Xiao Honglu felt backed into a corner; he desperately wanted to shout that everything was forced upon him. The cipher on Chu Xuan's note had indeed been decoded, and the translation was undeniably correct. Not only did it form logical sentences, but it also laid out the strategic deployment Chu Xuan intended. However, the content of this deployment left Xiao Honglu utterly stunned. Setting aside Chu Xuan's strategy for a moment, let's consider the puzzle of the cipher translation itself. It merely pointed to a single Horror Movie World the Zone C team had experienced—specifically, Starship Troopers. This wasn't the main issue with the cipher. The crucial reason for leaving these specific words behind was to conceal this from the Demon Squad, hidden by Chu Xuan.

The concealment was effective. As long as the omniscient and omnipotent entity had limitations and could not perceive a person's past or future, this deception would be brilliant. Only those who had experienced Starship Troopers with the Zone C team, or those who had heard them recount the details extensively, could fully grasp what Chu Xuan had engineered—more accurately, the preliminary instructions he had given his teammates to set up this precise maneuver.

In Starship Troopers, after a bloody battle, the Zone C team was extracted back into space, immediately beginning their battle of wits against the Zone of the South Flame. Chu Xuan’s deployment completely outmaneuvered even this squad possessing a great strategist. During their ascent from the planet's surface into orbit, to prevent his teammates from being captured, he had secretly conveyed certain phrases. These phrases served as his contact method with the team; merely speaking the associated numbers.

And comparing those numbers.

They could be stitched together word by word into complete sentences. The numbers on the slip of paper served exactly this purpose.

“It completely forms the layout… and this layout is absolutely stamped with Chu Xuan’s signature. But… do we really have to execute this?” Xiao Honglu frustratingly plucked a hair from his head, foolishly examining the strand. His mind constantly wrestled with Chu Xuan's demands. In truth, Chu Xuan’s message wasn't complicated. It only stated that the modified firearm Zero Point possessed had an additional function, one that, when paired with his Square Demonic Eye, would unleash terrifying destructive power. However, using this function, especially when its full force was realized, meant Zero Point would almost certainly die. Whether to use it or not was left to Xiao Honglu’s discretion.

The second demand was for Xiao Honglu to devise a plan to annihilate the branch squads of both the God Squad and the Demon Squad. These messages also briefly narrated the current intelligence Chu Xuan had deduced. The most critical piece of intelligence was that the Demon Squad would dispatch a smaller team to guard the vicinity of the God Squad. Should any Zone C members appear and begin attacking the God Squad, the Demon Squad would reap the benefits of being the third party. Xiao Honglu's task was to use the information provided, along with the strength at his disposal, to wipe out both groups entirely.

“How is that even possible? Even utilizing the special effects of Zero Point’s modified weapon, won't they just flee? And Zero Point’s life is on the line… Also, how can I make them fight each other first? Or at least concentrate them in one spot? This difficulty is no less than deciphering your cipher password… Damn it, Chu Xuan, I didn't realize you thought so highly of me, entrusting me with such a weighty task.”

Xiao Honglu, or rather, the majority of the Zone C team, could imagine the grim reality: currently, Zone C was at a disadvantage against the top three teams, especially facing the overwhelming superiority of the Demon Squad, leaving Zone C in a truly desperate state. To achieve the intended King vs. King and Soldier vs. Soldier scenario, given Zone C’s present condition… it was exceedingly difficult, unless Xiao Honglu could accomplish the objective set by Chu Xuan—eliminating the God Squad and the Demon Squad's contingent at minimal cost.

“…Is this why you spent several Horror Movie Worlds training me?” Xiao Honglu stared blankly at the ceiling. He could envision Chu Xuan’s overall arrangement. This final battle was entirely a gamble: betting that Zheng Zha would win the King vs. King contest, betting that Zone C would win the Soldier vs. Soldier engagement, and gambling on all the luck and strategy—like his own role as the second great strategist of Zone C, whether he could truly act the part of a strategist. In the only domain where Zone C surpassed the Demon and God Squads—intellect—he had to win. In other words, his strategy and success might very well determine the outcome of this final confrontation.

