Chapter 3, Stairs and Death

Fear of those corpses is nothing; any normal person would be afraid, especially knowing that they would turn into zombies and rush towards oneself. However, although Zheng Zha was indeed very afraid, he did not evade; instead, he forced himself to look and adapt, striving to ensure that when he saw them charging at him in the future, he would not collapse on the ground beforehand

Still, thank you, big brother. The fat man forced a smile and said, "My name is Zeng Rong. I am stout, have a foul mouth, and have not had many friends in my life. Out of boredom, I clicked that box, and unexpectedly encountered such a terrifying situation..."

Just as all traces of the middle-aged woman vanished, Wang Zongchao heard an explosion, which was less a sound emitted by the woman than a warning from a mysterious force

Zhang Jie has been running ahead of the crowd, closely following the mercenary team, and his abilities are certainly on par with those mercenaries. Wang Zongchao is leisurely trailing behind him. As for that guy Zheng Zha, he seems to have trained regularly, as he is able to keep closely behind him. Further back are a middle-aged man and a youth who appears to be a student.

Although Zheng Zha's face turned pale in the face of all this, he still forced himself to continue watching. Even as his facial muscles twitched and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, he remained focused, enduring it with great effort, and even leaned in closer to get a better look

Every turn of the staircase has more than ten steps, with a vertical span of at least three to four meters, yet Wang Zongchao reaches each step in a single stride, not jumping down. Zhan Lan can sense that his footsteps remain incredibly steady, as if he is strolling, without the slightest bump or sound, as if he is still ascending each step one by one.

Movies are ultimately just movies, and even if you can watch the bloody and terrifying scenes on the screen with great interest, it does not mean that you will remain calm when faced with such situations in reality. Just like in clinical medicine, no matter how many textbooks or video demonstrations you have seen, when you first pick up the scalpel and confront a bloody corpse, you will still feel nauseous or faint as the situation demands.

At this moment, Wang Zongchao had already led them through five quick turns, so he resumed his original leisurely pace. He was confident that even with one person in tow, he would never let anyone fall behind by more than one hundred meters. Influenced by his calm demeanor, Zhan Lan gradually became less anxious. Along the way, she began to describe the plot of "Resident Evil" to Wang Zongchao in a low voice, using as few words as possible.

With one hand, he suddenly extended the iron rod from beneath the armpits of the little chubby boy. Just as he released Zhan Lan and quickly rushed back, he had already used the iron rod to support the chubby boy's hefty body, bringing him back from the brink of death. The movement was exceptionally smooth and fluid, without the slightest hint of effort or strain.

Mou Gang and the chubby boy, Cheng Rong, lowered their heads, wishing they could shrink their heads into their chests, not daring to look up at all, their eyes nearly closing completely

At this moment, Zhang Jie, who was more than ten meters ahead, suddenly turned around and said teasingly: "Two outs"

The slightly overweight man, who was just ahead of the middle-aged woman, sensed that something was amiss. Positioned at the bend of the staircase, he glanced sideways and happened to witness a bloody scene occurring less than two meters above him.

Looking at the puzzled expression of the other party, Zhang Jie coldly smiled and said: "Leaving a distance of 100 meters is deemed a failure"

But before she could fall to the ground, Wang Zongchao's hand lifted her up again, and he quickened his pace as he rushed down the stairs

Wang Zongchao looked coldly at the white-collar worker running ahead of him, harboring a longstanding disdain for those who do not cherish their own lives. Based on his profound understanding of the human body, he could clearly discern that the white-collar worker in front of him not only indulged recklessly in excess but had also used methamphetamine.

The mercenaries and the male and female protagonists seemed not to have heard the explosion, and they did not even notice that one of their number was missing. As they approached the end of the staircase, one mercenary suddenly shouted, "Commander, the Flame Empress has locked onto us; she knows our location." Upon hearing this, Wang Zongchao smiled, realizing that it was somewhat late to notice. Indeed, although their quality could be considered elite, they were still not top-tier individuals. One mercenary suddenly shouted, "Commander, the Flame Empress has locked onto us; she knows our location." Upon hearing this, Wang Zongchao smiled, realizing that it was somewhat late to notice. Indeed, although their quality could be considered elite, they were still not top-tier individuals.

