The cacophony of gunfire echoed faintly above, muffled by layers of crumbling concrete and warped steel. Sienna Wolfe descended the rusted service ladder, the chill of the subterranean air biting at her exposed arms. Below, the darkness seemed alive, pulsing with the faint glow of emergency lights and the guttural moans of the undead.
Her system interface blinked to life, projecting a faint amber glow across the damp walls.
SYSTEM OBJECTIVE: INVESTIGATE THE SUBTERRANEAN TUNNELS.
BONUS: AVOID DETECTION. REWARD: MODULAR GRIP (HANDGUN).
She scanned her inventory, checking her resources. The suppressor on her Glock was a recent acquisition, but it wouldn't last forever. Her ammo reserves were dangerously low—four rounds in the chamber, ten in her pouch. The jagged combat knife strapped to her thigh offered little reassurance.
With a deep breath, Sienna crept forward, the faint sound of dripping water her only companion.
The tunnels were a labyrinth of twisting pathways and forgotten maintenance routes, the air thick with the smell of mildew and decay. Sienna's steps were deliberate, her boots barely brushing the ground. Her system pinged softly:
TIP: ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAN BE USED TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. STUDY YOUR SURROUNDINGS.
Her sharp eyes scanned the dim corridor. Rusted pipes lined the walls, some leaking a viscous, oily substance. A loose valve jutted out, its potential as a makeshift weapon not lost on her.
The first challenge presented itself in the form of an undead worker slumped against a control panel. Its head jerked upward as she approached, milky eyes locking onto her. With a wet growl, it lunged.
Sienna sidestepped, her movements fluid and efficient. She drove her knife into its temple, the blade crunching through bone. She caught the body as it collapsed, lowering it gently to the ground to avoid noise.
Her system rewarded her with a soft chime:
STEALTH KILL BONUS: +10 XP.
She grimaced at the notification. "You make this sound like a game," she muttered.
Further down the corridor, the oppressive silence was shattered by a distant, inhuman screech. Sienna froze, her pulse quickening. She recognized that sound—a Hunter.
The system's interface highlighted a red dot on her HUD, marking the creature's location. It moved erratically, its speed and ferocity making it a nightmare to predict.
NEW THREAT DETECTED: HUNTER BETA. THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME.
Sienna pressed her back against the wall, the cold metal biting through her thin jacket. She peeked around the corner and spotted the creature. Its sinewy body shimmered with a sickly green sheen under the flickering lights, its claws glinting like daggers.
The Hunter sniffed the air, its head swiveling unnaturally as it searched for prey.
Sienna's system pinged:
TIP: DISTRACTIONS CAN DIVERT ENEMY ATTENTION. USE CAUTION.
She scanned the corridor, her gaze landing on a cluster of broken pipes leaking gas. An idea formed.
Carefully, she unscrewed the loose valve she'd pocketed earlier and tossed it toward the pipes. The resulting clang echoed through the tunnel, drawing the Hunter's attention. It screeched and pounced on the noise, slashing at the empty air.
Sienna moved quickly, slipping past the creature and into an adjacent maintenance room. She closed the door as silently as possible, her heart pounding in her chest.
The maintenance room was a stark contrast to the tunnels—a sterile environment littered with discarded documents and broken equipment. A single monitor flickered on a desk, casting an eerie glow.
Sienna approached cautiously, her knife ready. The monitor displayed a string of corrupted files, but one stood out:
PROJECT WOLF: SUBJECT 37 ACTIVATION.
Her system pinged with a new objective:
INVESTIGATE PROJECT WOLF. REWARD: UPGRADED INVENTORY CAPACITY.
She inserted a portable drive she'd scavenged earlier into the terminal, transferring the file. A progress bar crawled across the screen as distant footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Her grip tightened on her Glock as she listened. The steps were measured, deliberate—not the aimless shuffling of zombies. She risked a glance through the cracked glass panel on the door.
