"Are you sure that's Umbrella Corporation's underground base in Las Vegas?" Claire asked, standing on a hill and staring down at the vacation cabin below, completely surrounded by a horde of zombies. She was shocked.
She was Chris's sister—the same Chris Redfield whose nickname was "Chris the teammate"!
Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine's former ally, had once demonstrated the full power of a lone prodigy—anyone who got involved with him, friend or foe, would inevitably meet a tragic end.
Fortunately, Chris was now locked away in some unknown prison's underground cell, so Li Qingyuan didn't have to play the villain and secretly take him out.
Still, he was wary of people like Chris or the "Shinigami Elementary Student"—individuals who could manipulate fate to kill.
Having trained with her brother in all sorts of combat techniques and blessed with a destiny aura, Claire herself was no slouch in battle. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to establish the so-called "Claire Rescue Team."
But even though Claire considered herself agile and courageous, meeting these two today finally showed her what recklessness truly looked like.
Umbrella Corporation was notorious worldwide, yet no one dared provoke them. In this world, Umbrella Corporation sat at the top of the food chain. Other survivors could only dodge them carefully. Even Alice, the heroine of another world, was now constantly fleeing for her life.
And the two in front of her were planning to assault Umbrella's base—it was sheer madness!
"You wander outside with those deadweights, and one day it'll get you killed. But if you have a base, that's a different story," Li Qingyuan said, pointing to the vacation cabin below, trying to persuade her.
Of course, it wasn't exactly persuasion. He wasn't going to use the base anyway. Once it was captured, it would be handed over to Claire.
"Umbrella's underground base has a fully functional ecological simulation system. With a few hundred people, life inside would be absolutely comfortable," he added.
"Do you really have the confidence to take it?" Claire asked, curiosity piqued.
If they could capture this base, she wouldn't oppose it. Moving dozens of people across the desert every day, constantly worrying about zombie attacks and resource shortages, was a huge burden.
Securing an underground base would mean no more worrying about safety or food—and even access to modern comforts. For anyone, that was an irresistible temptation.
"If I wasn't confident, would I have called you here?" Li Qingyuan said. The base was fully prepared, yet he felt certain he could easily storm it.
Everyone had contingencies—it was just a matter of whose backup was stronger.
"I need vehicles now. Your modified trucks will do perfectly," he said, pointing to the few trucks under Claire's command. They would be ideal for turning into car bombs.
"Dr. Isaacs, the outsiders have started moving!" White Queen said, connecting to the satellite feed, speaking to a slightly drowsy Isaacs.
"What? They've finally started?" Isaacs immediately perked up, ordering someone to brew a pot of coffee while he watched how they intended to break through the zombie perimeter.
The satellite feed showed a single off-road vehicle maneuvering erratically around the horde. On top, a large speaker blasted deafening rock music.
The black driver, Marvin, excitedly turned up the volume, gesturing wildly as the zombies were drawn toward the noise.
Li Qingyuan had always found this odd. If zombies were low-intelligence monsters, why did people always foolishly run into buildings and get ambushed by zombies hiding in corners?
Why not just lure them out with sound outside the buildings? That would be far safer than rushing in blindly.
Once Marvin drew away roughly a third of the zombies, Li Qingyuan spoke into the radio:
"Second team, move out!"
Carlos started the modified fuel truck and quietly accelerated. A few hundred meters from the zombie horde, he fixed the throttle and rolled off the vehicle.
The unmanned fuel truck barreled forward, knocking down over a thousand zombies before flipping. With a press of a button, it exploded, tearing a wide gap through the previously impenetrable horde.
Li Qingyuan slammed the accelerator and drove Claire's vehicle straight through the gap.
Why not his RV?
He'd need it later for traveling with Jill worldwide—damaging it now would be inconvenient.
Claire's vehicle, a reinforced off-road car, smashed through the loosened wire fence, creating a clear path.
"Faster! Faster!"
Once inside the safe zone, everyone leapt out. The two helicopter pilots rushed to the waiting Apaches, while the rest automatically formed a protective circle around Li Qingyuan.
"Why don't you go out with them first?" Li Qingyuan whispered to Jill, who was sticking close to him. He didn't want any harm coming to her, unlike the temporary cannon fodder.
Over the years, he'd been married to Elizabeth Swann in the Caribbean world and experienced multiple missions, but in terms of genuine feelings, Elizabeth couldn't compare to Jill. To him, other women were just temporary diversions; Jill was the real connection.
"I'm not letting you go alone!" Jill ignored him, drawing her pistol from her thigh holster.
"Together!" Others drew weapons as well, all prepared for the fight as they charged into the vacation cabin.
Inside, the floor had been opened to reveal a platform elevator, adorned with an Umbrella Corporation eight-umbrella logo.
"The enemy knows we're here!" Carlos gulped nervously.
"Of course they do," Li Qingyuan muttered, rolling his eyes. No wonder you're cannon fodder. Even if the base commander were incompetent, with all the commotion outside, they'd hear us.
(End of Chapter)