The Asian female agent who had used a Rope Gun to leap onto the second floor had actually set up a brutal Barrett sniper rifle beside a load-bearing pillar!
Holy shit! Were they planning to go fight a war in the Middle East?!
The lightly equipped Umbrella Squad's eyes nearly popped out of their heads. Looking at the few submachine guns and pistols in their own hands, they were overwhelmed by the shameful feeling that people died from comparison, and goods got thrown away by comparison.
"They're here! They're here! Aim for the eyes and joints! Provide suppressing fire, now!"
At the command, everyone hiding behind cover raised their assault rifles and began firing wildly. Several rifle grenades exploded one after another around The Pursuer in its black trench coat.
"Don't stop! Fire while moving! Are you trying to get yourselves killed by huddling in one spot?"
Someone's roar echoed in their ears. For some reason, it sounded especially reassuring now.
Caught off guard, The Pursuer staggered, its black trench coat already shredded beyond recognition.
"Bang!" Having found the right moment, Ada held her breath and fiercely pulled the trigger.
A 12.7mm amber-colored bullet tore through the air amid the smell of gunpowder.
"Boom!" The left side of The Pursuer's skull exploded, and the blue-gray monster fell backward.
Good thing they had brought this thing! This Barrett sniper rifle was an anti-materiel weapon.
Its primary targets were high-value enemy assets with a certain degree of protection, such as armored vehicles, aircraft, fortified positions, and ships. It could easily punch through bulletproof glass and body armor.
Used on a human body, a hit to the torso could nearly split the target in half with sheer kinetic energy, or turn them directly into a spray of minced flesh.
That was why anti-materiel weapons were generally prohibited from being used against people—they were simply too brutal.
But... something that could still stand after taking a shot probably did not count as human, right?
Everyone stared blankly as the monster, its skull shattered and gray-white brain matter exposed to the air and twitching from time to time, rolled over and rose from the ground.
"Roar!" Amid an enraged howl, The Pursuer lifted the silver-gray M134 Minigun, its barrels beginning to spin as they warmed up.
"Get down! Take cover!" Kevin was the first to snap out of it. Since he was on the second floor, he immediately grabbed Ada by the thigh and dragged both her and the anti-materiel sniper rifle behind the load-bearing pillar.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" In an instant, a dense rain of bullets poured madly into the castle.
And the spots where everyone had been standing moments ago received especially heavy attention!
Only after the sound of the barrels spinning empty came again did the tightly pinned-down group cautiously raise their heads.
The sight before them made them suck in cold breaths. Not only had the castle's furnishings been riddled with holes, even the reinforced concrete load-bearing pillars had been shaved away by more than half.
The entire building was now dangerously unstable and could collapse at any moment.
"Counterattack! Hurry! Hurry! We can't let it get close!"
Kevin crawled out from behind the load-bearing pillar, shook his head to scatter the dust covering him, wiped the blood from his forehead, and frantically shouted at everyone still hiding below.
After emptying the M134 Minigun, The Pursuer casually discarded it, then hoisted a freshly reloaded rocket launcher and aimed its muzzle at several precarious load-bearing pillars.
It wanted to blow the castle flat! Realizing The Pursuer's intent, Kevin immediately placed a hand on Ada's shoulder, his voice urgent.
"Give it another shot! Blow this thing's head apart!"
"Hurry! Otherwise we're all dead!"
As he spoke, a rocket trailed a long tail of flame, blasting apart the main doors and gouging a massive hole in the exterior wall.
After all that fighting, nearly everyone in both teams was wounded, and the situation did not look good.
"Stay down! Don't move!"
Ada's expression was grave. She shoved Kevin down with one hand, lay across the man's back with her upper body, and used both hands to steady the Barrett's bipod. Two heavy, soft mounds continuously pressed against his body.
Once everything was ready, the group, having developed a tacit understanding through the battle, exposed half their bodies from cover despite the danger of being blown away by shrapnel and fired wildly at The Pursuer.
Leon, whose powers of observation were the sharpest, actually aimed at The Pursuer's exposed gray-white brain matter.
Though the rain of bullets did little against The Pursuer's self-healing, it succeeded in interrupting its attempt to continue loading the rocket launcher.
