Chapter Twenty: Chu Xuan’s Analysis (Part Two)

Chu Xuan went on, “For close-combat weapons, I recommend spirit-type weapons and legendary-class weapons. To be honest, I have never liked supernatural horror films involving ghosts and gods, because they have no scientific logic at all. I refuse to waste brainpower on anything that cannot be explained by facts. But the problem now is that we are very likely to face exactly that kind of horror film, and if we want to survive in it, I recommend choosing spirit-type and legendary-class weapons. They can deal with ordinary living creatures as well as supernatural beings and apparitions. Zheng Zha, you have done this very well. Your storage ring covers both logistics and spirit-based attacks. Given your physical condition, it is almost the perfect choice.”

“As for rapid-fire weapons, they are meant to deal with large numbers of enemies, such as zombie swarms. There is nothing much to say about that. As for heavy weapons, I suggest Zero Point choose a gauss ion sniper rifle. It fires ion-accelerated radiation rounds, and the tremendous kinetic energy can destroy almost anything in your path. I never expected such long-range heavy weaponry, still in the experimental stage in the real world, to already exist as a finished product in the Main God Space... As for the rest of you, I do not recommend buying one. Your handling of weapons is truly atrocious. It would be better to invest in rapid-fire weapons, such as submachine guns, and use new depleted-uranium rounds as ammunition; their penetration and lethality would be quite impressive.”

“That is basically all there is to weapon selection. One final point: these weapons can also be used against paranormal monsters. You only need to use spirit-type ammunition. The only drawback is that the price may be somewhat higher.”

“That is no problem. I can give you plenty of enchanted bullets. They are definitely better than the Main God’s,” Schuster said from the side.

“Mm, that problem is solved.” Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses.

Zheng Zha glanced over the manuscript and said, “But the firearms with unlimited ammunition are all very expensive. We really do not have enough reward points to exchange for them yet. And that unlimited gauss ion sniper rifle requires not only a D-rank side story, but also five thousand reward points. That many points is really...”

A faint smile, almost shocking on Chu Xuan’s normally corpse-like face, curved his lips. “Since when did I say we were going to exchange for weapons with unlimited ammunition? Do you remember the first thing I said? Besides bodyguards, parts and equipment can also be exchanged from the Main God. Gunpowder is incredibly cheap: one reward point can be exchanged for a ton of high-grade yellow gunpowder, and copper and other metals are also extremely inexpensive. I can exchange ordinary parts and build a bullet workshop, which would let us mass-produce the ammunition we need. Although we cannot carry unlimited ammo, as long as we are not facing a truly disastrous situation, the ammunition we bring should be enough to handle a science-fiction horror film. And those legendary-class weapons are indeed very expensive. Even if we cannot manufacture them, we can still exchange a portion of spirit-type bullets to deal with emergencies. That is the second thing I wanted to say: our standard armament.”

“And... what is the third thing?” someone asked.

Everyone had already begun to grow impatient. The two things Chu Xuan had uncovered had offered them enormous guidance for future development, and they were all eager to know what the third thing he had left for last might be.

Chu Xuan bit lightly at a finger and said, “I found a way back to reality... Though it can only be temporary, and it still requires a large amount of reward points. But this should be a very good way to test something: whether only our spirits entered this world while our bodies remained in front of the computer, and it can also verify whether we can bring the things here back with us, whether our enhanced physical abilities can be carried over... Yes, I found a way back to reality!”

At those words, the entire room fell silent.

Then Zhang Jie gave a cold snort. “And you think that is worth saying? As long as you have fifty thousand reward points, anyone can go back. Do you think we have fifty thousand reward points? If you want to mock people, at least make it believable.”

Chu Xuan swept him with a calm, faintly meaningful glance, and that look made Zhang Jie feel a chill down his spine. “Who said this was a way to return to the real world permanently? When I was exchanging for ordinary living days, I discovered a record function. It lists the five horror films A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream 2, Final Destination, Resident Evil, and Alien. Aside from those five horror worlds, the record also contains another world: the real world! If I am not mistaken, those first five horror films should be all the horror films experienced by Zhang Jie, the person here who has been through the most horror films, correct?”

Zhang Jie’s face went pale as he nodded, as though the mention of A Nightmare on Elm Street had once again stirred some shadow buried in his heart.

“Then it can be confirmed that this record stores the horror films experienced by the person in the team who has gone through the most of them... but that is not the key point... The key is that it can open the horror film worlds in the record, as well as the real world. Once opened, one may enter any of those worlds at will, including the real world. That is the third thing I wanted to say!”

“Using only one D-rank side story, one can open a horror film world that was once recorded. But to exchange living days in an opened horror film world requires five times the reward points—in other words, an exorbitant cost of fifty reward points for one day. Put another way, to return briefly to the real world, two conditions must be met: first, one D-rank side story; second, a large amount of reward points. Neither can be missing.”

