What is the meaning of life?

"Are you guys okay?" Rain asked Alice and Matt, who had just entered.

"Yeah, I think so..."

"They're still following us. Where does this door lead?" Alice asked urgently, realizing that the exits had become blocked.

"They're waiting for us there too," Kaplan replied, stopping Alice from opening the door.

"And over there?" Alice looked down the hallway where the Red Queen was.

"It's pointless; that place has no way out," the doctor responded.

"We have to wait. If nobody hears from us, they'll send reinforcements or something..." Seeing the silence in the room, Spence looked at Rain and asked, "Right...?"

"What? What's happening?" Spence asked nervously, noticing the sudden silence.

"There's not much time. The doors we passed when coming from the mansion will be sealed forever in less than an hour," James explained, outlining the consequences of failing the mission.

"If we don't get out by then, we'll be trapped here forever," Rain continued while looking at Jacob's hand.

"According to the maps, there should be an entrance to the sewer system..." This world was straightforward, so maybe if he acted more aggressively, he could expedite the process. Therefore, Jacob, who had been somewhat indifferent, got to work.

"Jacob, are you sure?" James asked this while looking at the man who seemed to know more about the situation they were in than anyone else.

"Completely, Captain..."

"Then we have to find it, quickly!" James ordered as he scanned the surroundings.

Shortly after, J.D. shouted, "It's here!"

"Everyone get ready to go down!" James ordered, looking at the tunnel and then checking the situation below everyone.

Everyone moved quickly, Jacob's drones, of which he only had 70 left, leading the way. J.D.'s backpack had been lost in the swarm in Dining Hall B while saving J.D., so they searched and advanced rapidly through the area.

"What the hell is this place?" Spence asked in amazement.

"These are conduits where electricity, water, and drainage residue flow!" Kaplan explained while checking the blueprints and leading the way.

"We're going in circles!" Spence spoke up again.

Jacob's face was a bit pale; every five minutes, he took an advanced pill, enhancing his strength and vitality. Nonetheless, the pain had been neutralized by his intelligent assistant.

In his left eye, he wore a modified telescopic sight, scanning the surroundings with his drones to anticipate where the zombies would emerge. He wanted to avoid the surprise that the rest of the team had experienced in the original story.

When Rain and Spence were about to argue, Jacob made a hand gesture. "Quiet!"

He was observing the dimly lit hallway, which was made more challenging due to the fact that his drones didn't have thermal sights, making it difficult for him to see clearly in this situation.

"Is there anything...?" James asked, almost murmuring to Jacob.

"Wait!" Jacob responded, slightly expectant.

"We've got contact!"

"Intelligent assistant, mobilize 20 drones and hold back the horde," Jacob ordered as he looked at James and said, "They're coming; they'll be here in less than two minutes."

"Everyone, get ready!" James shouted as he disengaged the safety on his weapon.

"Sir, we have to go up. We can't face them with the few bullets we have," J.D. replied, pointing at the conduits in the ceiling.

"Everyone, climb up, one to three meters apart to avoid collapses," James yelled as he ascended a pipe.

"Come on, Jacob, climb up; I'll help you!" James shouted, extending his hand to assist him.

"Everyone, climb up quickly!" Alice urged.

"Contact!" Rain said as she fired her weapon.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets struck the zombies in the head, preventing them from reaching the group.

"Rain, don't waste the bullets unless necessary. Everyone move quickly and climb up as soon as possible. Don't advance together to avoid accidents!" James ordered as he advanced.

The fall that had stopped Kaplan in the original story did not happen, and everyone safely reached the laboratories, avoiding the stairs and the elevator, which were filled with zombies.

"Let's rest for a moment before continuing," James said as he looked at Jacob.

"How are you feeling? Are you in pain?" the doctor asked as she assessed Jacob's wound.

"I'm fine, but I'd be better if you gave me more painkillers," Jacob replied, with a faint smile on his pale face.

"You can't take more, not for now," the doctor said, refusing his request.

"Just as they were talking, a loud scream echoed in the room.

"Ahhh, get it off me!" Spence screamed as he struck the zombie that had bitten him on the neck.

"Damn, I remembered this little incident too late. Well, at least it can benefit the mission if it reveals his identity..."

Bang!

James shot the zombie with a single shot to the head, killing it.

"Doctor, assess his condition," James ordered as he watched the blood run down Spence's neck.

The bite was clear; for everyone in the room, Spence was in a dire situation. "No... no... we can't cut off his limb to prevent the infection like Jacob did," Kaplan said, stuttering.

Upon hearing Kaplan's crazy words, everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

"Unless you want to cut off his neck, it's impossible to prevent infection," the doctor replied.

"Then... I'll do it!" Command 1 said, pointing his weapon at Spence.

"Wait, wait, wait, don't shoot me!" Spence cried out in refusal.

"It's either that or you become one of them. We can't take you up if you're infected. We can't risk spreading a potential infection to the rest of the agents," Rain said as she looked at Spence.

"There must be a way..." Spence objected.

"Only if there's a cure, but as you can see from Jacob, we have none. We don't even know what kind of infection spread through the Hive in the first place," the doctor responded.

"I... I... I think I know where the cure is," Spence said as he dropped to his knees.

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Rain said, anger and disappointment coursing through her.

