Chapter 16

Let's set aside the events that followed after Li Guodong and his group drove away, and let time rewind a bit. Just after Tang Cheng, Alice, and Rebecca entered the villa, Tang Cheng found that although the villa looked somewhat eerie and sinister, there wasn't much out of the ordinary. The silent atmosphere was just like that of a haunted house.

Of course, the three of them were all quick-witted and unlikely to become a liability. They all knew that since this was Umbrella Corporation's second research facility, it wouldn't be as simple as it appeared on the surface... Just by referring to the Hive, it wasn't hard to deduce that Umbrella Corporation's method of hiding things was quite straightforward.

"Then, let's split up and look for a secret passage," Tang Cheng said casually, and then he walked up the stairs to the second floor, wandering around.

Alice and Rebecca, on the other hand, searched the first floor on either side.

Twenty minutes later, the three of them met back at the foot of the stairs, shaking their heads to indicate that they had found nothing. During this time, Rebecca reported in twice via the walkie-talkie.

"It seems that Umbrella Corporation has hidden things here very well," Alice frowned and asked Rebecca, "Your colleagues have been here before, haven't they? Didn't they leave any clues?"

Rebecca shook her head, "The only information I received is that there are extremely terrifying monsters in this villa. This was the intelligence my colleague sent before dying. Apart from that, I know nothing."

After that, Tang Cheng patrolled the first floor for a while, analyzing as he spoke, "I didn't check the second floor in detail because I believe the chances of a secret passage being there are small. After all, according to Umbrella Corporation's habits, their bases are usually underground. Moreover, if there really are terrifying monsters here, this villa would hardly be able to contain them. They are likely kept underground, which is why they can't get out. So, if there's nothing unusual on the first floor, the only suspicious thing... is this staircase."

After saying that, Tang Cheng's gaze fell on the staircase in front of him.

As a straight staircase, unlike most buildings, the staircase in this villa did not lean against the wall but was located in the center of the hall. It was also quite wide, able to accommodate at least five adults standing side by side.

Alice nodded, "In terms of design, this staircase is indeed quite suspicious, but we've already searched it, and there doesn't seem to be any hidden mechanism."

Alice had previously served as the security director of the Hive, and her ability in this area was clearly top-notch, so she spoke with great confidence.

"Perhaps, there was no mechanism to begin with," Tang Cheng smiled slightly. He didn't doubt Alice's judgment, but he had another idea. As he spoke, he took the hands of the two women and walked up the stairs, one on each side, "Come, let me show you how to be cool and fly."

The two women exchanged a glance, their eyes full of confusion, not knowing what Tang Cheng was up to. Of course, as Western women, they were more open-minded and didn't find it problematic, allowing Tang Cheng to lead them up the stairs.

Then, when they reached the fifth step, Tang Cheng stopped.

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked instinctively.

Tang Cheng didn't answer, making a gesture to be quiet.

Three seconds later, there was a click, and the staircase trembled slightly. Alice and Rebecca immediately became alert, but before they could react, the staircase suddenly began to sink...

They really did "fly"! But not into the sky, rather into the ground!

To be more precise, with the mechanism activated, the entire staircase began to descend into the ground.

At this moment, apart from Tang Cheng, who remained calm as ever, Alice and Rebecca were somewhat alarmed because the staircase was descending too quickly, almost like an elevator that had lost control. If it continued at this speed, the three of them would surely die upon reaching the bottom.

Fortunately, this didn't happen. Although the second research facility had been abandoned by Umbrella Corporation, the equipment was not damaged. After a moment, the rapid descent gradually slowed down, and with a click, it stopped moving.

It seemed that the staircase had reached the bottom.

Here, in the underground, there was no sunlight. The opening above had already closed when the staircase fell, and the abandoned research facility clearly wouldn't continue to supply power. Therefore, the three of them were in complete darkness, unable to see anything, with only a putrid smell wafting from ahead.

Even Alice and Rebecca, who were skilled, felt some tension in this situation.

The two women quickly turned on their flashlights and shone them around, discovering that the walls were behind them and on either side, with only a slightly wider passage in front.

"It seems this is the so-called second research facility," Tang Cheng said.

"How did you know about the mechanism?" Rebecca asked in disbelief, and Alice also looked at him curiously. Although both knew there was something unusual about the staircase, they would never have found a way down so easily.

Tang Cheng smiled slightly, not hiding anything, "Actually, it's quite simple. Generally, there are only two ways to open a secret passage: one is through a mechanism like in the Hive, and the other is triggered by a person. Since we didn't find any mechanism in the villa, it means there isn't one. So, it must be the second way..."

Rebecca quickly had a question, "Didn't you think that maybe we just didn't find the mechanism, and it actually exists?"

"That's impossible!" Tang Cheng firmly denied, "If there was a mechanism, I would have found it. Since I didn't, it means there isn't one. There's no doubt about it."

The two women were speechless, thinking he was too confident.

They didn't understand Tang Cheng. If they knew him better, they would realize that this extreme and obsessive way of thinking was common in his life. In short, what he believed to be right had to be right, and what he believed to be wrong had to be wrong, even if it was actually right.

