The crawler, however, managed to block its massive claw in front of its head simultaneously, resulting in a shower of sparks. The power of the heavy machine gun proved incapable of even breaking the claw, with bullets constantly deflected and flying in all directions, yet the crawler continued its slow advance toward them.

(If the claw is reinforced to this degree, then aim for the body.) Just as Zheng Zha was about to redirect the machine gun, the sound of a motorcycle engine suddenly pierced the air from outside the church windows. As everyone exchanged puzzled glances, the motorcycle, defying expectations, smashed through the church window and sped inside. A woman riding it vaulted off, letting the motorcycle continue its trajectory, while she drew a pistol and aimed it at the crawler perched on the ceiling. She fired several shots in quick succession, each one striking the wall near the creature.

Indeed, after a few shots, the massive crawler dropped from the church roof. Due to its enormous size, its weight exceeded the structural limit the wall could bear. As the giant crawler hit the ground, it collided directly with the speeding motorcycle. The woman then aimed her gun at the motorcycle’s fuel tank. A few more shots and both the motorcycle and the crawler erupted in flames, the sudden blaze illuminating the entire church.

Only then did the woman turn her head and murmur, "I saw many Crawlers heading this way just now, even that one that evolved. They were all trying to break through here. So there are people here! Zheng Zha! You are Zheng Zha! And Zhan Lan! Why are you here? Did the Umbrella Corporation rescue you from the lab?" This woman was none other than Alice, the heroine of the Resident Evil series, who had previously fought alongside Zheng Zha and his group in the first lab infiltration. In this installment, she was treated as a bioweapon and awakened from a hospital-induced sleep. Upon waking, her instinct was to flee the city. In the established plot, she was supposed to meet Jill and the others in this very church.

Alice was both surprised and delighted, greeting Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan loudly. In truth, only at this moment did she finally let down her guard around the group.

"How did you escape from that laboratory? Only three of us made it back outside alive. The other two had already been scratched by Crawlers. I was just about to inject them with the antibody when the Umbrella personnel stopped me and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I was in a hospital. Where are they? How many of your companions are left?" Alice looked at Zheng Zha.

Zheng Zha sighed. Of the companions he had known since the first Resident Evil incident, only he and Zhan Lan remained alive; the rest had all been infected or killed.

A violent banging suddenly echoed from the church doors, accompanied by the sounds of countless zombies surrounding the building. At that precise moment, Jill and two others rushed in from the back of the church. Jill shouted, "Everyone, follow me! There’s a passage behind the church; we should be able to escape safely through there." The group exchanged glances and slowly followed Jill toward the exit.

As they walked, Zheng Zha remarked, "Our situation is complicated, but it's amazing you survived. I didn't expect you to have already unlocked your Gene Lock, though I can't tell if it’s the first or second stage."

Alice asked curiously, "Unlock the Gene Lock? What is that?"

Zheng Zha paused before answering, "It refers to the fighting style you just displayed. What were you thinking during your fight?"

Alice recalled for a moment. "I wasn't thinking about anything specific; I just felt that’s what needed to be done, like instinctively raising the gun and shooting. I completed those actions naturally."

"Exactly. That is the state of an unlocked Gene Lock—an instinctive attack that instantly raises your combat power to an extreme level." Zheng Zha nodded. He thought for a moment, then suddenly added, "Right, you mentioned two others survived. Who were they?" According to the original timeline of Resident Evil 1, only Matt and Alice escaped the laboratory alive; everyone else was either infected or killed. However, Alice’s words suggested someone else had survived with them.

"Matthew Addison, the captain. He was scratched on the chest by a Crawler, and Matt’s arm was scratched by a Crawler. They both turned pale and were taken away by Umbrella personnel," Alice said with a downcast expression.

Plot deviation! Zheng Zha hadn't anticipated that Alice would recognize them in this Resident Evil 2 setting. This meant the plot wasn't following the Resident Evil 2 movie narrative exactly, but was instead a direct continuation of the Resident Evil 1 events they had experienced. Not only had the main storyline changed, but even the number of survivors from the first incident had changed. In other words, that Matthew Addison was an unexpected variable!

