Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 9 Self-introduction
Meanwhile, Zheng Zha was also staring at the corpse, presumably for the same reason. However, Mu Xiang paid no attention to Zheng Zha; he was completely absorbed in "observing the corpse." Suddenly, Mu Xiang felt a hand pat his left shoulder. He chuckled inwardly and shrugged dismissively. Turning his head, he saw a girl wearing glasses standing between him and Zheng Zha, patting his shoulder with one hand. Zheng Zha was so startled he jumped back several meters, only to see the girl standing there laughing when he turned around.

"Hey, how about we introduce ourselves? After all, we'll be relying on each other soon," the girl with glasses said with a smile.

Seeing that the others on the other side seemed to have no objections, the girl with glasses said, "My name is Zhan Lan, Zhan as in Zhan Tianyou, and Lan as in mountain wind. Hehe, it sounds like a boy's name, right? I'm a writer. Before coming here, I kept complaining that I had no desire or inspiration to write. I never expected to come to this world of endless inspiration. Hehe, I guess this is karma."

Zheng Zha smiled amicably and said, "Zheng Zha, Zheng as in Zheng Chenggong, Zha as in Nezha. My profession is company manager. Uh, before I came here, I did complain that the real world was too boring, so bland that it felt like people were rotting away day by day, so I wanted to find some excitement... but the excitement here is just too intense."

Zhan Lan smiled and shook Zheng Zha's hand, saying, "A kindred spirit, actually, that's what I think too."

The middle-aged man chuckled and said, “Mu Gang, Mu as in Mou, Gang as in Gang. Sigh, I can’t compare to you cultured people. Anyway, that’s my name. I’m a long-haul truck driver. Before coming here, I did complain about my wife being too stingy and my son being useless. In short, I was very disappointed with reality. When I was playing games online with my friends, I clicked on the ‘Damn it’ button and then I came here.”

Seeing Mu Xiang still silently staring at the corpse, the unremarkable young man finally gritted his teeth: "Li Xiaoyi, a senior high school student, complained about many things before coming here, but coming here is actually quite good! As long as you don't die, you can become a superman! And according to Zhang Jie, as long as you can go back, it seems that this enhanced ability can be maintained. I can't stand being bullied at school anymore. If I can go back, I will definitely kill those bastards!" After saying that, the features on his ordinary face twisted, squeezing out a ferocious look.

[It felt like he was reciting lines, just a monotone reading... I couldn't hold back his expression at the end, was that some kind of exaggerated facial expression acting? Compared to the others, his self-introduction was so unnatural. It made the problem even more apparent.]

Halfway through his sentence, Mu Xiang turned to look at him. Seeing Li Xiaoyi's final expression, Mu Xiang chuckled softly, walked over, one hand in his pocket, and calmly said, "I'm Mu Xiang... a second-year high school student. No special past or complaints, no outstanding abilities, just a relatively high intelligence. You can come to me with anything that requires thinking." He adjusted his glasses, somewhat satisfied with himself. He'd done a pretty good job of playing the wise man; perhaps the so-called luck of the infinite universe would improve... According to this theory, if he could become the wise man in the early stages of this team instead of just a passerby, his probability of death would be greatly reduced!
Zhan Lan laughed and said, "I feel that you are quite extraordinary! Although you are the youngest among us, I have noticed that you have always been very calm. You said that you have a high level of intelligence. Based on my years of experience dealing with others, you mean that your intelligence is quite outstanding!" Zheng Zha and Mou Gang nodded in agreement.

Mu Xiang smiled and nodded in response.

[It seems I stood out a lot? Or rather, in this situation, just being normal is abnormal, it's outstanding...]

At this moment, Zhang Jie walked back. As he passed by Zhan Lan, he deliberately slapped the girl's butt hard. Caught off guard, Zhan Lan only had time to scream before Zhang Jie laughed and walked towards James.

What's wrong with me... why am I so restless?

