Courtyard House: I fish in the heavens, a professional bird abuser.

Blood was still seeping from Nicolai's mouth.

It wasn't He Yuanchao who hit him—he bit his own tongue.

The Eastern European veteran knelt on the metal floor of the corridor, his back pressed against the wall. His broken wrist hung limply at his side, swollen like a steamed bun. He covered his wrist with his other, still-functioning hand, cold sweat mixed with dust on his forehead, leaving several black mud streaks on his face.

He Yuanchao stood in front of him.

The emergency lights in the corridor flickered twice more, lengthening and shortening the shadows of the two people.

The alternating light and dark rhythm resembled the lighting effects in a torture chamber; though purely coincidental, the effect was maximum.

"Nuclear bomb." Nicolai's voice was forced from deep in his throat, each word tinged with blood.

He Yuanchao did not move.

His arms were crossed over his chest, and the Dragon Slayer sword was already sheathed. But a drop of Licker's black blood still clung to the hilt of the sheath, glistening in the light, more effective than any threat.

"continue."

"The Security Council passed the 'Cleanup Protocol' three days ago." Nicolai swallowed hard, his saliva stained with blood. "A tactical nuclear bomb—not strategic, but with a yield between five and ten thousand tons. Enough to wipe Raccoon City off the map."

"Launch site?"

"Edwards Air Force Base. The B-2 bombers are already on the runway. The flight time from receiving the order to dropping the bombs is approximately two and a half hours—but the order has already been issued."

He Yuanchao's lips twitched slightly.

"That means there are less than six hours left from now."

Nicolai nodded. The movement tugged at his wrist, making him wince in pain.

"What about the evacuation plan?"

"City Hall Square. Rooftop helipad. Three Black Hawk helicopters—fully fueled, pilots on standby. Kane's men control the area."

How many people are on the evacuation list?

"Twelve."

Twelve.

He Yuanchao mentally reviewed the number.

Three Black Hawk helicopters, each capable of carrying eleven people when fully loaded. That's thirty-three people in total. But Kane only allocated twelve slots.

"What about the remaining spots?"

"Installation equipment and data storage. Hardware backups for Project Nemesis, cryogenic chambers for biological samples, and Kane's own 'life-saving box'—supposedly containing evidence of his crimes against all the top brass at Umbrella, his talisman."

He Yuanchao remembered the phrase "life-saving box".

That thing might be useful.

Who is on the evacuation list?

"Kane himself, his two adjutants, three senior researchers, two pilots, two communications technicians—the remaining two spots are reserved for live samples that may have 'recovery value' after on-site assessment."

He Yuanchao raised an eyebrow.

"Live specimen? You mean a living person?"

"Yes. Whoever has the most valuable genetic data gets to board the plane—but as 'experimental material.' Not passengers, but cargo."

Alice stood at the other end of the corridor, gun at the ready, keeping watch in the direction of any potential threat. But her ears were never idle.

When she heard the words "live specimen," her shoulder blades visibly tensed.

He Yuanchao noticed it.

But he didn't turn to look at her.

He crouched down to be at eye level with Nicolai.

"Those two reserved spots for 'live samples'—who does Kane intend to give them to?"

Nicolai's eyes flickered.

"You and Alice."

The corridor was silent for two seconds.

During those two seconds, the emergency light overhead went out once.

In the darkness, only Nicolai's heavy breathing could be heard, along with a rustling sound from some corner deep within the hive in the distance, like the movement of some large creature.

The lights came on again.

He Yuanchao's expression remained unchanged.

He stood up.

"Your daughter, Catherine, is seven years old and in Moscow."

Nicolai's body stiffened.

He Yuanchao didn't look at him.

"I'll figure something out once this is over."

"How could you—"

"You don't need to know how I did it. You just need to know one thing."

He Yuanchao looked down at him.

Under the corridor lights, those black pupils held no warmth, but also no malice.

It's a kind of calm that only someone who has made countless life-or-death decisions can possess.

"I mean what I say."

"I have never broken my promise in my life."

He Yuanchao turned around and walked towards Alice.

He took two steps, then stopped.

"Nikolai, don't strain your wrist for three days. If it's set properly, it won't affect your ability to fire."

Nicolai stared blankly at He Yuanchao's retreating figure.

The man had already walked up to Alice and was whispering something to her.

Nicolai slowly got up from the ground using his movable hand.

He stood against the wall for a while.

Then he bent down and picked up the MP5 with its barrel broken off from the ground, looked at it for two seconds, and threw it into the corner.

He pulled another pistol—a Glock 17—from the spare holster on his leg.

I checked the chamber.

Full.

He wasn't targeting anyone.

He simply holstered his gun and then limped after the two men in front of him.

He didn't speak.

But he caught up.

This is enough.