And if his beliefs deviated from reality, he would think: It's not my fault, it's the world's fault!

To put it nicely, Tang Cheng had 100% trust in himself.

To put it harshly, he was a self-centered, self-important, and narcissistic super neurotic.

But!

The most incredible thing was that Tang Cheng's obsessive and extreme way of thinking rarely went wrong, which led some people to hold him in high regard. Or, in their hearts, just the existence of Tang Cheng was enough to be considered incredible.

"Of course, there's another more important reason," Tang Cheng said, not minding the strange looks from the two women, "I once wrote a novel where the protagonist, based on myself, was a madman who specialized in creating such automatic trigger mechanisms. The mechanism in this second research facility is actually quite childish. If I had set it up, it could have been more sophisticated, for example..."

"Alright, no need to explain in detail," Alice quickly interrupted, fearing that Tang Cheng would go on a long rant. She didn't have much time left and couldn't afford to waste it.

As for Rebecca, she was startled when she heard the words "madman who specialized in creating mechanisms." Writing himself as a madman and saying it so openly, if this were in peacetime, she wouldn't mind frequently inviting Tang Cheng to the police station for coffee.

"Is that so? What a pity," Tang Cheng sighed slightly, but didn't say more, and walked up the stairs with his flashlight.

Soon, Tang Cheng saw a corpse lying less than a meter from the top of the stairs, mutilated and partially eaten. The dirty clothes suggested it was a staff member of the research facility. Most of the body had rotted, emitting a foul odor, and the remaining hand was tightly gripping the ground in front.

Tang Cheng looked at it for a moment and laughed, "Ha, this guy was really unlucky. He was just one meter away from the end, but still got caught by a zombie at the last moment. What a pity."

He said it with pity, but his expression was happy.

Although Alice and Rebecca also wished that all of Umbrella Corporation's people would die, they didn't share Tang Cheng's twisted sense of humor and frowned at the sight of the corpse.

From the wounds on the corpse, it was clear that it wasn't bitten by a zombie but rather by some large animal.

For example... a crawler!

"Maybe we'll become just as unlucky and unfortunate soon," Alice said, and then walked forward.

In the darkness, even with the help of flashlights, the illuminated area was limited, and the light could attract enemies, making it hard to feel at ease.

"We should find the power switch first. Although we don't know if the power system is still working, this situation is too disadvantageous for us," Rebecca suggested.

Tang Cheng didn't object, but asked, "Do you know where the power switch is?"

"I'll take care of it. Umbrella Corporation has certain patterns in building research facilities. Although I can't say I know everything, I'm familiar with it. Also, there should be some indications in the hallway," Alice said.

So, the task of leading the way was given to Alice, and as she said, there were indeed indications for the location of the power switch, making their task easier.

After another ten minutes, Rebecca reported in once more.

Meanwhile, Tang Cheng checked the mission prompt and found that Alice's mutation time was down to forty minutes. Although the time was tight, if everything went smoothly, they should be able to find the antibiotics before the mutation.

However, would a side mission with such a huge reward really go so smoothly?

The answer was clearly no.

A few minutes later, as the three of them reached a crossroads, a low, deep voice suddenly echoed around them, accompanied by the sound of something chewing, like a wild animal.

In such an environment, this sound was particularly terrifying. Alice and Rebecca quickly raised their guns and shone their flashlights around, their eyes full of alertness.

"Quick, get out of the way!" Tang Cheng suddenly shouted.

Alice and Rebecca didn't understand, but they trusted Tang Cheng and instinctively moved back.

Then... bang!

In the chaotic light, a huge monster pounced from above, landing exactly where the three of them had been standing. The monster moved quickly, and before their flashlights could shine on it, it quickly returned to the wall, hiding. They could only see part of its body.

"What is that? A crawler?" Rebecca exclaimed.

"It seems so... damn, I didn't expect there to be so many crawlers here," Alice said gravely.

Indeed, the monster wasn't alone. The chewing and growling sounds came from different directions, and more sounds were heard as the monster pounced.

If the monster was indeed a crawler, they might face multiple crawlers!

"Ah!" Rebecca suddenly exclaimed again.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked quickly.

"The walkie-talkie... it's broken," Rebecca said dejectedly. In the moment of dodging, Rebecca had fallen and the walkie-talkie in her pocket had smashed.

"Well, if it's broken, it's broken. As long as you're safe, that's what matters," Alice sighed in relief, walking over and saying, "Whether it's crawlers or other monsters, we'll continue to the power room..."

"Wait!" Before Alice could finish, Tang Cheng quickly stopped her.

Alice's heart skipped a beat, and she shone her flashlight on Tang Cheng, who was squatting on the floor, his face serious, as if listening to something.

"Run!" After a few seconds, Tang Cheng suddenly stood up, shouting and quickly running back.

Seeing his reaction and hearing the faint sounds underfoot, the two women realized something was wrong, their faces changing as they quickly turned and ran in different directions.

Just as they had run for a few seconds, the floor beneath them trembled, and then, centered around the crossroads, the surrounding floor quickly cracked and fell, along with nearby rooms.

With a loud crash, the entire area of the research facility collapsed, and Tang Cheng and the others inevitably fell down as well.