The Virus, Finally in Hand! (Part 2)

"Phew—"

Yin Kuang lifted the palm-sized metal box high above his head. Bathed in the fiery glow reflected off its silver-gray surface, his face flushed red. His eyes, especially, had never been so bright; in the darkness, they looked like two glowing light bulbs.

He let out a long, heavy breath, as if squeezing every last bit of air from his lungs. Then he pressed the cold metal box to his lips and kissed it hard.

"Finally... finally, it's mine!! Hahaha... I finally got it!"

In the end, he was still a young man not yet twenty. Unable to contain his excitement, he laughed with unrestrained joy, almost to the point of madness. He looked like a penniless beggar who had suddenly found a lottery ticket—and that ticket had won the five-million grand prize. He'd become rich overnight!

That was exactly how Yin Kuang felt at that moment.

He didn't think about anything else. He didn't care that after injecting it, he might turn into some unknown monster—or even die on the spot. All he could see was the T-Virus Serum in his hands, which he had won at the cost of his life.

He laughed for almost two full minutes. Only when he ran out of strength and his laughter turned into coughing did he finally calm down.

Every part of his body still throbbed with pain. But perhaps it was because he'd injected the Cell Repair Agent, or perhaps he'd grown used to the pain and his nerves had gone numb from the constant torment. Whatever the reason, Yin Kuang managed to get to his feet, though with difficulty.

He put the T-Virus Serum into his inventory... but then his eyes suddenly landed on the middle of the inventory, and his brows knitted together.

"The T-Virus really is better..."

Yin Kuang sighed, bent down to pick up the pistol, and glanced around. His expression turned grim.

The deafening explosion had carried a long way, and the flames shooting into the sky had inevitably attracted hordes of Zombies. Yin Kuang and Nicholas had spent a long time fighting, and by now, many Zombies had flooded into Raccoon District.

As far as he could see, beneath the dark night sky and among the dancing sparks, Zombies filled the streets, their bodies swaying as they shuffled forward. They were slow, but the allure of fresh meat kept their steps determined. Some of the more unusual Zombies were even jogging.

From far away, a powerful stench surged toward him like a tidal wave, nearly making Yin Kuang retch!

"Damn it! I have to get out of here right now. If I'm any later, this horde will gnaw me down to the bones!" Yin Kuang thought. He staggered toward a narrow alley between two buildings, almost limping, and quickly disappeared into the shadows...

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

"Wang Ning... what are you doing?!"

Li Shuangmu stood with his back pressed against the wall, his head tilted back and his eyes looking down. There was no panic or fear on his face. It was as calm as a windless lake.

Why was he tilting his head back?

Because a pitch-black dagger was pressed against his throat, cold and sharp. The tip had already broken the skin. A drop of blood slid effortlessly down the blade and fell to the ground!

The one holding the dagger was Wang Ning, wearing a faint, nonchalant smile.

"I'm not trying to do anything," Wang Ning said. "I just want to settle a score with you!"

"Settle a score?!"

"That's right. Settle a score!"

"I don't remember ever owing you anything... In fact, before this, we didn't even know each other. What score could we possibly have to settle?" Li Shuangmu said calmly. "And even if there were something to settle, is this how you do it?"

"If you hold out your right hand and toss your Desert Eagle on the ground, perhaps we can sit down and settle things properly," Li Shuangmu continued. "Of course, I'm confident that my Black Fang will pierce your throat before you can pull the trigger."

Li Shuangmu looked at Wang Ning impassively, slowly held out his right hand, and dropped the pistol to the ground. "Satisfied?"

Wang Ning shrugged and withdrew the dark dagger. "If you'd done that from the start, we could've saved ourselves a lot of trouble."

Li Shuangmu pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to his neck. He glanced at Zeng Fei and Qian Qianqian, who lay on the ground. "What did you do to them?"

"Ha! Since when did Young Master Li become so caring?" Wang Ning spun the dagger in his hand. "Relax. I just let them have a good sleep. They might forget a few things when they wake up, but it had to be done."

"Go on, then. What do you want?"

"I want your Heart Blood of Guide Dog Mary." Wang Ning looked Li Shuangmu in the eye. "And you can consider this another favor I owe you."

