Raymond stared at the screen in front of him, exclaiming in fascination.
"What a perfect weapon, what an outstanding invention. Something like this is enough to let us stand at the Peak of the World!"
His Deputy, standing behind him, agreed noncommittally. Having been completely tied to Raymond, he had finally transformed into what they wanted: a devil in human skin.
The two of them did not indulge in this obsessive mood for too long. Soon, Raymond asked other questions.
"How are things progressing?"
"The city's defensive line has been raised, and all fleeing citizens are trapped within it. We've cut off all signals, so no one will know what's happening here for a while. However, I'm worried this situation won't last long!" The Deputy looked worried. Blocking the escape of tens of thousands of people was too difficult for him, especially when the consequences were unimaginably severe.
"Use firepower to drive these citizens back into the city. Don't worry about casualties. The Board of Directors has already decided to use the hidden forces within the military. As soon as dawn breaks tomorrow, a nuclear bomb will fall here. All evidence will be destroyed cleanly. You should leave now; the city's defense line is in your hands. Remember my words: think carefully about whether you or others are more important."
Raymond spoke lightly, but his Deputy trembled. The news of the nuclear bomb cleansing had completely terrified him; he even began to regret his choice.
However, regret was useless now. Raymond knew this clearly, so he wasn't worried that his Deputy would betray him. Letting his Deputy walk away unsteadily, Raymond once again focused his attention on the screen.
"Let me see what other surprises you have for me!"
On the screen, the woman who escaped from Umbrella was stealthily moving through a supermarket.
Unlike her initial miserable state, she had changed into new clothes. There was no sign of injury at all; apart from a tiny bit of blood on her elbow, only smooth, new skin was visible. You couldn't imagine that half a day ago, a broken bone had pierced directly out of her arm there.
Almost the same regenerative ability as a Mutant, this was one of Umbrella's experimental results on her. And all it required was some high-calorie food. This was a supermarket; there was no shortage of such things.
But this wasn't what the woman wanted. She would rather still be the old Alice Jovovich, a human. Not like this, a monster that could mutate at any time.
She was still wallowing in self-pity when a faint movement came from behind her. Subtle growls and shuffling footsteps reached her ears, making her immediately abandon these idle musings. She was not unfamiliar with zombies, and it was precisely because of this that her heart was even more tormented.
She touched the short knife at her waist; the cold steel blade brought her an inexplicable ferocity and courage. She quietly moved along the shelves. When she saw a zombie that had just poked its head out from behind a shelf, the blade had already, before her sight, severed the zombie's head. Due to the virus's modification, her body's subconscious actions had surpassed her self-conscious control. Instinctive reactions had made her a top-tier warrior.
This was Umbrella's perfect weapon by its standards, but it was also what Alice most detested.
After she cleared out the zombies here, she had already found a new goal for herself.
"Umbrella!" Muttering the name, she walked out the door. She got on a motorcycle left on the street and sped towards the outskirts of the city.
She knew that with her current strength, she might not be able to pose any threat to Umbrella, but as long as she could leave this cursed place, she believed there would definitely be others with the same goal as her. Once hatred accumulates, it often leads to an endless struggle. Umbrella couldn't always have the upper hand; she firmly believed this.
Watching his perfect weapon try to escape the testing ground prepared for her, Raymond smiled flippantly and instructed his subordinate beside him.
"Prepare to deploy the Trackers. Let's see which of these two top-tier Bio-monsters is stronger and more perfect!"
"Yes, Officer. However, our inside contact at U.B.C.S. sent a message: the missing Target Number Two has appeared, and he seems to be establishing a Sanctuary to protect survivors."
"Zhou Yi?" Raymond asked in confusion, snatching the report his subordinate had just given him. After only two glances, a ferocious arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"So you've been doing these things all along. I wondered why I hadn't found any trace of you. Indeed, no one who reaches this height is not a man-eater. It seems you've been eyeing us all along. But do you think you can live until tomorrow?"
"Deploy Tracker T103. Target locked on Target Number Two and that S.T.A.R.S. female Police Officer. I want to see how long they can play hide-and-seek with us!"
With his command, two planes carrying special vehicles took off from the Umbrella Central building and flew towards the chaotic downtown area.
At this moment, neither Alice, nor Zhou Yi and Jill, knew anything about Umbrella's methods against them. Alice was still on her way to the city's outskirts, while Zhou Yi and his companions were heading towards the city center.
