Jill: I Was Here First, Clearly

Sensing a threat from the newcomers, the three Lickers crouched on the ceiling and roared incessantly, like beasts whose territory had been invaded, trying to scare off Alice and Xiao Miao, the two intruders.

As for Jill and the female reporter, they were nothing more than food in the Lickers' eyes.

"Careful, they're fast!" Alice said to Xiao Miao behind her.

"Don't worry. I know these monsters—Lickers, one of Umbrella Corporation's biological weapons." Xiao Miao nodded. "They're said to have no vision and rely entirely on sound to locate their prey. Looks like that intel wasn't very accurate."

The three Lickers clung to the ceiling. Lightning flashed outside the church, briefly allowing the four of them to see the monsters clearly.

How should he describe them? They were ugly in a uniquely creative way!

They did not have a shred of intact skin, like oversized skinned bullfrogs. Dark-red muscles lay exposed, their facial features had degenerated, teeth protruded past their lips, and mucus-covered brain tissue hung exposed to the air.

The Lickers' limbs were exceptionally developed. Their claws were over ten centimeters long, leaving deep gouges in the walls with a mere scrape of their fingertips. They crawled across the walls as though walking on level ground.

"Careful! They're coming!" Every muscle in Alice's body tensed as she drew her gun and charged at two of the Lickers.

The three Lickers had divided their work clearly. Two rushed Alice while one charged at Xiao Miao, roaring as they ran and flinging sticky saliva everywhere with their retractable tongues.

Xiao Miao widened his eyes and stared fixedly at the Licker charging toward him. Every movement it made was captured by his eyes and transmitted through his retinas to his brain.

"Sure enough, 5 points of physical strength are enough for me to track a Licker's movements!"

An increase in physical strength did not simply raise a single attribute such as strength, constitution, or speed. It improved his overall physical capabilities, including endurance, flexibility, agility, explosive power, neural reaction speed, bodily resistances, and more.

Xiao Miao's strength was still far inferior to a Licker's, but his neural reaction speed was already sufficient. As for attacking...

He had guns!

No idiot would try to compete with a Licker in raw strength. Humanity had become the ruler of Blue Star because it knew how to use tools.

Xiao Miao drew the two submachine guns from his thighs and aimed them at the Licker, pre-aiming with one while firing the other directly.

The Licker sensed the approaching danger and abruptly slammed on the brakes, making a sharp turn. Xiao Miao immediately alternated his fire, and bullets from the second submachine gun successfully struck the Licker in the thigh.

"Roar!"

The Licker roared in pain. The fury ignited by its injury completely overwhelmed its reason. Its four claws kicked hard against the wall, launching its enormous body into the air as it leaped at Xiao Miao like a frog.

"An animal is still an animal!"

Xiao Miao holstered the submachine guns at the outside of his thighs, pulled out the Remington M870 from behind his back, and pulled the trigger just as the Licker was about to land.

Boom!

The deafening gunshot exploded through the church. The pellets inside the No. 12 buckshot shell were blasted out by violent kinetic force, a storm of metal tearing through the air and striking the Licker squarely in the body.

In an instant, its dark-red muscles were torn open with countless bloody wounds. Foul black blood and chunks of flesh splattered everywhere. The Licker let out a shrill howl, its body jolting violently in midair as its charge was forcibly halted. Its massive frame flew backward, crashed heavily onto the cold stone floor, and slid several meters away.

Because he had not hit its only weakness—its brain—the Licker had not died. It writhed continuously on the ground, trying to get up, but too many of its muscles had ruptured and its body had failed. No matter how hard it tried, it could not rise and could only lie there roaring and wailing.

The facts proved that humanity's research into destroying itself was precise and efficient. Carbon-based lifeforms were still no match for firearms.

Even an ultimate bioweapon as powerful as Nemesis would be useless against sufficient firepower. Send an entire legion, and it would still be pointless.

Xiao Miao looked at the Licker that had lost its ability to resist, then suddenly turned his attention to his skill panel.

Blood Queen's Enslavement Magic lv1—could he try using it?

Raising a skill's level required repeated practice. Even if Destiny Points could accelerate the rate of practice, the step of "repeated practice" was indispensable.

Unless he drew the exact same skill again, but the odds of that were far too low.

This was the perfect chance to practice the magic. Besides, having a Licker as a pet sounded pretty damn cool.

No sooner thought than done, Xiao Miao approached the Licker with his gun in hand. The gunfire nearby had also died down. As expected of the T-virus's strongest host, Alice had cleanly dealt with the other two Lickers.

Just as Xiao Miao was about to activate his skill, a gun barrel extended toward him. He froze for a moment, then quickly grabbed it and raised it aside.

Meeting Alice's puzzled gaze, Xiao Miao coughed dryly. "There's an old saying in the East: Heaven cherishes all living things. Lickers are also part of nature, so I plan to give it a chance."

As he spoke, Xiao Miao silently activated Blood Queen's Enslavement Magic. The little magic power left in his body was completely drained, while part of his stamina vanished in an instant as well.

So when magic power was insufficient, he could forcibly make up the difference with stamina!

Xiao Miao took a deep breath. Through his thoughts, he sensed the magic taking effect. An indescribably mysterious feeling rose in his heart, and he knew that he had officially established a mental connection with the Licker.

And then? What was he supposed to do next?

Xiao Miao recalled the images that had surfaced in his mind when he learned the skill. Following them as best he could, he sent a thought into the Licker's mind: Submit to me and be my dog.

The moment Xiao Miao's thought was sent over, the Licker immediately began struggling. A thought came back: You ugly bastard, no claws, no muscles, and you've even got skin. Disgusting, you %#@￥, dead horse #@￥& thing...*

The Licker cursed viciously. Xiao Miao only heard the beginning before decisively raising the Remington and pulling the trigger.

Boom!

Muzzle flash burst forth, and the Licker's fragile brain exploded like a smashed watermelon, splattering all over the floor.

Alice: "..."

Hadn't he just said Heaven cherished all living things?

"Don't look at me like that. I suddenly remembered this is the West, so Eastern principles don't apply here. I should send it to see God... or Satan." Xiao Miao shrugged.

The Licker incident was only a small interlude. After clearing out the monsters, the massive church became an excellent shelter.

Xiao Miao and the other three had been fleeing since the afternoon. They had finally found a gun store stronghold, only for Nemesis to wipe them all out in one go.

Xiao Miao had the stamina recovery effect that came with his attribute upgrades, but Jill and the female reporter were already exhausted and desperately needed rest.

Alice was in much the same state. She had been on the move since waking up in the hospital, killing who knew how many zombies, and had long wanted to find somewhere to rest.

The enormous bolt dropped into place, separating the inside and outside of the church into two different worlds. The four of them each found a long pew in the prayer hall to lie down on, silently recovering their stamina.

Alice began chattering about what had happened to her at Umbrella Corporation, mainly telling the story for Xiao Miao's benefit.

Xiao Miao occasionally chimed in, using the excuse that Alice's words had awakened some of his memories.

"What do we do next? Where do we go?" the female reporter suddenly interjected, voicing the question on her mind.

"Out of the city!" x2

Xiao Miao and Alice spoke in unison. Then they sat up and looked at each other, smiling knowingly.

Off to the side, Jill silently pursed her lips.

I was here first, clearly.