Witnessing Zhang Jie, a man of such social standing, act like this in public, Mu Xiang couldn't help but feel disgusted. However, he knew that Zhang Jie wasn't actually a bad person—this was probably his way of expressing goodwill, responding to the little bit of trust that Zhan Lan had shown him when she tugged at his sleeve to help him downstairs earlier.

“Sir, we’ve found another route, but it will probably take longer to walk there. Let’s go back first, then go through Restaurant B, and we’ll reach our destination,” Kaplan said.

At this moment, the other two scouts returned. Ryan said, "Sir, we can't get over there at all. This floor has been completely submerged."

James nodded and said, "Okay, let's take the second route. We're already behind schedule, let's get moving!"

Left with no other choice, the newcomers had to rejoin the main group and head back the way they came. Mu Xiang glanced back and saw that the female corpse seemed to have actually moved slightly, though it was barely visible anymore. By that logic, the employees should be beginning to fully recover… in zombie form.

Fortunately, the mercenaries didn't run away this time, which gave Mu Xiang and his group of five a chance to chat... a feeling of taking a break. Li Xiaoyi took a deep breath and nudged Mu Xiang, who was about the same age as him: "What are your thoughts for next?" The other three also looked at Mu Xiang, clearly waiting for his insightful comments.

[Does he clearly fear me? He seems very awkward when he talks to me.]

Mu Xiang was somewhat prepared for what would happen next. Subtly revealing the plot to these characters wouldn't be difficult, but he knew Li Xiaoyi was suspicious. If Li Xiaoyi shared some kind of ulterior motive, he couldn't reveal the plot or say it directly…

So he used a clever method, somewhat like Socrates imparting knowledge—answering questions with questions. He smiled and asked, "What threats do you all think we face right now?"

Zheng Zha asked curiously, "Are you asking about our monster classification? Probably zombies, Lickers, no, maybe add hellhounds? Hmm, and the Red Queen?"

Mu Xiang smiled and said, "This isn't a matter of zombie natural history. All kinds of zombies together are considered one type, and collectively they are called monsters."

Zhan Lan touched her forehead and said, "Could it be that there are mercenaries involved? They can't really be considered one of our own..."

Mu Xiang snapped his fingers lightly: "That's right! Adding what Zheng Zha said about the Red Queen... we've basically covered everything, so let's summarize."

"First of all, we all know that the number one threat is the monsters from Resident Evil. Currently, the strongest threat is the Licker, followed by the Zombie Dog or Hellhound, and finally the Zombie... But I think that, by following a certain route, we can actually avoid the two strongest ones... I'll explain in detail later. If you trust me, you might as well listen to my opinion then." When Mu Xiang said "opinion," he deliberately changed the word "command" that was on the tip of his tongue, making it sound less harsh. "Be careful not to get surrounded and killed by the terrain and monsters. If you don't watch the terrain well, then the zombies might be able to kill us all! After all, monsters don't play by any rules."

"Secondly..." Mu Xiang lowered his voice and pointed to a group of mercenaries in front of him. If they heard this, he might be killed.

Zheng Zha was taken aback: "Huh? Aren't we security guards from the Umbrella Corporation? We're all registered."

Zhan Lan then realized: "You mean, the mercenaries still have doubts about our identities?"

Mu Xiang nodded: "That's right! Do you remember, the captain said he suspected the company's files and security decisions were wrong—basically, he suspected our identities! And after we ran up the stairs, weren't you all panting like... well, you know?" He pointed at Mu Gang and Li Xiaoyi and added, "You two just collapsed on the ground after running, and Zheng Zha had to pull you up, right?"

Both of them blushed.

“What’s worse is…” Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses again, worried that they would fall off while he was running—actually, he only wore glasses when he was studying, and he wore them now to highlight his intelligence… well, he did seem to be imitating a certain bespectacled man.

Zheng Zha stepped in to smooth things over: "But wasn't your performance very good? You remained calm throughout, looking like a well-trained person. Moreover, you finished the run more easily than those mercenaries. They shouldn't suspect you, right?" Upon hearing this, the others nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)