Soon, one after another, the roars of wild beasts began to echo. One Mercenary after another collapsed to the ground, rolling in agonizing pain.
*Rip...*
Their appearances also underwent a massive transformation.
Their faces began to tear open, and yellow eyeballs suddenly grew out of nowhere, densely packed together like the compound eyes of a spider.
Their teeth became incredibly sharp and jagged.
This was the Corpse Demon, also known as the Compound Eye Demon.
It was one of the mutated forms derived from the c-virus agent. Unlike zombies, these were mutants based on a hybrid state between humans and bio-monsters.
Compound Eye Demons retain a high level of intelligence.
Although their memories fade away completely, their behavioral patterns are no different from humans; they just have a few extra eyes. Most importantly, they possess the ability to proficiently use both melee and ranged weapons.
With just a certain amount of training,
they could be cultivated into incredibly obedient death soldiers.
The creation of the Compound Eye Demon agent was for this very reason: Simmons, leader of the Family Organization, and Carla needed a group of obedient death soldiers.
Thus, they developed the Compound Eye Demon agent.
By easily wiping a soldier's memory and brainwashing them into loyal death soldiers, there was likely no better brainwashing agent in the world than this.
Furthermore,
besides retaining high intelligence, Compound Eye Demons could undergo a secondary mutation. If they sustained damage that they could not recover from,
the Compound Eye Demon would begin a physical mutation.
The mutated part could be an arm, the head, the torso, or even a leg—it was entirely random. Each mutated location would grant different powers.
And if they were lucky,
the Compound Eye Demon would undergo a perfect mutation.
Their entire body would immediately be covered and wrapped in a mass of liquid, becoming a giant green cocoon, much like a caterpillar's cocoon before it transforms into a butterfly.
Within minutes of entering the cocoon state, these Compound Eye Demons would burst open, giving birth to even more unrecognizable bio-monsters. These biological weapons, akin to suicide trucks, were highly favored by the Revolutionary Army.
This was the real reason they were recruiting mercenaries on such a large scale. The Revolutionary Army didn't expect these ragtag mercenaries to help them defeat the Government Forces.
They only needed to turn all these mercenaries into Compound Eye Demons. Once transformed, they would have the powerful combat strength needed to help deal with the Government Forces.
And if one looked closely,
they would certainly notice
that the regular Revolutionary Army soldiers who had been handing out equipment just moments ago had all left. They had no desire to stay and be killed by the Compound Eye Demons; those were better left for the Government Forces to deal with.
*Heh heh heh...*
*Roar roar roar—!!!!*
A sharp, angry roar rang out.
Before Jake, who was busy studying the syringe, could react, the Mercenary closest to him opened his bloody maw and lunged fiercely toward him.
The six blood-red eyes on that face gave Jake a start.
With quick reflexes, Jake instantly pulled out the dagger on his thigh, parrying the Compound Eye Demon's attack, and raised his leg to kick it away forcefully.
"Damn it..."
"What kind of monster is this?!"
Looking at the Compound Eye Demon attacking him, Jake spat on the ground and muttered with a look of disgust.
He casually tossed away the syringe in his hand. He had just seen this group of mercenaries transform after injecting that medicine.
Now, Jake seriously suspected that this medicine wasn't a stimulant at all, but very likely an infectious virus.
Thinking of this...
Jake's face immediately turned grim. You have to realize he had just injected that stuff too. Was he going to turn into a monster as well?
But in reality, Jake was overthinking it.
As Wesker's son,
his body carried the progenitor virus inherited from his father, Albert Wesker. Furthermore, due to the nature of his gestation, the progenitor virus in Jake's body was much more stable than his father's.
To put it simply...
Jake was a perfect host for the progenitor virus.
Although the intensity of this progenitor virus wasn't as high as his father Wesker's, it was perfect in terms of integration.
This was because Jake's progenitor virus wasn't injected from an external source.
Instead, it was formed through Wesker's genes gestating within the womb of his mother, Muller. It could be said to be a natural existence, as if the virus and the infant grew together, greatly reducing the risk.
As for the Compound Eye Demon agent,
it was merely a derivative of the c-virus.
It wasn't the true c-virus, so the progenitor virus in Jake's body could immediately absorb the Compound Eye Demon's mutation agent.
It wouldn't cause any impact on Jake's body.
Viruses can absorb and devour each other, and only when evenly matched viruses devour each other does it affect the host.
Just like Wesker's progenitor virus and the ouroboros virus.
But as for the progenitor virus and the Compound Eye Demon agent... forget it.
It was swallowed in one gulp by the progenitor virus. There was no chance for mutation, and Jake wouldn't turn into a Compound Eye Demon, so his worries were for nothing!
*Heh heh heh...*
*Roar roar roar roar————!!!!* +10
However, the situation before him seemed much worse than Jake had anticipated. The group of mercenaries who had injected the medicine together had all transformed into Compound Eye Demons.
There were about several dozen of them.
