William Birkin released several pulsating tentacles, distorted by mutation, but directed them not at me. I was ready to dodge, but at the last moment, the tentacle's trajectory changed, and it struck Sherry's neck.
As a former police officer, I could not stand aside from domestic violence, or rather, laboratory anarchy. Indifferent behavior did not suit the spirit of a former S.T.A.R.S. commander, so I instantly leaped towards "Father of the Year," delivering a powerful roundhouse kick. The sole of my boot hit the monster's torso with such force that it threw him back… only a meter. The blow that previously hurled the Tyrant proved to be weak and only caused a headache, and it was mine. The mutant's biomass absorbed the main part of the impact, significantly reducing the damage.
His left arm, the fourth one he had, seemed to be plotting something malicious. But I wouldn't allow him to simply grab my head in an attempt to crush it. This was wrong in every way, so I quickly dodged, deflecting the blow's trajectory with a strike of my own arm. I left a dent! However, it immediately disappeared. Organic opponents with elastic flesh are nasty fellows.
— We'll cover you! — the support group shouted, but I didn't believe them, as I remembered that my comrades had no ammunition left. The only real help came from HUNK, who expended a couple of submachine gun magazines while I gracefully dodged every one of the monster's attacks, landing precise blows on its numerous eyes. Pus oozed from the mutant's eyes, and they looked disgusting, hindering my focus on the fight. But could I lose?
Theoretically — yes.
Sherry, in Claire's arms, let out a painful squeak as the virus spread through her veins. She turned out to be a bad talisman; I was momentarily distracted by the noise, and one of Birkin's tentacles wrapped around my leg. It upset my balance, knocked me to the ground, and pinned me down hard.
With all his strength, Birkin brought his paws down, but at that moment, my self-preservation instinct kicked in. I flexed my muscles, which were still warm after absorbing the G-virus, and felt a surge of strength. It was enough to defend myself with my hands, taking the main damage on them. My body was injured by the impact, and my back broke through the floor of the fourth floor, sending me plummeting to the fifth. But at the last moment, I grabbed the tentacle firmly and pulled the enemy down with me. He was so heavy that, upon landing on his stomach, he widened the hole and flew with me to the fifth underground floor of the Hive.
— Wesker! — the girls' worry inspired optimism, while the giant, the embodiment of a pessimistic reality, was falling on me.
Landing on my feet, I leapt aside, avoiding the collapse. The monster crashed, roared, and rushed at me. Everything happened rapidly, leaving no time to survey the surroundings. Only after thirty seconds could I look around.
We were in a botanical garden, where medicinal herbs that brought the company billions were grown. Hmm… why did that sound suspicious? Before I could ponder, I jumped away, dodging a swipe from a clawed paw. Mr. Frankenstein was clearly targeting the perfect man, attacking him in every way possible.
— It's too high here! — a distracting voice sounded, but I remained focused. Ignoring the noise, I unbuttoned my jacket and pulled out my knives. A sense of danger told me that I could not be distracted by external irritants. For example, female screams.
— Look out, a grenade!
Fate loves to joke: just as I was deep in thought, my comrades threw a grenade in our direction. Lady HUNK… HUNK, in full gear, of course, chose the most inappropriate moment. Using the acceleration from the Progenitor virus, I retreated. The grenade reached the mutant and exploded, enveloping Birkin's body in smoke. Another grenade tore off several of his limbs, making him roar in pain and rush into a mad attack.
Grinning, I threw two knives, precisely hitting the eyes on his shoulders. Then I rushed forward, delivering a series of blows to his vulnerable spots. Everything was happening in accelerated perception mode; Birkin continued to rage while I completed my attack and got out of his way.
The monster ran a few meters before collapsing. All because I was too good. But at the moment of triumph, when the angels were ready to sing my deeds, Birkin completed his regeneration. His ability to recover was so impressive that it caused slight envy.
William roared, turned around, and launched a new mutation. His body bloated like a balloon, new limbs appeared, and his head retracted into his neck, giving way to a huge, leech-like maw.
— Damn! We'll look for another way! — voices were heard from above, indicating my team's retreat.
It doesn't matter what they do.
I made a terrible discovery just now, noticing the supersonic tentacles. The monster possessed an instinctive ability to adapt to different opponents and types of damage; its evolution surpassed human capability. The tentacles, moving faster than me, swiftly came to shred.
I tried to dodge but was too late: a tentacle struck my side, piercing the flesh down to the spine. The blow was extremely painful, nearly tearing me apart. Perhaps Golgotha, amplified by the T-virus, strengthened my bones, which is why I ended up in the botanical garden. I wasn't torn in half? A great success!
Pity… I was used as a football, otherwise how to explain that I flew so perfectly through the flowerbed and crashed into a spotlight? Only uprooted green bushes of medicinal herbs flashed before my eyes. Strange, but perhaps the powerful impact caused hallucinations, because about a hundred small tentacles grew from my wound, immediately rushing toward the green, red, and blue herbs, absorbing them.
When the tentacles returned, I examined my side and found no hole. The absence of a part of my clothing confirmed that the wound was real and not a figment of my imagination.
"Tentacles appearing without my knowledge," I shuddered, realizing this sad fact. I should learn to control my regeneration and the unpleasant features of my body, but doing so in the presence of a monster will be difficult.
