Chapter 23
For the first time, Svetlana felt her heart race. From her perspective, the man crouching on the ground was certainly doomed. This was a warrior's unique intuition, but she didn't speak up.
Eddie also felt a moment of suffocation, his heart beating much faster. This was his first encounter with the legendary Zombie! Wild Zombies! This nightmare used to keep him awake, and now he finally had to face it head-on!
He drew a pistol with his right hand, disengaged the safety, and silently aimed at the man, ready to fire the moment the opponent attacked.
"Hey, sir, are you alright? Don't worry, everything will be fine." Joseph reached out to help him up.
The next second, the man in tattered civilian clothes suddenly stood up and lunged forward, baring his ferocious fangs, trying to bite Joseph!
After being targeted first by the Zombie Dogs, Joseph tragically became the Zombie's target again. Who told him to try and help a Zombie?
"Roar!" "Ah!" Joseph quickly grabbed the opponent's neck, preventing the Zombie from biting him. The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. Jill reacted, but didn't know if she should shoot; after all, it was still a person.
Bang! A gunshot rang out. Eddie fired! A single shot to the soul, the specially made bullet directly blew up the Zombie's head. Losing its ability to think, the Zombie fell.
Joseph pushed the Zombie away forcefully, backing away repeatedly. He was terrified. Anyone encountering a Zombie would be scared witless. "Wh-what the hell is that thing?"
"Enemy!" Eddie silently continued to fire, delivering a finishing blow. If someone from Hunk's squad had stepped up to shoot William twice when they were seizing the G-Virus, there would have been no Raccoon City crisis. This shows the importance of finishing blows!
Chapter 37: Cliff Dive! Hero Saves Beauty!
"Eddie, what are you doing? You're killing a civilian!" The squad leader, Enrico, a man with a strong sense of justice, immediately stepped forward to reprimand him. His sense of justice would not allow such a thing to happen under his command.
"Look closely. This guy can no longer be considered human. There are plants parasitic on him; this only happens to dead people. And have you forgotten? The intelligence we received mentioned many corpses with signs of being gnawed on. Those were done by primates. To add, humans are also primates!" Eddie said calmly.
"You mean!" Enrico gasped, unable to imagine the consequences of this disaster.
"Exactly, these strange plants. Look, they're still moving, not dead yet. There must be something strange going on!" Eddie pointed at the small, still-waving vines.
Rebecca, on the side, hid behind Eddie, somewhat scared. That Zombie earlier had already made her feel like throwing up and nearly scared her silly. Now, thinking about it, she felt a bit embarrassed. She was the youngest and truly seemed to be the one most in need of protection.
"You all must help me! There are so many monsters here, how am I supposed to live now!" The guide, Albert, began to cry bitterly, seemingly very sad, though it was unclear if he was putting on an act.
"Don't worry, we will definitely eliminate these monsters and find the true culprit. Continue leading the way; time is of the essence." Enrico nodded, then paused. "Eddie, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."
Enrico was still a good-natured man, able to admit his mistakes and apologize in front of everyone.
Eddie waved his hand. "It doesn't matter. I've received more cold stares and misunderstandings at Umbrella than this. I'm used to it."
Jill, on the side, felt a pang of sympathy. She decided that after they returned this time, she would treat her boyfriend well. Men have it tough!
As they ventured deeper into the suburbs, the roads became increasingly difficult to traverse. Suddenly, a mountain suspension bridge appeared ahead, and behind the bridge was a hazy, large building.
"It's just ahead, almost there. Over there, I often hear screams." Albert finished speaking and quickly crossed the suspension bridge, running towards the large building.
"Wait!" Enrico tried to stop him but couldn't, so he had to follow.
Behind them, a large number of Plant Zombies suddenly appeared. The vines on these parasitic Zombies seemed to move on their own, searching for food. Even passing flies were directly swallowed.
"You all go ahead, I'll guard here." Eddie picked up his submachine gun and began to attack.
"I'll help you!" Jill immediately stepped forward to accompany her boyfriend, picking up her pistol and attacking the Plant Zombies.