The gazes of these Compound Eye Demons all fell upon Jake, who had not yet mutated. Without a doubt... this sole outlier would be the target of the Compound Eye Demons' concentrated fire.
"Dammit...!"
"I only came here to make money, not to die. In that case, don't blame me for breaking the rules."
Looking at the dense crowd of Compound Eye Demons projecting their intent to attack him, Jake immediately cursed.
He then quickly picked up an assault rifle and a pistol from the ground, tucking them onto his person as he prepared to flee. Although taking the money and running without going to the battlefield was a disgrace for a Mercenary,
with his life on the line,
Jake didn't have that many concerns.
Anyway, plenty of mercenaries took the money and ran; it was just that he used to consider it a disgrace and had held out for a long time. Now, it was time to break the rules.
Volume 9 Resident Evil 6: Chapter 7 The Killer of His Father
Republic of Edonia—
The center of the civil war within the city,
The sound of artillery filled the sky, black smoke billowed, and the smell of gunpowder permeated everywhere, accompanied by the white snowflakes falling from the sky.
The biting cold set in, unexpectedly creating a sense of desolation and loneliness. Perhaps this is the tragedy brought by a cruel war.
*Clatter clatter clatter...*
At this moment,
the North American BSAA special operations squad led by Chris and others was driving an armored vehicle toward the center of the battlefield.
This was the heart of the conflict between the Revolutionary Rebel Army and the Government Forces.
The sounds of explosions and gunfire rang in their ears constantly. The battle was extremely tense and fierce, and seeing as they were about to enter the streets,
the armored vehicle was no longer suitable for continued infiltration.
Chris stopped the armored vehicle next to a ruined, unfinished building occupied by the Government Forces. Ahead was the position held by the Revolutionary Rebel Army.
If they continued forward,
it would be very easy to become a sitting duck. In urban street fighting, unless it's a situation where a massive army is pushing through, a single armored vehicle penetrating deep into enemy positions alone could become a target for concentrated fire at any moment.
A single RPG could blow them all to bits.
Therefore, in street combat, a simple vehicle isn't as effective as dismounting and advancing in a spread-out formation. At the same time, urban warfare is one of the scenarios many soldiers least want to fight.
The difficulty is second only to jungle warfare. After all, hidden enemies could launch a surprise attack from these narrow ruins and unfinished buildings at any time.
Generally, before occupying a city,
the air force would take the lead in bombing it once.
After clearing out a large number of enemy troops, only then would the army be sent to occupy it. But even so, a city that has undergone bombing will still have a large number of enemy troops hidden and stationed within.
To truly occupy a city,
one must eliminate all the rats hiding inside. Thus... urban street fighting is not as simple as imagined.
"Hey, listen up!"
"As members of the BSAA, our goal is to save the people from bioterrorism and eliminate all bio-viruses and biological weapons."
"This job is very dangerous. I know that before you became members of the BSAA, you already put your lives aside. If you have that mindset, I'll be very glad!"
"However, my job is to ensure your safety, to get as many of you back safely as possible, and to keep you all alive. To achieve this goal, we must pull together as one and be united. Do you understand?"
In the abandoned, unfinished building,
looking at the group of soldiers following him—among whom were both newcomers and veterans, as well as his most trusted subordinate, Piers—Chris did not hesitate and hurriedly gave them a final pre-battle encouragement.
Although the effect of pre-battle encouragement is often negligible,
it must be done. When facing a life-or-death situation,
only by holding onto a sliver of hope will a person burst forth with a powerful will to survive. Pre-battle encouragement is the only way to stimulate that will.
After all,
if a person has no hope, are they even human...?
As long as they are human, they certainly have something they are stubbornly pursuing in their hearts. Even just 'giving up' is a kind of thought, isn't it?
"..."
"Yes, Sir!!!!"
Chris's encouragement did indeed have an effect. After all, with his title as a legendary hero, it was easy to ignite the fighting spirit of a few recruits.
After all, no soldier can resist the personal consolation of a grand marshal. The seven or eight members of the BSAA squad all answered Chris in unison with high morale.
Seeing this,
Chris was very satisfied.
Without hesitation, he immediately led everyone forward into the heart of the war according to the city map provided by the Government Forces.
*Bang bang bang bang bang bang...!!!!*
*Boom boom boom boom rumble...!!!!!*
*Roar roar roar roar roar roar...!!!!!!*
But as soon as they entered the heart of the battlefield,
the sounds of even more intense gunfire and explosions, as well as those heart-shaking, terrifying roars, reached their ears.
It was as if what lay before them was not a battlefield,
but a terrifying hell. Seeing this, Chris hurriedly held his assault rifle to scout the way ahead. As the captain, he had to take the lead and set an example.
*Roar roar roar—!!!*
*Hiss hiss hiss—!!!*
And as luck would have it,
just as they stepped into the Revolutionary Rebel Army's position, the first things waiting for them were not soldiers with guns, but a group of clawing Compound Eye Demon mutants and Zombie Dogs.