Translator: AnubisTL
These words, too, glowed crimson.
Which meant—
Wildcat had also entered an Extreme Difficulty map, though not "Dragon Fortress" but "Resident Evil."
"Him?"
"Brother Biao, Wildcat?"
The remaining nine First Squad members stood frozen, staring at the scene in mild bewilderment. Brother Biao had already shared his strategies for clearing the "Resident Evil" map, and each of them had completed the Normal Difficulty version three times.
But...
On the Stellaris, Brother Biao was the only one who had cleared the Extreme Difficulty "Resident Evil" map. Even Zhang Damei hadn't managed it.
In the Extreme Difficulty "Resident Evil" map, you either had to maximize evasion to minimize damage, or, like Brother Biao, trick your brain into believing you'd taken an "Adrenaline Shot."
Easier said than done. Despite their prolonged attempts, they couldn't figure out how to deceive their own brains.
"Forget it."
Just then—
Zhang Qi, a member of First Squad, stepped forward and walked toward the Combat Training Virtual Space. With a calm expression, he said, "If someone who can't even clear the normal difficulty has the courage to attempt the Extreme Difficulty, putting himself in a do-or-die situation, how much weaker am I, Zhang Qi, than that Biaozi?"
"I'm going too."
"As a member of First Squad, we should naturally push ourselves harder than members of the sub-teams."
Soon, the scarlet words "Resident Evil" appeared on Zhang Qi's cabin panel.
Ergou stood rooted to the spot, his face a complex mix of emotions as he stared at Brother Biao's Combat Training Virtual Space. Over ten minutes had passed, and the light hadn't gone out, meaning Brother Biao was still alive and had a chance of clearing the challenge.
Ergou had been following Brother Biao since the earliest days.
Even before the apocalypse, back in their village, he had followed Brother Biao out to find a way to survive. After the apocalypse, the group scattered or died, leaving only Ergou, Brother Biao, and Black Rat.
Black Rat was dead.
Now, of their original construction team, only Ergou and Brother Biao remained.
Ergou knew Brother Biao had always harbored a burning desire to catch up with the talented freaks through sheer effort. But he never imagined Brother Biao would be so ruthless with himself, pushing himself to the brink of life and death.
After a long silence, Ergou lit a cigarette, took a few drags, and stubbed it out in a nearby Cola can. He muttered, "If I die, so be it."
Then he dove into the Combat Training Virtual Space.
The surgical instrument display flashed four crimson characters: "Resident Evil."
The remaining First Squad members exchanged determined glances and gritted their teeth as they followed suit. Like Brother Biao, they would push themselves to the brink of death to find new life!
Only Zhang Yi and Zhang Er, who were still munching on steamed buns, remained behind.
"Huh?" Zhang Er picked up another bun and stuffed it into his mouth, looking around in confusion. "Isn't it lunchtime? Why are they all going back in?"
"I don't know. Since everyone's going in, we might as well join them."
"Oh, okay."
Inside the "Resident Evil" Extreme Difficulty map, Zhang Er stood in an elevator, gripping a steel pipe and staring blankly at the monster lying dead at his feet. The creature had been clawing at the elevator walls, and he'd yanked it down and stabbed it to death with a few swift blows.
The monster's skin was incredibly tough.
He couldn't get it in at first, but after several forceful attempts, he finally managed to insert it.
"Now, which way was I supposed to go?"
Zhang Er frowned deeply, racking his brain to recall Brother Biao's instructions. Was it the Seventh Floor or the Eighth Floor? He thought it was the Eighth Floor, but then again, maybe it was the Seventh.
"Forget it," he muttered, shaking his head. He climbed onto the elevator's roof, grabbed the steel cable, and began rapidly ascending the elevator shaft.
The ultimate goal is to reach the rooftop anyway. This should work, right?
Between the two brothers, Zhang Yi was the sharper one. He had already successfully reached the Seventh Floor, found the fireaxe in the office there, and cleared all the zombies from the fire escape.
But...
"Did Brother Biao say to go down or up after clearing the zombies from the Seventh Floor's fire escape?"
Zhang Yi frowned deeply, his mind racing as he tried to remember. After a long pause, he shook his head.
"If the goal is to reach the rooftop, why would I go down?"
"Of course I should go up."
"Brother Biao must have said to go up too."
After hefting the fireaxe in his hand, he roared and charged up the fire escape toward the eighth floor!
