Chapter 2: Becoming a Juvenile Bristleback

A dizzying spin hit him. Fang Qingzhou felt as though his body had been shoved into a front-loading washing machine, stomach acid churning all the way up to his throat.

Gritting his teeth with all his might, he waited. He had no idea how much time passed, perhaps seconds, perhaps hours, before that sickening dizziness finally began to fade.

Soon, Fang Qingzhou realized he was sitting inside a jeep. The engine was off, parked quietly at a remote gas station while torrential rain poured outside.

【Welcome, Host, to the world of Resident Evil. Your current identity is an officer fresh out of the police academy, currently on your way to report for duty at the Raccoon City Police Department.】

“So I’m Leon now?”

Fang Qingzhou glanced in the rearview mirror. It was still his own handsome face, though subtly refined to look even sharper, and his hair was parted down the middle.

Combined with what the system had just said about being a recent police academy graduate, he deduced his current identity almost immediately.

Leon S. Kennedy. One of the Resident Evil franchise’s most iconic characters, the man players affectionately dubbed “Bristleback,” “Li Sanguang^[1],” and “Vehicle Destroyer.”

【Correct. The host’s current identity is Leon S. Kennedy. Now loading the Leon S. Kennedy template.】

Before Fang Qingzhou could react, a rush of memories flooded his mind. They were recollections of his time at the academy, learning marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat. A moment later, a status panel materialized before his eyes, just like an in-game HUD.

【Host: Fang Qingzhou (Leon template loading)】

【Skills: Firearms Mastery (Basic), Basic Combat (Basic)】

【Special Abilities: Bristleback (Basic: Impact resistance doubled, reduced pain sensation), Li Sanguang (Basic: Usable supplies in the vicinity are faintly highlighted)】

【Protagonist Aura: As the protagonist, you will not turn into a zombie from bites or scratches. Those around you will also overlook whether wounds on your body could cause infection.】

【Revival Coin: 1】

Fang Qingzhou processed the memories in his head. They were purely training memories, forcibly teaching him the use of firearms and basic combat.

Clenching his fists, he found that his strength had surged. Not only that, running a hand over his abdomen, he felt an eight-pack of abs.

Still, seeing the Bristleback and Li Sanguang titles, he couldn’t resist the urge to complain.

Who knew the system was aware of Leon’s two nicknames and had even turned them into special abilities? Thankfully, it hadn’t tacked on the most cursed moniker of all: Vehicle Destroyer.

“System, can I bring this physical condition back with me?” Fang Qingzhou asked.

Even if he was only a juvenile Bristleback right now, his physical condition was still formidable, far better than his previously rundown body.

【Upon returning to the original world, the host will fully inherit all physical attributes and abilities from the Leon template.】

“Not bad. But why is there only one revival coin? Does dying twice mean I can never enter this world again? Or does dying in the game world mean I die for real?” Fang Qingzhou asked again.

This was the question that mattered most, since his life was on the line.

【Revival coins cost ten million each. The host’s company accounts currently have ten million available to convert into one revival coin. Although this is a game world, it is also a real world. Without a revival coin, death is permanent.】

【Please cherish your life, Host, and earn more money to convert into revival coins.】

“Damn it!” Fang Qingzhou slammed a hand against the steering wheel, his expression quite the sight. This was the first time he’d ever learned his life was worth so much: a whole ten million.

Worse, that ten million was borrowed. If he died once in this world, he really would be saddled with a ten-million debt.

But the real question was whether two lives would be enough for him to survive in this crisis-ridden Raccoon City.

Even though he hadn’t personally played Resident Evil 2, he had watched playthroughs online. He was going to face Tyrants and Lickers! How the hell was he supposed to fight that?

In his heart, he silently apologized to his runaway former boss over and over. Thank goodness the guy had taken out that ten-million loan, giving him two lives. With only one, he probably wouldn’t even know how he died in here.

Then again, he couldn’t help grumbling: why hadn’t the bastard borrowed more? If he had borrowed a few hundred million to give him ten or twenty lives, he could have strutted around like a player using cheat codes in Contra!

“Just two lives… What kind of game caps your deaths? It’s impossible to beat!” Fang Qingzhou protested.

【The host is not required to beat the entire game in a single run. Simply completing any plot milestone event allows for a temporary return to the original world.】

【Upon your return, the system will automatically adapt your experience into a corresponding game level and officially launch it online.】

“And what counts as a milestone?”

【The system will notify the host once a milestone is completed. It is now detected that the host has entered the first plot area. Please begin taking action as soon as possible.】

Taking a deep breath, Fang Qingzhou forced himself to calm down. Things had already reached this point; having a breakdown wouldn’t solve anything.

“I’m Leon now, and I’m a Bristleback. I refuse to believe I can’t survive Raccoon City.” With that, Fang Qingzhou pushed open the jeep’s door and stepped out.

A faint scent of gasoline hung in the air of the gas station, mingled with an indescribable, putrid stench. Fang Qingzhou wrinkled his nose and looked around.

The gas station wasn’t large. Next to it stood a convenience store, outside of which sat a police cruiser with its headlights on and door ajar. Everything seemed completely normal.

Yet the surroundings were eerily quiet. There were no attendants, no customers, only the patter of raindrops striking the pavement.

He stepped forward a couple of paces and soon spotted a large pool of blood on the ground. He didn’t even have the chance to lean down and examine it closely.

The sudden sound of shattering glass burst from the convenience store beside him, startling him badly.

Fang Qingzhou knew there had to be zombies inside that convenience store, but swallowing hard, he started walking forward anyway.

After all, if he didn’t advance the plot, he might be stuck in this damned world for the rest of his life, and he sure as hell didn’t want to spend his life here.

He reached out and gently pushed open the convenience store’s ajar glass door. The lights were off inside, leaving it pitch-black, but a lit flashlight lay on the floor.

He picked up the flashlight and began inspecting the store. Copious amounts of blood stained the floor here as well.

Countless items had fallen from the surrounding shelves and scattered across the floor, looking as though a fierce struggle had taken place inside.

Fang Qingzhou continued forward and soon spotted a heavy-set man in a convenience store uniform sitting on the floor ahead. The man clutched his neck with one hand, blood streaming down from the wound.

“Hey, buddy, are you all right…?” Fang Qingzhou said, his hand instantly darting to his waist as he drew his pistol.

He knew full well the man had to have been bitten by a zombie, and before long, he would likely turn into one.

“Inside… needs help…” the clerk said with difficulty, pointing toward an inner room with his other hand.

Yet Fang Qingzhou kept his eyes fixed on the clerk, discreetly training his gun on him.

The clerk’s breathing grew weaker and weaker. Dark red blood steadily seeped through the gaps between his fingers, dripping onto the floor with faint patters, while his face turned ashen at a visibly rapid pace.

In the end, Fang Qingzhou didn’t shoot. He sidestepped around the man instead, walking in the direction the clerk had pointed.

Just as he had said before, he had never even killed a chicken in his life.

If the clerk had already turned into a zombie, he might have steeled his heart to pull the trigger. But since the man hadn’t turned yet, he simply lacked the nerve to shoot.

After all, this was the real world, not a game.