Chương 45: Chapter 38 - Project Exodus Found

Peeking through the cover of the shrubs, Zeel could see a clearing that contained about a dozen helicopters.

He also saw a couple of people in white gowns – obviously Researchers, if his keen eyesight was to be believed.

Zeel's best guess was along the lines of 'The Umbrella High Command were looking into Sasha's project but could not find the exact location since it was likely moved underground without the permission from the Boss'.

Researchers tend to be paranoid like that, especially when they were on the verge of a breakthrough. Zeel was also familiar with this feeling.

Upon discovering Cosmic Wormholes, he was obsessed beyond measure for a while after.

Probably due to their search objective being only to locate Sasha, not many guards were sent along.

Looking for an insignificant Researcher amongst many did not require a powerful fighting force. This was unfortunate for them, but a blessing for Zeel.

Nonetheless, Zeel's objective would remain the same. Over the past six months, he had been to different measured locations across the world: Russia, Africa, Australia, and now Brazil in South America.

All these locations were thoroughly investigated by Zeel, and cases were embedded below the surface of the Earth at key points of frequent seismic activities.

Zeel's next location should have been Antarctica, which ironically was also the location that Alice headed two weeks ago.

Zeel was unable to continuously check Alice's location due to the influx of personnel accessing satellite imagery as of late.

A couple of times, Zeel's hack was almost backtracked to his location in Brazil. He took great comfort in the fact that Alice was at the very least still alive. If she had died, the connection between them would have ceased transmission.

The nanites held incredible photon-quantum charges. This meant that Alice dying would take at the very least half the continent with her.

Often times this would lead the entire world to destruction after the cause and effect cycle had taken place.

Zeel's civilization was familiar with such destruction since they had conducted planetary devastation on a daily basis.

Zeel planned the perfect strategy to infiltrate, steal, and then escape the encampment below.

He spent a couple of hours memorizing the changes in shifts and the number of people present at the base. Zeel even went back into the jungle to scout the area for reinforcements.

Everything seemed a bit too easy considering the majority of the forces below consisted of only Researchers.

Zeel had no problem killing them all since Umbrella Corporation was a huge threat to his future plans and goals.

"Okay. Neat and tidy. Steal some charges, drip a drop of blood in the engines, wait a while then go for the escape," Zeel mumbled the roughly made plan.

Usually, his plans would be considerate of many factors, but Alice's situation made him a bit anxious.

Zeel found the entire ordeal kind of gratifying. Once in a blue moon, Zeel also liked the thrill of not knowing exactly what to expect, though he may come to regret that a bit later.

Under the cover of night, Zeel sneaked along the electrical perimeter. After waiting for a couple of seconds, the gate turned off.

It was a mere half-second, but that half-second was enough for Zeel to jump through using his enhanced agility.

Zeel's perception of time had only improved with his growing strength. Now he could make one second seem like ten seconds; though his body was not able to keep up with his perception at that rate.

Slitting his wrist, Zeel then began running, jumping, backflipping around the compound at impossible speeds.

Over the past months, Zeel had come to value speed instead of just efficiency. Being a multiverse traveler, he was not pressed for time since his algorithm took into account temporal shifts.

After making sure a decent amount of blood spilled on each piece of electronic equipment, Zeel then calmed down and watched as his blood oxidized the parts of the machinery it had come into contact with.

The rate of oxidation was much faster than previous uses, Zeel chalked it up to his increased nanites efficiency.

Zeel continued spilling blood on the helicopter engine until only one helicopter remained untouched – the one he planned to use for his great escape.

However, his mission was not complete as he did one final round through the buildings, and tents to place charges.

After all, the only way to be sure that someone was dead is to watch as their souls leave their bodies.

*Boom*

All of a sudden, the compound lit up the night in flames. Zeel used this opportunity to rush towards the only helicopter left undamaged.

Little did he know there was one camera that caught his running visage in its full glory. The being manipulating the camera had already expected his intersection with this particular base camp.

In an Underground Umbrella Facility, a computer could be seen calculating outcomes at insane speeds. The calculations suddenly ceased as a hologram manifested itself in the form of an 8 to a 9-year-old girl.

"Target: Project Exodus found."

"Capture if possible. Otherwise terminate. He must not be allowed to escape," The Red Queen projected a hologram version of herself throughout the campgrounds.

This used a beetle-shaped minicomputer in the center of the Researchers' chests as a conduit.

At that moment, the seemingly panicking Researchers suddenly wore calm faces. They began moving as if professionals trained for decades in the art of combat.

After arriving at the helicopter, gunshots rang out. The bullets swished past Zeel's head, causing him to duck and roll numerous times.

Zeel pushed his body to its limits as his senses went into overdrive.

His perception of time slowed down to a crawl as he dislocated his left shoulder. A bullet grazed his dislocated shoulder, leaving a flesh wound carved into his skin.

Sadly, it was already too late to do anything about the bullet that pierced his abdomen.

Ignoring the pain, Zeel grabbed the knives from his belt and tossed them into the air. This action was followed by taking out his guns.

A fierce gunfight broke out with each of Zeel's bullets hitting its target. Either the heart or the head of the Researchers was pierced constantly.

Zeel had no hesitation in killing anyone who he deemed a threat.

Zeel re-strapped his guns back into their respective holsters as he saw a group of soldiers coming from behind the helicopter.

Not wasting time, he pushed his body past the limit once again. Zeel once again used his 'Four Burst Technique'.

The knives Zeel had thrown into the air earlier were in a state of freefall. When the knives were near the ground, Zeel grabbed the first four knives, of the six, sending them directly through the hearts of four soldiers – two in the front and the two immediately behind them.

Zeel rolled and kicked at the last two knives still in the air.

This launched them at the feet of the next two soldiers pinning them in place. Then he grabbed his rarely used sword from its sheath on his back, and with the quickest two slices in history, he divided the soldiers into perfect halves.

*pant*

As his perception of time resumed to normal, Zeel gasped for air as trying to breathe when moving that fast is a bit of a task.

Zeel then watched as every soldier around him collapsed, but at that moment his intuition kicked into overdrive as his 'flight or fight' instinct was finally invoked.