Chapter 68 The End of the Sun Umbrella: They Only Had Enough Time to Escape...
Breaking through the encirclement, in an instant, the entire -1 level was filled with a piercing alarm.
The incandescent lights on the ceiling went out, leaving only the alarm flashing a blinding red light, and a menacing shadow was reflected on the wall.
The corridor in front of me seemed to be upside down.
Fang Zhiyi was walking quickly and couldn't stop in time. His shoulder hit the wall, and he glanced back out of the corner of his eye.
The infected filled the narrow pass, their faces contorted in grotesque expressions, their eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, emitting desperate and terrifying roars as they stretched out their hands incessantly, grabbing at anything that would leave them to be bitten to death by the infected.
"...Damn it! Run!"
Brother Cha was terrified and charged forward screaming.
The gluttonous girl was at the back. After canceling her transformation, she was in a weakened state for a while. Her face was pale and her steps were unsteady.
Brother Ca turned around and urged, "Hurry up!"
The gluttonous girl squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "...Is it that I don't want to run faster? Give me a hand!"
Brother Cha: "If I pull you, we're both doomed!"
As she was talking, she was preparing to turn back when a hand reached out from in front and grabbed the greedy girl first.
Before using the "Big Eater" title effect, Big Glutton was a girl of normal build, only 1.6 meters tall. Fang Zhiyi picked her up and pulled her up like a gust of wind, making her taller than Brother Cai.
Brother Ca: "..."
The greedy girl glanced at him and kindly reminded him, "You should run faster."
Now, it was Brother Cha who was at the very back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the vicious infected was only a step away from him, so close that he could see the blood and flesh stuck between the infected's teeth.
"roar--"
The infected person opened its blood-red mouth and spewed out a foul stench.
Brother Cai jumped in surprise and scrambled forward.
Fang Zhiyi dragged the greedy girl along and ran with his head down, sprinting out of the corridor. He turned and came to a fork in the road.
An intersection split into three directions. The lights were off, and each entrance was dark and gloomy. A gust of wind blew by, sounding like ghosts howling.
The gluttonous girl gasped for breath: "It seems... I've never been here before."
The -1 floor of Sun Umbrella Biotechnology Company is very large, covering a full 1,000 square meters. The floor plan is so complicated that it's not easy to find your way even with a map, let alone in the dark.
Fang Zhiyi made a quick decision: "Let's find a place to hide first."
First, evade the infected's pursuit, and then find an exit after the danger has passed.
He dragged the greedy girl straight to the middle passage.
At the end of the passage stood a door with a sign that read "Emergency Exit".
Fang Zhiyi arrived at the door and, propelled by inertia, pushed hard. The heavy iron door made a loud "bang" and remained motionless.
The gluttonous girl cried out, "The door lock! The key!"
Fang Zhiyi took out the key from her backpack.
This was found in the security booth; it was a heavy bunch of keys of various sizes that made a jingling sound as soon as it was taken out.
There were too many keys, and he couldn't immediately tell which one could open the door. He held his breath and looked at the labels on each key.
The storage room? No. The bathroom? No. The fire escape? ...Found it! There were three keys inside, labeled with emergency exits A, B, and C.
Fang could only try the three keys one by one.
Safety exit A: the key got stuck halfway in and wouldn't go in, so it wasn't the right one. Safety exit B: the key was inserted and went in, but it wouldn't turn. So there was only one left. Fang Zhiyi took out the key for safety exit C, but before he could insert it into the keyhole, he heard a shrill scream behind him.
"hurry up!!!"
Fang Zhiyi's hand trembled, and the keychain rattled.
Brother Cai and Chu Zhao caught up, with the infected following closely behind.
Chu Zhao appeared completely at ease, maintaining a steady pace and keeping a safe distance from the infected. He would occasionally knock over decorations in the corridor to hinder their progress.
Even though Brother Ca was running so hard that his feet were practically smoking, his eyes lit up the moment he saw them, as if he had grasped a lifeline. Without thinking, he rushed over and led the infected people in this direction.
Fang Zhiyi grasped the key and moved it into the keyhole.
It's precisely at times like these that people tend to get nervous, unable to find the right key and feeling weak in their hands.
The roars of the infected grew closer, seemingly right next to their ears; they could even hear the sound of their teeth grinding.
