Firefight

Xia Tianming watched the horrific transformation occurring within Wesker with a calm expression throughout.

At this moment, his appearance had completely shifted into something resembling a Hunter from Prototype!

His claws and fangs were no less sharp than the Lickers of this world, his physique was far more massive, and his body was packed with explosive muscle without sacrificing any speed!

One must realize that in the game, a single Hunter was more than capable of destroying an M1 Abrams!

It seemed the Blacklight Virus had not entirely abandoned Wesker, instead turning him into an elite specimen among Blacklight monsters rather than one of the common Blacklight Zombies seen everywhere.

The Wesker-Hunter, no longer bearing any resemblance to a human, crouched on the ground, its thick nostrils venting foul, hot air as it grew restless like a wild beast.

Xia Tianming stepped forward, and the Hunter was instantly startled, its massive body recoiling as it sensed a predator far superior to itself approaching!

Yet, very quickly, it found this sensation strangely familiar, as if its own mother were drawing near.

After all, the Blacklight Virus within it originated from Xia Tianming.

Before long, the Hunter had fully acclimated to this aura, curling up at Xia Tianming's feet like a kitten, seemingly acting coquettish.

This was the [Wolf Pack] ability of the Blacklight Virus, allowing infected Blacklight creatures to bow down and submit to Xia Tianming!

It was quite ironic that Wesker, once proud and disdainful of everything, had now become a "pet" fawning at someone else's feet...

Xia Tianming swept his gaze across the ransacked cloning hall; there were no more Wesker clones left here, so he could be considered truly dead.

A pity, as the Blacklight Virus within him hadn't had its fill yet, and he wondered if this Hunter-form Wesker would be just as nutritious?

The Hunter seemed to sense its master's intent to consume it, its massive frame trembling in fear, yet it did not flee.

Because if the progenitor wished to feed, these Blacklight creatures were compelled to obediently offer themselves up to be devoured.

Seeing nothing left here worth lingering over, Xia Tianming continued forward, setting off to find the man who had so warmly invited him—the greatest mastermind behind Umbrella, Oswell E. Spencer!

To be honest, Xia Tianming was unsure whether this Resident Evil world originated from the games, the movies, or some bizarre, modified version.

He clearly remembered that in the games, Umbrella Corporation had been suppressed by national governments and forced into bankruptcy and dissolution long ago; it would have been impossible for them to retain the strength to create such a massive apocalyptic base, let alone nearly bring about the Extinction of all humanity.

While the movie version of Umbrella Corporation did possess such capabilities, he had encountered characters and monsters here that did not belong to the films, such as the Tyrant-T103 and the company's founder, Spencer.

Could it be that the mysterious force that sent him to this world felt the Resident Evil universe was too simple, and thus decided to mash the movies and games together to create this grotesque, stitched-together world?

Ceasing these stray thoughts, Xia Tianming familiarly arrived at another rear exit of the cloning hall; through the memories he had consumed from Wesker, he knew this path led to the main base.

Seeing its master depart, the Hunter—mutated from Wesker—followed behind him like a pet dog, acidic, dark green saliva dripping from its maw and burning the floor, sending up plumes of black smoke.

However, just as Xia Tianming was about to push the door open, his outstretched hand suddenly froze.

His keen Blacklight sensory abilities allowed him to perceive nearly a thousand breathing signatures outside the door, all eyes focused on this sole rear entrance leading to the main base!

If he were to rush out blindly like this, there was no telling what kind of assault he would face.

Had they managed to reorganize and deploy their forces so quickly?

As expected of a company that started out in security.

But facing the multitude of unknown enemies outside, Xia Tianming did not retreat; instead, he raised a leg and kicked the heavy iron door with a violent force, sending it flying!

BOOM!

The iron door exploded violently in mid-air after being kicked out, the flames from the blast instantly illuminating the dark space behind the threshold!

It turned out that behind this door lay a hundred-meter-high spiral staircase leading deep into the underground.

And Umbrella Corporation's main base was located at the very bottom of this spiral.

At this moment, every meter along the spiral staircase stood a fully armed soldier; from the head of the line to the tail, there were no gaps, and a rough estimate suggested at least several thousand troops!

Although he knew Umbrella Corporation possessed cloning facilities, it was truly astonishing that they could assemble such a massive force in such a short time.

Every soldier had their rifle raised, aiming at the spot where Xia Tianming was expected to appear, and they had even rigged the door with explosives.

Their only order was to open fire at will the moment the target appeared and destroy it completely!

But Xia Tianming had seemingly anticipated the high-powered sticky bombs rigged outside the door; had he pushed it open by hand, he would have had intimate contact with the blast.

Thus, he simply used his full strength to kick the door—bombs and all—away. The speed was so great that the bomb's sensor didn't even have time to react, only detonating once it was already in mid-air!

The sudden explosion caught the soldiers off guard; none of them had expected the target to make such a violent entrance!

The shockwave from the explosion in the center of the spiral staircase threw the surrounding soldiers off their feet, slamming them hard against the walls or knocking them off the hundred-meter-high stairs, their screams ending with a sickening splat!

Some of the unlucky ones were pierced through the body or even had their throats slit by the metal shrapnel from the door!

The moment the target appeared, nearly a hundred of their ranks had already been killed or wounded!

The remaining soldiers, untouched by the blast, hurriedly pulled their triggers toward the target point!

BANG BANG BANG BANG!!

Dense gunfire instantly echoed through the spiral staircase as thousands of bullets converged into a single line from all directions, concentrating their fire on the spot where Xia Tianming stood!

With nearly a thousand firearms firing simultaneously, the scene was incredibly spectacular and dazzling; the constant flickering of muzzle flashes lit up the dim space as if it were broad daylight!

Beyond submachine guns and rifles, even RPGs were fired from time to time, detonating upon hitting Xia Tianming's position!

In an instant, the spiral staircase was filled with thick smoke, shell casings, gunfire, and chaos!

They kept up their alternating fire for a full three minutes; the stairs were littered with metal casings that rolled down level by level, emitting a crisp, clattering sound as they collided.

The gun barrels turned glowing red and scorching hot, hissing as they met the air.

As for the point they had been targeting, it was already choked with billowing black smoke. The walls within a five-meter radius were riddled with holes, resembling a honeycomb, to say nothing of the exact center of their target!

With such dense fire coverage, the destructive power was no less than that of the Rod of God!

"How is it? Has the enemy been eliminated?"

"What kind of target could it be to require the deployment of so many troops?"

"Could it be that Alice has appeared?"

"Impossible. If she appeared, the higher-ups would be overjoyed; they wouldn't dare turn such a perfect test subject into a sieve."

After the ceasefire, everything fell silent, leaving only the hushed whispers of curious soldiers.

The squad leaders ordered their men to shut their mouths, while the commander-in-chief raised his night-vision binoculars to peer at the target point that had been under concentrated fire.

With such dense and inescapable firepower, the target had likely been reduced to dust.

This commander was none other than Commander Kromi, who had been killed and consumed by Xia Tianming previously; he had been cloned and revived!

However, his memory of that terrifying encounter had been erased; otherwise, if he knew the target was that man again, he would rather die than participate in this operation.

As the black smoke obscuring the view at the impact site gradually dissipated.

Commander Kromi saw a black mass about two meters tall standing upright in the center of the target zone.

"What is this?" he muttered to himself in confusion.

The surface of this black mass was embedded with a dense thicket of bullet casings—at least a thousand of them—yet none had managed to penetrate it.

It felt, somehow, like a shield formed from biological keratin...