David Thompson exclaimed in surprise, "Are those the kinds of weapons that appear in games? They must be really powerful, right?"

Michael Bolton glanced at him sideways and said, "I don't know if they're powerful or not, but the exchange price for magical or legendary items is twice as high as for technological ones. I think they're probably used in horror movies with ghosts and monsters, but I'm not really sure about their exact effects."

Brian Carter asked curiously, "Horror movies with ghosts and monsters?"

"Yeah, for example..." Michael Bolton thought for a moment and said, "Ju-On!"

The other three shivered at his words, as if there were hidden ghosts lurking all around them.

"Do you know why I say that Resident Evil 1 is a pretty easy horror movie? Because everything here can be explained with science and reality. You can kill the monsters, you can run and hide, and as long as you haven't been infected with the T-virus and have enough guns, you can keep on living."

A trace of fear flashed in Michael Bolton's eyes as he recalled, "It's those horror movies that can't be explained by science or reality that are the most terrifying nightmares. You don't know when you'll die, you don't know why you'll die, you don't even know if you're actually dead or not. The terror is always around you, it's everywhere, and that endless fear feels like it's going to drag you into the depths of hell..."

Brian Carter patted Michael Bolton's shoulder and sat down next to him, asking, "You mean A Nightmare on Elm Street 1, right?"

Michael Bolton nodded gloomily and said, "In that one, you can't even imagine what we went through. More than a dozen people died, and every single one of them died horribly. We tried to escape. The person who had survived a few horror movies led us to steal a truck, and we drove along the highway, none of us daring to sleep. Even if someone couldn't help but doze off, the others would quickly shake them awake. We held out like that for five days..."

"...But soon, a small town appeared in front of us. We were so overjoyed we cried as we drove into the town, only to realize that this was the very town from the Nightmare on Elm Street movie! And the experienced guy who had been driving the whole time—at some point, he had already turned into that dream demon! He grinned at us menacingly..."

Brian Carter looked at Michael Bolton, who was shaking as if he had a fever. This man, who had always seemed so calm, now looked like he was about to break down. Brian Carter could only change the subject, "So, does that mean those magical or legendary items can kill that dream demon?"

Michael Bolton took a deep drag on his cigarette and shook his head, "I don't know. That was my first horror movie, and surviving was pure luck. Do you know how I got the scars on my face? That demon cut them into me with scissors, one snip at a time! I've never had the 'Lord God' heal these scars—I want to remember everything! If I ever meet him again, I swear I'll kill him!"

Brian Carter and the other two exchanged glances, and all three had fear in their eyes—the fear of what lay ahead.

Michael Bolton continued, "If you kill that dream demon, you get five thousand reward points, plus a B-level horror side plot. That was also the only time I've ever seen a horror side plot appear."

Laura James suddenly asked, "What's a B-level horror side plot? Is it important?"

Michael Bolton nodded, "That brings us to the third category of exchangeable items: support items. There are antidotes, immunity boosters, various healing agents, as well as consumables like bullets. There are even some super-tech products, like a stealth reflector that can hide your body. Besides those, there are also enhancement items."

"When I first saw those enhancement items you could exchange for, I just had to laugh... For example, the Spider-Man mutation gene. The description says it gives you the mutated gene lineage of the movie's Spider-Man, increases intelligence by twenty points, mental strength by twenty points, cell vitality by fifty points, nerve reaction speed by a hundred points, muscle tissue strength by a hundred points, immunity strength by a hundred and fifty points, and you get the web-shooting skill just like Spider-Man in the movies. All for just two thousand reward points."

Brian Carter and the other two were stunned. Laura James counted on her fingers and said, "Enhancing all those stats would cost over four thousand reward points, and you even get the web-shooting skill. I remember the webs in the movie were even stronger and tougher than steel wire. That's such a good deal—why didn't you get the enhancement?"

Michael Bolton smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "I really wanted to. If I could have that kind of gene mutation, at least in horror movies like Resident Evil, I basically wouldn't die. But this kind of enhancement requires you to use up horror side plot opportunities. One A-level horror side plot can be exchanged for three B-level side plots, a B-level for three C-level, and so on. The lowest is D-level. Up to now, I've only ever seen that kind of mission once, so opportunities like that are really rare."

Brian Carter suddenly felt his mouth go dry. He held back from mentioning that he had a B-level side plot opportunity and just asked, "What level side plot does the Spider-Man mutation gene require?"