116: Chapter 116 Savior or Death?

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Above the ranch, several specialized cylindrical munitions detonated in mid-air. Instead of the expected flash of fire, they released an extremely piercing high-frequency sound wave that even caused visible ripples in the air.

To humans, this sound wave was merely a stinging sensation in the eardrums, but for the frenzied bulls, with their heightened senses and state of T-Virus induced agitation, it was no different than having a furiously spinning electric drill shoved into their brains.

The lead black bull, which had been on the verge of tearing Janet to pieces, suddenly stiffened, its massive body jerking. Its front hooves buckled, and it exhaled white smoke mixed with blood foam, shaking its head in agony.

"Fire!"

At the helicopter door, several USS Soldiers pulled their triggers.

Long-acting tranquilizer darts sliced through the night sky, accurately embedding themselves into the necks of the monsters. This agent, developed by Samantha, was specifically designed for T-Virus creatures, with a dosage large enough to take down an elephant.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft," came a series of muffled sounds.

The herd of frenzied bulls, which just moments ago had been invincible and chewing on people like sugarcane, now collapsed one after another into the mud like harvested wheat, kicking up clouds of dust.

"All teams, land, secure the scene, and search for survivors."

Marcus's voice echoed over the radio.

Three black helicopters descended rapidly. Before their landing gear even touched the ground, the USS Soldiers slid down the ropes. They moved with extreme speed, in groups of three, forming defensive formations back-to-back, holding automatic weapons fitted with silencers, their boots making "patta-patta" sounds as they stepped into the blood-mixed mud.

"Help... save me..."

Janet collapsed on the ground, watching those black figures who looked as if they had walked out of a sci-fi movie. Due to extreme terror and the exhaustion of surviving a near-death experience, she didn't even have the strength to stand up.

A USS Soldier walked up to her, but instead of gently helping her up as she had imagined, he pressed the cold barrel of his rifle against her shoulder, his tone devoid of any emotion: "Don't move. Hands on your head, kneel."

"I'm a victim! I'm Janet! You can't do this to me!" Janet shrieked, trying to grab the soldier's tactical vest.

"Click."

Bright silver alloy handcuffs locked her wrists instantly.

"Ms. Janet, I am the commander of the USS Elite Guard." Marcus stepped out of the shadows, his gas mask reflecting the crimson moonlight in the dark. "You are under arrest for suspicion of illegal trespassing on private property, theft of trade secrets, and destruction of biosafety containment facilities, which led to a major casualty incident."

"Are you crazy? It was your bulls that killed people! Look over there, that's my cameraman, look at him!" Janet pointed to a blurred mess not far away and screamed hysterically.

Marcus looked down at her as if looking at a dead person: "If you hadn't cut the high-voltage electric fence and the specialized chains, these diseased test subjects currently under 'observation' would never have broken out."

Meanwhile, at the top floor of the Umbrella Headquarters.

"Tony, how are the media arrangements going?"

"Don't worry, Boss." Tony Liu was furiously operating several phones, answering without looking up. "United Shield Health Insurance hired a dozen news helicopters to wait outside to build hype. I just happened to have Sheriff Greg lift the signal jamming, and now these media outlets are swarming into the ranch like flies smelling excrement."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless camera flashes lit up the skyline in the distance of the ranch.

Those were helicopters from major mainstream media outlets. They had originally intended to capture definitive proof of Umbrella abusing animals, but once they arrived and shone their searchlights down, they were all stunned by the scene before them.

Blood, there was blood everywhere.

Shattered limbs, wrecked vehicles, and environmentalists lying on the ground, their fate unknown.

Amidst this chaos, security personnel wearing Umbrella uniforms were performing with exceptional professionalism: some were bandaging the severely injured, some were maintaining order, and others were reinforcing the fences.

"Greetings, viewers, this is Los Angeles News!"

An anchor on a news helicopter spoke to the camera, her voice trembling: "We have just witnessed a horrific tragedy! According to preliminary information we have gathered, at 3:00 AM tonight, a liberation operation initiated by the famous environmental leader Janet encountered a fatal error."

