But that frenzy, or perhaps struggle, counted for little against an M4A1 loaded with a hundred-round drum magazine.
Especially now, with Ivan’s extraordinary physique having fully adapted to every one of the M4A1’s “parameters.” He couldn’t hit whatever he pointed at, not quite, but his accuracy right now had climbed at least eighty percent compared to before.
For a moment, beneath the M4A1’s terrifying hail of fire, the giant scorpion’s massive body became a living target.
It began leaking everywhere, its yellow-brown blood spraying across every corner of the carriage as if it cost nothing.
At the same time, its shrieking and its mobility both weakened noticeably.
In the end, those great pincers that symbolized absolute violence and fury drooped to the floor in defeat when they were just two steps from Ivan and Rebecca, slamming down with a dull thud.
To guard against the scorpion possibly playing dead, Rebecca and Ivan aimed at its head and emptied what few rounds remained in their drum magazines.
As the last casing hit the floor, Ivan stepped up to the pincers, spread his hands, gauged the size of it, and let out a sigh of amazement.
“That big.” Seeing this childish side of him, Rebecca shook her head, amused.
But Ivan knew what mattered most and when.
After measuring it out, he returned to Rebecca’s side at once.
Then, reloading as they went, the two of them skirted around the scorpion’s body, which took up nearly half the dining car, and headed for the rear deck to shut the train down.
Reaching the rear deck, Rebecca looked at the braking device before her.
First she inserted the keycard, and then the numbers 00/67 appeared on the braking device’s screen.
A glance at the input panel on the right side of the screen, and the top student in Rebecca hit on the answer immediately.
Her fingers began tapping quickly, and after she entered nine sevens and a four, the braking device responded at once.
Job done, Rebecca pulled out the radio.
“Billy, this is Rebecca.
I’ve released the brake lock.” Hearing the good news Rebecca brought, Billy couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.
“Copy that.
Leave the rest to me.” He cut the call and set to bringing the train to a stop.
After a brief moment, the train slowed sharply and gradually drew to a halt.
Seeing the railing right outside the cab, barely an arm’s length away, Billy slumped into the chair and let out a long breath.
“That was close.” Elsewhere, with the train stopped and Rebecca’s beaming gaze upon him, Ivan gave a thumbs-up.
At the sight of it, the tangled emotions Rebecca had been holding down surged up all at once.
She lifted her chin, left hand on her hip, and dragged the index finger of her right hand across the tip of her nose with a touch of smugness.
This slick little combo left Ivan blinking, mostly because the whole routine had been his to begin with.
Rebecca arched an eyebrow, a sly glint in her eyes.
“So?
Not bad at learning it, am I?” Faced with that question, Ivan’s answer was…
to raise a thumbs-up with his left hand too.
“Very good!” A flat, emotionless “very good,” plus Ivan’s two thumbs-up.
It broke Rebecca on the spot.
Her body trembled, laughter impossible to hold back.
Then Rebecca did something Ivan never expected.
She rose onto her toes and looped both arms around his neck.
In the space Ivan couldn’t see, Rebecca’s smile faded and her cheeks flushed faintly.
Her eyes gentle as water, she brought her lips close to his ear.
The breath slipping between them turned the base of his ear red.
Rebecca gathered her courage and parted her lips.
“Thank you, Ivan.
I really like…” At that word she suddenly buried her face against his shoulder, and the word she never spoke dissolved into a warm, near-imperceptible sigh beside his ear.
In truth, not only did Ivan miss that last word, he’d barely caught her whole sentence at all.
Because from the instant her arms wrapped around his neck, his mind had drifted up into the clouds, dizzy the whole time.
“Beep, beep~” The radio’s incoming-call chime broke the tender mood.
Rebecca left Ivan’s embrace, and the movement left him at a loss.
But he came back to himself quickly, nodded to a red-eared Rebecca, and reached down to pull the radio from his waist.
Hearing Ivan’s end connect, Billy asked at once.
“Ivan, Rebecca, where are you two?” Ivan said, “Billy, we’re still on the rear deck.
Did something happen?” At that, Billy let out a breath of relief.
“Don’t worry, brother, everything’s fine.” “Come to the front of the train and meet me.
I’ve found something new here.” Ivan said, “Got it.
We’ll be right there.” After a while, the three of them regrouped.
Billy pointed to the doorway in front of them.
“Looks like this is the train’s destination.” Rebecca stepped forward then and shared with Billy what Ivan had found earlier in the notes.
When Billy finished listening, his brow furrowed and he sank into thought.
“So the building in front of us is that so-called Umbrella Executive Training School.” “Those monsters and zombies we ran into earlier all came from a leak of the t-Virus.” “And the reason they gave was just that the so-called t-Virus could be used to make biological weapons.” Finished, Billy slammed a fist into the wall.
“What the hell do these bastards think human lives are worth!” Ivan patted his shoulder from behind.
“Take it easy, Billy.
Everything has its cause and its reckoning.” “See?
They’ve run into us now.” At Ivan’s words, Billy turned his head and studied this heavily armed savior of his.
He kept feeling that something about Ivan’s manner had shifted.
Compared to his earlier gloom, there was a bit more humor to him now.
But he didn’t dwell on it.
He reached out and shook Ivan’s hand.
“You’re right, brother.” Recalling the intelligence Rebecca had just shared, Billy looked at the doorway with a heavier weight in his gaze.
The t-Virus leak alone was already this much trouble, let alone this so-called school built to breed monsters.
But they had nowhere left to go now, so all they could do was head inside and take a look around.
“From here on, I’m afraid we’re going to face a lot of twists and turns.” “Rebecca, Ivan, any thoughts?” Ivan and Rebecca knew what Billy meant by twists and turns.
Rebecca rested her index finger against the tip of her nose and thought.
“I think, before we go into the school, we need to give the train one thorough search.” Earlier, since they’d been pressed for time and wanting to avoid any accidents, many of the compartments in the train had gone unchecked.
Now, with a great battle about to begin, Rebecca felt it was worth searching for any information and resources that might still be aboard.
Billy nodded.
Rebecca’s suggestion made good sense.
He looked to Ivan.
“Ivan, what do you think?” Ivan rubbed the back of his head, his tone earnest and sincere.
“Rebecca’s idea is my idea, though I think we could try leaving a record of the evidence we already have.” “I’m sure this evidence will come in handy later.”