After reaching the surface warehouse, a few tense seconds passed.
Mero's eyes scanned the interior. Beyond the shipping containers and vehicles, elongated shadows began to emerge. A piercing shriek echoed, revealing the full sight of the creatures.
Leech Men.
These grotesque beings were formed from countless leeches fused into a humanoid shape, originally mimicking Marcus's appearance before rapidly mutating. Their bodies twisted and slick, flesh exposed as if skinned, arms elongated like whips.
Billy raised his pistol. "Ambushes, huh? But the numbers aren't high. We can handle this."
"Then what are we waiting for? Break through!" Mero gestured with a large hand, taking the lead toward the exit. He had already encountered Leech Men before and didn't need combat data.
Rebecca and Billy exchanged a glance, silently raising their weapons to cover their sides, following Mero forward.
The dim warehouse, lit only by a small tear in the ceiling that let sunlight through, suddenly erupted in muzzle flashes as pistols and shotguns fired. Rebecca and Billy gripped their weapons tightly, eyes darting nervously, afraid a Leech Man might spring from any corner.
Back-to-back, the three of them formed a protective circle, inching forward. The Leech Men seemed unmoved at first, until they were only tens of meters from the gate.
Suddenly, a few Leech Men shrieked from behind a container.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The shrieks multiplied. From behind metal racks and cover, countless mutant leeches converged. One, two, three… hundreds, even thousands. Leech Men combined, with over a dozen leaping or charging from a distance. Their vitality exceeded ordinary zombies; even when shot to pieces, the leeches quickly recombined.
The ground trembled beneath their running, and Rebecca and Billy felt it in their bones.
"The exit is close! Keep suppressive fire!" Billy shouted.
Rebecca handed Billy her custom STRAS pistol, Samurai's Blade. Dual-wielding, Billy sprayed fire like a storm. The Samurai's Blade, modified from a Beretta 92FS, could easily pierce human skulls and ordinary zombies, smashing the brain and exiting the other side.
Mero handed Rebecca a Mossberg M590. Within ten meters, one shot could obliterate a Leech Man's body.
No one spared ammunition, and no one fell behind. Everyone knew if they didn't fight their way out, the base would explode with them inside. The life-or-death pressure brought out the extraordinary combat abilities of both Rebecca and Billy.
Bullets rained down, slowing the Leech Men, yet their numbers never decreased. Being a collective, when one body was destroyed, the scattered leeches quickly reformed into a new body. Constant firepower was the only way to keep them at bay.
Mero observed silently, realizing how persistent the Leech Men were. These humanoid aggregates weren't as tough as the Tyrant, yet killing them entirely was extremely difficult. Bullets could only scatter them temporarily, with blood spraying and limbs flying, but rarely fatal. Only concentrated firepower targeting one Leech Man's leech mass could destroy it.
With limited guns and ammunition, they couldn't maintain full heavy suppression. Large-scale grenades or incendiary devices were necessary to carve a path.
Amid fire and explosions, a path finally opened, and the three of them advanced toward the gate.
At that moment, Mero heard a rush of air behind him. Reflexively turning, he braced himself as two hands shoved him forward.
"Watch out!"
Rebecca and Billy, covering his rear, shouted in unison, using all their strength to prevent him from being struck. It was clearly a protective move; using guns would have been faster.
Something sliced through the air a clear display of the difference in virus-enhanced power. Mero remained calm, letting go of his M629 revolver, grabbing both their arms, and holding them at his sides. On the tips of his feet, his figure blurred like a phantom, instantly retreating as a blood-red whip-like arm slammed into the massive steel gate, leaving a deep dent.
The arm swung again, aiming to strike. Rebecca fired, blowing apart chunks of flesh, and the arm recoiled.
Looking back, they realized the massive arm had come from the elevator shaft they had just exited.
"What is that? A long red snake… or flesh stripped of skin?" Rebecca whispered.
"A big one… probably its arm… or some other limb!"
Mero could hear the heavy impacts growing louder from the passage. With the gate only a step away, safety seemed within reach, yet curiosity prickled him.
Rebecca, helpless yet incredulous, muttered, "If this were a game, who's the real boss here Marcus or you?"
Despite worry, Mero picked up the M629 from the floor, delivering a backhanded punch that pierced the alloy gate dented by the red appendage.
Billy stared, dumbfounded. A moment ago, Mero had used the Barrett to blow Marcus's head off with one hand; now, a single punch opened a steel gate. Was this even human? Watching Mero casually flick his hand, Billy could only gape. Not even a Navy lieutenant, no matter how trained, could punch open an alloy gate!
Minutes ago, he had wanted to protect Mero. Now, he wanted Mero to protect him.
"Unbelievably cool!"
Just as he called to Mero and Rebecca to hurry, the ground quaked. Vibrations emanated from the elevator shaft.
Billy froze, having just downed a Leech Man with dual pistols. Looking toward the source…
Boom!
A massive roar erupted from the distant elevator shaft. Scattered Leech Men collapsed into piles of leeches, converging toward the sound.
From the elevator, a monstrous figure emerged. Over two meters tall, covered in tentacles, with distorted limbs resembling thick tendrils.
"The Queen Leech!" Rebecca paled.
The mutated Leech Men operated with hive-like intelligence. The Queen Leech controlled all the mutants. All Leech Men disassembled simultaneously, converging like worshippers toward one point clearly under control.
And now, the Queen Leech had surged forward! Its speed far surpassed the Tyrant T-001. Across the open warehouse, it covered tens of meters in less than two seconds.
But… it was still not enough.
Marcus (Queen Leech)