Traveling today, so the update will be late. Please understand. / Chapter 36: Remember, You Owe Me a Life!

Kevin immediately pulled Jill to her feet, joining Leon and the female soldier Rain, who had narrowly escaped, as they went to support the other two teammates in their difficult situation.

Kaplan's legs had gone weak, and he was practically dragged to the entrance of the Red Queen's mainframe room.

Fortunately, with Ada's Electromagnetic Interference gun, they did not even need to decode the door. They could directly breach the electronic security door to the mainframe room.

As the dull sound of locks disengaging came from behind them, Kaplan and Ada were put in charge of retrieving the Red Queen's motherboard while the others fought as they retreated, gradually regrouping with the two of them.

When the sound of Lickers crawling overhead returned, computer specialist Kaplan finally pulled out the exposed motherboard and stuffed it into his backpack.

"Done!"

Amid the little man's delighted cheer, most of the lights inside The Hive went out one after another. Blast doors dropped shut, and emergency lights gradually flickered on.

The dense Corpse Tide outside was finally blocked by the corridor doors locking shut once more.

Everyone collapsed inside the sealed mainframe room, gasping for breath as traces of relief passed between their eyes.

They... had survived!

During this precious break, everyone took out water and compressed rations from their tactical backpacks to satisfy their hungry, thirsty stomachs.

The faint sounds of chewing felt incredibly peaceful—and blissful.

"Have some water."

The female agent Ada approached the commander. After spreading out her canvas backpack, she sat down lightly and handed her canteen to Kevin.

Even in the most dangerous moments, this woman still maintained her elegance and composure. Her mysterious, mature aura was undeniably captivating.

"Thank you..."

A thousand words eventually condensed into those two simple words. Some things only needed to be remembered in the heart.

Kevin took a sip of water and swallowed carefully. An energy bar to stave off hunger tasted especially delicious right now.

"What do we do next?"

Ada asked softly. Though this commander was young, nearly every decision he had made along the way had greatly reduced casualties.

Four people had already died on the way here. Reality was never as perfect as a plan.

Facing their current losses, Kevin felt both regretful and helpless.

However, now was clearly not the time for grief or self-reproach. After a brief moment of thought, the commander gathered everyone and assigned the next tasks.

"Right now, we have two advantages..."

"First, with the Red Queen shut down, they have temporarily lost sight of us. That means everyone is safe for now..."

"Second, although all the blast doors have dropped, the zombie hordes have also been divided and sealed off in different areas..."

"Also, with Ada's Electromagnetic Interference gun, we can choose a safe route and reach the 100th Floor..."

"So before they can react, we need to avoid every trap and bioweapon and reach our destination as quickly as possible..."

"Get ready to move in ten minutes!"

This clear and straightforward analysis greatly encouraged the group, who had been somewhat despairing and lost. They immediately nodded and began checking their ammunition and weapons.

In the darkness, Ada removed the hard drive containing copied data from the Red Queen mainframe's USB port and quietly slipped it into her pocket.

Not a bad haul... The female agent stroked the hard drive in her pocket and looked toward the commander in the corner, who was calming the others. The smile at the corner of her lips was meaningful.

Meanwhile, on the 100th Floor of The Hive.

Dr. Isaacs helplessly turned off the monitor, which had already gone black, but there was not much disappointment on his face.

A bird that believed it had escaped its metal cage was still beneath heaven and earth's vast enclosure.

By shutting down the Red Queen, they had effectively cut off the rope they had been climbing.

After all, in order to flush out suspicious individuals inside The Hive, the bioweapons that had originally been scheduled for transport to other Umbrella branches had remained here.

With the Red Queen shut down, they would inevitably awaken as well!

Besides, judging by the time, the gift he had prepared for these guests should have reached the middle levels by now...

In the Red Queen's mainframe room, the sealed door slowly opened after being breached by the Electromagnetic Interference gun.

After Jill and Kevin confirmed that the surroundings were safe, they used hand signals to summon the others out. The mixed team moved swiftly through the darkness in silence.

