Nemesis

Before setting out, Xiao Miao found Jill and hoped she would leave with him.

After all, he was not the kind of man who hit it and quit it. Jill had come to the gun shop because he had changed the plot. Otherwise, following the original story, she should have been in the church playing a game of chase with a Licker.

That did not sound much better.

In any case, if Jill died at Nemesis's hands like this, it would be such a waste. She was a fine supercar—he would not recommend keeping her long-term, but the test-drive experience was extraordinary!

Unfortunately, Jill rejected Xiao Miao's invitation. She was a member of the Special Forces Squad and chose to stay with her teammates.

Xiao Miao could only give up on the supercar and prioritize saving his own life.

The equipment the Special Forces Squad had promised Xiao Miao was indeed delivered. After all, there could be no shortage of guns inside a gun shop, and ammunition was plentiful as well.

Xiao Miao armed himself to the teeth. His gear had been completely upgraded, though it was rather heavy. An ordinary, untrained person would feel exhausted after only a few steps in all this equipment.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Xiao Miao walked out of the shop under Jill's regretful gaze. Looking up, he saw a tall figure slowly approaching through the smoke in the distance.

Over two meters tall, with a rocket launcher in its left hand and a Gatling Gun in its right, its scalp swollen and its gums protruding, it looked as though it were cosplaying a Predator.

Umbrella Corporation's biological weapon, a T-virus test subject—Nemesis!

Xiao Miao looked up at the sky. The red glow had yet to fade, and the sunset lingered among the clouds. It was still bright out.

After all, it was only six-thirty. It was nowhere near dark yet.

But... something was wrong. Why had Nemesis found this place already?

Xiao Miao remembered clearly that in the original story, it had been completely dark by the time Nemesis found the S.T.A.R.S. Special Forces Squad.

Could this be another butterfly effect caused by him?

Whatever the reason, without using a Character Card, Nemesis was not something he could handle alone.

But it was not a huge problem. According to the original setting, Nemesis was completely controlled by Umbrella Corporation. Unless something unexpected happened, it would not shoot civilians.

Bang!

Whoosh!

A bullet grazed Xiao Miao's scalp and flew into the wrecked sedan behind him.

Xiao Miao ducked decisively to avoid the second shot, then rushed back into the gun shop in three quick strides, cold sweat soaking the clothes on his back.

Luckily, Nemesis was far away and its shot had drifted. Otherwise, he would already be scrap!

"What's wrong, little girl? Did the zombies scare you?" Seeing Xiao Miao return, Jill's simp immediately grinned and mocked him.

He was still unable to get over Xiao Miao having successfully scored with her.

Xiao Miao ignored the loser and turned to the old captain. "Umbrella Corporation's biological weapon is here!"

"Are you sure?" The old man's expression turned grim.

"At the very least, it doesn't look human, and it can carry a Gatling Gun one-handed while running like the wind."

"Fuck, then it definitely isn't human!"

The old man cursed and raised the radio to his mouth. "Number Six, report immediately."

Number Six was the sniper on the roof.

The radio connected, and the sniper's slightly flippant voice came through. "Reporting, Captain. I spotted a big guy. Let me take a look..."

"Fuck, what kind of monster is that? It's ugly as hell!"

Boom—!

The piercing report of an AWP Sniper Rifle came from the rooftop. The bullet struck Nemesis, bursting a small spray of blood.

Nemesis's stride remained steady, as though it had merely been bitten by a mosquito.

After two seconds of silence, the sniper's voice came through again. "What the fuck is this monster? You're done for, you son of a bitch!"

Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!

The sniper rifle continued firing. At this point, everyone could see the monster steadily approaching in the distance through the glass doors, and they all stood frozen in place.

One high-powered sniper round after another struck the monster, yet none had the slightest effect.

The burly Black man who had been shouting about crushing the biological weapon went silent the instant he saw Nemesis's true form, his fingers trembling slightly around his gun.

