The proud Alexia would rather allow herself to fail than be defeated by others. Although she knew she needed to immediately suppress and repair the threat posed by the incompletely merged virus, Alexia still chose to continue fighting these invaders.
Beep beep beep, Alexia noticed a large number of flying objects approaching on the radar. Undoubtedly, this was enemy reinforcement.
"You ants, you really want to trouble me! Hmph, I will make you suffer the consequences!" Alexia gave a proud snort, turned, and left the monitoring room, heading toward the family castle hall.
With Jessica's sonic clearing, all the annoying small flying ants were shaken to death.
Eddie and Ada teamed up, using Magnum guns to kill the giantized ants, and casually tossed out two grenades, destroying the ant nest.
"They have become much stronger. How did you do it?" Ada's beautiful eyes shone with curiosity; she was becoming increasingly intrigued about how this was achieved.
Eddie, however, put his arm around Jessica's shoulder and said, "This isn't my credit; it was their own willpower that saved them. I merely played a small role in pushing things along. Let's go. We can talk slowly after we get back. You promised not to leave this time. If you dare treat me like a tool, I will personally drag you back!"
Ada rolled her eyes, looking playful. "I said I wouldn't leave, so I won't. What are you worried about? Are you worried that you lack charm?"
"Charm has nothing to do with you treating me like a tool."
Eddie wasn't buying it; he didn't want to be a tool. Licking dogs lick until they have nothing left.
Ada clearly paused for a moment before understanding what 'tool' meant. "Pfft! You really are interesting. What is this 'tool' you speak of? It sounds so unpleasant. You are not a tool; you are a little man I like."
The four crossed the dining hall and entered the laboratory area, where they found Caroline battling two mutated zombies.
Caroline was very fast. Even when surrounded by mutated zombies, she moved very flexibly, dodging their lunges and then using her dagger to chop off the zombies' heads.
"Are you alright?" Eddie walked over and examined Caroline. This woman was at least obedient and well-behaved for now. Although she wasn't as alluring as Sienna or as mysterious as Ada, she had her own merit: loyalty!
Caroline shook her head. "I'm fine, don't worry. Sienna and the others were captured. The vines that appeared seem to have their own consciousness, and they are difficult to damage. They don't fear pain and are very hard to deal with."
"I know. They can be cut with sharp weapons, but even after being severed, those plants can still fight. They are being controlled; there is someone here manipulating those vines. This is a characteristic of the Veronica Virus: hierarchical control, which is terrifying," Eddie explained.
"You know quite a lot," Ada said, looking at the door opening in the distance.
Clack clack clack, the sound of high heels clicking on the floor came, crisp yet bringing with it a strange atmosphere.
A figure flashed in the shadow of the doorway. A stunning woman dressed like a noble lady appeared, accompanied by an expression of immense pride that felt completely natural an innate pride, radiating from within.
Ada's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. She could sense that the beautiful woman before her was extraordinary; her aura was comparable to her own.
Alexia strode into the laboratory area in high heels, wearing white gloves, appearing tall and elegant. "So you are the invaders my foolish brother spoke of? Somewhat interesting. You are slightly stronger than the previous ones, but your strength is still limited."
"You are Alexia?" Eddie stood in front of her and asked.
"That's right. And who are you?" Alexia lifted her chin proudly.
"You wouldn't want to know. I am curious, though. You use this virus, which basically turns one into a monster upon mutation. To rule the world by becoming a monster your idea is truly bizarre. At least, I believe the essence of evolution is maintaining the human form, not undergoing sudden mutation," Eddie questioned.
"Hmph, what do you know? True fusion with Veronica does not result in mutation. What you have learned is merely what I discarded. Die, invader." Alexia spread her hands, and two thick vines broke through the floor, rushing toward Eddie.
Eddie quickly charged forward, side-stepped the vines' attack, and began running along the walls, using the vines as footholds to rapidly close the distance to Alexia, before delivering a punch.
Thud! Alexia's delicate hand, protected by a white glove, easily caught Eddie's punch. Her high heels clicked twice on the floor, and she stabilized herself after retreating two steps. "The strength is quite good, just a bit weak."
Thud! Eddie quickly punched again, hitting Alexia in the stomach and sending her flying. "Is that so? Next time, please don't talk so much nonsense when fighting."
Staggering from the blow, Alexia was furious. How dare you injure me! With a wave of her left hand, the white glove burst into flames, and a stream of fire shot out. The ability to conjure fire out of thin air was quite exaggerated.
Eddie had already anticipated this move and dodged the moment Alexia attacked. "I am not your enemy. Your brother brought me here. I will leave once I save the people. The ones you need to deal with are behind me."
