Chapter Nineteen: Chu Xuan’s Analysis, Part One

Chapter Nineteen: Chu Xuan’s Analysis, Part One

When the newcomers finally came to their senses, they stared in dumbfounded silence as Zhang Jie carried the classical beauty in his arms, kicked the door open with a single blow, and went inside. Only then did they recover.

“Welcome back, little brother, little sister.” A voice drew everyone’s attention, and they saw Xavier and Loretta running toward an open door, where Jingchen was standing.

The night passed quietly, with nothing at all happening.

In the morning, after Zheng Zha stepped outside, he found the others discussing something. Remembering their extraordinary powers of deduction, he immediately guessed that they had likely discovered something unexpected, and at once he pulled Lori along and hurried over.

After the others signaled to Zheng Zha, Chu Xuan was the first to speak. “Now that everyone is here except you, I’ll begin once Zan Lan returns and tell you about the few conclusions I’ve drawn.”

Before Zheng Zha could say anything, Lori flushed red and cried, “Brother Zhang Jie, where is my sister? Is she inside?”

Zhang Jie said cheerfully, “Your sister and Zan Lan are in there making a fruit platter with cream. Little Lori, your sister has been talking about you since this morning.”

Lori gave an “mm” and, while hiding her hand, pinched Zheng Zha hard. Everyone basically saw it. Then she skipped off toward Zhang Jie’s room. In no time at all, Zan Lan came out of the room smiling broadly.

Seeing that all five had arrived, Chu Xuan said calmly, “I’ve found three problems. First, creating people... According to the conditions provided by the Main God, it seems even gods can be created, because there are no limits on race, age, sex, or ability. Anything you can imagine seems to be possible. Yesterday I tried it, and in truth there are hidden restrictions as well... Arnold!”

Chu Xuan called out sharply. More than ten seconds later, a gigantic man two and a half meters tall bent low as he emerged from Chu Xuan’s room. He stood silently before Chu Xuan, motionless, his expression as cold and flat as Chu Xuan’s own.

“Colonel... no, that’s not it. Chu Xuan, are you trying to scare me?” Zheng Zha froze for a moment, then reacted at last.

“At first I chose an alien and a corpse eater, but the Main God gave no response. It seems nonhuman life cannot be chosen. So I chose a human; a height of about two and a half meters appears to be the limit. I didn’t test sex, since it doesn’t affect combat strength, so I kept him male. As for age, I fixed it at twenty-two, the peak age for fighting strength. At first I thought of making him an omnipotent god, but the Main God did not create the life form. So I reduced the specifications step by step, and even tried the genetic and bloodline options that can be exchanged from the Main God. No, those things cannot be created either. So I made one assumption: the ability category can only be based on humanity.”

“Then I pushed his abilities to the limit as far as possible, reducing them little by little from the absolute maximum until I reached about twice the physical capacity of an ordinary person. Only then was the life form created. At the same time, I set his special forces experience and temperament. That’s basically it. Since he really does look like Colonel Arnold, I named him ‘Arnold’...”

Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie were both secretly amused. They had never imagined that Chu Xuan, who seemed so utterly cold, would harbor such an extravagant sense of mischief.

“By the way, why did you make a man? Don’t you think that’s suspicious?” Jingchen complained from the side.

“That’s not the point.”

Chu Xuan said indifferently, “He can also be enhanced. I tried having the Main God enhance his intelligence a little, and unexpectedly the Main God really did enhance him. Do you know what this means? It means the life form you create can definitely enter the horror-world cycle. With five hundred reward points, you can create a special forces soldier twice as strong as an ordinary person. Then, with the reward points from one horror film, you could obtain two such bodyguards. Your original thinking was all wrong. The free creation allowance given at the beginning was never meant for you to create women for indulgence. It was meant to keep you alive—to give you the chance to create bodyguards!”

“Why do so many people die in these horror-world cycles, and why are the weak more likely to die? I think it’s because many people, from the start, immediately spent a thousand reward points on strengthening themselves, and then used the free creation allowance to make women. But what can a thousand points really strengthen? Can it raise all of your physical qualities by a full factor of two? It would be far better to create two loyal bodyguards instead. The Main God had already given the hint: how do you survive when your physical strength is weak? By making bodyguards. That is the wisdom of mortals... Humanity’s inferior nature is truly disgusting.”

Chu Xuan kept speaking to himself, completely unaware that the women present were growing increasingly grim.

“I say, your nerves are a little too taut, aren’t they? Surely the Main God didn’t give us this power to create people for that one reason alone?” Jingchen said quickly, seeing the atmosphere hardening. The night before, Xiyu had already said that he wanted to leave this space. She knew this man was the brain of the team and could not allow relations between them to sour, so she hurried to smooth things over.

