"Are they intelligent?"
There you go—now digest my ability to speak, a completely coherent sentence, and what I actually said. The main thing now is that they don't dismiss it as an "empty" phrase.
The Foue Eyes's hands trembled, and I heard a quiet, "It speaks and may be intelligent." But if I read her intonation correctly, it would be better for me to fight the hooded one than to fall into this woman's hands. She'd dissect me like a frog!
Um… they seem to have frozen for too long, and I really don't like that they're still aiming in my direction. No, I'm flattered that instead of the Lickers—of whom there are already a hundred in the hall—they consider me the greatest threat, but that assessment is wrong. Even if I can escape on my own (and even then, only from the Lickers), but to stage a massacre here and emerge victorious… no amount of regeneration or luck would be enough for that.
No, if the Lickers attack them, then the mercenaries will have no time for me(I hope), who is inactive. They were the first to raise their voices, and the Lickers are blind, and the monsters would prefer to eat living creatures rather than their own kind. So now I just need to change my position—and do it quietly, in such a way that none of my potential opponents, on either side, can track me down.
There is a downside, though—the Lickers can sense me just as I sense them. At least, I wouldn't rule out that possibility. Still, even the mercenaries' sluggishness can be turned to my advantage, especially now that they've more or less shaken themselves off. After all, that was exactly what I wanted: to throw them off balance.
The jump from one wall to the opposite one was impressive; I covered about six meters in a straight line. No, in the hall with the half-dead special forces soldier I jumped even farther, but that time there had been preparation and acceleration. Here, it was raw execution. Of course, only the performer could truly appreciate such a feint—my "kin" are too stupid for that, and to humans I'm just a monster who is supposedly capable of even worse things.
Flying in a jump over... although, they are on the ceiling, then under two Lickers, clearly aiming for the spot where I had spoken, I managed to slash their defenseless brains (their mutation played a cruel joke on them here), and both carcasses dropped straight onto Beltway. That was the spark that ignited the bacchanalia that followed.
My target—whom I fully intend to devour during this incident—quickly shoved the bodies off his teammate. The mercenaries formed a tight circle, backs to one another, and began moving toward the edge of the platform, intending to descend. Along the way, they shot down the most agile of the Lickers, while I watched and memorized the weaknesses of both the infected and the squad.
This knowledge will be useful in my future life. I already possess information on weapon usage—not yet a skill, merely someone else's memory—but soon I expect to acquire first-class data. But for now, patience. They will not reach the building's exit. I promise myself that!
The Umbrella troops reached the edge fairly quickly, as expected of professionals who had cut through a special forces unit three times their size like children. But then a problem arose. There was no way down, and the platform was about as tall as a person.
They could jump, of course—but that would mean half a second suspended in the air, completely unable to resist, followed by another moment after landing to reenter combat mode. So they couldn't all jump at once, and even with covering fire, anyone descending could still be shot. So Lupo quickly ordered Beltway and Vector (I finally learned my target's callsign) to jump down first and provide cover from below.
The four jumps blended into one.
I note with some bitterness that the Lickers can still sense me—otherwise, I can't explain why one of them broke away from its comrades rushing toward the gunfire, or why it leapt toward me, standing perfectly still. But I was already accelerating, aiming to catch the exact moment when the descending mercenaries were most vulnerable.
Beltway landed heavily, and honestly, I never intended to make his massive body my victim. A frame that large, loaded with gear—and explosives at that—was too much of a risk; I might not have been able to move afterward. Crashing into the lighter Vector, on the other hand, was far more preferable, both tactically and strategically.
So, spreading myself out mid-air and stretching my arms forward, I managed to kick the big guy, twisting his trajectory and forcing him onto his back. He was immediately swarmed by four Lickers—his landing had been loud. At the same time, I slammed straight into his partner. I don't think I inflicted any serious injuries—I heard no bones crunch, and if there was blood, the suit concealed it—but after flying another three meters, my victim and I smashed straight through the scaffolding.
Unfortunately, we were instantly yanked apart by Licker tongues. A significant portion of the pack surged among the scaffolding, while only a smaller part of the total group was drawn toward the gunfire above the podium.
Still, I was almost grateful to the monsters.
After all, with seven tongues wrapped around my torso and arms, I was only being slightly dragged toward the cluster of abominations. Meanwhile, Vector—who had managed to pull out his combat knife—twisted as he landed and nearly stabbed me in the head with it (So who among us is the monster after that?), then literally went flying, wrapped in only five tongues. Even better, he dropped the knife.