Click—"
With a flick of the master switch, the supermarket's power came back online.
Lights flickered to life, humming gently above the aisles.
TVs, computers, chainsaws, toothbrushes, steel piping, kitchen knives, cola, bread, flour...
Being a large supermarket, it was fully stocked with almost everything imaginable—even a few compact cars were on display.
After glancing over the store's wall-mounted layout map, Orsaga casually strolled into the control room and activated the store's sound system.
Because of course, music was essential.
Your head could be cut off, your blood could be spilled, but vibes? Never optional.
Next, he grabbed a strawberry-flavored lollipop, peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.
With the basics taken care of, he began pushing a shopping cart through the aisles, picking out random but oddly specific items:
Screwdrivers, power drills, baking soda, dish soap, industrial-strength glue...
Before long, his cart was overflowing.
He dumped the entire load in the center of the supermarket and, without giving it a second glance, went back for more.
Half an hour later, a towering pile sat in the center of the store like a miniature scrapyard mountain—ranging from chocolate bars to toilet plungers and everything in between.
"Time to get to work..."
He grabbed a power drill and began dismantling one of the display vehicles.
Then the washing machine. Then a couple of laptops.
Although his current body had only average human intelligence and rather clumsy hands, Orsaga's knowledge—especially when it came to outdated tech—was still formidable.
One glance was enough to understand each machine's inner workings.
He identified stress points, critical nodes, and disassembled an entire car within minutes.
Washing machines and computers? Child's play.
Soon, engines, motors, car batteries, rotating drums, drive belts, circuit boards—dozens of components—were laid out in neat, labeled piles.
Then came the real work: reassembly, repurposing, welding, and restructuring.
Compared to disassembly, this stage required more effort—calculations, torque resistance, energy conversion rates.
But for Orsaga, it was just another quiet afternoon hobby. Everything progressed methodically.
---
Elsewhere, on the outskirts of Raccoon City—
Having arrived by car, the team of Purgators surveyed the checkpoint on the main bridge.
Watching soldiers erect barricades in the distance, Li Wei frowned. The setup made no tactical sense to him.
So he turned to two of the team's most experienced members for advice: Huang Liu and Draco.
Huang Liu was a former special ops soldier from Huaxia. Though his exact military role was unclear, his bearing screamed elite training.
Draco, on the other hand, was an American war veteran from Afghanistan—said to have enough confirmed kills to fill a shipping container.
Li Wei figured if anyone could analyze the situation, it'd be them.
After scanning the area through a set of binoculars, Draco gave a quick rundown:
"Ground units are moving in three-man cells. Their gear's standard military-issue—not much in the way of heavy firepower, but definitely more than what we've got."
He continued, "There are at least twenty sniper positions set up in the surrounding towers. And up above, I see both gunships and military drones on alternating patrols. All likely equipped with thermal sensors."
He shook his head. "Under these conditions, a conventional escape is basically impossible."
Li Wei, who despite being a working stiff had once been a hardcore shut-in gamer, racked his brain for plot details.
He asked, "Wasn't there a river and a forest near the city? Could we escape through those?"
Huang Liu didn't even pause. "Not without scouting the terrain first. And with our time constraints, that's not an option."
Li Wei sighed, glancing at the overheated civilians crowded at the roadblock.
"Then it looks like our only shot is to find the main characters and tag along with them…"
A young woman in her twenties spoke up:
"Couldn't we try contacting the outside world? Upload a video or post online to get public pressure on our side?"
Another young man replied, "Unlikely. Even if comms aren't completely cut, Umbrella has the military working for them. You think public opinion matters?"
He shrugged. "Honestly, Umbrella probably owns half the internet."
The woman frowned. "That powerful? Are we seriously saying the U.S. government would let a corporation run the country?"
She hadn't seen the original story and couldn't wrap her head around how a private company could conduct bio-warfare experiments, deploy private armies, quarantine cities, cut off networks, and even launch nuclear weapons—all within the U.S.
