"Bang—!"
A gunshot.
The Desert Eagle's round missed, flying past the white ape on his back. After the shot, the infected ape opened its fangs wide and lunged for Javier's shoulder. However, in that critical moment, Javier twisted his head, using his steel helmet to shield his neck.
"Crunch!"
"Roar—!!!"
A crisp, clear sound rang out. The sharp fangs ground against the helmet. The result was obvious: the fangs instantly snapped off. The Eliminator ape let out a cry of agony. After all, no matter how sharp its fangs were, they couldn't bite through the defense of a steel helmet. It was an entirely different matter from flesh and blood.
"Good teeth, huh, you dead monkey?"
"Now it's my turn."
Feeling the Eliminator ape on his back break its own fangs, Javier's face lit up. He was grateful for his full gear; if he hadn't armed himself to the teeth, he might have been infected and become cannon fodder. While the ape was momentarily stunned, Javier's right arm suddenly tensed. He grabbed the mischievous monkey's white fur and slammed it hard into the ground!
"Thud!"
With a dull thud, the surprise-attacking Eliminator ape was thrown to the ground. However, the impact didn't cause any significant damage. It rolled on the ground and then immediately bounced back up as if it had a spring in its body.
This was hardly surprising. After all, this was a creature of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven lineage. It could do a somersault for a hundred and eight thousand miles. He was crushed under the Five-Finger Mountain for five hundred years by the Buddha and was just fine, so how could Javier's mere shoulder toss kill him? This was an ape infected with the T-Virus, after all; its vitality and speed were incredibly tough.
But—
"Then how about this? It's definitely better than when you were pinned under the Five-Finger Mountain."
"Namo Gatling Bodhisattva... ahem! My mistake, it should be Namo Magnum Bodhisattva. One shot for every living being, delivering demons and gods alike!"
Seeing the white Eliminator ape scurrying around on the ground, Javier didn't hesitate. After delivering his cheesy line, he quickly pulled the M500 revolver hidden on his back. This wasn't a Desert Eagle; its caliber and power were far greater. He pointed the thick, blackened muzzle at the white ape and quickly pulled the trigger.
The M500 handgun was as big as a black banana. A single round would surely be a satisfying meal.
"Boom—!!!"
A flash of yellow flame erupted.
A thumb-sized bullet shot out, moving incredibly fast. The resulting sonic boom momentarily stunned the white ape in front of him, giving it no time to react or dodge. The magnum round instantly hit the Eliminator's head. With no surprises, the ape's small head exploded like a watermelon, scattering blood all over the ground.
"Namo Magnum Bodhisattva, truly amazing!"
"I'm truly your faithful follower. You deliver demons and gods alike. I never thought this unruly Victorious Fighting Buddha could be defeated. Little monkey, next life, remember to check who you're messing with," Javier said to himself with a satisfied nod, gently blowing the white smoke from the M500 revolver's muzzle.
A lowly monkey thought it could ambush me? Not a chance.
However, while Javier was enjoying his moment of coolness, Rebecca and Billy Coen outside the iron cage were watching with anxious expressions. They had seen how Javier used his helmet to deflect the white ape's bite and then shot it to death, and they finally let out a collective sigh of relief.
As for Javier's "cool" actions...?
They decided it was best to ignore them. Rebecca and Billy were used to this guy's antics by now. He was a lunatic. After all, who reacts to danger like this? He didn't even collapse on the ground out of relief, but instead posed! It was completely unbelievable!
"Alright," Javier said with a dry cough, sensing their judgmental stares. He returned to a more serious demeanor. "Stop looking at me like I'm an idiot. Let's just pretend nothing happened. You two hurry up and open the iron door for me. It opens outwards, so I can't get out from this side. Be careful, though. We haven't checked the other rooms yet. Who knows what else is hidden down here."
Thinking about it, the design of this electrical system was incredibly stupid. He had no idea which genius designed it. If they knew the dungeon doors needed power to open, why didn't they put the electrical system in the guard's room? Why hide it in the torture room, separated by an iron cage that you could only squeeze into through a ventilation shaft?
If a test subject in the torture room accidentally broke free and took control of the electrical system, wouldn't that be a foolproof prison break?
Javier was utterly speechless in the face of this electrical system.
But he was used to it by now. The various rooms in this facility were designed in a bizarre way, as if they were made specifically for setting traps.
With that, Javier walked directly to the iron door, waiting for Rebecca and Billy to open it for him. He was tired of staying in this torture room. The dried blood and eerie torture devices were chilling. If he stayed any longer, Javier was sure the wronged spirits would rise up to take him away with them.
However, as Javier slowly approached the iron door, a sound like a rock slide echoed in the air.
"Crack..."
"Rumble...!!!"
Javier's footing gave way, and the ground suddenly began to sink. The floor, built with shoddy construction, crumbled and shattered, turning into dust and falling away, forming a giant hole. Below was a dark sewer drain. If he fell, he would likely be swept away by the current for miles.
In a moment of crisis, Javier's survival instincts kicked in.
When people are about to fall to their deaths, they instinctively try to grab onto anything around them to stabilize themselves. Javier was no exception. He desperately reached out and, with an incredible stroke of luck, managed to grab onto a bent steel bar on the edge of the collapsing hole.
