A blinding white light suddenly exploded, followed closely by a sharp sonic wave that radiated outward.
Dense white points of light scattered like fireworks blooming right in front of the HAOS.
Before the HAOS could even react, a buzzing sound filled its ears; it was undoubtedly suffering from tinnitus.
The HAOS's organs were no different from a regular zombie's; it still possessed sight and hearing, but because it was not fully developed,
the muscle layers covering its visual and auditory organs were only a thin, soft white membrane, which greatly amplified the power of the Flash grenade.
With just one grenade,
the HAOS's vision and hearing were instantly destroyed. Crimson blood vessels ruptured within the massive hollow sockets of its eyes and ears.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss...!!!!!!!"
Feeling the pain,
the HAOS was stunned for only a moment before immediately becoming even more berserk. This was not the situation Chris and Leon had anticipated.
They hadn't expected the HAOS to become more violent instead of settling down, but it didn't matter.
At the moment the Flash grenade exploded,
Leon also hurled the two High-explosive grenades in his hands—one high and one low. One aimed for the HAOS's head, and the other for its heart.
Bang, bang...!
Boom—Boom—!!!!
Two massive explosions rang out instantly. The blast from the High-explosive grenades completely shattered the HAOS's defenses. One exploded near its head,
blasting the HAOS's head askew. The massive skull couldn't help but crash down toward the water's surface.
The other exploded at the heart,
sending a massive spray of blood everywhere. After all, the heart was where the most blood was concentrated.
In an instant, the deep blue water was stained red with blood, becoming incredibly gruesome.
The HAOS's entire massive body collapsed into the water, immediately sinking into the bottomless center of the cultivation tank, disappearing to who knows where.
"That was close..."
"Luckily we threw the grenades at the last second, otherwise we really wouldn't have been able to repel this monster!"
"Quick... we need to leave here while we can. The seawater is starting to rise. We must get out of this Underwater Oil Field Base quickly. Helena, Piers, are you two okay?"
Watching the HAOS suddenly dive into the water and the bloody surface gradually settle into calmness, Leon breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He had just been throwing blindly, relying on judgment to toss the High-explosive grenades, but he was fortunate enough to repel the HAOS. It was a stroke of great luck.
After seeing that the HAOS had been temporarily driven away,
Chris looked up and shouted to his lieutenant Piers and Helena nearby to warn them.
Because the seawater was already beginning to rise.
Though the speed was slow, it had indeed risen from knee-deep to waist-deep. In another ten minutes, it would likely submerge their heads.
So they had to leave immediately.
Chris was no longer considering how to perish together with the HAOS, because they simply didn't have the weapons to kill it.
Therefore, Chris was thinking about how to get Leon, Piers, and the others out safely. That was his current responsibility.
"Cough, cough...!"
"Captain, we're fine. Let's go...!"
At this moment,
Piers, who had been tossed around by the waves from the HAOS, choked on a few mouthfuls of water before slowly standing up.
He was supporting Helena, whose vision was still a bit dizzy, beside him.
Fortunately, the HAOS stopped spinning after diving into the water, otherwise the two of them would still be lying in the water.
After the four of them adjusted their conditions slightly,
they quickly ran toward a tunnel on one side. They didn't know where the tunnel led,
but they had to try anything. Since they didn't want to drown in the cultivation tank's seawater, they could only put their heads down and search for an exit.
Step, step, step...
Splash, splash...
The group moved with difficulty through the tunnel, which was filled with seawater.
After walking a long distance, the water level in the tunnel finally began to drop, allowing them to pick up their pace.
Beep, beep, beep...!!!!
"Detected damage to the pressure system within the base. A large amount of seawater has entered. Preparing to abandon the cultivation tank section of the base and initiate pressure isolation."
"All personnel remaining in the cultivation tank section, please evacuate within ten minutes. Important notice: all personnel remaining in the cultivation tank section, please evacuate within ten minutes, otherwise you do so at your own risk...!!!"
Just then, a mechanical female electronic voice announced through the tunnel.
It turned out the Underwater Oil Field Base's system had discovered the damage to the cultivation tank area, and a large amount of seawater was pouring in.
The cultivation tank section was completely compromised.
Therefore, for the sake of the entire Underwater Oil Field Base's operation, the system would cut off the tunnel connections to the cultivation tank area in ten minutes.
It would use massive floodgates and pressure barriers.
This way, the seawater would be unable to flood other sections.
This was a very logical way to handle it; after all, they couldn't ruin the entire Underwater Oil Field Base just for one cultivation tank!