"I was the one responsible for the virus spreading; I wanted to steal it and get out of the Hive. I was so close to succeeding, who would have known the mansion had security systems outside of the Hive and even in the mansion itself. I never stood a chance from the beginning," Spence explained as his voice darkened.

"So, you were the one who caused all the deaths in the Hive?" Matt said as he approached Spence.

"Wasn't I clear enough?" Spence replied angrily.

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!" Matt shouted as he lunged at Spence and punched him.

"Stop him..." James said as he moved towards Spence.

"Matt, stop!" Alice said, calming Matt down. She looked at Spence with disgust, taking off her black jacket and tossing it into the water.

Jacob glanced at the black jacket floating in the water. "Would I have survived without cutting off my hand? It was a hasty decision, a pity..."

"You'll lead us to the cure, and then you'll testify for whom you work!" James whispered in Spence's ear as he dragged him towards the exit.

"Let's move quickly and quietly. We don't know what else we might encounter," James ordered once again as he exited.

The entire team moved swiftly through the laboratories, reaching the door and the hallway where it had been sealed and dark before.

The team descended the stairs slowly, with Jacob's remaining 50 drones emerging from his backpack.

"I hope that damn Licker doesn't show up. I guess the mission is about to be completed. I can't avoid unexpected changes, not now, nearly at the end of this hell," Jacob thought as he analyzed his situation.

In his pistol, Jacob had only 14 bullets left, and the 50 drones would be enough to kill the Licker, and even if that wasn't enough, he had his sharp katana.

Upon reaching the train, Kaplan and Command 1 went to start it up, while Rain and J.D. continued to cautiously follow Spence. "In the end, Jacob's assumption was correct. Who would have thought this son of a bitch would be the enemy?" Rain said, her anger evident as she glared at Spence.

"Well, we'll have to invite Jacob to several dinners for everything he did on this mission. We undoubtedly survived thanks to him... except for his hand..." J.D.'s voice trailed off slowly as he was about to continue. Just then, Spence shouted.

"It's this suitcase!" A black suitcase in the train was slowly pulled out.

Upon opening it, the T-virus was clearly visible. "It's the syringe with the green liquid," Spence said as he waited to be injected with the cure.

After receiving the cure injection, Rain and J.D. escorted him onto the train. As Alice and Matt boarded the train, only James and Jacob remained outside.

"Boss, I need your gun," Jacob said in a low voice.

"What...?"

"There's something else watching us right now. Someone needs to stop it. If it attacks the train and damages it in any way, we'll be trapped in this place with no way to report what happened in these facilities," Jacob explained as he took the modified telescopic sight from James and aimed it at the strange creature on the wall.

"I can kill it with my drones. I need you to leave. And do everything you can to ensure this place is completely sealed off from the outside world. I also don't want the corporation's numerous experiments in my body when I die, of course..." Jacob said as he held James' weapon.

"I won't lose a good soldier..." James said, refusing to leave.

"I have to leave one way or another," Jacob thought with a hint of sadness.

"You've been an incredible leader. You've taught me a lot and inspired my time on the team," Jacob said with a completely confident look.

"Now go, get the rest of the team safely out of this hell. I'll be fine on my own." Without waiting for James' response, Jacob aimed the grenade launcher and prepared to fire.

Running away from the train, Jacob ordered one drone to explode on the other side of the train. "BOOM!"

The explosion caused the Licker to move and look around to see what had caused the loud noise. Meanwhile, James had already boarded the train and shouted, "As fast as you can, Kaplan!"

"Yes, sir."

When Rain didn't see Jacob anywhere, she turned around and said, "Where's Jacob?"

Just as James was about to explain, a loud explosion was heard in the distance, followed by multiple gunshots.

Boom!

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

"What was that?" Alice asked.

"Jacob is holding off an unknown and hostile creature. He's giving us time to escape, so let's move now since we don't have time," James responded as he found a seat.

"No podemos leave a Jacob alone, not after what he did for us," J.D. said as he headed towards the exit.

"We have no choice, there are no bullets left, and the possibility of killing that creature with our bare hands is impossible," James shouted, recalling the horror of that creature.

"Unless we abandon Jacob's intentions in the drain, we have to get out now. Kaplan, get us out of here."

The entire team was silent and devastated by Soong's loss as the train moved forward. Spence, with a smile, said, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Bang!

Just as J.D. was about to give him a beating, the sound of a gunshot surprised them. They looked at James as he held a smoking gun with Spence lying in a pool of blood.

"Target secured!"

...

Jacob's drones surrounded the Licker, which was staring directly at Jacob, standing just eight meters away. Jacob aimed his gun, his exhausted body covered in cold sweat. 'It's now or never...'

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The fourteen bullets struck the Licker's head.

"DIE, YOU BASTARD!!!" Jacob shouted as he held his katana and took a defensive stance.

The Licker's enormous tongue grabbed Jacob's leg, pulling him towards it. When he hit the ground, he cut the Licker's tongue with his sword's edge.

Feeling threatened, the Licker threw Jacob against a massive crate. His body slammed into the crate, and he fell to the ground almost powerless. The katana sliced through his left eye during the fall, turning his vision red. On the ground, Jacob found it impossible to get up. "Initiate attack, assistant!"

"[Understood, Master!]" Jacob's smart assistant responded. Suddenly, all the remaining drones impacted the Licker's body, killing it and leaving it a mass of flesh.

Boom!

"[Mission accomplished!]"