Not even the President had that kind of unchecked authority.
The young man could only smile bitterly.
"Yeah… according to the original story, they're just that overpowered. Even the government has to yield. No one really knows how they were allowed to exist."
Li Wei took a deep drag from his cigarette, then exhaled slowly.
"Whatever. While the zombie outbreak hasn't spread too far, and the streets are still safe, let's find a decent place to fortify. Sitting around out here won't help."
The others nodded in agreement.
With the bridge sealed and escape routes shut, staying mobile wasn't viable. Better to prep while they had the chance.
On the way to a nearby gun store, Li Wei casually asked,
"How'd you guys end up in Matrix Purgatory anyway? I was driving while exhausted, nodded off, and flipped my car over the guardrail."
Draco took the offered cigarette and replied coolly:
"HQ gave us an op to clear a village and frame the resistance for it. After we finished, we got ambushed on the way back. Didn't make it out."
Someone muttered, "Damn… that's cold."
It wasn't clear whether they meant the mission itself or Draco's deadpan delivery.
Draco simply shrugged.
"That's war. Soldiers and civilians die like dogs. Honestly, I'm not even mad. Guys like me don't die innocent."
Still, as he spoke, his fingers instinctively brushed against the silver cross on his wrist—betraying a sliver of lingering guilt.
Another man, young but somber, said quietly,
"I had cancer. Couldn't afford treatment. Didn't want to drag my family down with me… so I bought a life insurance policy and made it look like an accident."
He smiled faintly.
"Hope the payout went through. Maybe they'll be okay."
A man from the Sahara region kept it brief:
"Got mugged. Didn't back down. Took a few out, but there were too many."
Another guy chimed in, "I honestly don't know. Felt fine one day, then I just… woke up here. Probably died from a sudden illness."
One more sighed, "I slipped going down the stairs. One second I'm walking, next second—lights out."
Listening to his teammates share their wildly different deaths, Li Wei couldn't help but fall silent.
Some of them had gone out like heroes.
Some never saw it coming.
Either way, they were all here now.
And the game had already begun.
After listening to his teammates' stories in silence, Huang Liu finally spoke up.
"I was executed by firing squad."
Instantly, all eyes turned toward him.
"...What?"
One Purgator blinked in surprise. "Brother, what happened? Why'd they execute you?"
Huang Liu's tone remained calm. "I broke the law. So I was executed."
Another teammate frowned, confused. "You don't seem like the kind of guy who'd do something like that."
He really didn't match the image of a criminal.
"A few punks collecting protection fees stabbed my younger brother to death. Because they were minors—and one of them came from a well-connected family—
the court gave them only two or three years."
"I couldn't swallow that."
"So, on the day they got out and were celebrating… I made my move."
The group fell quiet. They instantly understood why he'd gone off the rails.
A curious young girl asked, "Did you kill them all?"
Huang Liu shook his head. "No. I let them live. I just crippled their eyes and limbs, and called an ambulance before I left."
"But I did kill their families. If they couldn't raise their children properly, they needed to take responsibility."
"..."
Even Draco didn't try to respond to that.
It was clear: Huang Liu had deliberately ensured those punks would live out the rest of their lives in agony.
After a brief silence, Li Wei muttered, "You're hardcore."
Huang Liu simply replied, "Not really. Just paying blood for blood."
"I lost my parents when I was a child. My little brother was the only family I had left. We grew up relying on each other, eating scraps from neighbors. When they took him from me… they took everything. So I made them pay."
"But I broke the law—there's no denying that. And in this era of surveillance cameras, running would've been pointless.
I would've just wasted manpower and resources. So after I finished the job, I gave my life savings to a kind-hearted woman who had helped us when we were young… and turned myself in."
His voice remained steady throughout, firm and unrepentant.
