The giant snake and Plant 42 were locked in a fierce battle. It was a fight between a Poison-type Pokémon and a Grass-type Pokémon. Based on the type matchup, the Grass-type Pokémon, Plant 42, had a huge advantage and the battle would likely be over soon. To stop this battle, one would need to summon an Ultraman warrior from the Land of Light in Nebula M78, as this had gone far beyond the scope of human involvement. But unfortunately, this was Resident Evil, not Ultraman. Perhaps a superhero from DC or Marvel would be a better fit.
However, this did not mean that Javier and the others could not intervene in this battle. They would still have to clean up the mess afterward. Regardless of whether the giant snake or Plant 42 won, they would have to kill the remaining monster. The weaknesses of both the giant snake and Plant 42 were fire and weedkiller, respectively. These could easily counter them. So, after temporarily leaving the danger zone, Javier and the others quickly reacted. Javier and Rebecca went to find fuel, while Jill and Barry went to get weedkiller. They had a clear division of labor, determined to be the fisherman who reaps the rewards from the conflict between the snipe and the clam.
Javier and Rebecca, having survived a great calamity, were blessed with good fortune. They were not hunted down by the giant snake. Instead, while searching, they found the third cursed mask in the giant snake's lair, hidden in a pile of straw. This was incredibly lucky. Originally, Javier and Rebecca would have had to fight the giant snake to kill it and get the mask. But by a strange twist of fate, they had led the giant snake to Plant 42's lair, making the two monsters fight each other. This was something they had never expected. It was a pleasant surprise to have two problems solved at once.
In the mansion's storage room, Javier and Rebecca found two barrels of fuel as they had hoped. The packaging was old and covered in dust, but thankfully, when they opened a cap, the fuel had not evaporated and was still usable.
On the other side, Barry and Jill also ran out, each carrying several bags of weedkiller. The weedkiller was piled next to the plant cultivation greenhouse, so it was not hard to find. Barry carried four bags by himself, while Jill carried two. It wasn't dozens of bags, but it was enough.
A few minutes later, the four of them met up. Seeing the fuel and weedkiller the others had found, they nodded to each other, ready to put their plan into action. Of course, before that, they needed to check on the battle between the two giant monsters. After all, if they wanted to watch the tigers fight and reap the benefits, they had to see how the two sides were faring. If they found that neither had been significantly harmed, all of Javier's calculations would have been for nothing.
Thankfully, the battle between the giant snake and Plant 42 had already entered its final phase and was not as slow as they had imagined.
"Roar roar roar—!!!"
With an angry howl, the giant snake's huge body twisted violently in the underground water tank. Its only remaining weapon, its fangs, were desperately trying to destroy Plant 42's root system. The giant snake's injuries were severe, even tragic. Many of its previously dense and hard scales had been torn off, and its body was covered in crimson blood. In the middle of its body, there was a very deep wound that had gone past the scales, revealing red flesh. One of its yellow-green vertical pupils had also been blinded, pierced by a sharp vine tendril. Thick yellow liquid and blood seeped from the wound, a sign of being poisoned.
But even so, the giant snake's ferocity did not diminish. Its single remaining vertical pupil still glowed with a dangerous, terrifying crimson light, fixed on Plant 42. Half of its mouth had been torn apart by a vine's thorns, but its gaping maw still thrashed and roared. Only its hard, stone-like head remained incredibly sturdy. That head, comparable to steel, was the one part of its body that Plant 42 couldn't break through. To this day, the giant snake's head had no sign of injury and still gave off a dark sheen.
The one-eyed, defeated giant snake was now putting up its last struggle. Even if it were to die here, it would not let Plant 42 get off easy. It was in its vengeful nature to at least take Plant 42 down with it!
"Hiss hiss hiss...!!!"
Of course, Plant 42 was not doing well either. Although it was a Grass-type Pokémon with an advantage over the Poison-type Pokémon Arbok, it couldn't withstand Arbok's suicidal attacks. Arbok's self-sacrificing moves, which would injure the enemy a thousand times while damaging itself eight hundred times, could not be fully blocked by a Grass-type even with its toughness. Plant 42's large pink core had been half-melted by the giant snake's corrosive venom. Its protective petals had been completely torn off like a bald rooster. Its thick, tough root system had also been significantly damaged, and it had lost seventy to eighty of its vine tendrils. The Stun Spore in its stamens had been completely used up.
Plant 42 was almost out of ammunition, but even so, it still had a big chance of winning. This was because it had a huge advantage over the giant snake: resilience and endurance. Its roots were firmly rooted in the underground water tank, which allowed it to provide a continuous, albeit weak, supply of vitality. It was better than nothing. Therefore, even if its core was destroyed, as long as its roots remained, it could still survive. After all, you must pull out a weed by its roots... the roots were Plant 42's most important organ!
"Bang—!!!"
With a loud crash, the giant snake used another suicidal tackle. It twisted its massive body and slammed its hard head into Plant 42's thick root stem. This blow almost broke Plant 42's "waist," and countless fibers began to tear. Plant 42 was not to be outdone. Countless vine tentacles wrapped around the giant snake's body and began to whip and stab at the torn wounds in its scales, causing blood to flow out even faster. The two of them were tormenting each other bit by bit.
It seemed the giant snake could no longer hold on. Its single remaining eye flashed with an even more terrifying light. The giant snake squeezed out the last bit of venom from its body and aimed it at Plant 42's core, letting out a final, furious roar before spitting it out!
