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The speedboat's engine cut out over a hundred meters away from that steel behemoth.
Inertia pushed the small boat, gliding silently over the murky river water, drifting slowly toward the dam's cold concrete base.
The disappearance of the roar made the dam's own rumble clearly audible.
Tens of thousands of tons of river water gushed out from several small spillways on the towering dam body, crashing into the surface below, kicking up a mist that covered the sky and emitting a continuous thunderous sound.
The entire dam was like a gray beast crouching in the canyon, using its cold, hard, and massive body to arrogantly cut off the river and the trio's path.
The dam's surface was covered with deep green moss and black water stains, like dried tear tracks telling of the long years it had stood there.
Before this colossus, a symbol of modern industrial power, their small speedboat was as fragile as a withered leaf floating on the water.
The girl on the boat began to tremble uncontrollably again the moment she saw the dam's silhouette clearly.
Her face was pale, her lips had lost their color, and in her azure eyes, the cold shadow of the dam was reflected, filled with an indescribable panic.
She reached out a slender, trembling finger and pointed toward the magnificent yet oppressive structure.
"I... I'm from there..."
Her voice was torn to pieces by the massive sound of the water, so soft it was almost inaudible.
"...that dam... escaped from there..."
Noah steadily steered the speedboat toward a relatively level platform on one side of the dam's base.
There was an inconspicuous, half-submerged square entrance that looked like some kind of maintenance tunnel.
Krauser was the first to jump onto the platform, his gun held in a constant state of alert, his sharp gaze warily scanning the surrounding dark corners.
Leon S. Kennedy carefully supported the girl, helping her stand steady.
Her legs were still weak, and she almost relied on Leon S. Kennedy's support to keep from collapsing.
Noah was the last to go ashore; he didn't rush to follow but deliberately kept a distance of several meters from the girl.
He could feel that even through Leon S. Kennedy's body, the gaze the girl cast in his direction was still filled with an unresolvable dread.
He chose to follow at the back of the group, silently playing the role of a shadow.
Leon S. Kennedy and Krauser stood on either side, guarding the girl in the middle, forming a tight protective formation.
"If we follow the waterway, we should be able to reach Javier's lair," Leon S. Kennedy's voice was very low.
As he spoke, he checked the condition of the tunnel entrance.
He turned his head to look at the girl beside him, who was still slightly trembling, trying to make his voice sound as gentle as possible.
"You haven't told us your name yet?"
The girl's shoulders shrank back; she seemingly hadn't expected him to ask that.
She stole a quick glance at Leon S. Kennedy and then quickly lowered her head, her gaze falling on her water-soaked white skirt.
"I... my name is Manuela..."
Her voice was tiny, like the buzzing of a mosquito.
"Nice to meet you, Manuela." Leon S. Kennedy nodded, his tone becoming serious.
"From now on, you need to be especially careful and follow our commands for everything, understand?"
"If you want to leave here alive," Krauser added coldly from the front, "don't leave our line of sight."
Noah listened to their conversation and decided it was best not to speak.
At this point, any word from his mouth would likely cause the girl named Manuela to fall into a state of stress again.
Manuela also seemed intimidated by Krauser's fierce, unapproachable aura. She subconsciously leaned closer to Leon S. Kennedy and then nodded obediently.
"Okay, I understand."
After confirming, the four of them walked into the dark entrance.
A blast of cold air, mixed with the stench of rust, mold, and stagnant water, hit them in the face.
The interior of the tunnel was more spacious than imagined, enough for two or three people to walk side-by-side; the walls and floor were rough concrete.
Overhead, a dim emergency light appeared every dozen meters or so, casting a dismal halo and stretching four long, swaying shadows on the ground.
Beneath their feet was cold stagnant water, about ankle-deep. Every step they took made a "splash, splash" sound that was infinitely magnified in this dead-silent tunnel, sounding particularly harsh.
They walked along this seemingly endless drainage tunnel for about a few minutes.
Suddenly, a few slight "click" sounds came from the metal mesh grating overhead.
The three men stopped instantly, their muscles tensed, and their weapons were raised in unison toward the source of the sound.
"Hiss..."
An eerie sound, like a snake flicking its tongue, came from above.
Following that, several slender red shadows passed through the gaps in the overhead grating, landing silently in the water ahead like boneless mollusks.
"Splash!"
Water splashed everywhere.
They were monsters unlike any they had seen before.
Their bodies were extremely slender, like humanoid figures that had been deliberately stretched. They were nearly two and a half meters tall, but their torsos and limbs were disproportionately thin, looking like the "Slender Man" from horror legends.
They were covered in a layer of dark red skin that looked like new muscle—smooth, moist, hairless, and without facial features, only a bald, blurred head. (Anubis)
They stood up from the water, their slender arms hanging below their knees, their ten fingers as sharp as knives. They twisted their necks at an eerie angle, seemingly "observing" the intruders before them.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Leon S. Kennedy and Krauser's guns spat fire simultaneously.
The bullets accurately struck the monsters' torsos and heads, bursting into clouds of dark red blood mist.
The monsters' bodies were unexpectedly fragile; the parts hit by bullets exploded directly, revealing white bones and twisted internal organs inside.
They couldn't make any screams; they just swayed silently a few times before collapsing limply, their bodies twitching in the water and soon ceasing to move.
"It seems Javier's guests care a lot about their figures," Leon S. Kennedy said, blowing the smoke from his gun's muzzle and making a cold joke. "This weight-loss effect is quite good."
However, the gunfire instantly shattered the silence within the dam.
"Roar—!"
"Heh, heh..."
From deep within the tunnel came more, and more chaotic, roars.
