"We're leaving," Li Yexing said to Chris, grabbing Lilith's hand.
"Why? We can take it out here!" Chris asked, confused.
"Trust me, move now," Li Yexing said, shaking his head. He pulled Lilith with one hand, grabbed Chris with the other, and they dove into an alley.
"Why?"
In the alley, Chris shook off Li Yexing's grip, his face a mix of confusion and anger, demanding an explanation.
"Just watch," Li Yexing said, not explaining. He pointed to the battlefield, his expression dark.
Chris might not know, but Li Yexing did. In every Resident Evil game, bosses like this had multiple phases. Armored was phase one, shirtless was phase two, grotesque organ growth was phase three—some, like William, had five. This souped-up Nemesis wouldn't go down in one hit. The soldiers outside were screwed when phase two hit.
A piercing screech came from the street. The local tank fired, the explosion sending a fireball skyward. The Nemesis's black exoskeleton shattered, and it knelt, motionless.
"Cease fire!" the officer shouted. The barrage stopped. Craters surrounded the Nemesis, smoking, still.
A soldier crept forward, fired two shots—no response. He took a deep breath, approached, and smashed his rifle butt against its head. Still nothing.
He signaled safety to the officer.
"OHHHHHHHHHH~~~~~~~~!!"
The street erupted in cheers. The officer sighed, reporting via radio. The bold soldier posed by the Nemesis, gun slung, joking as a buddy snapped photos.
Chris glanced at Li Yexing, who stared wide-eyed at the fallen Nemesis.
The army prepped to clear the site. The soldier checked his photos, laughing, ready to leave. Then, a strange noise came from behind.
A red tendril shot from the Nemesis's torn exoskeleton, piercing the soldier's abdomen. He screamed, staring at the bloody tendril.
The battlefield froze.
Li Yexing patted Chris's shoulder. "Time to run."
…
The bloody tendril hoisted the soldier, then flung him. The exoskeleton's back split, white gas hissing out. Tendrils tore it open, and a figure emerged, like a butterfly from a cocoon.
Still massive but less bulky without the exoskeleton, the Nemesis had metal plates shielding its chest and ribs, linked by black straps. Tendrils retracted and extended from its back, eerie.
"Fire! Fire!" the officer screamed. The unarmored Nemesis charged an armored vehicle, a tendril piercing the officer's head. Bullets pocked its body, heavy machine guns severing tendrils that writhed on the ground. It ignored them, rushing the tank. Grabbing the barrel, dozens of tendrils wrapped its arms. With a roar, it bent the barrel. RPGs and grenades fired; it wove tendrils into a shield, blocking them, then grabbed a rocket midair, hurling it like a grenade at a sniper's perch. The building exploded, debris burying soldiers and gunners below.
It could've slaughtered everyone, but its system flagged the target—"T-Lilith"—moving away. Prioritizing her recovery, it ignored the gunfire, returned to its exoskeleton, reattached the Gatling gun, and hefted the ammo crate.
"T-Lilith—!!"
With a roar, it leapt out of the army's range, chasing Lilith.
…
"Unbelievable…" Chris panted, running behind Li Yexing. "That thing's got those abilities? Can't these damn things die?"
"Honestly, you finding this unbelievable is unbelievable. Don't you deal with these daily?" Li Yexing said.
"No way. From Raccoon City to now, this is the worst BOW I've seen," Chris said. "My partner surviving one of these? Unreal."
"You mean Jill?" Li Yexing asked.
"You know her too?" Chris said, shocked.
"BSAA's golden duo, I know all about it," Li Yexing said. "But don't be shocked. The Nemesis in Raccoon City wasn't this bad. Seven years later, BOW-making groups have new tricks."
He knows Jill and Raccoon City details? Chris was stunned. But if he knew about Wesker, Jill wasn't surprising.
Who was this third-rate merc? Ex-Umbrella? He looked barely twenty—seven years ago, a teen. Ridiculous. Sure, Umbrella had a preteen genius researcher, but Li Yexing wasn't that. BSAA's file said he was just a dramatic merc. Fake file? Secret organization? Why spill everything to Chris?
Chris's mind spiraled with wild theories.
Li Yexing, oblivious, focused on escaping. The slimmed-down Nemesis wasn't stopped by alleys anymore. No options left.
Dead end.
Then, someone darted from an alley corner. Li Yexing looked—Norman, of all people!
He raised his gun, but Norman didn't fire, waving sneakily. As Li Yexing hesitated, another figure appeared, waving urgently—Kelly!
The duo gestured wildly. Li Yexing, baffled, pointed his gun at Norman. Norman raised his hands, backing off with Kelly. Li Yexing led his group into the alley.
"What are you two doing?" Li Yexing demanded.
"Two failed missions. I can't go back," Norman said seriously. "I know too much. They'd kill me. So, I'm defecting. I want BSAA. If not, I'll merc in Roples to survive."
What's with this guy?
Li Yexing turned to Kelly, glaring.
"You sold me and Lilith out. Now we're chased by your group's monster. How dare you show up? You betrayed her trust. Give me a reason not to blow your head off."
"Don't say that… I gave BSAA her info for her sake," Kelly said, seeing Lilith's disappointed eyes. "The tracker? My gear got hacked. They accessed her program. I only learned this after meeting Norman."
"You're our informant?" Chris said, stunned.
"Informant or not, I don't buy your crap," Li Yexing said.
"Fine, I knew I couldn't explain this," Kelly said. "But I'm here to remove her tracker."
"Where is it?" Li Yexing asked.
"Chest," Kelly replied. "Needs a small surgery."
"Bullshit!" Li Yexing snapped. "No medical gear here, and you want to cut her open in the open?"
"It's simple. Just a cut to remove it," Norman said. "T-Lilith isn't fragile. That wound will heal fast, no stitches."
Li Yexing wanted to argue, but Lilith stopped him, shaking her head. She turned to Kelly. "Do it. No time to waste."
The surgery began. Li Yexing watched Kelly carefully cut into Lilith's chest. He lunged forward, but Chris held him back.
"Trust her," Chris said.