"Hiss—!!!"
While Javier was still contemplating whether to give birth to a superhero in the world of Resident Evil, the two mutated spiders in front of him suddenly let out a shriek. Like a cobra, they shot a glob of viscous yellow liquid directly at the trio.
Javier was startled and quickly lit the rag on the Molotov cocktail, immediately throwing it.
"Venom Spray? Are you Pokémon or something?"
"Then try my Flamethrower...!"
The grimy Molotov cocktail sailed through the air. Just as it was about to hit the two mutated spiders, Javier spun the Desert Eagle in his hand, gripping the silver pistol firmly. He pulled the trigger, and a deafening shot rang out!
"Click."
"Bang... Boom—!!!"
The magnum handgun was incredibly powerful. The .50 caliber bullet created a massive sonic boom in the air. Accompanied by a flash of orange flame, a thumb-sized bullet shot out, precisely hitting the bottle of the Molotov cocktail. Instantly, glass shattered everywhere. The powerful cavitation effect caused by the bullet made the gasoline inside expand and erupt, igniting as it hit the already lit rag.
"Whoosh..."
The combination of the accelerant, the flame, the air, the gasoline, and the powerful combustion acceleration from the magnum bullet's cavitation effect turned the simple Molotov cocktail into an incendiary bomb. A fierce blast of flame erupted right in front of the two mutated spiders, and the powerful heat instantly engulfed them!
A few seconds later, all that was left were two charred black bodies lying on the ground, unmoving and lifeless. Javier couldn't help but marvel at the power of his "Flamethrower." What's a "Venom Spray"? Don't they know bugs are weak to fire? Did they think they were some kind of counter-type master?
As for the yellow venom that was just sprayed, the fiery explosion had forced it to change direction, and it splattered all over the ground. However, when Javier saw the corrosive yellow liquid eat through the solid concrete, leaving several holes behind, he couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
He decided his previous comments were best left unsaid...
He wouldn't be a superhero after all. The potency of that venom was no different from super-strong sulfuric acid. What's more absurd is that if it were injected into a person's body, forget becoming Spider-man—they'd be so corroded there wouldn't even be a speck of dust left.
"What was that?" Rebecca mumbled. "A spider? How could it be so big?"
Rebecca was startled by Javier's "Flamethrower" display, but when she saw the spider corpses on the ground, she couldn't help but speak. From the earlier Plague Crawlers and giant Centipedes to these giant Spiders, this facility was becoming stranger and stranger. She couldn't imagine what more terrifying monsters might be waiting for them.
"They're definitely spiders," said Billy Coen from behind. "They must be bio-weapons developed by the Umbrella Corporation. But these creatures are completely uncontrollable. I don't know what the point of Umbrella's research is." Billy had seen a lot of monsters on their journey, but he still couldn't understand Umbrella's purpose. If they really wanted to research bio-weapons, why not create ones with intelligence instead of a bunch of mindless creatures that serve no purpose other than to attack indiscriminately?
"They serve no purpose," Javier quickly said, waving his hand to reassure them and prevent them from getting stuck in another emotional dead end. "Don't ever try to use a normal person's mind to guess what these geniuses are thinking. They always like to use moral excuses like 'helping humanity evolve and achieve eternal life' to satisfy their own selfish desires."
"Researching viruses has no purpose other than to make them feel a bloated sense of self-satisfaction, thinking they can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with gods and feeling a superiority that only a creator could have."
After confirming that there were no other mutated spiders in the tunnel, the trio continued forward, exploring deeper into the facility.
Tread, tread, tread...
The Underground Dungeon
To their surprise, the end of the underground tunnel wasn't the high-tech, pristine laboratory they had imagined. Instead, it was a dusty, bloodstained dungeon!
Yes... a dungeon.
The facility wasn't filled with medical alcohol and clean white walls with precision instruments and stacks of data. Instead, the lighting was dim, the walls reeked of a foul odor, and the design was like a medieval prison. On a rotten wooden table lay a file:
"Facility Inmate Roster. Name: Matthews K. Status: Deceased, disposed of. Name: Mickey D. Status: Deceased, disposed of. Name: Keith W. Status: Preserved as a specimen. Name: Savage C. Status: Transferred to facility..."
The list was dense with names.
It was a list of Marcus's test subjects. These people were likely some of the facility's staff, and others were death-row inmates. It was clear that during their time in this underground prison, they had suffered unimaginable torture.
"..."
"It's a list of test subjects. This is an underground prison. They must have been held captive here, subjected to inhumane torture, before being sent to a more secure lab. It's just... the smell of blood here is so strong. I can't imagine how many people died here. The Umbrella Corporation... they're no different from demons."
Javier put down the list and pushed open a nearby wooden door, entering the interrogation room from the guard's area. Rebecca and Billy exchanged grim glances and followed him in. Their emotions were not in a good place.
"Creak!"
"Squeal..."
Pushing open the rotten wooden door, the interrogation room came into view, revealing a terrifying array of torture devices. Despite the thick walls, the rusty, blackened tools still radiated a bone-chilling aura. The black stains on them could have been dried blood or something else. There were saws, guillotines, spikes, heavy iron chains, and chairs for binding a person's hands and feet. In a corner, there was even a legendary Iron Maiden.
