Jill kicked the foul-mouthed commander in the shin, then narrowed her eyes and snatched the box of Mentos from Kevin's hand.
"Hey! You don't get candy for free! Remember to protect your leader!"
As Kevin spoke, he watched Jill's retreating back with her middle finger raised, then helplessly took out some Mentos, poured out a few, and tossed them into his mouth.
As for that secretly issued order, the two of them naturally understood each other without needing to say a word.
"Commander, the path is clear!"
A moment later, the group cleared the way. Looking into the pitch-black darkness ahead, Kevin took a deep breath and waved for the two mixed units to advance together.
PS: Let me explain a few questions readers have raised.
1. This story primarily used the world setting of the Biohazard Crisis film series, but the films' depiction of Raccoon City was relatively sparse. To flesh out the world and make it feel more vivid and intuitive, some settings from the Biohazard Crisis games were adopted.
2. According to online information, Tomahawk missiles are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, though they are naturally less specialized than models such as the Minuteman.
Divine Stairway to the Sun
"Clear! Toxic gas levels are zero. The environment is safe. We can enter!"
After a brief reconnaissance, the group entered the corridor in teams of three, observing their surroundings as they moved.
The upper levels contained clerical and fieldwork areas, with plenty of chemical raw materials piled up. There had not been many personnel here.
But now, the wooden crates had been violently smashed open. Broken bones and severed limbs were scattered everywhere, while foul-smelling entrails hung from the shelves. The scene was utterly horrific.
In several employee offices along the way, the glass, doors, and windows had all been shattered. Blood was splattered everywhere, and claw marks had gouged deep into the walls.
There were even stark-white skeletons that had been gnawed clean, frozen in all kinds of struggling postures at the moment of death. The scene was utterly horrific.
"Teams of three. Quickly inspect the surrounding areas and confirm whether there are any survivors!"
Kevin's brow tightened. Though his stomach churned, his face retained the calm, solemn expression unique to a commander.
"Is something wrong?"
Jill chambered a round in her pistol, leaned close to the commander, and asked softly.
"What do you think killed these people?"
Kevin took a deep breath and pointed at the violently broken bones around them, directing a testing look at the policewoman.
"The T-Virus broke out in The Hive underground! Because the infected have abnormally rapid metabolisms, they crave food desperately. Were these people eaten clean by zombies?"
Being very familiar with the T-Virus, Jill instinctively gave the most likely answer.
"I'm afraid they weren't just ordinary zombies..."
"Some of these bones have smooth cut surfaces, and the claw marks in the walls cut nearly two centimeters deep. Low-level zombies infected with the T-Virus alone couldn't cause this much destruction."
"I'm worried that whatever is inside The Hive may be even more dangerous than what was outside the castle..."
Hearing that, Jill's expression grew increasingly grave as she considered her experience fighting zombies.
Those pale-skinned, shambling zombies could not truly pose an absolute threat to a well-organized elite force.
It was the special strains secretly developed among Umbrella's genetic weapons that possessed terrifying destructive power.
Judging from the claw marks, there was more than one of these things!
Bang! As Leon, the female soldier Rain, and the assault trooper J.D. searched an abandoned warehouse, a shelf piled with clutter suddenly toppled over.
By Brahma, I finally escaped those devils! A middle-aged Indian man in a white lab coat rushed madly out of the room.
Yet the instant he stepped through the doorway, his body stiffened completely.
Because an entire squad in the corridor was collectively staring at him.
Indian Guy's legs went weak. He immediately dropped to his knees with both hands clasped over his head, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Rain sauntered forward, cuffed him, drew her sidearm and aimed it at his head, her tone teasing.
"Pretty fast runner, huh, kid? Talk. What do you know?"
Indian Guy shook his head, terror in his eyes. Speaking in heavily accented English, he hurriedly replied.
"Don't kill me! I don't know anything!"
Kevin pressed down Rain's raised gun, grabbed Indian Guy by the collar, and slammed him against the wall. Though he was smiling, an eerie chill radiated from him.
"If you want to play silent, you should've torn off your Level Three Researcher badge first, idiot!"
"We're here to investigate, not silence witnesses!"
"What happened in The Hive? Talk!"
"Otherwise, I don't mind moonlighting as U.S.S."
As he spoke, the impatient boy grabbed Indian Guy's right pinky and slowly bent it backward.
"The T-Virus leak! And... Dr. Isaacs went insane!"
Hearing that these Umbrella employees were not a professional hit squad sent to silence him, Indian Guy was instantly overjoyed and hurriedly tried to explain everything.
Crack! Yet accompanied by the crisp sound of bone, the survivor's pinky still dislocated.
"You were too slow! You have three minutes to explain everything clearly! Including how you survived!"
The commander's face was cold, and the faint smile on his lips radiated bone-chilling frost.
Pale with pain, Indian Guy immediately used the fastest, most concise, and most accurate words of his life to recount everything that had happened inside The Hive.
When there was a chance to live, few people were willing to pay in blood merely to preserve their pride.
"The night before last, Spence, one of the castle guards, secretly infiltrated Laboratory One and stole the refrigerated T-Virus!"
"But he didn't expect that Dr. Isaacs, who had originally been escorting other experimental samples and data, hadn't left."
"So he was caught and became one of the test subjects..."
"But that bastard Spence, trying to clear himself, started dragging people into it at random. One-fifth of the researchers got caught up in it."
"After they were taken away by the security personnel around Dr. Isaacs, they never came back!"
Hearing the crucial part, Kevin rudely interrupted Indian Guy.