Li Shuangmu frowned. "Don't you already have one? Besides, you don't have the T-Virus Serum... You!"

Suddenly, Li Shuangmu seemed to realize something. His expression changed. "Wang Ning, don't make me look down on you!"

"Oh, come now!" Wang Ning chuckled. "Did Young Master Li ever think highly of me? Should I be honored?"

"Your favor isn't worth a drop of this rare heart blood," Li Shuangmu said.

"Do you remember Zhou Congyao?" Wang Ning gave Li Shuangmu a sly grin.

"Zhou..."

At last, Li Shuangmu's expression changed, if only for a fleeting moment.

"I killed him!" Wang Ning said. "I took the job you posted in the Assassin Alliance. But you never paid me. That's the score I want to settle. Surely you, the distinguished Young Master Li, wouldn't try to dodge a debt?"

Li Shuangmu stared at Wang Ning. "...Proof!"

Wang Ning smiled, then said, "It was Li Shuangmu who sent you to kill me, wasn't it... I knew it... It was him... It had to be him..."

Wang Ning's voice changed, becoming someone else's. He seemed to be imitating a particular person. He didn't just imitate the voice convincingly; even his expression and mannerisms were uncannily lifelike.

The expression was one of despair, pain, resentment, and relief...

"Fine!" The corner of Li Shuangmu's mouth twitched. His handsome face seemed to be suppressing something, making him look grim. "You want the heart blood? I'll give it to you."

He held out his hand, and a small glass bottle, about the size of his thumb, appeared in his palm. In the faint light, they could see that it contained a little less than half a bottle of vivid red liquid. It was the Hidden Mission reward: Heart Blood of Guide Dog Mary!

"Excellent! I owe you a favor." Wang Ning snatched the bottle. "You may be glad you made this decision someday."

Li Shuangmu gave a cold, mocking laugh. "A killer's favor... Hmph. I'll be grateful enough if you don't stab me in the back."

Wang Ning paid no attention to the sarcasm. "Pleasure doing business with you. Well, I'll be off. See you at the 'University.'"

"Wait!" Li Shuangmu said. "Wang Ning, since we've met, I'll give you a piece of advice."

"I'm all ears."

"Don't push Yin Kuang too far. Otherwise, you'll regret it one day. Remember what I said."

Wang Ning frowned, then relaxed. "You really think a lot of him!"

With that, Wang Ning dashed out of the alley, raced across the street, and pursued Yin Kuang into the alley where he had disappeared.

Li Shuangmu looked down at Zeng Fei and Qian Qianqian, his eyes full of inner conflict.

The Zombies' roars were drawing closer. He could still get away in time, but carrying the two of them would be too much, even for Li Shuangmu. He might have strength to spare, but not the stamina.

But leaving them here... Li Shuangmu just couldn't...

"Forget it. We're teammates, after all. You never let me down. How could I let you down..."

Li Shuangmu muttered to himself as he hoisted Qian Qianqian onto his shoulder. "Damn, she looks petite, but I didn't expect her to be so heavy... Though she does feel pretty nice..."

Looking at Zeng Fei on the ground, Li Shuangmu really did feel like his luck couldn't get any worse. "When we get back to the 'University,' you're each paying me a hundred points for carrying you. You're so heavy, you two pigs!"

After cursing under his breath, he finally picked Zeng Fei up too and jogged into the alley. "I hope I don't run into any more Zombies... or I'm dumping you both!"

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

"Hello... Dr. Isaacs?"

"You finally answered, Chinese boy. I thought you were going to break your word." Dr. Isaacs's amused voice came through the phone.

Clearly, although he spoke as if he were worried Yin Kuang would take the goods without paying, he wasn't actually worried at all—every move Yin Kuang made was under his watch!

"You should trust a Chinese man to keep his word," Yin Kuang said.

"Then, honest Chinese man..." Dr. Isaacs said. "Are you satisfied with the little gift I gave you? To tell the truth, this may be my last piece of work, so I prepared it with great care."

"Your last piece of work?" Yin Kuang asked. "Are you quitting?"

