Chapter 119: The End of Raccoon City

Debris continued to fall from the hole in the ceiling as the super mutant slowly stretched its tentacle-covered body, slime dripping from its wrinkled skin and corroding small pits into the floor.

It let out a low growl, its crimson compound eyes locked onto Jill Valentine, as if she were the only prey it would ever hunt in its life.

Jill Valentine stumbled back a step, her back hitting the cold metal gun mount.

She turned her head abruptly, her pupils contracting sharply. A massive silver-gray weapon sat quietly on the hydraulic lift, its barrel gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster. On its side was imprinted the Umbrella Corporation umbrella logo and a line of small text: Electromagnetic Railgun Prototype.

"Thank god." Jill Valentine cursed under her breath and scrambled to the control console nearby.

The dusty screen was still on, so she typed rapidly on the keyboard, skipping the lengthy user agreement and security warnings.

The system popped up an unlock interface, and the screen instantly turned green.

"Weapon system activated, energy reserve at 78%, ready to fire." A cold electronic voice sounded.

Jill Valentine whistled, reached out to grab the heavy control handle, and forced the railgun's muzzle toward the mutant.

"Come on and taste this, you damn stalker!"

She slammed the fire button.

A massive current instantly surged from the energy core into the gun body, blue electric arcs jumping wildly between the rails with a crackling roar.

The entire test platform shook violently, the lights flickering on and off.

Three seconds later, a dazzling white lightning bolt tore through the darkness, striking the mutant with world-destroying power.

The immense recoil slammed Jill Valentine hard against the console, her arms going numb and the webbing between her thumb and index finger splitting open, oozing blood.

She gritted her teeth and looked up to see a half-meter-wide hole punched straight through the mutant's chest, dark green blood and shattered organs splattered everywhere.

The mutant let out a shrill scream, its massive body stumbling back a few steps.

But it did not fall; the granulation tissue at the wound writhed frantically, attempting to heal itself.

"Entering forced cooling, 90 seconds remaining. Battery pack error, please perform manual reset." The system emitted a harsh alarm, and the control panel instantly turned red.

A battery was jammed in the energy compartment, and the automatic loading system had completely failed.

"Damn it!" Jill Valentine cursed and reset the railgun onto its mount.

The mutant had recovered, and several thick tentacles whipped toward Jill Valentine like poisonous snakes.

She rolled on the ground, dodging the fatal blow, while the tentacles slammed into the ground, shattering the concrete.

Jill Valentine hunched over, weaving flexibly through the dense tentacle attacks, using her dagger to sever any tentacles that got too close after her ammunition ran out, rushing all the way toward the energy compartment.

A piece of flying debris grazed her cheek, leaving a bloody scratch.

She didn't care, lunging toward the energy compartment and ripping open the protective cover.

Three batteries were stuck in the slots, the wiring burnt to a crisp.

Jill Valentine gritted her teeth and forced them back into place.

"Battery one reset."

"Battery four reset."

"Battery seven reset. All power sources initialized, restoring power."

The moment the system prompt sounded, Jill Valentine turned and ran toward the gun mount.

A tentacle grazed her face, drawing a thin line of blood.

She didn't bother to wipe it off, scrambling up the mount and grabbing the control handle again.

This time, she didn't hesitate at all.

"I've had enough of you, you bastard!"

The second lightning bolt roared out, accurately striking the mutant's spine.

The immense force knocked its massive body forward, snapping its spine completely and twisting its upper and lower body into a grotesque angle.

Jill Valentine didn't stop.

She jumped off the mount, using all her strength to force the heavy muzzle downward, aiming it at the mutant's gaping maw.

"In your next life, remember not to be such a clingy pest."

She pressed the fire button for the third time.

Dazzling white light swallowed the entire test platform.

When the light faded, only a charred, smoking patch remained on the ground; not even a single intact bone was left.

Jill Valentine collapsed to the ground, exhausted, gasping for air.

Sweat mixed with blood ran into her eyes, stinging so much she couldn't open them.

She wiped her face and looked at the charred mark, her nerves, taut for days, finally relaxing a little.

"Finally killed it."

She rested for less than half a minute before struggling to her feet.

The missiles would fall in less than ten minutes, and Chloe was still in Nicholai's hands; she had no time to waste.

Jill Valentine picked up the assault rifle from the ground, checked the magazine, and turned to run toward the central elevator at the end of the corridor.

The elevator doors closed slowly, and the numbers ticked upward.

Jill Valentine leaned against the cold metal wall, her heart pounding uncontrollably.

She kept rubbing her hands, muttering to herself, "I can catch up to him, I can catch up to him, Carlos will definitely be able to stop him..."

Every second felt as long as a century.

"Ding—"

The moment the elevator doors opened a crack, Jill Valentine rushed out impatiently.

A gale howled on the helipad, cold raindrops stinging her face.

A black helicopter painted with the Umbrella Corporation logo sat in the center of the platform, its propellers already starting to turn slowly.

Carlos lay motionless on the ground next to the helicopter, blood streaming down his forehead.

Tyrone knelt by the helicopter's landing gear, his hands tied behind his back, with Nicholai pressing a pistol against the back of his head.

"Jill, don't come over!" Tyrone shouted immediately upon seeing her. "He's been lying in wait here for a long time, the vaccine..."

