In modern society, what can an ordinary person do with a handgun? Get rich overnight with a pistol? That's pure fantasy. By the next day, you'd probably be arrested and thrown into prison to experience jail life.
That's why Nathan didn't lose his head and think about robbing jewelry stores or banks—that would be suicide. After all, he had only fired a gun during military training, and his marksmanship was practically nonexistent.
He had already given up on job hunting. But to prepare for the monsters that might appear in the future, he spent a large sum of money at a nearby mall's live‑fire shooting range, paying 36,000 yuan for a premium membership card… because it offered significant discounts.
Taking a gamble, he cashed out all his credit cards and even took out loans to raise more money. For now, he wasn't short on funds.
The shooting range offered pistols, rifles, and sniper rifles for live‑fire practice, though the prices were steep. It only had indoor ranges, with moving targets at most fifty meters away.
Though the cost stung, for survival he trained under the guidance of shooting instructors with both rifles and pistols. He also immediately signed up for a gym membership, so he could at least run faster when escaping. He began working out to ensure he had enough stamina for emergencies, hired a personal trainer and a sanda coach, and bought many courses. It might have seemed foolish, but in reality, he had no better plan.
Fortunately, he had once worked at a gym selling memberships. In his spare time, he had seriously trained there for about two years, thinking he might need physical strength for labor in the future. Even when not at the gym, he exercised at home to maintain his muscles.
However… on the tenth night, after spending all his shooting range money and becoming familiar with pistols and rifles, just as he was preparing to go to the gym to train and practice sanda, golden words suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[As the chosen fortunate one, struggling in the apocalypse with only ordinary human abilities is not enough. You must possess something others do not. You cannot merely be lucky. Therefore, the first trial begins now.]
[Initiating transfer program—Target: the world about to face apocalypse—Resident Evil (1).]
[To slightly increase survival probability for the first trial, adding a random teammate—Rachel Gardner.]
"Eh? No, wait—"
Instinctively widening his eyes, Nathan didn't even finish speaking before his vision went black, his head sank, and he lost consciousness instantly.
Perhaps a long time passed, or maybe only a few seconds. When he regained sight and awareness, everything around him had completely changed.
His cramped apartment had turned into a train carriage with a metallic ceiling. Beside him lay a petite blonde girl, her features delicate like a doll.
She wore a long black‑and‑white striped T‑shirt, a pure white coat, a decorative black choker, black shorts, and black boots.
"…So this is Rachel Gardner? Then where is this? What is Resident Evil? Is this a world about to face a biohazard outbreak? But does 'biohazard' here mean bacteria, viruses… or some kind of toxin?"
While observing the carriage, Nathan seriously pondered what form this so‑called biohazard might take.
In the myriad worlds, most movies, TV shows, and anime corresponded to different realities. In Nathan's world, they were merely films, but in other worlds, they could become reality. What would actually happen was uncertain, unless external forces imposed a fixed storyline.
His own world naturally had movies, but the chosen destination was one his world did not possess. Rachel Gardner, this girl, was likewise someone he had never heard of.
Suddenly transported from a familiar place to here, everything was unknown to Nathan. Even the girl lying on the floor, who looked like a middle schooler, made him suspect she hid some secret or special skill to qualify as his teammate. After all, the system said she was added to increase survival probability. How could an ordinary girl possibly improve his chances?
Though he lacked formal combat training, he had exercised enough to have a balanced physique—not exaggerated, but stronger than average. Normally, such a small girl should only drag him down. Surely she couldn't help him survive by being cute?
"What the hell is this place? What's with this train? What's going on right now…"
Unable to figure it out, he scratched his head irritably. Finally, he crouched down and nudged the girl at his feet, hoping to wake this mysterious companion.
"Hey, Rachel… wake up."
Blurting out her name, he quickly realized it would be better to pretend not to know her. He corrected himself, patting her cheek to force her awake.
"…Ugh…"
The girl frowned as if uncomfortable, slowly opening her eyes. Noticing a stranger before her, she instinctively rolled aside, propped herself up, and looked around warily.
"…Where is this? Are you a doctor?"
"Doctor? No. Do I look like a doctor to you?"
Nathan glanced at himself. Dressed in gray sportswear, he looked nothing like someone in a white coat. How could she mistake him for a doctor?
Incidentally, she spoke English, and he replied in English too. Somehow, he suddenly spoke it fluently, as if it were his native tongue. He suspected the system was responsible.
Unaware of his inner doubts, she muttered after his denial:
"I thought I was at a hospital… but this doesn't look like a clinic."
Indeed, everything around them was metal—the walls, the ceiling. Nothing resembled a medical room.