thefictionvixens Chapter 23: An Invincible Face and the Persistent Threat
Chapter 23: An Invincible Face and the Persistent Threat
Li En knew that a bio-engineered crocodile was lurking in the waters ahead.
That guy was so big that even a large-caliber Magnum pistol couldn't inflict a fatal wound on him.
It's only possible to kill quickly if all the bombs and shotguns are used.
However, this consumes too much ammunition and time, making it not the optimal solution.
Li En reached out and took a grenade, pulled the safety, taped the pin to delay detonation, and threw it into the middle of the water.
With a splash, the grenade hit the water.
3, 2, 1.
Boom!
Although the water absorbed most of the booming sound of the grenade explosion, it still made the ears of the people in the passage tremble.
Whoosh!
A huge figure emerged from the water.
The bio-engineered giant crocodile opened its massive jaws and lunged at Li En.
The moment he saw the water emerge, Li En had already raised his gun and aimed at the valve of the steam pipe above the passage.
Pull the trigger.
boom!
The Magnum gun spewed fire, and the bullets accurately hit the valve connection.
The valve malfunctioned, and a burst of high-pressure steam shot out with a sharp whistling sound, directly into the crocodile's open mouth.
The high-temperature steam instantly scorched its palate, throat, and inner eyelids.
"Aww!!"
The bio-engineered giant crocodile let out a deafening scream, its massive body tumbling in the water, stirring up huge splashes.
Li En raised his gun again, aimed at its eye, and pulled the trigger.
boom!
The bio-engineered giant crocodile's rolling motion gradually weakened.
About a minute later, the water surface returned to calm, with only steam still leaking out and making a sharp whistling sound.
"keep going."
Li En casually picked up a stone and threw it at the crocodile. Only after confirming that the crocodile did he speak.
Claire led Sherry out and immediately spotted the bio-engineered giant crocodile with half its body protruding from the water.
She quickly pulled Shirley aside and said in surprise:
"Leon, you killed that thing in less than two minutes?"
Just by looking at its body emerging from the water, one could tell how enormous it was.
But from the moment they hide until the battle ends, it might take less than two minutes.
She looked at Li En's broad back as he led the way ahead, and quietly followed behind.
As Li En spoke, he said, "Things become simpler if we know the information in advance."
"Oh." Claire was once again awestruck by the enormous body of the crocodile as she led Sherry past it.
Even if you gave her the information, it wouldn't be so easy to kill this thing.
Even if you just stand there and let her kill you, she wouldn't know how to do it.
She quickly grabbed Shirley's hand and quickened her pace to catch up with Lee Eun, not wanting to linger for even a second longer.
The group soon arrived at a fork in the road blocked by an iron gate.
The control lever for this gate is on the other side.
Li En holstered his pistol and said softly, "Be careful, you guys hide in the hollow."
He then took down a high-explosive bomb, used tape to attach it to the rusted and aged hinge of the gate, and took out a wire to loop around the pull ring of the high-explosive bomb.
He stepped back behind the recessed wall opposite Claire and said to the two people on the other side:
Cover your ears.
Seeing Claire and Sherry cover their ears, Lee suddenly yanked them away.
Boom!
The left hinge of the gate was blown off, and the entire gate tilted to one side, leaving a gap large enough for a single person to pass through.
After waiting a moment, Li En peeked out and saw that the room was covered in dust, but the door was already open.
"Let's go."
He led the way toward the cable car station platform.
After exiting the sewer, the three of them quickly arrived at the platform.
"Why is there a train platform here?" Claire asked again in surprise.
She had never heard of any sewer system connecting to a platform; Raccoon City had something like that.
"I obtained all this information from the director."
Li En walked to the control panel, reached out and entered the access code, and continued speaking to the two people behind him.
"This is the way to where Shirley's mother is."
He reached out and entered M0311, the default password set by Annette, and the panel lit up with a green "permit".
"Mom...?" Shirley asked Lee En hesitantly.
Li En's hand, which was about to press the start button, hovered in mid-air.
If the Tyrant or G-Williams track the cable car after you arrive at the Mother Nest, they can simply take the next one to catch up.
He turned to the two of them and said, "You two get in the car first."
His gaze shifted to Shirley, and he spoke gently, "That's right, we'll be able to see your mother soon."
Seeing Li En's invincible expression, Claire and Sherry had no doubts and immediately turned around and got into the car.
Li En continued operating the console and quickly found the option to restore factory settings.
He reached out and pressed the start button, then quickly selected an option, swiped his access card to lock the control system, turned around and sped onto the cable car.
Currently, this cable car is the only service that can take you to the Mother Nest from this side.
