bdsm-fiction Chapter 26 The Red Queen, the Licker, and the Sterilization Plan
Chapter 26 The Red Queen, the Licker, and the Sterilization Plan
"Let's go."
Li En strode toward the stairs, the three of them following behind him.
Annette led the way, while Claire walked in the middle, holding Sherry's hand.
The staircase leading to the platform is zigzag in shape, and a layer of dust has accumulated on the turning platforms.
The process of going downstairs was very quiet, with only four sets of footsteps echoing repeatedly between the concrete walls.
drip.
The screen at the observation post at the end of the stairs flickered twice.
The scan line swept down from the top of the screen, and a red virtual figure emerged from the pixel noise.
Holographic imaging has extremely high resolution, with every line of the facial contours being so sharp as to be almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Those red eyes without pupils shone through the screen and landed on Li En.
Annette took half a step forward.
"Red Queen, let us leave. I will continue making vaccines outside."
She instantly understood why the Red Queen was on that screen.
The security protocol for the mother nest contains a rule written at its very core:
If any unauthorized biological sample leaves the storage facility, the system has the authority to initiate the highest level of platform lockdown.
The Queen's gaze did not leave Li En.
"Unauthorized personnel are carrying dangerous biological samples. The platform has been sealed off, and pursuit units have been deployed. You cannot leave."
Before Annette could speak again, the screen went black.
When the power was cut off, a spot of light remained in the center of the screen, which took a few seconds to completely turn off.
"What was that just now?" Claire asked in a low voice.
Her hand was already on the holster at her waist.
"What are the pursuing units?"
Annette lowered her voice to the same volume as Claire.
"The Red Queen is a super artificial intelligence program of the Brood Mound, capable of controlling everything here."
She paused, her voice dropping even lower, "As for the pursuing units..."
"Shhh."
Li En raised his right hand and pressed it down in mid-air.
Annette immediately fell silent.
Li En turned her head and tilted her ear toward the train.
The sound of metal scraping came from the platform downstairs.
It was very light, and the distance was approximately 30 meters or more.
That was the sound of claws scraping against the steel grating, and after a two-second interval, it happened again.
The sound source is very close to the ground, and its movement path is not fixed.
"A licker?"
Li En's gaze swept over the I-beams spanning the ceiling above the platform, and then over the ventilation duct entrances on both sides of the staircase.
If it were a Tyrant of that size, its footsteps could shake the ground from thirty meters away; only Lickers would hide in those blind spots.
"When you go down, walk on your heels, don't talk, and don't make any noise. That thing is sensitive to sound."
He pressed his fingers against the ammunition pouches on his tactical vest.
One flashbang, one dagger, a Magnum revolver, six bullets (three in the cylinder and three in the ammo pouch).
The mother hive's weapon reserves are depleted; these six .44 Magnum rounds and one flashbang are all the ammunition it has.
It's uncertain how many Lickers are below. If possible, avoid direct combat and just get in the vehicle and leave.
Li En squatted down and used a tactical knife to cut a piece of fabric from his sleeve.
The blade makes a slight cracking sound as it cuts through the fabric.
He wrapped the cloth strips around the muzzle of the Magnum gun, twice, and tied a knot in the Picatinny rail below the barrel.
After attaching a simple suppressor cloth to the muzzle, the directional sound of the gunshot will be reduced.
It cannot silence the sound, but it can make the sound source sound muffled from tens of meters away.
He stood up straight, holding the knife in his left hand below his right wrist, and quietly stepped down the first step of the stairs.
Going downstairs went smoothly.
Between the stairwell and the platform is a corridor about twenty meters long, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
Large sections of the wall coating have peeled off, revealing the concrete blocks underneath.
The ventilation ducts at the top of the corridor have an inspection port every three meters, and several of the grille covers are loose, hanging halfway on the hinges.
The faint sound of claws scraping against metal came from above.
The frequency was very high, almost the same as the interval of a heartbeat, and the sound source moved along the ventilation duct.
There are at least two currently.
There's one on the platform, perched on an I-beam.
There is one in the hallway ceiling or in the ventilation duct.
Walking to the middle of the corridor, Li En stopped next to a maintenance ladder.
He used a dagger to pry a loose metal plate off the wall.
The edges of the steel plate were severely rusted, and it didn't make much noise when prying it.
He laid the cover flat on the ground, took out a flashbang, pressed down the safety plate with his thumb, and hooked the pull ring with his index finger.
He took a thin thread from his leg pocket, tied one end to the pull ring, and fixed the other end to the metal cover.
