting to the golden 'Team Battle Stele' nearby.
"I suggest you look at the information on it; it's closely related to leaving the Main God Space."
"Huh?"
Upon hearing that they could leave the Main God Space, Zheng Zha didn't care about his greasy hands and rushed to the stele. The words on it were small and dense.
"This Main God is a bit annoying. The words on this, and the mission descriptions on the watch before, are so small. Would it kill him to write bigger?"
【…When this team appears, or has accumulated three or more humans who have unlocked the Gene Lock, this information will automatically appear and remain in this 'Main God' Space.】
【…As our common prophecy foretells, when the biological Gene Lock is unlocked to the fifth layer, which is the final layer of the Gene Lock, the creature will completely evolve into a higher-level being. Therefore, the human world will either progress or face catastrophe, all at the whim of that being. However, to prevent the collision of high-level beings from two or more teams, leading to the complete extinction of humanity, we have established the following regulations…】
【…When this team has accumulated three or more humans who have unlocked the Gene Lock, this team will randomly collide with teams from other continents' 'Main God' Spaces in horror movies. The reward points for killing opposing team members will be… two thousand reward points and one C-rank side plot. Killing an opposing member who has unlocked the Gene Lock will grant seven thousand reward points and one B-rank side plot. If the entire opposing team is killed, each surviving team member will receive one C-rank side plot reward.】
【…There is no cruelty, no manipulation, no good or evil… Only one team can ultimately survive. If you don't want to die, then surpass yourself and keep evolving…】
This information was clearly incomplete, abruptly stopping here.
Zheng Zha found a towel from somewhere, wiped his hands clean, and muttered:
"Half-understood, a bit hard to understand… or rather, still don't understand. What is this 'Gene Lock'? How did three people already unlock it?"
—It's quite strange, isn't it? In the original work, Zheng Zha, the first to unlock the Gene Lock in the Main God Space, didn't unlock it, but everyone else did…
This is the charm of a multi-cycle player.
"Chu Xuan, you explain it."
Fang Ge softly instructed, beginning to adopt a leadership posture.
"Everyone chose 'Yes' to enter the Main God Space, right?"
Seeing everyone nod, Chu Xuan continued:
"Have you noticed that all of us are from 'Central Continent'? No foreigners have appeared."
"Last night, I carefully went through the exchange list, which includes mythological systems from all over the world."
"This indicates that the Main God Space is not a special edition game for Central Continent… Combined with the description on the stele, there should also be Main God Spaces and reincarnation teams in other continents."
"The creator of the Main God Space surely wouldn't allow two teams to return to the real world at the same time. Because based on differences in beliefs, languages, values, and other aspects, they would find it very difficult to coexist peacefully."
"And if reincarnation teams started fighting in reality, the consequences would be extremely dire! Whether it's peerless experts whose power belongs to themselves, or those who acquire large amounts of future technology. The clash between the two is bound to overturn the structure of the real world!"
"Perhaps, through successive team battles, only the single victor will be able to successfully return to the real world!"
The amount of information was perhaps too much…
Zheng Zha took a deep breath, speaking with difficulty: "It's either kill others or be killed by others… Does it have to be a fight to the death?"
"Under specific circumstances, reincarnators might be able to cooperate. But ultimately, only one team can be the victor."
Fang Ge patted Zheng Zha's shoulder and added:
"You've also experienced office politics… It's hard for people to trust each other, isn't it?"
No matter what, Zheng Zha was a white-collar manager; he always understood the reasoning.
But workplace struggles are workplace struggles… Was he really going to kill people with real weapons now?
Chu Xuan didn't give the others much time to digest and continued to explain:
"As for the Gene Lock… Cutting-edge biotechnology in reality also has some research in this area, and I happen to be one of the people in charge."
"As for its origin and significance, I presume you're too lazy to care. In short, everyone's genes contain a lock. Unlocking this lock can unleash the body's potential."
"The first stage of the Gene Lock should manifest as 'combat instincts and the ability to perceive danger'. In the last horror movie, I, Fang Ge, and Zhan Lan all exhibited this ability."
Zheng Zha scratched his head and couldn't help but say, "You all unlocked it? Only I didn't?"
"Me?"
Zhan Lan pointed to herself in confusion: "Me? When?"
"You dodged the creeper's tongue on the stairs as if you had eyes in the back of your head… Have you forgotten so quickly?"
Fang Ge reminded her, "Later, we all suffered backlash. Unlocking the Gene Lock is not without cost."
Chu Xuan then continued: "The derivatives of the Gene Lock are highly toxic… But after enduring it, the Main God's repair can cure this 'after-effect'."
"Based on previous experience, the T-Virus original solution should have the function of promoting people to unlock the Gene Lock."
Zhang Jie showed an incredulous expression: "You guys didn't all drink the T-Virus original solution like an oral liquid, did you?"
"You all drank it? Only I didn't? Zhan Lan drank it too?" Zheng Zha threw out a triple soul-question.
He began to suspect that he 'wasn't fitting in'.
"Oh, things were urgent."
Fang Ge waved his hand repeatedly, "Chu Xuan still has a bottle. If you want to drink it, you can drink it for fun; the Main God can also repair you."
Zheng Zha cast a hopeful look at Chu Xuan, but the glasses-wearing man disappointed him.
"…I plan to research it first. I'm confident I can mass-produce this stuff."
Ignoring Zheng Zha's resentful gaze, Chu Xuan continued:
"Let's talk about exchanges first… My suggestion is to listen to what Fang Ge says."
??
Everyone felt bewildered. You were explaining quite well, so why listen to what Fang Ge says now?
—Yesterday, I chatted with Jin Xi about some past events. He wouldn't interpret that as me being able to loop saves or having some kind of rewind ability, would he?
Fang Ge somewhat understood Chu Xuan's thoughts.
You know what, he really can load saves… Given that, even if Chu Xuan couldn't determine the world-line, he likely believed that Fang Ge could 'make absolutely correct' choices.
—Then why would you, a wise man, keep asking me 'what should I do' in a horror movie? Why be so lax?
However, being able to finalize the team's current exchanges was exactly what he wanted.
"First, let's hear your preferences… Let's start with Zheng Zha. What do you want to exchange for?"
"Start with me?"
Having seen so many varied enhancements, Zheng Zha couldn't hold back any longer!
"I plan to exchange for 'Intermediate Qi Cultivation Enhancement' and 'Vampire Viscount Mutated Bloodline', and also a vampire skill called 'Red Flame'. I've calculated it, and this way, my side plots are just enough!"
—Classic! Too classic! It's truly you; the 'Dual Energy Cycle' path still depends on you!
Fang Ge found it hard to suppress the smile on his face.
"Your idea is very good, but I think…"
"A slight modification!"