Edward was about to look around when he suddenly felt dizzy. He anchored himself before closing his eyes. The synchronization was completed. The real Edward opened his eyes and noticed his surroundings.
'This body is so weak,' Edward thought. He had never felt so weak in his life, even when he was a child. 'Years of alcohol and drinking have drained it of its potential.' Edward frowned, realizing this was not good news for him. God Space's missions are challenging, especially for normal humans.
'I could use a breathing technique to control my life energy and strengthen my body to peak human level at the cost of a few years of life span, but this is my first mission, and the chances of the Purple Robe Daoist observing are high.'
The identity Edward chose as a supreme genius was what got him an invitation, but it will also garner surveillance. 'I need to play it safe for this mission.' Edward decided not to do anything abnormal. Instead, he looked at the people on the ground surrounded by a white shield. He realized everybody had this black watch on their wrist and checked his own.
As expected, he also had a watch on his left hand. He checked, but nothing occurred. So, he took this opportunity to check his own watch, which was connected to Morgana. However, the screen only contained the words disconnected in bold red.
'I need to boot Morgana back,' Edward thought before continuing to look around. He then noticed a wall of weapons behind Booth, which included guns, knives, swords, and Kevlar vests. Numerous thoughts flashed in Edward's mind, but he remained calm and composed, waiting until everybody woke up, which took more than five minutes.
"Good, you're all awake," Booth said.
"What's going on?" asked a woman in a lab coat.
"Yes. Where are we?" asked a muscular man who was close to seven feet tall. The last person was a middle-aged man in a suit, but he remained quiet.
"Didn't you accept the invitation to the Samsara Hall? Unless you were on the verge of death and still disoriented, you should know what you signed up for," Booth said calmly.
"I just received an email about a way to cure my daughter's illness," the woman said. "Are you going to help me?"
"And I was promised strength beyond human limits," the muscular man said. Edward and the businessman were the only quiet ones.
"You can get everything you want — but only if you survive," Booth said.
"What do you mean?"
"Why don't you let me finish speaking?" Booth said as he sniffed out his cigars on the metal table he was hanging on. His actions were slow and meticulous, yet they possessed a strange power of cohesion that quieted everybody present.
"First, let's start with an introduction. You can call me Booth, and I will be your guide in your first mission."
"Dr. Frey."
"Nate," said the muscular man.
"William," the businessman said softly.
"Edward."
"Good," Booth nodded. "You're now a member of the Samsara Hall. Every month, you will have a mandatory mission that will send you to other worlds to complete missions. After completing the mission, you will receive Samsara Points, which can be exchanged for anything.
"You want a cure for your daughter? You can exchange with points. You want extraordinary powers? Well, that's simple. You can purchase advanced technology, learn magic, master supernatural martial arts, develop psychic abilities, administer gene enhancement drugs, and more.
"There is a saying in the Samsara Hall: Points are omnipotent."
Booth paused for a few seconds to allow these people to process his words.
"Now that you're awake, the mission objective should be on your watch. You can check it."
Edward looked at his watch, and it was now functional.
[Name: Edward Bones.
[Samsara ID: 3G699376565
[Points: 0
[Active Mission World: Resident Evil (Movie Version)+
[Difficulty Level: Ordinary-Hard]
[Main Mission: Raccoon City is about to be destroyed in a few hours. Escape before it's leveled. Reward: 300 Points.
[Submission: Join with Alice and her team and escort Angie Ashford out of the city. Reward: 200 Points.
[Submission: Save Reporter Terri Morales's life. Reward: 100 points.
[Submission: Save Dr. Ashford's life. Reward: 300 points.
[Side Mission: Kill 10 Zombies. Reward: 50 points.
[Side Mission: Kill a Licker. Reward: 100 points.
[Side Mission: Kill 100 Zombies. Reward: 500 Points.
[Side Mission: Kill the Nemesis. Reward. 500 Points
[Side Mission: Kill 1000 Zombies: Reward: 1000 Points.
[Perfect Grade Mission: Save Raccoon City. Reward: 10,000 Points.]
"Resident Evil? You must be joking, right?" Nate asked.
"No," Booth answered calmly. "All the world you will experience in the Samsara Hall are things from pop culture media like movies, TV, anime, books, etc. You see the plus sign behind the mission world? If you click it, the Samsara Hall will install knowledge about that media directly into your mind.
"It's currently free for your first mission, but from now on, it will require points."
Edward had seen the movie Resident Evil, but he still clicked on the plus button just to test out the Lord God's artifact power and start gathering data. Then, knowledge about the movie appeared in his mind as if he had just watched it.
"Is this a joke? How are we supposed to survive such hell?" Dr. Frey asked.
"Arm yourself," Booth said as he moved out of the way to give everybody access.
"This is not the point," Dr. Frey continued. "Weapons are useless before a horde of zombies."
"Complaining to me is useless," he replied casually.
"What if I refuse?"
"Forget how this city is infested with zombies, so I don't know how you would survive. But failure to accomplish a mission means being wiped out by the Lord God," Booth said, still in his casual or nonchalant voice. He then looked at her.
"My mission will be completed as long as one of you survives. And even if all of you die, I'll only lose a few points. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Dr. Frey's body trembled. She wanted to rebuke, but was too scared to. So, she followed everybody else to get herself a vest, guns, and cold weapons.
"What is the plan?" Edward asked after arming himself.
"We'll join Alice's team," Booth said.
"You want the extra 200 points?" Nate asked.
"I'll give you a tip that may save your life," Booth said. "More points usually mean a higher difficulty. You see how the difficulty of this mission is between ordinary and hard? That will be based on your choices."
"In that case, wouldn't it be better not to join them?" Dr. Frey asked.
"You need to assess the entire situation," Booth continued. "While it will be more challenging to join with Alice, it's also the only way to survive an encounter with the Nemesis, who will be guarding the only helicopter that is leaving this hellhole."
"That makes sense."
"You know, there is another way," Edward said. "If you can get me a computer, especially one from the Umbrella Company, I can hack into their systems and order us another helicopter."
Booth looked him in the eyes. "You expect me to believe you can hack a company as advanced as Umbrella Corporation?" Even by the standards of their Earth in 2025, Umbrella was far ahead of any country.
"It seems you don't know who I am," Edward replied calmly.
"Should I?"
"I knew you looked familiar," Dr. Frey said. "You're Edward Bones, aren't you?"
"Who's that?" Nate asked.
"He was once hailed as the greatest mind of the 21st century. However, he then became the laughing stock of the world of academia once he started spewing all that nonsense about the next stage of human evolution. In hindsight, he was probably right."
"You're Dr. Evie Frey?"
"You know me?"
"I've read your work on using stem cells to treat neurodegenerative diseases," Edward nodded.
"And what do you think?"
"Your approach is nothing but a stop-gap measure. The key has always been genetic manipulation."
"That's easier said than done," Dr. Frey sighed.
"Such technology would have been available and common more than ten years ago if these greedy bastards didn't only want to use my research for the military or the rich," Edward sneered.
"Oh."
"Enough with your chitchat," Booth said. "Are you saying he's indeed capable of hacking into Umbrella's server?"
"I don't know for sure, but if there is someone capable of doing it, it would be him," Dr. Frey replied.