Inside the Stellaris train, Chen Mang silently watched the three split-screen displays.
One showed Biaozi, while the other two showed Zhang Yi and Zhang Er.
He couldn't help but marvel at how terrifyingly powerful talented freaks truly were.
Zhang Yi and Zhang Er had already successfully reached the summit, completing the "Extreme Difficulty" Resident Evil map.
When Biaozi had entered this map, he had concluded that the monster at the top of the elevator was absolutely unbeatable—an instant-kill enemy that forced players to flee the elevator immediately upon starting the game to even begin the map properly.
But Zhang Er had simply yanked the monster down and stabbed it to death with a few swings of his weapon.
Then, clinging to the elevator shaft's steel cables like Spider-Man, he had climbed all the way to the rooftop terrace without encountering a single zombie, effortlessly clearing the map that had nearly cost Biaozi his life.
Zhang Yi, being more obedient, had taken Brother Biao's word that the instant-kill monster was invincible and dutifully arrived at the Seventh Floor.
He then proceeded to ignore all the armor, weapons, and injections available below.
Relying solely on his formidable physique and a fireaxe, he hacked his way from the seventh floor to the rooftop. Covered in blood and countless wounds, his eyes burning crimson, he still strode resolutely to the zipline and cleared the level with ease.
Though the two brothers cleared the level differently, both did so effortlessly.
As for the techniques Brother Biao had taught them—like grabbing weapons and armor downstairs or using the Brain Control Technique—none were used. Zhang Yi, in particular, fought like a true war god!
He didn't use a single injection or pick up a single weapon.
With just a fireaxe, he slaughtered his way through the entire map!
"These are true warriors," Chen Mang sighed, leaning back in his chair and watching the two figures on the screen with a mix of helplessness and admiration. It had been a glorious, visceral battle. If their physical prowess was already this absurd, imagine what they'd become if equipped with higher-grade exoskeletons.
They'd be unstoppable war gods.
And the best part? Their upkeep was minimal—just a daily supply of meat sandwiches.
As for Biaozi...
He remained motionless on the rooftop, still lying under the eaves. It seemed he hadn't yet mustered the courage to face reality.
30 minutes later.
It was time to move. he couldn't just lie here forever.
My name is Biaozi.
If you haven't heard of me, you've definitely heard of the Stellaris train.
That's right, I'm the captain of the Stellaris Train Guard First Team.
I'm very strong.
But right now, I'm pondering a problem.
The nutrient solution outside is sustaining my body. If I just lie here for forty or fifty years, I could probably survive, albeit with limited space and a rather dull existence.
"..."
Biaozi's face twisted with bitterness as his mind raced uncontrollably. He still couldn't fathom how he had managed to accidentally send himself into this death-trap map twice in a row.
He didn't want to die. He wanted to live!
But clearly, the idea of just lying here forever wasn't very realistic.
A minute later, he slowly moved his body, flipped over, and climbed off the roof. His gaze gradually hardened. The monsters in Extreme Difficulty were only slightly stronger than those in Normal Difficulty. The only real difference was that failure meant certain death. That's all.
Just as Biaozi had mustered his courage, he collapsed back down, his face now etched with despair.
He didn't mind fighting to the death.
At least let him clear the normal difficulty first before throwing himself into Extreme Difficulty! He's already failed eight times in a row on normal!
Biaozi took several deep breaths, steeling his courage once more. He began recalling the Brain Control Technique Li Shiji had taught him, treating this as just another normal difficulty map. After eight consecutive failures, he was due for a ninth success!
Nine was the ultimate number!
His gaze turned icy as he locked onto the monster below, which had just reached the eaves of the building. Without hesitation, he leaped down, plunging his dagger straight into the creature's throat while clamping his hand over its mouth to stifle any cries.
For some reason, he suddenly felt weightless, as if his perspective had shifted.
It was as if he were controlling this world from a third-person view, sinking into an extreme state of calm and detachment. Then, light as a swallow, he darted along the shadowed corners of the walls, moving in rapid, precise steps.
In that moment—
All his previous emotions vanished from his mind. Like playing a single-player game, he controlled his body with a strange mix of third-person and first-person perspectives, executing each standard movement with cold precision and without conscious thought.
His eyes burned with pure, unadulterated bloodlust.
Not a trace of extraneous emotion remained.
Half an hour later.
[Congratulations on becoming the first member of the Stellaris train to clear the Dragon Fortress map on Extreme Difficulty.