I leaned the metal plate against the wall at an angle and adjusted the angle twice so that it wouldn't slip under its own weight.
A thin line is stretched horizontally across the corridor at knee height, with both ends taut.
He turned around and made a raising gesture by sweeping his left hand horizontally across his knee with his palm facing up.
Claire, holding Sherry's hand, lifted her legs and stepped over the thin line one by one, and Annette followed suit.
Li En and the others all passed through, and finally stepped over.
Walk to the end of the corridor.
The train was stopped on the tracks, its front facing south, and the door of the third carriage was still open.
An outline crouched on the concrete ground at the platform entrance.
Its head was turning slowly, while its body remained still.
Li En raised his right fist and pressed it down.
The three people behind her immediately crouched down, and Claire reached out and covered Sherry's mouth.
Shirley's breathing slowed down through her nose, and she nestled her shoulders into Claire's arms.
Li En scanned the platform, his gaze lingering on the fire sprinkler system on the ceiling.
There is a pressure test valve in the middle of the platform, which is designed to manually release pressure during maintenance.
He took a step back, crouched down, leaned close to Claire's ear, and pointed to the equipment room at the edge of the platform.
"Take them into the equipment room." His lips were almost touching Claire's earlobe, his voice so low it could only reach one person's eardrum.
"The door lock code is K-7753. Once inside, don't come out."
Claire nodded.
She placed one hand on Sherry's back and winked at Annette.
The three people bent over and slowly moved towards the equipment room along the shadow of the platform edge.
Li En remained alone at the platform entrance, bent down to pick up a fist-sized piece of concrete, and weighed it in his hand.
He turned and, facing the opposite direction from the three people, tossed the overturned trash can at the other end of the platform.
clang.
The fragments struck the metal of the trash can, making a crisp sound in the enclosed platform space, the echo reverberating back from the other side of the tracks.
The licker abruptly turned its head toward the source of the sound.
The neck muscles are taut under the skin, and the outline of the taut tendons bulges out from the sides of the exposed skull.
It pounced, and as it pushed off the ground with its hind legs, its claws dug into the concrete, leaving a row of deep holes.
Its front paws landed on the metal of the trash can, tearing the metal shell apart.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li En quickly approached the pressure test valve of the fire sprinkler pipe.
He pulled out a tactical knife, inserted the blade into the bolt gap of the valve, gripped the handle and rotated it, but the threaded connection of the valve initially remained motionless.
With a sudden increase in force, the tiger's mouth presses down on the back of the knife handle, and the wrist and elbow joints exert force simultaneously.
The bolts were loose.
A stream of rusty liquid was squeezed out from the threaded gaps, and then the valve core began to rotate.
A hissing sound rang out.
The valve core retracts to the critical point.
The pressurized water broke through the valve's last seal and sprayed out at an explosive speed.
The high-pressure water jet hit the platform floor, splashing up white mist, and the sound quickly rose from a hissing, leaking sound to a sharp, piercing metallic whistle.
Water flow washes over the concrete floor, stirring up the accumulated dust and turning it into mud. Under the fluorescent lights, large water curtains reflect fragmented bright spots.
The enclosed space amplified the noise of the sprayer tenfold, with high-intensity sound wave reflections all around.
"roar!!"
The lickers were thrown into chaos.
The high-pressure water whistle covered the entire auditory spectrum, drowning out all the subtle echoes it used to locate its prey.
It darted around in the water curtain, first crashing into a support pillar, then retreating and crashing into the wall.
The claws swung into the air and caught the spray of water and flying debris.
Li En didn't look at it a second time.
Under the dual cover of water and noise, we rushed across the platform toward the equipment room, our shoes splashing water as they hit the surface.
He pushed open the door to the equipment room.
After the door was closed, most of the noise was blocked out, but my ears were still ringing, though I could still hear the conversation clearly.
Annette leaned against the electrical cabinet, her face pale, and fine beads of sweat glistening on the skin above her collarbone.
Claire crouched by the door, one hand on Sherry's shoulder.
Li En walked up to Annette and squatted down.
"The Red Queen has locked the train power supply to the platform, so a separate backup generator is needed."
His voice was kept low in the equipment room.
Such a large train platform must have backup power equipment according to Umbrella's engineering design specifications.
Anai nodded and pointed to the southeast corner of the equipment room.
"I was involved in selecting this generator."
Her voice was steadyer than it had been outside.
"It is not connected to the Red Queen's control system. The Red Queen can only cut off the power supply line between it and the train, but it cannot prevent it from starting."
"How do I start it?" Li En looked in the direction she was pointing.
