Chapter 81: Returning to the Old Place

Jill carefully tucked the silver cooler into the hidden compartment under the seat and covered it with canvas. This was something Chloe had paid for with her life; she couldn't let anything happen to it.

When her fingertips touched the cold metal casing, the silver-haired monster Carlos had described barged into her mind again, like a thorn stuck in her heart—impossible to pull out and too painful to touch.

The streets outside were deserted, with only the distant firelight reflecting off the sky in flickering pulses. Abandoned cars blocked the road in every direction, and glass shards and scattered debris crunched sharply underfoot.

Jill moved quickly against the wall, her Beretta held level at chest height, vigilantly observing her surroundings for any movement.

Occasionally, stray zombies would stumble out of the alleys, but she dispatched each one with a precise headshot.

The dull thud of bullets piercing skulls was particularly jarring in the silent streets, startling a few crows perched on telephone poles.

Ten minutes later, Jill passed through the back alley via the ladder next to the supermarket and walked briskly along the path until she reached a warehouse. The rusty iron gates were left ajar, covered in dark red bloodstains. She pushed the door open gently, and a heavy smell of engine oil and blood rushed toward her.

The interior was pitch black, with only the emergency lights emitting a faint green glow, illuminating the crisscrossing cables and massive transformers.

Jill switched on her flashlight. The beam swept through the darkness; she found no trace of zombies, but the dangerous aura permeating the air made the hair on her body stand on end.

She moved slowly inward along the wall, with broken cables and tools scattered across the concrete floor beneath her feet.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jill spotted an iron door in the corner, firmly secured with chains.

The chains were new, and the lock still had a metallic luster, clearly having been locked recently. Jill frowned and shone her flashlight over.

Behind the iron door seemed to be an abandoned garage, from which faint, weak gasps could be heard.

Jill gripped her handgun and slowly walked over. She smashed the lock with the butt of her gun, tore off the chains wrapped around the door, took a deep breath, and shoved the iron door open.

An old pickup truck sat in the garage, its body riddled with bullet holes and claw marks. A soldier in a UBCS combat uniform leaned against a wheel, covered in wounds. His left leg was twisted at a grotesque angle, and blood soaked his pant leg, pooling into a dark red puddle on the ground.

Hearing the door open, the soldier jerked his head up, eyes filled with terror, instinctively reaching for the handgun at his waist. When he saw it was Jill, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his hand fell back weakly.

“Are you with the UBCS?” Jill stepped forward, her muzzle still pointed at him, though her tone softened slightly.

“Yes...” The soldier's voice was incredibly raspy. He coughed violently, spitting out bloody phlegm. “Please be careful... Please, don't look at me like that, okay? I'm not infected!”

He extended his arm, showing the clean skin on his forearm. “Look, no bite marks, no scratches. I just fell from upstairs and broke my leg.”

Jill knelt down and quickly checked his injuries. She pulled a first-aid kit from her pocket and opened it. “Alright, let's get you patched up.”

Just as Jill took out the gauze to bandage his wound, a cold voice suddenly came from the shadows of the garage.

“Don't waste your time.”

Jill whipped around, aiming her gun at the source of the voice. A man in a black combat uniform stepped out of the shadows, holding a suppressed handgun. His face was expressionless, and his gaze was as cold as ice.

“Whoa, whoa, please, wait!” Murphy's face turned pale with fear as he desperately shrank back. “Nicholai, don't shoot! I'm not infected! Really!”

Nicholai ignored his pleading and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

“Pfft—”

The suppressed handgun made a muffled sound, and the bullet hit Murphy squarely in the forehead. Murphy's body jerked, his eyes went wide, and then he slowly slumped over, blood and brain matter splattering onto the pickup truck's tire.

Jill was startled. She looked at Nicholai in disbelief, a surge of rage erupting from her heart.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Jill roared, her muzzle locked onto Nicholai.

Nicholai blew the gunpowder smoke from the muzzle and said nonchalantly, “He was infected.”

“He was only potentially infected!” Jill's voice trembled with anger. “You didn't even check his wound!”

“Are all S.T.A.R.S. members this cowardly?” Nicholai sneered, sizing Jill up with a look full of disdain.

“No wonder they all died for nothing. In a place like this, any hesitation will get you killed. Dead people turn into zombies; don't you have any sense of crisis?”

“Then what are you? UBCS? A bastard who kills his own people?” Jill said through gritted teeth, her finger tight on the trigger.

“I'm just doing what I have to do.” Nicholai put away his handgun and turned toward the garage stairs. “Go back to the subway station. We don't need your bleeding heart getting in the way here.”

With that, he walked up the stairs without looking back and disappeared into the darkness.

Jill looked at Murphy's body on the ground, then toward where Nicholai had vanished, shaking with fury.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Now was not the time for anger; she had more important things to do. Jill packed up the first-aid kit and walked out of the garage.

Twenty minutes later, Jill returned to the subway station. She went straight to the control room and turned on the main console.

The subway map appeared on the screen. Jill quickly operated the keyboard, setting the route out of the city and closing off other unnecessary stations.

Once everything was ready, Jill returned to the station platform. Carlos was standing by the gate at the mid-section entrance; seeing Jill return, he immediately went to meet her.

“Good job, Super Cop, impressive!” Carlos said with a smile, patting Jill on the shoulder.

“Is the train repaired?” Jill asked.

“Almost, but it still needs 30 to 40 minutes.”

Just then, the shutter door nearby was suddenly pulled open with a harsh screech of metal. Carlos immediately aimed his gun at the door, watching the outside warily.

Nicholai and Tyrone walked in from outside, both covered in blood and grime.

