Chapter 87: Two Who Have Suffered Greatly

September 29, 1998, 03:07, Raccoon City, West side of Clock Tower Square, 3rd floor of the Abandoned Department Store.

Rainwater flows in through the broken glass window, forming tiny streams on the dust-covered floor.

Nicholai kneels on one knee by the window, holding high-powered military binoculars, the lenses reflecting the firelight from the distant clock tower.

His breathing is extremely light, and he even deliberately controls the sound of rain hitting his raincoat.

Through the binoculars, Chloe stands in front of Jill with her back to him, her silver-white blade claws still dripping with Nemesis's crimson blood.

He saw that lightning-fast strike clearly just now—leaping from the top of the thirty-meter-high clock tower, landing with zero cushioning, and piercing through Nemesis's hindbrain and spine in one blow, the entire process taking less than 2 seconds.

A faint, imperceptible smile tugs at the corner of Nicholai's mouth, a greedy light flickering in his eyes.

"Perfect," he murmurs softly, his fingers unconsciously stroking the body of the binoculars. "Ten times stronger than a Tyrant—no, a hundred times. Those fools at Umbrella Corporation still haven't caught her."

He puts down the binoculars and pulls an encrypted notebook from his pocket, which contains his previous records: "Target S01, combat data collected. Strength assessment: approx. 8 tons. Speed assessment: approx. 120 km/h. Reaction speed: far beyond human limits. Self-healing ability: extremely strong. Threat level: Omega level."

As long as he can get this monster out alive, never mind Umbrella, even the military or those private arms dealers would scramble to pay an astronomical price.

By then, he could completely escape Umbrella Corporation's control and spend the rest of his life in South America with the money.

Nicholai's gaze turns back to the plaza, falling on Jill. He sneers, his face full of disdain. This S.T.A.R.S. woman is truly lucky to have survived until now.

But it doesn't matter. Once he takes S01 away, he'll deal with Jill as well and take her silver cooler, and everything will be perfect.

Just then, a faint red light flashes in his binoculars.

Nicholai's pupils suddenly contract.

It's not his.

September 29, 1998, 03:08, North side of Clock Tower Square, entrance to the underground parking lot.

Four figures in black combat suits huddle in the shadows, gas masks on their faces, their weapons all aimed at Chloe in the center of the plaza.

They are the last of the USS Theta Team.

Three days ago at City Hall Plaza, they tried to contain Chloe using the latest exoskeleton armor, but they were slaughtered anyway, leaving only the four of them to escape by luck.

Headquarters was furious upon hearing the news and immediately air-dropped the newly developed "MK2" enhanced S01 Inhibitor.

The dosage of this S01 Inhibitor is five times the previous one, capable of directly disrupting the virus's energy conduction pathways, causing Chloe's regeneration and physical stats to plummet by 90% in a short time.

"Target locked," the captain says in a low voice into the communicator. "Shooter One, prepare. Aim for the lumbar spinal nerve plexus. That's her core; one hit will incapacitate her."

"Copy." Shooter One rests the specialized needle rifle on the concrete cover, the crosshairs of the scope firmly locked onto Chloe's lower back.

"Countdown: three seconds." The captain raises his right hand, holding up three fingers. "Three... two... one... fire!"

"Shhh!"

An almost inaudible sound of something cutting through the air rings out.

The silver-white needle dragging a faint trail, shooting toward Chloe like a venomous snake.

Jill is struggling to stand up, her chest still aching dully, every breath tasting of blood.

Her eyes haven't left Chloe for a moment, fearing that in the blink of an eye, this child she just regained would disappear again.

At that moment, Chloe's ear suddenly twitches.

She spins around abruptly.

But it's too late.

*Pfft!*

The needle pierces precisely into her lower back, and cold liquid is instantly injected into her body.

Chloe lets out a low grunt, her body shuddering violently. She instinctively reaches to pull out the needle, but a powerful numbness instantly spreads from her lower back to her entire body, her limbs feeling as heavy as lead.

"Watch out!" Jill screams.

