The two helicopters still hovering in the air opened fire as well, joining the battle below. Tracer rounds tore through the darkness. Within seconds, explosions erupted. One helicopter spiraled sideways, flames bursting from its fuselage before it crashed into the street in a roaring fireball. The second followed, detonating midair and raining debris across the intersection.
The firefight was brutal.
It was also brief.
Gunfire gradually faded, replaced by crackling flames and distant groans.
Then a translucent panel appeared in front of Lex's eyes.
At the same time, a faint mechanical female voice echoed inside his mind.
"Initialization complete."
"Congratulations, Host, on successfully activating the Superhero System."
"Detection complete. The last active superhero in this world has fallen. Host, please strive to become the next generation of superhero."
…
Wait.
Alice is dead?
Alice—the war goddess of Raccoon City—just died like that?
The image of her killing the two zombie dogs was still vivid. Calm. Precise. Overwhelming.
And now she was gone?
The virtual panel flickered, displaying a series of data.
Name: Lex Williams
Occupation: Actor (Assessment: low survival probability.)
Experience Points: 0 (100 EXP = 1 Gold Coin)
Gold Coins: 0 (Spendable in System Shop)
Skill: Acting Lv.1 (Basic. Limited practical value.)
Storage Slots: Empty
System Shop: Locked
Lex's eyelid twitched.
What's wrong with actors?
Did I eat your food? Drink your water?
Completely useless?
If my acting weren't good, I'd have been zombie chow an hour ago.
Anger surged—but then another thought surfaced.
If the System was his cheat code…
What about the phone that guided him here?
He pulled it out.
The screen was black.
No battery.
So the phone wasn't the System.
He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should circle back and confirm Alice's death.
Less than two seconds later, he abandoned the idea.
Too dangerous.
If someone was still alive and saw him lurking, he'd be shot on sight.
And honestly—whether Alice lived or died didn't change his survival plan.
If the System declared the last superhero dead, then for now, that was reality.
Lex unwrapped the chocolate and ate it slowly, then finished the remaining cola in one go. Afterward, he leaned against the wall and rested, allowing the sugar to circulate through his bloodstream.
Bang!
The back door of the convenience store was kicked open.
Two Umbrella Special Forces soldiers stepped out.
They didn't advance far—just scanned the alley briefly. Lex stayed motionless behind a large trash bin. After a few seconds, they went back inside.
More sounds echoed from within the store and from the street beyond. Metal scraping. Equipment shifting.
Eventually, a helicopter lifted off and disappeared into the night.
Lex remained hidden for another hour.
When his stomach growled sharply, he finally stood.
The chocolate and cola had provided calories. His strength had partially recovered.
Unfortunately, neither had truly satisfied him. If anything, the sugar crash made the hunger worse.
He needed real food.
He chose not to venture deeper into the alley. Unknown darkness was more dangerous than a battlefield he'd already observed.
The convenience store, at least, was familiar territory.
This time, he moved more cautiously.
He checked the ground, dark corners, behind shelves—and especially the ceiling.
The two zombie dogs still lay inside, their massive bodies sprawled across the floor.
A pity they carried the virus.
Otherwise… fresh meat would have been tempting.
Through the shattered storefront, devastation stretched across the street.
Dozens of corpses lay scattered among twisted wreckage and burning debris.
Umbrella had retrieved what weapons and equipment they could carry, but they'd left the bodies behind.
Crows and wandering zombies feasted together in uneasy harmony.
Lex didn't see Alice's body.
Most likely, Umbrella had taken it.
Since zombies were still clustered outside, he avoided stepping into the street.
Instead, he searched deeper inside the store and found a single compressed ration biscuit in the storage room.
It was the best discovery of the night.
After eating it, the gnawing emptiness in his stomach finally subsided.
He stayed inside to continue recovering.
Before dawn, he retrieved the fire axe Alice had used. It became his primary defensive weapon.
Gradually, the sky lightened.
The number of zombies outside didn't decrease. It increased.
They lay on the asphalt, tearing into corpses with mechanical persistence.
Lex wasn't just waiting to regain strength.
He was also waiting for an opportunity.
Umbrella had removed most heavy gear—but some lighter weapons were visibly left behind in the chaos.
A pistol. A combat knife. Maybe even a grenade.
Any one of them would significantly increase his survival odds.
But as more zombies gathered, he reluctantly shelved the idea.
Equipment wasn't worth dying for.
Once the zombies dispersed after feeding, he could collect whatever remained.
Clink.
The faint sound of a rolling can echoed from the back door.
Lex turned immediately.
Of course.
A zombie had wandered in.
Middle-aged male. Police uniform. Noticeable beer belly.
What drew Lex's attention most wasn't the uniform—it was the Glock 17 holstered at the man's waist.
Standard-issue sidearm. Seventeen-round capacity. Reliable. Widely used across American law enforcement.
At close range, more than enough to destroy a zombie's brain.
Compared to the fire axe in his hand, the Glock was infinitely more attractive.
Even if he had never fired one before, simply possessing it would provide psychological security.
Before other zombies noticed and followed, Lex made a decision.
Preemptive strike.
He stepped out from behind cover.
The zombie saw him.
Then ignored him.
The makeup still worked.
Even with the fire axe in his hand, the mindless creature showed no alarm. It shuffled past him, aimless.
Lex positioned himself behind it.
He raised the fire axe.
Alice's earlier precision echoed in his mind.
Headshots.
But as the axe hovered overhead, another thought intruded.
What if the skull doesn't split cleanly?
What if it lodges halfway?
He adjusted his aim.
Neck.
The axe descended.
Thud.
The blade sliced through flesh and vertebrae more easily than he expected.
The head separated cleanly and rolled across the floor.
The body remained standing for half a second before collapsing forward with a heavy crash.
Silence returned.
Lex stood there, breathing hard.
He had just killed his first zombie.
Up close.
With his own hands.
His stomach churned—but not from disgust.
From adrenaline.
He stepped forward and retrieved the Glock 17 from the corpse's holster.
It felt solid. Balanced. Real.
For the first time since waking in this world, he felt something resembling control.