NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 45: Chapter 45
The Red Queen's hologram abruptly disappeared, and all the sealed doors in the Hive suddenly unlocked, swinging open in unison. It was a silent but clear declaration of her intent.
Umbrella's plan couldn't be changed. If the situation could no longer be written off as a pure accident, then the next best course of action was to eliminate all witnesses. As long as everyone present died, the situation could be neatly tied up, and future developments could still be guided back onto the original track.
Ethan shook his head, exasperated. The Red Queen wasn't an AI with true self-awareness. She was just following pre-programmed directives to the letter, and because of that, negotiation with her was doomed to fail from the start.
"Well, so much for diplomacy. Guess we'll just have to force our way through," Ethan muttered.
He unsheathed his long sword, the blade glinting faintly under the cold, sterile lights of the Hive. Arthur, who had been quiet up until now, followed suit, drawing his own sword. Jill, for her part, kept her grip tight on her pistol, her stance unwavering.
"Step away from the door," Ethan warned the others. "Give yourself some distance…"
Before he could finish, a blur of red shot through the open doorway. It moved so fast that most of the group didn't even catch a glimpse of what it was. But Ethan immediately understood what was happening, his voice sharp as he shouted:
"A licker!"
It was a grotesque sight—its flesh stripped bare, muscles fully exposed, glistening under the harsh lights. Its heightened senses and terrifying speed made it a true predator, and its arsenal of natural weapons only added to its lethality: claws sharp enough to slice through steel, and a long, whip-like tongue capable of puncturing a human body with ease.
The licker was a perfected biological weapon. Facing just one was dangerous enough. But multiple lickers? That was a nightmare scenario.
Unlike the lickers from the original video games, which had evolved to rely solely on hearing due to blindness, the movie version also possessed thermal vision, making them even deadlier. In this world, silence and careful breathing wouldn't help anyone avoid detection. There were only two options when facing a licker: kill it, or be killed by it.
Reacting instantly, Ethan drew an arrow laced with flames and fired at the second licker, distracting it momentarily. Then, with a powerful stride, he launched himself at the first licker, his long sword slicing downward in a fierce arc.
The blade met the licker's claws with a metallic clang. Sparks flew as the edge scraped against the inhumanly tough appendages.
"What kind of evolution is this?" Ethan muttered under his breath, his annoyance growing. This thing was much tougher than he expected.
Despite his frustration, his movements didn't falter. He swiftly adjusted, slashing at the outer edge of the licker's claws before twisting the blade downward in a sharp strike. His target? The licker's chest—where its heart, its greatest weakness, lay exposed.
Unlike the brain, which could still function even when partially destroyed, a direct hit to the heart killed the licker instantly. But because of this vulnerability, lickers instinctively protected their hearts by remaining in a low, crouched posture.
Fortunately, this one was mid-leap, leaving its chest wide open. Ethan's strike landed perfectly, the sword piercing the creature's heart with brutal efficiency. The force of the blow sent the licker's body hurtling backward, crashing into the second licker that had been advancing behind it.
Meanwhile, the licker Ethan had distracted with his flaming arrow was riddled with bullets. Captain James and his team had reacted quickly, unleashing a barrage of gunfire that tore through its flesh, reducing it to a motionless heap on the ground.
"Head and heart!" Ethan called out as he surveyed the scene. "Hits anywhere else won't kill them."
Ren, one of the mercenaries, cautiously approached the licker that James and the others had shot down. Its twisted body lay still, but she wasn't taking any chances. She fired several more rounds into its corpse, aiming for the head, before ejecting her empty magazine and replacing it with a fresh one.
"Didn't the Red Queen say she already dealt with these things?" Ren growled, her voice filled with frustration. "That lying piece of garbage."
While Ethan had been dealing with the first licker, Arthur had stepped in to engage the second one. Arthur's skill in close combat far surpassed Ethan's, and it showed in the fluidity of his movements. Despite acting a moment later, Arthur dispatched his opponent with precision, exploiting the creature's exposed heart to kill it instantly.
The mercenaries couldn't help but notice the contrast. Two young men, armed only with swords, had taken down two lickers with seemingly little effort. Meanwhile, a squad of heavily armed professionals, equipped with automatic weapons, had struggled to kill just one. The gap in effectiveness was stark—and unsettling.
But no one was in the mood to talk at that moment. The lickers hadn't been completely dealt with as the Red Queen had claimed, and more monsters were bound to appear. On top of that, all personnel in the Hive had been turned into zombies. While a single zombie wasn't particularly dangerous, if a horde broke out, no one could predict what might happen.
"Take out the Red Queen's motherboard first," someone ordered.
