Chapter 47: The Incident – Final Chapter

Chloe leaned quietly against Chris's solid arm, her cheek pressed against his cool tactical vest. Listening to his steady, powerful heartbeat, mixed with the sound of hurried footsteps and shrill alarms all around, she felt as though none of this were real.

She tilted her head slightly, watching the receding alloy corridors and the cold, brightly lit laboratories behind them—the dark, sunless cages that had imprisoned her for eight years were being left behind, bit by bit.

Eight years, over two thousand nine hundred days and nights. She had been trapped in a cramped isolation chamber, facing cold glass, pungent chemical agents, and desperate silence day after day. She had never imagined she would be able to walk through every passage of this Arklay Research Facility as a free person.

The people around her were fleeing in panic, their footsteps hurried and their expressions tense. Alarms, the sounds of collapse, and roars intertwined—it was a desperate escape on the brink of life and death. Yet, in Chloe's eyes, this all felt like a long-overdue, absurd excursion.

The warning signs on the walls, the mottled rust, the scattered documents, and even the smell of gunpowder and blood permeating the air were all scents of the "outside" world that she had never truly experienced in those eight years.

The grievances, fear, calculations, and struggles that had weighed on her heart for eight years completely melted away at this moment. So this was what freedom felt like—no need to constantly feign weakness, no need to live in fear of being disposed of like a test subject, no need to struggle bitterly in despair.

The people around her, strangers who were fighting to protect her, allowed her nerves—tightly wound for eight years—to finally relax, and weariness surged over her like a tide. She slowly closed her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, her breathing gradually steadying. Amidst this thrilling escape, she fell into a deep sleep, completely defenseless.

This was the first time in the eight years since she arrived here that she had slept so soundly, without waking up in fear.

Chris held the sleeping Chloe, not daring to slow his pace in the slightest. The surrounding tremors and noise did not disturb the sleeping girl in his arms.

He protected her tightly, following Jill, Barry, and Rebecca as they hurried through the complex corridors of the research facility, constantly dodging falling debris and cracking floors. The group's expressions were grave as they checked the passages over and over, anxiously searching for an escape route to the surface.

The collapses triggered by the self-destruct sequence became more and more frequent. The passages behind them were continuously blocked by rubble, and the shadow of death loomed heavily over everyone.

"Five minutes remaining until detonation... All areas will soon be locked down..."

The cold broadcast voice continued to echo. Just then, the radio on Jill's waist suddenly emitted a crackling sound of static, followed by Brad's anxious, hoarse shouting, his voice cracking with urgency:

"This is Brad! The helicopter is running out of fuel! This is the last chance! If anyone is still alive, let me know immediately! Repeat! This is the last chance for evacuation; I can't hold on much longer!"

Having finally received the rescue signal from the outside, everyone felt a wave of relief. But before they could even catch their breath, the broadcast sounded again, completely tightening everyone's nerves: "Three minutes remaining until detonation... All remaining personnel, please evacuate immediately..."

At the same time, low, violent roars of monsters came from deep within the facility. The sounds grew closer, accompanied by heavy footsteps and the crashing of walls. Clearly, the mutated creatures that had been disturbed earlier were closing in, following the noise.

Barry stopped immediately, drew the revolver from his waist, and stood sideways to block the others, his expression vigilant and his tone grave: "Bad news, those mutated monsters are coming; they've blocked our retreat!"

"I'll handle them!" Jill gripped her pistol without hesitation and stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Barry, her gaze firm. She looked back at Chris: "You take Rebecca and Chloe and go first. Find a way to contact Brad as soon as possible and confirm the evacuation point. Barry and I will stay behind to hold off these monsters and buy you time!"

"But Jill..." Chris's brows were tightly locked; he wanted to persuade her otherwise. The situation was critical, and staying behind to hold them off was undoubtedly facing danger head-on.

"Stop talking nonsense, there's no time!" Jill interrupted him sharply, her tone brooking no argument. "Take them to the surface quickly; we'll follow right after we finish off the monsters!"

Chris looked at Jill's firm gaze and knew this was no time for hesitation. He held Chloe tighter in his arms and nodded heavily: "Be careful. We'll wait for you on the surface!"

Having said that, Chris did not delay any longer. He led Rebecca as they rushed toward the nearby elevator and pressed the button for the surface. The elevator doors slowly closed, temporarily cutting off the roars of the monsters and the sounds of battle. Both of them were worried about Jill and Barry, but could only hope they would escape successfully.

The elevator ascended rapidly and arrived at the surface platform a moment later. The cold air hit them instantly, carrying the damp, chilly scent unique to the Arklay Mountains. Stepping out of the elevator, Rebecca immediately spotted a flare gun box in the corner of the platform and pointed at it, shouting: "Chris! There are flares here!"

Chris walked over quickly. First, he carefully and steadily placed the sleeping Chloe on the dry ground, fearing he might wake the young girl who had finally found a rare moment of peaceful sleep after these past few years.

He then opened the flare box, which contained three flares neatly arranged inside. He quickly laid them out on the ground and lit them one by one.

