Chapter 17 : Umbrella Corporation’s Top Secret!

The girl anxiously slapped Li Yiming’s cheeks.

She didn’t go through all that trouble just to save a corpse!

When her calls went unanswered, she immediately reached for Li Yiming’s neck to check his pulse.

But what she felt shocked her!

Although Li Yiming’s breathing was weak and he was unconscious,his pulse was extremely strong!

Feeling the powerful rhythm of his heartbeat, the girl couldn’t detect any of the usual frailty that should’ve come with such a state.

She looked toward his wounds.

White steam was rising from them.

Incredibly, they had already stopped bleeding on their own!

Seeing this, the girl’s expression instantly turned serious.

“This guy… don’t tell me he injected the T-virus?”

Her brows furrowed in concern.

Without caring about potentially causing further injury, she slipped her hands under Li Yiming’s armpits and dragged him into the laboratory in the back.

…

Li Yiming’s consciousness had fallen into chaos.

Countless fragmented memories flashed through his mind.

After what felt like an eternity, he slowly opened his eyes within a dream.

What he saw—

Was his familiar bedroom.

In his dazed state, Li Yiming didn’t realize this was a dream.

He silently got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.

He wanted to use cold water to snap out of his hazy thoughts.

Standing in front of the mirror, he looked at his own exhausted reflection and sighed deeply.

Li Yiming turned on the faucet.

Ice-cold water gushed from it.

He reached out to catch some, then splashed it onto his face.

Water droplets scattered.

But the water in the sink… was gradually turning blood red.

What the hell!?

Li Yiming’s eyes widened. 

He snapped his head up—

Only to see a massive, gaping wound in the middle of his face in the mirror.

And not just that—

His features were rapidly rotting away.

In mere moments, the reflection in the mirror turned into a grotesque, zombified version of himself!

The nauseating image of that corpse-like body made Li Yiming recoil in horror!

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Terrified by the image in the mirror, he stumbled backward.

In disbelief, he touched his decaying face, overcome with despair.

Wait—the serum! 

The antivirus serum!

If he used the antivirus serum, he wouldn’t turn into a zombie!

Li Yiming began frantically patting down his pockets in panic.

But then—

He caught a glimpse of his still-intact left arm.

And suddenly froze in place.

The antivirus serum… hadn’t it been pulled off along with his left arm by the Licker!?

A deep, soul-crushing despair crept through every inch of Li Yiming’s body.

At the same time, a cold, mechanical female voice began delivering his death sentence in the dream.

Just as the dream began collapsing around him—

Li Yiming let out a sharp gasp and finally broke free from the nightmare.

He panted heavily, his eyes wide with fear and helplessness as he looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Where… where am I?

Confusion filled Li Yiming’s heart.

He was lying on a hospital bed.

The decor and lighting around him were cast in a cold, sterile tone.

It all looked eerily similar to the kind of laboratories you’d see in movies or comics.

As Li Yiming lay there, trying to get his bearings—

A familiar female voice sounded from beside him.

“You’re awake?”

The girl stood with her hands tucked into the pockets of her lab coat, looking at him with an indifferent expression.

Her coat was immaculately clean, clearly a fresh change of clothes.

Around her neck hung the same ID badge she’d used earlier to unlock the door.

“Your name’s… Christine?”

Li Yiming read the name printed on the badge.

And the moment he got her name—

He immediately recalled who she was.

She had appeared in the comic , but only in a handful of panels.

She was a minor antagonist, barely relevant to the main plot.

No wonder he had trouble remembering her at first.

Li Yiming scratched his head in frustration.

But the moment Christine heard him read her name out loud, her expression darkened.

“Who said you could read my badge?”

She scowled and yanked the ID from around her neck, stuffing it into her lab coat pocket.

“…Didn’t you wear it around your neck so people could see it?”

Li Yiming muttered, speechless.

He shook his head, his mind now clearer than before.

Just as he attempted to sit up—

He heard the clink of metal.

His right hand had been cuffed to the bed!

“What the hell is this?”

Li Yiming chuckled bitterly, raising his arm and giving the chain a shake.

Naturally, he directed his question toward the girl who had saved him—Christine.

“Hmph~”

Christine snorted.

She raised a finger and pointed at Li Yiming’s fully regenerated left arm.

“You injected yourself with raw T-virus, didn’t you?”

Li Yiming followed her gaze and looked down at his left arm.

Not only had his severed limb completely regenerated, but the skin on it was smoother and more delicate than ever—like that of a newborn.

There was no way he could hide the truth from Christine now.

So he simply nodded and admitted it outright.

Upon hearing his frank admission, Christine’s face instantly changed.

“Hey! Are you an idiot!?”

“No, even an idiot wouldn’t inject that stuff…”

“Do you even realize what it means to inject yourself with the T-virus?!”

She pressed her hand to her forehead and began pacing anxiously in front of his bed.

It was obvious she was deeply agitated.

But lying on the bed, Li Yiming’s expression was calm.

“Of course I know.”

“After injecting the T-virus, it begins to enhance the human body.”

“As long as you inject the antivirus serum within one hour, preventing the virus from fully merging with your system—”

“You gain superhuman strength, and maybe even awaken powers.”

“Isn’t that exactly why your Umbrella Corporation researched the T-virus in the first place?”

Li Yiming recited the setting of the comic with a calm, steady voice.

But Christine’s face turned cold as she listened.

How does this boy know all of this?

This information was top-secret within Umbrella Corporation!

Even most of the employees inside the organization didn’t know the true purpose of the T-virus.

Christine was certain—

Even the United Government, which had long coveted the T-virus, probably had no idea of its actual function!

Who the hell is this guy?

How does he know such classified information about Umbrella!?

Christine furrowed her brow, and began carefully scrutinizing the young man chained to the bed—Li Yiming.