Nemesis

Night fell like ink, completely shrouding Raccoon City.

The once-prosperous metropolis had now become a living hell, its streets thick with the stench of blood.

The T-virus ran rampant like a wild horse unleashed. More than eighty percent of the residents had been infected and turned into walking corpses, wandering through the streets and alleys with terrifying growls.

Umbrella Corporation had long since sealed off all channels of information, leaving the outside world completely unaware of the city's tragedy.

Only a handful of surviving police officers and mercenary squads ordered into Raccoon City were still putting up a desperate resistance, trying to contain the spread of the zombie horde.

However, faced with tens of thousands of zombies, their armed force of fewer than a hundred people seemed pitifully small.

Once their ammunition ran out, the only fate awaiting them was to be torn apart by zombies.

Ironically, Umbrella Corporation had been fully capable of stopping the virus from spreading, yet it had chosen to stand by and watch.

More accurately, the biohazard in Raccoon City had been a cruel experiment carefully orchestrated by Umbrella Corporation from the very beginning.

Its purpose was to gather data for poisoning operations across the globe, reduce the world's population as quickly as possible, and fulfill its ambition of ruling the world.

On the streets, Zu Hao and his group drove forward in an SUV they had picked up along the way.

Whenever they came across a road completely blocked by abandoned vehicles, they had no choice but to get out and continue on foot.

Small groups of zombies appeared frequently along the way, but with the seamless cooperation of Zu Hao, Alice, Jill, Peyton, and the others, hordes numbering in the dozens were quickly wiped out.

Bella, the female reporter traveling with them, could barely help at all. She was more like a mascot, staying tightly in the middle of the group and recording everything with her camera, perhaps clinging to the last bit of persistence she had left as a journalist.

As the group passed through a dark street, Peyton suddenly staggered and braced himself against a wall, panting heavily.

Large beads of sweat slid down from his temples, and his face was frighteningly pale.

"Are you okay?"

Jill asked worriedly, reaching out to support him.

But Alice's gaze suddenly sharpened.

She keenly noticed the dark veins spreading across Peyton's neck and immediately drew her pistol, aiming it at him. "He's infected."

Jill raised her gun almost at the same time, but her muzzle was pointed at Alice. She said coldly, "Put the gun down!"

Zu Hao calmly observed Peyton's condition, his tone even. "Alice is right. He's infected. He won't last much longer."

Peyton forced himself upright, stubbornly refusing to admit it. "I'm fine... just a little tired."

"Yeah, right."

Alice's gun did not waver in the slightest. She stared at Peyton with blazing eyes. "Taking him out now is the best choice."

"Jill, you know that."

Jill shook her head. "If Peyton really turns into a zombie, I'll deal with him myself, but not now!"

Meanwhile, inside Umbrella Corporation's temporary camp outside Raccoon City.

Supervisor Thomas stared unblinkingly at the surveillance screen, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

When his subordinate reported that the T-virus infection level had reached an extremely dangerous stage, a satisfied smile curled across his lips.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."

Thomas muttered to himself before issuing an order. "Initiate the Nemesis Project. Activate Nemesis!"

A cold electronic voice sounded in the laboratory.

"Sedative—intravenous injection... Muscle relaxant—automatic shutdown... Nemesis activation in progress..."

The modified Matt slowly awakened. His humanity had been completely erased, leaving behind nothing but a pure killing machine.

Thomas immediately ordered an airdrop, equipping Nemesis with a variety of heavy weapons.

Very soon, a tactical special operations squad unlucky enough to encounter Nemesis became its test subjects.

In only moments, the entire squad was wiped out under Nemesis's overwhelming firepower.

"Perfect."

Thomas nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "Where is Alice now?"

The data technician quickly replied, "They're near West Street, approximately five kilometers from Nemesis."

Thomas's lips curved upward. "Good. Find her."

"I want to see which of these two test subjects is more perfect."

On the other side, Dr. Charles stared anxiously at the computer screen, frantically searching surveillance footage from every district for any sign of his daughter, Angela.

At last, he confirmed that his daughter was trapped inside Raccoon City Elementary School.

Unable to mobilize Umbrella Corporation's armed forces, Dr. Charles could only seek outside help.

