Carlos set down the walkie-talkie and grinned at Murphy and the others. "Good news. The Butcher is back; he'll be up here to back us up shortly!"
"The Butcher" was the nickname the U.B.C.S. men had given Lear after watching him take down the Nemesis right before their eyes.
Upon hearing that Lear had returned, the tension visibly drained from Murphy and Brad's faces.
"Thank god. I hate to admit it, but that guy is so strong it feels like resistance is futile," Murphy let out a long breath, asking half-joking and half-serious, "By the way, Brad, is everyone in the Raccoon City Police Department that elite? Lear is terrifyingly strong, Jill is the same, and even your speed at killing zombies isn't much slower than ours."
Brad slid his pistol back into its holster and sighed. "I just don't want to be a coward anymore. Those two... they aren't even human."
While the three were chatting, Tyrell put down his walkie-talkie and looked over at Lear.
"I understand," Lear nodded. "I'll head over immediately. I have a general idea of where the nurse station is."
Lear walked briskly toward the stairs. The route wasn't particularly complex for him—the Raccoon City Hospital wasn't that large to begin with—and he soon reached the second floor.
Just as he turned the corner from the stairwell into the corridor, a thick, metallic scent of blood swept toward him.
At the corner of the hallway, a deep green Hunter lay quietly in wait within the shadows. Its body was as still as a statue, blending seamlessly into its surroundings.
This Hunter was starkly different from others of its kind; it wasn't in a rush to attack.
From the moment Lear stepped onto the stairs, it had been lying in ambush, waiting silently for its prey to walk into striking range.
Lear didn't notice it at first, but as he entered the corridor, his brain felt a sudden jolt like an electric current. He felt a shiver run through his entire body.
Though he didn't know exactly what was happening, his experiences over the past few days made him instinctively slow his pace.
As he slowed down and focused, Lear felt as though an invisible ripple was radiating outward from him.
The shadows in the corners, the gaps in the piles of debris—every hidden nook was swept by this ripple.
Everything around him transformed into a distinct black-and-white map, projected clearly into Lear's mind.
The Hunter hidden in the shadows, the sound of its heartbeat, the slight vibration as it tilted its head—it all made this supposedly seamless assassin as obvious as a firefly in the dark.
Well... a jumbo-sized firefly.
Lear wasn't entirely sure what was causing his current state.
Eagle Vision? Or, it feels more like... Insect Sense! Lear thought to himself as he came to a complete stop.
The specialized Hunter had no idea what Lear was seeing. All it saw was the human in front of it suddenly halting a few meters outside of its attack range.
The Hunter chose to continue waiting quietly. In its understanding, it hadn't been discovered; otherwise, the human would have fled long ago. At least, that was how the others it had killed before always reacted.
Even so, it slowly lowered its body into a pouncing stance, preparing to kill this strange human.
As far as the Hunter was concerned, it had executed its role to perfection.
At first, it hadn't reacted, but the human seemed to be staring directly into its eyes.
Thinking this, it cautiously backed further into the shadows. Sure enough, Lear's eyes followed it inward. It retracted its waist and crouched lower; Lear's gaze followed the movement downward.
For Lear, his overwhelming strength already rendered the Hunter's ambush futile, and with his "map hack" now active, the creature's cautious movements appeared utterly ridiculous.
Every twitch it made generated vibrations, allowing Lear to see it with even greater clarity.
Lear tilted his head, his eyes tracking the Hunter's every shift.
Seeing Lear's reaction, the Hunter was certain: this human had discovered it. It stopped waiting and prepared to burst forth to eliminate this strange person.
Yet, a split second before it could lunge, every organ in its body began screaming in alarm. A biological instinct told it that if it dared to move, it would die instantly.
Stuck halfway out of the shadows, the Hunter froze in place. Its hideous, lizard-like face was now fully exposed to Lear.
Amusingly, as it looked at Lear's half-smiling expression, the monster's face actually twisted into a bizarre, sycophantic grin that mimicked a human trying to please someone.
It was terrifying, yet somewhat comical.
"You've already come out, so what's the point of just standing there?" Lear raised an eyebrow, looking at this interesting Hunter.
Only now did Lear see clearly that this Hunter was vastly different from the standard models.
In terms of height alone, while a normal Hunter rarely exceeded five feet seven inches, this one stood nearly two meters tall. Its build was leaner than typical specimens, and for a monster, its posture was remarkably upright.
The massive claws that should have been prominent were retracted into its palms. Its insect-like mandibles had been replaced by upper and lower lips similar to a human's; though its fangs were still exposed, there was no doubt this thing looked more human than a standard Hunter.
Lear watched the frozen creature as it desperately tried to display friendliness.
"So, can you understand me?" Lear tried asking a question.
The Hunter simply tilted its head at him as if it understood nothing.
However, Lear clearly caught a flicker of cunning in its eyes.
"Fine. You don't understand, do you? Then you're useless. Might as well kill you," Lear muttered, feigning a soliloquy while keeping the creature in his peripheral vision.
As soon as the words left Lear's mouth, a look of panic immediately washed over the Hunter's face.
Seeing this, Lear became even more certain of his hypothesis: this Hunter possessed intelligence, and quite a high level of it!
Seeing Lear approach step by step, the Hunter's body involuntarily shuddered. Its eyes darted around, and the massive creature actually tried to shrink back into the shadows.
The Hunter spread its palms, trying to appear harmless. It pointed toward the nurse station, bowing and scraping with a very clear message:
"After you! Please, go ahead! I won't stop you!"
The Hunter's abnormal behavior piqued Lear's deep interest. Since no gunfire was coming from the nurse station, things were likely fine there; he decided he might as well probe the depths of this creature's secrets.
Seeing that Lear had no intention of leaving, a murderous glint flashed briefly in the Hunter's eyes. The claws hidden in his palms snapped out instantly. Adopting a desperate stance, it lunged and hurled a nearby wheelchair at Lear.
The move caught Lear by surprise, but it posed no threat. He casually swatted the flying wheelchair aside, focusing his attention on the monster's next move.
After throwing the chair, the Hunter followed up by swinging its massive claws toward the glass...
To Lear's astonishment, it smashed through the window and leaped outside. When it looked back at Lear, its eyes were filled with mockery.
And then, there was no "and then."
Lear's reflexes outstripped the speed of thought. He vanished toward the window, reaching out and snatching the Hunter by its ankle.
The Hunter was now completely bewildered. If anyone were looking up from the hospital's Central Garden, they would have seen a green-skinned monster dangling like a ragdoll outside the second floor window. With one leg gripped in Lear's hand and its body hanging in mid-air, it flailed its limbs wildly in a struggle, looking for all the world like a giant, oversized toad.
(Translated by yourtl.app)