23: Resident Evil: The Lickers Attack

spaceship Calendar Day 9.

9:00 AM.

The airlock door slowly opened.

A nauseating, sweet, fishy stench rushed toward them.

It wasn't the smell of blood, but rather the scent of some chemical agent mixed with fermented rotten entrails.

Before them lay a world of sickly green.

The thick fog seemed alive, pressing heavily upon the ground, submerging their ankles.

Visibility was less than five meters.

Everywhere there were broken glass vessels, and unknown liquids pooled on the ground, bubbling with eerie gas.

On the walls, massive claw marks were deep enough to expose the bone, revealing the rusted steel bars inside.

"Cough, cough..."

Tang Xiaoxiao had just stepped out when she was choked by the smell, causing her to cough incessantly until tears welled up in her eyes.

"What kind of hellhole is this... It stings my eyes..."

She covered her mouth and nose, her voice muffled.

"A biochemical laboratory."

Gu Pingsheng walked in the lead.

He wasn't wearing a gas mask, and his expression remained unchanged.

He held several blue test tubes in his hand and casually tossed them backward.

"Drink them."

The test tubes traced arcs through the air, landing precisely in everyone's hands.

【Potent Antidote (Blue · Rare)】

【Description: A critical hit product from Hand of God. Grants immunity to all biochemical toxins below Tier 4, lasting for 24 hours.】

Ye Hongyu caught the test tube and raised an eyebrow.

She looked at the clear, bright blue liquid inside, then at Gu Pingsheng's upright back.

This man really has so many good things.

She didn't hesitate, unplugged the stopper, and drank it in one gulp.

A cool current instantly washed over her throat, and the burning, stinging sensation in her lungs vanished.

Even her vision seemed to clear up a bit.

"Good stuff."

Ye Hongyu licked her lips, and the long whip in her hand let out a crisp crack.

"Snap!"

The tip of the whip exploded in the air, stirring up a ring of green fog.

"Let's go."

Gu Pingsheng didn't look back and stepped into the fog.

"Roar—"

They hadn't even gone a hundred meters deep.

Dozens of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up in the fog.

Following that came low growls and the sound of sharp claws scraping against the ground.

A pack of vicious dogs, their bodies festering and muscles turned inside out, charged out from the shadows.

【Mutated Zombie Dog (Tier 2)】

Their movements were extremely fast, like streaks of black lightning, carrying a suffocating, fishy stench.

"Watch out!"

Lin Qinghan's High-Frequency Vibration Blade instantly unsheathed, radiating a chilling aura.

The rabbit doll in Su Ruan's arms also opened its wide mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

But someone was faster than them.

"Move aside! They're mine!"

A delicate cry rang out.

A red figure, like a ball of raging fire, charged directly into the pack of dogs.

Ye Hongyu.

The long whip in her hand seemed to come alive, transforming into an agile venomous snake.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

Whip shadows layered over one another.

Every lash struck precisely on the spine or eyeball of a zombie dog.

Skin split and flesh tore.

Black blood splattered.

【Rank A Talent: Pain Domination】

【Effect: Attacks inflict intense pain, with a chance to control pain nerves and briefly dominate the target.】

"Awoo—!"

The largest zombie dog had its neck wrapped by the whip.

Its originally ferocious gaze suddenly turned dazed, and then, it actually turned its head and bit the throat of a companion beside it.

"Hahaha! Bite it! Bite it to death for me!"

Ye Hongyu laughed loudly.

She was like a queen wielding a conductor's baton, dancing gracefully on a battlefield of flying flesh and blood.

The thrill of controlling life and death made the blood in her body boil.

This was power.

This was the power she had dreamed of.

Gu Pingsheng stood in the back, hands in his pockets, quietly watching this scene.

He didn't intervene, nor did he stop her.

It was as if he were watching a circus performance.

"Not bad."

He commented indifferently.

Although it was only a Rank A talent, in Ye Hongyu's hands, it truly displayed impressive combat power.

Ruthless enough, fierce enough.

She's a good seedling.

