Accompanied by a roar, the Long-Armed Monster in front of them burst out, its originally massive arm suddenly lashing out like a folded spring gun. Unprepared, one could easily be caught by its hidden, giant spring-like arm.
Although it sacrificed its flexibility, it strengthened the power of its left arm. With just a light touch, it could smash through an entire thick wall. If a person were hit, they would likely be crushed into a pulp on the spot.
Seeing this, Claire immediately retracted her impolite words, decisively abandoned the small pistol in her hand, and leaped to dodge. The Long-Armed Monster's attack arrived as expected, narrowly missing Claire and slamming its massive body into the wall, creating a huge hole before it collapsed to the ground, struggling.
Every time it launched an attack, the Long-Armed Monster had to laboriously struggle up from the ground before it could move again, and this was its biggest drawback.
"Huff… huff…"
"That was close. It seems this thing is dumber than a Tyrant."
Seeing the Long-Armed Monster smash itself into the wall, Claire quickly scrambled up from the ground and grumbled at the monster, which was still struggling to stand up.
Then, she raised her pistol, aimed at its head, and quickly pulled the trigger. Although she knew it wouldn't kill it, Claire still wanted to see how much damage it could inflict.
"Bang bang bang—!!!"
Flashes of fire erupted.
Bullets repeatedly struck the Long-Armed Monster's head, creating several bloody holes and easily piercing its defense. This made Claire's heart leap with joy. It seemed this monster was not as difficult to deal with as a Tyrant. Not only was its intelligence low, but its physical defense was not as terrifying as she had imagined.
However, such injuries were not fatal to the Long-Armed Monster. On the contrary, the penetration of the bullets sent the Long-Armed Monster into a fit of rage. Before Claire could react, the Long-Armed Monster, still on the ground, had already charged up its attack.
With a sweeping motion, its folded spring-arm shot out again. This time, Claire couldn't dodge in time. Even though she twisted her body, she was still grazed by the Long-Armed Monster's massive arm.
"Bang—!!!"
With a dull thud, Claire was instantly sent flying several meters, slamming heavily into the wall before falling down, raising clouds of dust. Claire wanted to get up quickly, but the intense pain in her body prevented her from doing so. She needed to recover for a moment, but that brief moment was not enough to allow her to withstand the Long-Armed Monster's next attack.
"…"
"Hoo hoo hoo… hoo hoo hoo…"
Seeing Claire lose her ability to resist, the Long-Armed Monster excitedly struggled to its feet, its pale eyes filled with greed, and drool dripping from its mouth. Large amounts of saliva flowed out. Trapped on Rockfort Island Prison for many years, it hadn't tasted fresh flesh and blood in a long time. It slowly dragged itself towards Claire.
Its footsteps were slow, but to Claire, they sounded like the tolling of a death knell—
However, just as Claire thought all hope was lost, a slender figure unexpectedly burst in. Seeing Claire about to be eaten, he immediately grabbed two golden ruger p-08 pistols from the wall. Looking at the Long-Armed Monster, Steve immediately closed his eyes and roared, then frantically pulled the triggers.
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang—!!!"
"Ah ah ah ah ah—!!! Die—!!!"
Gunshots and roars erupted simultaneously.
Bullets poured out like rain, densely spraying everywhere. A standard full-barrage Holy Gun Barrage, like Lucian's ultimate, landed on the Long-Armed Monster, instantly turning it into a hornet's nest…
Chapter 7: Temple Run
Steve's appearance was very sudden…
However, he had actually met Claire before. He had only been hiding because of Claire's previous attitude. But when he saw Claire truly in danger, Steve couldn't stand by. So he mustered his courage and rushed in, grabbing the ruger p-08 pistols from the wall and wildly firing at the Long-Armed Monster in front of him.
This was his first kill in the true sense, which was why his emotions were so agitated.
"Boom…"
The Long-Armed Monster's HP was not as robust as a Tyrant's. It was, at most, comparable to a Licker. After being pierced by dozens of bullets through its head and heart, it immediately lost all signs of life, falling heavily to the ground with a dull thud.