Everyone has their own code. When that code clashes with the law, people make different choices. This was simply his.
---
Eventually, the team reached the outskirts of a local gun shop.
After surveying the area and confirming the city hadn't completely collapsed yet, Li Wei made a sensible decision:
They weren't going to rob the place—not yet.
Police were still on patrol. And he had no desire to taste "freedom" in the form of American bullets.
Instead, he said to the others:
"This isn't far from the police station. Even if the T-virus outbreak starts soon, this zone will stay secure for a while."
"One of the story's main characters, Jill, works at that station. So let's rest at the motel nearby for now—eat something, get some sleep, and get ourselves sorted."
"When things go south, we'll take the gun shop by force, gear up, and find the protagonists. If we can tag along, that's our best chance to survive."
The group quickly agreed.
Once they were settled into the motel, Li Wei noticed that, while things were a bit quiet, no one seemed on edge anymore.
And that was a good sign.
Back when they first met, even though they had technically formed a group, everyone still viewed each other as strangers. A single conflict could've shattered their fragile alliance.
Now, after two hours of walking and talking, they had started to open up.
Names were exchanged. Stories were shared.
The tension had softened into cautious camaraderie.
Finally, the team was beginning to gel.
Compared to the chaotic newbie teams Li Wei had read about in web novels—where betrayal and in-fighting were inevitable—this group was surprisingly stable. No one had tried to backstab, steal leadership, or stir the pot.
Except for that one guy who declared from the start that he was going solo… but that was fine.
They had even lucked out with two legitimate combat professionals.
In Li Wei's mind, if Draco and Huang Liu—both experienced soldiers who'd seen real bloodshed—were properly armed, their firepower alone could rival an entire squad.
With the rest of the group supporting them?
They could probably handle two or three Lickers without breaking a sweat.
As for standard zombies?
Please. They moved like elderly women with arthritis.
Any halfway decent adult with a steel pipe and some nerve could take down several.
After resting for a while, Li Wei turned to the two soldiers and asked sincerely,
"Given what's coming, could you both teach the team some basic firearm knowledge? Maybe also what to keep in mind during combat?"
The others looked over instantly, their eyes filled with anticipation.
It was clear to everyone—these two were the heavy hitters.
If this team had any hope of surviving, it would start by learning from them.
Draco and Huang Liu exchanged a glance, then nodded in agreement.
Huang Liu stepped forward, face serious:
"When we loot the gun store later, Draco and I will help you pick weapons. We'll prioritize ones that are easy to reload and have low recoil. We'll also explain what ammo they use, so no one grabs the wrong kind."
"Plus, I spotted a decent clothing store nearby. We'll show you how to make anti-bite wraps out of fabric. Even if a zombie gets close, this might give you a better shot at surviving."
Draco added,
"I'll be assigning positions and sightlines during combat—gotta cover each other's blind spots."
"Remember this well: The moment you panic, you're dead.
Stay calm or die. Simple as that."
Someone in the back raised a hand.
"How much ammo should we each carry?"
Draco answered without hesitation:
"Depends on your physical fitness. Average person? Four to six magazines. That's 150 to 300 rounds. Any more, and you'll be weighed down."
"And bring a knife. Also: wear a mask and goggles.
One scratch or splash of infected blood could be game over."
As Draco spoke, Li Wei nodded in quiet satisfaction.
Every word exchanged brought the team a little closer together.
Trust would take time, but cohesion was starting to form.
In fact, getting Draco and Huang Liu to give that lecture was half the reason he asked in the first place.
Sure, it was helpful information. But more importantly, it gave the team something to rally around.
Neither of the soldiers had harmed anyone in the group.
They might've had bloody pasts, but here and now, they were trustworthy.
And people were naturally inclined to get along—especially when facing a common enemy.
In Li Wei's mind, he was already stepping into the role of team leader.
His combat skills might be miles behind Draco and Huang Liu, but after years of corporate life, he had something they didn't:
People skills.