“But… how am I supposed to achieve this?” Xiao Honglu questioned himself silently, while those around him looked on speechlessly… The missiles launched by Zone C soared toward Raccoon City. The first four missiles detonated in the southeastern, southwestern, northwestern, and northeastern sectors of the city, respectively. The warheads carried viruses that were not destroyed by this level of heat and shockwave. On the contrary, the genes of these viruses rapidly mutated, absorbing a portion of the thermal energy and proliferating swiftly. This massive cloud of viruses spread everywhere through the air and blast waves. The first to be struck were some zombies and zombie dogs, and the Crawlers. The potent, fourth-stage gene-locked virus was terrifying; the moment it seized these life forms, it altered its own genes to achieve better integration and parasitism of the host body. Since the host body for every zombie, zombie dog, and Crawler was different, the monsters that instantaneously transformed possessed varied appearances…

“Oh? Missiles too?” In a certain district of Raccoon City, a Reincarnation Squad was engaged in a bizarre fight against two massive Crawlers. One group of people was battling one Crawler, while on the other side, a voluptuous beauty was relentlessly whipping another Crawler with a bullwhip, accompanying her strikes with a seductive “Oh, hehe” laugh. Regardless of her figure or looks, watching her continuously lash the Crawler with a flaming whip, delivering immense force with every strike that sent the giant creature flying, while the flames continued to scorch it, one got the distinct impression she was simply playing. It seemed she could finish the fight at any moment if necessary… Judging by her power, she certainly couldn't be below the third stage of the Gene Lock.

While playfully whipping the Crawler, the beautiful woman looked up momentarily, spotting a missile crossing the sky, visible to the naked eye, descending towards a point far in the distance. For a moment, the beauty froze, muttering a single sentence.

She was nearly knocked over by the Crawler’s counter-attack. Infuriated, the beauty snapped her whip down hard, instantly reducing the Crawler's head to pulp. Only then did she fix her gaze on the distant point.

A mental scan projected the scene of the missile’s impact and explosion into the minds of everyone on the team. The shockwave from the explosion wasn't terrifying; it was comparable to a shoulder-launched anti-tank missile—the power was remarkably low. This spectacle left everyone astonished. Who would be so foolish as to launch such a low-power missile? That direction was supposed to be empty. Furthermore, even if a Reincarnation Squad were present there, the force of that explosion… it might kill a few ordinary people, but killing members of a Reincarnation Squad was highly unlikely.

“Wait. Why aren’t those zombies moving?” a Black man behind the beauty asked strangely. But none of his teammates answered his question. Everyone was inexplicably focused on that area, trying to see if the zombies had simply frozen in fear, wondering why they had suddenly stopped moving. Just as they were puzzled, the zombies in their line of sight suddenly burst apart, splashing gore everywhere. But every drop of blood and every piece of flesh remained connected by thin threads of blood. These ruptured fragments of flesh and blood began to writhe and reshape in the air, as if every drop possessed its own life. Large chunks of flesh and blood sprouted eyes and mouths—one for seeing, one for eating. Once these most basic organs developed, the airborne gore started devouring itself until the last zombie had merged into one large mass of flesh. The form was still unstable; every piece of zombie matter was forging a new shape. Some regrew four limbs, others sprouted countless mouths, some grew tentacles, and others developed wings lined with sharp teeth…

The members of this Reincarnation Squad were all dumbfounded, staring blankly at the scene. None of them understood why the zombies had mutated, and into such terrifying and disgusting forms. This imagery was no longer the zombies or monsters of Resident Evil; it resembled something from the lowest rungs of hell.

