"What Do You Mean, a Surprise?!"

Not long afterward.

The two wounded men received basic treatment. One Alpha squad remained in the castle's front courtyard to look after them.

The two sniper teams occupying the high ground relocated to positions four hundred and six hundred meters from the castle, continuing to monitor activity inside and outside.

Sui Bian, who had also arrived at the castle, prepared to have the USS continue forward and take care of the company's "traitors" all at once...

That was right. In the eyes of Hunk, the Lieutenant, and the rest of the USS, this mission was to eliminate Umbrella's traitors.

After all, the USS had never known much about Umbrella's upper management. Even if they had heard of anyone, it was only Spencer.

What was more, after nearly three months together, the USS had developed a favorable impression of Sui Bian, a "director" who didn't put on airs, raised every employee's salary, and even welcomed their advice and training.

More importantly, Sui Bian had been the first to equip the USS with the latest personal gear and weapons.

Even if the USS discovered that Sui Bian's ultimate goal was to eliminate Spencer, they would carry out the mission without hesitation.

The USS were loyal to the company, and if Director Sui Bian was going to take control of Umbrella, then being loyal to him was being loyal to the company. There was no conflict.

12:45.

Just as Sui Bian and the others in the castle's front courtyard were about to enter the building...

"Boom—!" The metal doors leading inside the castle were smashed open by some tremendous force.

The two enormous metal doors were sent flying by the impact, hurtling toward Sui Bian and his group.

Without anyone needing to shout a warning, everyone rolled to the left and right to dodge. The doors flew overhead without slowing and slammed into the entrance leading outside.

"Boom! Boom!" The two metal doors temporarily sealed off the exit.

"Thud, thud." Heavy footsteps followed, reaching everyone's ears.

They turned toward the sound.

Two "giants" came into view, each about two meters and sixty centimeters tall. They wore gray-white trench coats, had dark gray skin, and sported unusual sunglasses.

These two "giants" were improved versions of the T-103 Tyrant: Ivan Tyrants.

Compared with the T-103, the Ivan Tyrant had excellent stability, controllability, and interactivity. It could even operate weapons and attack with them. But it also had a clear drawback: it was expensive and impossible to mass-produce.

Sui Bian and the others, having dodged the doors, immediately got back to their feet and spread out, weapons raised. Even the two wounded men stopped resting and aimed their guns at the two Ivan Tyrants.

Just then, another, shorter "giant" appeared in their line of sight.

He wore a dark gray military trench coat and had rare silvery-white hair, along with a savage scar over his right eye. It was Sergei Vladimir.

A former Soviet combat hero, Sergei stood about two meters tall—giant-sized among ordinary humans.

Anomalous entity detected.

Subject: Sergei Vladimir.

Description:

The subject is a perfect specimen with genes adapted to the T-Virus mutation. He can choose whether to fuse with the virus, becoming an unusual species that retains his full consciousness, intelligence, and memories.

If the host or the host's forces can control or eliminate the subject, this system will reward the host with 100 points.

"Oh?"

Standing not far behind Hunk, Sui Bian glanced at the blocked exit behind him, then looked toward Sergei and the two Ivan Tyrants ahead.

With the scene before him and the system's message, he couldn't help feeling as if this were a boss fight.

"Clap, clap."

Just then, Sergei, standing between the two Ivan Tyrants, applauded and "praised" them in a derisive tone:

"You've made it this far. I have to say, your courage is commendable..."

"Bam-bam-bam!" The rapid-fire shots of an MA5B interrupted yet another "villain" before he could finish his pre-battle speech.

"Pfft! Splurt!" The FMJ rounds entered Sergei's body and tumbled violently through him. His left forearm was torn clean off.

Then the colonel, hit by the MA5B's rapid fire, fell heavily to the ground, his body no longer under his control.

The one who had pulled the trigger was still Sui Bian.

He swung the muzzle toward the Ivan Tyrant on the left and ordered, "Open fire."

"Yes." The USS responded as one.

Dozens of guns were then trained on the two Ivan Tyrants, as well as Sergei, lying motionless on the ground and seemingly dead.

Then...

"Bam-bam-bam!"

"Pong~—! Pong~—!"

Gunfire erupted.

Snipers hit both Ivan Tyrants in the head. Their skin and bones were considerably tougher than those of humans, but still no match for .50 armor-piercing incendiary rounds.

Their heads didn't burst apart with a clean pop, but each had a fist-sized hole blown through it. Their brain tissue and implanted chips were destroyed, leaving them in a "shut-down" state.

To make sure the two Tyrants were completely finished and wouldn't go berserk or enter release mode, four Omicron units equipped with under-barrel grenade launchers fired cheap 40mm grenades at the expensive Ivan Tyrants.

"Boom! Boom!" Several explosions reduced the two Tyrants to scraps.

Meanwhile...

Sergei, lying on the ground, had been left convulsing all over by the MA5B's rapid fire. His body was also visibly mutating.

Seeing this, several Omicron units stopped shooting and pulled Thermite Grenades from their belts.

They pulled the pins, released the safety levers, and threw them at Sergei, who was on the verge of achieving a perfect fusion with the T-Virus.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The flames from the Thermite Grenades instantly engulfed Sergei.

"Ah—!" Sergei's echoing scream filled the castle's front courtyard.

Half a minute later, Sergei's screams gradually faded, and the flames left behind a charred corpse.

Anomalous entity Sergei Vladimir has died.

Congratulations, host. You have received 100 points from this system. Your current balance is 160 points.

At the same time, Sui Bian heard the system's notification and confirmed that the body before him was truly a corpse. There was no need to waste ammunition firing a finishing shot.

From Sergei and the Tyrants' arrival to the defeat of all three "bosses," less than five minutes had passed.

In the game, they could be bosses because they had "health bars." Besides, players could only control Wesker, who used firearms, which was why the situation felt tense and drawn out.

In reality, when faced with overwhelming firepower, these B.O.W.s, which still belonged to the category of living organisms, were simply doomed.

So...

Sui Bian really couldn't understand where Sergei had found the nerve to taunt him and the USS like that.

After dealing with Sergei and the Ivan Tyrants, Sui Bian led Alpha and Omicron farther into the castle. Plenty of surviving bodyguards were still putting up a fierce resistance inside, but it was all futile against Sui Bian and his men.