He knew how to manage teams. How to build unity. How to keep morale steady.
Draco and Huang Liu had noticed his maneuvering, of course. So had a few others. But no one objected.
Those qualified to lead either lacked the experience or simply didn't want the responsibility.
Those unqualified had no grounds to complain.
'If this run goes well…'
Li Wei thought,
'I might be able to form a real team. No more being exploited by veterans.'
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
An Umbrella Corporation helicopter landed in the courtyard of a luxury estate.
A squad of armed men stormed into one of the villas and wheeled out a disabled man without warning.
He shouted furiously, "Wait! My daughter's still at school! You have to get her out!"
One of the soldiers replied coolly,
"We know. A team's already been dispatched."
The man, one of the researchers responsible for developing the T-virus, understood better than anyone just how bad things were going to get.
For him, negotiating was simple:
Save my daughter, and I'll cooperate.
__
Above, the sun had almost slipped below the horizon.
Darkness was coming.
Glancing up at the darkening sky, and then at the countdown on the screen, the Umbrella Corporation's field commander knew the time had come. The residents infected with the T-virus would begin turning into zombies at any moment.
He turned to his assistant and said calmly, "Initiate the plan."
"Yes, sir."
With that, the assistant pressed a button.
Far across the city, in one of Raccoon City's buildings, the story's protagonist—Alice—suddenly opened her eyes.
"...Hiss…"
A sharp pain coursed through her entire body, forcing her to draw in a breath.
It felt like she'd just been beaten half to death.
After taking a few seconds to recover, she began surveying her surroundings.
She found herself lying on a surgical table. Discarded medical tools were strewn carelessly across the room, and several syringes and IV tubes were still embedded in her arms and torso.
Trying to recall how she got there, her mind came up blank.
'Who am I? Where am I? What happened?'
Those three questions echoed in Alice's thoughts.
She couldn't remember a thing—not how she ended up here, not even her own name.
Still, something about the disarray in the room stirred a deep, instinctual sense of danger within her.
She knew one thing: she had to get out.
Biting back the pain, she yanked out the IVs, staggered to her feet, and made her way out of the room, limping down the empty corridors toward the exit.
---
Gunshots, sirens, screams, crying, and frantic yelling rang out across the city.
Hearing it all, Li Wei rose from his chair, his expression serious.
"Alright, everyone. It's time. Let's move."
He looked around at the team and added, "Remember—you've all already died once. This life? It's a bonus round. So when things get crazy out there, don't panic. Don't waste your second chance."
Then, he pushed open the door to lead by example.
And promptly came face-to-face with the motel owner… who was hunched over a corpse, gnawing on it like a rabid dog.
Startled by the door opening, the zombie looked up, and their eyes locked in a very unsettling moment of eye contact.
The hallway went completely still.
'Of all the rotten luck… open the door and it's this bastard waiting for me...'
Though Li Wei was cursing up a storm in his head, he maintained a calm exterior—for the sake of his team.
From behind, Huang Liu and the others saw only his cool, composed face and couldn't help but raise their evaluation of him.
Without a word, Li Wei raised his machete and slashed with all his strength.
CRACK!
The sound of bone shattering echoed down the hall as the blade sank into the zombie's skull, knocking it to the ground.
But it didn't die. Like a squashed cockroach, its limbs flailed and twitched grotesquely on the floor.
Without hesitation, Li Wei gritted his teeth and struck again.
This time, he cleaved the creature's neck in one clean blow.
Only then did the writhing stop.
Gasping slightly for air, he realized that both swings had required his full strength.
'Damn it… I thought killing one of these things would be as easy as in the movies. Why was that so hard?'
He'd played all kinds of zombie games—Resident Evil, Left 4 Dead, Dying Light—you name it. In those, the zombies went down like butter.
But here?
This one took real effort.
