"Forget that beast! We're about to reach the exit soon, so don't you dare give up! I'm going to get all of you out of here safely!"
Faced with the suggestion,
Chris flatly refused with categorical certainty. He then urged the group to stop overthinking and keep moving forward.
However,
whether it was because Chris's encouraging words actually worked or because his intuition was just that precise,
after the team spent some time desperately rushing forward while being hindered by the HAOS, they actually caught sight of the end of the tunnel.
As long as they passed through there,
they would be completely clear of the Cultivation Pod Base area.
At that point, even if the base went into lockdown, they would be fine. Thinking of this... everyone felt a surge of excitement.
They accelerated their pace as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
They no longer cared about the HAOS wandering above their heads, because they would soon be saying goodbye to that damn monster forever!
"ROOOAAAR—!!!!!!"
Miraculously,
the HAOS seemed to realize its prey was about to escape its grasp and let out a furious, thunderous roar.
It immediately increased its swimming speed.
Its massive body reached the front of the group first.
It began a frantic assault on the tunnel entrance, raising its massive, fan-like palms and slamming them down violently.
The terrifying force continuously battered the entire tunnel, as if trying to intercept them before they could escape!
"Don't just stand there, move...!"
"Forget that beast! Don't let it slow us down! I'll cover the rear; there's no way it can destroy the tunnel!"
Seeing the dawn of victory right in front of them, Chris didn't care about anything else and continued to shout words of encouragement.
He was actually afraid the HAOS would break the tunnel, but he had no choice. He could only force himself to reassure the others.
It was just like in wartime, telling subordinates with absolute certainty
that the enemy would stop after this wave of attacks. Faced with hope, they could only lie to numb themselves and grant themselves false confidence!
"Jump—!!!"
With one final shout,
the four or five of them leaped forward!
As it happened,
Lady Luck was indeed on their side this time. Just as the entire tunnel was about to collapse,
Chris and his team successfully passed through the tunnel gate at the very last second, with all of them jumping into the next area together.
As the gate behind them slammed shut,
the entire tunnel was smashed to pieces by the HAOS. The cold iron gate completely cut off the heart-pounding terror from before.
Everything suddenly fell into a dead silence, yet everyone could clearly hear the sound of their own heartbeats.
After the intense thrill passed, a deep sense of emptiness rushed in, but the feeling of having survived a disaster continued to wash over them.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
"That was close. Does this mean we've escaped?"
Taking several deep breaths, Leon slumped onto the ground, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and glanced at Chris, unable to resist making a half-joking remark.
"I suppose so!"
"But that monster isn't dead. It's just trapped in a cage. Once we get back to the Aircraft Carrier's deck,"
"we must have the carrier's forces launch an attack on this Underwater Oil Field Base. No matter the cost, we must kill that monster!"
Seeming to truly be out of danger, Chris took a breath and
began thinking about the follow-up. Although they had escaped,
the HAOS was still alive, so how to deal with it was a headache-inducing issue.
He wondered if this Underwater Oil Field Base had a self-destruct mechanism. If it did,
then Chris could do what he had done with Umbrella Corporation branch bases in the past—simply trigger the self-destruct for every base he passed through.
All the various bio-monsters inside would be instantly destroyed. By self-destructing the Cultivation Pod Base area,
even though it might pollute part of the ocean,
it could directly kill the HAOS. The price was much smaller than risking the oceans of the entire planet!
However— it seemed Chris and the others were being a bit too optimistic.
The HAOS wandering outside apparently didn't want them to be so happy.
And so... less than ten minutes later, a series of even more violent impact sounds suddenly echoed from the base area where Chris and the others were located.
BANG—BANG—!!!
BOOM!!!
Each impact was more forceful than the last. Watching the vibrating gate,
a bad premonition suddenly surfaced in everyone's hearts. With faces full of disbelief, they muttered:
"No way...?!"
As soon as those self-doubting words left their lips,
the vibrations outside the gate intensified. Before their eyes, the steel gate began to buckle at a visible rate.
Numerous dents and pits appeared, and the surrounding components began to loosen, showing signs of imminent collapse.