With manpower in short supply, even the Indian Guy who had survived by luck had his handcuffs removed and was given a pistol.

"Bang!" When another door opened, Kevin and Jill accidentally let the gear hanging from their bodies bump against it. The dull knocking sound spread outward.

Luckily, it did not attract the attention of any bioweapons.

"Bang!" But the relief in their hearts was instantly shattered by the sudden gunshot behind them.

The Indian researcher at the rear of the group was so tense that his pistol accidentally discharged. The bullet struck the metal door directly, and the sharp report echoed for a long time!

Like water splashing into boiling oil, the ventilation ducts above their heads began to produce continuous, teeth-grinding sounds of metal scraping.

What made them want to curse even more was that the sealed blast doors around them began to dent—and even collapse—under repeated impacts of tremendous force.

"Boom!" The warped steel doors crashed down. Three bald, leering men in green military coats, with bluish-gray skin, closed in with heavy footsteps!

Tyrants! Three of them!

A fine sheen of cold sweat formed on Kevin's forehead. In such a cramped space, buying Ada enough time to find the correct route was basically impossible.

Not to mention that besides the three Tyrants, there was also the Corpse Tide they had brought with them, along with Lickers crawling out of the ventilation ducts.

So the only way to survive was...

"Run! Split up and run!"

Fortunately, Ada had already used the Electromagnetic Interference gun to open quite a few doors while scouting ahead.

With ammunition running low, splitting up actually gave them a better chance of survival.

The moment the order was given, Kevin grabbed Jill's hand and jumped into a garbage chute, becoming the first to shake off the pursuing bioweapons.

At that moment, Leon and the female soldier Rain formed one group; Barry and the Black commander James dragged the deadweight Indian Guy into another; Ada ran alone, each of them heading in different directions.

P.S.: I stayed up until three in the morning at a hotel on Gulangyu Island, writing two chapters. I feel like my entire being has ascended, and I'm radiating the essence of the people. Things are so expensive here. How ridiculous.

Traveling right now makes things inconvenient, so today's update will be later than usual. However, I'll still maintain two updates a day. Please forgive me.

Also, I saw a lot of old readers and new readers in the comments section again, which made me quite happy.

But it seems that quite a few people only leave comments under the first few chapters. I have no idea whether they are actually keeping up with the book.

Could you check in so readers can see how many people are following the latest chapters? Let me satisfy my vanity a little. Thank you.

P.S. 1: Thanks to readers @{"reader_id":"1085155","reader_name":"Fallen Ashes"} and @{"reader_id":"145472","reader_name":"Baker Street Requiem"} for the tips.

P.S. 2: There were some minor errors in the book. Thanks to readers @Seeking Sacred Traces, Just Wanting to Slack Off @Berserk Medic Soldier and other attentive readers for pointing them out.

But as for bodily fluid exchange, that includes a certain harmonious activity, and "spreading seeds" is especially easy to misunderstand.

With the speed limit in place, I can't drive openly. I can only drift around corners to show off my driving skills.

Remember, You Owe Me a Life!

66th Floor Corridor.

Amid the dull thud of heavy bodies hitting the ground, Kevin and Jill rolled into a dumpster one after the other. Fortunately, most of the household trash had already been cleared away, sparing them from ending up covered in foul-smelling garbage.

But the commotion caused by their panicked escape drew dozens of wandering zombies from the surrounding area.

The two immediately rolled out of the dumpster, relying on each other as they fired and advanced. They covered each other's blind spots, their coordination silently displaying their mutual understanding.

The hail of bullets quickly picked off most of the zombies, leaving the area momentarily clear.

However, several strange whimpers sounded from around the corner, and three Zombie Dogs with rotting skin and exposed gums darted through the zombie crowd.

Kevin and Jill immediately changed formation, standing side by side at different heights. The female officer's submachine gun roared, dense bullets pouring into the space ahead.

Zombie Dogs were agile enough to avoid most attacks, but because they were small, even nonlethal hits that merely drove them back could throw their bodies off balance.