Pioneers are always worthy of recognition.
You have received an additional 1.0 boost to your comprehensive physical fitness.]
In the white space, Biaozi stood shakily, his body trembling. Though his injuries had vanished, the bone-deep pain lingered. Yet when he saw the panel before him, he couldn't help but grin.
He, the great Biaozi!
This legendary figure, who couldn't even clear Normal Difficulty, had actually conquered Extreme Difficulty!
After exiting the Combat Training Virtual Space, Biaozi climbed out of the training pod and noticed the First Squad Members surrounding him, their eyes red-rimmed. He blurted out instinctively, "What's going on here?"
"Brother Biao!" Wildcat said, his voice thick with emotion, "Your courage to fight with your back against the wall has inspired us all. Every member of the First Squad has now cleared the Resident Evil map on Extreme Difficulty."
"Your actions have shown us..."
"If you tell yourself you can't do it, then you truly can't."
"When you're truly at your limit, you must embrace the 'death-or-glory' mentality, summoning the courage to break down the old and build anew!"
Zhang Qi gazed at Brother Biao with admiration, his voice ringing with conviction. "Brother Biao, you're the most ruthless person I've ever met. Someone like you, if they don't succeed, it would defy the very laws of nature."
Only then did Biaozi, finally realizing what had happened, silently crawl out of the training pod. He stood there, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then scanned the group, his words measured and deliberate.
"I see you've all grasped the concept."
"Exactly!"
"I wanted to show you through my actions what it means to embrace the 'death-or-glory' mentality. Only by cutting off all paths of retreat can we forge new hope!"
"I'm gratified that you've understood this principle and are putting it into practice."
"The Stellaris train is currently the only one where our entire first team has cleared the Resident Evil map on Extreme Difficulty. This proves our team's strength!"
"You can continue reflecting on this here. I'm going to find Li Shiji."
Biaozi cleared his throat and strode out of the refrigerator, intending to discuss his recent mental state with Li Shiji. He certainly wouldn't admit to his teammates that he had accidentally clicked the wrong option and been forced to complete the game.
If given the choice, he would never attempt it again.
Still, he couldn't pass up such a golden opportunity to boost his reputation. It was an unexpected surge of fame—a "rise from the ashes," as the saying went. Tsk, those words sound so good, he thought. That's exactly what I had in mind from the start.
Perhaps it wasn't an accident after all. Maybe his subconscious had guided him to embrace this "rise from the ashes" strategy.
As expected of me, Big Biaozi! You're truly remarkable.
But just as he was about to exit the refrigerator, he stopped, turned back, and frowned at Zhang Yi and Zhang Er.
"You two cleared the game too?"
"Didn't you guys always have trouble remembering things? How did you manage to use the brain trick technique I taught you?"
"Huh?"
Zhang Er scratched the back of his head and mumbled, "I forgot it as soon as I went in. But after I killed the monster on top of the elevator, I noticed a cable in the elevator shaft. I climbed it all the way to the rooftop."
"We didn't see any zombies along the way."
"I haven't forgotten."
Zhang Yi said earnestly, "I followed Brother Biao's instructions to the letter. I immediately left the elevator, entered the Seventh Floor, found the fireaxe, and fought my way up the fire escape. I made it to the rooftop and cleared the level."
"Did you guys go downstairs to get the armor, flamethrower, and injection?"
"What armor?"
"..."
Biaozi stood motionless, staring at the two men whose eyes were filled with confusion. After a long silence, he crushed the cigarette in his hand into a nearby Cola can and turned to walk away from the refrigerator.
"Never mind. It's time to eat."
"You two go eat quickly. You must be starving."
But his pace quickened involuntarily. These damn talented freaks deserve to die!
That monster on top of the elevator—it is supposed to be unbeatable! If you don't leave the elevator immediately, you're dead!
How could Zhang Er have killed that thing?
Are you crazy?!
How did you even manage that?!
He'd stabbed it countless times, but his attacks couldn't even break its defense. He'd assumed it was a high-Tier zombie that was ignoring his attacks, but now it seemed he just hadn't been hitting hard enough?
Good.
Power brings miracles. Makes sense.
(End of the Chapter)
📖Read [MAT] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c226. [+6/+14.3k]
🎁All [2] Novels can be accessed for just $6/mo.
🔥Translated [700+] Chapters and [1.42M+] Words.
[MASS RELEASE: +61 | 01AUG25] ✍REQUESTING REVIEWS🙏