HOTD! Busujima's Step Brother-Chapter 85 – Bait not Sacrifice

I had seen them all in Resident Evil games, movies, comics and books.

The zombie with purple vein on their bloated skin. They could be the zombies infected by the virus created by Plant 42 or perhaps, by G-virus. It made the infected become a powerful and agile mutant, capable of ripping apart an opponent with their bare hands.

Proven earlier when we shot the infected. We needed a few bullets to kill it, unlike a normal zombie where we only needed one bullet.

I didn't want to be close with that. No one should. And so, we ran as fast as we could, but there was no sign of relief even after we passed the third warehouse.

We managed to get away from them, but now, we were stuck here in this building with those things outside.

After barricading the door with some boxes, Private Clark asked me a question that had been bugging me earlier as well. "What happened? What were those creatures?"

"Mutated zombies, I reckon." I answered calmly and looked around our surroundings, "Those zombies had been infected with another virus. That's why their bodies changed so drastically and they became much stronger."

Corporal William looked at me suspiciously, "You sound very knowledgeable, Daiki." He said with a serious look.

"Well, I know something from the lab I broke into."

"I see." Corporal William nodded in understanding.

I was relieved that they didn't question me further about my knowledge, and that they believed in me enough to not press on with their interrogation. The lab was true. But the rest was just from a video game, so there was no need for them to ask me any further.

I looked at Private Clark, who was sitting on the floor and staring into space. His eyes were empty and his breathing had gotten slower. He looked tired.

"Clark, you alright?" Corporal William asked him.

"I'm fine." Private Clark said as he stood up. "I just feel like crap. We should find a way to get back to our camp as soon as possible."

"That's true."

No one sane would feel good after seeing these mutated zombies. They looked gross with purple veins and a bloated body. Their skins were pulsing strangely as well. And those eyes... damn, they reminded me of those dead insects.

And they were very, very fast.

A normal zombie could be killed by a simple knife stab or a pistol bullet to the head. These guys needed more bullets and faster movement speed than the usual to be put down.

"They can see us. Or rather, sense us with the roots that come out from their body." Corporal Williams said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah. That's why they chased after us when we were about to run away."

Private Clark sighed. "Then we need to move carefully. This place has a lot of holes where those roots can pass through. If they see us, we are dead meat."

I agreed with his words.

However, I also had my own worries about the plants growing inside this building. There should be a nucleus somewhere. The plant would be vulnerable once that part is destroyed. I remembered that in the game, they managed to burn down Plant 42 using flamethrowers and firepower.

Our rifles and my grenades should be enough to kill this plant.

"So, they are outside now." Private Clark said as he stood up. "They are everywhere, and they are watching us. If they attack us, we are going to die for sure. How can we escape this situation?" He asked with a grim look on his face.

"I don't know," Corporal Williams said and looked at me. "Busujima, what do you think?"

Hmm.

There were many choices in my head right now, and all of them led to a different path.

But now, we only had one way out of this room except for going through the door.

I looked at the ventilation hole on the wall.

"Hey, Clark." I said as I pointed to the ventilation hole. "Can you crawl into there?" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Among the three of them, Private Clark was the smallest one. He should be able to crawl in easily, but the question was whether he would be willing to go or not. If he refused, then our plan would have to change drastically.

"What's the plan, Daiki?" Corporal William asked me curiously.

"Well, I think that Clark can go through the vent and get to the other side, clearing the zombies on the way." I explained to him.

"Then?"

"Once there's an opening, we will rush out from this warehouse. We were caught off guard earlier, that's why we were chased. Now, it's their turn to be surprised by our actions."

Not to mention we didn't know this building very well. Some paths were blocked by vines, making us have only a few paths to escape, which led us to this dead end.

"Alright, let's do this." Private Clark nodded and approached the vent.

Private Clark nodded his head. He then crouched down and began to crawl into the vent, pushing his body through it slowly. I heard some sounds from inside, but I didn't worry about them. The ventilation system should be big enough for him to fit inside and move around.

"Busujima," Corporal William called out to me. "Do you think he's going to make it? Even the three of us had difficulty dealing with that many zombies. If Clark is alone..."

"We just have to support him from behind."

I didn't want to sacrifice that guy either. He had helped me a bit and was friendly. But this was the most optimal option, no?

I opened the system panel, looking at my current status.

[Name: Busujima Daiki

Strength: 33 | Agility: 35 | Stamina: 37 | Dexterity: 33

Skills: Busujima Swordsmanship (Intermediate), Marksmanship (Intermediate), Sex Arts (Intermediate)

Shop Points: 3530 P]

I lost track of my own status when we were on the ship for a few weeks, so I was really curious what had happened to myself during this period of time. It seemed I had grown quite well in every aspect, especially my strength.

But then again, I also trained a lot in my spare time. Not to mention the amount of physical activities I had with the girls at night.

With this much status, I should be as strong or stronger than Chris right now. I hadn't met the guy yet, so I wasn't sure about that.

Anyway, we should be okay.

I could hear Clark opening the vent cover on the other side and crawling out. Then, footsteps followed afterwards as he ran down the hallway. The sound of gunfire came soon after that, followed by a scream of agony and a loud thud on the floor.

"He's fighting!"

"Let's go!"

We quickly demolished the barricade we set and kicked the door open. Corporal Williams covered my back as I turned to the direction where Clark ran to.

"Clear!" He yelled out from behind me.

From my side, I could see Clark appearing from the corner of the hallway. He fired several shots and reloaded before running again. The corridor actually circled to return to this place, that's why he agreed to my plan earlier.

"Help me! I am out of ammo!" Clark yelled to us.

"Let's move!" Williams shouted as we moved forward, firing our weapons at the mutated tree zombies behind Clark.

I ran as fast as I could and jumped over a few obstacles on my way, firing at anything that moved in my line of sight. There were many zombies behind us, but not as much as before.

We managed to get away from the group of zombies by shooting at them relentlessly. I shot them with my rifle, and they fell to the ground.

"Close the door behind us!"

"Done!"

And then, we entered a room where roots grew everywhere. Ground, walls, even the ceiling.

From the piles of boxes inside, I guessed this was a storage room. There were plenty of foods and water, something pretty valuable in the middle of the apocalypse.

Even Corporal Williams and Private Clark looked at them in surprise.

"These are... We need to tell the base about this!"

"Food! Water!"

Indeed, even the military craved these supplies. The boxes filled the large warehouse and were stacked on top of each other like towers.

However, there was a problem.

In the middle of these piles was something strange. A large tree, with a pinkish color, as if it was a living organ.

I could feel a bad aura coming from the plant. The pink nucleus at the center of its body was throbbing, like a beating heart.

And there were mutated zombies everywhere.

That's...

'Plant 42!'

The source of the tree mutation to these zombies and one of the Umbrella Corp's failed experiments, a dangerous biological weapon!

[Ding! You have received 500 Shop Points + 1 Strength!]

[Make your choice!]

1. Use your comrades as bait and leave the area! This warehouse is a jungle, and the jungle is dangerous. Not fit for a resting place! (Reward: 500 Shop Points)

2. You're the king of the wild, a pyromaniac who loves to destroy trees! That's such a strange and unique tree. Your instinct tells you to burn that down! (Reward: 1,000 Shop Points)