Chapter 24

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Whack!

Zhang Heng smirked coldly. His staggering reaction speed of 0.032 seconds would enable him to catch even flying darts, and such a stinger was hardly a problem. He grabbed hold of the necromorph’s tail and twisted hard, snapping the monster’s spine and causing it to wail.

This wasn’t a game after all. There were only three ways one could attack the monsters in-game—shooting, stomping, and punching. However, in real life, Zhang Heng had countless ways to kill the necromorphs. With the exoskeleton-like suit of armor augmenting his strength, he was rendered four to five times stronger than normal, as well.

A huge pile of yellow fluid dropped onto the suit’s glove. The monster wailed and died shortly after having its tail snapped. Zhang Heng turned up his nose at the good on his hand and rubbed it onto the wall as best he could, before quickly leaving the room that no longer had light in it.

Zhang Heng only sighed after going back into the corridor. He wondered if he was seeing things, as the environment felt a lot more stifling than it had been in the Resident Evil plane. Worse still, he kept feeling as if he was being watched constantly.

Zhang Heng was left rather speechless. He noted that he was in the Dead Space plane instead of a plane that resembled Ju-on. As such, he was puzzled as to why the feeling of fear was so real and noticeable. He turned his head around and, to his surprise, saw that the lights in the command room had lit up again right after he walked out of the room…

Holy sh**!

He cursed deep down and didn’t bother going back into the room, running as fast he could in the other direction instead. He wanted to find the data that he needed as quickly as possible and leave that eerie place behind completely.

He ran and came across a junction. He peered warily at the other path, seeing only a vague shadow flickering in the darkness. He didn’t bother finding out more, as the figure would have either been a human or a necromorph, and the possibility of it being the latter was somewhat higher.

But that shadowy figure seemed to have no intention of letting Zhang Heng go. He soon heard loud scratching sounds from above, while he was still running.

What is it this time?

Zhang Heng halted and stood perfectly still. He checked the map of the military base. The base was located more than 900 meters below ground and the entire base was ring-shaped, with a huge space at the center that was completely sealed off, designed with the express purpose of simulating a battlefield in space where things felt weightless.

At the moment, he found himself on the topmost floor of the base and wondered how something could be something running above him. It shouldn’t have been possible.

Zhang Heng narrowed his eyes and glared at the ceiling suspiciously. He was shocked when he saw the metallic pipes above his head. “Those are ventilation ducts?” Was that where the noise was coming from?

He heard the noise of metal being torn at that very moment. His vision flickered and he saw an elongated creature that looked like an octopus’s tentacle, only it was about half a meter in diameter, punching and slithering through the ducts, heading straight for him.

That thing’s fast!

He jumped forward out of reflex and evaded the incoming tentacle, but the metal flooring behind him burst open and revealed the space below.

Hell, this thing’s strong!

Zhang Heng gasped and ran away. He wasn’t even close to being prepared to take on something powerful enough to tear through concrete and metal just like that.

Something that could move at breakneck speeds and possessed enough strength to tear through steel plates! Damn, was there actually something that powerful in Dead Space? He wondered as he ran. However, before he was able to lose that tentacle behind him, he heard loud screeching noises again, this time coming from the duct in front of him.

Another one?

Zhang Heng was terrified as he saw the ducts twist and deform, as if there was some kind of huge snake struggling inside, writhing, wanting to break free.

Zhang Heng kept running and tentacles kept bursting out of the ventilation ducts as he ran. He was usually able to escape anything, due to his frightening reaction time that was far above that of normal people, but what happened had also messed up his plans. The map that he had committed to memory had been completely messed up, and he couldn’t even remember where in the base he was at the moment.

His breathing became increasingly labored. Despite having an exceptional constitution after fusing with the T-Virus, and being further augmented by the suit’s movement system, he was still unable to sustain running speeds for prolonged periods like he was doing a marathon. He began to pant after only about half an hour.

“Seems like I’m gotta need more training after completing the mission this time.”

However, despite how exhausted and worn out he was feeling, he never even thought of ditching the backpack he carried. All that he had suffered from his last mission drove home a very clear message—supplies were of the utmost importance.

Loud, screeching noises of metal twisting came from behind him, causing him to tense and take yet another turn, but he quickly stopped running

A huge tentacle extended out of the ventilation ducts before him, which wiggled about like that belonged to octopuses. The massive force of the tentacle warped the walls around it and filled the path before him, blocking his way and preventing him from going further.

So, this is the end, huh?

Frustration flashed in Zhang Heng’s eyes. He turned around and saw yet another tentacle extending from the ducts behind him. Trapped! He felt as if he was caught in a pincer attack.

No, hold on! Zhang Heng smacked his head and cursed at how dumb he had been. His suit came with a ‘stasis’ feature thanks to its quantum technology after all. He activated that ability of his suit and a burst of dark blue light appeared in the very next second, ramming into the tentacle before him.

Shoop!

The tentacle turned dark blue all over and behaved as if it was caught in quicksand, losing all its nimbleness as it wiggled in slow-motion.

Boy, this is dope! Zhang Heng was elated, but when he checked the energy gauge on the suit, he saw that the gauge had dropped by a full quarter all at once.

Three more times then!

His face was ashen. Real-life wasn’t like it was in the games, after all. He could get all manner of ammunition and recover his energy simply by killing minor monsters in the video game, but something like that was utterly impossible to carry out in real life. Worse still, he didn’t even have a weapon to begin with.

He suppressed the fear in his chest and slithered through the gap between the tentacle and the wall. The tentacle’s movement speed was unable to keep up with him, resulting in him being able to slip through that defense the monster put up. Zhang Heng ran dozens of meters more before the ‘stasis’ effect on the tentacle wore out.

The tentacles seemed to realize something after Zhang Heng managed to slip past them. They were pulled back into the ducts one by one, gradually, but he ran for about another kilometer out of sheer terror before he stopped yet again, panting, bent over, arms on his knees.

He was glad that his mind was strong enough that he was able to keep himself together despite having gone through such horrors. While he nonetheless felt like enemies were everywhere, his will was currently far more stable than it had been before he gained the Dimensional Star.

“Seems like I can no longer consider myself a common man then…” Zhang Heng took a deep breath and pulled his mask back, revealing his own face. He took out a packet of cigarettes with his shaking hands, lighting one up and taking a puff. Only then was his mind able to calm down.

Zhang Heng was highly addicted to smoking, and he especially liked puffing away to ease his nerves whenever he was feeling anxious.

“U-Umm, excuse me, may I know which department you’re from?” A subdued speaking voice came from behind him all of a sudden, while he was still trying to ease his nerves.

“Who goes there!?” Zhang Heng spun around. A door in the wall behind him opened before he could react, and the face of a Caucasian woman peeked out.