Chapter 8: Speak Up! Didn

«BOOM—!!»

With a muffled explosion, a clear tremor shook the ground beneath everyone’s feet, and all turned to Wu Xian in shock—clearly, this was the kind of shockwave only a bomb detonation could produce.

This guy actually planted bombs? When did he do it? How did we not see?

«You… when did you plant the bombs?»

Red Queen voiced the question on everyone’s minds; at the same time, her youthful face, formed from optical projection, grew slightly solemn, as if deep in thought—adorably so.

But in reality, Red Queen was pulling up every surveillance recording from the entire Hive, rapidly replaying Wu Xian’s every action since entering the Hive and scanning every possible hiding spot for bombs—yet found nothing, her CPU nearly burning out.

Red Queen had no idea Wu Xian hadn’t installed the bombs by conventional means—he’d exchanged for a nanobot bomb from a sci-fi world via the Main God before entering the Biohazard scenario.

Along the way, he’d remotely deployed them using mental force; at Red Queen’s current level, she could detect nothing at all.

«Don’t be naive. Do you really think I’d tell you?»

Wu Xian sneered twice, then pulled from his coat a device resembling a remote button, his tone low and chilling:

«Now, I’ll give you three counts. Accept my earlier demand—or when I press this button, every bomb in this Hive will detonate. Then tell me—do you think anything inside can stay hidden?»

«You won’t do it.»

Red Queen’s voice remained mechanical and cold: «If the Hive explodes, everyone—including you—will die. Humans don’t do such stupid things.»

At these words, everyone present tensed, staring at Wu Xian, fearing he might do something reckless—even members of the Zhongzhou Team like Zheng Zhe.

After all, they were just ordinary newcomers to the Main God Space; faced with the threat of death, even if they knew Wu Xian was 99% bluffing, fear still gripped them.

«Laughable! You’re an AI computer—what do you know about humans?»

Wu Xian sneered: «Besides, after seeing me catch that bullet, do you really think I’m just an ordinary human?»

«You know well what Umbrella’s experiments are like—if the Hive explodes, others here may die, but I still have a good chance of returning to the surface. How about it… want to take the bet?»

«You can’t do this…»

«One!»

Wu Xian ignored Red Queen entirely and began counting.

«I can obey your orders, but you must guarantee no secrets here will be leaked.»

As an AI, Red Queen made her decision swiftly—but added her own condition.

This revealed how advanced her human emulation had become; though not on par with Ultron or Apocalypse, her potential was immense.

Without exaggeration, given decades of development and evolution, she might one day spark a Terminator-style AI crisis.

«I hold the advantage—you have no right to bargain with me.»

Wu Xian narrowed his eyes at her, then smiled: «But since you’re so adorable, I’ll grant you this favor—on one condition: you must copy and hand me your core code. Otherwise, forget it.»

«Agreed.»

In just a few sentences, Wu Xian had sealed two shady deals with Red Queen. Not even the mercenaries or Alice blinked—Zhongzhou Team’s members were utterly stunned, their minds struggling to process what had just happened.

Is this what a seasoned veteran looks like? Seems incredibly powerful!

«Oh, by the way!»

Wu Xian reached behind his butt and pulled out a tiny USB drive, then suddenly remembered something: «Red Queen, demonstrate what happens if someone enters this corridor. Let these fools see just how much they owe me.»

«Understood.»

Red Queen responded—and instantly, the corridor lights began flashing. Then, like in a movie, laser beams materialized one after another, turning the mercenaries’ faces pale and drenching them in sweat.

Especially Ma Xiu—when he saw the final laser grid, he shuddered violently, as if already seeing himself sliced into countless pieces, drenched in sweat.

«See that? That’s what your fate would’ve been. But I and my people saved you.»

Wu Xian watched Ma Xiu with a sly expression, then retracted the iron rod pressed against his throat.

«You could’ve told us the truth!»

Ma Xiu snorted, still defiant.

«At first, I didn’t even remember this. Besides, my people warned you—you chose not to believe them, nearly got them killed. Just for that, do you think I should treat you nicely?»

Wu Xian sneered, jabbing the rod toward Red Queen: «No matter the process, the result is this: I saved all of you. Don’t you think you owe me something?»

«Th…thank you.»

Ma Xiu’s face darkened further, but seeing Wu Xian’s thick, black rod, he muttered meekly, cowed.

«Just ‘thank you’? Anything else?»

«I’m sorry…»

«Speak up! Did you not eat?»

«I’M SORRY!!»

Finally, Ma Xiu shouted it out in despair, then gasped heavily—as if speaking those words had drained every ounce of strength.

The mercenaries who’d followed him into the Hive glared with burning eyes—had they been able to fight, they’d have beaten Wu Xian senseless, teaching him what political correctness meant.

«That’s better… Alright, let’s put this behind us. Return their weapons. Also, recall your two men from the B cafeteria—I just remembered something. That place is dangerous.»

After speaking, Wu Xian didn’t linger. He strode ahead toward the laser corridor, encountering no obstacles, walking straight to its end, then heading toward the central computer room.

The others followed suit. The mercenaries reclaimed their weapons from Zhongzhou Team, but their faces grew colder, the atmosphere instantly awkward.

«Who exactly are you?»

Red Queen’s image hadn’t vanished—it flickered intermittently beside Wu Xian, posing the question again.

«Who knows?»

Wu Xian kept walking, glancing sideways at Red Queen with a cryptic smile: «Maybe one day in the future, I’ll become the savior of this world. Maybe.»

…

【Ding!】

【B-rank side quest completed… Reward points: 8000】

【C-rank side quest completed… Reward points: 1500】

Wu Xian pulled the USB drive from its port—and two cold system prompts sounded in his ears.

«Oh? Besides the laser corridor plot, copying Red Queen’s core code also counts as altering the storyline? That’s an unexpected bonus.»

Wu Xian mused inwardly, then turned to face the group, whose expressions were unreadable. His gaze swept over Fatty, then settled on Ma Xiu:

«Ma Xiu, I know your mission is to retrieve Red Queen’s mainboard and leave before the Hive’s connection to the outside is sealed.»

«The mainboard is right before you. Half your mission is done. It’s time we part ways.»

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(End of Chapter)