"Huff… huff…"
After personally dealing with the monster, Steve slumped to the ground, hands limp, breathing heavily. The ruger p-08 pistols were also discarded on the ground. His emotions were peculiar now, a mix of excitement, fear, and disgust.
"…"
"Steve, are you alright?!"
At this moment, Claire, who had been heavily struck, recovered. She pushed herself up and slowly walked towards Steve, her slender hand grasping Steve's shoulder, her voice filled with concern as she asked.
Claire hadn't expected that it would be Steve, this young punk, who would save her in the end. Their previous unpleasantness was now forgotten.
"I'm fine. Sorry… I couldn't recover immediately. Let me calm down for a bit."
Facing Claire's concern, Steve shook his head, indicating he was fine, but he still couldn't recover quickly. After all, anyone's first time killing a living creature, especially a monster as disgusting and ugly as a Long-Armed Monster, would inevitably be entangled with a strange, complex emotion throughout their body.
This would make the brain unable to react instantly.
This was Steve's current state.
However, as the two were busy resting and showing concern for each other, a figure in a red military uniform slowly crept behind the second-floor railing, holding a bolt-action sniper rifle. His eyes, fixed on Claire and Steve below, were filled with ill intent.
He had a similarly slicked-back golden pompadour, but he was not Wesker. His skin was fair and delicate, and his beautiful sapphire-blue eyes, though lovely, concealed a hint of malevolence. His thin lips even had a faint trace of lipstick.
Tall and slender, dressed in a crisp red military uniform, with white trousers and long boots, this attire, if paired with a tall black bearskin hat and a beard, would make one question if they were seeing a British Royal Guard, those dim-witted ones who just stand guard at the gate.
However, various military ranks were emblazoned on his shoulders and chest, indicating he was some kind of high-ranking individual.
But no matter how one looked at him, this was a man with a effeminate aura.
Despite his tall stature, he carried a hint of effeminacy, somewhat like a pretty boy, a gender-neutral type where it was hard to tell if he was playing male or female.
And this person was Alfred Ashford—
The Ashford Family's only remaining descendant in public, and also its eldest son and one of its patriarchs, as he was the only Ashford left. He was also the useless older brother of the genius child prodigy, Alexia.
Although Alfred did not possess the intelligence and almost monstrous wisdom of his sister Alexia, he was indeed a genius in makeup and voice acting. He only graduated from a prestigious university at twenty-two, which was excellent compared to ordinary people, but compared to Alexia, Wesker, William, and others, he was worlds apart and not worth mentioning, even somewhat foolish.
But in terms of makeup, voice acting, and performing, he was truly unmatched. It felt like heaven had misplaced his skills; he shouldn't have been called to research viruses. If he had become an actor, he surely would have won an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.
After all, Alfred could usually play two roles by himself, with different male and female voices, and a split personality, making his acting extremely refined, almost lifelike. It was so terrifying that even his sister Alexia herself couldn't distinguish it.
Playing both his own and his sister's roles alone was not something just anyone could easily do. This was his true area of genius, not researching some damn virus.
Of course, perhaps it was due to the excellent female genes of the first family head, Lady Veronica, that Alfred was so easily able to portray females…
At this moment, Alfred's gaze was fixed on Claire and Steve below. He had received news two or three hours ago that someone had led mercenaries to attack Rockfort Island Prison, which he managed.
Alfred immediately suspected that Spencer had sent people to ambush him. Don't ask why Umbrella Corporation would attack its own Rockfort Island Prison; just know that the situation was complicated.
After all, when his sister Alexia developed the T-Veronica Virus, that old geezer Spencer had been wary for a long time, only able to watch from the shadows with greedy eyes.
At the same time, he was also very afraid of Alexia's monstrous wisdom, fearing that Alexia would overthrow him and seize the entire Umbrella Corporation.
Therefore, Spencer had not been kind to Alexia at the time. Later, when his sister Alexia prepared to undergo cryogenic fusion with the T-Veronica Virus, and Alfred released false news of her death, Spencer sent people to investigate without delay.