"We'll go first. Edward, Foster, you two set up covering fire for Eddie and them from the other side!" Enrico issued the order.
Tat-tat-tat! The submachine gun continuously fired single shots, each bullet accurately knocking down a Plant Zombie with a headshot.
"Are you scared, Jill?" Eddie asked, still in a leisurely mood.
"Not scared, darling. I'm an elite member too!" Jill smiled, her tense and frightened emotions dissipating with the smile. She felt a bit grateful to her boyfriend; he was truly thoughtful!
"Of course, you're a super cop! Alright, you go first, take Rebecca and Alyssa with you. I'll cover you all." Eddie pointed behind him.
"Okay!" Jill said no more unnecessary words, taking the two women and heading across the suspension bridge.
The other S.T.A.R.S. members were already on the opposite bank, attacking with sniper rifles and other weapons. "Eddie, you two hurry over!" Enrico shouted loudly.
"You go first." Svetlana tilted her head, continuing to fire her gun.
"You go. You're a woman. I won't let a woman cover my rear. Go on, don't thank me." Eddie didn't move.
"Hmph, idiot, don't be so kind." Svetlana frowned, then walked across first.
Whoosh! An axe flew rapidly from the building, coming with great force. The spinning axe actually severed the suspension bridge, and without the stability of the ropes, the bridge began to collapse.
Svetlana, halfway across, quickly grabbed a rope to keep herself from falling.
Eddie, too, was quick-witted, swiftly grabbing a rope and swinging to the other side, though he ended up closer to the base of the cliff.
"Eddie!" Jill exclaimed.
"I'm fine!" Eddie's voice came from below the cliff.
Caw-caw-caw! A chorus of crows cawed. Those infected crows with crimson eyes began to attack. At the same time, a buzzing sound came, seemingly from giant mutated bees.
"It's too dangerous here. Let's go inside the house, into that building, and resist from there." Wesker decisively issued the order.
"No, I won't abandon my team members." Vice-Captain Enrico stepped forward to object.
"You all go first. We'll catch up soon. It's alright, you all leave first; those animals are very dangerous. We'll figure something out, just go." Eddie's voice came from below the cliff.
Jill wanted to say something more, but after hearing the voice in the special channel, she nodded, pulling Rebecca and running towards the building, while also quickly remaining vigilant.
Meanwhile, the reporter Alyssa looked at the building, memories constantly swirling in her mind. It seemed as if some unpleasant memory was about to surface, and she also followed the S.T.A.R.S. members into the building.
No sooner had everyone left than the old, dilapidated ropes snapped. Svetlana and Eddie both fell straight down the cliff. Eddie reacted quickly, pulling out a steel dagger and scoring a mark on the cliff face to slow his descent.
Svetlana wasn't prepared and experienced weightlessness, falling straight down. This cliff was over sixty meters high; if she really fell, no matter how skilled Svetlana was, she would perish instantly!
At the critical moment, Eddie directly wrapped his arm around Svetlana's waist, using his astonishing arm strength to counteract the acceleration of gravity from the fall. Finally, seeing a tree growing out diagonally, Eddie jumped with force, leaping to it.
Thud! The tree trembled a few times, but held firm, not falling with them.
Below the cliff was a stream, and in the stream, there seemed to be some strange creatures—leeches or alligators? Perhaps some carnivorous fish that had become very aggressive after being infected.
Svetlana casually rubbed her head. "Thanks!"
"You're welcome. Speaking of which, isn't it an Eastern Slav Republic tradition that if you're saved, you have to offer yourself in marriage?" Eddie teased.
"Go to hell!" Svetlana rolled her eyes, but wasn't angry.
"I guess so. If a woman saved a man, and the man said he'd offer himself in marriage, wouldn't the woman be at a disadvantage? Hahaha!" Eddie, having narrowly escaped death, still had the presence of mind to joke, which was, in fact, a way to alleviate stress.
Chapter 38: The Stranded Scout, Sienna!
"What do we do now?" Svetlana frowned. They were still forty meters from the top, and getting up would be incredibly difficult, especially since it was night, severely limiting visibility.