Passing through the parking garage, the branch's sign could be seen in the distance on the street behind, with flames still visible and occasional gunshots.
Numerous roadblocks made of steel and concrete were connected to prevent zombie invasion. It looked effective, but this also seemed to turn the branch into an isolated island, with only one road leading to it.
Who came up with this idea? Aren't they afraid of trapping themselves inside?
Chapter 214: The Ambushed Branch
"Claire, hold on tight!" Eddie suddenly said.
Before Claire could react, Eddie grabbed her, and then she flew upwards, crossing the wall and landing on the street. It was a very peculiar take-off from flat ground, a sudden and unexpected ride!
"Enjoying it?" Eddie grinned mischievously.
"A bit sudden, but the effect was pretty good. Can you give me a heads-up next time?" Claire said with a wry smile. She really had no defense and suddenly just flew up.
"This is the quickest way. You wouldn't want to look for a door, would you? By the time you find one, this place would already be overrun by zombies. Let's go, we're heading to the branch," Eddie explained.
Svetlana, however, added, "You'd better prepare first and communicate with them, otherwise the snipers on the roof might mistake us for zombies."
There were indeed several snipers on the building, aiming to prevent individual wandering zombies from entering this area.
"Brian, are you at the branch? Tell those snipers on the roof that I'm coming, don't accidentally injure a teammate." Eddie made a call; privately, he wasn't so polite.
"You're coming? What for? Damn it, five thousand mixed members on Raccoon City's streets have been routed! They've scattered and fled, and you still have time to come here? Come quickly, let's discuss what to do next." Brian felt like he was about to collapse.
Finding an abandoned car, Eddie pulled the deceased driver from the driver's seat and brought the three women to the branch.
As Brian said, the mixed forces on Raccoon City's streets had been scattered, including Umbrella's own biohazard unit.
The impact of the Tyrants, coupled with the slaughter by Lickers and Hunters, broke through most of the defenses. Additionally, there were numerous zombies, and those not killed mutated into Raging Zombies, all of which were hair-raising presences.
This was their first time dealing with such an event. Although countless zombies fell on the streets, nearly thirty thousand were killed, the endless zombie horde was simply unstoppable by human power.
Weapons would overheat, machinery would break down, and after running out of bullets, they could only look for opportunities to break through. Fortunately, there were still two main battle tanks, otherwise, they would have been completely wiped out.
The heavily damaged mixed forces could only retreat in scattered groups. Some retreated to the police station to hold their ground. Some retreated to the defense line established at the Umbrella building to continue resisting the zombies. And some retreated to the waste disposal plant, using the roads near the plant to retreat again outside Raccoon City.
The Tyrant that ambushed Raccoon Street was just going through the motions, but its fierce style, able to charge while carrying a car and seemingly unkillable, made it impossible for anyone to even think of resisting.
When Eddie arrived at the branch, it was already filled with many survivors. Many residents had come seeking refuge. While many people had turned into zombies, there were still quite a few alive.
Even recently deceased bodies in the cemetery were infected. It was unclear if it was a soil issue or transmission by earthworms and other insects, leading to an unusually high number of zombies.
Bringing Claire to Chris's desk, the desk was unexpectedly locked. Eddie pulled hard, and the drawer opened, the lock naturally breaking.
Inside were some simple photos from the original S.T.A.R.S.'s collaboration. There was also a note stating he had gone to Umbrella's European branch to find evidence of Umbrella's crimes, very worried that his sister Claire would be implicated, so he hadn't told her.
Seeing this, Claire also knew Chris was alive. "I'm sorry, I always thought you were lying to me. I apologize for causing you trouble."
"If you feel bad, then cook for me for a few months as compensation," Eddie laughed.
"Okay, I'm a very good cook," Claire said with a sweet smile, not catching the hidden meaning.
Svetlana, however, disagreed. What cooking? She just hoped she wouldn't be eaten herself. When cooperating with a big bad wolf, the first thing to think about isn't how much you'll earn, but whether you'll end up losing everything!
"Are you okay now? If so, go back to the apartment for now, or you can wait here. I'll go see Brian and see what that old fox wants to do," Eddie said.
"Okay, I'll wait for you here." Claire nodded. This was the Raccoon City Police Department; it would be safer no matter what.
He went all the way to the top floor, which was remodeled from an old museum and was quite large.
Opening the chief's office, he didn't find Brian. There were some bullet casings here, suggesting something had happened.
He called again, "Hey, are you messing with me? Where are you? Why aren't you in the office?"