It was a cage full of spikes. During an execution, a person would be placed inside, and the cage would be slowly closed. Under the force of gravity, the spikes would gradually pierce the skin and muscles, even piercing the bone marrow. The claustrophobic environment would also easily drive a person mad. It was one of the more famous torture devices in Europe.
The very presence of such a device here showed just how terrifying Marcus's perverse psychology was.
"How many horrific experiments took place here..."
Rebecca stared at the cruel torture devices and the dried blood on the ground, her heart trembling. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much pain the victims brought here had endured. The sight of it made Rebecca despise both the Umbrella Corporation and Dr. Marcus even more. A person like that was no different from a demon from hell!
While Rebecca was filled with pity, Javier and Billy Coen were busy looking for a new way out. There were several other iron doors inside the dungeon, but they were all locked and impossible to open. It seemed these doors required an electrical system to be unlocked.
After searching for a while, Javier found that the electrical system was on the other side of the iron bars. But the cage was also locked. The only way in was through a discarded ventilation shaft. The shaft was high up and would require two people to boost someone up.
"Billy, give me a hand," Javier said, making up his mind. "I need to climb in here. It seems there are no other exits. We can only continue after we open the rest of these iron doors."
He motioned for Billy and Rebecca to come over. At the same time, Javier took off his tactical backpack to avoid getting it stuck in the ventilation shaft.
The space inside the ventilation shaft was small, only big enough for one person. With the help of Rebecca and Billy, Javier was pushed into the opening, scrambling with his feet for a while before finally squeezing through. He landed on the ground with a loud bang, and the fall left him seeing stars.
But at least he was in.
He patted himself off and ran to the electrical system on the wall. There were several buttons below a meter with a clear needle, which was set to 70. There was no need to guess; he just had to set the power to 70.
"Click... Click..."
Without hesitation, Javier began operating the panel. The needle on the meter quickly settled on the red number 70.
"Whirr—!"
The next second, as soon as the electrical panel was successfully operated, a whirring sound echoed throughout the dungeon. The previously locked dungeon doors suddenly opened. Without a doubt, Javier's guess was correct; the electrical meter was the control for the dungeon's mechanism.
Meanwhile, in the facility's secret monitoring room, a tall, thin figure with long white hair and a white robe was staring intently at the trio's movements. It wasn't William or Wesker, but Marcus, who had been reborn as the Queen Leech. After learning the whereabouts of his traitors, William and Wesker, Marcus had prepared to ambush them.
However, to his surprise, when he arrived at the monitoring room, he found that his two traitorous students had already escaped. But even though they were gone, Marcus discovered a few other "rats" on the monitors.
To Marcus... or rather, to the Queen Leech who had inherited his memories, any "rat" that dared to trespass on his territory had to be exterminated. The only difference was that William and Wesker were bigger rats that would take more time to handle, while the trio were just small rats to be dealt with quickly.
"Heh heh..."
"I've told you already, this is my domain. No matter how much you resist, it's useless. Well... you three little rats, I'll deal with you now!"
Marcus, as the Queen Leech, stared at the trio in the monitoring room and abruptly waved his hands. As the Queen Leech, he had the ability to control any B.O.W. infected by it, including the other creatures in the facility. This was his domain; he had the power to control everything. Viruses were not as uncontrollable as people imagined. At least he, the Queen Leech, could command his subordinates. How could weak humans ever understand his power? This kind of power was only for a god!
Meanwhile, in the underground dungeon, just as Javier thought all the doors were open and they were ready to leave, a black shadow suddenly flashed in the air above the dungeon. It was the assassin Marcus had sent.
"Roar—!!!"
A giant roar suddenly echoed in their ears. A black shadow... no! A white shadow shot out and landed on Javier's back. Looking closer, they finally got a clear look at the figure: a white-haired ape. Its skin was rotting and its complexion was flushed red, with crimson, crazed eyes. Its fangs and claws were far more ferocious than those of a normal white-haired ape.
This was one of the Umbrella Corporation's early bio-weapons: the Eliminator. A group of incredibly fast apes that liked to hide in the shadows and ambush their prey. They were usually too fast to react to.
"Hiss...!"
"Roar—!!!"
The massive weight of the Eliminator pressed down on Javier's back. Without hesitation, the white ape opened its sharp fangs and lunged at Javier's neck. The ape was a virus carrier. Although the T-Virus at this point in time wasn't very strong, if he got bitten, there was a high chance he would be infected.
"Javier, watch out! Look behind you!"
"It's an infected ape! Shake it off!"
As the white Eliminator ape was already on Javier's shoulders, Rebecca and Billy, still outside the iron bars, saw the creature. They shouted to warn him. It was a very dangerous situation. If he got bitten, it would be a disaster.
"Get off me, you dead monkey!"
Feeling the weight on his back, Javier was startled and furiously tried to shake his body, but the white ape clung on tight. With no other choice, Javier pulled out his Desert Eagle and prepared to fire a shot blindly at his back!