The beauty reacted fastest. She shouted, “Everyone, run with me! Those monsters are powerful! I can feel a terrifying pressure even from this distance… That missile is not simple; it must have been deployed to spread a virus. If we don't run faster, not only will those monsters mutate, but we will also die here! And die by turning into those repulsive monsters—I won't allow it!” With a sharp cry, the beauty turned and fled in the opposite direction. The people behind her hesitated briefly, then tightly followed their leader, putting all their effort into running. Only a few who were weaker, seemingly not having undergone much enhancement, couldn't keep up. In truth, they were newcomers to the Reincarnation World; surviving the sight and still managing to run was already a testament to their psychological fortitude, but alas… they were doomed.

Due to the downpour, Raccoon City was filled with standing water and rain. These viruses not only spread through the air, but their transmission within flesh was even more exaggerated. Even more astounding was the virus’s ability for genetic self-regulation. To put it vividly, about eighty percent of this gene structure resembled that of the man wearing the golden mask whom the Zone C team had encountered before. Combined with T-virus technology, its current potency was already comparable to that of the Golden Mask monster.

These viruses weren't just spreading; they were constantly altering their genes, absorbing microorganisms from the rain and standing water to proliferate themselves using that meager energy and matter. Although they hadn't found hosts for drastic mutation, the sheer quantity of the virus was growing exponentially, spreading outwards with the rainwater and ground accumulation. The already mutated monsters began to slaughter each other… The energy and matter within their bodies served as an instinctual lure for the viruses; the viruses within every host desired to devour the others to enhance themselves. This endless cycle of combat and consumption… would eventually generate life forms surpassing these initial monsters!

As the super-virus spread throughout Raccoon City, apart from teams like the Angel Alliance and the Demon Squad contingent, every other Reincarnation Squad in the city headed toward the Umbrella Corporation Headquarters within Raccoon City. The location of this tower was not secret; in fact, it was marked on almost every city map. Since Umbrella Corporation was one of the world's leading corporations even before the Resident Evil outbreak, it was virtually world-famous. Finding such a landmark building was not difficult. However… one of the missile detonation sites was not far from this headquarters. Given the virus's frantic proliferation and corrosive speed, the virus would reach the tower in a maximum of two hours… Of course, this only accounted for the virus itself. What if the virus-infected monsters spread towards it? They were not only powerful, but they also carried the virus within them…

“Damn it, what kind of monster is that! There was nothing this terrifying in Resident Evil 3!” a Black man roared, violently swinging the massive totem pole in his hand, smashing it directly into the head of the monster charging him. With a loud crash, the creature, which had three massive heads, a single eye, and one giant mouth, was driven halfway into the ground, causing the earth to sink at least half a meter. Of course, relative to this monster, which stood at least two and a half meters tall, taking a single step would suffice. But the totem carried immense force, completely smashing one of its heads.

This was a Reincarnation Squad positioned very close to the Umbrella Headquarters. The squad was predominantly composed of Black individuals, suggesting their origins in reality were likely centered in Africa. Their leader, a Black man whose muscles bulged, stood about two meters thirty or so tall. Compared to this grotesquely shaped monster, while lacking in lateral volume, he was nearly equal in height. Moreover, he wielded a huge, exaggerated metal totem pole. Forget hitting a vital spot; merely tapping or bumping this totem would surely result in broken bones and internal injuries.

“That must be a plot change… Is that truly a powerful monster, or just a weak zombie?” Following the giant Black man, one of his teammates, a Black woman, asked with a mixture of astonishment and terror. She held a dark longbow. Looking at the monster, many arrows were embedded in its body, suggesting she had shot it many times. However, every arrow simply lodged itself upon entering the monster’s flesh, forcefully stopped by its powerful musculature. Furthermore, the creature’s interior seemed to contain corrosive fluids; the tips of the arrows were slowly dissolving, eventually causing the arrows to detach and fall to the ground. The wounds on the monster writhed and closed, appearing completely unharmed.