Reassessing the threat level, he turned to the others and warned,
"Avoid close combat if you can. These things are tougher than they look. Even with a machete, I couldn't kill it in one hit. We'll need sledgehammers or fire axes for clean kills."
Huang Liu nodded in agreement.
"That's expected. The human skull is the hardest part of the body. Getting proper firearms should be our top priority.
Trying to bash through their skulls one by one isn't sustainable."
Draco nudged the corpse that had been eaten with the toe of his boot and inspected the injuries.
"The guy's ribs were bitten clean through. That zombie's bite force was at least a few times stronger than a normal human's…"
Before he could finish speaking, the corpse suddenly opened bloodshot eyes and reached up to grab his leg.
The virus had done its job.
Without flinching, Draco stepped forward, planted his boot between the zombie's shoulder blades, and crushed it face-down into the ground.
Then he calmly raised his hatchet and embedded it directly into the back of its skull.
With a twist, he scrambled the brain matter, then yanked the blade free and casually flicked the mess off onto a nearby wall.
He looked at the others and gave his analysis:
"I weigh about 162 pounds. This guy, from his frame, couldn't be more than 120.Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't have been able to lift me."
"But he did—easily."
"That means zombies are physically stronger than they were in life. If one of them gets you on the ground, chances are… you're not getting back up."
'Solid logic. Professional analysis. This guy's the real deal.'
Everyone felt more confident hearing Draco speak.
But they also felt an urgent hunger—for guns.
So they began clearing out the zombies in the area, making their way toward the nearby gun shop.
Thanks to Draco and Huang Liu leading the way, they reached their destination safely.
Once inside, they started picking out appropriate weapons under the soldiers' guidance, boosting their pitiful combat potential.
---
Meanwhile, in the supermarket...
Orsaga remained completely unbothered by the chaos outside.
Gunshots, screams, sirens—it all sounded like background noise to him. Nothing more than a light drizzle.
He was still immersed in his "project."
His original plan was to build a makeshift nuke, then preempt Umbrella by nuking Raccoon City himself.
That way, he could complete a number of side objectives:
Side Mission 3: Wipe out Umbrella's forces in Raccoon City – 5,500 points
Side Mission 4: Prevent the Umbrella Corporation from using their own nuke – 12,500 points
Side Mission 7: Kill 100 standard zombies – 1,000 points
Side Mission 8: Kill 5 Lickers – 1,000 points
…And so on.
It would've been a neat bundle of profit.
But after crunching the numbers, he realized the raw materials for a bomb of that scale would take at least two full days to extract under current conditions.
So he changed tactics.
He'd play to his real strength: viruses.
After all, from what he remembered, the T-virus in this world was bottom-tier garbage.
Even back when he was just a fragile Lesser Demon, he hadn't bothered with such low-efficiency methods.
Sure, some mutations were halfway decent. But most of the infected were just limp-legged zombies, slower than retirees on crutches.
Even average civilians could take them out with a pipe.
It was an embarrassment to virology.
So, as a matter of professional pride, he decided:
He'd help them upgrade.
At the very least, he couldn't let the world think bioweapons were such a joke
As Orsaga worked, music humming in the background, he continued welding components together with casual ease.
Suddenly—
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
A long, slender metal tube beside him launched several sharpened steel rods at blinding speed.
A series of heavy impacts followed, and crimson blood began to pour down from the ceiling above.
Looking up, Orsaga spotted a creature clinging to the ceiling—one that resembled a skinned bullfrog.
Its head and torso had been pierced through by three steel rods, pinning it firmly in place.
Despite its brain being destroyed, its limbs continued twitching violently, its strong vitality refusing to give up so easily.
But under the corrosive substance Orsaga had coated the rods with, the thing quickly lost all strength.
In just a few seconds, it fell completely still.
He had sensed the creature's malicious intent the moment it crept in.
But frankly, he couldn't be bothered to deal with it himself.
