"So you knew he was still alive all along, and you still sent my men in there to die?! Now you've sealed the doors shut, too. Are my men's lives worth nothing to you?!"
"For the future of the company, some sacrifices are inevitable."
"Wait... you activated 'Rod of God'? Aren't we supposed to get approval from the company council before using that space weapon? Why did you use it without authorization?!"
"By the time you finished your tea and cigars at the meeting and approved the use of Rod of God, this guy would have vanished without a trace."
Despite the shareholders' furious accusations, Wesker kept smiling as he calmly answered each one.
By then, only two or three of the researchers and soldiers in the center of the testing ground remained. Xia Tianming had killed and devoured the rest.
They huddled in a corner, terrified, watching the man approach in despair. Their bodies trembled like they were hooked up to massage guns...
In fact, when Xia Tianming was struck by the pulse beam from Rod of God, he had already entered a self-protective state of false death. The attack had indeed caused him massive damage.
If that powerful pulse beam had lasted for more than ten seconds, it might really have killed him outright!
Fortunately, it had lasted only three seconds, leaving him with a final breath.
As long as even a piece of flesh or a single finger remained infected with the Blacklight Virus, there was a chance he could be revived!
And although his body showed no signs of life while he was in that state, his mind was still active.
By devouring Commander Kromi, Xia Tianming had learned that a certain Umbrella Corporation base had rockets, which he could use to spread the Blacklight Virus.
But if he simply barged in through the front door, he would face a fierce counterattack. The risk was enormous.
So he had decided to remain in that state of false death. This virus company was bound to be interested in him; he might as well let them deliver him to their base themselves.
But Wesker, ever cautious and suspicious, had kept his guard up. Instead of taking him straight to headquarters, he had sent him to Umbrella Corporation's most heavily fortified secret testing ground.
And so, this was what had happened.
Ignoring the researchers huddled in the corner and begging for their lives, Xia Tianming effortlessly killed and devoured them. Now he was alone in the testing ground, with only the armored vehicle behind him, its shell raked with several claw marks.
The memories he had gained from devouring the researchers in their hazmat suits told him he was in a secret testing ground, not the main base. That surprised him.
Still, the testing ground was part of Umbrella Corporation's vast underground base. There had to be other entrances leading to the rocket launch site, or he could devour some high-ranking personnel and obtain the route from their memories.
For example, the group of people currently watching him from somewhere.
His virus sense let Xia Tianming vaguely feel more than a dozen gazes fixed on him from some location, but he couldn't tell exactly where they were.
"Friend, what's your name?"
Suddenly, Wesker's deliberately friendly voice rang through the testing ground, echoing across the vast, empty space.
So they really had been watching him the whole time!
From the memories he had devoured, he knew the voice belonged to Wesker.
The Resident Evil movies and games he had seen in the past had given him some idea of this villain, a figure who was neither wholly good nor evil. The literary versions might not match reality, but cunning and treacherous were certainly his defining traits.
Xia Tianming didn't answer. Instead, he looked around, searching for the source of the voice.
"Don't bother looking. You can't get out of here. If you're willing to cooperate with us and let us study you, we can give you comforts you'd never find in this apocalypse. But if you refuse, don't blame us for forgetting our manners."
Wesker was still trying to threaten and tempt him.
But they hadn't shown him any hospitality from the start. They had welcomed him with a storm of bullets.
It was only because Xia Tianming was so difficult to deal with that Umbrella Corporation couldn't handle him for the moment, giving him leverage to negotiate.
After all, he had even survived Rod of God. They could hardly think of any other way to kill him.
Xia Tianming still ignored Wesker's threats and promises, continuing to search for an exit from the testing ground. He knew everything those people said was bullshit and couldn't be trusted.
He fixed his gaze on the sealed metal door and clenched his right hand into a fist. He focused the virus's energy in his right arm, instantly boosting its explosive power. The muscles in his arm swelled until it was as thick as his thigh!
After a brief moment of gathering strength, he swung his fist at the metal door!
Bang!!!
A dull, heavy crash rang out as several dozen tons of force slammed into the door. Yet the metal door didn't budge, while Xia Tianming's knuckles were crushed flat.
Bang bang bang bang!!!
He clenched both fists and unleashed a furious barrage of blows against the door. The relentless, heavy impacts echoed through the empty testing ground, making the listeners' hearts race!
Even an armored vehicle would have been pounded into scrap metal by his fists.
But the door still didn't move in the slightest. At most, his blows left a series of dents on its metal surface.
Even switching to Blacklight Claws only left shallow scratches on the metal security door.
The metal doors and walls here were several meters thick, capable of withstanding a nuclear blast head-on!
Xia Tianming was now at the end of his rope!
"Looks like this guy won't be easy to tame, Wesker. Are you planning to keep him here forever?"
Seeing that the new mutant they had captured wasn't swayed by Wesker's threats or promises, the shareholders began gloating.
"Don't rush. Even the fiercest beast will eventually grow exhausted. We can have one of the Mutants our company created fight him and test his limits. It'll also give us a chance to see what our creation can do." Wesker didn't care about his colleagues' taunts. He had a plan of his own.
Now that they had captured him, did they really have no way to subdue him?
"Everyone, you've been exhausted lately preparing for the 'Extinction' plan, haven't you? Why not take this opportunity to relax and enjoy a fight to the death, Roman-style?"
Wesker settled comfortably back into the soft sofa. A glass of red wine appeared in his hand, and he sipped it with a smile.
"What exactly are you planning to do???"
The shareholders were displeased by how relaxed he looked and demanded an answer.
Wesker didn't reply. Instead, he pressed a button on the remote in his hand.
Suddenly, the middle of the testing ground sank. Then a lift rose, carrying a huge cage with it. A horrifying monster's roar rose alongside it!
Hearing the commotion behind him, Xia Tianming didn't need to turn around to know what it was.
The cage was packed with Biochemical Virus Infected!
There was a wide variety of infected inside: ordinary Zombies, Zombie Dogs, Mutated Zombies, and even Lickers, with exposed brains and long tongues covered in spikes!
So those people had turned this place into a Colosseum to test his strength?
Before you continue