"I'm at the orphanage. If you go through Crescent Street, you'll get here. Come over, I need your help, hurry. I just encountered a monster. Come here, and I'll tell you everything." Brian's voice was extremely weak.
"Hmph, you'd better not be messing with me." Eddie hung up and returned downstairs.
As soon as he reached the first floor, he heard panicked screams. Three Hunters had broken in and were massacring survivors. Claire picked up her pistol and fought, but the bullets had little effect on the Hunters, only making them more enraged.
Bang! Eddie pulled out his magnum and blew off a Hunter's head. These monsters are very cheap biological weapons and easily controlled. Could Umbrella have sent them to hunt down survivors?
The remaining two Hunters were killed after they had killed seven agents and four or five survivors. It took two or three shotgun blasts to their heads to kill them; their defense was indeed a bit tough.
"What's going on?" Eddie felt things weren't simple. He originally didn't want to look for Brian, but now it seemed Brian really knew some secret.
"I don't know, those monsters broke through the main gate. There were gunshots outside the gate too, it seems they couldn't stop these monsters' advance. Eddie, it's very dangerous here." Claire didn't know why, but she somewhat didn't want to leave this man. It was terrifying here, monstrous creatures, weren't they only in horror movies?
"I need to go out for a bit, to find someone. Although that guy is a biker gang member, he's still a filial son. I need to go see if his mother is still alive." Eddie loaded magnum bullets. A son who can kneel for his mother at least has some bottom line.
Chapter 215: Wife Jill's Call
"I'll go with you!" Claire's eyes were firm. Rather than saying she couldn't leave Eddie, it was more that her woman's intuition told her it would be safer to be with Eddie.
"Suit yourself. At least you're not a burden. You're truly Chris's sister. Just don't become abusive after finding a boyfriend, I doubt anyone could beat you." Eddie teased.
"I don't like those boys." Claire bit her pearly teeth, looking very cute.
The phone vibrated. Eddie picked it up. "Wife, what's up?"
"Husband, when are you coming home? Raccoon City is almost completely fallen now, it happened just tonight. I'm so worried about you, are you okay?" Jill's voice was full of worry. She didn't want her child to be born without a father.
"I'm fine, I'm very well. I still have something to deal with. Don't worry about me. If you encounter Nemesis, test it first, then let Lisa deal with it if its too much. Don't you go, that thing is very strong, you need to be careful." Eddie reminded her because January had hacked into Umbrella's network, and with the help of the Red Queen computer, she had found out Umbrella's movements and told him.
"Nemesis? I'll be careful. You take care of everything. I'll wait for you to come home, everyone is very worried about you." Jill's voice was very gentle; women with children are just different.
"I'll be careful. No one in this world can kill me. That's all for now, I'll take care of things and be back soon." Eddie finished and hung up the phone. What day was it today? Raccoon City had already fallen? It couldn't be that fast!
In fact, most places had fallen. Even if people were hiding, they didn't dare speak. There were also rioters setting fires, otherwise, would zombies set fires? It was all fueled by certain malicious individuals, eventually leading to this situation.
Eddie hung up the phone and came out of the room. Several police officers were constantly retreating, firing their pistols, their expressions panicked, as if they had encountered something terrifying.
Whoosh! An oral proboscis directly pierced an agent's heart and dragged him away, only screams echoed!
"Licker?" Eddie raised an eyebrow, took out his magnum, kicked away an agent who was about to be attacked, then raised his gun with his right hand and sidestepped to dodge another Licker's attack.
Bang bang! Two shots rang out simultaneously. The Licker clinging to the ceiling had its head blown off by the magnum. The lead bullet hit its brain and completely destroyed it. A single shot kill; there's no need to show any mercy to monsters.
"Thank you! Thank you!" A fat agent, having escaped death, was breathing heavily. "Eh, you're Eddie? Thank you for saving me. My name is Cade, and I'm your fan!"
"It's nothing, pay attention. It's best to use heavy weapons to eliminate those things. If you have rocket launchers, take them out and give them a shot. Saving ammunition is courting death!" Eddie said as he walked. Just taking a phone call, and he still encountered such trouble.
"But the weapons are all locked up, and the chief isn't here. What should we do?" Cade was a bit indecisive.
"Then force them open! It's not like you don't know how to pick locks. With so many people, one hammer each can pry them open. Stop talking nonsense. My fans aren't useless, they're elites. Are you an elite? Then pick up your weapons and protect the surviving residents. If things become impossible, retreat and lead people out of Raccoon City. The Federal Guard is outside the city," Eddie suggested.