To know that after this journey, even with his physical fitness, he felt slightly out of breath, while Wang Zongchao, accompanied by another person, was able to perform in such a manner; to what extent is his endurance truly strong

The glass walls at both ends are filled with water, and floating in the water, apart from books and wooden chairs, which are relatively light, are corpses! The corpses, soaked and pale, appear swollen! It is evident that they struggled desperately before their untimely demise; some have expressions that are twisted and contorted, revealing their white, bared teeth, while others have broken bones in their hands and legs, with bloodied flesh protruding from their bodies. It seems these individuals lost their sanity in their final moments, frantically striking the tempered glass with their hands and feet; one particularly grotesque corpse has a large hole in its forehead, and the mingled red and white brain matter resembles a bizarre flower blooming on its forehead, drifting in the water, likely the result of a desperate attempt to break the tempered glass with its head before dying.

Wang Zongchao nodded and set him down, his impression of him improved considerably. Although this fellow had poor physical abilities and lacked awareness of the situation, he at least possessed some backbone, not being the type to cling on endlessly after being rescued.

In the astonished gaze of Zhan Lan, Wang Zongchao took only five steps and had already led two people around the five turns of the staircase, completely leaving that invisible wall of death behind.

Under such intense visual stimulation, he missed a step and immediately tumbled down from the top of the stairs. If he fell hard, he would surely be doomed. Even though the likelihood of dying from the fall was not very high, as long as that invisible wall of death descended, he would inevitably face misfortune, unable to stand up after being injured from the fall.

Matthew led the mercenaries at the forefront, and the quality of the mercenaries goes without saying. As Wang Zongchao had anticipated, the beauty named Alice easily kept pace with those well-trained mercenaries, even more effortlessly than the two non-mercenary men.

A smile appeared on his face, looking particularly grotesque under the dim light. Those eyes, which appeared dark and gloomy in bright light, surprisingly glimmered with a faint cold light at this moment, sending a shiver down Zheng Zha's spine

It should be noted that Wang Zongchao was not holding her; there was at least a distance of 10 centimeters between their bodies. Wang Zongchao was entirely relying on the strength of one arm to lift her. In addition, the iron pipe held in his other hand also appeared to be quite heavy.

In the midst of conversation, the last little chubby boy and the middle-aged woman had already distanced themselves from them. After turning a few more flights of stairs, the last two individuals had vanished from sight

At first, no one realized the significance of taking the stairs, but when the mercenaries opened the door to the emergency passage and saw the dark, deep staircase below that seemed to lead straight to hell, the expressions of several ordinary people changed dramatically, and Li Xiaoyi and the chubby boy turned pale.

It was as if an invisible wall swept down from above, causing the head of the middle-aged woman at the back to disappear from top to bottom, followed by her neck, chest, and waist

Wang Zongchao and the other person moved forward, having already surpassed the frail middle school student Li Xiaoyi, and caught up with the gradually lagging white-collar youth Zheng Zha. Although this individual had a relatively good physique among white-collar workers, he still ranked low compared to the mercenaries and Zhang Jie. At that moment, he was desperately navigating down the steps, not caring that he was wearing leather shoes that could easily twist his ankle.

Feeling that it was somewhat inappropriate to say such words in this situation, Zeng Rong chuckled self-deprecatingly and said: "Please let me run on my own, my weight of nearly 160 pounds might be too much trouble for you."

"Thank you... thank you..." At this moment, the chubby survivor finally came to his senses and hurriedly expressed his gratitude to Wang Zongchao

Wang Zongchao was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. He unexpectedly stopped in his tracks, his gaze sharply fixed on the chubby boy and the middle-aged woman, who were only a dozen steps behind him. Then, he witnessed a scene that would remain etched in his memory for a lifetime

Upon witnessing this scene, Wang Zongchao furrowed his brow and moved his body. At that moment, Zhan Lan, who had already been stunned by the sight before her, felt the hand that had been supporting her suddenly vanish. As she let out a startled cry, she involuntarily began to fall. In an instant, an uncontrollable thought flashed through her mind: "He has abandoned me to escape on his own..."

As a woman, Zhan Lan clearly did not possess great physical strength and was only barely keeping up. Wang Zongchao noticed this and deliberately fell back a few steps, supporting the girl under her armpit and helping her along.

Very good! Wang Zongchao silently praised, previously he only thought that this person had a decent psychological quality, but not particularly outstanding. After observing the signs of indulgence and decadence on this person's body, he did not think highly of him. However, at this moment, his performance was unexpectedly impressive

Zeng Rong was desperately following behind. After being led by Wang Zongchao for a while, he had managed to catch his breath slightly. Although he was still running, sweating profusely and gasping for air, he was not yet at risk of falling behind.