Now! Ada noticed that after The Pursuer stubbornly pulled out a rocket and struggled to stuff it into the launcher, Leon's shot to its brain matter had made its movements noticeably stiff.
She made her decision without hesitation and pulled the trigger hard!
"Boom!" Without the protection of its hard skull, The Pursuer's cranium was blown apart on the spot. Gray-white brain matter splattered everywhere as its massive body convulsed and crashed to the ground.
They... had won?
Several minutes later, everyone finally came back to their senses. They collapsed weakly onto the ground, gasping for air and rejoicing that they had somehow survived.
Next, Kevin gave the team around thirty minutes to bandage their wounds, then sent the completely uninjured Leon to the helicopter crash site to check for survivors.
But unfortunately, this passerby jinx only returned with a string of dog tags engraved with the soldiers' identification records.
"We don't have much time. Move out!"
The commander had earned everyone's respect through his performance. The moment he gave the order, no one objected.
The door leading to the underground Hive officially opened!
Alice, here I come!
The boy muttered to himself, then took a deep breath and boarded the train with everyone else.
At the same time, a force wearing Octopus-Faced Breathing Masks and moving like ghosts threaded through the forests of the Acre Mountains.
"Remember your mission. Destroy all evidence unfavorable to Umbrella Corporation, including witnesses!"
"Leave no survivors!"
Muffled, sinister voices passed among them, while the special U.S.S. insignia on their shoulders stood out clearly.
P.S.: Boss, you have so many blades in your hands. I'm scared.
I promise I won't drop the story, but you can't just cut me either. Funny life-saving plea @{"reader_id":"145472","reader_name":"Baker Street Requiem"}
When the Wolf Pack Closed In
"The Wolf Pack Squad is in position. The other side entered The Hive before us!"
Before the castle, Ruper, the capable and sharp-eyed female commander with black hair tied up in a bun, glanced at the battered castle and reported the situation to headquarters through her earpiece.
"Judging from the traces left on the battlefield, they seem to have exchanged fire with The Pursuer. The military force has been completely wiped out. Only those amateur colleagues from the security department and a mixed squad from the RPD remain."
At that moment, six armed U.S.S. personnel worked together to eliminate the obvious traces, their movements professional and swift.
They were uniformly equipped with military-grade gear: black combat boots, pure black combat uniforms, tactical vests, and Kevlar helmets. Unit insignia were printed on the backs of their vests and the sides of their helmets, while unit patches were worn on their uniforms.
In addition, to prevent viral infection, every special operative wore an SF-10 gas mask resembling an octopus face, along with a helmet integrating a personal radio headset and microphone for easier communication.
"The intelligence was correct. It's just that these people changed their departure time at the last minute. Proceed according to plan!"
At the military camp outside Raccoon City, a young man in a black leather jacket sat inside a tent, tapping the table with his right hand as he issued orders to this surprise force.
"Everyone, the hunt proceeds as usual!"
After receiving definite orders from above, Commander Ruper cut off communications and gathered the team members standing watch around her.
Then the commander, known within Wolf Pack Squad as Wolf Mom, raised her right arm. Her voice, filtered through the breathing mask, was low and oppressive.
At once, the unit became like a precisely wound machine, swiftly checking ammunition and clearing the route leading to The Hive.
This time, they would meet again! Hank, temporarily assigned to Wolf Pack Squad, gently wiped down his Combat Dagger, his gaze dark.
Once everything was ready, the black ghosts advanced toward the interior of The Hive like a wolf pack led by its alpha.
At the military camp, Umbrella Corporation executive Cain shut off his earpiece, lifted the tent flap, and surveyed the empty camp.
They wanted to force the company to yield by exposing their own dirty secrets together?
These people had seriously underestimated Umbrella's resources and resolve!
But to deceive that crafty old fox, Mayor Warren, they had to suffer some losses.
For example, they could let a publicly registered Umbrella Corporation security unit perish in the underground Hive alongside those rats from the police department and military.
That would clear the company of suspicion, while allowing Wolf Pack Squad, waiting to reap the benefits, to recover some valuable data and experimental samples.
If necessary, they could have a nuclear bomb ready to cleanse the area during the evacuation and destroy the remaining evidence.
