Chapter Twelve: Preparations Before the Battle (Part One)

Chapter Twelve: Preparations Before the Battle (Part One)

Schuster felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and slipped into a state between wakefulness and sleep. Yet, this sensation lasted only a fleeting moment; in the blink of an eye, he could already see everything around him clearly and realized he was in a place that was unmistakably a military camp. Judging by the surroundings, it was clearly an American-style encampment. The camp was plastered with all manner of yellowed photographs, marijuana ash, cigarette butts, playing cards, cola bottles, beer bottles, and instant food cans scattered everywhere. No other army’s camp could possibly be in such shambles—only an American one!

Looking to his side, he saw eleven newcomers sprawled across the floor in various positions. Zhang Jie and his three companions were already standing; their physical condition was obviously far superior to that of the newcomers.

As soon as Zhang Jie found his balance, he glanced at the ground, his face turning pale. “This is bad,” he muttered. “Seventeen people. This level of difficulty would never appear in a science fiction horror film like ‘Predator,’ where everything can be explained by technology. The ‘Lord God’ must have altered the difficulty. This is terrible.”

The other three—Zheng Zha and the rest—looked at him in confusion. Zhang Jie took a deep breath. “I haven’t encountered this situation myself, but I heard about it from veterans during my first horror movie. Supposedly, under certain circumstances, the ‘Lord God’ will alter both the plot and the difficulty of the horror film. Anything could happen, and such scenarios usually end with the total annihilation of the team. Of course, if you manage to survive, the rewards are substantial. Check your watches.”

On their watches, the task read: “Mission: Follow Major Dutch to complete the mission. Killing ordinary enemies awards 15 points. Kill a Predator to receive 3,000 reward points and a B-level side plot.”

“Predator—that’s a terrifying opponent, especially an enhanced Predator,” Li Xiaoyi said, his face pale with fear.

Zhang Jie lit a cigarette from his breast pocket. “Does anyone remember the plot of ‘Predator 1’?”

Zheng Zha shook his head. “That film is quite old. It’s a classic, but I haven’t seen it in ages. I only vaguely remember the general story.”

Li Xiaoyi also shook his head. “I’ve only watched a few of the latest horror movies recently. Who would have thought the ‘Lord God’ would pick such an obscure one?”

Only Zhan Lan chuckled softly and touched her forehead. “You’re all so unprofessional. Since our lives are now bound to horror movies, of course, you should watch even the oldest ones. Ever since I guessed that this space has existed since ancient times, I’ve been catching up on modern horror stories as well. As for the plot of ‘Predator’…”

“The story of ‘Predator’ is about a special forces team led by the Governor, assigned to rescue the crew of a downed military plane across the border. In the Mexican rainforest, they encounter a strange extraterrestrial creature. All members of the team, except the Governor, are killed.”

Before Zhan Lan could finish, a voice interrupted her. A bespectacled man of ordinary appearance sat up from the ground. Though his looks were unremarkable, his eyes were unusually calm—there was an air of intelligence about him.

The six of them exchanged glances. Zheng Zha was the first to react. “Zheng Zha. Welcome, new companion,” he said, extending a hand.

The man hesitated, then shook Zheng Zha’s hand. “Chu Xuan. If you don’t mind, could you tell me where this is? Looks like an American military camp. I don’t remember the US having the means to capture me.”

“The rescue team led by Dutch first finds the skinned bodies of the pilots,” Zhan Lan continued. “They realize things aren’t as simple as they seem. Dutch’s superior used them to eliminate guerrillas. After learning the truth, they’re outraged and vow to find the murderer. The guerrillas become their target, and they capture a female guerrilla. But after destroying the guerrillas, the team members sense something else lurking, waiting to strike. Deep in the jungle, a mysterious apparition appears, and team members are killed one by one in gruesome ways, just like the first bodies they found. The apparition turns out to be a humanoid beast with superhuman abilities…”

At this moment, another voice cut in. “Enough already! First thing in the morning and you’re spouting nonsense. Where the hell is this place?”