He was afraid that his sister Alexia's death was a fake message to deceive him, and he also turned the Antarctica Research Institute upside down, trying to seize the T-Veronica Virus sample for himself. So Alfred was very clear about that old geezer Spencer's intentions.
Now, Umbrella Corporation was on the verge of collapse due to the Raccoon City incident. At this moment, to rise again, it either had to compromise with the government for protection or develop a new type of virus to turn the tables.
A new virus was impossible… but a potentially hidden T-Veronica Virus did indeed exist.
This was undoubtedly Spencer's motive, that old geezer.
If the T-Veronica Virus could be found, then Umbrella Corporation could immediately turn into the master, no longer fearing the threats of the government and countless citizens.
Therefore, Alfred guessed that the person attacking Rockfort Island Prison was Spencer himself, in order to completely crush the Ashford Family, and to seize their siblings' hard work and the T-Veronica Virus…
Of course, this was all just the delusion of Alfred, a patient with a split personality. Although such a thing was indeed possible, Spencer would not be so crazy as to harm himself by a thousand and lose eight hundred for a T-Veronica Virus.
He was reluctant to blow up Rockfort Island Prison, that huge money pit. At most, he would send spies to investigate. The one who truly wanted to obtain the T-Veronica Virus was Wesker.
But Alfred couldn't care less about all that.
Thinking that his sister Alexia had been sealed and frozen for nearly decades, and in a few more days, she could perfectly fuse with the virus and become the world's strongest ruler, and that the two siblings could reunite as promised—
Thinking of this… Alfred, as a twisted brother obsessed with his sister, would never allow anyone to destroy his beautiful fantasy plan!
"…"
"Two bugs… Die!"
Alfred, gripping the sniper rifle, suddenly stood up from behind the second-floor railing. Looking at Steve and Claire below, his gun barrel and scope instantly locked on, and then he fiercely pulled the trigger.
"Bang—!"
With a loud bang, the bullet flew out. Alfred originally thought his ambush timing was perfect, but he still underestimated Claire's reaction speed. Because from the moment Alfred stood up, Claire had already noticed him. As the bullet shot out, Claire directly pushed Steve beside her to the ground.
"Pfft…!"
The bullet instantly penetrated the floor.
Alfred's sniper rifle bullet did not hit. Claire, having narrowly escaped, quickly raised her pistol and aimed at Alfred's direction, swiftly counterattacking. She fired several shots, forcing Alfred to hide behind the wall, not daring to stand up. He could only temporarily choose to flee to find a more suitable position.
However, taking advantage of this opportunity, Claire led Steve to quickly escape through another passage. The clever Claire did not intend to fight Alfred to the death, as she didn't have many pistol bullets left, while Alfred held a high-precision sniper rifle. There was simply no comparison. Therefore, the best strategy was to retreat.
"Thump-thump-thump…!!!"
"Thump-thump-thump…!!!"
Two sets of hurried footsteps echoed within the base.
Unknowingly, the two arrived at an unfamiliar area. The ground here was all sand, and the space was incredibly vast, like an indoor field for growing crops, with no trace of concrete flooring, yet surrounded by concrete walls… Was this a training ground?
But there was no training equipment or obstacles. Had they stumbled into some strange place?
"Wait… Steve,"
"I have a bad feeling. It's better if we slow down a bit."
Stepping into this strange area, Claire immediately stopped, her gaze sweeping around. Everywhere was eerily quiet, and the more deathly silent it was, the more Claire felt a sense of horror and dread.
"Danger…?"
"What danger is here? There isn't even a single zombie,"
Hearing Claire's words, Steve also looked around in confusion. Young as he was, he completely failed to grasp the terrifying extent of a protagonist's halo and a woman's sixth sense. Basically, whatever she said was spot on, whatever she guessed was right, hitting whatever she aimed at, truly terrifying!
And sure enough, in the next second, a violent tremor from the ground immediately interrupted Claire and Steve's thoughts. Without a doubt… the legendary jinx had come true!
"Buzz…!"