In the corner was a diesel generator set, its body painted in the Umbrella Corporation's standard dark gray paint, and all the indicator lights on the control panel were off.
Annette's gaze fell on the platform outside the equipment room, where water was still spraying continuously.
"The start switch is designed on the external panel. After the red light cuts off the control cable between the panel and the generator, you need to directly short-circuit the start terminal inside the generator."
Li En walked up to the generator and used a dagger to pry open the maintenance panel on the side.
The steel plate popped open, revealing the internal cable trays.
The cables are categorized by color: red is for main power supply, black is for grounding, and blue and yellow are for control signals.
The blue wire had been cut in the middle, and the red wire was used to remotely disconnect the start signal wire via a relay.
He used a dagger to peel away the insulation from the cut ends of the signal wire.
I handled it very gently, only cutting the rubber and not touching the copper core.
Four sections of bare copper wire were exposed to the air.
What is the starting terminal current?
"24 volts, control signal." Annette crouched down next to him. "It won't shock you, but don't let the positive and negative terminals touch, or you'll burn out the entire starting relay."
Li En tore two strips of conductive tape from the lining of his tactical vest, reconnected the two pairs of cut wires according to their colors, and wrapped the tape around the joints twice to press them firmly.
The moment the circuit is reset, the indicator light on the generator panel changes from dark to bright green, the oil pump starts working, and diesel fuel is forced into the combustion chamber.
The engine started up, and a steady, deep hum came from the fuselage.
The floor of the entire equipment room was vibrating slightly.
After the buzzing sound started, Li En's expression changed.
The noise from the water spray is decreasing.
The water in the fire hydrant is being drained, and the water jet from the pressure valve is changing from a high-pressure spray to an intermittent low-pressure flow.
In a few dozen seconds, the noise from the sprayer will drop below the hum of the generator.
The licker will relock onto the sound source.
He pulled a toolbox from beside the control panel, grabbed a roll of insulating tape and a pair of electrician's pliers, and shoved them into Claire's hands.
"Take this with you and go to the train immediately. Have Annette sit in the third carriage, close the door, and Sherry will go with you."
Claire took the tools.
"And you?"
"I need to be here to watch the generator output stabilize. If it doesn't trip within a minute, the train can start normally."
Li En paused for a moment, "There's one more thing. If that thing appears on your way to the train, shoot the pipes in the ceiling with a pistol."
Don't shoot it, shoot the pipe. That thing locks onto its target by sound; this will distract it and confuse it.
Claire nodded, pulled Sherry to her feet, and Annette followed behind her.
The three men pushed open the door to the equipment room and moved quickly towards the train, hugging the wall.
Shirley covered her mouth with both hands, only her very faint breaths escaping through her fingers.
Li En stared at the generator's output dial.
The voltage pointer is stable within the rated range, the oil pressure is normal, and the speed is normal.
Several tens of seconds passed, and the circuit breaker did not trip.
He closed the generator's maintenance panel, tightened the bolts, and stood up.
The platform separates the equipment room from the train driver's cab.
When he rushed onto the platform, the pressure of the fire sprinkler system was almost exhausted, and only a small amount of residual water was seeping out from the edge of the valve in the pipe.
The Licker turned around from behind the water curtain, tilting its head slightly towards the equipment room.
In the final seconds before the echoes of the water curtain faded, Li En jumped onto the train engine through the window.
The cockpit door was closed behind him, and the sound of the pneumatic locking mechanism was drowned out by the hum of the generator.
The control panel is lit up, independent power supply is successful, and the electronic blockade of the platform by the Red Queen has been physically severed, but the startup sequence is still locked in the system.
He pulled out Annette's internal employee ID card and then took out the director's highest-level access card from his breast pocket.
When both cards are inserted into the dual-verification card reader in the cockpit at the same time, the card slot accepts the cards and the indicator light turns green.
The panel lights up with a message: Permissions confirmed.
The train departure sequence has been initiated.
Countdown: Three minutes.
He set the destination coordinates, and the parameters were loaded automatically.
Push the throttle lever forward to one-third of its maximum position, and the traction motor begins to pre-rotate.
He released his grip, the automatic driving system took over, and he turned and strode quickly into the third carriage.
Sherry curled up next to Annette, her knees tucked under the hem of Annette's coat.
Claire stood beside them, her pistol still in her hand, muzzle pointing downwards.
The moment the train started moving, the platform began to recede. First, the fluorescent light strips on the edges slid out of the windows, and then the entire platform was swallowed up by the tunnel entrance.