Establishing Sanctuaries, organizing remaining combat personnel. Because Jill had foreseen the cause of this disaster, her words now carried unusual weight, especially with the Police. This was also Zhou Yi's purpose in taking her along.
Umbrella's Chief of Police could no longer be trusted. The information he held showed that he was on Umbrella's side. In this case, Jill, who had nearly been expelled for exposing the truth, became the perfect hero in his mind, the kind that could be artificially created.
After setting up another Sanctuary, Jill, exhausted, sat down next to Zhou Yi.
"Why are you doing this?" She could no longer hold back her confusion and asked Zhou Yi directly.
"Why what?" Zhou Yi, while gripping the steering wheel, sent the location of the newly established Sanctuary to Coulson. He was clearly a little distracted by Jill's question.
"What exactly do you want to do? Why do you want to shape me into a hero? What kind of trick are you really playing!"
"Because you are worthy of it, that's enough."
"Damn it, don't think you can wash yourself clean like this."
"I haven't thought such a thing; you're overthinking it!" Zhou Yi replied calmly. Clearly, he didn't want to waste too many words on this matter.
Jill immediately wanted to retort upon hearing this, but she could only open her mouth, unsure what to say.
Everything Zhou Yi was doing now made her a little confused; sometimes she even felt she didn't know how to evaluate him.
Chaotic thoughts combined with physical exhaustion made her feel a bit dizzy. She was about to close her eyes to rest for a moment, but suddenly felt the World spinning.
That wasn't her own sensation, but their car was truly tumbling. A missile, whose origin was unknown, exploded in front of them. Zhou Yi barely dodged the missile, but the sideways-skidding car was caught by the debris on the ground and began to roll.
A wildly rolling car would inevitably cause great harm to its occupants. But there were always exceptions. Although Jill was thrown around, seeing stars and her vision blurry, she surprisingly felt no pain. She only felt herself being dragged, and when she recovered consciousness, she found herself and Zhou Yi safely outside the car.
"What's going on?" She gritted her teeth, enduring the dizziness, and asked Zhou Yi. She was sure it wasn't Zhou Yi's fault; something must have happened to cause this state.
"Be careful, someone attacked us!" Zhou Yi had already seen the monsters surrounding them. Although he couldn't explicitly point them out to Jill, he could subtly mention it. He believed that with Jill's combat training, she would surely sense the danger around them.
Hearing Zhou Yi's words, Jill subconsciously pulled out her gun. However, when she saw the monsters emerging all around, she began to regret it.
Those enormous creatures looked as grotesque as skinned lizards, their entire bodies covered in bloody, bulging muscles that were terrifying to behold. Their sharp teeth and long, toad-like tongues made them look like poorly assembled rejects. They swiftly climbed walls and floors like geckos, silently, fully embodying the capabilities of a Stalker. And their name was Stalkers.
"Damn it, Umbrella's disgusting Bio-monsters!" Jill cursed under her breath. She looked at her Police handgun; this small-caliber pistol was accurate and convenient, making quick work of zombies. But against these large Bio-monsters, it was insufficient. She didn't even have the confidence to penetrate their muscles.
"We have to find a way to escape. We can't handle these monsters." She leaned her back against Zhou Yi, whispering beside him.
"I'm afraid it's too late to escape!" Zhou Yi pointed in front of him, where a huge figure was slowly emerging from a pile of rubble.
A black military coat with the Umbrella logo, beneath which was a powerful, massive body. The ugly face had obvious artificial divisions, looking grotesque and disgusting. But compared to his repulsive face, the weapons on him were even more terrifying. In his right hand, he carried a huge Gatling gun, and on his back was a shoulder-fired missile launcher. The deterrent power of these weapons, completely unsuitable for normal humans, immediately stunned Jill.
She watched this terrifying humanoid weapon approaching step by step, gnashing her teeth.
"Tyrant, damn Umbrella!"
Zhou Yi looked at the huge figure and silently slipped the dagger at his waist into Jill's hand.
"Find an opportunity to run away. I'll handle this here."
"What are you saying? Damn it, you can't escape!" Jill cursed in a low voice. She didn't believe Zhou Yi could save his life in front of this Bio-monster.
This crazy Capitalist, why was he acting like this now? What was going through his mind? Looking at the man whose face was as calm as Water, Jill's mind was in turmoil.