However, being immersed in the azure waters, admiring the vividly colored marine fish, the brilliantly colorful coral reefs, the diverse marine plants, as well as the domineering sharks and giant crabs, is indeed refreshing. Yet, the scene before one makes it impossible for anyone to feel at ease.

However, the two of them gradually fell behind after all

At this moment, Wang Zongchao leisurely walked down the stairs with Zhan Lan. It took them about eight minutes to descend, during which he had learned a great deal of further information about the horror film from her. The chubby boy, Zeng Rong, was the last to shuffle down the stairs with his trembling legs, gasping for breath like a bellows. Thanks to Wang Zongchao's timely assistance, he ultimately managed to avoid being eliminated due to lagging behind.

Zhan Lan nodded gratefully at Wang Zongchao, but soon her expression of gratitude turned into surprise, as she felt the unexpected strength of the single hand supporting her, almost lifting her entire body weight. Although her legs appeared to be running up the stairs, in reality, they were hardly exerting any effort.

Additionally, Wang Zongchao's method of running up the stairs is quite unique. He glides down, keeping the soles of his feet in constant contact with the stairs, never lifting them even a fraction higher with each step. It appears as if his feet are adhering to the stair surface, subtly suggesting a sense of rooting with each landing. Although he is running up the stairs, it feels even more stable than walking on flat ground.

Due to the presence of these gruesome and terrifying corpses, although the glass windows are well-sealed, there seems to be an inescapable stench of decay lingering in the air, influenced by psychological factors

Zheng Zha and the others had not walked far when they discovered that both sides of the corridor were lined with tempered glass walls, which were divided into individual rooms. From the equipment observed, these appeared to be offices and laboratories. In addition to some high-end, stylish office supplies, there were also some oddly shaped, high-tech instruments of unclear purpose. However, as the interiors were filled with water, the scene before them resembled an underwater tunnel designed for viewing marine life. In addition to some high-end, stylish office supplies, there were also some oddly shaped, high-tech instruments of unclear purpose. However, as the interiors were filled with water, the scene before them resembled an underwater tunnel designed for viewing marine life.

The quality of foreign goods is indeed superior! It is clearly just a row of office display windows, yet it temporarily serves as an aquarium without any leaks, and even when the people inside are smashing it wildly, it does not crack at all... Wang Zongchao was maliciously mocking in his heart when he suddenly heard a "Wow". It turned out that Li Xiaoyi could not withstand such a strong visual stimulus, and the contents of his stomach gushed out like a waterfall, beginning to vomit

The speed at which this invisible wall descends is not as swift as the falling of blood, thus the mid-aged woman's remaining hips and legs, which had not yet collapsed, along with the nearby ground, were splattered with copious amounts of blood. The air was thick with the stench of blood, but as this invisible wall continued to lower, the mangled body and the glaring blood all vanished, along with the bloody odor, as if a painting had been wiped clean by an eraser.

The mercenaries have now descended the stairs. Zhang Jie turned around and mockingly looked at the panting crowd, rarely adding a hint of kindness as he quietly said: "Keep going, if you survive, you should thank the heavens. To be honest, your luck has been quite good. This horror film has a very low danger level. In fact, it is one of the few horror films where problems can be solved with bullets. Keep going, as long as you can survive this horror film, you will receive 1,000 reward points to improve your physical condition"

The girl felt a bit worried and couldn't help but remind Wang Zongchao not to leave this area, one hundred meters away from Matthew Edison. However, Wang Zongchao instead said to her: "Alright, at this distance they won't be able to hear our conversation. Now please continue to introduce the plot that you didn't finish earlier, mainly focusing on the dangers they encountered."

"It is a small effort to save a life, and I do not mind doing it," Wang Zongchao said in a calm tone. After a pause, he added, "However, it is impossible for me to risk my life to save you, or to look after you when I am in danger myself. You all need to be more careful in the future."

Zhang Jie looked at Zeng Rong with a hint of surprise, then cast a strange glance at the two who showed no signs of sweating and were not even out of breath, as if they had just taken a leisurely stroll, feeling a sense of astonishment in their hearts

With a single step down, it felt as if the distance was compressed, directly moving from the top of the stairs to the bottom.

"True Stabbing | Exciting! How thrilling!" However, the next words spoken beside him left Wang Zongchao in a daze. He saw the female writer named Zhan Lan actually gazing with great interest at those bizarre corpses, her eyes sparkling with an uncontrollable excitement. Could it be that she had triggered some writing inspiration?