After all, he'd spent over ten minutes rigging together these automatic electromagnetic weapons from car batteries, store shelves, wires, surveillance cameras, computer chips… you name it.
There were four units in total, all linked to the supermarket's twenty CCTV cameras, along with additional ones he'd salvaged from various smartphones. Coordinated through several modified computers running in tandem, they monitored every inch of the supermarket.
Anything over three centimeters in size couldn't escape detection.
And once an intruder was confirmed, the electromagnetic weapons would fire steel rods at four times the speed of sound with pinpoint accuracy.
Sure, due to power and material limitations, they couldn't punch through tanks.
But in this world of Resident Evil, dispatching zombies and similar trash was a piece of cake.
To be extra thorough, Orsaga had even coated the rods in a custom solvent made from a mix of chili powder, dish soap, desiccant, hoisin sauce, Indian aphrodisiac oil, and a dash of Ganges holy water—an improvised cell-dissolving agent to ensure anything hit by the rods died a very ugly death.
As time passed, a new machine, about ten square meters in size, began to take shape under Orsaga's methodical hands.
It looked something like a sealed stovetop with an exhaust hood attached—tightly enclosed on all sides, save for a single input port and a long pipe that extended out the back of the supermarket.
The internal structure was completely hidden, and its controls? There was only one red button: power on, power off. That's it.
Simple. Efficient. Brutal.
After double-checking everything, Orsaga tossed aside the electric drill and pulled out a map of Raccoon City.
Now that the machine was ready, it was time to acquire a virus sample…
"Hmm… hospital? Biolab? Yeah, those'll do."
After a moment's consideration, he picked his target.
Then, he plopped himself down on another of his contraptions.
This one resembled a wheelchair strapped with four electric fans—no outer shell, fully exposed circuitry and frame. It looked so shoddy that anyone else might've doubted it could even get off the ground.
But Orsaga didn't care. It was just a temporary ride thrown together with leftover parts.
Settling into the seat, he flipped a switch.
The makeshift flying machine hummed to life as its battery and diesel engine roared into motion. The welded metal fan blades began spinning rapidly.
Soon, under the propulsion of compressed airflow, the device lifted off the ground.
Guided by a simple joystick, it ascended through the supermarket's rooftop skylight and vanished into the night sky—headed straight for the hospital.
Despite its rough appearance, the flight speed—thanks to a rear jet booster—was actually faster than a conventional helicopter.
And much quieter too—about as loud as a household fan.
---
On the street below...
A group was carefully making its way down a side road.
"Hmm?"
Draco looked up sharply, scanning the sky.
Huang Liu asked, "What is it?"
Scratching his head, Draco replied uncertainly, "I thought I just heard a helicopter overhead…"
But the sky was calm and empty.
Huang Liu shrugged. "Must've been your imagination."
Just then, a young blond man walking with them chimed in curiously, "Hey, are you two in the military? Your shooting's top-notch."
Draco glanced at him, judged him harmless, and nodded. "Yeah. He and I both served. Just in different branches."
The blond man's eyes lit up with gratitude. "That explains it. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I'd probably be dead on my first day on the job!"
Draco just chuckled. "No big deal. It was on the way."
This team of Purgators had originally planned to find Jill Valentine at the police station and hitch a ride out on the evac chopper.
But upon arrival, they found the place under siege—dozens of Lickers and hundreds of zombies had completely overrun the station.
Fortunately, American police officers—seasoned veterans of both citizen suppression and monster hunting—responded with ruthless efficiency.
Even with the Purgators' help, the battle was brutal.
They lost three teammates, and the local cops—along with Jill—were reduced to just four survivors.
The total headcount hadn't changed… but the team composition had.
Walking nearby, Li Wei had been listening to the conversation, thinking nothing of it—until the blond man casually mentioned, "It's my first day on the job."
Li Wei's brows twitched slightly.