An Umbrella operative, clad in tactical gear and wielding an assault rifle, scanned the corridor with military precision.
Her system chimed:
NEW THREAT DETECTED: UMBRELLA OPERATIVE.
She weighed her options. A direct confrontation would be suicide with her limited ammo, but evasion seemed equally risky. Her gaze flicked to the room's ventilation grate.
Sienna unscrewed the grate, slipping into the cramped vent as the footsteps grew louder. The metal creaked beneath her weight, every movement a test of her patience. She crawled forward, the dim light barely illuminating the path ahead.
Below, she caught glimpses of the operative through the slats. He moved methodically, clearing each room with precision.
The vent opened into another corridor, but as she emerged, her system flared red.
NEW THREAT DETECTED: HUNTER BETA IN PROXIMITY.
The screech of the creature echoed again, this time closer. Sienna cursed under her breath. Between the operative and the Hunter, her chances of survival dwindled by the second.
An idea sparked. She retrieved a stun grenade from her inventory—a rare find she'd been saving for emergencies.
Timing her movements carefully, she lobbed the grenade into the corridor. The ensuing burst of light and sound disoriented both the Hunter and the operative. Sienna sprinted past them, her boots barely touching the ground as she made her escape.
Her flight brought her to a heavy, reinforced door. The terminal beside it required a keycard she didn't have, but her system offered a workaround:
HACK TERMINAL. TIME REQUIRED: 60 SECONDS.
Sienna began the process, her eyes darting between the progress bar and the corridor she'd just fled. The faint growls of the Hunter grew louder, joined by the distant shouts of the operative rallying his team.
She readied her Glock, positioning herself between the terminal and the approaching threats.
The first to arrive was the operative, his rifle raised. Sienna fired, the suppressor muffling the shots. Two rounds hit his chest, but his body armor absorbed the impact. He returned fire, forcing her to dive behind a console.
The Hunter arrived moments later, its screech piercing the air. It attacked the operative first, claws rending through flesh and armor. Sienna used the distraction to her advantage, emptying her remaining rounds into the creature's head.
The Hunter fell, its body twitching as it succumbed to its wounds.
ENEMY DEFEATED: HUNTER BETA. XP GAINED: +200.
The terminal beeped, the door unlocking with a hiss. Sienna wasted no time slipping inside.
The room was a small lab, its walls lined with monitors displaying surveillance footage of the city above. Files cluttered the desk, detailing experiments and field tests conducted by Umbrella.
One document caught her eye:
PROJECT WOLF: ASSET RETRIEVAL INITIATIVE.
It outlined Umbrella's plan to abduct skilled individuals and subject them to a simulated survival scenario to evaluate their combat effectiveness. The files confirmed her suspicions—her arrival in Raccoon City was no accident.
Her system chimed again:
MAIN OBJECTIVE UPDATED: UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND PROJECT WOLF.
The sound of heavy boots echoed in the hallway. Sienna grabbed the most critical files and stuffed them into her pouch. It was time to leave.
Her escape route brought her to a drainage canal, the foul stench nearly overwhelming. The faint hum of a generator caught her attention. She followed the sound to find a small motorboat, its engine barely functional but serviceable.
The system marked her next objective:
ESCAPE THE TUNNELS. REWARD: HIGH-POWERED OPTIC (RIFLE).
She worked quickly, siphoning fuel from nearby barrels to power the boat. The sound of growls and footsteps grew closer, an unholy chorus of undead and Umbrella forces closing in.
As the boat sputtered to life, a final obstacle appeared: another Hunter, leaping down from an overhead platform.
Sienna drew her knife, her body moving on instinct. The fight was brutal—slashes and counterattacks in a deadly dance. Finally, she drove the blade into the base of its skull, collapsing the creature.
With no time to spare, she leapt into the boat and throttled the engine. The echoes of her pursuers faded as she disappeared into the darkness.