“Nicholai! How is it?” Carlos lowered his gun and stepped forward to ask.

“The whole city is crawling with monsters; a forced breakthrough is impossible.” Nicholai's tone remained cold as he unslung the rifle from his back.

After speaking, his gaze fell on Jill, and his brow furrowed. “What is she doing here?”

“She's helping get the train started.” Carlos took a step forward, standing between Jill and Nicholai. “The power's back on and the route is set, all thanks to her.”

“We don't have time to take this dead weight with us.” Nicholai snorted, his eyes full of contempt. “She's not reliable; she won't be able to pull the trigger when it counts. S.T.A.R.S. people only know how to play the hero.”

“Hey, knock it off.” Carlos's expression darkened.

“Hmph, she'll be the death of you sooner or later.” Nicholai said no more and turned toward the stairs leading down. “I'm going to check on Michelle.”

Tyrone gave Jill an apologetic smile and then followed Nicholai downstairs.

“Sorry about that, everyone's on edge.” Carlos scratched his head and said awkwardly. “Nicholai... he's always been like this.”

“It's fine,” Jill said flatly. She was long used to this kind of hostility.

Just then, a massive crashing sound came from behind them. Jill and Carlos both turned, raising their weapons in caution.

“Oh, please, not again?” Carlos's face changed.

Jill's heart sank. She knew that sound all too well; it was Nemesis.

At the subway station entrance, a massive hole had been smashed through the wall. The hulking figure of Nemesis stepped out of the hole, its yellow eyes glowing in the dark, staring fixedly at Jill.

“S.T.A.R.S.!”

Nemesis let out an ear-splitting roar and charged toward Jill with heavy strides.

“Quick! Close the gate!” Jill shouted, turning to run toward the iron gate's switch.

Carlos reacted instantly, pulling the switch down with Jill. The heavy iron gate descended slowly with a dull thud.

“Its target is me. I'll buy you guys some time.” Jill's eyes were determined as she watched Nemesis get closer.

Just as the gate was about to close completely, Jill ducked and slid under it.

“What are you doing? Hey, wait! Jill, hold on! Damn it!” Carlos was blocked inside by the gate, pounding on the iron door fruitlessly.

Jill stood up and took a deep breath as she faced Nemesis. She holstered her Beretta and picked up a steel pipe from the ground.

“Come on, you creepy stalker!” Jill shouted at Nemesis. “Looking for S.T.A.R.S.? I'll give you a real taste!”

With that, she turned and ran into the depths of the subway station. Nemesis let out an angry roar and immediately gave chase.

Jill ran through a corridor piled with junk and into an abandoned records room. The room was filled with moldy documents and discarded desks and chairs, the air heavy with the smell of dust.

She ran out the back door of the records room and immediately saw the familiar sewer entrance in the corner.

Without a moment's hesitation, Jill pulled off the manhole cover and jumped down.

Cold sewage water reached her knees, and a foul stench hit her. Jill turned on her flashlight, its beam wobbling in the dark sewer.

This was the place where she and Chloe had stayed; she remembered every corner and every pipe clearly.

A loud crash came from behind as the manhole cover was ripped away; Nemesis had jumped down too. Heavy footsteps echoed in the narrow sewer, getting closer and closer.

Jill gritted her teeth and ran forward desperately. She knew Nemesis was fast and that she had to lose it as soon as possible.

She turned into a narrow branch pipe that only one person could pass through; Nemesis's massive frame couldn't possibly fit inside.

Sure enough, the footsteps behind her stopped. They were followed by an angry roar and the loud thuds of walls being struck. Jill didn't look back and kept running.

After running for about ten minutes, the sounds behind her finally vanished. Jill leaned against the wall, gasping for air. Her clothes were soaked in sewage, and she was cold and exhausted.

Just then, a low hissing sound came from the darkness ahead.

Jill immediately raised her flashlight and shone it forward.

A massive monster was crouching at the end of the pipe. It had green skin, a long tongue, and sharp claws. It was a Hunter Gamma.

The Hunter Gamma spotted Jill and let out a sharp hiss, lunging at her.

Jill was ready; she sidestepped the attack while drawing her Shotgun and firing continuously at the Hunter Gamma.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The bullets hit the Hunter Gamma, opening several bloody holes. But its skin was exceptionally tough, and the bullets didn't cause fatal injuries. Upon landing, the Hunter Gamma immediately turned and lunged at Jill again.

Jill backed up a few steps until her back hit the wall. She quickly swapped magazines, then timed it perfectly. At the moment the Hunter Gamma lunged in front of her, she dropped into a crouch and aimed her gun right into its open maw.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

All three shots hit the Hunter Gamma's mouth. Green blood sprayed out, and the Hunter Gamma let out a pained hiss before crashing heavily to the ground.

Jill didn't let down her guard. She stepped forward and fired a finishing shot into the Hunter Gamma's head.

The Hunter Gamma's body twitched a few times and then went completely still.

Jill breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes wearily. The flashlight beam hit the cold wall, reflecting her pale face.

The sewer was silent, save for the sound of water dripping into the sewage. Jill looked at her familiar surroundings, remembering the days she had spent here with Chloe.

That silver-haired little girl had always followed quietly behind her, looking at her with those clear eyes.

“Chloe...” Jill murmured softly, tears flowing uncontrollably.

She didn't know if Chloe was alive or dead, nor did she know if that silver-haired monster was her. But she knew that, no matter what, she had to find the answer.

Jill wiped away her tears and gripped her gun. She still had a long way to go and many things to do. She had to get out of here alive and live on with Chloe's hope.