"Bang!"

The gunshot rang out abruptly.

Tyrone's body shuddered violently and collapsed limply to the ground.

Blood flowed from the back of his head, quickly staining the concrete beneath him red.

"Tyrone!" Jill Valentine let out a heartbreaking scream and raised her gun, ready to charge forward.

Nicholai sneered and kicked Jill Valentine in the stomach.

Jill Valentine groaned and fell heavily to the ground, the assault rifle flying out of her hand.

Nicholai stepped forward, pointing his gun at her head, while his other hand pulled the silver vaccine tube from his jacket and tossed it in front of her.

"This is your hope, right?" He looked down at Jill Valentine, his face full of a cruel smile.

Jill Valentine struggled to reach out, wanting to grab the vaccine.

"Bang!"

Another gunshot.

The bullet hit the vaccine tube precisely.

The pale purple liquid flowed out instantly, quickly disappearing under the washing rain.

"No—!" Jill Valentine lunged at the ground, staring at the empty vaccine tube, tears finally bursting from her eyes. "Do you know what you've done? I could have saved everyone! The civilians trapped in the city, they could have all survived!"

"I don't know, and I don't care." Nicholai kicked the fragments of the vaccine case on the ground, his tone as flat as if he were talking about a trivial matter. "My new employer's order to me was to completely destroy Umbrella Corporation; as for whether those civilians live or die, what does that have to do with me?"

Just then, the city-wide broadcast sounded simultaneously, the cold mechanical voice piercing through the wind and rain, echoing over the entire Raccoon City:

"Please note, ten minutes until missile impact. Repeat, ten minutes until missile impact. All personnel who have not evacuated, please find shelter immediately. This is the final notification."

"Ah, the missiles have been launched." Nicholai glanced at his watch, a hint of impatience appearing on his face. "Then I should be going too. Farewell, Ms. Valentine. I will take good care of your daughter for you; after all, she is a cash cow worth 100 million US dollars."

He raised his gun and aimed it at Jill Valentine's forehead.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Carlos, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up and lunged at Nicholai.

Nicholai was caught off guard, slammed to the ground by him, and the pistol flew away.

The two immediately wrestled together.

Carlos had previously been struck in the head by Nicholai with a pistol butt, so his condition was poor, and he quickly fell into a disadvantage.

Nicholai flipped over, mounted him, and locked his throat tightly.

"Jill! Shoot! Shoot now!" Carlos shouted with difficulty, his face flushed red.

Jill Valentine picked up the pistol from the ground, her hands trembling uncontrollably. "I can't! I'll hit you!"

"Forget about me! There's no time!" Carlos's voice grew weaker. "Chloe is still in the helicopter! You have to take her away alive!"

Jill Valentine took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and opened them sharply.

She raised her gun steadily and aimed at Nicholai's shoulder behind Carlos.

"Bang!"

The bullet hit the target precisely.

Nicholai let out a scream and released his hand from Carlos's throat.

Carlos took the opportunity to flip over, push him away, and stumble back to Jill Valentine's side.

"Nice shot." Carlos coughed a few times, rubbed his neck, and grinned. "Hey, I told you, I wouldn't leave you to live lonely in a world without me."

Jill Valentine rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn't hide the worry in her eyes.

She turned to look at Nicholai, who was lying on the ground, clutching his shoulder and screaming, and stepped forward.

"Why did you do this?" She looked down at him, her voice cold.

Nicholai lay on the ground and suddenly burst into laughter, laughing until tears came out: "Why? For the money, of course! Everyone has a price, even at the end of the world. Umbrella Corporation gave me one million, and my new employer gave me ten million. I work for whoever pays more."

"Who is your employer?" Jill Valentine pressed.

Nicholai sat up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and a cunning smile appeared on his face: "You take me out of here, and I'll tell you. By the way, make me an offer, how about twenty million? I'll tell you all the secrets I know."

Jill Valentine was amused by his audacity.

She shook her head, turned, and walked toward the helicopter, never looking back.

"You idiot! Without me, you'll never know the truth!" Nicholai shouted frantically behind her.

Jill Valentine grabbed the helicopter door and glanced back at him.

The rising sun was slowly ascending from the horizon, casting golden light on her face.

"That's fine, I'll just investigate it myself."

After saying that, she turned and climbed into the helicopter.

Chloe was lying quietly on the back seat, her face still a bit pale, but her breathing had stabilized.

The effects of the strong sedative hadn't worn off, and she was sleeping soundly.

Jill Valentine walked over and gently held her in her arms.

Carlos sat in the cockpit and pressed the start button.

The propellers spun faster and faster, whipping up rain and dust.

"Please note, ladies, the doomsday flight is about to depart." Carlos put on his headset and grinned back at Jill Valentine. "Next stop, Raccoon City."

The helicopter slowly lifted off and flew toward the rising sun.

Jill Valentine held Chloe, looking down at the shrinking Raccoon City below, and at Nicholai, who stood on the platform with a deathly gray face, and finally revealed a smile she hadn't worn in a long time.

In the distant sky, a small bright spot was rapidly approaching.

Ten minutes later, a thunderous boom came.

A mushroom cloud rose slowly over Raccoon City, completely burying this city of sin.

And the helicopter carrying hope flew toward the distance, facing the morning sun.