Clark couldn't quite make out the creature in the dim light. It resembled a lizard or frog, agile and ferocious, with tough skin. Their team had retreated, killing one, but at least two more roamed the lower hold. They'd fled too fast to know what else escaped the cargo crates filling the hold.
Only Clark and the black-clad leader survived, reaching Section A.
Tense, they entered the emergency control center. Clark, pistol in hand, checked for threats, then helped the injured leader inside, closing the door.
"You okay?" Clark asked, propping the leader against a control box.
The leader, silent, struggled to remove his helmet. Clark flinched at the face beneath—classically Caucasian, now purple-red, sweat streaming down.
"That thing… it's poisonous…" the leader gasped, enduring burning pain.
On their way to Section A, they'd killed a cargo hold monster, but it had clawed the leader.
Clark started to speak, but the leader waved him off.
"I'm done for…" he said. "That was a Hunter α variant, codenamed Elite Hunter III, a pre-production BOW. It secretes deadly venom. Needs specific serum to cure."
"Where's the serum?" Clark asked.
"No serum. Not on the ship," the leader said, shaking his head in pain.
"Damn it!" Clark kicked the wall. "What's going on here? You know, don't you?"
"…Experiment," the leader coughed, black blood dripping. "This ship… it's a test site. Our supervisor… wanted to test BOWs with T-Abyss virus variants on infected humans."
"T-Abyss virus?"
"Yeah… remember the Terragrigia incident?" the leader said weakly. "Our organization got the virus used in that attack from a partner. Tech modified it into this… thing."
Clark stared, silent.
"Tech wanted to test the new virus here," the leader continued, coughing black blood, a bitter smile forming. "Then a supervisor decided to release prototype BOWs too, remotely opening crates to let security play punching bag for combat data. Turns out, we're the real punching bags."
"Like Raccoon City all over again," Clark growled. "Honestly, if you die, you deserve it. You all do."
"Heh, say what you want…" the leader said, smiling faintly. "Take my gun… leave. Your toy won't stop those things."
"Was gonna anyway," Clark said. "But you can't die yet. You need to live to tell the truth about this ship."
"Watch… the last crate…" the leader whispered, eyes fading. "It's… from… Raccoon City…"
His pupils dilated, and he stopped breathing.
Clark stared at the corpse, gritted his teeth, stripped the leader's tactical gear, and grabbed the HK-416. At the console, he took a deep breath.
"I'll survive and expose this."
He slammed the emergency protocol button. With a rumble, the three gates sealing the lower hold opened.
…
Using his phone's map, Li Yexing led Lilith toward the control room, a trek across the third deck through Section B to Section A.
Too slow. He worried Ada wouldn't last until he opened the gates. Comms with her had been down, but he figured she was safe. The lower hold was sealed from the middle and upper decks by three sturdy gates. The infection likely hadn't spread below. The lower crew probably thought they were just trapped by the blackout, unaware of the chaos above, waiting for someone to open the gates.
The gates would open—but not for rescue.
The elevator reached the third deck, revealing a clean corridor lined with wooden decor. It was eerily quiet, bedroom doors shut. If not for the white slime on the floor, Li Yexing might've thought it safe.
"Stay sharp," he told Lilith. "Too quiet. Something's off."
They crept forward. No monsters, no blood—odd, likely because most people were in the banquet hall when the outbreak hit. He'd seen nobles fleeing upward from the hall earlier.
Where were they now?
Hugging the wall at a corner, a girl's scream rang out. Before he could react, something smashed his head.
"Ow!" Caught off guard, he fell, clutching his head. Looking up, a short girl in a bloodied yellow dress screamed, swinging a stick at him.
He aimed his gun. Terrified, she froze, dropping the stick on his head, making him wince.
"S-sorry… I-I didn't mean…" she stammered, tears welling under his cold glare. "I-I thought you were a m-monster…"
"Squat!" he barked.
"I-I really didn't mean it!"
"Squat, damn it!" he roared.
She hugged her head, crouching, muttering, "Don't kill me…"
Li Yexing fired.
Gunshots echoed. She screamed, hearing something hit the ground.
The shots stopped. She whimpered, frozen.
"Get up," Li Yexing said coldly, rubbing his sore head.
She didn't move.
"I said get up! You idiot!" he snapped.
"Y-yes!" She sprang up like a spring.
"Bad luck…" he muttered, reloading his pistol. The trembling girl turned, seeing a monster behind her, its head riddled with holes.
*Saved…*
"So, how long you planning to follow us?" Li Yexing asked irritably, glancing at the girl clutching a stick.
He recognized her—the short girl in the yellow dress who'd asked him to dance. Since she started trailing them, Lilith radiated a subtle hostility, making him uneasy.
'Come on, we're fighting for our lives here. What's your deal? I'm not some village-slaughtering Leon bringing a tagalong.'