The moment Lear and Jill stepped into the West Corridor, a faint scent of blood drifted into their nostrils. They exchanged a look, and both saw the same grim expression in each other's eyes; things were far more troublesome than anticipated.
They raised their weapons, moving in a tactical formation with one leading and one covering. Keeping their footsteps light, they advanced slowly toward the corridor outside the Operations Room.
Halfway there, Jill, who was in the lead, suddenly came to a halt.
"You guys didn't board up the windows when you were preparing?" She didn't turn around, her voice kept extremely low, her eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Of course we did," Lear replied, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Marvin and I personally led the team to seal them with thick planks and iron nails. Chief Raymond even inspected it himself afterward. Why do you ask?"
"Then that means," Jill slowly stepped aside to let Lear see the scene ahead, her tone darkening, "whatever they saw before, the creature is already inside. And it's strong—strong enough to smash right through those boards."
At the end of the corridor, a window had been completely torn open. Half of the frame was twisted inward and deformed, and jagged shards of glass hung from the edges like sawteeth, glinting coldly under the dim lights.
Lear's gaze suddenly tightened, and his heart sank to the pit of his stomach—a Licker was inside.
As one of Umbrella's most successful bio-organic weapons, these monsters lacked sight but possessed exceptionally developed hearing and smell. Their skin had completely sloughed off, leaving brain and muscle tissue exposed. They had incredible climbing abilities, allowing them to move freely across walls and ceilings. Most dangerous of all were their pair of razor-sharp claws and a tongue capable of piercing through prey.
Just as Lear was about to step forward to investigate, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the Records Room beside them, followed immediately by the piercing roar of a monster. The two sounds intertwined, sounding exceptionally terrifying in the silence of the Police Station.
Without a moment's hesitation, Lear and Jill both kicked out simultaneously, slamming their boots into the wooden door of the Records Room.
Bang!
The door swung open under the impact, and the two of them rushed in with their guns leveled.
Within their line of sight, a Licker was arched over in its deformed posture, its sharp claws pinning down a man in a police uniform, foul-smelling drool dripping from its exposed maw. The man's police uniform was torn open, his body covered in bloody gashes as he struggled in agony. Beside him, a woman had collapsed to the floor in terror, her hands covering her mouth and her whole body trembling; the scream from moments ago must have been hers.
The thunderous sound of the door being kicked open instantly drew the Licker's attention. It lunged away from the man, its exposed brain swiveling toward the doorway as it locked onto the intruders. With a sudden roar, it scrambled on all fours, pouncing toward Lear.
Lear didn't hesitate for a second, immediately pulling the trigger in a rapid-fire burst. Lickers were quintessential "glass cannons"—high attack power and speed, but low health—and that exposed brain was a fatal weakness. Its charge played right into Lear's hands. Bullets whistled through the air; though the monster was exceptionally agile and managed to dodge several shots with its speed, at least three rounds struck its head with precision. It jerked violently in mid-air, as if struck by a massive boulder, before its body skidded to one side. Its four limbs twitched and kicked at the air for a few moments before it went still.
Lear stepped quickly over to the fallen officer, but the man was already down to his last breath. He gripped Lear's hand weakly, his voice a mere thread: "Go... to the conference room... David and the others... are there..." Before he could finish, his arm suddenly slumped, and the life left him entirely.
Jill, meanwhile, had walked over to check on the woman slumped on the floor. After a moment, she turned to Lear. "She's alright, just in shock. How is he?"
Lear shook his head, his expression grim and his tone urgent. "We have to get to the Operations Room. David and the others are still there." With that, he took the lead and stepped out of the Records Room.
Jill didn't hesitate for a second, following immediately. Before stepping out, she turned to the woman and instructed, "Lock the door and stay here until we get back."
As the two of them left the Records Room, Lear lowered his voice to Jill. "The weakness of those things should be their heads. Plus, they seem to be blind. We'll sneak our way over."
Jill nodded. Maintaining a high state of alert, they moved one after the other, advancing slowly toward the Operations Room while remaining almost entirely silent.
Just as they entered the corridor outside the meeting room, they encountered two Lickers. They were swinging their massive claws, frantically smashing and clawing at a wooden door. The thick panels were already riddled with deep gashes, and wood chips were constantly peeling away. However, because the two had approached stealthily, the Lickers did not hear them.
Jill took the lead and fired. Unfortunately, the light in the corridor was dim, and with the Lickers' clawing movements, her shot missed its mark, hitting one in the shoulder and causing it to stumble off balance.
The other Licker was instantly startled by the gunfire. It immediately stopped battering the door and whirled its body around, lunging fiercely at the two of them.
Just as Lear was about to fire, Jill suddenly ducked to avoid the Licker's pounce and followed up with a heavy kick to the monster's side, sending it crashing into the wall. Before it could react, she swiftly grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall and slammed it down hard onto the Licker's exposed brain, instantly crushing everything above its neck into a pulp.
Lear watched her performance, completely stunned. My god, she's a literal biohazard war goddess!
At that moment, the Licker Jill had previously shot in the shoulder scrambled back up, snarling as it pounced toward her. Mimicking Lear's earlier tactic, Jill fired several shots in rapid succession the moment the monster leaped into the air, shattering its skull instantly.
So brave. If I were you, and I saw a woman kick my colleague across the room and then swing a fire extinguisher to turn his brains into jam... I'd just run. Lear felt a surge of respect for the fallen Licker.
After finishing off the two Lickers, the pair approached and knocked on the door of the Operations Intelligence Room.
"Who is it? Lieutenant Marvin?" a cautious voice called out from inside.
"It's me, Lear. David? Are you okay?"
"Lear? Thank God, it's one of us! Quick, move the stuff!"
The sound of shifting furniture immediately echoed from behind the door. A moment later, the door opened, and David Ford emerged first with several officers. Their guns were still raised, clearly maintaining a high state of readiness. Only after seeing it was Lear did the group finally lower their weapons.
"It's good to see a friendly face. Officer Jill, it's been a while," David said, stepping forward to pat Lear on the shoulder.
"Good to see you too, David. But we have to get back to the Main Hall now. It's not safe here; there's no telling how many more of those monsters are out there. But where is everyone else?" Lear's gaze swept the room. Including David, there were only five or six officers and fewer than ten civilians. His brow furrowed.
David's expression darkened as he lowered his head, his voice heavy. "This is all that's left of us. They..."
"Don't think about that now," Lear said, realizing the truth as he saw David look away. "The West Wing is no longer safe. Let's get back to the Main Hall first."
David nodded solemnly and said no more, leading the group as they began to move together toward the Main Hall.
(Translated by yourtl.app)