Lear clutched his injured ribs, staggering into the narrow alleys of a classic European-style Apartment area in Raccoon City.
This cluster of apartment buildings was located in Raccoon City Center. It was densely populated with a complex layout and situated far from the Police Station. Back when Lear and his team were undermanned, low on supplies, and burdened with a large number of surviving citizens, they chose not to venture deep into the Apartment area for rescue operations, opting only to evacuate survivors from the perimeter buildings.
Now, all the main doors to the apartments were tightly locked. The relentless roars of zombies echoed from within the buildings, occasionally interspersed with the faint cries for help and sobs of survivors.
Just as he entered the alley, a violent crash of shattering glass erupted beside him. A zombie plummeted directly through an apartment window, slamming heavily onto the ground in front of Lear. Its spine snapped instantly upon impact, yet it continued to roar out of pure instinct, its limbs clawing desperately at the pavement as it tried to crawl toward him. Enduring the agonizing pain, Lear struggled to lift his pistol, aimed at the zombie's head, and pulled the trigger, finishing it with a single shot.
He looked up at the apartment buildings flanking him, a thought forming in his mind as he whispered to himself, "Maybe this is a way out." While these old European-style apartments had their main doors locked, each building was equipped with independent iron fire escapes on the exterior. These served as emergency exits during fires, and they were exactly the escape route he needed right now.
Lear's plan was clear: use the complex terrain of the Apartment area to lose the Tyrant chasing him. Even if the opponent was an enhanced Bio Organic Weapon, it would be impossible for it to immediately lock onto his position amidst the crisscrossing buildings and passages. As long as he could successfully shake off the pursuit and return to the Raccoon City Police Department, the heavy weapons stored there—while perhaps not enough for G5—would be more than sufficient to deal with a Tyrant.
Wasting no more time, Lear immediately turned toward the iron escape passage outside the apartment, gripping the rust-stained railing as he ascended quickly. Ignoring the stabbing pain in his ribs, he reached the iron door connecting the fire escape to the apartment and reached out to grab the handle.
At that moment, a series of heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed from behind him. Lear looked back; at the entrance of the alley, the towering silhouette of the Tyrant had already appeared.
Already...?
Lear's pupils contracted, but his heart eased slightly when his gaze fell upon the heavy black straitjacket the Tyrant wore. The entire restraint device remained intact and tight; aside from the bullet holes from the shotgun and the tears from the Grenade fragments, it was largely functional.
During the struggle and flight just now, his greatest fear was that the Tyrant would suddenly "burst its clothes." This gear was a shackle specifically designed by Umbrella to suppress the Tyrant's power. Once the straitjacket was destroyed, the Tyrant's various capabilities would skyrocket to terrifying levels. At the thought of the Tyrant Leon faced at the end of Resident Evil 2, a chill ran down Lear's spine. If it hadn't been for Wong, Leon's career would have ended before it even started.
"Damn it, Umbrella's gear is actually high quality," Lear gave a bitter laugh, not daring to delay another second.
He lunged with all his strength, pulling open the iron door of the escape passage. The metal hinges let out a piercing screech. Before the door had even opened fully, Lear threw his weight inside.
Lear had just burst through the iron door, and before his eyes could adjust to the dim light of the stairwell, a thick, pungent stench of decay mixed with blood hit him head-on. A female zombie, her abdomen completely hollowed out, lunged suddenly from the shadows. Her abdominal cavity was an empty void, and her internal organs trailed on the ground, dragging a long, slimy, foul-smelling cord of tissue behind her. Accompanied by a wet dragging sound, she lunged straight for Lear's throat.
The wound in his ribs was still throbbing, but Lear's reflexes remained sharp in this life-or-death moment. He twisted violently and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the zombie's bite. The creature brushed past his shoulder and slammed heavily into the wall. Lear took the opportunity to raise his foot and stomp down hard on the trail of slimy organs on the floor. The zombie instantly lost her balance and crashed to the ground with a dull thud.
Before she could struggle back up, Lear raised his foot, aimed at her skull, and stomped down with all his might. With a crisp crack, the zombie's skull was crushed and collapsed, and she went completely still.
Lear retracted his foot and looked at the corpse beneath him, momentarily stunned. Did my strength... increase? he muttered to himself. The explosive power of that last stomp had even startled him. But with danger lurking everywhere, there was no time for deep thought. He quickly scanned the stairwell, confirmed this was the only zombie, then gripped his pistol and hurried deeper into the hallway, ignoring the sharp pain in his side.
Doors stood wide open along both sides of the corridor. From within the dark doorways came the constant, low growls of zombies, accompanied by waves of rotting stench. A few doors remained tightly shut, the gaps beneath them unnaturally quiet; he could faintly hear suppressed breathing and sobbing coming from inside, where survivors were clearly hiding.
Lear rushed to the staircase, paused, and looked back into the dark hallway. In a low voice, he shouted, "There are a lot of zombies behind me! Don't come out! Be patient and wait for rescue!"
Without waiting for a response, he turned and hurried down the stairs, bracing himself against the wall.
The environment downstairs was almost identical to the floor above, with several doors open and others firmly shut.
Enduring the pain in his ribs, Lear doubled back and circled through the floor repeatedly, carefully confirming that he couldn't hear the Tyrant's heavy footsteps or see its towering silhouette. He planned to find a floor with fewer zombies, climb out a window directly into the adjacent apartment building, and then use the fire escape to leave the area and return to the Raccoon City Police Department.
However, the further he went, the more unsettled he felt. The Tyrant, which had been relentlessly pursuing him, seemed to have vanished into thin air since he entered the apartment building. Its signature heavy footsteps hadn't sounded once.
Just as Lear selected a spot and approached a window to jump out, the concrete wall at the end of the corridor exploded. Amidst flying rubble, the towering form of the Tyrant slowly stepped through the hole, standing silently at the end of the hallway.
Holy shit, when did you circle around?!
Lear stared at the Tyrant, dumbfounded. He finally realized that the Tyrant had no interest in playing cat-and-mouse through the hallways; instead, it had used the most brutal method possible by smashing through the walls to wait for him.
As the Tyrant closed in, Lear could only fire his gun while clutching his ribs and slowly backing away. His grenades and shotgun shells were long gone, and while the stopping power of the P226 handgun was decent against humans, it made little difference against the Tyrant.
Just as the Tyrant was about to swing a heavy fist, a woman's sharp command rang out from behind Lear: "Get down!"
Acting almost on instinct, he dropped to the floor immediately. The roar of a shotgun erupted several times in quick succession. A dense spread of pellets slammed accurately into the Tyrant's chest, the massive impact forcing the creature back as it was about to reach him.
Lear took the chance to look back. He saw a woman with short brown hair and a capable expression, holding a shotgun in both hands as she advanced toward him while firing.
"Jill?" Lear was momentarily stunned.
Jill glanced at him and shouted, "Are you stupid? Don't just stand there! Move!"
"Oh, right!" Lear snapped back to his senses and scrambled to his feet. Suppressing the enemy with gunfire, the two of them retreated back into the room.
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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