Chris, Leon, and the others simply couldn't believe it.
The HAOS was actually able to destroy the iron gate to break into the middle section from the Cultivation Pod Base area. It was simply incredible.
But unfortunately,
that was the reality.
The HAOS's strength was far more terrifying than they had imagined. Under the relentless battering,
even the sturdy gate was gradually being torn apart. Feeling the vibrations from the gate and the floor growing more intense, the group dared not hesitate and hurried to flee further back.
However,
in the next second!
BOOM—!!!!!!!
An even louder sound erupted as the entire gate was blown away like scrap metal. The sealed gate was split into two halves and sent flying violently.
A massive amount of seawater continued to pour into the middle section where Chris and the others were. The various door frame components around the gate
were being frantically dismantled by the HAOS's massive white arm. They were soon stripped clean.
A massive hole was completely revealed.
Facing this hole large enough to accommodate its body, the HAOS did not hesitate and squeezed its head inside.
"ROOOAAAR—!!!!!"
In a short while,
the interior of the vast middle section base
was already filled with the HAOS's massive body. Chris, Leon, and the others were once again trapped in a colosseum-like predicament.
The reason it could be called a colosseum was simple.
The middle section base was circular, and the HAOS's massive body occupied the center, leaving only a small portion of the surrounding area as space to escape.
And they were like gladiators in a colosseum being chased by a lion, only able to dodge back and forth within the limited space.
The situation was extremely troublesome.
Furthermore, they couldn't freely use High-explosive grenades in this narrow space, which was the most problematic part.
Because the space was so tight, even if a High-explosive grenade was thrown at the HAOS's face, the resulting shrapnel from the explosion would very likely hit them as well.
So, when using High-explosive grenades, they had to carefully consider the cost; otherwise, it would be a case of hurting the enemy but hurting themselves just as much!
"Dammit—!!!"
"This monster is truly relentless. How are we supposed to deal with it? High-explosive grenades are completely out of the question now. Are we really going to die here with it?"
Looking at the tall, terrifying body of the HAOS before him, Chris's face was full of frustration. He couldn't help but curse through gritted teeth.
Being relentlessly pursued by the HAOS wasn't the most helpless part. The most helpless part was
that even if Chris had the thought of taking it down with him, he had no means to even harm, let alone kill, the HAOS. That was the most frustrating and helpless thing of all!
SWISH—!!!
However, at this moment, while Chris was still lost in thought and unable to react, the HAOS struck swiftly. Its massive, long, fan-like grayish-white hand shot out, grabbing Chris's body in one go.
No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free. The speed was incredibly fast.
Even Leon couldn't react in time. By the time he snapped out of it, he saw Chris's body being held tightly in mid-air.
"You beast, let him go...!!!"
"Captain! You damn thing, let go...!!!!"
Seeing Chris captured, Leon and Piers were frantic with worry. They quickly raised their firearms and fired wildly,
attempting to save the captured Chris.
But unfortunately, gunshot wounds were of no use against the HAOS.
It simply ignored them.
"Heh heh heh..."
Opening its abyssal maw filled with sharp white teeth, the HAOS opened its mouth wide and moved its grayish-white hand toward it, intending to swallow Chris whole.
"..."
At this moment, the captured Chris, as he stared into that dark, abyssal mouth, showed no panic. Instead, his expression was one of resignation.
It was as if he were lamenting that he was finally going to die. After all, Chris had long since prepared himself for death.
It was just a bit of a shame to die here,
especially since he hadn't safely led Leon and the others out yet. But dying on the path of fighting against Resident Evil could be considered a worthy death...!
SHING—!!!
SQUELCH... CRACK!!!!
However, just as Chris thought his end was near, something unexpected happened.
A whistling sound suddenly came from the distance, and a massive steel plate was hurled out with great force. It spun at high speed like a giant boomerang.
Carrying a rolling gale, it instantly struck the HAOS's massive grayish-white hand, slicing it clean through and into two pieces.
The HAOS, having its hand severed, let out a cry of pain and pulled back its arm.