Captain Wolf Mom Ruper, bomb disposal and demolition expert Beltway, virus collector Four Eyes, medical rescue specialist Bertha, sniper Ghost, scout Victor, and Grim Reaper Hank, a survivor from Team A.
This professional force secretly established by Umbrella was the true trump card in which they placed their hopes.
After all, they often faced high-threat combat assignments, carrying out high-risk classified missions around the world, recovering infected tissue samples, destroying dead biological weapons, and eliminating evidence of Umbrella's bioweapons research.
Compared to them, the security squads made up of the rejects were naturally assets the company could abandon at any time.
Ever since the two security personnel at the castle had committed theft while on duty, Cain, an Umbrella executive, had been in an awkward position when facing the reprimands from above.
Therefore, he had to use Wolf Pack Squad to complete the mission brilliantly and restore his reputation.
Alice, was it? Hopefully, she was still alive...
She had originally been the subordinate he admired and valued most. He had never expected that the woman would betray the company over nothing more than a bit of compassion!
Still, if he took this opportunity to let those old men die "heroically," many high-level positions would open up.
Challenges were sometimes opportunities...
And now, the hunt had begun!
The man looked at the dazzling morning sun, as if he could see himself at the height of his power, and the corner of his lips unconsciously lifted.
Meanwhile, aboard the train heading underground, the black commander James introduced the team to some basic information about The Hive.
"The Hive is a top-secret research facility under Umbrella Corporation, located one thousand meters underground. It contains roughly five hundred scientists, technicians, and other staff members..."
"Since eight last night, the Artificial Intelligence system controlling The Hive—the Red Queen—has suddenly gone offline. The Hive has been cut off from the surface for nearly twelve hours..."
"Our objective is to determine what happened and rescue the trapped personnel as much as possible!"
Sure enough, these openly designated security personnel had not been told the specific details. Kevin frowned deeply.
"That thing we encountered outside the castle—who knows how many of them are inside The Hive? Do you still think this is a simple rescue mission?"
The boy brushed dirt from his clothes and sighed softly, then turned to signal for Ada to show the Umbrella Squad the portion of the files concerning the T-Virus leak.
Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, they were still utterly shocked by the news that Raccoon City was about to be doomed.
However, thanks to Kevin's command of the overall situation earlier, James and the others fell silent for a moment before choosing to believe him.
"Since they didn't even tell you the basic situation, I'm afraid it seems you've been abandoned."
Those reflective words made the Umbrella Squad, already suspicious, look even more grim.
"What do we do?"
James, the black commander, handed over his sidearm and asked bluntly, seemingly intending to hand command authority to Kevin.
"It's simple. If you want to live, listen to me!"
Kevin did not take James's sidearm. His calm response instead put the hesitant Umbrella Squad completely at ease.
"Prepare to enter The Hive. Stay alert. Whether human or animal, anything could become our enemy!"
When the train slowly came to a stop, Kevin gave the warning, and everyone began using their tools to open a path into The Hive.
Sitting on a wooden crate, Kevin popped several mint candies into his mouth and chewed them while waving Jill, who was on guard duty, over.
"What is it, Captain? Where's Miss Ada, the one who's always inseparable from you?"
Jill walked over gracefully. Her black combat uniform hugged her curves, a shotgun was slung across her back, and she held two more agile M1911 pistols as close-range weapons.
However, the policewoman's tone was full of teasing. Clearly, she did not think much of the female agent Ada.
Kevin rolled his eyes, casually pulled the cigarette from Jill's mouth, stubbed it out under the policewoman's furious glare, and answered irritably.
"Are you jealous of her too?"
"Perfect. Keep an eye on that woman for me on the way. I don't want her slipping away midway and stirring up more trouble."
Seeing that she would not be able to sneak in a smoke break, Jill's attention shifted to Kevin's words. Though startled, her tongue remained sharp.
"You two were so passionate you were practically about to roll into bed together, and now you want to stab her in the back? Men... heh..."
Under the heavy mental strain, Kevin rolled his eyes again and made no effort to hide his sharp tongue.
"Tsk, tsk. I can't afford to offend a corporate spy. How about you two get together and become a lesbian couple?"
"Get lost!"
Before you continue