The dazzling flares shrieked as they pierced the air, whistling toward the pitch-black night sky. They bloomed into bright red lights that were exceptionally striking against the dark clouds, pointing the way for Brad in the air.

Just as the flares rose into the sky, the elevator doors behind them slowly opened. Jill and Barry rushed out, covered in a bit of dust and blood, but otherwise unharmed.

"Chris!" Jill walked quickly to Chris's side, her voice breathless.

"Jill, are you okay?" Chris hurriedly stepped forward and asked, his face full of concern.

Jill shook her head gently and wiped the sweat from her face: "I'm fine. Those monsters have been dealt with. Let's go; Brad should have seen the signals."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the ground beneath them began to shake violently. Accompanied by a deafening roar, a huge pit suddenly cracked open in the ground nearby. Debris flew everywhere as a massive, hideous figure leaped out from underground and landed heavily in the center of the platform—it was the Tyrant that should have been killed in the laboratory!

It had not died completely. Having broken free during the collapse caused by the explosion, its body was even more violent than before. The exposed heart in its chest beat wildly, and its whole body radiated an intense killing intent, locking onto everyone on the platform.

"It's the Tyrant! How is it still alive?!" Barry exclaimed, his face instantly turning pale.

Jill reacted extremely quickly, immediately raising her gun and aiming at the Tyrant. She pulled the trigger, and the bullets struck the Tyrant's body accurately, but they couldn't stop its advance at all.

The Tyrant swung its massive claws fiercely toward Jill. She didn't have time to dodge and was sent flying by the heavy blow, crashing onto the ground several meters away. She was in so much pain that her whole body went numb, and she couldn't get up for a moment.

"Jill!" Chris roared. Rebecca also immediately raised her gun to fire, but after two shots, she realized her pistol was already out of ammo. The next second, she too was swept aside by the aftershock of the Tyrant's blow.

After dealing with the two of them, the Tyrant slowly turned its head. Its cold gaze locked onto the sleeping Chloe on the ground. It took heavy steps, walking toward her one by one, its massive figure looming over the defenseless girl. Danger was imminent.

"Don't you touch her!" Chris's eyes were wide with rage. He and Barry immediately raised their guns and opened fire, shooting bullets frantically at the Tyrant, desperately trying to attract its attention.

The Tyrant was enraged by the firepower. It stopped, turned, and roared at the two men. Barry took the opportunity to shout: "Rebecca! Take Chloe and go!"

Rebecca endured the pain, immediately climbed up, and ran quickly to Chloe's side. She carefully picked up the sleeping girl and retreated to a safe corner.

Chris and Barry relied on the platform's cover to hold off the Tyrant, but the Tyrant's hide was too thick; ordinary bullets couldn't cause fatal damage. The battle reached a stalemate, and the countdown to the explosion was drawing closer. Just at this critical moment, the roar of a helicopter suddenly came from the sky, and a black object was thrown down from the helicopter, landing right next to Chris.

"Chris! Try this!" Brad's shout came from the air.

Chris looked down and saw it was a quadruple rocket launcher. His heart leaped with joy. He immediately reached out to pick it up, quickly loaded it, aimed at the violent Tyrant before him, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The rocket, trailing fierce flames, whistled toward the Tyrant. With a deafening boom, the powerful impact and the explosion's flames instantly engulfed the Tyrant. Its massive body was blown to pieces, completely reduced to a pile of remains.

Just when they thought the crisis was averted, several sticky tentacles suddenly extended from the scattered remains, twisting and spreading rapidly toward Chloe. It was the Tyrant's residual viral tissue, attempting a final counterattack.

"Watch out!" Jill had just managed to get up. Seeing this, her eyes sharpened. With quick reflexes, she raised her gun and fired accurately, completely blasting those tentacles apart in a few shots, eliminating all hidden dangers.

The helicopter in the air, piloted by Brad, slowly descended onto the platform. The cabin door opened, and Brad waved anxiously at them, shouting: "Quick! Get on the helicopter!"

Everyone dared not delay for a second. Chris helped Jill up, Rebecca carried the sleeping Chloe, and Barry covered the rear. Helping each other, the group rushed onto the helicopter.

As the last person stepped into the cabin, the helicopter door closed immediately. Brad did not hesitate to maneuver the helicopter, which whistled into the air and flew rapidly into the distance.

Looking through the cabin windows, everyone gazed far off toward the Arklay Mountains. The next second, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar came. The entire Arklay Research Facility and Spencer Mansion were turned into a sea of fire in the violent explosion. The soaring flames dyed the pitch-black rainy night red; this place, which hid all of Umbrella Corporation's sins, was completely reduced to ruins.

The helicopter flew steadily through the heavy rain, escaping this living hell. Inside the cabin, Chloe continued to sleep soundly in Rebecca's arms. There was no fear on her face, only the peace of having shed all her shackles.

Everyone looked at the wounds on each other's bodies, then looked at the sea of fire receding outside the window. Their tightly wound nerves finally relaxed completely, and the relief of having survived the disaster welled up in everyone's hearts.

This nightmare, filled with betrayal, fear, and a desperate escape for survival, finally came to an end in this explosion.