Any tracker would have to manually climb over the cable car tracks.
They gained a 15-20 minute window of opportunity.
After a 5-minute ride, the cable car stops at the B1 connection area of the mother nest.
The B1 area of the motherhouse is the cargo movement line and employee passage.
Li En glanced at the area map on the wall; it still felt as familiar as home.
He led two people toward the B3 level, where the main control room was located.
bang bang.
There were quite a few zombie researchers on the road.
Lee En took them down one by one with his dagger, while Claire shielded Sherry behind her without making a sound.
The two women watched as Li En silently approached the zombie, then plunged the dagger into its temple and flipped the blade.
The movements were clean and efficient, without making a loud noise.
Even Claire wondered if such a person could really be an ordinary police officer?
She clearly remembered that when they were in the car, Leon said he was a new recruit reporting to the Raccoon City Police Department!
That's way too strong, okay?
However, the presence of the giant crocodile and their actions along the way did give Claire and Sherry a great sense of security.
The two quickly followed Li En and continued forward.
We arrived at the main control room quickly.
This is the communication hub of the entire mother nest.
Li En walked directly to the broadcast system that covered the entire facility, and after confirming that the equipment was working properly, pressed the call button.
"Dr. Annette Birkin, this is FBI Agent Leon Kennedy."
"Listen carefully, your husband William has lost his mind."
"Your daughter, Shirley Birkin, is currently in the main control room of the Beast Nest, under my protection."
His tone was very calm, as if he were giving a report.
He picked up Shirley, his right hand still pressing the call button, and said softly:
"Shirley, talk to your mother, she can definitely hear the broadcast."
Claire quickly stepped forward, picked up the communicator, and held it to Sherry's lips.
Shirley pouted into the microphone, looking somewhat aggrieved, and said:
"Mom, it's me... Shirley."
"I'm with my sister Claire and my brother Leon."
"They gave me a shot, and I didn't feel any pain."
"Where are you? Please come quickly... I'm waiting for you."
Lee En nodded, gently placed Sherry on the ground, and picked up the microphone.
"Annette, you heard me. I'll be waiting for you in the main control room for 30 minutes. After that, whether you show up or not, I'll take Sherry and leave the Mother Nest."
"Sherry needs a real G-virus vaccine, and you are the only one who can make it."
"Bring all the vaccines, and enough complete samples and data of the G virus."
"If you want your daughter to have a future, this is your only chance."
"Come to the control room right now."
Li Ensong released the call button, turned around and whispered to Claire:
"If she comes, don't say a word the whole time."
"She has a history of conflict with you, but at this moment, she only has eyes for her daughter."
"With her emotions stable, our evacuation speed can be more stable."
He looked directly into Claire's eyes and said solemnly:
"Everything will be explained after we leave."
Claire instinctively thought of her brother Chris, but when she met Lee En's eyes, she nodded.
Li En glanced at the system clock on the console.
Annette Birkin's journey from the lab to the main control room, including walking through the B3 corridor and passing through three airtight doors, would conservatively take ten minutes.
You can't just sit there and wait for these ten minutes.
He led Claire and Sherry into the soundproof lounge to the right of the control panel.
It was a small room partitioned off with double-glazed explosion-proof glass, and the door frame was sealed with acoustic strips. Inside, there was a folding bed and two metal chairs fixed to the floor.
Claire stood by the door for a few seconds, making sure the pistol safety was off, then pulled the door shut, leaving only a crack.
Shirley sat on the folding bed with her legs dangling over the edge and her heels lightly touching the bed frame.
Li En began to walk around and observe the overall space of the control room.
As he walked toward the glass door, he noticed the thickness of the door panel; as he walked toward the electrical box, he swept his eyes across the sprinkler pipes on the ceiling.
The control room ceiling is about four meters high, and the two rows of fire sprinkler pipes are painted dark red.
A set of electrical distribution boxes stood in the corner, with the door half open.
Li En said to the two of them:
"Claire, keep an eye on things. I'm going to the nearest lab to pick up something. I'll be right back."
"Be careful, Leon." Claire gripped her gun firmly and stepped back into the doorway.
Li En walked into the east corridor.
The nearest laboratory, numbered B3-L07, is only fifty meters away from the control room.
As he pushed open the fire door to the corridor, the light and shadows drew a boundary on the wall, and he swept his flashlight across the laboratory.
The two metal medicine cabinets still stand in their original places, each with a palm print running from the inside out on the glass door, now dried to a dark brown.
Two zombies dressed in researcher's suits slowly wandered down the aisle of the experimental table.
He gripped the dagger, turned the doorknob, and walked over quietly.