"Haha! I didn't know Chinese people had such a sense of humor. The benefits at the Umbrella Corporation are quite generous, and we even get regular days off every month. A job this good isn't easy to find."

Yin Kuang frowned. Dr. Isaacs didn't seem to be in any hurry at all. He was even chatting about the Umbrella Corporation's benefits. What was he up to?

"Doctor, I think it's time for me to pay you," Yin Kuang said, unwilling to waste time. "The dog is in the basement of the building where I was just now. I stuffed it in the refrigerator. It'll be easy to find."

"Good. Pleasure doing business with you, Chinese boy... By the way, would you like me to escort you out of Raccoon City? Just as we agreed before."

"Thanks very much, but no." Yin Kuang would've preferred to stay as far away from the Umbrella Corporation's people as possible.

"That's a shame," Dr. Isaacs said. "Good luck, Chinese boy."

The call ended. Yin Kuang tossed his phone aside and leaned against the wall to keep walking...

But after only a few steps, he stopped. A cold, sharp weapon had reached around from behind and pressed against his throat. If he took even one more step, he'd be sent straight back to the "University"!

Along with the cold blade came a familiar presence.

At that moment, Yin Kuang couldn't even swallow. If he did, his Adam's apple would move and strike the cold, sharp blade!

"Hand over the T-Virus!"

A familiar voice came from behind him, cold and utterly devoid of emotion.

"Li Shuangmu?!" Yin Kuang's eyes widened in disbelief... but in the next instant, his disbelief gave way to a sorrowful acceptance.

"Why should I give it to you? I got it with my life! Why should I?!" Yin Kuang's voice was choked with rage, his eyes bloodshot, his face twisting into a grimace.

An unprecedented hatred surged up from the depths of his heart, almost instantly threatening to consume his reason...

"I advise you not to make any rash moves!"

"Then kill me! At worst, I'll lose ten years of my lifespan! If you want the T-Virus, you can keep dreaming!" The cold blade snuffed out Yin Kuang's anger, and his mind instead grew calm.

"Ha!" The voice behind him gave a scornful laugh. "If I can kill you once without making a sound, I can do it a second time... a third time... But I doubt you have a second or third life for me to take. Am I wrong?"

"You..."

"I've been thinking for a long time about why you insisted on going after those mercenaries, why you were so determined to get the T-Virus... Heh. You know what I finally figured out? I came up with a possibility: your lifespan is very, very short! You're under the threat of death every moment. That's why you have to get the T-Virus at all costs, so you can acquire T-Virus Enhancement. Tell me, am I right?"

"..."

"Not saying anything? Heh. So I guessed right?" The voice behind him let out a cold laugh. "Even if you get T-Virus Enhancement, how much do you think your frail body can draw from it? Your stats are far too low. Even with the enhancement, it'll only improve your physique... You may have limitless potential for growth, but can you be sure you'll survive long enough to grow stronger—to dodge my knife? Even if you got to use it, it'd be a waste."

Gradually, beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on Yin Kuang's forehead and slid slowly down his handsome face.

"So... the sensible choice is to hand over the T-Virus. I can make the most of its power. I can guarantee that if you're ever in danger in the future, I'll save your life three times. What do you think of that deal?" The voice of the "Li Shuangmu" behind him was calm. "Of course, you can refuse. In that case, I'll kill you three times in return... assuming you can survive being killed three times!"

"The choice is yours, sweetheart!"

After a long silence, Yin Kuang raised an arm that felt as if it were made of lead. "Li Shuangmu... you'll regret this! One day, I'll pay you back... twice over!!"

In Yin Kuang's hand was the T-Virus Serum. The two spiral-shaped chambers glowed with a cold, eerie blue light.

"Very wise choice, Student Yin Kuang..." The "Li Shuangmu" behind him let out a soft, "Heh heh." "See you at the 'University'..."

"You...!!"

A jet of blood burst from Yin Kuang's main artery, painting a streak of blood across the dark wall...

"Notice: Your main artery has ruptured. Your life points have reached zero..."

"Notice: You will return to the 'University' in five seconds."

"Notice: Rookie Student Yin Kuang, this examination..."