The camera panned to the cut wire fence and the shattered electronic lock.

"This group of protesters illegally trespassed onto Umbrella Corporation's Red Creek Ranch and forcibly opened the gate to a restricted zone used to quarantine a herd of diseased cattle. According to an Umbrella Corporation spokesperson on the scene, these cattle were under experimental observation for a type of neurological virus and were extremely aggressive."

The anchor swallowed hard and pointed to the survivors being loaded onto stretchers below: "We can see that Umbrella Corporation's security forces arrived immediately and controlled the situation; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. This is a disaster caused by a completely illegal act!"

The comments in the livestream, after a few seconds of silence, completely exploded.

"Holy crap, what are these environmentalist lunatics trying to do? Cutting the locks at someone's biological laboratory?"

"I saw it with my own eyes in Janet's livestream just now; she was the one who led the way in opening the gate! When the bulls charged out, she ran faster than anyone!"

"Umbrella Corporation is so pathetic, right? Sitting at home when disaster strikes from the sky, and they still have to send people to save these illegal trespassing idiots."

"Look at those bulls; they are clearly sick. Umbrella was isolating and treating them, but these people insisted they were abusing them. Well, look at that, they played themselves, didn't they?"

In the face of the bloody facts, the tide of public opinion instantly made a 180-degree turn.

Janet sat in the mud, watching the flickering searchlights in the sky. She knew she was finished. Not only would she not get the three million dollars promised by United Shield Health Insurance, but she would likely spend the rest of her life in a federal maximum-security prison.

"No... it's not like that... Umbrella framed me..." she waved frantically at the camera, trying to explain.

Marcus sneered and signaled for the soldiers to drag her away.

"Boss, Oliver from United Shield Health Insurance just had a heart attack and was sent to the hospital." Sarah pushed the door open, holding a newly printed press release. "The accusation drafts he had prepared are now all useless paper. Should we release that now?"

Chen Feng stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the entire city.

"Release it. Since they want the truth, let's give them the most complete truth."

Five minutes later, Umbrella Corporation's official account simultaneously posted a video on all major global social media platforms.

The video quality was extremely high; it was clearly high-definition surveillance footage from inside the ranch.

In the footage, Janet was brandishing hydraulic cutters with high spirits, saying to the camera: "We are going to give these poor lives freedom!"

Next, there was a close-up of her personally cutting the chain and grinning as she pulled the gate open.

Then, it showed in slow motion the bulls charging out, while she pushed aside her companion to flee for her life alone.

At the end, the video froze on a line of blood-red text: "Liberation" or "Murder"? There is only one truth.

Attached below the video was a legal letter, in which Umbrella Corporation announced it would file lawsuits against all individuals involved in this illegal trespassing and the funding organizations behind them, with a claim of up to one billion dollars.

"You're not just killing them, you're destroying their soul, Boss." Tony Liu looked at the overwhelming comments online cursing Janet and sighed in amazement. "Now everyone in the Federation thinks Umbrella is the victim, the heroic company that saved citizens from the hands of lunatics."

Chen Feng turned his head and looked at Samantha: "Have the cows injected with T-C-01 been cleaned up?"

"Rest assured, I mixed dissolving enzymes into the anesthetic." Samantha adjusted her glasses. "In two hours, their muscle tissue will begin to self-degrade, making it look like they died from some kind of acute necrotizing inflammation. Even if someone performs an autopsy, they will only be able to find that they were indeed very sick."

Chen Feng nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good. Tell Sheriff Greg that he worked hard tonight; I will have someone send over the gas cards for those two Hellcats."

He picked up his wine glass and toasted the moon outside the window.

"Tomorrow morning, ruisu and healing factor will be on the market on time."

That night, the ranch in Los Angeles was in shambles, but the lights of the Umbrella building were more dazzling than ever before.

Those who had once tried to strangle Chen Feng with public opinion were now hiding in dark corners, shivering while awaiting their reckoning.