“There’s no need to apologize, Alice.
You were just trying to get us the antidote,” Chad said softly, attempting to comfort her as she stood paralyzed with guilt.
In truth, no one blamed Alice.
She had only entered the lab to save Rain and Chad after they had been bitten.
The real culprit was the Red Queen’s cold, calculated deception—they had all been lulled into a false sense of security by the AI’s childlike avatar.
“The antiviral serum is right out there on the train platform!” Rain shouted up at the intercom, her voice filled with desperate reluctance.
“If you let us out, we won’t spread the virus to the surface!” “The duration of your infection has progressed too far,” the Red Queen responded coldly.
“The efficacy of the serum cannot be guaranteed.” “But there’s still a chance, isn’t there?!” Rain pressed.
“I do not permit any margin of risk,” the AI stated flatly.
Faced with Rain’s pleas, the Red Queen remained entirely unyielding, intent on leaving them locked inside the vault to perish.
The group began frantically scanning the room for alternate exits, but as the minutes ticked away, it became painfully clear that this reinforced laboratory had no secondary hatches.
“We’re running out of time, guys!” Rain checked her tactical watch, her heart sinking.
The deadline for the surface blast doors to lock permanently was rapidly approaching.
If they couldn’t break out now, they would be sealed beneath the mountains forever.
“The door release requires a four-digit override code,” the Red Queen’s voice echoed through the speaker, her tone shifting to a subtle, predatory cadence.
“I can provide the code, but you must fulfill a condition.” “What condition?” Alice asked, her eyes narrowing.
“Two among you are infected,” the Red Queen replied.
“Exchange their lives for the password.” “The serum is right outside on the platform car!” Alice raged, her fists clenched tightly.
“All you have to do is unlock the door and let us administer the injection!” “My protocols do not allow for risks,” the Red Queen repeated neutrally.
“She’s right…” Rain muttered, staring down at her trembling hands.
Seeing the timer tick down, she knew her chances of survival were fading fast.
“You need to kill me.” Rather than dragging everyone down with her, Rain felt it was better to sacrifice herself so that Alice, Matt, and the unconscious Chu Feng could escape.
She pulled a heavy steel fire axe from a wall-mounted emergency cabinet, threw it at Alice’s feet, and knelt down, lowering her head.
“Me too,” Chad hesitated briefly before stepping forward and kneeling beside Rain.
He had been bitten on the leg during the tunnel fight; as long as he remained alive, the Red Queen would never open the blast door.
“BANG!” Before anyone could speak, a massive, muscular form slammed violently against the lab’s reinforced observation glass, making the entire room shudder.
“Ah…
Regrettable,” the Red Queen reported calmly.
“My final line of defense has arrived.” “What is that thing?!” Alice demanded, staring at the terrifying, skinless creature pressed against the glass.
“A Licker,” the Red Queen explained.
“An early-stage bioweapon developed within the Hive.
By directly injecting the T-Virus into living cellular tissue, it undergoes rapid mutation to achieve extreme combat performance.” The Red Queen paused as the monster slammed its massive claws against the frame.
“Reinforced glass will not hold it for long.
It appears your time has run out.” “Do it, Alice!” Rain urged, her voice desperate.
“If we drag this out, we’ll all be slaughtered by that monster anyway!” “No!
I can’t do that!” Alice cried out, her hands shaking as she stared at her kneeling teammate.
She couldn’t bring herself to execute a comrade in cold blood.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Outside, the Licker slammed its heavy claws against the glass again and again.
Deep, spiderweb cracks began spreading across the bulletproof pane.
“Kill her!
Kill her now!” the Red Queen’s synthetic voice urged relentlessly from the overhead speakers.
“Kill me!
Please!” Rain screamed frantically.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The glass buckled under the Licker’s relentless assault, spiderwebs expanding across the entire wall.
It was seconds away from bursting into the room.
Trapped between the cold ultimatum of the computer, the selfless sacrifice of her teammates, and the bloodthirsty monster breaking through the wall, the intense pressure mounted until Alice reached her absolute breaking point.
“HAH!” With a sharp roar, a look of fierce determination flashed in Alice’s eyes.
She hoisted the heavy fire axe over her shoulder, swung with all her strength—and smashed it directly into the Red Queen’s terminal screen on the wall!
CRASH!
Sparks flew as the monitor shattered into pieces, instantly cutting off the AI’s mocking voice.
Alice would rather die fighting than murder her own friends.
She was human, and she refused to sacrifice her comrades to satisfy a machine’s cold equation!
“BOOM!” The reinforced glass exploded inward, showering the room with sharp shards.
The Licker lunged through the opening, landing heavily on the wet floor tiles with a wet, heavy thud.
“Go to hell!” Alice grabbed the fire axe and lunged at the creature with everything she had, driving the blade straight toward its exposed brain.
Equipped with supernatural agent reflexes and enhanced strength, a blow like this could split a zombie in half instantly.
Yet the Licker showed no fear whatsoever, casually whipping its massive, whip-like claw around to intercept the strike.
CLANG!
Sparks erupted as terrifying force traveled up the shaft.
The sheer impact tore the axe right out of Alice’s hands, sending it flying across the room before knocking her backward onto the floor.
ROAR!
Enraged that a mere human had dared to attack it, the Licker hissed, opening its gaping maw lined with needle-sharp teeth as it pounced directly toward Alice’s exposed throat.
“It’s over…” Rain, Chad, and Matt watched in complete horror.
Unarmed and cornered, none of them were fast enough to intervene.
Endless despair washed over them as Alice closed her eyes, bracing for the fatal bite.
BUZZ—!
Just as the Licker’s jaws were inches from her skin, an unimaginable magnetic wave erupted from the far side of the room!
In an instant, every piece of metal in the laboratory—medical trays, steel stools, examination tables, wall panels, and even the discarded fire axe—defied gravity, rising into the air simultaneously!