Rockfort Island

"Five hundred? That's two hundred more than Marcus and Sergei combined. Alexia really is one of the toughest bosses in the Biohazard series."

As the system spoke beside his ear, Sui Bian murmured to himself and opened the System Store.

The last time he had checked the System Store was June 28. It hadn't refreshed with anything that satisfied him, and the next refresh date had been July 28.

But at the time, Sui Bian had been busy preparing to deal with Spencer and the board of directors, so he'd forgotten to check the System Store.

There were still ten days until the next refresh, and he had a little over a thousand points on hand, so it wouldn't affect anything.

In the blink of an eye, the System Store appeared before him like a hologram, summoned by Sui Bian's thoughts.

"Hmm... an Asimov skin, Fire Kirin...? Tsk! Am I going to have bad luck again... Holy shit? It's an M41A?!"

Just as Sui Bian was wondering whether he'd strike out again this time, he spotted the M41A in the last slot of the System Store, a famous weapon from science fiction films and games.

The M41A Pulse Rifle had first appeared in the film Aliens. It was the standard-issue rifle of the Colonial Marines.

The M41A's general specifications were as follows:

Length (stock folded): 69.5 cm.

Length (stock extended): 84 cm.

Magazine: 99 rounds.

Firing modes: fully automatic / four-round burst.

Rate of fire: 900 rounds per minute.

Effective range: 500 meters

Maximum range: 2,100 meters.

Caliber: 10 x 24 mm Caseless Pulse Round.

Note:

The 10 x 24 mm Caseless Pulse Round has no casing.

Its warhead contains a fixed ratio of tiny steel pellets and gunpowder, weighing a total of 13.6 grams, and is embedded in a rectangular block of nitramine 50 propellant.

Although the propellant's mass is small, it is highly efficient and can produce a muzzle velocity of 840 meters per second.

When the warhead hits a target, it triggers a small explosion that scatters its steel pellets in every direction, increasing its lethality against hostile combatants.

The M41A comes equipped with a 40 mm grenade launcher and can also switch to an under-barrel shotgun, allowing it to adapt to close-quarters combat.

Years of field use by the Colonial Marines had proven the M41A's reliability. It remained dependable even in the harshest environments.

.

The above was the System Store's brief description of the M41A.

Even without the system's introduction, Sui Bian knew how powerful the rifle was. The M41A had been one of his childhood dream items, too.

He'd first seen it in science fiction movies broadcast every Saturday by the Sixth Princess. One day, they showed Aliens—a childhood nightmare and a cherished memory all at once.

The nightmare came from the Facehugger, the Xenos, and the Alien Queen's sudden "jump scares."

The memories came from the Colonial Marines in Aliens: their equipment, weapons, and combat style all felt incredibly authentic. The M41A, with its beautiful muzzle flashes, stood out most of all.

Even a nearly perfect organism like a Xeno was torn to shreds when faced with an M41A.

The price was reasonable, too. For just 600 points, he could redeem an M41A with a full magazine, along with blueprints for the rifle and the Caseless Pulse Round.

It was 300 points more expensive than the MA5B...

"System, I want to redeem the M41A." Sui Bian made his decision without a second thought.

This gun was far deadlier than the MA5B, making it the best choice for dealing with physical anomalies.

[Understood. Deducting 600 points for redemption.

Redeeming...

Redemption complete. Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an M41A with a full magazine.]

The system carried out the exchange without a hint of emotion, just as usual. As its cool voice faded, the M41A with its full magazine and a black USB drive appeared out of thin air on Sui Bian's desk, one after the other.

Sui Bian picked up the M41A and examined it for a while. The rifle was heavy with a full magazine, but with the help of the Mechanical Exoskeleton, its weight was no problem.

He set the rifle on the bed behind him, then picked up the USB drive, removed the safety cap, and plugged it into the computer. As he did, he said, "Red Queen, read and copy the contents of the USB drive. Set the highest security clearance, then upload everything to the Hive's local network. Tell Dr. Wang Zhaofeng to begin mass production as soon as possible."

"Yes."

"Also, we'll launch a full-scale assault on Rockfort Island in three days. Red Queen, I need you to come up with the best attack plan as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

August 21, 1998.

10°43'S, 165°55'E.

Indian Ocean, north of the St. Luke Islands.

Although this stretch of sea lay near India, that didn't mean it was as filthy and disorderly as India. On the contrary, it was a place of clear blue skies and turquoise waters.

Noon.

A gentle breeze.

White dolphins, native to the Indian Ocean, leapt and played across the shimmering sea. From time to time, seagulls plunged beneath the surface to catch fish.

Several kilometers to the south lay an island large enough to accommodate the buildings of a medium-sized city.

From above, the whole island was surrounded by forest. At its center stood a large airport with a 3,000-meter runway.

Beside the airport were barracks, training grounds, office buildings, research facilities, and recreational buildings.

Unless you viewed it from the air, it was impossible to get a clear sense of the island's true layout from the sea.

This was Umbrella's base for training its USS and conducting various experiments—

Rockfort Island.

At that moment, a Whidbey Island-class amphibious assault ship appeared in the waters where the dolphins were playing.

The vessel had cost around 220 million dollars and could carry 350 crew members and 450 Marines. It had originally been one of the U.S. Navy's main warships, yet it wasn't sailing with a fleet.

In fact, this Whidbey Island-class ship was only disguised on the outside as a U.S. Navy vessel. In secret, it was an armed ship Umbrella used to transport large numbers of troops and conduct military operations.

Now, the Whidbey Island-class carried three units—Epsilon, Charon, and the Spear of Olympus—along with 200 elite security personnel, all preparing to launch an assault on Rockfort Island.