"Alert! Ventilation duct overhead!" Wesker's voice sliced through the air, sharp and urgent. Before he even finished speaking, his Contact Beam was already in hand. The very next second, several hybrid Tyranid Genestealers, in their first and second stages of mutation, burst through the overhead pipe grate, lunging forward with horrifying speed.
"Zzz~ ping~~" Wesker pulled the trigger, and a high-energy laser erupted from the Contact Beam, instantly striking the foremost hybrid Tyranid Genestealer. The creature's skin instantly cooked, charring on contact. Another second-generation hybrid Tyranid Genestealer, already too close, was frozen mid-leap by Wesker's Stasis Energy and then brutally kicked away.
The other four team members, having reacted swiftly, immediately raised their weapons and opened fire. A barrage of Punisher Grenades, high-energy lasers, invisible force fields, and more Stasis Energy lit up the cramped corridor, targeting the relentless tide of incoming hybrid Tyranid Genestealers.
Seeing the endless stream of hybrid Tyranid Genestealers pouring from the ducts, Isaac, acting as the captain, immediately turned to Jill. "Quickly call for support! We can't hold them off by ourselves!" Jill, clutching the communication device that linked her to the other PDF Soldiers, frantically operated it, recalling the brief training she'd received before boarding. "This is Crew Deck C3 area, under attack by an unknown number of hybrid Genestealers, requesting support, repeat, requesting support!" But no matter how many times she tried, only static crackled back from the communicator.
"These monsters might be jamming our communications," Tyrell, the team's technical expert, surmised, observing some unknown devices on several Tyranid Genestealers. The expressions on everyone's faces turned grim as they watched the various crew members on the ship devolve into chaos, fleeing in every direction due to the sudden crossfire. Some individuals, thinking clearly, approached the team, raising their hands in surrender to identify themselves. They understood that at a time like this, hiding near armed personnel was their safest bet. However, the majority simply fled mindlessly into various passages, turning the already crowded scene into complete disarray.
"We need to find a way to break through and head towards the landing pad first," Isaac stated, using his Psionics to lift a sharp steel pipe and pierce the head of a hybrid Tyranid Genestealer.
"What about these people?" Jill asked, pointing to the crew members huddled around their team.
"Of course, bring them all," Wesker interjected coldly, completely ignoring Jill's murderous glare. "They can serve as meat shields if necessary."
(T/N : I love Wesker)
After a brief, grim plan, the five simultaneously activated their Stasis Energy emitters, freezing a large group of hybrid Tyranid Genestealers. Then, with the two tall and sturdy Elite Marauders leading the charge, they rammed through the surrounding Tyranid Genestealers, initiating their desperate breakthrough. Seeing their only hope of combat power about to flee, more and more crew members on the deck chose to follow closely behind the five.
"Don't mind them, maintain your speed, don't get bogged down," Isaac commanded from the front of the team. If they were to be delayed by these civilians, they would quickly be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of Tyranid Genestealers. The squad quickened their pace, continuously eliminating hybrid Tyranid Genestealers attacking from every conceivable corner along their route. Had Marcus not ensured they were fully stocked with ammunition before departure, they would likely be reduced to relying solely on Psionics by now.
"Two hundred meters to the next area," Carlos, who had been intently watching the map, looked up, narrowly dodging a Tyranid Genestealer's sharp bone blade.
"The situation isn't optimistic," Jill noted, her voice laced with worry. "There should be more than just our squad in this area, but we haven't seen any of them."
"According to intelligence, there are nearly two hundred thousand crew members on this ship. Even if only one-tenth of them are infected and transformed, that's still more than enough," Wesker added grimly.
"Let's break out of this area first," Isaac urged. No sooner had he spoken than the five, who had just turned a corner, abruptly stopped dead in their tracks. The passage before them was crammed with a dense mass of hybrid Tyranid Genestealers. Most were first and second generations, more humanoid in appearance, but interspersed among them were quite a few third and fourth generations, wielding various makeshift ranged weapons. And at the center of this deformed, writhing mass, a dozen pureblood Tyranid Genestealers, completely pale and covered in purple carapaces, stood ominously.
"Roar!" The largest pureblood Tyranid Genestealer let out a terrifying bellow. Immediately, all the Tyranid Genestealers surged forward, rushing towards the five.
"No time to find another way, just charge through!" The two Elite Marauders, under the cover of Stasis Energy and suppressing fire, took heavy, determined strides, smashing through several fragile Tyranid Genestealers blocking their path with unstoppable momentum. Simultaneously, they raised their grenade launchers, severely wounding and slowing down the charging pureblood Tyranid Genestealers.
"Quickly follow!" Using the path cleared by the Marauders, the five began to unleash their weapons, suppressing the Tyranid Genestealers as they pushed forward. Only a small portion of the crew members who had been following behind them managed to keep up. Most of the rest were swiftly swallowed by the Tyranid Genestealers' sharp claws, destined to be transformed into new hybrid Tyranid Genestealers.
"This way! Keep up the suppression! I see them!" A faint voice echoed from ahead. Alongside it appeared red laser beams and the distinct sound of kinetic firearms.
"It's the other PDF Soldiers," a wave of relief washed over the team as smiles appeared on their faces, and they immediately quickened their pace. But the very next second, an Elite Marauder, who had been leading the charge, suddenly stopped and began to retreat. Several sturdy, deformed creatures, wielding improvised hammers, continuously smashed at the joint areas of the Marauder's surface armor, protected by other Tyranid Genestealers. Under their monstrous strength, visible cracks had already appeared in the Marauder's slightly weaker armor joints.
Red light flashed in Wesker's eyes behind his sunglasses, and then he burst forth with superhuman speed, rushing to the Marauder's side. At the same time, he raised his focused gun and continuously fired a dozen force field rounds. The first few force fields stripped the surface skin, along with most of the flesh, from all Tyranid Genestealers within a seven to eight-meter radius. The remaining force fields then shattered the exposed skeletons and attached muscles into fragments.
After Wesker's temporary, brutal intervention, the team returned to their breakthrough state. They quickly formed a pincer attack with the PDF Soldiers from another area, completely annihilating the hundreds of Tyranid Genestealers in the corridor.
"Come over quickly!" the leading PDF Sergeant shouted to the five in the middle of the corridor. At the same time, the crew members who had been following behind the five also seemed to see hope and immediately burst forth with astonishing speed, their malnourished bodies surprisingly catching up with Isaac and the others at the front.
"Bang." Once the last crew member scrambled out of the corridor, a PDF Sergeant coldly pressed a button, and a nearly two-meter-thick steel door dropped down, completely sealing off this chaotic area. Simultaneously, he took out his communicator and began reporting to a higher-ranking officer. "The entire Crew Deck C3 area has been sealed. Requesting next instructions, over."