Crossfire

Directly beneath the Sacrificial Chamber.

"Ah—!"

"Bang! Bang!"

Screams and gunfire drifted faintly from above.

"Boom!"

The passage back to the Sacrificial Chamber was sealed by a heavy stone door, cutting off Chris and the others' escape route.

Before anyone could recover, the Pyramid's mechanisms activated again. A hidden door leading downward slowly opened, revealing a dim stairway tunnel.

"What's going on?! What happened to the people up there?"

"Redfield! We want an explanation!"

The sudden turn of events left the D-Class Personnel—who had originally been security guards—restless and uneasy. One D-Class Security officer even rushed forward, trying to grab Chris by the collar and demand answers.

But Chris, bolstered by his Mechanical Exoskeleton, didn't let him get his way. A slight push with his left hand nearly sent the D-Class Security officer stumbling off balance.

Then—

Chris also wore a troubled expression as he shouted, "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I'm just following orders! We're all in this together now, so if you want to survive, we have to work together!"

"Hah!" Seeing Chris say that, the D-Class Security officer he'd nearly pushed over sneered. "Looks like Captain Redfield is just another expendable company asset."

"Enough. If you want to get out of here, keep moving."

Chris ignored the provocation. He picked up the large backpack containing three Shoulder Cannons, slung it on, and headed straight into the tunnel leading into the Pyramid.

As Chris gradually disappeared from sight, the remaining twelve D-Class Personnel exchanged glances. In the end, they chose to move together.

To be honest, Chris, walking at the front, was also a little puzzled.

Why was Sui Bian so certain he could complete the mission?

Fortunately, after getting to know Sui Bian over the past few months, Chris believed he wouldn't deliberately lead him to his death... probably.

Chris shook his head, casting aside his doubts, and began thinking about how he could carry out the task Sui Bian had given him.

Not long after everyone entered the tunnel, three Yautja Youth who had deactivated their Optical Camouflage stared blankly at the empty weapon rack.

Had the humans actually taken the Shoulder Cannons?!

Their first Hunting had been ruined by humans!

"Roar!!" Thinking of those two things, Captain Celtic let out another furious roar and waved to his two teammates, signaling for them to hunt the humans.

Chopper and Scar nodded together, then activated their Optical Camouflage and vanished from the room.

"Thud!" Celtic still wasn't satisfied. He punched the wall before activating his Optical Camouflage and catching up with his teammates.

Next—

Taking advantage of their map of the Pyramid, the three Yautja Youth caught up with Chris and the others, getting ahead of them and lying in wait above a narrow hall.

The two sides of the hall were still lined with gigantic Predator statues. It was also where the protagonists and the Predators had exchanged fire in the movie.

With Sui Bian's warning in mind, and guided by instinct, Chris sensed that something was wrong with the hall. He immediately became more alert and scanned his surroundings.

"Whoosh—!" Suddenly, the sound of an invisible spear cutting through the air shattered the silence.

"Ah...! Aah!" A D-Class Security officer was pinned to the floor by the spear, screaming in excruciating pain.

At once, Chris and all the D-Class Security officers raised their guns and scanned the area, while the D-Class Researchers tried to help the officer pinned to the floor.

"Enemy! Three o'clock! On top of the statue!"

"There's one behind us too! Beh—" A wet crunch. "Ugh..."

"Open fire! Open fire!"

"Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-tat!"

The hall descended into chaos. Shouts, gunfire, and the sounds of weapons piercing human flesh all mingled together.

The Yautja Youth had the advantage of both high ground and Optical Camouflage, inflicting heavy losses on the humans.

The D-Class Personnel beside Chris were hit especially hard.

Just as only five people remained on the human side, the Pyramid's mechanisms activated again. The stone walls, bricks, and statues began to move.

The Yautja Youth's line of sight was obstructed, and their movement was restricted. This gave the humans a chance to escape the slaughter. Chris and the other four crowded into a small chamber at the end of the hall.

They were anxious and on edge, but could only force themselves to wait. After about ten minutes, the mechanisms started up again.

A hidden door opened in the chamber. The five passed through it and followed the tunnel, finally reaching an area filled with stone pillars and statues but spacious enough to move around in.

But before they had time to explore, a large hunting net suddenly dropped over a D-Class Security officer walking ahead of Chris.

The net's powerful impact carried the officer away, pinning him to the stone wall, net and all.

"Thud! Thud!"

At the same time, Celtic, still invisible, charged into the group, targeting Chris.

?

!!

The instant Chris spotted a humanoid outline charging at him, he quickly dodged to the left.

"Ah!" The D-Class Researcher hiding behind Chris wasn't so lucky. Celtic kicked him flying.

The D-Class Researcher slammed back-first into a stone pillar with brutal force. The crack of his spine breaking rang out, horribly clear.

He wasn't going to make it.

As for the D-Class Security officer pinned to the wall by the hunting net, the mesh had already sliced him to pieces.

Chunks of his body fell out of his cold-weather gear, and blood sprayed everywhere like a burst water balloon.

The hunting net was one of the Yautja Clan's weapons, made from an unknown metal. In the movie, the human protagonist had tried to cut through it with a knife to save a Black mercenary, only for the net to slice the knife in two.

In just a few seconds, the human side had lost two more people.

Chris had just escaped one attack when a chill ran down his spine again. He had no time to think. He immediately spun around, raised his MA5B, and squeezed the trigger repeatedly at the seemingly empty space in front of him.

"Brrap-brrap-brrap!" The distinctive gunfire of the MA5B rang out.

"Clang! Pa!" The 7.62 × 51 mm AP-FMJ rounds clanged against armor.

"Splurt!" Fluorescent-green blood sprayed out.

At last, the humans had wounded one of the three Yautja.

Chopper, hit in the left abdomen by a bullet, roared furiously. He dodged Chris's attacks with even greater agility while extending the single-bladed Wristblade on his left arm.

The instant he reached Chris, Chopper threw himself into a powerful swing of his Wristblade.

!!!

Chris caught a faint outline and once again dodged the slash by instinct. But he couldn't avoid Chopper's right-sided kick.

"Pong!" The dull impact sounded as Chopper's kick struck the Mechanical Exoskeleton on Chris's left thigh.

The powerful force visibly bent and warped the Mechanical Exoskeleton, sending Chris flying with the kick.

His back slammed into a stone pillar too.

But unlike the others, Chris had the Mechanical Exoskeleton protecting his back, so the impact didn't cause a fatal injury.

"Cough! Cough, cough..." Still, Chopper's attack left Chris short of breath and weak all over. Fortunately, his left leg was only aching and swollen, not broken.

Chris needed a moment to recover.

But before he could catch his breath, Chopper—who had voluntarily deactivated his Optical Camouflage—was already standing in front of him.

Since Chris had managed to injure him, Chopper planned to take Chris's spine and skull as trophies, a sign of respect.

However...

A "shadow" lurking above one of the stone pillars interrupted Chopper as he prepared to claim his trophy.