He slowly slid into the botanical garden and began to devour the grass. Unlike me, he writhed in pain, as if the grass were poison to him. And for me — medicine.
— Fun grass," I joked, trying to lead the stupid monster throughout the garden to weaken him by the random consumption of suspicious plants. By the end of the fifth minute, his tentacles became clumsy, which allowed me to quickly approach.
My regeneration restored my severed flesh, and the T-virus gave me the ability to deliver crushing blows to the weakened creature's eyes. True, I felt like an ordinary street fighter competing with Hercules. The opponent was of an impressive size and tough as rock. He unleashed treacherous attacks, creating genuine pressure.
But I did not give up, because only weaklings retreat before cutting tentacles and severing claws. I considered myself neither a brave man nor a coward; I was merely doing what was necessary for victory. Moving with incredible speed, I sought out vulnerabilities, creating a barrier of destructive blows around myself.
The best defense is offense, but not always. One of the tentacles sliced through the air, depriving me of my left wrist. Bone strengthening was limited to the spine, and the enhancement did not spread to the limbs, which is why I lost my hand.
Blood gushed out.
Leaping back, I tore off my belt and stopped the bleeding. This wasn't a solution, but it allowed me to lose less blood while waiting for tissue regeneration to start. And then, the stump began to writhe and bubble, restoring itself before my eyes.
But the enemy did not wait. Contracting, he bounced off the ground like a jump ball. This ball nearly crushed me with its weight, and a formidable pair of tentacles, moving at sonic speed, attempted to sever my head.
The enemy had adapted to the plants…
Thanks to past experience in acrobatics, I avoided the worst, escaping with six deep cuts. The wounds healed quickly, and after forty seconds, my hand was almost completely restored, and I returned to close combat.
With every minute of the fight, I better controlled the force of my blows. When only my pants, boots, and glasses remained, and the rest of my clothes were torn, I was almost equal to Birkin in strength.
My blows became more powerful, breaking through the creature's flesh and inflicting serious damage. At one point, a huge eye even emerged from his maw. I had never seen such a large eye and did not want to. Concentrating all my strength in my legs, I made a jump, bringing down a powerful blow from above. The mutant's eye exploded, covering the garden with putrid waste.
Sliding back, I removed my glasses, sighed, and tried to wipe them on my pants. I somehow found a scrap of fabric that hadn't been stained yet. So, by the time the break was over, I could see the monster again through the dark filter, thereby better adjusting to its attacks. I had learned all its behavior patterns. The victory belongs to… someone or other… Birkin again used his mutation ability, transforming his body into an even more terrifying Thing.
— I think, — I sighed. — I forgot to wipe the test tubes in the laboratory.
Turning sharply, I ran toward a narrow opening. I needed to force the creature to get stuck in a reinforced place so that I could beat it with impunity. The tactic wasn't the fairest, but it was invented by those who hunted wild beasts. Hunters survived harsh times, and I should honor the memory of my ancestors; there were no rocky gorges, but a suitable corridor was found.
Passing through the narrow corridor with metal plating, I found a suitable room. The creature, inexorably crushing everything in its path, soon reached the entrance to the trap.
— What a clingy one, — I scoffed, adopting a fighting stance.
I probably looked quite impressive.
The monster, not thinking about self-preservation, rushed into the narrow corridor, overcoming obstacles one by one until it got stuck two meters from the target. The trap snapped shut. With a majestic gesture, clasping my fingers and cracking them, I suddenly moved forward, resuming the beating.
My speed increased significantly, and Birkin's tentacles couldn't keep up with me, losing speed. In the confined space, the monster's advantages disappeared. Now I was landing hundreds of blows, while he barely managed to land a couple on me.
Our regeneration was equal against minor and medium wounds, but mine also allowed me to restore my body using the green grass. Damn it… Why does the thought of the absorbed herbs sound so questionable in my head? Thoughts on this matter give me no peace, making me even more furious and merciless in the fight against the monster.
Another eye appeared from his maw.
Time for a crushing blow!
Spreading my legs shoulder-width apart, I sharply bent down and delivered a direct punch. The speed and strength were enough to explode the eye, launching a new stage of evolution. But William Birkin made a mistake, starting the mutation process without biomass. This led to degradation and a massive explosion of flesh. I was splashed with the disgusting substance from head to toe. But I did not lose my composure. After a few curses directed at my old comrade, I headed to the staff break area. There was an excellent shower room, and I used the laboratory coat of one of the employees as a replacement for my clothing.
The lab coat perfectly suited my physique, evoking nostalgic memories of hundreds of experiments, usually illegal: on people and other living creatures. But now I am on the right side: actively looking for buyers for dangerous bioweapons…
With optimistic thoughts, I checked the integrity of the T-virus antidote. Now I need to think about what to do with Sherry. She was infected with the G-virus, and it wouldn't hurt to find out how far along the research on its neutralization is. If I manage to resolve the crisis with Golgotha, I will gain an excellent assistant with weakened Birkin powers.
True, the government might try to place her in a quarantine zone for research. But who said I would hand Sherry over to someone else? Smart and strong subordinates — that is what my world domination is built upon.