Nemesis stopped fifty meters from the gun shop and slowly raised its rocket launcher.

Xiao Miao took a deep breath and shouted, "Sniper, get down! Everyone, take cover!"

Whoosh!

A rocket screamed through the air and struck the rooftop sign with precision, flames immediately shooting into the sky.

The metal sign was torn apart by the shockwave and scattered dozens of meters away.

Fortunately, the gun shop's walls were sturdy enough that the explosion did not affect those inside. The sniper also jumped into the shop at the last possible moment, only twisting his ankle.

The old captain remained calm in the face of danger, his voice steady. "Form a defensive formation and take it down!"

Xiao Miao hurriedly added, "That thing is bulletproof. Use the rocket launcher!"

In the original story, these people had fired a storm of bullets for ages. Other than helping Nemesis put on weight, they had achieved absolutely nothing.

The old captain accepted the suggestion immediately. "Number Eight, bring out the big gun."

The squad members sprang into action, swiftly taking advantageous positions and aiming at Nemesis from every corner.

Jill joined the formation as well. Xiao Miao felt a sense of foreboding and pulled Jill back beside the rear door. The female reporter's eyes darted, and she followed them over to hide as well.

Once everything was ready, the old captain decisively gave the order. "Open fire!"

A metal storm roared out, hammering Nemesis like rain. Streams of foul, viscous blood sprayed into the air.

Nemesis threw its head back and roared, but its pace did not slow in the slightest as it advanced step by step toward the gun shop.

"Where's the rocket launcher? Fire it!"

Number Eight knelt on one knee with the rocket launcher on his shoulder and pulled the trigger. The rocket shot toward Nemesis through the flames and smoke.

Nemesis finally stopped. The computer implanted in its brain analyzed continuously, streams of data flashing through its eyes. One second before the rocket was about to strike its body, it suddenly twisted aside.

The rocket grazed its massive pectorals and hit a wrecked car, exploding violently.

Because it was so close, the blast of flame scorched Nemesis's back. Its tough-guy leather jacket was burned away, and the shorts beneath were riddled with holes, leaving its butt cheeks shivering in the wind.

Nemesis: "..."

Roar!!!

A furious roar tinged with embarrassment rang out as Nemesis lifted its Gatling Gun, and the six barrels began to spin.

"Fall back, take cover!!!" the old captain cried hoarsely, regret flooding his heart.

Seeing that things were going badly, Xiao Miao immediately pulled Jill into the target range in the backyard and hid behind layers of sandbags.

The next second, an even denser storm of bullets swept in. Bullets tore through the outer walls, counters, sofas, and miscellaneous objects inside, blasting everything into fragments that scattered in all directions.

Under such horrifying firepower, the squad members' cover looked utterly laughable.

Rubble flew everywhere, rebar was exposed, and several SUVs parked at the entrance were instantly riddled with holes. Their fuel tanks were punctured and exploded, flames soaring into the sky as thick smoke blanketed half the heavens.

Unlike the original story, Nemesis now seemed to have no programming that prevented it from killing civilians. The former director and the Black parking lot attendant dropped dead without making a sound.

The number display on the Gatling Gun kept ticking upward. In less than thirty seconds, two thousand rounds had been unleashed. The barrels slowly stopped spinning, and there were no longer any standing targets inside the gun shop.

The Special Forces Squad had been completely wiped out!

Nemesis turned its gaze toward the gun shop's backyard and detected three lifeforms rapidly moving away.

[S.T.A.R.S. member on leave (female), threat: medium]

[Civilian (female), threat: zero]

[Armed civilian (male), threat: medium]

An order immediately came from Umbrella Corporation's command center: eliminate them all!

Carrying the heavy Gatling Gun, Nemesis's massive body began sprinting at an unnatural speed. It stomped over the coffin lid Newton had just flipped open, smashed through the gun shop's outer wall, and charged straight at Xiao Miao and the other two.