"Double-Tap"

Inside the UH-1.

With the doors on both sides shut, Sui Bian sat near the cockpit, wearing noise-canceling headphones. He turned his head to look out the window in the left-side door.

While the teams were assembling at the police station, he had met Jill Valentine and Barry Burton, two members of STARS Alpha Team.

Sui Bian tried using the system to scan them, only to find that neither fell into the category of anomalies.

What surprised him most was that Jill, who had been absurdly tough in the games, was still considered a normal human...

In the Resident Evil 3 remake, Jill had used a railgun to blast Nemesis to pieces.

And that still didn't count as an anomaly?

At the thought, Sui Bian furrowed his brow and raised his left hand to scratch his head.

It was a little confusing.

Whatever. He couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.

Rebecca Chambers, the protagonist of Resident Evil 0, wasn't with STARS Bravo Team, either.

Sui Bian remembered that Rebecca had graduated from university not long ago. STARS had recruited her because of her outstanding grades in chemistry and biology, and she was still undergoing rookie training. She wouldn't be transferred to Raccoon City until late June or early July.

Sui Bian had his eye on Rebecca.

The reason was that, although this sweet young woman wasn't much of a fighter, she was an academic prodigy—and in Resident Evil: Vendetta, she was one of the foremost authorities in the scientific community.

Bringing her into the Hive to improve the viruses, vaccines, and serums would be the best way to make use of her talents.

What Sui Bian wanted wasn't just controllable Organic Bio-Weapons (B.O.W.s). He wanted to use serums and all kinds of viruses to create Super Soldiers capable of crushing any anomaly.

Of course, for now, it was only an idea in his head.

"We're approaching the destination! Prepare for rappelling!"

The pilot's reminder suddenly came through the headphones.

"Whoosh!" (x2)

At the announcement, the Alphas immediately opened the doors on both sides.

"Whoooosh—!" The noise outside grew much louder.

Below them lay a mountainous region covered in trees.

Looking farther ahead, they could see the mansion nestled among the woods, looking completely out of place.

A moment later,

the UH-1 carrying Sui Bian passed over the mansion, along with two other UH-1s carrying STARS Bravo Team and SWAT, and continued toward the nearby Training Facility.

The remaining three helicopters circled above the mansion, spread out, and hovered as ropes were lowered beneath them.

The eight Alphas, twenty SWAT officers, and five members of STARS Alpha Team aboard the helicopters rappelled rapidly to the ground.

Then...

"Bang! Bang-bang-bang!"

"Arf! Arf..."

Gunfire and dogs' frenzied barking and howling rang out around the mansion.

This time, the opening tragedy of Resident Evil 1 wasn't repeated.

Having learned the traits of various B.O.W.s in advance, the team swiftly and efficiently killed a large number of Zombie Dogs. So far, there had been no casualties.

What's more, this time they were equipped with plenty of heavy weapons, not just small-caliber pistols or submachine guns.

With Chris, Jill, and Barry on board, and two Alpha Teams familiar with the mansion's layout, they were more than capable of sweeping the area for B.O.W.s.

As for Chris's "death curse," Sui Bian wasn't too worried about it for now.

Chris hadn't reached his peak yet, which matched what had happened in Resident Evil 1: he hadn't gotten Jill, Rebecca, or Barry killed.

Besides, with thorough preparations and plenty of teammates, the mansion-clearing operation wasn't a desperate situation. Chris's death curse wouldn't be triggered.

Sui Bian and his group had also reached the airspace above the Training Facility.

They circled, hovered, and began rappelling.

The Alphas aboard the same UH-1 as Sui Bian rappelled quickly and efficiently, moving with practiced precision.

In the end, only Sui Bian remained in the cabin.

He removed his headphones, rose from his seat, and ducked over to the left-side door.

He looked down.

The ground was about twenty meters below.

A few days earlier, while at the Hive, he'd learned a number of tactical maneuvers from Hunk. He'd also practiced rappelling repeatedly in the city simulation training area on the underground third floor.

Then Sui Bian reached for the rope and rappelled down, his movements a little clumsy.

With his current physical abilities, he could have leaped from twenty meters without even spraining an ankle.

But Sui Bian didn't want to reveal that in front of STARS and SWAT.

His sole purpose in joining the others in the mountains was to make sure Alpha Team stayed safe.

According to Red Queen's analysis and his own deductions, Alpha Team could deal with Marcus without suffering any casualties, but he was still a little concerned.

After all, the USS were his "treasures." He'd be heartbroken to lose even one of them.

Back to the present.

As soon as Sui Bian landed, Alpha Team, STARS Bravo Team, and SWAT formed a circular defensive position around him and kept watch for movement in every direction.

The three hovering UH-1s began to climb, then circled over the Arklay Mountains, ready to support the ground teams at any time.

Once the UH-1 formation had moved away, the woods and the ground gradually fell quiet.

All that remained was the gunfire in the distance.

"Arf! Arf!"

Just then, barking like that of large dogs came from all around them.

As they barked, a large number of Dobermans charged toward the defensive position from every direction.

Their skin was rotting, exposing bone and muscle. Their eyes were cloudy and gray, making them look like the Cerberus of Greek mythology—except they had only one head.

Zombie Dogs.

But they weren't ordinary Zombie Dogs. They were cheap B.O.W.s developed by Umbrella, with greater physical strength and a stronger urge to attack. They could even understand simple commands.

Their codename was Cerberus.

However...

"Open fire."

"Yes, sir."

Gunfire erupted.

"Pfft! Splurch! Squish!" Wet, nauseating sounds followed as flesh was torn, ripped, and shredded.

But even B.O.W.-type Zombie Dogs had no chance against overwhelming firepower. Their only fate was death—or, rather, dying again.

Within a minute, every Zombie Dog had been shot dead.

Seeing this,

the Alphas led by Hunk left their defensive positions and fired finishing shots into the heads of the Zombie Dogs lying motionless on the ground, one by one.

Seeing the Alphas do this, the members of STARS Bravo Team and SWAT exchanged glances, then joined them in giving the dogs finishing shots.

On his first day after successfully taking over the Hive, Sui Bian had repeatedly reminded the Alphas and Omicrons:

"When fighting nonhumans—no, when fighting any enemy—remember to double-tap! Don't let your guard down just because they're lying on the ground!"

The USS were the best of the best, so they understood the care behind Sui Bian's warning and followed it to the letter.

Soon,

after confirming that all the Zombie Dogs were completely dead, the group prepared to enter the Training Facility. They would deal with the mutated employees, the escaped B.O.W.s, and James Marcus inside.