This monster’s strength far exceeded everyone’s expectations, much greater than a Crawler or a Mutated Crawler. Some members of the team unleashed high-powered firearms in continuous bursts, and one mixed-race member was even manhandling a high-powered laser gun. But all this only seemed to blast off certain parts of the monster. The pieces of flesh in mid-air began to writhe and reshape, eventually sprouting fine tentacles. These bloody fragments crawled along the ground and merged back into the monster’s body. Despite the prolonged fight, not only was the creature not destroyed, but it continued to mutate, becoming stronger.

“Go! Everyone stop fighting this monster! This must be a change in the Resident Evil 3 plot. With our team’s strength, it’s hard to deal with it. We should lure it towards the Umbrella Headquarters and let other teams take it down!” The Black leader made a swift decision, leaping backward while bracing his totem pole. At the same time, he roared loudly, urging his teammates to flee this area. For some unknown reason, he felt a profound sense of unease, as if he were trapped in an extremely dangerous situation. Who knew what other transformations this monster might undergo to give him such a clear sixth sense—like having a blade held to his back, an sensation that made the hair on his entire body stand on end.

But it was too late. One of the members behind him suddenly roared in madness, clawing at his own skin and muscle with such force that he ripped open a blood vessel. But the blood that spurted out did not mix with the rainwater; instead, it was thick and viscous, with threads of blood connecting every drop. The man screamed wildly, tearing and gouging at his own muscle and viscera, as if that was the only way to alleviate the pain. The terrifying scene caused everyone around him to instinctively back away. They watched in horror as he self-destructed; not a single person dared to step forward. The force of his tearing went deep into his internal organs. With a final shout, he ripped out his own heart. Only then did everyone clearly see that a row of sharp teeth had grown on the heart, relentlessly gnawing at some unknown part of his flesh. With one bite, it sheared away more than half of his palm. The man could no longer shout; as he collapsed to the ground, he could only let the heart devour his hand and arm. Moreover… his entire body began to undergo such horrifying changes…

“Ugh!” As the first person vomited, the others ran while retching. No one dared to stay there. Most of them had blank minds, hoping only to escape this terrifying place. After all, that man’s fate was too horrifying; even suicide or being eaten by a zombie seemed like a blessing compared to dying by transforming into such a monster. Any death seemed like a gift in comparison. They could only flee desperately, while a small number guessed that the corrosive effect of the mutated monster was the cause. Who knew when the virus had infected them? Perhaps even they were…

“Ah!” Sure enough, one of those fleeing also began to roar madly. However, unlike the first man, he didn't frantically tear at his own flesh. Instead, he raised his firearm and repeatedly pulled the trigger against his own head. This man had a resolute will; before he could feel that terrifying way to die, he completely blasted his brain apart first. Then, his body melted onto the ground like a candle, bones and organs included. Within seconds, the man dissolved into a pile of rot, and that pile of rotting flesh began to bubble and churn as if boiling, before slowly rising up from the ground…

Everyone else, no longer caring about vomiting, sprinted towards the Umbrella Headquarters, as if reaching that location guaranteed safety. Then, yet another among them began to scream wildly… This Reincarnation Squad was the first to encounter the mutated virus. Based on their level of Gene Lock unlocking, the people who hadn't unlocked any Gene Lock mutated first, followed by those with lower levels of unlocking. Once infected by this virus, unless one could breakthrough to the fourth stage of the Gene Lock and alter their internal genetics to eliminate the virus, mutation was merely a matter of time for everyone else… No one could escape.

“What the hell is that…” High in the sky, far away from that team, the members of the Zone of the South Flame were all pale-faced. Even Neos was trembling. Such scenes of bodily mutation were too terrifying, exceeding the limits of their imagination. To be frank, they were Reincarnation Squad members; what was reincarnation? It was repeating cycles in endless Horror Movie Worlds. But even the most terrifying Horror Movie Worlds paled in comparison to the mutations displayed by those people; it was like comparing a romance film to a horror film—they were on entirely different planes.

“…Find the Zone C team quickly; we have no retreat left…” he said, looking towards the faintly visible Umbrella Headquarters in the distance. Their destination was right before them… Of course, it might also be the final resting place of their lives.