Dense, dragging footsteps and the sound of water approached rapidly from a distance.
At the corner ahead in the tunnel, under the dim light, a large group of figures staggered out.
There were more of the slender red monsters from before, at least a dozen of them.
And among them were many zombies in blue or gray work uniforms, their bodies highly decomposed, walking with a staggering gait.
They had once been workers at this dam, but now they were just walking corpses controlled by a virus.
They had only one goal: to tear apart the living things before them.
"Damn! There's too many!" Krauser's face darkened as he roared while firing, "Get out of here, now!"
Bullets continuously hit the monster swarm, blowing flesh and blood off the ones in front, but it couldn't stop their advance at all.
This narrow tunnel had become a deadly cage; they had nowhere to hide.
At this critical moment, a black shadow streaked past Leon S. Kennedy and Krauser like lightning.
In the process of rushing forward at high speed, Noah swept his right hand to the left. A hideously shaped tactical dagger slid from the sheath on his shoulder and was held in a reverse grip.
His figure didn't pause for a second as he crashed directly into the wave of rotting flesh and claws.
"Pfft—!"
The cold glint of the dagger drew a beautiful yet tragic arc in the dim tunnel.
The head of the foremost red monster was sliced clean off its neck, flying high and tumbling into the water.
Noah's figure didn't slow down at all. Using the decapitated monster as an axis, he spun his body violently, his left elbow slamming like a sledgehammer into the temple of a nearby zombie.
"Crack!"
A crisp sound of bone fracturing rang out. The zombie's head caved inward at a bizarre angle, and its body slumped down.
He was like a thrown, spinning blade, whipping up a bloody storm within the narrow tunnel.
Every swing and thrust of the dagger was precise and lethal.
Fists, elbows, knees, feet—every part of his body was transformed into the most terrifying weapon of slaughter.
One burst after another of dark red and ink-green blood erupted within the monster swarm.
The monsters that Leon S. Kennedy and Krauser found so troublesome were as fragile as paper before Noah.
Whether it was the bizarrely moving red monsters or the immensely strong zombies, nothing could stop his advance for even a second.
Within just a few breaths, he had actually carved out a blood-soaked path of severed limbs and corpses through the dense monster swarm in the most primitive and savage way.
"Go!"
Noah's voice, cutting through the monsters' roars and the sound of tearing flesh, clearly reached the ears of the three behind him.
Krauser and Leon S. Kennedy looked at each other, both seeing unmaskable shock in the other's eyes.
They didn't hesitate any longer, immediately guarding the already deathly pale Manuela as they rushed toward the iron gate of another fork dozens of meters away, along the blood-soaked path Noah had cleared.
Noah led the way, his back under the swaying lights resembling a god of slaughter from Hell.
Once Leon S. Kennedy's group of three rushed into the fork, Noah kicked away the last zombie trying to pounce on him, retreated rapidly, and slipped through the gate.
"Clang—!"
Leon S. Kennedy used all his strength to turn the winch beside the gate. The heavy iron gate slammed down, completely cutting off the crazed monsters outside.
The tunnel was temporarily safe.
"Huff... huff..."
The three of them leaned against the cold wall, panting heavily.
Leon S. Kennedy closed the gate and turned his head to look at Manuela, who was huddled in a corner, shaking like a leaf. A massive doubt surfaced in his mind.
His brow was furrowed, his voice carrying a hint of confusion.
"Manuela, how did you escape from here?"
"Did you really not encounter a single monster when you left?"
Leon S. Kennedy's words suddenly reminded Krauser.
He also reacted instantly, snapping around toward Manuela with a sharp gaze.
"What exactly is going on!?"
Krauser's questioning was full of pressure, causing the already terrified Manuela to tremble once more.
"I... I don't know..." her voice carried a sob, tears welling in her eyes, looking utterly helpless and wronged.
"When I came out... really... there was really nothing... I didn't encounter a single monster here..."
She didn't seem to be lying.
Krauser stared at her for a few seconds. The suspicion on his face didn't fade, but he eventually looked away.
"Hmph, it seems our Mr. Javier doesn't like outsiders very much," he snorted coldly, giving the most logical explanation.
These monsters were clearly "released" on purpose to entertain them, the uninvited guests.
Hearing Javier's name, Manuela's emotions seemed to grow even more tense.
She looked up, her tear-filled eyes searching Leon S. Kennedy and Krauser, and asked with a trembling voice:
"You... you're looking for Javier... what do you want to do?"
The air suddenly became a bit stagnant.
Neither Leon S. Kennedy nor Krauser answered immediately.
Just then, Noah's voice came from the nearby shadows.
He had been leaning against the other side of the gate and only now spoke slowly.
"That guy prepared so many monsters in his own territory."
"What do you think his reason for releasing these things would be?"
Noah's words caused Manuela to freeze entirely.
The fear and grievance on her face slowly faded, replaced by a deeper, complex expression mixed with sadness and a certain realization.
She was silent for a long time.
In the tunnel, only the distant, unwilling roars of the monsters and the muffled thuds of them hitting the gate remained.
Finally, she seemed to make a decision.
"I... I'll take you there."
She looked up, her gaze passing over Leon S. Kennedy and Krauser's faces, and finally, she even mustered the courage to glance very briefly at Noah.
"The path ahead... is a bit complicated..."
Leon S. Kennedy, Noah, and Krauser looked at each other and nodded slightly.
Although this girl was full of mysteries, right now, she was their only lead to finding Javier.
Leon S. Kennedy nodded to her.
Under Manuela's guidance, the three of them crossed the fork and continued into the deeper darkness of the dam.