He turned, pretending to be casual, and asked, "Hey, you look kinda familiar. Have we met before? I'm Li Wei. Ring any bells?"
Both Huang Liu and Draco glanced at him, puzzled by the random question.
"Li Wei?"
The blond man studied his face seriously for a moment, then shook his head. "Sorry, doesn't ring a bell. Oh, right—my name's Leon Scott Kennedy. Just arrived in Raccoon City today. Maybe you've got me mixed up with someone else?"
Li Wei's facial muscles twitched ever so slightly.
He forced a smile and apologized politely: "Ah, must be a case of mistaken identity."
But inside? He was screaming.
'Fuck—it really is you!, Raccoon City's rookie cop!. The walking death flag! The legendary "Leon S. Kennedy"!'
'Wasn't this guy the main character from the Resident Evil games?. In the movies, he only made a brief appearance in Resident Evil 5 before vanishing again. So why the hell was he showing up in Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse, the second movie?'
'And paired with Jill no less?, Riding the same evac chopper as Leon Kennedy? That thing was as good as exploded already!. That helicopter's doomed. No way I'm boarding that thing now.'
With that disturbing realization, Li Wei recalled the system's note: "27% Plot Deviation."
'So that's what it meant?. This world was a fusion of Resident Evil: The Movie and Resident Evil: The Game?
Goddamn it...
Compared to the limited budget of the movies, the game universe had way more terrifying bio-weapons. This wasn't going to be easy.'
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
Watching the massive Tyrant collapse with a thunderous crash, Li Wei and the others, who were in the midst of retreating, froze in shock.
From the moment Huang Liu turned around to the moment the Tyrant went down, barely two seconds had passed.
And in that short span of time, one of the two Tyrants they'd thought impossible to deal with had been permanently eliminated.
The feeling was akin to a bunch of scrubs teaming up in a game and unexpectedly running into a high-level boss. Just when everyone had given up hope, hands off the keyboard and already imagining the squad getting wiped out… one of their teammates suddenly pulled off god-tier moves and instantly soloed the boss!
The shock was on par with finding out Jack Ma was actually your college roommate.
One of the Purgators instantly revealed his inner bootlicker and shouted toward Huang Liu:
"Daddy! You're insane! Take us with you!!"
"..."
In truth, it wasn't just the onlookers who were stunned.
Even outside Raccoon City, the Umbrella Corporation staff remotely operating the Tyrants were staring at their screens like they'd seen a ghost.
The commander nearly spilled his coffee.
According to the Red Queen's projections, even with over a dozen fully armed elite soldiers packing heavy firepower, taking down a single Tyrant would come at a steep cost.
That's why they had treated Li Wei's crew as little more than disposable toys—something for amusement. They hadn't taken them seriously in the slightest.
At first, their panicked retreat only served to entertain the operators even more.
But then, in just two to three seconds, Huang Liu used nothing more than a standard-issue rifle to take out a Tyrant. That move stunned the entire control room.
It was like watching an action movie unfold in real time.
The commander's expression turned grim as he barked out an order: "Release the second Tyrant's limiter. And get me everything you can find on that Asian man—immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Following that command, the remaining Tyrant trembled slightly.
The coat and metal restraints on its body clattered to the floor.
What had been a relatively proportional physique suddenly began to balloon like an inflating balloon.
Veins glowing crimson bulged across its body like magma-forged armor.
"Open fire! Now!"
The Purgators instantly understood—the second form was coming. The Tyrant was about to enter its berserk state.
No hesitation. They opened fire with everything they had, hoping to interrupt the transformation.
But with the Tyrant shielding its head, their rifles may as well have been squirt guns. Aside from scuffing its surface, they were completely useless.
And finally—its transformation complete—its fingers elongated into razor-sharp bone claws over a foot long.
With a sudden crouch, the Tyrant launched itself five to six meters into the air like a pouncing tiger. In a flash, it closed in on one of the cops.