Fang Zhiyi's heart was in his throat. Seeing that the infected person was about to catch up, he gritted his teeth, gripped the key tightly, and used all his strength to push it in. With a push and a twist, the door finally opened.
He went in first, followed closely by Chu Zhao and Da Chan Ya Tou, while Cai Ge lagged behind and almost got caught by the infected.
The greedy girl pressed against the door, urging, "Hurry up!"
Brother Cha was on the verge of tears, his voice hoarse: "Is it that I don't want to hurry?!"
Big-Greed Girl: "Use your skill!"
I don't know what skill Brother Cai used, but he suddenly unleashed tremendous power, pushed off with his calves, and jumped a distance from the spot.
Slow down the movements.
The infected below craned their necks, reaching out one after another to grab. Rotting flesh, sharp nails, and hideous faces flashed by. With a "rip," Brother Cai's coat was torn into strips of cloth. Fortunately, his skin was covered with a layer of lime armor, which blocked the infected's attack. With another roll, he brushed past the infected and tumbled behind the door.
Bang!
The moment the door closed, the infected rushed forward, pounding on the iron gate, causing it to rattle and vibrate violently. Fortunately, the iron gate was heavy and well-made, and no matter how hard they rammed it, it didn't break.
Fang Zhiyi and Chu Zhao braced themselves against the door and slammed it shut, keeping all noise outside.
"Whoosh..."
After the intense chase and running, everyone was exhausted, and they rested, some standing and some sitting, leaning against the pillars behind the door.
Why are there pillars behind the door...? This building's design is so illogical.
Fang Zhiyi walked around the pillar in front of him, swallowed hard, felt a metallic taste in his throat, closed his eyes and silently calmed his breathing.
The space behind the door was dark and quiet.
No one spoke, and the noise outside the door gradually faded away, while the sound of breathing became increasingly clear.
"Huff, huff..."
Breathing was heavy and labored.
"Huff, huff..."
The frequency is getting faster and faster, and the distance is getting closer and closer.
"call……"
"Damn! Who is it? Breathing so loudly, aren't you afraid of suffocating?" (Cao Ge: "Damn! Who is it? Aren't you afraid of running out of breath?")
The gluttonous girl: "It wasn't me."
Chu Zhao: "It wasn't me."
Fang Zhiyi opened her eyes.
At first, he thought it was someone next to him breathing heavily. It's normal to have rapid breathing after strenuous exercise, but after what Brother Cai said, he realized that the breathing sound wasn't coming from his side.
Everyone present instinctively held their breath, searching for the source of the sound.
"Huff, huff—"
Fang Zhiyi sensed something, slowly raised his head to look up, and a flash of light appeared in the darkness, revealing a pair of crimson eyes that held no emotion, only killing intent and bloodlust.
He had just been wondering why there was a pillar behind the door, but it turned out it wasn't a pillar at all.
The "pillar" suddenly jumped, knocking over the guy sitting on the ground. The "pillar" took a step, and its more than 3-meter-tall figure broke through the ceiling, with boards and dust falling down.
The Ultimate Infected
【boss】
【？？？ /？？？】
A series of characters were crammed together, making it dizzying to look at.
Brother Cha: "Damn, what kind of monster is this?"
The ultimate infected lowered its head, remained silent, and grabbed at Brother Cha.
Brother Cha tried to get up and dodge, but the Ultimate Infected was too fast. A dark cloud-like shadow loomed over him, and he was grabbed directly by a large hand.
He quickly used the [Harden] ability. Instantly, his entire body was covered in grayish-white stone shards, becoming as hard as stone.
The Ultimate Infected's fingers clenched tightly, the stone helmet armor on his body being squeezed by the immense force, making a "clattering" sound. Brother Cha's face flushed red: "H-Help me..."
The ultimate infected's attack power is too high. Even with the increased defense in the [Hardened] state, it can't withstand it. If this continues, he and his stone helmet armor will be crushed into powder.
call out--
A bullet flew by.
The pointed bullet spun rapidly through the air and struck the ultimate infected man between the eyebrows.
Everyone knows that the fatal spot for infected people is in their head; a blow to the forehead can render them incapacitated.
The ultimate infected tilted its head back slightly, and its movements stopped.