"Roar roar roar—!!!"
"Swoosh... swoosh—!!!"
With a final roar, two streams of high-pressure, water gun-like venom shot out. This time, the amount was unprecedented. It was the giant snake's last desperate attack. It was so fast that Plant 42 had no time to react or defend itself. In an instant, Plant 42's core was hit directly by the giant snake's greenish-yellow corrosive venom. The large amount of corrosive venom that stuck to the core was more than the already damaged red fruit could withstand. It began to slowly dissolve into a viscous liquid. In just a few dozen seconds, Plant 42's core, which had been hanging from the ceiling, was completely corroded away, leaving nothing behind. With its core destroyed, Plant 42 deflated like a popped balloon. Its countless vine tendrils fell limp, losing all vitality, as if it had truly died.
"Hiss..."
The one-eyed giant snake, seeing that Plant 42's core had been destroyed and that there was no longer any sign of life, closed its remaining eye. Finally, its massive body lost all strength and collapsed, falling heavily to the ground and splashing a lot of water with a dull thud. In the end, both the snake and the plant had suffered a Pyrrhic victory.
But was that truly the outcome?
"Rustle..."
Just when the giant snake thought it had perished along with Plant 42, the roots of Plant 42, which were rooted in the underground water tank, slowly began to raise their vine tendrils again, even without a core. Was this a miracle?
No, obviously not. It was clearly a cunning plant's ploy, not a miracle. For most plants, the most important organ is the root. A large tree that is cut down will grow new sprouts after a year, even if it takes a long time. It still isn't dead. Weeds that are burned down by a fire will grow back one after another after a spring rain. Therefore, the other organs of a plant can be very deceiving. As long as the root is not damaged, it will not die. The same was true for Plant 42. The red fruit core was only a part of its brain-like control organ. While it was important, it wasn't fatal.
After all, the red fruit only made the tentacles more precise in their hunting and reproduction. Without the red fruit, Plant 42's hunting and reproductive instincts would not disappear; they would just be clumsier than before. Without its intelligence, its recovery would be much slower, especially its sensory abilities. In the past, if there was prey nearby, it could quickly hunt and wrap around it. Now, it could only use its tentacles as eyes and had to slowly touch the prey to launch an attack!
But again, as long as it wasn't dead, it still had a chance to make a comeback!
And that was exactly the case with Plant 42 right now.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh—!!!"
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh—!!!"
A sound of something cutting through the air was heard. Relying on its survival instincts, the seemingly dead Plant 42's vine tendrils suddenly came to life. The remaining thirty or so tentacles quickly wrapped around the giant snake's corpse. At the same time, sharp barbs grew from the tips of the tentacles, which began to frantically cut the flesh on the giant snake's body.
In just a moment, the giant snake's body was dissected. The corpse was cut into several pieces, and large chunks of flesh piled up in the underground water tank beneath Plant 42. The crimson, viscous blood mixed with the dirty water in the tank, and the giant snake's blood contained a high concentration of the T-virus. This mixed nutrient would be completely absorbed by Plant 42. The pieces of flesh on the ground would slowly rot and be absorbed by the roots. After consuming this nourishment, Plant 42 would grow to an unimaginable size. It would continue to expand its living space, piercing through the entire mansion. The infinitely long, endless vine tentacles would grow into every corner of the mansion. It would treat the entire mansion as its lair and begin to devour the zombies and other monsters that resided inside. After it finished with the monsters in the mansion, its ambition would slowly expand to the Arklay Mountains, Raccoon City, and even the entire United States and the world! This was the ambition of a plant that was reborn with the T-virus!
It could be considered a grand ambition, but unfortunately, a dream is always more beautiful than reality. Behind every great boss that tries to rise to power, there is always a patient strategist waiting in the wings. As the saying goes, when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman reaps the benefits. Javier and his team, the fishermen, had been waiting for a long time, and now they finally had their chance.
They had also thought that the giant snake and Plant 42 had both died, but when they saw Plant 42's feigned death and its secret consumption of the giant snake's corpse, Javier and the others couldn't help but sigh. They had almost been fooled by a plant. Are plants this smart these days? Unfortunately, no matter how clever the prey is, it can't outsmart a patient hunter.
Looking at Plant 42, which was slowly consuming the giant snake's corpse in the water tank, Javier and the others didn't hesitate and immediately put their plan into action.
"Jill, Barry," Javier beckoned, pointing to a water pipe installed in the corner. "Hey, come here. We can dilute the weedkiller a bit before pouring it in. This will make the quantity larger and more evenly distributed. Once the water in the tank covers its roots, we can pour all the weedkiller in!"
Six bags of weedkiller would not be enough to instantly cover Plant 42's roots, so they had to dilute it with water. Once the water in the tank was enough to submerge Plant 42's roots, they could pour it all in. This would allow the effects to spread more thoroughly. Of course, this would also weaken the potency of the chemical, but it was better than not being able to destroy the roots at all.
"Alright, since there are no Ultraman warriors from the Land of Light in Nebula M78, then I, the great villain, will take care of you, you big monster! After all, you killed my favorite Arbok!"
Looking at Plant 42, which was completely unaware of the danger that was about to befall it, Javier unscrewed the water pipe without hesitation. Murky water flowed from top to bottom into the underground water tank. The other three tore open the bags of weedkiller and poured the chemical into the water flow. The chemical flowed down with the water and was injected directly into Plant 42's roots!