A casual swipe, and the officer—body armor and all—was carved cleanly into several pieces.
The Purgators' expressions turned deathly grim.
One of them even trembled uncontrollably as he muttered:
"Holy shit… a dual-claw Tyrant. In the game that thing's always a boss-level nightmare. Practically immune to bullets… only rockets even work…"
The situation, which had seemed to turn in their favor thanks to Huang Liu's incredible performance, was once again sliding into crisis.
---
At the Hospital
After arriving, Orsaga casually landed his aircraft on the hospital's rooftop.
He stepped out, tried the rooftop door—and found it firmly locked.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his trusty tool: a piece of scavenged wire.
Jamming it into the keyhole and fiddling for a bit…
Click.
The metal door creaked open.
"Pretty handy little thing~" he muttered, tossing the wire back into his pocket.
The first thing to greet him beyond the doorway was a pile of half-gnawed bones, mixed with bloody smears and desperate claw marks.
After surveying the scene, he pieced together what had happened.
Some poor soul had tried to escape to the rooftop to avoid the zombies—only to discover they didn't have the key to the door.
And just like that, game over.
Blocked in front by the locked door and behind by a swarm of undead… There was no worse way to go.
What made it even more pathetic was that, given how many zombies there were, the poor bastard's meat wasn't even enough to go around. He didn't even get the chance to turn—just got eaten down to the bones.
"Eugh…"
Orsaga wrinkled his nose.
Out of everyone in the hospital, that guy might've been the cleanest plate.
He sniffed the air, picking up the lingering stench of what zombies left behind after snacking on a large intestine sashimi platter.
'Yeah… for human senses, that's gotta be nasty…'
With that, he began making his way down the staircase, stepping through puddles of half-congealed red sludge.
He hadn't gone far—just down two floors—when three zombies came into view.
Without prey nearby, zombies were like mannequins—standing around, motionless.
But the moment they sensed Orsaga, they began to stir.
Zombies had heightened senses—smell, hearing, vision—all sharper than a normal human's.
As they shambled toward him with stiff, jerky movements, Orsaga didn't even pause.
Calmly, he drew the longsword from his waist.
Three casual thrusts.
Each sword strike pierced an eye socket and sent vibrations deep into the brain, scrambling it like tofu.
As the corpses collapsed with wet thuds, Orsaga gave his sword a quick shake, flicking off the red-and-white mess clinging to the blade.
Humming softly, he continued down the hall.
Originally, he had built himself a chainsaw sword for dealing with zombies, but the two key factors—battery life and aesthetics—had proven too hard to solve with the junk he had on hand.
So he dismantled it.
Part of the material was used to build an electric grill, which he planned to mount on his aircraft so he could barbecue mid-flight.
The rest was reforged into the longsword in his hand.
While it lacked any special abilities, it was decently sharp and sturdy—good enough for basic use.
And with each step he took, the zombie horde was shredded like grass beneath his blade.
Inside the hospital, the undead dropped one after another, barely able to twitch before dying.
Even though Orsaga's physical stats were only at baseline human levels, taking out these trash mobs was still a breeze.
Their stiff, clumsy movements were meaningless to someone like him.
Most of the time, all he had to do was raise his sword at the right moment—and the zombies would stumble into it headfirst, practically offing themselves.
What's more, the human body had a natural energy-conservation mechanism.
As long as he kept his movements within a certain threshold, Orsaga's stamina wouldn't decrease.
So mowing down the undead was about as taxing as breathing.
"You're trash too…"
Muttering under his breath, Orsaga casually pointed his longsword toward a nearby shadow.
Just then, a Licker lunged at him.
The blade intercepted its trajectory mid-air, piercing straight into its brain and dropping it instantly.
With a smooth, effortless motion, Orsaga redirected the momentum of the pounce, using the Licker's own force to toss its soon-to-be-falling corpse into a nearby pile of bodies—without sparing it a second glance