Silence fell again, but this time it was not the silence of shock. It was an atmosphere far more complicated than shock alone.

Seeing everyone fall quiet, Chu Xuan shook his head. “I have no intention of making you waste reward points and side stories. In fact, returning briefly to the real world, even if only one of us can go back, is an extremely urgent matter. I do not know whether any of you have considered theories about this space. At the very least, I have come up with two different possibilities. First, our spirits enter this world while our bodies remain in front of the computer. Second, our spirits, together with our bodies, are drawn entirely into this space. I think you have all learned one piece of information from the women beside you as well: no matter how much time passes in the horror films, after one day and one night in this space, we return... or die. In other words, the Main God can control the flow of time across different spatial intervals. That is really...”

“Like a god, you mean?” Jing Chen suddenly cut in. She knew the system was far more powerful than the Main God.

“Indeed. There are things even the Main God cannot do. That is inevitable. But for us, it is still too early to explore realms the Main God cannot intervene in...” Chu Xuan seemed to sigh.

“Zheng Zha, you should go back. I will pay all the points for you,” Schuster suddenly said.

“...Then thank you.” Zheng Zha was silent for a moment before expressing his gratitude.

At ten o’clock the next morning, everyone gathered once more in the Main God plaza. Zheng Zha exchanged for some platinum and stored it in his ring. In addition, everyone contributed a few pieces of equipment here and there. Among the most expensive were two items: one was the one-time physical defense talisman that Lola had exchanged for Zheng Zha to take back to the real world, just in case, capable of withstanding point-blank attacks of up to three thousand kilograms of force. The other was astonishingly the high-vibration particle-cutting dagger Chu Xuan had exchanged for Zheng Zha, which truly moved him.

“Here. Take this scroll. It can withstand all attacks below missile level, and it lasts for thirty minutes. Just crush it.” Schuster handed him a scroll.

“Mm... this... why are you giving me this?” Zheng Zha asked after taking it.

Schuster did not answer. Instead, he looked at Chu Xuan.

“You can tell Zheng Zha everything you did. My ability is memory control. After you speak, I can erase Zheng Zha’s memory, and then restore it when he comes back,” Schuster said.

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses. “Is that so? Then I will say it. I placed the locator from the watch onto this dagger! It also contains some of the technology and information from here, as well as a plan to have the state hypnotize some elite special forces and bring them here,” Chu Xuan said.

“All right, Zheng Zha. If you agree, I will take this memory from you now and return it when you come back,” Schuster said.

“...Are you sure the Main God will not be able to detect it?” Zheng Zha asked after a brief silence.

“Eighty percent certainty,” Chu Xuan said.

“All right, I’ll take the gamble,” Zheng Zha said through clenched teeth.

A flash of white light passed. Zheng Zha froze for a moment, then scratched his head and walked into his room, where he pulled Lori out with him.

“All right, I’m taking Lori back first.” Zheng Zha smiled and waved, then vanished in another burst of white light.

The light flashed again, and Zheng Zha and Lori returned in a miserable state, covered in grime.

“Lori... stand behind me.” Zheng Zha pulled Lori behind him, then abruptly drew the dagger and slashed viciously at Chu Xuan!

“Click. Memory restored.” Schuster immediately caught the dagger and said.

Zheng Zha blanked out for a moment, then calmed down. Looking at Chu Xuan, he gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry. But this time, you were right.”

Chu Xuan said, “It does not matter. I needed to confirm whether this ‘real world’ truly is the real world, or merely a world scanned by the Main God from the memories of those who exchanged for it. From your situation, it is obvious that it is the genuine real world. Second, I suspect that once you return, you were also restricted by the Main God, correct?”

Zheng Zha nodded. “Yes. First, I cannot reveal anything about the Main God Space to anyone in any way. Second, I must return to the place where I left from within the prescribed time. For example, when I pressed the computer’s YES button in the office, I had to return to the office within thirty days. Third, when I come back, I must be touching all of my belongings, otherwise they will be left in the real world. If the item is unique to the Main God Space, then its existence will be erased.”

“Then it is clear. Absolutely do not leak information about the Main God to the outside world... but I was not erased, so that means my second reason is this: the Main God actually has no thinking ability. It is nothing more than a supercomputer operating according to its program!”

After hearing Chu Xuan’s words, Schuster felt oddly uneasy. It seemed that the Main God could only learn others’ memories through the spirit, and if it did not touch spirit-linked memories, it would not know.

P.S. I have finally resolved the lingering regrets in Infinite Terror. From now on, for every story where someone leaves, I will write a side story to make up for it, so that all of you can understand things more clearly.