Schuster and the others looked up. The rest of the newcomers had all woken up and were staring around in confusion. Among them, three youths with flamboyantly colored hair were glaring impatiently. Their leader, dressed as a hippie, sported a nose ring and several lip rings. He said arrogantly, “Who the hell are you? We were at the internet café, and suddenly we ended up here?”

Faced with these unruly youths, Zheng Zha ignored them and spoke up loudly. “Everyone, please quiet down. We’ll explain everything in detail soon. For now, let’s let Chu Xuan walk us through the details of ‘Alien 1.’”

Chu Xuan had been carefully observing Zheng Zha’s group, as well as the people sitting on the ground and their surroundings. At Zheng Zha’s prompt, he nodded calmly. “Continuing on, as his comrades are killed one by one, Dutch decides to fight to the death against the murderous monster. After heavy losses, only Dutch survives. He outsmarts the Predator and finally kills it. As it dies, the Predator detonates a microcomputer, as powerful as a small nuclear bomb. Dutch escapes in time with the female guerrilla in a helicopter.”

The three youths seemed startled by Zheng Zha’s authoritative tone. But when they saw Chu Xuan and the others ignoring them, anger overcame their embarrassment. The one with the rings shouted at Zheng Zha, “Who the hell do you think you are, ordering us around? I know where you live—I could take my crew and butcher your whole family!”

They were the very image of street punks, threatening violence at the slightest provocation and boasting that they knew everyone’s address. Before Zheng Zha could reply, Zhang Jie sneered, pulled out his Desert Eagle, and pointed it at the youth covered in rings. “Shut up. Right now, gathering intel is the priority. Don’t make me angry.”

The three punks and their companions panicked at the sight of the gun. The others quickly scattered, leaving a clear space around the trio, who exchanged glances and then burst out laughing. The one with the rings even pulled out a gun of his own, sneering, “Where you from? The best you could get is a fake Type 54, Desert Eagle? What a joke. You think real Desert Eagles are easy to get? That’s obviously a fake…”

A silver flash streaked by. The youth’s left hand was severed at the wrist by a flying knife, and another blade pinned his hand to the wall.

For a moment, the youth was dumbfounded, as if he couldn’t believe what had happened. Only when the pain finally reached his brain did he begin to howl in agony. The three of them collapsed to their knees, realizing that these people were far from harmless—they meant what they said.

The others screamed, but Zheng Zha noticed several people remained calm, simply watching him, Zhang Jie, and the rest. He nodded to himself, thinking that this batch of newcomers was not bad; at least some of them possessed enough composure.

Li Xiaoyi darted over, picked up the bloodied gun, and fiddled with it. “Zhang, this is a fake, not the real thing.”

Schuster walked over, kicked the punk to the ground, pinned him with a foot to the chest, then yanked his hand from the wall and pulled out the knife. He held the hand to the severed wrist and sprayed it with an aerosol, treating the wound.

“What is that? An instant hemostatic spray? It must be a powerful biological cell agent. Once exposed to oxygen, it proliferates, replaces and fuses with the cells near the wound, and quickly heals it—a new type of biological medical compound?” Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses and asked.

“Well, never mind. Zhan Lan, why don’t you explain to everyone where we are and why we’re here?”

Zhan Lan’s eyes sparkled as she giggled. “Then I’ll thank you all in advance… When we get back, I’ll cook a few dishes for you myself. You know, girls naturally have less stamina than you men, so when we return, all one hundred reward points should go to cell vitality and muscle strength.”

Then, Zhan Lan explained the situation to everyone, especially the fact that they would be forced to cycle through countless horror films. Surviving each one would earn them a thousand reward points, which could be exchanged for weapons or body enhancements. At present, they were in ‘Alien 1,’ with their watches showing the mission: follow Major Dutch and kill the Predator. Of course, she concealed the information about side plots, which was exclusive to the four of them and not something to be shared with every newcomer.

“Should I go over the details of ‘Predator 1’?” Chu Xuan asked after listening.

P.S.: Thanks to Yuchen | Xi for the reward. It’s not much, but it’s appreciated!