Then Kevin bent one knee and half-knelt, gripping his pistol as he delivered precise follow-up shots. Before the three Zombie Dogs could cover even half the distance, the commander blew their heads apart one after another while they were off balance.

"Pfft!" The last zombie was impaled through the head by Jill's military knife. Corpses now covered the area, and the stench of rotting flesh was nauseating.

That was much easier than I expected. Not bad. He's naturally suited to supporting his teammates...

After that exhilarating battle, the female officer was in high spirits. The commander before her might have been average in most respects, but he was exceptionally skilled at making up for his teammates' weaknesses.

He always made the most precise judgment at exactly the right moment, allowing his teammates to fully display their strengths.

Just as Jill gathered her thoughts and prepared to praise him, she suddenly saw Kevin raise his pistol and pull the trigger at her.

"Bang!" The female officer stiffly looked back and found that a zombie with its jaw completely shattered had been hit precisely in the brainstem and fallen backward.

"Remember to finish them off. Stay alert. These things are tough as hell! Don't get careless and die in a ditch!"

Kevin walked over with a stern expression and scolded her. But just as Jill lowered her head awkwardly, he suddenly flicked her smooth forehead with a curled finger.

"What are you standing around for? The emergency escape route is still open. Let's go!"

Bastard! Jill came back to her senses and rubbed her assaulted forehead, immediately realizing that he had teased her. All she could do was snort softly and chase after him.

"Miss Jill, you need to work hard to stay alive if you want to protect your leader..."

Kevin's half-smiling teasing left the female officer, who had come to demand justice, speechless. She could only temporarily write this grudge down in her little notebook.

But just as the commander, still joking with Jill, casually pushed open the half-closed emergency passage door, a scarlet tongue covered in barbs shot out from a dark corner and coiled around Kevin's right leg.

Fuck! As tremendous force dragged him toward the gaping maw in the stairwell, Kevin's heart turned cold!

"Hold on!"

At that critical moment, Jill gripped Kevin's outstretched right arm with one hand and braced herself against the doorframe with the other, barely pulling the commander back from the gates of hell.

By the faint light in the emergency passage, the female officer saw a Licker in the stairwell, its hind leg crushed and neck muscles torn apart. It extended its mouthparts, ready to enjoy its feast.

Good thing this thing was already injured. Otherwise, I couldn't possibly wrestle against it!

"Drip!" Jill had just begun to rejoice inwardly when a drop of foul-smelling slime landed beside her foot.

Kevin, who had noticed it too, stiffly raised his head. Another Licker, nearly two meters tall, was crawling down the pillar inch by inch.

Get ready...

The commander's breathing quickened. His palm, slick with fine sweat, pressed against the holster at his waist as he exchanged a look with Jill, who was trapped in the same desperate situation.

"Let go!"

With that sharp shout, Jill immediately released him. Her body fell backward from the recoil, while Kevin dropped straight down.

"Bang! Bang!" Two dull gunshots rang out in quick succession as they each hit the target behind the other.

Faced with that predicament, unless they trusted each other without condition and safeguarded one another's lives,

any hesitation or distracting thought would have forced one of them to pay a terrible price.

Fortunately, they had gambled right...

Kevin rolled all the way into the stairwell and landed on top of the Licker whose head had been blown apart. Even his sidearm had been knocked away by the impact.

Doesn't matter... Having survived the disaster, the commander could not help gasping excitedly for breath.

At the same time, the female officer pushed aside the Licker's corpse that had fallen on top of her. The red-and-white brain matter splattered across her made her feel sick.

Jill recovered first. She switched on her tactical flashlight with her left hand, raised her M1911 with her right, and hurried into the stairwell to help the commander up.

However, when the beam passed over Kevin and shone onto the wall behind him, it cast the outline of something slowly blooming like petals.

At the same time, Kevin, who was facing Jill, had his pupils contract. He seemed to have spotted something terrifying behind her as well.

"Move—"

"Bang!"

The warning forced from the commander's throat was drowned out by Jill's decisive gunshot.

A monster that had crept up behind Kevin, its mouth split into petal-like jaws, immediately fell to the ground.