After a mad dash, the group quickly returned to the central control room.
They plugged the Red Queen's motherboard back in and connected the power, and the projection of the sweet, adorable little girl appeared once more.
"I didn't expect you to still be alive. Oh, three of you are missing. Did they die?"
The Red Queen's voice rang out, sounding mocking.
It wasn't hard to guess. They had been fierce and menacing before, refusing to listen to her warnings, and now they had come scurrying back. The monsters outside had surely taught them a lesson.
"What exactly happened here? And what are those monsters?"
Kaplan stared at the Red Queen and asked.
"The Hive is one of the Umbrella Corporation's bases, used primarily to research and develop the T-virus. Once a living organism is infected with the T-virus, its metabolism speeds up, and the virus in its body releases a weak electric current to stimulate bodily activity. In other words, the T-virus can bring corpses back to life."
The Red Queen answered.
"The T-virus? Is that what the Hive was researching?"
Kaplan continued, "Back from the dead? Why are those monsters attacking us?"
"This resurrection is incomplete. To be precise, only the corpse is revived. Its original consciousness has already been obliterated by the T-virus."
The Red Queen told them everything she knew, answering whatever Kaplan asked, and the group came to understand the whole story.
"Now we need a safe route out of here."
Alice looked at the Red Queen and spoke.
"The situation is out of control. I will not allow you to leave."
The Red Queen spoke with absolute certainty, sounding quite determined to fight the forces of evil to the bitter end.
"I installed a circuit breaker in your power system. The moment I press the button on this remote, a powerful current will burn out your motherboard."
Kaplan sneered, making his threat abundantly clear.
"There's a passage outside the central control room that connects to the drainage system. From there, you can go straight to the tram that leads to the surface. I'll guide you along the way and help you leave the Hive safely."
As the saying went, a wise man knew when to yield, and the Red Queen was just such a person.
Hearing its answer, the others' faces lit up with joy, but Xu Long merely curled his lip noncommittally.
This route is fucking safe, all right. It's crawling with zombies and Zombie Dogs. Kaplan and Spence died here in the original story.
Countless zombies will come swarming in, and there's also a Hunter that successfully evolved. It's not much safer than the surface.
But Xu Long had already blown that Licker up before it could get out. In a little while, all we need to do is deal with a whole bunch of zombies and Zombie Dogs!
Guided by the Red Queen, the group entered the drainage system.
It was dark and damp, with a musty smell in the air.
Following the information provided by the Red Queen, the group pressed on through the maze of underground pipes.
But after walking for a while, they discovered that they had returned to a point they had passed before.
"Damn it! We've been going in circles! That bitch never intended to let us out!"
Spence, who had posed as Alice's husband, slammed a fist into the pipe wall and cursed the Red Queen furiously.
He wasn't the only one. The others were also in a foul mood.
A mixture of tension, oppression, fear, and other emotions finally erupted.
Bang!
Rain grabbed Spence by the collar and slammed him hard against the mesh fence beside them.
"Listen up. We don't have a choice right now. We have to listen to it!"
Rain spoke viciously to Spence.
"You..."
A cold glint flashed in Spence's eyes, and just as he secretly tensed up to push Rain away, a mass of arms suddenly appeared behind him.
"Agh!"
The roars were filled with bloodlust and madness as the arms clawed ceaselessly through the mesh.
"Help me!"
Spence's face was full of terror as he struggled desperately.
Seeing this, Rain naturally didn't stand by, grabbing Spence with one hand and pulling out a dagger to attack with the other.
They were already running low on bullets and had to conserve them.
"Stay alert!"
The zombies behind the mesh were nothing to worry about, but besides them, there were zombies both ahead of and behind them in the passage.
Just as Xu Long had thought earlier, this was a trap.
From beginning to end, the Red Queen had never intended to spare them.
Only by nipping every danger in the bud and trapping them all to die inside the Hive, a thousand meters underground, could she stop the virus from escaping.
"Agh!"
No sooner had Xu Long finished speaking than several roars came from both ahead and behind.
With fierce tigers in front, jackals behind, and pig teammates at their side, their situation was perilous indeed.
"Help!"
Spence let out a yell. The zombies behind him had grabbed him, and Rain's strength alone was nowhere near enough to save him.
Seeing this, the others rushed forward to help.
Bang, bang, bang!
Gunshots rang out as Xu Long fired three shots in succession, blowing the heads off three zombies.
But he wasn't saving Spence; he had fired at the zombies at the very front.
Spence was no good!
To be precise, he was scum!
Most people would curse the cook after eating their fill. This guy flipped the table and killed the cook for good measure.
If he hadn't deliberately smashed the vial containing the T-virus, the Hive wouldn't have ended up like this, and those researchers wouldn't have died.
Although everyone in the Hive deserved to die, the destruction caused by the T-virus was too great. It could even destroy the entire world.
Bang, bang, bang!
Bullets kept flying, and one zombie after another was shot in the head.
[Zombie killed! 1 point obtained!] [Zombie killed! 1 point obtained!]
Notifications rang out constantly as Xu Long fired, all the while keeping an eye on his surroundings.
I have to go!
The situation was dire, and though Spence had lost his memory, his shameless nature still led him to choose to abandon the others and flee alone.
Bang!
Spence had a good idea, but the moment he lifted his leg, a bullet came flying at him.
The bullet tore through his skin and pierced his muscle, shattering his bone.
"Ah!"
A piercing scream rang out as Spence clutched his leg and rolled on the ground in agony.
"Sorry, I missed!"
Though Xu Long's words were an apology, there wasn't the slightest trace of remorse in his tone.
A mass of zombies closed in, and the others saw the commotion but had no time to deal with it.
"We can't stay here!"
Xu Long edged to the side as he fired. "Climb onto the pipes. We'll go over the top."
As soon as Xu Long finished speaking, the group began moving toward the pipes.
Just as he had said, given the current situation, this was the only safe route.
"Damn it, that bitch must have done it on purpose!"
Rain cursed angrily. By this point, everyone knew what the Red Queen was planning.
It had never intended to let them leave!