The third laser line was already gradually forming, and as it formed, it swiftly slashed toward the two of them. Judging by its trajectory, it would cut them both in half at the waist. Matthew Addison desperately tried to throw himself to the ground, but Brian Carter held onto him tightly, refusing to let go. He himself pressed his entire body against the door, even slowly closing his eyes.

"Survive, I want to survive. Even if I have to struggle in such circumstances, I still want to live!"

Perhaps it was the gods opening their eyes, or perhaps Brian Carter's prayers were answered, but as the laser line approached the two of them, it suddenly transformed into a mesh. Matthew Addison only had time to utter a curse, and in his moment of despair, the laser mesh gradually dimmed, then disappeared just a few centimeters in front of his eyes. A faint scorching sensation rushed toward his face with the air. In that instant, he could hardly believe he had survived.

Brian Carter opened his eyes. He hadn't seen the laser mesh disappear, but he knew he had succeeded. The familiar plot had once again pushed forward by inertia, and he had finally struggled back from the brink of death. In more than twenty years of life, he had never been so close to death—its trajectory had grazed right over his shoulder, so close!

"What is this?"

As Brian Carter was marveling at his luck, he suddenly noticed a small orb of light appear on the collar of Matthew Addison, whom he was pulling. Curious, he picked up the orb, which was a few centimeters in size, and it disappeared between his fingers. A warm sensation seemed to flow from his fingers into his body—a strange and unusually pleasant feeling.

"B-level horror side plot completed, reward: 5,000 points!"

That same stiff yet solemn voice sounded again. Only then did Brian Carter recall that, as the laser line passed by earlier, he seemed to have heard something. Thinking back carefully, it seemed he had received a reward of 500 points, 20 points of mental strength, and 30 points of neural reaction speed. In total, that was already 1,000 reward points. According to what Michael Bolton had said, this was the reward one could get for surviving a horror movie.

As for these 5,000 reward points, it was as if a huge pie had fallen from the sky, leaving Brian Carter trembling with shock. He didn't know if it was the joy of survival or the surprise of the reward. In any case, when the door opened and several people rushed toward him, he was still standing there, dazed.

The young man David Thompson rushed to Brian Carter's side and slapped him hard on the shoulder. "You were amazing! You actually survived even in a situation like that!"

Brian Carter snapped back to reality from the slap. He gave a wry smile and shook his head, not really knowing how he felt inside. He didn't even know what to say at that moment. Having just survived a brush with death, for someone who had only just stepped out of an ordinary world, the shock was simply overwhelming.

The bespectacled girl Laura James also walked over and said, "You deserved it. I kept reminding you not to change the plot, but you just wouldn't listen. Actually, Michael Bolton was right—our greatest reliance here isn't luck, but our familiarity with the plot. Your luck can't always be with you, so don't be so reckless in the future. None of us want to die here."

Brian Carter shook his head and said nothing. He didn't know whether he should mention the reward. B-level horror side plot—what exactly did that mean? Did it refer to changing the direction of the plot? Or saving a character who was supposed to die? Or perhaps surviving an extremely dangerous scene in the story?

He didn't know, because everything just now had indeed been extremely dangerous. He had almost died in there, and that middle-aged man Eric Bennett had nearly been killed because of him. So he didn't dare to keep trying to change the plot. Maybe Michael Bolton and the others wouldn't let him change it again either, because from now on, with the direction unknown, it was very likely that everyone would die here... including them, including the characters, and even the protagonist of the movie!

That's what a horror movie is—no one inside is absolutely safe. Anyone could die. They're all just struggling insects, fighting to survive!

Chapter Three: The Desire to Survive

A few minutes later, everyone had recovered from the bloody carnage. Matthew Addison gratefully patted Brian Carter on the shoulder. This mercenary captain, who was supposed to die in the corridor, had survived, which was already a huge change to the plot. Of course, he might still die later at the hands of zombies or a Licker—no one could predict.

Matthew Addison glanced at everyone and said coldly, "Let's continue!"

"Continue?" One of the main characters, Ryan, shouted, "Continue what? Are you kidding? I'm not going into that corridor!"

Matthew Addison turned his gaze to Kaplan. The computer-savvy mercenary, sweating profusely, said, "Y-yes, I've already shut down all the defense systems, all of them..."

Matthew Addison repeated, "All of them? Are you sure?"

Without waiting for Kaplan's answer, he picked up the equipment on the ground and walked toward the other end of the corridor.