The bullet remained lodged between his eyebrows, still spinning rapidly, its tip rubbing against his skull and sending sparks flying.
The standoff lasted for a moment.
Finally, a "clang" echoed through the corridor. The bullet lost its impact and fell to the ground, bouncing a few times before being crushed into dust by the Ultimate Infected. He let out a deafening roar, threw Brother Cha aside, and reached out to grab Fang Zhiyi.
Fang Zhiyi grabbed the AWM and rolled over.
The giant hand slammed down, causing the ground to tremble, the stone slabs to crack, and leaving behind a huge handprint.
Fang Zhiyi looked up and saw that, amidst the swirling dust, the Ultimate Infected's brow was completely unharmed, without even a trace.
What is the health bar of the ultimate infected? / ? ...
[Rage] [Attack Power +] [Invincibility] [Mutation]...
In online games, a boss's enraged state is usually triggered when its health drops to a certain level, at which point the boss's attack and defense are greatly increased. The "Attack Power+" buff appearing on the Ultimate Infected confirms this.
In this way, although we can't see exactly how much health the ultimate infected has, we can guess that it's not at its peak, and may only have one-third or less of its health left.
Fang Zhiyi made a decisive decision.
It wasn't an escape, but a proactive attack.
Behind the door is the final boss, and outside is a group of infected. There's no way to escape.
Since we can't escape, we might as well fight it out.
No matter what kind of boss it is or what it looks like, since it has a health bar, I'll kill it for you!
The ultimate infected moved, and its giant hand slammed down again.
Fang Zhiyi took a deep breath, first avoiding the fierce attack.
A huge shadow fell from mid-air, slamming onto the ground and causing it to shake violently.
Fang Zhiyi moved through the palm winds as if walking a tightrope; a slight misstep would result in him being smashed to pieces. In such an extremely dangerous situation, he remained remarkably calm.
Since the ultimate infected has a health bar, it must also have weaknesses; it's not invincible. The question is, where are its weaknesses...?
While he was kiting the Ultimate Infected away, the others were also attacking, but no matter whether it was Chu Zhao's crowbar, Da Chan Ya Tou's brass knuckles, or Cai Ge's submachine gun, they all landed on the Ultimate Infected without causing any pain or even scratches.
Fang Zhiyi's eyes sharpened. [Snow Hunter], Insight activated!
The image is paused and zoomed in, making the ultimate infected person's every move clear.
His footsteps, his movements, even the texture of his muscles vibrating as he swung his arms... everything was captured in his eyes.
The Ultimate Infected's skin is as hard as iron, with an abnormal color, and the source of this mutation is the numerous needles inserted into its shoulders. These needles are as thick as a forearm, filled with a deep purple liquid that continuously boils and is injected into the Ultimate Infected's body.
His eyes flashed.
The ultimate infected man raised his hand and caught the bullet flying through the air, preventing it from hitting the syringe in his shoulder.
The flaw... has been found!
Fang's intention: "Attack his syringe!"
Upon hearing his voice, Chu Zhao didn't hesitate and immediately swung the crowbar at the Ultimate Infected's shoulder.
The sound of something cutting through the air rang out.
Just as the syringe was about to be injected, the Ultimate Infected's muscles suddenly expanded, blocking the crowbar.
The crowbar collided with the muscle, producing a dull thud. The muscle was so hard that the rebounding force numbed Chu Zhao's arm, causing a split at the base of his thumb and forefinger, from which a trickle of blood flowed.
The faint smell of blood aroused the ultimate infected, his face contorted into a ferocious grimace, and his desire to attack intensified.
Fang Zhiyi could only dodge this furious attack.
Bang! Bang bang!
The wall was smashed open by the ultimate infected, revealing the reinforced concrete inside.
Fang Zhiyi brushed the rubble off his head and noticed something was amiss.
The ultimate infected... is too smart.
The infected people we encountered before all acted on instinct. Although a few retained some of their sanity, they were far from reaching the level of the ultimate infected.
Is it because he's the final boss, or...?
Under the influence of the title "Snow Hunter," Fang Zhiyi's senses became particularly sharp. With a quick glance, he spotted the red light flashing on the ceiling.
Several red lights fell at the four corners, providing a clear view of the activity below.