He held on for dear life, his entire body dangling in mid-air and swaying precariously. Javier usually did push-ups and dumbbell exercises to strengthen his arms, but he rarely did pull-ups to increase his endurance. This sudden stress was something he wasn't used to, and his arms began to tremble. He was on the verge of giving up.
"Hey!"
"You two, stop watching and come help me! If you don't hurry, I'm going to die!"
Feeling the soreness in his arms, Javier knew he couldn't hold on much longer. He desperately called for help from Rebecca and Billy. The bent steel bar was slick and wet, making it hard to grip. He was like a salted fish hanging in mid-air, liable to be flung away at any moment.
It was only now that Javier understood why the geniuses at the facility had put the electrical system here. It was a second trap, an "invitation to enter the urn." You'd squeeze into the torture room, and when you wanted to leave through the iron door, you'd fall into this collapse trap on the only path out.
If you fell for it, you'd be washed away by the sewer.
And looking down, the sewer was a good distance away. Falling would likely leave him covered in bruises, and he might even die.
At the same time, this also made Javier sigh with emotion.
The "passive ability of protagonists to bring doom to their teammates" was truly powerful! He was lucky he was quick-witted enough. If it had been anyone else, they would have become cannon fodder. The first wave was the ape ambush. If you weren't armed to the teeth, you'd easily get bitten by that mischievous monkey, which could lead to a viral infection.
And if you get infected... you can pray that you have a ten percent chance of becoming a superhuman. The other ninety percent is a high chance of becoming an ugly zombie. And since it was a monkey that bit you, you might even mutate into something with fangs and long fur.
And the subsequent collapse trap...
If Javier's survival instincts weren't strong enough, he'd be dead already. Thinking back on it, Javier still felt a little scared. He didn't know what kind of calamity he'd have to endure to survive in the passive presence of these two protagonists, Rebecca and Billy.
But fortunately, at least this time, Javier had successfully persevered.
Seeing Javier nearly fall into the collapse trap, Rebecca and Billy quickly opened the iron door and pulled him up from the bent steel bar. Looking down into the dark sewer with only the sound of rushing water, they couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. If he had fallen in, he would have truly been gone for good!
"Whew..."
"I'm so lucky. Otherwise, I would have died here. What kind of person would design a torture room with such shoddy construction? And to build it right above a sewer? After years of moisture erosion, it's a miracle it didn't collapse sooner. If there isn't a personal vendetta involved, I wouldn't believe it!"
Javier plopped down on the ground, patting his damp pants. He wasn't talking about wetting himself; he wasn't that pathetic. The water from the sewer had simply splattered onto his legs. This area was constantly eroded by moisture. Even if it were concrete reinforced with steel, it wouldn't be able to withstand the constant erosion over time.
What's more, this facility was at least a dozen years old by 1998. It would be weird if it didn't rot. He really was unlucky to encounter all this.
Ten minutes later—
After sighing about his brush with death, Javier patted himself down and followed Rebecca and Billy. They moved past the torture dungeon and into a new room. This one seemed to be where the white Eliminator apes were housed. The beams and ledges were covered in them.
The trio had to spray their shotguns for a while to clear them out.
These monkeys weren't very big, and their attacks weren't that strong, but their speed was incredible. They leaped everywhere. If the trio's aim wasn't good, they would have been swarmed. Once these monkeys jumped onto a person, they wouldn't let go, gnawing at them with their fangs. They were incredibly annoying.
Rebecca and Billy weren't wearing any protective gear, just a thin shirt and a bulletproof vest for Rebecca and a simple black tank top for Billy. They would be in a lot of trouble if the apes even managed to scratch them with their claws, let alone bite them.
Fortunately, these monkeys were very stupid.
While fast, they never hid their movements. The trio simply huddled together by the door, using the wooden door as their backstop. They took turns spraying their shotguns in three directions—up, middle, and down—creating a fortress of lead that was impossible to break through.
"Clang..."
In no time, they had neatly taken care of all the monkeys, leaving only spent shotgun shells on the ground.
Inside the room, Javier and the others discovered something new.
In the center of the room was an altar-like display with six statues: an Eagle, a Deer, a Wolf, a Tiger, a Horse, and a Snake. Each statue was lifelike, and under each one was a clear clue:
Eagle: I fly freely in the sky with my wings and capture the legless prey with my sharp talons.
Deer: I stand on the earth and proudly display my horns.
Wolf: I am clever and sensitive and can take down the horned wild.
Tiger: I am the enforcer of the jungle; no prey can escape my grasp.
Horse: No matter how cunning you are, you can't match my swift speed.
Snake: I quietly slither with my legless body, and with my venom, I conquer the strongest kings.
These six animals were arranged in order of a food chain. By choosing the correct sequence, they could solve the puzzle. On the side of the statues was an oil lamp. It was clear that the correct method was to light the lamps in the right order.
The correct order was actually Deer, Wolf, Horse, Tiger, Snake, and Eagle. The deer, a herbivore, was the easiest to catch. The wolf's clue said it was clever and could take down "horned wild," meaning the wolf eats the deer. The horse's clue said that no matter how cunning, it couldn't be caught, but the tiger was the "enforcer of the jungle," so dealing with a mere horse would be an easy matter.
The venomous snake could easily defeat the tiger, conquering the "king of the jungle." But it was powerless against the eagle, which stood tall in the sky, untouchable to any land animal, making it the safest and most powerful.
Therefore, the puzzle's solution was very simple... Javier knew the answer at a glance.