Red Queen's voice followed into the cabin from the cockpit communication panel.
"You took away samples that had not yet been analyzed, and this data belongs to Umbrella Corporation."
"I have to take them back before the sterilization protocol buries everything."
As soon as the voice finished speaking, a scraping sound came from the connecting passage at the rear of the carriage.
The claws tore through the metal exterior and propelled the vehicle forward from the rear.
Li En stepped into the cockpit and closed the door behind him.
He raised his hand, aimed at the tempered glass of the cockpit rearview window, and pulled the trigger.
boom.
The tempered glass shattered in all directions from the point of impact, with fragments flying outwards into the tunnel.
A gust of wind rushed into the cockpit, whipping up dust from the seats and an expired vehicle log.
He leaned out of the window, holding a gun in one hand.
The licker was clinging to the back of the carriage, its two front paws digging into the corrugated steel plates of the carriage's outer wall, and its hind legs bracing against the shock absorbers at the connection point.
It was tearing hard, trying to pry open the entire outer wall at the rear of the carriage.
Li En aimed at the section of the carriage it was clinging to.
The outer cylinder of the hydraulic shock absorber is exposed in the gap where the side skirt is missing.
bang bang.
The first bullet penetrated the outer cylinder of the shock absorber.
Hydraulic oil sprayed out of the bullet hole as a fine white mist, splashing onto the licker's right forepaw.
The claw pads lost their friction and slid on the steel plate.
The licker shifted its center of gravity slightly, gripping the steel plate tightly with its left forepaw while struggling to find a new foothold with its right paw.
The second shot hit the metal seam next to the right claw.
The bullet penetrated the seam, lifting up a triangular piece of steel.
The fragment bounced up and hit the licker's right forelimb elbow joint.
That support point has completely broken free.
boom.
The third shot hit the licker's ribs on the side of its torso.
The bullet entered through the intercostal space, penetrated the lung tissue, and exited from behind the shoulder blade.
The licker's hind claws slipped off the shock absorber, and its entire body was thrown backward by the airflow. Its hissing sound lingered in the tunnel for a second before being swallowed by the darkness.
Li En bent down to inspect the magazine.
Magnum has three rounds left. Put the gun back in its holster.
The Red Queen's voice rang out again.
The tone of voice from the speaker on the communication panel remained unchanged.
"You've only delayed what's inevitable. The sterilization protocol will be implemented in 26 minutes, and the city will be purified."
"Your samples and data won't change anything..."
Li En reached out and tapped the power module on the side of the communication panel.
The metal casing was flattened by the blow, the circuit board short-circuited, a string of sparks shot out from the module seam, and a burnt smell spread.
Red Queen's voice trailed off after only half a sentence, and the cockpit fell completely silent.
He walked back to the carriage and sat down in the seat opposite the three men.
Sherry lay on Annette's lap, her breathing even, her eyelashes no longer fluttering.
Annette gently stroked her daughter's hair, her fingertips moving slowly through the strands.
She gazed out the window at the dark tunnel walls rushing past, the train lights casting flowing streaks of light on the damp rock face.
Claire walked over and lowered her voice as she approached the aisle.
"Is what the Red Queen said true? The entire city will be gone in twenty-six minutes?"
"Really, but we're already on our way." Li En raised his wrist to check his watch.
"We will arrive at the old railway hub in eight minutes, just barely missing the edge of a nuclear or thermoelectric bomb blast."
The outside world was turning gray, the tunnel was getting shorter, and the water stains on the rock walls reflected the color of the sky. The edge of the city was approaching.
"Hopefully it will burn away the last bit of Umbrella's secrets left in Raccoon City."
He turned his gaze away from the window. "By the way, Chris has already escaped. Don't worry."
Claire remained silent for a moment.
The rhythm of the track joint striking the wheel filled this gap.
Then she spoke, her voice not loud.
"You were the commander all night."
"Um."
"Won't there be any more commands of this caliber again?"
"No, once we reach the safe zone, you can decide where to go yourself."
"it is good."
The train rushed out of the tunnel.
Sunlight streamed in through the car windows, and everything inside the carriage seemed to shed the dust brought from the tunnel.
The high-voltage power line towers on the hillside are still there, but the iron frames are covered with a thick layer of grass clippings and dried mud.
After a while, blinding light burst forth from the direction of the city behind them.
It started out white, then rapidly expanded into a light of an indescribable color, swallowing up the entire boundary between heaven and earth.
The car windows were reflected like mirrors, and the shadows inside the car shattered in the light, only to reform the moment the light faded.
Li En closed her eyes.
……