In any case, shutting down the Red Queen was imperative. However, the passage leading to the main control room was sealed tight, and even if they managed to open it, everyone knew the corridor was rigged with defensive measures capable of killing them all.
"Kaplan!" someone barked.
"I'm working on it!" Kaplan, the team's computer expert, was sweating profusely as he worked on the terminal. But no matter what he tried, the door in front of them remained unresponsive. Every attempt he made was effortlessly thwarted by the Red Queen.
"Damn it! I can't take control at all!" Kaplan cursed in frustration.
Ethan observed the mercenaries carefully. While they were visibly impatient, they weren't panicking. Their actions remained methodical and well-coordinated, a clear sign that they were trained professionals who had steadied themselves for the situation.
Taking a few steps back to avoid obstructing the mercenaries' line of fire, Ethan's expression hardened. Without hesitation, he turned and stabbed Spence, who was restrained on the ground, in one swift motion.
"What are you doing?!" Jill's voice was filled with shock. The determined officer hadn't expected Ethan to suddenly kill Spence. She understood Spence was beyond redemption and didn't deserve sympathy, but killing him like this still went against her principles. "We should take him back to face trial! His testimony could expose Umbrella's crimes!"
"Are you kidding me?" Ethan retorted, his voice sharp with pragmatism. "Do you really think Umbrella would let that happen? They'd never give you the chance." His tone was calm, but there was an edge of impatience. "Besides, our priority right now is survival. Do you think someone like him won't stab us in the back if given the chance?"
Arthur, who had been quietly observing, initially felt uncomfortable with Ethan's decisive act. However, after considering the circumstances, he began to see the logic in Ethan's actions. Spence, though subdued, was still a dangerous liability in their precarious situation.
Arthur also realized something else. Traveling with Ethan through these chaotic worlds wasn't just about witnessing different realities; it was an opportunity for him to gain deeper insights into difficult decisions. Merlin had sent him on this journey not only to broaden his understanding but also to show him the complexities of moral choices, something books and lectures alone couldn't teach. Watching Ethan's actions, Arthur began to grasp how such decisions could play out in life-or-death scenarios.
Meanwhile, Ethan had no idea what Arthur was contemplating. After eliminating the potential threat Spence posed, Ethan turned back to Kaplan. "Stop wasting time. Blow the door open."
His bluntness left no room for argument. "Don't tell me the mercenaries came down here without any explosives? What were they planning to do if they ran into a door like this?"
James, the leader of the mercenaries, nodded in agreement and instructed two of his men to prepare explosives. But before they could set up, the door opened by itself.
Ethan wasn't fazed. He immediately demanded, "Ignore it. Blow it up anyway. If we walk through, that 'naughty little girl' will just trap us inside by sealing both ends."
James didn't argue and signaled his men to proceed with the demolition. True to Ethan's prediction, the Red Queen responded by shutting the door again.
"Pointless resistance," Ethan muttered coldly.
Having made up his mind, Ethan wasn't about to give the Red Queen any more chances. In his eyes, the AI was nothing more than a hostile program. Since it had already proven it couldn't be reasoned with, he saw no need to waste time debating with it. As far as he was concerned, the Red Queen was an enemy, and enemies needed to be dealt with decisively.
Explosives were placed, and the team destroyed the laser emitters in the corridor, reducing the passageway to a scorched mess. The reinforced door was obliterated moments later, and only then did the group cautiously enter the corridor leading to the main control room.
Ethan, however, stayed behind. The main control room held no interest for him. Instead, he focused on Kaplan. "Keep searching. Find the hidden program that controls access to the lower levels."
Kaplan was sweating bullets, his anxiety mounting with the sound of distant gunfire and the growing threat of approaching zombies. "Are you sure there's even a hidden program?" Kaplan asked, his voice tinged with desperation.
"There has to be," Ethan said firmly. He was confident based on the Red Queen's prior behavior. The AI's efforts to delay them only confirmed that something crucial was concealed deeper within the Hive.
Suddenly, the Red Queen reappeared, her image flickering on a nearby screen. She offered a deal: "If you stop them from shutting me down, I can grant you access to the lower levels."
Ethan froze for a brief moment, caught off guard by the AI's proposition. But almost immediately, suspicion flared. The Red Queen had already proven itself untrustworthy. Without hesitation, Ethan rejected her offer. "I gave you a chance before, and you refused it. Now you expect me to negotiate with my enemy? You're in no position to make deals with me!"
The Red Queen's face vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. At almost the same moment, the Hive's power abruptly shut down, plunging the facility into dim emergency lighting. The main power had been severed, signaling that the Red Queen had been deactivated.
Kaplan, who had been frantically working at his terminal, suddenly exclaimed in excitement, "I've found it! I found the startup program you mentioned!"
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