When you are two body lengths behind the first zombie, accelerate, press your left hand on the back of your head, thrust the tip of the knife horizontally into your temple, flip your wrist, and pull it out.
Before the second zombie could even turn around completely after hearing the noise, Li En had already circled around to its side.
The same motion: insert the knife, flip it, and withdraw it.
He rubbed the dagger against the back of the other man's white coat twice, then pulled it back into his leg belt.
The lock on the medicine cabinet was rusted shut; I just pulled it open.
Six bottles of high-concentration industrial alcohol were stacked on top, and the aluminum foil sealing the glass bottle openings was still intact.
The lower layer contained several bottles of medicine with highly corrosive labels and yellow hazard signs.
He took the bottles out one by one, and then casually picked up a folding ladder from the corner of the wall.
Back in the control room, he placed the ladder in the center of the corridor outside the glass door.
When you step on it, your fingertips just touch the metal keel of the ceiling.
He used tape to tie the alcohol bottles and corrosive medicine bottles to the keel in three groups.
The bottle opening is tilted completely downwards, causing the liquid to splash out in a fan-shaped area upon triggering.
Finally, the remaining plastic explosive and remote-controlled fuse from the tactical vest were also attached.
This trap is left for anything that might come after it.
He walked back to the control room, sat down three meters from the door, and began to inspect the weapons one by one.
Magnum's revolver chambers were ejected, and all five chambers were full.
Push the magazine tube of the shotgun once to confirm the number of rounds loaded.
He hung his gear back on his tactical vest and looked up to see Claire in the soundproof room, unloading and checking her pistol magazine.
Footsteps could be heard in the distance down the corridor.
The pace was rapid, and the soles of the shoes slapped the ground very lightly.
The three of them looked at the glass door on the north side at the same time.
A woman with short blonde hair rushed into the control room.
The hem of the white researcher's coat was stained with a dark stain, and several layers of bandages were wrapped around the left shoulder, with the blood seeping through the gauze and forming a thin brown crust on the surface.
Her face was so pale that there was almost no color in the corners of her lips, but she still walked quickly, her right hand gripping the briefcase.
Annette Birkin ran towards the soundproof lounge as soon as he entered.
"Shirley." The moment she called out her name, her voice cracked.
"Mom!" Shirley ran out of the lounge.
Annette wrapped her right arm around her, rested her chin on her daughter's head, and released the combination lock with her left hand.
The box fell to the floor with a dull thud.
A moment later, Annette raised her head and turned to Lee.
Her voice is complex, with a hoarse, tearing tone at the end of each syllable.
"You took advantage of my daughter."
Li En did not refute her, but took a few steps toward her and stopped at a distance that was not oppressive.
"I'm contacting you in the safest way possible, and you would do the same if you were in my position."
"Now, Doctor, we don't have much time."
Annette glanced at him for two seconds, then looked away and focused her gaze on the combination lock.
Li En bent down, picked up the box, and handed it to her.
She took it and typed the password on the numeric keypad.
When the air lock pops open, a blast of cold air comes out as the lid is opened, revealing six sealed glass tubes embedded in shock-absorbing foam grooves.
Three G virus stock samples and three pale blue vaccine vials.
She took out one of the viral samples and one of the vaccines and turned to Shirley.
"Honey, you'll get better soon."
Shirley nodded and rolled up her sleeves.
The moment the needle pierced her, her shoulder jerked.
Li En walked over, picked up the briefcase, went to Claire, and took out a light blue vaccine.
"Should we get a shot?"
"Hmm?" Claire's gaze was somewhat puzzled.
"You've been in contact with quite a few zombies, so you've been infected to some extent."
Li En offered an explanation.
Claire's throat bobbed.
After separating from Lee Eun, she faced more than one wave of infected people on her own.
She immediately took the vaccine and stabbed herself in the arm.
After wiping away the blue liquid, she threw the syringe into the medical waste bin next to her and then turned back.
Aren't you going to hit him?
Claire asked with some concern.
Compared to the zombies Li En had encountered, hers was nothing.
In terms of the probability of infection, Lee Eun's is definitely much higher.
Li En is considering this matter.
Will getting vaccinated in advance improve my customs clearance rating?
thump.
A heavy footstep echoed from the corridor outside the control room, causing the ground to tremble.
Boom, boom.
Li En immediately said, "You guys go to the soundproof room right away."
Claire stepped forward and took Sherry's hand, with Annette following behind them.
As Annette reached the door of the soundproof room, she turned back and called out in Li En's direction.
The sound was partially blocked by the glass door, but the tension in the tone did not diminish.
"Be careful, that thing is terrifying!"
……