Chloe looks up, her blood-red pupils locking onto the entrance of the underground parking lot. She tries to rush over, but her steps falter, her speed more than twice as slow as before.

"Second shot!" the captain's voice rings out again.

"Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!"

Three more needles are fired in succession.

Chloe barely manages to dodge one by sidestepping, but the other two hit her shoulder and thigh respectively.

The enhanced S01 Inhibitor rages wildly in her blood vessels, reacting violently with the residual elpis. She can clearly feel the surging viral energy within her rapidly receding; her once-indestructible skin becomes fragile, and even the healing speed of her wounds slows down.

With a *thud*.

Chloe can no longer hold herself up and falls to one knee. Her hands revert to their normal form, propping her up on the cold ground. Her long silver-white hair falls forward, obscuring her face. Blood gurgles from her wounds, forming a dark red puddle on the ground.

"Chloe!" Jill cries out heart-wrenchingly. She tries to crawl over, but her body won't obey her.

"Cease fire." The captain waves his hand, signaling the team members to move forward. "Target incapacitated, prepare for recovery. Maintain distance; she still has the capacity to resist."

The four USS members emerge from the shadows in a tactical formation. Their assault rifles are all aimed at Chloe, fingers tight on the triggers; if she makes any move, they will immediately riddle her with bullets.

"Don't touch her! You bastards!" Jill curses angrily, picking up a stone from the ground and hurling it at them.

*Clang!*

The stone hits the alloy plate of the lead team member with only a dull thud.

The member glances at Jill with cold, emotionless eyes. He doesn't take this injured woman seriously at all.

"Ignore her," the captain says coldly. "Our only target is S01."

Two members walk up to Chloe. One points his gun at her head, while the other kneels to check her vital signs.

"Vital signs stable, S01 Inhibitor in effect," he says into the communicator, then pulls a pair of specialized alloy handcuffs from his backpack. Made of titanium alloy, these handcuffs can withstand ten tons of tension and are specifically designed to restrain bio-organic weapons.

He grabs Chloe's wrists and handcuffs her hands behind her back.

"Secure," he says, standing up and nodding to the captain.

The captain breathes a sigh of relief, a weary smile appearing under his mask.

"Alright, mission accomplished." He waves his hand. "Pick her up, we're evacuating. The headquarters' helicopter is on standby in the outskirts."

Another member steps forward, bending down to hoist Chloe onto his shoulder.

"Finally finished with this monster," he grumbles under his breath. "She cost us two of our brothers."

"Stop talking and let's go," the captain urges.

At the moment the member's hand touches Chloe's shoulder.

Chloe, who had been hanging her head, suddenly snaps her eyes open.

There is no emotion in her blood-red pupils, only cold killing intent.

Chloe's body jerks backward, her legs clamping around the neck of the member behind her like iron pincers.

*Crack!*

A crisp sound of bone snapping rings out.

The member didn't even have time to scream before his neck was snapped. His body slumped down, eyes wide with unbelievable terror.

Everyone froze.

In that tenth of a second of hesitation, Chloe had already used the momentum of her fall to flip and spring up. Though her hands were handcuffed behind her, the silver-white elbow blades at her joints instantly snapped out.

She lunged at the member beside her like a bolt of lightning.

The member reacted, immediately opening fire.

*Rat-tat-tat-tat!*

Bullets hit Chloe's body, piercing her skin and splashing blood. But she seemed not to feel the pain, her speed not slowing in the slightest.

*Pfft!*

The elbow blade pierced precisely into the member's heart, emerging from his back.

Chloe yanked the elbow blade out, and the member's body slowly collapsed.

In just two seconds, two elite USS members were dead.

"Fire! Fire!" the captain roared, raising his gun and spraying bullets at Chloe.

The remaining member also reacted, bullets raining down toward Chloe.

Chloe rolled on the ground, taking cover behind a pillar of the clock tower. Several more bullet holes appeared on her body, blood flowing out continuously.

The S01 Inhibitor's effects were still ongoing; her healing speed was shockingly slow, her wounds barely able to stop bleeding, unable to heal quickly.

