Showdown in the Main Computer Room and the Blaze of B Restaurant

After successfully passing through the laser corridor, the team finally arrived outside Red Queen's main computer room. A massive circular metal door stood tightly shut.

"We need to reboot her to open the door, but rebooting her will temporarily disable all access-control systems, including the doors sealing off B Restaurant," technician Kaplan reported.

"B Restaurant? What is that?" Alice asked.

"Officially, it's a restaurant. In reality..." Li Wei took over, his tone grave. "It's a dormant storage area for the bioweapon known as the Licker."

Everyone sucked in a breath. Zombies alone had been difficult enough to deal with, let alone specialized biological weapons.

"There's no other way." Shade made up his mind. "Kaplan, prepare the reboot! Everyone else, hold the entrance! Li, we need your strength."

Li Wei nodded. The "Startrail" arm bracer was ready to fire at any moment, while his telekinesis spread out to sense every movement around them.

Kaplan operated the equipment and forcibly cut off Red Queen's power. The main computer room's doors slowly opened. At the same time, the lights throughout The Hive flickered, and the heavy crash of metal doors opening echoed from afar—the access controls to B Restaurant had been released!

"Move! Get inside and shut her down!" Shade led the charge into the main computer room. The room was filled with server arrays, with Red Queen's core motherboard at its center.

Just as Kaplan followed procedure and prepared to remove Red Queen's core motherboard for a forced shutdown, intense gunfire and screams erupted outside the computer room!

"They're out! It's the Lickers!" a team member guarding the entrance shouted in terror.

Through the doorway, they could see several skinless monsters with exposed brains, massive claws, and long tongues racing across the corridor's ceiling and walls at astonishing speed as they attacked the team!

"You keep going! Leave the outside to me!" Li Wei told Kaplan and Shade, then flashed out of the main computer room.

The battle in the corridor was fierce. The Lickers were too fast, and their claws were razor-sharp. Ordinary bullets had difficulty striking their vital points. One team member had already been pounced on and was about to die beneath a tongue.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several bullets curved through the air as if they had lives of their own, weaving around obstacles and teammates before precisely striking the exposed brain and spinal junction of the Licker! It let out a wail and instantly went limp.

Li Wei moved through the corridor like a phantom. "Startrail" fired without pause, while his telekinesis sometimes formed barriers to block the Lickers' lunges and sometimes forcibly dragged them down from the ceiling, creating openings for his teammates to attack. Every time he moved, a Licker died. His efficiency was terrifying.

"My God..." Rain muttered as she reloaded, watching Li Wei's dance-like art of slaughter.

Alice also picked up a weapon and fought with all her strength. Her combat instincts were rapidly returning, but her gaze kept following Li Wei's figure. The absolute strength and control that man displayed in this desperate situation gave her an unprecedented sense of security.

Before long, all the Lickers that had rushed out were eliminated. But the commotion coming from B Restaurant showed that more were still inside.

At that moment, Kaplan successfully removed Red Queen's motherboard. The lights throughout The Hive returned to normal, and B Restaurant's access-control system restarted, locking the remaining Lickers inside.

Before her hologram vanished, Red Queen issued one final warning: "You will all die here..."

Shade emerged from the main computer room carrying the metal case containing the motherboard. Seeing the devastated corridor and the exhausted yet unharmed team members, he let out a long breath of relief. He walked up to Li Wei and gave him a solemn military salute. "Mr. Li Wei, on behalf of the entire team, thank you for saving our lives! Without you, we never could have made it this far."

Every team member, including Rain, who had previously doubted Li Wei, looked at him with deep respect.

Li Wei accepted it calmly, then looked toward Red Queen's motherboard. "The mission is complete, but we still need it to lead us out. Besides, it contains the... 'truth' we need."