Over ten minutes later.
To avoid attracting the attention of... certain things that shouldn't be disturbed by gunfire.
Li Wei simply swung his axe and split the zombie lunging at him clean in half.
Maybe it was because he'd hacked down twenty or thirty of them by now, but he'd clearly grown. When engaging in close combat, he was no longer the clumsy office worker with shaky hands and a panicked heart. He had much better control over his strength and the precision of his strikes.
At the very least, he no longer ended up gasping for breath after just two swings.
Nor did he end up hitting the zombie's shoulder when he'd been aiming for its skull.
Bit by bit, he was shedding the flabby shell of a nearly forty-year-old corporate drone and transforming into a competent warrior.
And truthfully, he wasn't the only one undergoing this transformation.
After experiencing true life-and-death danger—and realizing that such threats would likely be a regular part of their future—most of the Purgators present, aside from the few hopeless cases, were doing their best to adapt. They were adjusting their mindset, working to keep up with the pace of this world.
Doing whatever they could to survive a little better inside the matrix purgatory.
After stowing away his axe, Li Wei looked toward a structure coming into view up ahead. With a delighted expression, he said to the others, "There's a church up ahead. Looks quiet. We can take a break inside."
At his words, the other Purgators all turned toward the church and nodded in agreement.
It seemed everyone was on board with Li Wei's suggestion.
Even Leon, Jill, and the other four police officers—though somewhat confused by the need to rest after barely half an hour of activity—didn't object. After all, Raccoon City was basically a zombie nest now.
Every step was a gamble.
At any moment, something could leap out from the shadows.
The psychological pressure was immense.
Taking a short break to catch their breath and relax wasn't such a bad idea.
Li Wei's expression turned smug.
After all, this group of Purgators knew the plot of the Resident Evil movie adaptation.
That church ahead? It was where the protagonist—Alice—first appeared in the film.
Compared to them, mere ordinary humans, Alice—an enhanced product of the T-Virus—was an absolute monster in combat.
Even if she couldn't use her later-stage telekinesis yet, her physical prowess alone was on par with a nerfed Captain America. She could cut zombies down like she was slicing vegetables.
Even terrifying creatures like Lickers? She could take on several of them by herself.
Her solo combat ability probably outclassed their entire squad.
So despite the fact that getting close to Alice might put them on Umbrella Corporation's radar, they had deliberately made their way here.
Without her help, they might not even make it out of this hellhole called Raccoon City.
Of course, it also helped that she was hot, had good temper, and serious skills.
All major points in her favor.
---
As they approached the church doors, Li Wei—fully aware that Lickers were inside—signaled for everyone to ready their weapons and prepare for the worst.
He took a deep breath...
And pushed the doors open.
What greeted them was a wall of nauseating stench—like someone had turned the place into a slaughterhouse.
Everyone tensed up instantly.
This kind of smell meant one thing: a lot of monsters inside.
Then the scene inside the church came into full view.
"Hiss..."
Chunks of flesh were splattered all over the floor and walls, as if someone had flung tomato sauce everywhere.
The pews, once neat rows for worshippers, now looked like they'd been crushed by a convoy of trucks—completely destroyed.
And the Lickers the Purgators had been worried about?
Most of them had been smashed into pulp or torn into scraps. The only things left were some claws scattered about, barely proof they ever existed.
The few with their bodies still mostly intact now looked like dead dogs—some were smashed into the walls, others were missing their heads entirely.
All of them were stone-cold dead—brutally so.
And the one responsible for all this carnage was now standing silently at the front of the church, beneath a massive cross.
That towering frame, that muscular build, the icy expression, the gleaming bald head under the flickering candlelight, and the tight, albeit slightly damaged, leather coat...
All of it made the identity of the figure crystal clear.
One of the most iconic monsters in the Resident Evil franchise: the Bio-Weapon—Tyrant.
This was a creature that could literally tear tanks apart with its bare hands.
Compared to him, Lickers were like poodles facing off against Mike Tyson.
He could one-punch them into oblivion.
The carnage in the church was all the proof needed.
And right now...
There were two of these things in the church.
As soon as the doors opened, the two Tyrants—previously in standby mode—turned and locked eyes with Li Wei and the others.
For a brief moment, they exchanged a soul-piercing stare.
The atmosphere instantly froze over.
Li Wei's face turned grim, shame creeping into his heart.
He gave a solemn nod and said, "Sorry to bother you."
Then, without another word, he slowly closed the half-open door...
And bolted.
The others followed without hesitation.
Because honestly, none of them could handle these two monsters.
Their rifles and handguns? Might as well be acupuncture needles.
Li Wei couldn't help but regret all those wasted years in an office chair—back in high school, he'd been the city's sprinting champion.
But they hadn't even made it far—
BANG!
With a deafening crash, the massive church doors—solid wood, over five centimeters thick and nearly three and a half meters tall—were obliterated.
The two Tyrants had simply barreled through them, reducing them to splinters and dust.
A nerdy Purgator, hearing the noise, immediately felt his heart sink. "Holy crap... what now..."
He'd played the games. He knew exactly what Tyrants were.
There was no way a regular human could outrun them. These monsters could cover four or five meters in a single stride. Even if you were possessed by Usain Bolt himself, it wouldn't help.
The only way to fight back was with overwhelming firepower.
Which they didn't have.
So they couldn't win.
And they couldn't run.
Sure enough, one of the Tyrants quickly caught up to the slowest guy in the group in just a few strides.
With a casual swipe, the Tyrant slapped the man's head like a watermelon.
POP!
His skull exploded in an instant, sending fragments of bone flying, one of which embedded itself into a decorative plant nearby.
Even Leon and the others—who until now hadn't quite understood why Li Wei's group was so terrified—were now running for their lives in sheer panic.
They opened fire wildly as they fled, trying to buy time.
But it was useless.
The Tyrants didn't even flinch. They barely bothered to raise a hand to protect their heads.
Two full magazines were emptied into them—and they didn't even try to dodge.
As Jill was about to be caught, Huang Liu—running at the front—saw the opportunity.
One of the Tyrants had moved its arm away from its face to grab at Jill.
Without hesitation, Huang Liu spun around and launched a rifle grenade.
BOOM!
The shot landed squarely on the Tyrant's iron-hard skull.
The monster staggered.
Sensing his chance, Huang Liu switched his rifle from grenade mode back to standard, aimed at the Tyrant's head, and unleashed a flurry of precise shots.
Over a dozen 7.62mm rounds drilled straight through its eye socket.
The Tyrant's brain matter turned into mush.
Still in its initial state, the bio-weapon was put down by Huang Liu in a matter of seconds.
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T/N:
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