However, this was not good news for Chris and the others.
They only had ten minutes to leave. If they couldn't return to the original middle level of the base, they would be completely abandoned.
At that point, this cultivation tank area would become their grave.
"Hurry, we only have ten minutes. We must leave this area immediately."
"Otherwise, once the pressure is isolated, even if we don't drown, we'll die of oxygen deprivation, or even be crushed to pieces by the water pressure...!"
Upon hearing the alarm, everyone's expressions changed. Chris, bringing up the rear, kept urging them forward.
He made them pick up the pace, truly taking on the responsibilities a captain should have.
Regardless, he couldn't let Leon, Piers, and the others die here. He had to lead them out no matter what; that was his only mission now.
Gurgle...
However, they hadn't noticed that above the tunnel they were walking through, a massive dark shadow was rapidly moving toward them, like a giant squid.
A mass of tentacles at its rear writhed, and with each contraction and release, it generated immense propulsion, making its swimming speed incredibly fast.
And that massive shadow was undoubtedly the HAOS, which had been repelled but not killed.
Because the tunnel Chris and Leon were currently in was actually a transparent plexiglass and steel frame tunnel.
It was like those tunnels in aquariums where you can see the view above, with only a layer of steel framework surrounding it.
And because of the backflow of seawater from the cultivation tank, seawater had already flooded the area outside, so the tunnel Chris and Leon were walking through had truly become an aquarium tunnel.
And the HAOS was the animal inside that aquarium.
At this moment, the HAOS was using the flooding seawater to quickly swim ahead of them, intending to intercept Chris and the others up ahead.
Unfortunately, Chris and the others hadn't noticed this and were still focused on rushing forward.
Bang—!!!
Crack... Boom!!!
In the next second, the HAOS immediately launched an attack. Its fan-like giant hand slammed violently against the transparent glass tunnel where Chris and the others were.
The outer steel frame was instantly pierced and smashed along with the glass. The glass shattered, a massive hole appeared, and a large amount of seawater washed in through the opening.
The HAOS's massive grayish-white palm was shoved into the hole, grabbing around blindly like a hand reaching into a crab hole,
attempting to pull out the crabs hiding inside.
And the "crabs"—Chris and the others—had grim expressions.
They hadn't expected the HAOS to be so persistent and immediately began firing their guns.
Chris even took out a grenade hidden in Helena's bag and threw it. He was willing to let the hole in the tunnel get bigger if it meant blowing the HAOS's palm to bits!
Volume 9 Resident Evil 6: Chapter 79 Epilogue
Boom—!!!
Facing the persistent HAOS, Chris didn't show it any mercy, greeting it directly with a High-explosive grenade.
He didn't care how much longer the already cracked glass in the tunnel could hold out.
Following an explosion, the HAOS's grayish-white palm was blasted into a bloody mess. It immediately pulled back in pain, no longer daring to reach into the hole to fish for crabs.
"Hurry, move...!"
Seeing the path clear again after the giant white hand obstructing them disappeared,
the group hurried forward. Because of the hole just smashed by the HAOS, a massive amount of seawater was pouring in again.
This meant they were forced back into a race for their lives.
After all, if they didn't move fast enough, they would be drowned inside the tunnel by the surging seawater.
Step, step, step...!!!
The group continued forward, but the HAOS was also in hot pursuit, as if it wouldn't rest until it caught Chris and the others, having no intention of leaving.
Instead, it followed closely behind, continuously attacking the tunnel Chris and the others were in. After several attempts, it had already smashed four or five holes.
With a large amount of seawater pouring in, it doggedly pursued Chris and the others.
"This can't go on, Chris...!"
"How about I stay behind to distract this monster? Otherwise, with it repeatedly damaging the tunnel, we won't get very far. There are less than a few minutes left before the Cultivation Tank Base is completely sealed."
As the team fled,
their progress was slow because of the HAOS's relentless harassment.
They still hadn't escaped the Cultivation Tank Base area, so Leon knew this wasn't a sustainable solution. Someone had to stay behind to lure the monster away.
But this suggestion was quickly rejected by Chris.
He wouldn't allow anyone else to be sacrificed.
Jake, who had been left behind earlier, was still missing and his fate unknown, so Chris absolutely would not allow his best friend Leon to be sacrificed here.
If both Leon and Jake were left forever in the Underwater Oil Field Base,
Chris would live the rest of his life in deep guilt and remorse, and the most painful thing was that he would have no way to atone for it!
"No—!!!"
"No one is staying behind here, no one. I can't lose any more of you, so Leon... drop that suggestion and move!"