Fang Zhiyi: "There's a camera—the man with glasses is watching us!"
They remained within the bespectacled man's sight the entire time.
The man with glasses must be controlling the ultimate infected through cameras or some other method.
"Shoot down the camera!"
Brother Cai raised his submachine gun, and with two loud "bangs," the camera screen cracked.
Chu Zhao raised the crowbar and swung it forcefully at the nearest red dot.
The red dot flashed and then gradually dimmed.
Having lost some control, the ultimate infected became sluggish and dull.
Fang Zhiyi seized the opportunity, declaring, "I'm going to be number one!"
*Smack*
A small red flower sprouted from the top of my head, its bright red color swaying gently.
Active skill, use!
Speed and strength +100%!
Fang Zhiyi kicked his right leg back, shooting out like a cannonball, the wind whistling in his ears, and he met Chu Zhao's gaze.
Chu Zhao cooperated perfectly, kneeling down and extending his hand.
Fang Zhiyi leaped up and kicked Chu Zhao's arm, using the momentum to twist his waist in mid-air and step directly onto the back of the Ultimate Infected.
The effect of "I'm going to be number one!" was still there. He ran up in a few steps and grabbed the syringe on his shoulder.
Inside the glass syringe, deep purple liquid bubbled continuously, reflecting a pair of amber eyes.
The ultimate infected reacted, shaking wildly in an attempt to shake the person off its back.
Fang Zhiyi lurched slightly, gripping the syringe with one hand to maintain her balance, and with the other hand, she slammed it down hard.
Whoosh!
The glass shattered, and a pale purple liquid gushed out, landing on the ground and emitting wisps of white mist. The enhanced biological agent diffused within the sealed space.
Fortunately, everyone present had been injected with the antidote and had antibodies in their bodies, so they would not be infected again.
Fang Zhiyi landed lightly on the ground, looked up and saw the Ultimate Infected letting out a painful wail, its figure shrank and gradually returned to the size of a normal person.
The Ultimate Infected
【boss】
【100/1000】
[Weakness] [Lock in HP]
The question mark on the health bar has disappeared.
The status effects of 【Rage】【Mutation】【Attack Power+】 are also gone.
Brother Ca: "Damn, boss, you're amazing! How did you come up with that? You're a genius!"
Fang Zhiyi: "..."
I feel really embarrassed.
"Don't say anymore..." he paused, "It's not completely resolved yet."
The Ultimate Infected staggered to his feet, his face still contorted in a grotesque grimace, but one could tell he had once been a handsome man. He was in a weakened state and seemed unsure of what to do.
Fang Zhiyi gave him no time to react, and with the idea of taking advantage of his weakness to kill him, she launched an attack directly.
The others joined in as well.
A flurry of blows followed.
Upon closer inspection, the bloodstains on the ultimate infected remained unchanged, still at 100.
Brother Ca: "Damn, why can't I break through?"
The gluttonous girl shook her fist, which was covered in brass knuckles: "My hand is sore from hitting so many people."
Fang Zhiyi: "...Stop for now."
On the status bar of the ultimate infected, there is a "locked health" status.
His health bar is locked; once it reaches 100, it won't drop any further.
Isn't that invincible?
In the gaps in the floor.
A still-intact camera was flashing, and the voice of the bespectacled man could be heard coming from it.
"Don't waste your energy."
"This is the most perfect experimental subject I have ever developed; no one can kill him."
"Come back..."
The Ultimate Infected looked around blankly, and after receiving the order, he ignored the few people present and headed straight for the exit.
We can't let him leave!
If we let him leave and give him another injection, he'll go into a rage again, making him even harder to deal with.
Fang Zhiyi chased after it, and stepped on something. Looking down, he saw it was a work badge that had fallen from the Ultimate Infected.
[CEO Mark]
Fang Zhiyi picked up the work badge, recalling the face of the ultimate infected person and the photo she saw in the newspaper; the two faces gradually overlapped.
This is... the old lady's son, Mark.
The old lady asked them to find her son Mark and deliver a message, along with a pie.
Fang Zhiyi shouted at the back of the Ultimate Infected, "Mark, your mother is still waiting for you to come home!"
The ultimate infected paused, seemingly affected by those words. His lips struggled to move, squeezing out fragmented words from his throat: "m..."
