A few minutes later…
Umbrella's commander was watching the surveillance feed with a smug grin as Alice and her team were being brutalized by the Tyrants and Nesis.
Suddenly, an anxious security officer burst into the tent and reported breathlessly:
"Sir! A monster just burst out of Dr. William Birkin's tent!
We shot at it several tis, but it still managed to escape!"
"Monster?"
The commander stood up in surprise.
After a mont of thought, a possibility ca to mind.
He quickly led his team toward William's tent.
There, amid the wreckage of smashed equipnt, they found a broken syringe bearing the unmistakable symbol: [G].
Using tweezers, the commander picked up the glass shard and examined it closely.
He imdiately recalled a proposal William had once submitted to the Umbrella executives.
"Could it be… did he actually succeed?"
Years ago, William had submitted a request to start a new virus project—one completely separate from the T-Virus.
He called it the G-Virus.
Unlike the T-Virus, which emphasized infection and mass destruction, the G-Virus focused on enhancing the strength and survivability of the individual.
At the ti, Umbrella's executives believed William, while talented, wasn't capable of managing two complex virus projects simultaneously.
They shelved the G-Virus proposal, choosing to prioritize full developnt of the T-Virus instead.
But now… it seems William never gave up.
Of course, this didn't surprise the commander much.
These mad scientists were notoriously stubborn—if they actually gave up just because soone told them to, that would be the real surprise.
What did surprise him, however, was the fact that William had made real progress.
"A completed prototype?"
The commander shook his head.
No, it was likely just a semi-finished version of the G-Virus. If William had a working, fully completed strain, there was no way he would've kept it hidden—after all, research without payoff was aningless.
He carefully placed the glass fragnt into a plastic evidence bag and handed it to his aide.
"Have this analyzed. See what residue is left on it. Also, start a sweep of the area. I want William Birkin found—and quickly!"
"Yes, sir!"
The aide took the sample and hurried out.
The commander lingered a mont, then decided this was worth reporting.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
When the call connected, he said,
"Dr. Isaacs, I have sothing to report."
A calm, deep voice responded from the other end,
"Speak. I'm listening."
The commander laid out the situation with the G-Virus.
After a short silence, Dr. Alexander Isaacs replied,
"Capture William Birkin alive if possible. Even if the G-Virus isn't complete, having a live specin ans there's still a chance to finish it."
"Understood. I'll make it happen," the commander answered.
—
"Damn…"
Li Wei lay on the ground, coughing up blood, his eyes staring helplessly at the night sky.
Next to him, another Purgator clutched a bloody hole in his side, his face twisted in pain.
"Fuck this 'beginner world'!"
"Zombies and Lickers are one thing, but Four Tyrants?! And a freakin' Nesis?!, This is straight-up abuse!. They said this was a starter mission—starter my ass!"
With that final outburst of rage, the Purgator exhaled his last breath, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
Li Wei, watching all this, felt the sorrow hit him like a wave.
"Screw you, Matrix Purgatory…"
At this point, only three Purgators were left alive: Li Wei, Huang Liu, and Draco.
They weren't even through the first day of the supposed "seven-day survival mission."
"This mission's way too hard…"
Tears welled up in Li Wei's eyes, sliding down his cheeks.
Then, not far away—
Boom!
A massive explosion lit up the sky, sending a shockwave that shattered windows up and down the street.
"Did it work…?"
Li Wei looked up, hope flickering in his eyes.
It was the gas station.
After discovering that their weapons were nearly useless against the Tyrants and Nesis, Alice had co up with a plan: lure the enemies to the nearest gas station and use the fuel reserves to blow them sky-high.
But getting them there had co at a steep cost.
Even Carlos Oliveira, one of the main characters, had died after getting cornered and torn apart by two Tyrants.
Sure, Carlos died in the main story too—but seeing a comrade die right in front of him, soone who'd fought side by side with him…
Li Wei felt like he'd swallowed glass and couldn't spit it out.
Frustration and grief twisted inside him.
A few minutes later, a small group of survivors limped toward them from the gas station.
Even Alice, with her enhanced body from the T-Virus, was covered in gri and blood, limping with obvious pain.
They looked utterly wrecked.
Alice walked over to Li Wei, glanced at the dead Purgator beside him.
Huang Liu stepped forward, gently closing the man's eyes before silently lying down beside him, breathing heavily.
He turned his head and asked Draco,
"I've never been on a real battlefield before. How does today compare?"
Draco slumped down against a wall and snapped,
"You don't ask a man that question without offering him a smoke. That's just common sense."
Huang Liu said nothing.
Li Wei reached into his pocket and handed Draco a cigarette.
Draco took it, sniffed it, and grimaced.
"Ugh. I prefer Cuban cigars."
Li Wei snapped back,
"Quit whining and answer the damn question."
Click.
Draco lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and said slowly:
"This shithole's way worse than Iraq or Afghanistan. At least there, bullets worked. Here? I emptied two mags, and the bastard didn't even blink."
Huang Liu chuckled,
"Yeah, sa."
He reached into Li Wei's pocket, pulled out a cigarette for himself, and lit up.
A few ters away, Leon and Chris watched them exhale puffs of smoke.
They imdiately trotted over, eyes gleaming.
"Bro, hook us up with a couple!"
Li Wei glanced at his dwindling pack, sighed, took one for himself, and handed the rest over.
Leon: "So good…"
Chris: "Man, what I wouldn't give for a dium-rare tomahawk steak right now…"
Leon: "Nah, steak's better well-done."
Chris: "Shut up! dium-rare or bust!"
Not far away, Alice and the other won exchanged weary glances and sat down wordlessly. They were all wounded.
In fact, aside from Sherry Birkin, everyone present was seriously injured.
And soon, they'd have to escort the girl to the location her father had given them—where a helicopter was supposedly waiting to extract them.
___
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A huge thank you to Sevrion for joining my Patreon and supporting the journey! Your support ans a lot and helps keep the chapters coming faster. Welco to the VIP club! 🙌✨
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