She leaned against the pillar, panting heavily. That burst of energy just now had almost exhausted the remaining viral energy in her body. Now, even standing was difficult for her.

But her gaze remained cold, without the slightest hint of retreat.

"She's almost finished!" the captain shouted. "Charge! Catch her!"

The two members rushed toward the back of the pillar in a pincer movement.

Chloe suddenly rushed out from behind the pillar, lunging at the member on the left despite the bullets. The member didn't expect her to attack proactively and froze for a second.

That moment of hesitation cost him his life.

Chloe lowered her head and slammed her forehead hard against the bridge of his nose.

*Crack!*

The sound of a nasal bone shattering rang out.

The member let out a cry of pain, his gun falling to the ground. Chloe took the chance to drive her knee hard into his stomach. Then she spun around, using her handcuffed hands to throttle his neck, giving it a violent twist.

Another sound of bone cracking.

The third member was dead.

Now, only the captain was left.

The captain looked at the three bodies on the ground, his eyes filled with terror. He knew he was no match for this monster. He instinctively took a step back, reaching for a grenade at his waist.

He was going to take this monster down with him.

At the moment he pulled out the grenade and yanked the pin.

*Bang!*

A gunshot.

The bullet hit his temple with precision.

The captain's body jerked, and the grenade fell from his hand.

Jill stood not far away, holding a gun, her chest heaving violently. She had just used every ounce of strength to crawl to a nearby supply crate, pick up a dropped pistol, and pull the trigger at the most critical moment.

The grenade rolled on the ground, making a "hissing" sound.

"Run!" Jill shouted.

Chloe looked at her, then turned and ran toward Jill.

*Boom!*

The grenade exploded behind them, the massive shockwave throwing both of them into the air.

Jill struggled to get up from the ground, ignoring the pain in her body, and rushed toward Chloe like a madwoman.

Chloe lay on the ground, motionless. Her body was covered in bullet holes and wounds, her combat suit dyed dark red with blood.

The specialized alloy handcuffs were still on her wrists, the elbow blades had retracted, but the mask on her face had not yet faded.

"Chloe! Chloe!" Jill knelt beside her, gently shaking her body, her voice trembling. "Wake up! Don't scare me!"

Chloe's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Her blood-red pupils still lacked any human emotion. She looked at Jill with eyes full of wariness and strangeness. Her body tensed slightly, like a beast ready to attack at any moment, constantly judging the intentions of the person before her.

Looking into her eyes, Jill could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face.

She reached out and carefully unlocked the alloy handcuffs on Chloe's wrists.

Chloe didn't move, just watched her quietly.

The moment the handcuffs were released, Chloe's fingers twitched. She instinctively raised her hand to attack, but seeing Jill's tear-stained face, her movement stopped mid-air.

Jill pulled her into a hug, holding her tight, as if afraid she would disappear again.

"It's okay, Chloe," Jill's voice choked. "It's okay, I'm here. I won't let you leave me again."

Chloe's body stiffened for a moment.

She could feel the warmth of Jill's embrace and hear her strong heartbeat. This warm feeling was something she had never experienced. The slaughterous instinct surging within her actually calmed down miraculously at this moment.

She slowly lowered her raised hand and leaned gently against Jill's shoulder.

Jill held her, carefully checking her wounds. She pulled a first-aid kit from her backpack, took out gauze and hemostatic medicine, and began to bandage Chloe.

Her hands wouldn't stop shaking; with every wound she bandaged, her heart ached a little more. These wounds were all sustained to protect her.

"I'm sorry," Jill whispered, tears dripping onto Chloe's face. "I'm sorry, I didn't protect you well. I thought you were dead, I thought I'd never see you again..."

Chloe didn't speak.

She just leaned quietly in Jill's arms, her blood-red eyes watching her without blinking.

The rain in the distance was still falling, and the firelight still lit up the sky.

On the third floor of the Abandoned Department Store, Nicholai watched the two embracing in the plaza, the smile at the corner of his mouth growing even colder.

He put away his binoculars and turned, disappearing into the darkness.