But just a seedling, nothing more.

After clearing the outer zombie dogs, the group continued to venture deeper.

The deeper they went, the stronger the sense of oppression became.

The surrounding culture tanks became enormous, soaking various bizarre biological specimens inside.

Some had three heads, while others were covered in tentacles.

Although they were already dead, their hideous faces were still enough to make one's heart race with fear.

"Drip."

"Drip."

Viscous liquid dripped from the ceiling.

Gu Pingsheng suddenly stopped.

He looked up at the pitch-black pipe area overhead.

"They're here."

Before his voice had even faded.

"Hiss—!"

Three black shadows descended from the sky.

Their speed was astonishing, leaving afterimages on the retina.

They were three humanoid monsters.

On all fours, their bodies skinless, with red muscle fibers exposed.

Their brains were directly exposed to the air, they had no eyes, only a bloody maw that split to the roots of their ears.

And that two-meter-long, crimson tongue covered in barbs.

【Licker (Tier 3 Elite)】

"Watch out!"

Lin Qinghan's expression changed, and the blade in her hand instantly crossed in front of her.

But these three monsters were not targeting her.

They were targeting Ye Hongyu, who was rushing in the front and had just been killing with abandon.

"You're courting death!"

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Ye Hongyu's eyes.

The previous victory had made her confidence explode.

Instead of retreating, she advanced, lashing out with her long whip toward the neck of the Licker in the center.

"Kneel for me!"

As long as she wrapped it around its neck and activated 【Pain Domination】, this monster would be her dog!

However.

Reality is often crueler than ideals.

Just as the whip tip was about to touch the Licker.

"Whoosh!"

That Licker actually performed a twisting motion in mid-air that defied the laws of physics.

It dodged the whip.

Immediately after, that crimson tongue shot out instantly like a bullet from a chamber.

It was too fast.

Too fast for Ye Hongyu to react at all.

"Snap!"

The long tongue precisely wrapped around her wrist.

A tremendous force surged through.

Ye Hongyu only felt an irresistible force surge, and she instantly lost her balance.

"What?!"

She exclaimed.

The next second.

The world spun around.

She was flung away like a ragdoll.

"Bang!"

She slammed heavily into the metal wall nearby.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of blood sprayed out.

Her internal organs felt as if they had shifted out of place.

The long whip flew from her hand.

Ye Hongyu slumped to the ground, her vision blacking out in waves.

How is it possible...

So strong?

Her talent that she was so proud of, was it really so vulnerable in front of this monster?

"Hiss—"

The Licker landed on the ground, claws digging into the floor, emitting a hair-raising hiss.

It didn't give Ye Hongyu a chance to catch her breath.

Its hind legs kicked off violently.

It pounced again.

Its bloody maw opened wide, the mouthful of sharp teeth glinting with a cold light under the dim illumination.

The target was aimed directly at Ye Hongyu's throat.

The scent of death rushed toward her.

Ye Hongyu wanted to dodge, but her body couldn't move at all.

She could only watch helplessly as that ugly, massive mouth grew closer and closer.

It's over.

Am I going to die?

The high spirits from just a moment ago had now turned into a bone-chilling cold.

She didn't want to die.

She hadn't lived enough yet.

She still wanted to become someone superior, still wanted to trample everyone who looked down on her under her feet.

How could she die here?

Fear, like a tide, submerged her.

Ye Hongyu closed her eyes, waiting for death to arrive.

However.

The excruciating pain she expected didn't come.

A slight sound of metal striking metal rang in her ears.

"Click."

That was... the sound of a firearm being cocked.

Ye Hongyu snapped her eyes open.

She saw a black leather boot stepping on the floor in front of her.

Looking up from the boot.

There were long legs, a crisp combat uniform.

And that man's cold, stern profile.

Gu Pingsheng had appeared in front of her without her knowing.

He held a gun in one hand.

That purple 【infinite desert eagle】, that pitch-black muzzle.

At this moment, it was pressed firmly against the Licker's forehead.

The distance was less than a centimeter.