There's hope!
Fang Zhiyi: "Grab him!"
The gluttonous girl stuffed a bite of compressed biscuit, took a step, her body grew larger, and she grabbed the ultimate infected person.
Fang Zhiyi took out the pie the old lady had given him.
Heart-shaped pies
The taste of mom's cooking is something no one can forget.
[Consumes -100 Stamina, +100 Hunger]
Upon opening the packaging, the color and shape of the pie were indescribable. Fang Zhiyi grabbed it and stuffed it into the mouth of the ultimate infected.
"What are you doing... damn it!" The camera could only capture sound, not show what was happening. The bespectacled man cursed, "Mark, break free from them!"
At first, the ultimate infected struggled frantically, but when it tasted the pie, its movements suddenly stopped, and it chewed mechanically with its upper and lower jaws.
"……Mother."
The old lady's voice was old and gentle.
"No matter what he becomes, as long as he tastes this pie, he will remember his mother."
A glimmer of clarity appeared in Mark's eyes: "I'm sorry... Mom. I made the wrong decision, I ruined everything."
The bespectacled man behind the camera heard Mark's voice and exclaimed in disbelief, "Mark...no, how is this possible? You've been infected—"
Bang!
"What are you babbling about? Shut up!" Brother Cai stomped on the camera and smashed it.
“You…%×@…”
The sound turned into gibberish, the red light on the camera flickered, emitted a piercing noise, struggled for a moment, and then went out completely.
The world is finally quiet.
Mark looked at Fang Zhiyi: "Thank you, but I can't go back... Please end all of this."
【Mission - The End of the Sun Umbrella】
What was the initial motivation for researching biopharmaceuticals? To change the world? To make more money? None of that matters anymore. Now, let's end it all. The choice is yours.
[Option 1: Destroy the Umbrella Company]
[Option 2: Take control of the parasol company]
Please note that your choices will affect subsequent developments.
Is there even a question?
Fang Zhiyi directly chose option 1.
[It seems you're a righteous person; you abandoned the multi-billion dollar Umbrella Corporation. If you had known that once the biological agent spread throughout the world, everyone would have to buy your antidote, and you would have gained unimaginable wealth… Just kidding. But you can't choose again, can you? Destroy Umbrella and end it all.]
Mark watched as Fang Zhiyi made her choice, then grinned and smiled.
【0/1000】
Under the effect of the heart-shaped pie, the invincibility effect disappeared, Mark's health was depleted, and he turned into a white light. He did not drop the rewards for killing the boss, but only left behind a map and 4 C4 time bombs.
Fang Zhiyi unfolded the map, which showed a floor plan of the -1 level, marked with four detonation points. Their task was to place C4 time bombs at these points.
Fang Zhiyi sent out a C4 message to each person: "Hurry up and split up."
The group split up and acted separately.
The mission went exceptionally smoothly. Apart from the infected wandering on level -1, no other unexpected events occurred, and the time bomb was successfully planted.
With a "beep," the countdown began.
【00:04:59】
They only had 5 minutes to escape.
As soon as Fang Zhiyi put down the time bomb, he started running outside. Fortunately, he had a map, which allowed him to escape the building as quickly as possible.
He ran wildly, jumped down the stairs in a few steps, rushed out of the fire escape, opened the car door and climbed in.
Almost as soon as I sat down and unbuckled my seatbelt, the engine started, and before I was even properly seated, the car shot forward.
Ziga—
As you turn the corner, sparks fly from the friction between the tires and the ground.
The countdown is decreasing minute by minute.
The parking barrier at the entrance/exit is in the way.
Fang Zhiyi didn't even stop for a moment, stepped on the gas and crashed directly into it.
Bang!
The parking barrier broke, the car jolted, then accelerated uphill, and with the immense inertia, the wheels flew into the air, hovering there for a moment.
A ray of sunset light descended.
Is it dawn yet? No, it's a time bomb that's exploded.
Most of the sky was illuminated by the firelight, and then a loud bang was heard, followed by a wave of heat sweeping from behind.
You have completed the old lady's request.
You have completed Mark's request.
You have completed the Highway Cleaning Association's commission.
[...]
[Task settlement in progress]
[Rewards are being distributed...]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com