"No wonder. I wondered why saving Matthew Addison in Resident Evil 1 granted us such a massive amount of reward points and side plot progress. It turns out the changes weren't confined to the first incident; they altered the plot of this installment, and even the subsequent story," Zheng Zha realized with sudden clarity. He quietly recited these thoughts in his mind and had Zhan Lan transmit the message to Xiao Honglü, who immediately began tugging at his hair.

"If this is true, I think we might still be able to defeat the Demon Reincarnation Squad—not just with our own power, but perhaps by contacting all the plot characters. I’ve actually considered this before. Remember the movie The Mummy? We had other ways to defeat the Indo Squad back then. For example, if we had contacted the British army stationed in Egypt, how much confidence would you have had in wiping out the Indo Squad using military force? So, the horror movies often present many alternative ways to solve problems. If we could make the Nemesis remember you and Zhan Lan, we could borrow his strength, or even contact Umbrella and use their resources to eliminate the Demon Reincarnation Squad. What do you think?"

Zheng Zha considered this and replied, "It's worth a try."

Alice suddenly added, "You mentioned unlocking the Gene Lock. Are you also in the unlocked state? I remember you were quite weak in the lab, but now that I stand next to you, I feel a sense of danger. Your progress is immense."

Zheng Zha smiled, about to answer, when the large Black man standing among them suddenly collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Alice reacted the fastest, immediately aiming her pistol at his head. Simultaneously, Jill also pointed her handgun at Alice.

Alice said coldly, "What do you think I’m doing? I'm stopping him from turning into a Zombie. Do you want your friend to become one of those disgusting things?"

Jill murmured, "I don't know if he'll turn into a Zombie, but! You are pointing a gun at my friend. That is enough reason for me to fight you to the death!"

Seeing the standoff, Zheng Zha quickly interjected, "Both of you, stop arguing. Cheng Xiao, he's your responsibility now. Didn't you want to test the power of the Immortal Energy Golden Needles? Try it now." He could have used an antidote, but those were reserved for team members, meaning there wouldn't be enough to spare for a non-member. This was why Zheng Zha tasked Cheng Xiao with using the Immortal Energy Golden Needles to detoxify the large Black man; success depended solely on the man’s luck.

Cheng Xiao responded quietly, retrieved the small box from his bosom, and knelt beside the man. He smiled, "Ever heard of acupuncture? Don't be nervous; relax your muscles. I’m going to prick a few acupoints—some to stimulate the body's natural detoxification ability, and one to draw out the toxins. Whether it works depends on your luck."

With that said, Cheng Xiao delicately picked up a golden needle between his fingers and, with an unbelievable speed, inserted it into a specific spot on the Black man’s body. Then another, and another. After pricking him seven or eight times, many people hadn't even seen how he plucked or inserted the needles. It was at this moment that Zheng Zha and the others gained a tangible understanding of Cheng Xiao's medical skill—this man was indeed a medical talent, at least concerning Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture.

"Normally, acupuncture requires constant manipulation to stimulate the points, but the Immortal Energy Golden Needles come with inherent energy stimulation, so I don't need to twist them for you. How do you feel now?" Cheng Xiao asked with a smile after finishing the insertion.

The Black man’s complexion gradually eased. He touched his stomach. "My liver hurts a little, but the rest feels much better. My arm was starting to go numb earlier."

Cheng Xiao smiled again, took out a small blade, cut open the man's trouser leg, and gently made a cross-shaped incision over the bite mark. Black blood immediately flowed out.

"Good. The liver is beginning detoxification. With the stimulation from the Golden Needles' immortal energy, you should clear about eighty percent of the poison in about three minutes. Clearing the remaining twenty percent will take several hours of gradual removal, so there’s no need to panic for now." Alice and the others were utterly stunned, especially Alice. Having experienced the Resident Evil outbreak, she knew the danger and terror of the T-Virus. Infection usually meant a dead end without an antibody. Yet, this seemingly simple-minded man was dissolving the virus using needles as thin as sesame seeds. If this worked, why would they need antibodies at all?

"Actually, the human body's own antibodies are incredibly strong; they often just haven't been mobilized. That's why external medicine and antibodies are needed to stimulate or replace the human system's work, so—" As Cheng Xiao was speaking proudly, a withered hand suddenly shot out from the ground beneath him, gripping his foot. Immediately, a nearly skeletal, rotten head emerged from the soil and lunged to bite his ankle.