A Cornered Beast's Struggle

"So you knew all along he wasn't dead, yet you still sent my men in to die?! And now you've sealed the doors—are the lives of my subordinates worth nothing to you!!"

"For the future of the Umbrella Corporation, some sacrifices are unavoidable."

"Wait... you even activated the 'Rod of God'? Isn't the use of such space-based weaponry supposed to be approved by the corporate board first? Why did you authorize it on your own authority?!"

"By the time you lot finished your tea and cigars in the boardroom to approve the use of the Rod of God, that thing would have been long gone without a trace."

Facing the verbal onslaught from the shareholders, Wesker maintained his smile, parrying each accusation one by one.

By this time, only two or three of the researchers and soldiers in the center of the testing ground remained, having been killed and consumed by Xia Tianming.

They huddled in the corner, terrified, watching in despair as the man walked toward them, their bodies trembling like massage guns...

In truth, when Xia Tianming was struck by the pulse beam of the Rod of God, he had entered a state of suspended animation as a self-preservation mechanism; the damage to him had indeed been immense.

If that high-powered pulse beam had been sustained for even ten seconds, it might have truly been able to kill him completely!

Fortunately, it only lasted for three seconds, leaving him with a shred of life remaining.

As long as a single piece of flesh or a finger of the Blacklight Virus remained, there would always be a chance for him to regenerate and recover!

While in this state of suspended animation, although he showed no outward signs of life, his consciousness had remained active.

Through consuming Commander Kromi, Xia Tianming learned that a certain Umbrella Corporation base possessed rockets and intended to use them to spread the Blacklight Virus.

However, charging in openly would inevitably invite a fierce counterattack, posing a massive risk.

He decided to simply maintain this state of suspended animation; this virus-obsessed company would surely be interested in him, so he might as well let them deliver him into the base themselves.

But the ever-cautious and calculating Wesker had kept his guard up, not sending him directly to the headquarters, but instead to the most secure secret testing ground of the Umbrella Corporation.

And so, the current situation had come to pass.

Xia Tianming ignored the desperate pleas of the researchers huddled in the corner, killing and consuming them without effort. Once finished, only he and the armored vehicle—its shell torn by several claw marks—remained in the area.

Through the memories obtained from consuming the researchers in hazmat suits, he learned he was currently in a secret testing ground, not the main headquarters, which came as a bit of a surprise.

But this testing ground was still part of the Umbrella Corporation's vast underground network; there would always be other entrances leading to the rocket launch site, or he could obtain the relevant route maps by consuming certain high-level personnel.

For instance, the group of people currently watching him from somewhere.

His viral senses allowed Xia Tianming to vaguely perceive a dozen gazes fixed upon him, though he could not pinpoint their exact location.

"Friend, what is your name?"

Suddenly, Wesker's voice, feigning friendliness, echoed throughout the vast, empty space of the testing ground.

So, someone really was monitoring him the entire time!

Through the memories he had consumed, he knew this voice belonged to Wesker.

From the Resident Evil movies and games he had seen in the past, he knew a thing or two about this morally ambiguous villain. While fiction and reality certainly differed, cunning and treachery were this character's trademarks.

Xia Tianming did not answer; instead, he scanned his surroundings, searching for the source of the voice.

"Don't bother looking. You aren't getting out of here. If you are willing to cooperate with our research, we can offer you treatment that you wouldn't be able to enjoy anywhere else in this apocalypse. But if you refuse to cooperate, don't blame us for being poor hosts."

Wesker continued to alternate between threats and inducements.

But from the very beginning, they hadn't shown any hospitality, choosing instead to "welcome" Xia Tianming with a torrential storm of bullets.

It was only because Xia Tianming was difficult to deal with and the Umbrella Corporation was temporarily at a loss that he possessed any bargaining chips at all.

After all, having survived the "Rod of God," there were essentially no other ways to kill him that they could conceive of.

Xia Tianming still ignored Wesker's carrot-and-stick approach, continuing to search for an exit from the testing ground, knowing that everything these people said was nonsense and entirely untrustworthy.

He locked his gaze on the sealed metal door, clenched his right hand into a fist, and concentrated his viral energy into his right arm. His explosive power surged instantly, and the muscles in his arm swelled to the thickness of a thigh!

After a brief moment of charging, he swung his fist, slamming it violently into the metal door!

BANG!!!

Accompanied by a dull, heavy thud, dozens of tons of force slammed into the door. Yet, the metal door remained unmoved, while the knuckles of Xia Tianming's fist were flattened.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!

He simply balled both hands into fists and began to hammer the door frantically. The continuous, heavy sounds echoed through the empty testing ground, enough to make one's heart race!

Even an armored vehicle would have been reduced to a pile of scrap metal by these fists.

But this door was not shaken in the slightest, with only a few fist-shaped dents left on the metal surface at most.

Switching to his Blacklight Claws only left shallow scratches on the metal security door.

This was because the metal doors and walls here were several meters thick, designed to withstand a direct nuclear blast!

It seemed Xia Tianming had reached the end of his rope!

"It seems this fellow isn't easy to tame. Wesker, are you planning to keep him here forever?"

Seeing that the new variant they had captured was completely unresponsive to Wesker's threats and bribes, the shareholders on the sidelines began to gloat.

"Don't be impatient. Even the fiercest beast will eventually exhaust itself. We can have the mutants our company has created fight him to test his limits, which will also serve as a convenient way to test the strength of our creations." Wesker didn't care at all about his colleagues' mockery; he had his own plans.

Since they had managed to capture him, how could they not have a way to subdue him?

"Everyone, you must be exhausted from preparing for the Extinction project lately, right? Why not take this opportunity today to rest well and observe a beast fight reminiscent of ancient Rome."

Wesker leaned back comfortably into the soft sofa, a glass of red wine appearing in his hand, which he began to sip with a smile.

"What exactly are you trying to do, you bastard???"

The shareholders, seeing his relaxed demeanor, questioned him with great displeasure.

Wesker did not answer again, instead pressing the button on the remote control in his hand.

Suddenly, the center of the testing ground sank, and immediately after, a lift rose carrying a massive cage, accompanied by the hair-raising roars of monsters!

Xia Tianming heard the commotion behind him and knew exactly what it was without needing to turn his head.

The cage was packed densely with Biochemical Virus Infected!

The variety of infected was quite extensive: ordinary zombies, Zombie Dogs, Mutated Zombies, and even Lickers with exposed brains and long, barbed tongues!

So, those guys were treating this place as a Colosseum to test his strength?