After casting a wary glance at the freezers around them, Brother Bin quickly turned his gaze to Xu Long's backpack.
"The Red Queen's motherboard. If I can get my hands on it, I'll strike it rich!"
Brother Bin licked his lips, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.
After thinking it over, Brother Bin was ultimately blinded by desire. He said to Xu Long, "Running around with such a heavy gun and carrying the motherboard too must be exhausting. Let me carry it for you!"
"No need. It's less than ten kilos altogether!"
Xu Long rejected Brother Bin's offer. How could he hand something as important as the Red Queen over to someone else?
"Let me do it. We're all comrades-in-arms, so don't be shy!"
Brother Bin was already blinded by greed. Even after Xu Long refused, he actually dared to reach out and grab the backpack.
"Do you want to die?"
Feeling the backpack tugged, Xu Long aimed his gun straight at him.
"From now on, stay three meters away from me, or else..."
Murderous intent filled Xu Long's eyes. Never mind three strangers-even if Matthew Addison tried to take it from him, he would attack without hesitation.
"You three, back off..."
Hearing Xu Long's words, the mercenaries immediately went on guard.
A few people whose identities they didn't know were worth jack shit compared to their own teammate.
Staring into the dark muzzle, Brother Bin broke out in a cold sweat and instantly came to his senses.
"Take it easy! Take it easy!"
Brother Bin raised both hands and slowly backed away.
Though he wore a fawning smile, his heart was filled with cold killing intent.
The Red Queen's motherboard was right in front of him. How could he give it up so easily?
"Let's get out of here, quick! I have a bad feeling about this!"
Kaplan wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking extremely tense.
"Pick up the pace!"
Matthew Addison didn't hesitate and immediately gave the order.
Matthew led the way, with Xu Long, Rain, Kaplan, and the medic close behind. Alice, Spence, and Matt were in the middle, while Brother Bin and the other two brought up the rear.
"This doesn't look good. That JD almost opened fire just now."
Xiaomi muttered, lingering fear on his face.
If shooting broke out, all three of them would die here. None of them could hope to escape.
"What do we do? Do we keep following them?"
Lizi was at a complete loss and looked to Brother Bin for help.
"I wasn't planning to change the plot, but now we have no choice. Those mercenaries already want us dead, and unless every last one of them dies, they'll never give us the Red Queen's motherboard!"
Brother Bin steeled his heart and pulled a remote control from inside his clothes.
"We've been left at the back. This is a good chance!"
"You want to..."
Seeing the remote in Brother Bin's hand, Lizi turned pale. He knew what Brother Bin intended to do.
Blow open the freezers, release the Lickers, then come back for the Red Queen's motherboard once all those people were dead.
"That's right! Now, run back, quick!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the three turned around and bolted in the opposite direction like mad.
The mercenary JD's extensive knowledge made Xu Long instinctively keep watch on his surroundings at all times, and he saw Brother Bin and the other two racing back the way they had come.
"What's going on?"
Xu Long's thoughts raced, and he immediately remembered the bombs attached to the freezers.
Brother Bin and the others must have wanted to release the Lickers, then come back for the Red Queen's motherboard after all the mercenaries were dead.
Something that valuable would tempt anyone.
I couldn't be bothered with you before, but since you're courting death, don't blame me.
Now that Xu Long knew what the three were planning, he naturally showed them no mercy and opened fire.
Rat-tat-tat!
Flames spat from the muzzle, and the bullets struck Brother Bin squarely in the back of the head.
Brother Bin's plan was sound, but Xu Long was no pushover either.
Not only had he discovered their plan, but his marksmanship was also exceptionally accurate.
Brother Bin fell to the ground, and the remote flew from his hand.
Seeing this, Lizi turned and lunged for it.
"If you want us dead, don't think you'll live either!"
Lizi let out a roar. Then a bullet struck him in the head, killing him.
"Fucking idiots!"
After killing Brother Bin and Lizi, Xu Long naturally wouldn't leave a menace like Xiaomi alive. He took them all out in one fell swoop.
"Not bad, not bad. This is good stuff!"
Xu Long picked up the remote, feeling quite pleased.
If he caught them off guard with it later, he might even kill a Licker or two.
Hearing the gunfire, the others turned around and saw Xu Long kill Brother Bin and the other two as swiftly as a lightning strike.
"What happened?"
Matthew Addison asked casually, with no intention of blaming him.
"They planted bombs on the freezers and ran in the opposite direction. I suspect there's something inside the freezers, possibly something more terrifying than those corpses from earlier."
Xu Long paused, then continued, "If the freezers are blown open, there's bound to be danger. Otherwise, they wouldn't have run."
"That's very likely. Everyone, stay away from the freezers."
Matthew nodded, then ordered them to keep moving.
Before long, the group reached the second-to-last door leading out of the Hive.
Only then did everyone discover that the door was locked.
Because of the gunshots from killing Brother Bin and the other two, some zombies wandering nearby also came staggering over.
"Crack it as fast as you can!"
Matthew called out to Kaplan, then gripped his gun and began firing.
Kaplan's skills were no joke. After about two minutes, the locked door opened.
But what appeared before them was not a safe exit to freedom, but countless zombies.
A horde of zombies swarmed over and instantly knocked Kaplan to the ground.
Xu Long, who had been prepared, yanked Kaplan free, then shot the approaching zombies in the head.
[Hidden mission: 6, save Kaplan! Complete! Obtained 300 points!]
Good, another 300 points in the bag. Xu Long thought. There were five mercenaries in total; excluding himself, that left four.
He had saved Matthew, Kaplan, and the medic once each. Only Rain remained before he could get a grand slam.
"Watch out!"
Pulling Kaplan behind him, Xu Long glanced toward the door. There were at least two hundred zombies.
Everyone had used up a lot of ammunition in the previous fights. If this continued, they would probably run dry very quickly facing over two hundred zombies.
Their only option now was to return to the central control room and reactivate the Red Queen. Only by relying on the closed gates and the laser corridor could they hold out for the remaining time.
"Captain..."
Xu Long explained his idea and immediately won Matthew's agreement.
Given the situation before them, there was no better option.
"Return to the central control room and reactivate the Red Queen!"
At Matthew Addison's order, the others immediately broke into a run.
When they reached the junction between Dining Hall B and the passage, Xu Long pressed the remote hard.
Rumble!
A tremendous explosion rang out, and a notification sounded in his mind.
[Killed a Licker. Obtained 500 points!]
It had to be said that Brother Bin had underestimated the power of the bombs. He had intended to blow open the freezers and release the Lickers, but he hadn't expected the blast to be so powerful that it killed the Licker inside outright.
But Brother Bin and the other two were already dead, so they couldn't see this delightful sight.
"Not bad, not bad. Brother Bin really was a good man!"
He had gotten 500 points without firing a shot. How delightful.
Xu Long tossed away the useless remote and ran a few quick steps to catch up with Matthew and the others.