Thud! Eddie rapidly retreated from where he had just stood, and another vine appeared. Alexia quickly stepped onto the spot where he had been standing.
"Trying to pit the tiger against the wolf, are you? Do you think I'm that foolish?" Alexia certainly wouldn't believe such a trick.
"We share a common enemy: Spencer! He ostracized Edward and Marcus from the board. Alexander couldn't handle the pressure and had to travel far to Antarctica to establish a research facility. I am a distant relative of Marcus. He was killed by Spencer, and I intend to avenge him. We can unite!" Eddie said urgently.
Alexia clutched her still faintly aching stomach and sneered, "I have never heard of a partnership that begins by beating up your potential partner."
"Wasn't that just to prove my strength to you? Times have changed. The T-Veronica Virus you invented is certainly powerful, but technology is also advancing, and more powerful weapons are taking its place. Are you sure you can withstand them?" Eddie countered.
"A one-on-one duel?" Eddie raised an eyebrow.
"What do you think?" Alexia threw the question back.
"Ada, Caroline, you two go rescue the people first. Jessica, Lisa, go assist them. I'm fine. See you later," Eddie instructed.
"Don't push yourself. If you can't win, run." Ada waved her hand, showing no hesitation, and was the first to leave in her high heels.
"Take care, don't die." Caroline also nodded and followed them out.
Jessica lowered her head, sending a burst of sonic energy. "I will keep an eye on you. I won't let anything happen to you."
Lisa clearly received her mother's signal and went with Ada to rescue the others. Jessica leaped onto a high platform, watching coldly from there.
"Alright, a one-on-one duel, but I suggest you transform. Once you mutate, it's very difficult to revert. Being human is much better than being a monster," Eddie said with a shrug, his tone relaxed, clearly not taking Alexia too seriously.
"Do you really think you've already won? You are not worth my full effort," Alexia snorted. She was indeed tempted to activate her first form, but after hearing what he said, she reconsidered.
The two clashed again. Although Alexia's strength was decent, she lacked sufficient combat skills. At best, she was a scientist, not a warrior.
In close combat, she was unable to fight back against Eddie. Using vines only managed to push Eddie back slightly, and they were quickly severed by Eddie's furious punch, who also threw an incendiary grenade to burn them.
Pushed back again by the vines, Eddie scraped a two-meter-long gouge in the floor. His arm was throbbing faintly; that was Alexia's strike of rage. "That's enough. You haven't successfully fused with the virus yet. If we keep fighting, you will only be consumed by the virus. Your intelligence will drop then."
Alexia waved her arms, scattering streams of fire and turning the laboratory area into a sea of flames. "Why do you care?"
"I came here to cooperate, not to cause trouble. I have my own technology, and I am also an enhanced human. In the eyes of ordinary people, they envy our strength, they envy my talent, and they treat us like monsters. In truth, we are all the same kind of people. Why should we kill each other instead of banding together for mutual support?"
Alexia stopped her attack. In this day and age, the most powerful attack was still verbal persuasion! "Hmph, I am not a monster, nor will I ever be one. You want to cooperate with me? Hmph, you should first solve your own problem of power instability!"
Bang! Alexia suddenly charged, hitting Eddie with a palm strike that sent him flying until he slammed into the wall.
The power of that palm strike exceeded ten tons. It felt uncomfortable hitting Eddie. What was the feeling? It was like being hit by a medium-sized truck traveling at 80 kilometers per hour incredibly intense. If he hadn't been enhanced, his bones would have been shattered.
Eddie struggled to stand. "Aren't you afraid of killing me?"
Alexia lifted her head proudly, chin raised. "You won't die. This is your lesson. I am the Queen, the Queen who will rule this world."
"You truly are a lunatic. I have things to do, so I'm leaving first. You better not die; it would be a shame if you did." Eddie waved to Jessica, who jumped down from the platform and helped support him. "Let's go."
Alexia did not stop them. She also realized that her Veronica Virus was somewhat unstable, yet she still needed to deal with the other invaders. She did not want to waste too much energy on such a tough opponent, as it could accelerate her mutation.
In the laboratory on the other side, Ada quickly located the holding area for the Echo Six Team using thermal vision goggles. Everyone was restrained by chains, and one rookie was pinned against the wall by a massive axe.
The handle of the axe pressed against his neck, making it difficult for him to breathe. Moreover, something was clearly wrong; his skin had turned grayish-green, suggesting he was in the process of mutation.
Ada walked over, grabbed the chains, and tore them apart directly. After fusing with a small amount of G-Virus, her strength had increased significantly, and she could still maintain her human form, though she sometimes required special methods to alleviate certain effects.