Suppression

"What!? We're under armed attack?"

A roar suddenly rang out from Umbrella Corporation's temporary camp. "Damn it! Can any of you tell me where the hell these armed men came from? Is Raccoon City no longer under our control? Or did they fall out of the sky? Are you all a bunch of useless idiots?"

The supervisor chewed out the technicians, who stood trembling in fear.

"Why haven't you looked into it yet?" The supervisor straightened his suit, his tone suddenly turning light and airy. "If you can't find out, you can go feed the Zombies. I'm sure the kids are starving."

The technicians immediately crowded around the computers, their fingers clattering over the keyboards. The CPUs in the Sony computers soon began to run at full capacity. Video windows kept popping up and closing, only for other windows to appear, over and over again.

At last, a short Asian technician stood up and stammered, "S-sir... I found something."

"Speak."

"Yes, sir!" The short technician nodded. "Our preliminary estimate is that they... they're a group of Chinese students from 21 Oak Street Convenience Store in South District..." He fumbled for words before finally managing to finish.

Smack!

A sharp slap rang out. A vivid red handprint appeared on the short technician's chubby face. "You pig! Don't you understand what I said? I want information on the armed men, not some Chinese students you dug up!"

"Yes, sir!"

The short technician let out his habitual nervous exclamation, then said, "But, sir..."

"Forget it!" The supervisor suddenly removed the earpiece from his ear. "It doesn't matter anymore. Nicholas has already engaged them. I'm curious where this armed force came from, but I'm feeling charitable toward a group of people who'll soon be returning to God's embrace." With that, he waved a hand.

Two security guards came in and dragged the short technician outside.

"Sir... Sir... Please, let me explain... No, no, don't—"

The supervisor took a delicate sip of his red wine. "Good. The annoying fly has been dealt with. Time to get to work. Begin..."

The technicians froze for a moment, then quickly understood. "Yes, sir!"

"Activate the Nemesis Project!"

******************************

Ding, ding, ding—

Bullets hammered into the car's frame, spraying sparks and casting a little light into the darkness.

The flickering light revealed Yin Kuang's pale face, etched with fear and mixed with excitement—a profoundly conflicted expression.

At that moment, he was curled up inside the car he had initially taken shelter beneath, its chassis facing the sky.

Not far away, Li Shuangmu had disappeared completely beneath another car. Every so often, he would poke his head out, fire a shot, then quickly roll back underneath.

As for Wang Ning, no one knew where he was hiding.

No matter how hard Yin Kuang looked, he couldn't find a trace of him. It seemed his special skill, Low-Profile Way, had taken effect. That might be for the best. If even his own people couldn't find him, the enemy probably couldn't either. Maybe he was concealed somewhere, waiting to take a potshot at them.

"I wonder how Zeng Fei's doing. He hasn't fired since that first shot, when he killed the Black man. Did the enemy spot him?... Still, I really admire him. He actually had the guts to kill someone. And he's so accurate—one shot blew the guy's head clean off. Uncle Biao's Golden Headshot probably isn't even that good."

"Uncle Biao" had been Yin Kuang's roommate in high school, an elite CF player who was masterful with both the AK and the sniper rifle. He was especially good with the sniper rifle. Whether he was jumping or flicking his aim, before you even saw the enemy, a golden headshot icon would pop up on your screen!

"If Uncle Biao were here, he probably wouldn't be getting pinned down as badly as I am." With the hail of bullets keeping him from raising his head, Yin Kuang couldn't help letting his mind wander.

"Hey! What are you doing daydreaming at a time like this? Do you have a death wish?" Yin Kuang jolted, then let out a helpless laugh as he stared at the gun in his hands. "If you hadn't gotten lucky just now, you wouldn't have hit him at all. Next time, their bullet might blow your head clean off. I can't keep hiding here..."

Just then, a small black dot appeared in the corner of his eye...

"Grenade!!"

Yin Kuang's hair stood on end like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Run!!"

Yin Kuang wasn't the only one facing the "pineapple." Not far away, Li Shuangmu had one thrown at him, too.

Li Shuangmu suddenly shouted from a distance. At the same time, he dashed out from beneath the car.

Boom!

A burst of red light flared. Flames surged and air rushed outward, the powerful shock wave sending Li Shuangmu tumbling across the ground.

As for Yin Kuang, he had scrambled out of the car at the first opportunity, but he was still a step too slow. The blast hurled him through the air and slammed him into a clothing store on the roadside, shattering its windows.

Yin Kuang had to admit he was incredibly lucky. Not only had he landed in the clothing store, he had also crashed into a pile of clothes. The car had blocked the grenade's deadly shrapnel, the outer wall had stopped the flames, and the flames that did enter the store had struck a thick layer of clothing. So although he had certainly been blown away, the damage he suffered wasn't life-threatening.

Of course, there was no denying that he had been blown away.

His health had already been low, and now it dropped by half.

Compared to those battle-hardened veterans, Li Shuangmu's group was clearly outmatched. Li Shuangmu might have been capable on his own, but a firefight relied heavily on teamwork, covering fire, alternating attacks, and scouting the enemy. That left him with very little he could accomplish alone. And Yin Kuang? This was his first time handling a pistol. Was anyone seriously going to expect a first-time shooter to take on a group of battle-hardened veterans? Only Wang Ning—well, from beginning to end, no one knew where that guy had hidden himself.

A harsh reality faced Li Shuangmu's group: they didn't even know how many enemies there were, let alone where they were positioned. From beginning to end, their only results were killing one Black man who wouldn't stop Chatterboxing and accidentally wounding one White man. They hadn't achieved anything else, and the enemy had kept them completely pinned down.

Honestly, this fight was impossible to win!

"Damn it! This is so damn frustrating!" Li Shuangmu, who was usually mild-mannered, was now red-faced. "A bunch of idiots! You're all a bunch of idiots! You all talk a big game, but when it really matters, every one of you chickens out. How unlucky can I be, getting stuck on a team with you? I wish I'd never taken this damn mission."

Li Shuangmu spat angrily. It was the first time he had ever done something so crude. If he had been at home, he would have been severely punished just for spitting on the ground. But here...

"Ha! This is the first time I've thought this place isn't so bad!" Li Shuangmu gave a self-mocking smile.

Then Li Shuangmu took out a mirror and cautiously held it out.

Using the reflection in the mirror, Li Shuangmu finally saw two dark figures slowly moving toward them. Cars, some parked and others overturned, littered the road, giving them natural cover. They were also advancing with great care and working together perfectly, so Li Shuangmu couldn't find an opening to attack.

And he had no idea how many gun barrels were trained on him from the unseen darkness.

"Damn it! What the hell is Zeng Fei doing?" Li Shuangmu cursed. "Forget it. Better to rely on myself than ask others! I'm the heir of the Li Clan. There's no way I can't handle a few nobodies like you!"

With that, he took off his clothes and suddenly flung them out!

Rat-tat-tat—

A torrent of bullets poured into the already tattered garment. Before it could hit the ground, the bullets had shredded it into scraps.

But Li Shuangmu himself appeared in another direction.

He poked out, fired two shots toward a certain direction, then rolled to the ground...