"Alice! Was the other security officer, Alice, implicated?"
Indian Guy nodded frantically like a pecking chicken.
"Yes! She was among the first group dragged into the laboratory, but nobody knows what happened to them!"
Then, seemingly noticing Kevin's dark expression, he racked his brains to recall the situation and added a few fragmented details.
"Oh, right! After the first group of implicated people were taken into the laboratory, Dr. Isaacs started going mad."
"He said the Divine Stairway to the Sun had finally opened! The most perfect specimen had descended to his side!"
Kevin fell into thought. Had Dr. Isaacs discovered Alice's unique potential to perfectly fuse with the T-Virus?
Perhaps he had not only been inspired, but had also made new progress in his research on the T-Virus.
"After that, the nightmare came!"
At this point, terror filled Indian Guy's eyes, as though recalling that experience alone terrified him.
"Dr. Isaacs sealed The Hive, cut off communications, locked himself in the terminal laboratory on the 100th Floor, and began conducting round-the-clock research."
"Of Umbrella's nearly five hundred employees, about half were sent into the laboratories on charges of leaking company secrets."
"In the end, even those U.S.S butchers couldn't stand it anymore and prepared to resist. But after they entered the laboratory, they never came out!"
"Until last night, when the Artificial Intelligence inside The Hive, Red Queen, suddenly crashed..."
"Everyone thought the opportunity had come! So we prepared to escape..."
"But we never expected..."
Kevin narrowed his eyes and ran his fingertips across the deep claw marks on the wall, his voice low.
"You never expected The Hive to be completely sealed off. You couldn't get out at all."
"And without the restraints of electricity, the test subjects in B Cafeteria and Dr. Isaacs's latest creations all escaped!"
Under Indian Guy's horrified gaze, the young commander tossed him to Rain and the others to guard, then waved and issued an order.
"Head to B Cafeteria immediately! It's the only route to the lowest level!"
PS: Thanks to reader @{"reader_id":"145472","reader_name":"Baker Street Requiem"} for the tip. Also, thanks to Reader System? for the correction. It has been fixed.
A Little Lick
In B Cafeteria, dozens of cylindrical cultivation tanks had already shattered into pieces, and the dark green Nutrient Solution had dried up.
Though the surroundings were deathly silent, with no trace of living creatures, everyone had become highly vigilant after the battle outside the castle.
"The electronic map clearly marks this place as B Cafeteria. Why are there all these damn things here?"
James, the black squad leader, held a handheld computer and stepped forward to ask Kevin.
Kevin simply revealed more of Umbrella Corporation's dirty secrets to drive a wedge between the two sides.
"The viral outbreak in Raccoon City came from The Hive's latest research project, codenamed T. If we can't find a solution in The Hive before eight tonight—"
"Then tomorrow or the day after, you'll probably see a massive mushroom cloud rising from here!"
"So before the crisis erupts, we must get the new antidote that Dr. Isaacs developed to disperse through the air!"
James hesitated. The price of betraying Umbrella Corporation was far too heavy, and he had no choice but to consider it carefully.
Kevin stroked his chin, then pulled Indian Guy over and pointed at him as he questioned James.
"According to his account, Red Queen had already sealed off the entire Hive before she crashed. So here's the question..."
"How did the T-Virus in Raccoon City spread on such a large scale?"
Rain's eyes narrowed slightly as realization dawned on her. Along with several other team members, she gave Captain James meaningful looks.
Clearly, the only person who could have spread the virus was Dr. Isaacs, who had controlled Red Queen's network at the time!
They were security employees, an officially registered security squad on Umbrella's books. Naturally, they differed from the U.S.S desperados.
"Fine. We won't get involved in the grievances between you and the company. We have only one goal now!"
"Reach the 100th Floor and find the antidote!"
James nodded slightly. Of course, he could tell that these RPD officers were clearly not kindhearted Red Cross workers who specialized in rescuing trapped people. From their words to their actions, they showed hostility toward the company.
Though he also relied on Umbrella Corporation for a living, since those above had treated this Umbrella Squad as disposable pawns, the pawns naturally had no right to interfere in the contest between the players.
"Sir, Red Queen's network is repairing itself. We've received a weak signal requesting a connection!"
Kaplan, the team's computer expert, discovered the source of the signal and excitedly handed the handheld computer to James and Kevin.
"Cut it off immediately! Deny access!"
Kevin snatched the computer and blocked the weak signal trying to connect.
Because Dr. Isaacs possessed the highest authority over Red Queen's network in Raccoon City, once that thing started up, they would be exposing themselves directly beneath that madman's eyes.
James held back the excited Kaplan and nodded slightly at him, signaling the young computer expert to carry out the order.
"You're going to the 100th Floor. I can lead the way! Can you let me go first?"
Indian Guy swore in Brahma's name that he would not run and emphasized his value.
But Kevin and James were no fools. No matter what, for this Indian researcher to survive in such a dangerous environment, he was clearly not some idiot who only knew how to eat curry.
If they allowed him to move freely, the risks would only increase invisibly.
Seeing that neither commander was moved, Indian Guy grew anxious. The familiar surroundings had already awakened the fear buried deep in his body.
As a researcher, he naturally knew how terrifying the escaped creatures were. If he remained a prisoner the whole way, his life would very likely be in danger.
But before he could continue persuading them, Ada at the front raised her right arm, an odd expression appearing on her face.
"Listen! Something seems to be getting closer..."
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! The strange sound of something cutting through walls gradually came from the passage ahead.
Before you continue