“Oh? Then let’s hear it.”

Chu Xuan seemed very interested in Jingchen’s view. Unknowingly, he almost seemed... to smile?

“What you said has some truth. Creating bodyguards is indeed one possible path, but only under the premise that one has no ability to protect oneself, right? Following your line of thought, I think the newcomers can be divided into three types: those with potential who can protect themselves; those with potential but who are not combat-oriented; and those with no potential at all...”

“For example, those with potential but no combat power, like Ling Dian in close combat, and people like Zan Lan who are more in support roles, do indeed need a bodyguard to ensure their safety. Those with potential and who can protect themselves, such as Zheng Zha, have no doubt about their potential. But just like the old world’s battlefield, veterans who return from the battlefield often suffer from postwar trauma because the psychological pressure is too great. I think Zhang Jie, as a veteran, and you and Ba Wang should all understand that. So I believe that for this kind of person, the Main God probably really does intend for them to create a companion to ease their mental strain, so they can better face the next battle. If they instead create a bodyguard, their short-term survival rate may indeed rise, but the number of times they fight on their own will probably decrease as well,” Jingchen said, twirling her hair.

Chu Xuan nodded and bit the nail of his thumb twice. “Indeed, psychological issues are also a factor... It seems I still haven’t fully recovered from the state after the last battle... Then, the next discovery.”

Chu Xuan took a cloth bundle from his chest. He opened it, revealing a collection of parts and small tools. Pointing at them, he said, “Besides finished goods, the Main God can actually exchange materials and equipment for making objects. In other words, if you have the relevant knowledge and ability, you can produce high-priced items at an extremely low cost, even bypassing the restriction of side plots. But do you have that knowledge and ability? Obviously not!”

“And people who do have such knowledge and ability are generally physically weak and not combat-capable. Then how do they survive in the early stages? The only answer is bodyguards. And, as you said just now, the size of that halo is just about enough for two people to stand inside. In other words, why did the Main God provide only one free chance to create a bodyguard? Because only one bodyguard can be brought into a horror film. That is the Main God’s wordless hint to us. As for those with special talents, their lives can in fact also be fully protected. That is probably the meaning of the Main God’s words.”

“So, these twenty people should be all kinds of talents. I’ve been thinking about the Main God’s standard for bringing people in. Aside from disappointment with real life, the Main God is also selecting talents from all fields. For example, from the very young to the very old, from truly capable people to housewives, the Main God itself doesn’t know who is better suited to the horror-world cycle. That is why it brought in people from every range, letting natural selection eliminate them. Perhaps that is the true meaning behind the constant arrival of newcomers. And in order to ensure that those with special skills survive, the first life form created absolutely must not be wasted. A special forces bodyguard twice as strong as an ordinary person—its value in a science-fiction horror film... I don’t think I need to say any more. That is the first conclusion I’ve drawn.”

Chu Xuan’s analysis was basically... no, one could say it was entirely copied. Let us treat it as... or rather, as the author taking a shortcut.

Then Chu Xuan took out several printed manuscripts. “These are the things I’ve organized that can probably be exchanged from the Main God, divided into four categories: practical items we can use from low level to high. I’ve also roughly written down the introductions and functions. Of course, some of those functions are only my personal guesses. This is the second matter: standardizing the exchange system, so that we clearly understand what we can obtain and can use that to cope with whatever we may face next.”

“This is also one of my hypotheses. Perhaps we are not required to repeatedly enter horror films at all. The Main God’s meaning should be to let us experience dangerous situations, continuously breaking through and evolving within danger. It’s only because horror films are the most dangerous that we appear in them most often. If that is the case, then some extremely dangerous science-fiction films could also appear...”

Zheng Zha became interested and asked curiously, “For example? What sort of science-fiction films might appear?”

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses. “For example, Starship Troopers. If the Main God throws us onto the bug planet, with all sorts of insect races surrounding us from every direction, and we have no large heavy weapons in our hands, I do not believe we would survive. Of course, in some sense, the Main God probably would not throw us into a dead end. But to prevent such a scenario, I suggest we equip ourselves with three kinds of weapons: melee weapons, rapid-fire weapons, and heavy weapons... Of course, the siblings Xiusite are somewhat special.”

PS: Four chapters left in the countdown, and I’m going broke! By the way, there won’t be system-issued quests mentioned in the article anymore after this. It’s not that the system stopped issuing them, but that they won’t be shown in the text anymore after being issued, so no one complains that I’m padding the word count. Jingchen’s complaint during the breakthrough of time and space: I think the teacup is just that you’ve gotten lazy! After each space ends, we’ll tally things up again. Also, in Infinite Terror, there are no side plots.