Immediately after Bard finished speaking, the ear-piercing sound of shattering glass erupted from behind, and a green claw lunged toward Lear's head, trailing a gust of foul wind.
A Hunter β! An improved bio-organic weapon created by Umbrella, it was a fusion of human and reptilian genes, resembling an upright giant lizard covered in green scales.
Compared to the giant salamander in the sewer—the Hunter γ—this version of the Hunter better fit the definition of a weapon: cold-blooded, efficient, and swift.
A split second before the Hunter's talons could reach Lear, Lear moved.
In the eyes of the Hunter β, the prey before it vanished from its sight in an instant.
Bard, who had been staring at the monitor in the laboratory, saw on the screen that Lear had moved from his previous position to the Hunter's back in the blink of an eye.
"Over here!"
Lear's voice rang out from behind the Hunter. Before it could turn around, Lear grabbed the tail trailing behind it.
Then Bard's eyes widened as he witnessed a horrifying scene.
"My God!"
In Bard's eyes, a man roughly 180cm tall weighing at most 200 pounds began performing... a windmill with a Hunter β that stood 1.7 meters high and weighed over 300 pounds?
Outside the laboratory, Lear gripped the Hunter's tail with one hand and began a single-arm giant swing, slamming the Hunter's head into every hard object within his reach.
The Hunter was battered until its head bled, spraying green blood everywhere.
Just as Lear was preparing to crush the Hunter's skull, the tail in his hand unexpectedly snapped.
The Hunter β possessed basic combat intelligence and the reptilian instinct to evade danger. Sensing its life was under threat, it chose to sever its own tail.
Carrying the massive momentum from Lear's swing, the Hunter's body slammed violently into the laboratory door, smashing it wide open.
Then, a scream rivaling a soprano's erupted from inside.
"Ah!!! Help! Save me! FUCK! Get away from me!"
Accompanying the scream, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline ran out. He looked around frantically and immediately ducked behind Lear upon seeing him.
Ignoring Bard hiding behind him, Lear looked through the smashed door and saw the Hunter, which had overturned a series of tables and computers, struggling to crawl back up.
Lear stepped into the laboratory and approached the Hunter, intending to finish it off.
At that moment, a cruel glint flashed in the Hunter's eyes. Its claws, which had been flailing aimlessly, suddenly lunged toward Lear in unison.
Seeing this, Bard cried out, "Watch out!"
But Lear completely ignored those razor-sharp claws, instead lunging forward with a sudden burst of speed. Claws sliced past Lear's ear, bringing a gust of wind that ruffled the hair at his temples.
"Looks like I'm due for a haircut," Lear muttered to himself.
By now, the light had already faded from the Hunter's eyes—well, if eyes could even be found amidst a pile of mangled flesh.
In the exact instant the Hunter had swung its claws, Lear had already crushed its skull underfoot.
From behind Lear came Bard's trembling voice.
"Are... are you even human?"
Lear slowly turned his head, his gaze so flat and indifferent it sent a chill down the spine.
"You... you said you were here to evacuate me, right?"
Lear's stare made Bard stumble back a few steps until he collapsed onto the floor. With a look of fawning desperation on his face, he stammered out the words.
Looking down at Bard's pathetic display, Lear spoke with a cold voice: "If you can produce the T-Vaccine, then I am here to evacuate you. If not, you're on your own."
"I have it! I have it!"
Hearing that Lear was still willing to take him, Bard scrambled up from the floor immediately. Ignoring the splatters of Hunter blood everywhere, he ran to a corner of the laboratory, fumbled around for a moment, and pulled out an incubator, handing it to Lear.
"This! The virus and the vaccine are inside!"
Lear took the incubator and opened it. Resting quietly inside were six vials: three green and three purple.
Closing the incubator, Lear tilted his head toward Bard.
"Let's go."
Lear then took the lead, walking back toward the Main Hall.
"Oh, right!" Bard grabbed a floppy disk from the computer console and jogged to keep up with Lear.
Retracing their steps, the two of them soon arrived back at the Main Hall.
Tyrell was alone at the front desk. Seeing Lear return, he immediately spoke up: "Lear, I found it. Dr. Bard is in the lab—"
Before he could finish, Tyrell saw the case in Lear's hand and Bard following behind him, then shook his head helplessly.
"Looks like I was a step too late, huh..."
Lear nodded to Tyrell, signaling him to keep an eye on Bard, before taking the incubator into the temporary infirmary.
"The purple one! The purple reagent is the vaccine!"
Seeing Lear about to leave, Bard called out loudly behind him.
Lear glanced back at him and nodded.
Inside the infirmary, Sherry was crying while using a towel to try and bring down the fever.
Seeing Lear enter, Sherry ran over immediately, her voice thick with tears: "Lear, Jill has a fever, and her infection is getting worse!"
Jill was in terrible condition. A grayish-black tint had spread to her cheeks, and her body was burning hot.
Seeing this, Lear's chest tightened. He immediately took out a vial of purple reagent and injected it into Jill's neck.
Whether it was just psychological or not, Lear felt that not long after the vaccine was injected, Jill's expression began to soften.
At that moment, Tyrell knocked on the door from outside.
"Lear, Dr. Bard says he can help look at Jill's injury. He was in charge of T-Virus research, after all. I think it would help, but it's your call."
Lear reflected for a moment.
"Let him in."
Bard pushed the door open and entered. Seeing Jill on the sickbed, he immediately shifted into a professional state. He stepped to her bedside, peeled back her eyelids with his fingers, and then examined the wound on her hand.
At this moment, Bard showed none of his previous sycophancy. As he performed the check-up, he asked Lear, "How long has your friend been infected?"
"Half an hour, at most."
Bard nodded. "Then there's still hope. You've already injected her with the vaccine, right? In another half hour, inject another half-dose. She should wake up within an hour at the most."
Hearing this, Lear's expression relaxed, and the weight pressing on his heart eased considerably.
After finishing his examination of Jill, Bard signaled Lear to step outside to talk.
Lear glanced at the now-calm Jill, nodded, and stepped out of the infirmary.
Then, Lear said to Bard: "Thank you."
Bard shook his head and said in a low voice, "I understand. If I want to get out of this godforsaken place, I can only rely on you. On my own, it would be harder than climbing to heaven."
He then looked back at Sherry and Jill inside the room.
"I know things won't end well for me even if I get out, but I don't want to die. Just consider this an insurance policy for my own safety. Please look out for me as much as you can."
Having said that, he looked at Lear earnestly, waiting for a response.
Lear nodded. "I can't give you any guarantees, but for now, I will do my best to protect you."
Hearing Lear's reply, Bard breathed a long sigh of relief. He gave Lear a grateful look and walked back into the infirmary to continue monitoring Jill's condition.
(Translated by yourtl.app)