Chapter 25: The Telling of Zhan Lan's Doppelgänger

“If you let him touch the sky, he will never touch the ground.”

...

Li Xiao watched Zhang Jie’s arrogant and gloating expression.

Big brother, as a semi-guide and a team leader, and a loyal worker for the Main God...

Is it really okay to talk about your big boss like this?

I seriously suspect you're just taking this opportunity to show off, but I have no evidence.

After Zhang Jie finished his explanation.

Zero, who was seeing the Main God for the first time, asked

“Then how do we exchange for the things you mentioned?”

“I can’t wait to see a sniper rifle. This current situation makes me feel too insecure.”

Zhang Jie nodded and continued

“The method for exchanging things is very simple. Just stand beneath him and meditate with your eyes closed.

By the time you see it, you will all understand the importance of reward points!”

“And then you will regret your indifference when you were facing the Xenomorph eggs.”

As he spoke, Zhang Jie walked over, put his arm around Li Xiao’s shoulder, and suddenly burst into laughter.

“You brat, if I’m not mistaken, besides Zheng Zha, you’re the one with the most reward points this time, right!”

As he spoke, Zhang Jie counted on his fingers

“Let me see... a fixed thousand, a thousand for completing the mission, and you killed two Xenomorphs, right? Tsk tsk tsk.”

“Calculating it all up, damn, fortune really is sought in danger.

Aside from the final Xenomorph Queen not being very 'cute,' it was practically perfect!”

When Zhang Jie mentioned the words "Xenomorph Queen," everyone present couldn't help but shudder.

Zero even touched the half of her head that had been recovered yesterday, her face filled with lingering fear.

“What a terrible memory!”

Standing to the side, Zhan Lan waved her hand and said with a bright smile

“At least we survived, which is more important than anything. Besides, I checked yesterday, and I have over two thousand eight hundred reward points.”

“This was quite a harvest. It’s a pity that we finally got a side story, but it was only a D-rank.”

Zhang Jie patted Zero and laughed heartily at Zhan Lan

“Be satisfied. For horror movies where the Main God changes the difficulty like this, they usually end in a total wipeout.”

“But look at us now, six of us survived in total.

You should know that six D-rank side stories can be combined into two C-rank side stories.”

“This is basically free money. Isn't that great!”

Zhang Jie suddenly remembered: “Oh right, Zhan Lan, I asked Na'er to prepare some fruit. Go and get it.”

Zhan Lan nodded.

A few minutes later.

*Click!*

Hearing the sound of a door opening, the group chatting in the plaza looked back.

Upon seeing clearly, Zhang Jie wore a lecherous expression like a fellow traveler in sin.

While Zhan Lan couldn't help but cast a look of disdain.

Li Xiao even said loudly with a smile: “Yo, why is this little beauty still wearing a high-collared sweater?”

Beside him, Zero and Zhan Lan both let out a snort of laughter but quickly suppressed it.

After all, they were professionals.

Loli was crouching behind Zheng Zha, her face as red as a boiled crab, practically steaming.

Despite this, Loli still poked her small head out and asked Zhang Jie timidly

“Brother Zhang Jie, where is Sister Na'er? I have something to ask her!”

Only then did Zhang Jie withdraw the lecherous smile from his face and say seriously

“She’s in my room. Go on, Sister Na'er was just mentioning you, asking why her little Li'er hasn't come to find her yet.”

Hearing this, Loli nodded with a red face and gave an "um."

She whispered something to Zheng Zha, then ran inside with bounding steps.

Because Zhang Jie's door was left open, the cheerful laughter of Na'er and Loli soon drifted out from inside.

Li Xiao watched Loli's energetic retreating figure, then looked at the blissful faces of Zhang Jie and Zheng Zha.

After a moment of thought, he decided to speak, though his expression was somewhat melancholy

“Love is an effort, a decision. Love makes people crazy, and love also makes people strong.”

“But is the love the Main God exchanges for you for free truly the person in your heart?”

“Or are they merely substitutes?”

“If they are substitutes, then why create them at all?”

The people in the outer area froze in place upon hearing this.

Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie fell into silence.

Zero, meanwhile, fell into certain painful memories, staring blankly at the glowing sphere that was the Main God.

Family? Love? Or guilt?

The small figure in her heart seemed to become blurred once again.

Li Xiao waved his hand to interrupt what Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie were about to say, and continued shaking his head

“This thing called love can make people strong and brave, but it can also make them fragile and sensitive.”

“And such unstable things, in this space of infinite reincarnation, will only make us die faster.”

“After all, here, living itself is a luxury.”

“Isn't it, everyone!”

Standing opposite them, Zhan Lan, being a writer, looked Li Xiao up and down, as if seeing this young man for the first time.

Perhaps sensing the tension, she immediately smiled

“I didn't realize. You're quite young, yet you have such rich emotional experience?”

“Have you seen through the mortal world and decided to become a monk?”

Li Xiao said helplessly: “Not at all. As for love, I still yearn for it.”

Zhan Lan continued

“Although I despise the behavior of people thinking with their lower halves, I don't believe it is a mistake.”

“Chu Xuan said that creating bodyguards is physical defense; isn't what Zheng Zha and the others are doing—creating love—a form of mental defense?”

“Besides, most sturdy walls are dismantled from the inside.

Mental reliance often helps a person survive more than physical reliance.”

Li Xiao said skeptically

“But more destruction stems from weakness.”

“Weakness is the original sin!”

Seeing that Zhang Jie was about to snap at Li Xiao, Zheng Zha quickly pulled him back, as he was still completely lost.

“Wait, wait, what bodyguards?”

“Can someone explain what Chu Xuan was talking about just now?”

“Please, next time, can you wait until I arrive before starting the serious talk!”

One second Zhan Lan was saying she didn't disagree, and the next she looked at him with pure annoyance

“You have the nerve to say that? We waited for you for ages. Who knows if you were doing some intense exercise early this morning!!!”

“Besides, Chu Xuan only mentioned one thing just now: the uniqueness of artificial humans.”

Zheng Zha was puzzled: “Uniqueness?”

Zhan Lan glanced at Chu Xuan, who clearly had no intention of speaking, and pressed a hand to her forehead in resignation.

She nodded: “Fine, then I'll explain it in my own words.”

“Do you remember James, the Black Captain from Resident Evil 1?”

“Who do you think is more powerful, him or Loli?”

“Or rather, who is more likely to survive in this world of infinite reincarnation?”

Zheng Zha was stunned for a moment, seemingly understanding Zhan Lan's meaning

“Of course it's James. As a captain of the Umbrella Corporation's special forces, his skills and physical attributes are nearly at the peak of what a human can achieve.”

Zhan Lan snapped her fingers

“Exactly. If I were to create a James...”