Soon, Kelly extracted a bloodied tracker, nail-sized, from Lilith's chest. That tiny thing had the Nemesis chasing them.
Norman took it, crushing it with a snap.
"When it loses the signal, it'll freeze, waiting for new orders. We're safe for now," Kelly said, wiping sweat. "I only knew the organization had this BOW. Our research team didn't develop it. No idea where they got it."
"It's a Nemesis, Umbrella's legacy," Li Yexing said, lighting a cigarette in the alley corner. "Umbrella made three. The project was scrapped for cost. Before Raccoon City, their Paris branch lost one. Now we know where it is."
Norman glanced at Li Yexing.
"Who are you?" Chris asked, voicing Kelly's question. "Don't say it's from jobs. You know Umbrella project details. If you weren't so young, I'd think you're ex-Umbrella."
"My short-lived agency boss worked for Umbrella," Li Yexing said. "He was UBCS. Drunk, he'd spill old stories."
Chris eyed him but said nothing. Norman scoffed, "Bullshit."
That escort night, Li Yexing's reaction to the Tyrant was odd. Norman thought he was shocked; now, he knew Li Yexing recognized it.
Li Yexing finished his smoke, stood, and turned to Chris. "Tracker's gone. What's next?"
"That BOW's too dangerous," Chris said, eyes firm. "We have to take it out. And its organization."
Li Yexing grinned, raising his gun. Kelly finished Lilith's wound. Norman, grimacing, loaded a grenade into his launcher.
The counterattack was coming.
…
"Tracker's dead. Signal's gone. What? Security team? Probably wiped out."
In a truck outside Roples, the white-coated man spoke to his boss, fiddling with his tablet.
"Those idiots thought a tranquilizer could down T-Lilith. Impossible. Why else make BOWs? That's our biotech team's masterpiece."
"Boss, we can't send regular forces into Roples now. Local forces sealed the town. BSAA's coming. I suggest activating the Nemesis's smart tracking. It avoids direct conflict and gathers T-Lilith's combat data."
"Don't worry. The Nemesis can crush T-Lilith. It's a Tyrant-series, but T-Lilith's functions are incomplete, no power release like standard Tyrants. We can let the Nemesis break her limbs and retrieve her."
"Boss, we'll recover T-Lilith before BSAA intervenes."
He hung up, staring at the tablet. It showed the Nemesis's exoskeleton footage before it broke, zoomed in on Lilith, the Asian merc, and the BSAA soldier in an alley.
"No idea what you're up to, but it doesn't matter."
His fingers danced on the tablet. In Roples, the monster moved again.
"BOWs crush everything!"
…
"BSAA reinforcements are on the way. The team we pulled out is returning—they'll be the first," Chris said, relaying HQ's update. "The second wave includes BSAA and nearby UN troops, over a hundred, with armor and heavy firepower."
"They're going all out?" Li Yexing was surprised.
"After my Nemesis report, BSAA took it seriously. They contacted nearby UN forces. The local A Army, with approval, is heading to Roples. They'll link with BSAA in an hour," Chris said. "Nemesis data is scarce. Recovering one helps us understand BOWs, reducing future casualties."
Li Yexing looked dead at Chris's righteous face. 'Just want the BOW sample. HQ's full of it, and this fool buys it.'
He shrugged. No need to judge Chris. Reality would slap this idealist silly in a few years.
"Now, let's plan. No tracker, but it'll find us soon," Li Yexing said.
"Why?" Norman asked.
"No reason," Li Yexing thought,'How should I know how it tracked S.T.A.R.S. in Raccoon City?'
"He's right," Kelly said. "I heard other tech teams gave it a pursuit system, analyzing traces to track prey. Once it gets orders, it'll follow our trail here."
"So, we avoid direct fights and hold out for backup?" Norman asked.
"Roughly. But we can set obstacles," Chris said. "Roples has civilians. We protect them."
"No civilians in Roples," Li Yexing waved off. "Alley guerrilla tactics won't work anymore. We pick our battlefield."
"Pick a battlefield?" Chris looked puzzled.
"Yup. I know a spot where we can fight without collateral damage," Li Yexing said, grinning wickedly at Kelly. "Remember that warehouse for disposing outsider bodies?"
…
Miss Frandika Soya's sleep was awful. Gunfire echoed from midnight, likely near that mad dog Li Yexing's agency.
He must've pissed someone off again. Soya pulled a pillow over her head. But the noise grew—gunfire mixed with endless explosions.
What's going on? Army versus Italians? They bomb Li Yexing's place too?
Thinking of tomorrow's body count, Soya groaned.
Finally, the gunfire faded. As sleep crept in…
Bang bang bang! Rough knocking.
Soya buried her head in the pillow, blanket over her face, ignoring it.
Bang bang bang!
She tightened the pillow.
Bang bang bang!
Soya shot up, grabbed the collar by her bed, fastened it on her scarred neck, and stormed to the door in her underwear, hair a mess. She snatched a blood-or-rust-stained chainsaw by the bedroom.
Whoever's there, I'm killing them!
She flung open the iron door, ready to swing. A cold gun barrel pressed to her forehead.
"YOOOOOO~~ Been a while, little Frandika," Li Yexing said, grinning, Glock to her head.
Soya glanced behind him: a silver-haired girl, a musclebound guy, a refined woman, and a bald dude.
She shut off the chainsaw. Li Yexing lowered his gun.