Besides a scattered mercenary squad, he had also discovered Zu Hao's group's extraordinary combat ability through the surveillance feeds.

After seeing them easily eliminate a group of zombies, Dr. Charles decided to try contacting them.

The scene shifted back to Zu Hao's group.

They drove up to an overpass and found the road ahead jammed solid with crashed vehicles. With no other choice, they got out and continued on foot once more.

They had not gone far when a phone booth by the roadside suddenly began ringing urgently.

Zu Hao knew it was most likely Dr. Charles calling and immediately walked over.

Alice and the others exchanged glances, then cautiously followed him.

Zu Hao picked up the phone. An anxious male voice came through the receiver. "I'm Dr. Charles. Listen, I have a way to help you escape Raccoon City, but first you need to agree to one condition."

"Go ahead. It seems we have no other choice."

Zu Hao replied calmly.

"Help me rescue my daughter, Angela. She's trapped in Raccoon City Elementary School. As long as you bring her out safely, I'll arrange an escape route for you."

"Deal."

Zu Hao agreed without hesitation.

But Peyton objected from behind him. "Not a chance. We can find a sturdy building and wait for rescue. There's no need to take that risk!"

Dr. Charles's voice carried from the receiver, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"That's a good idea, but you'd better pray that building can withstand a nuclear bomb."

Alice frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Dr. Charles said heavily, "The virus is already out of control. To cover up the truth, Umbrella Corporation will deploy a tactical nuclear bomb at dawn and wipe all of Raccoon City off the map."

"Those bastards!"

Peyton cursed furiously. "How dare those sons of bitches do that?!"

Zu Hao said coldly, "What wouldn't they dare do? At worst, they'll claim it was an accident caused by a nuclear leak."

"Enough. Time is short. Move now. I'm not staying here to be buried with the zombies."

After hanging up, the five of them continued toward the bridge.

Jill said worriedly, "What if there's no way out? And there's that psycho who's been watching us the whole time. It's like some disgusting game."

"We have no other choice, or..."

Zu Hao stopped halfway through his sentence and suddenly exchanged a look with Alice. Their expressions changed at once.

The two of them abruptly turned their heads toward the right.

Jill immediately sensed that something was wrong and asked nervously, "What is it?"

Alice stared beneath the distant bridge. "There's something down there."

Zu Hao added, "A highly infected host. Very dangerous."

His psychic perception was extremely sensitive to T-virus carriers. The stronger the infection, the clearer his perception became.

Peyton did not have that ability. His face was full of confusion. "Where?"

Alice pointed at a burning car beneath the overpass. "There."

Peyton looked over but saw nothing. He could not help muttering, "I don't see anything."

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. Back up!"

Zu Hao had already begun retreating cautiously, shielding everyone behind him.

But Peyton did not take it seriously. He suddenly pulled out his pistol, his emotions spiraling out of control as he shouted, "I've had enough of this! Let me see what it is..."

As he spoke, he walked forward, reaching the bridge railing.

A towering figure stepped out from the distant shadows. It was Nemesis!

The Gatling gun in its hand instantly locked onto Peyton and opened fire without hesitation.

A dense barrage of bullets poured out like a torrential downpour, roaring loud enough to shake the heavens.

Peyton had no time to react. He was struck by several bullets in an instant, the immense impact tearing his upper body to pieces. His lower half remained standing for two seconds before finally collapsing into a pool of blood.

"Peyton!"

Seeing her companion die so horribly, Jill flew into a rage and drew her gun, firing at Nemesis.

However, the pistol in her hand was like a toy before the Gatling gun. She was quickly pinned down by the overwhelming firepower and could not even raise her head.

"It's Nemesis! Run!"

A vague memory of being experimented on by Umbrella Corporation flashed through Alice's mind as she shouted a warning to the others.

At the same time, the miniature camera installed on Nemesis transmitted Alice's image back to Umbrella Corporation in real time.

"Primary target confirmed."

The data technician reported excitedly.

A triumphant smile appeared on Thomas's face. "Everyone, the moment we've been waiting for has finally arrived."

"Time, 2:18:26, confirmed."

"Nemesis fully activated!"