MTLNOVEL Chapter 15: Chapter 015 - Umbrella Desert Facility
Half a month had passed since the world ended.
In that short span of time, nearly every nation on Earth had fallen, leaving only a handful of survivors scattered across the Americas.
Under Creed's command, the military managed to rescue approximately 3.6 billion lives—covering almost the entire expanse of Europe and Asia.
Because Umbrella Corporation had focused the bulk of its operations on the American continent, it had largely ignored Europe. Besides, the Adeptus Mechanicus had developed a disruption device capable of evading Umbrella's satellite surveillance, allowing troops to move without detection.
About a week ago, Umbrella Corporation resurfaced.
They began actively hunting down any survivors within the Americas. As long as there were humans left breathing, Umbrella would pursue them—if only to use them in the next round of horrifying experiments.
Umbrella's branches in Europe and Asia had attempted a resurgence, but they were swiftly obliterated by Creed's forces and the Cadian Shock Troopers. Umbrella hadn't expected any significant resistance in those regions. Unfortunately for them, they failed to report back to Umbrella's central command in America—every communication line had already been severed. Lost and directionless, these branches acted on their own initiative: deploying Nemesis prototypes, Lickers, and clone soldiers.
The result?
Total annihilation.
As retaliation, Creed launched a counteroffensive.
He deployed elite Kasrkin units to burn every Umbrella facility to the ground—leaving nothing behind.
Meanwhile, a special operations unit led by Alice—composed of former U.S. military personnel recruited from among the survivors—successfully evacuated a small number of civilians from the few cities still standing. But their numbers were tragically low.
It had taken more than two weeks just to save 30,000 people.
That number painted a bleak picture: the surviving population in the Americas was teetering on the edge of extinction.
Thankfully, the Earth hadn't completely turned into a desolate wasteland like something out of a Resident Evil film.
There was still green.
Still hope.
Perhaps Reuel's arrival had inadvertently accelerated the spread of Umbrella's virus, making every moment feel more urgent.
If the T-virus could be contained or neutralized, perhaps Earth could still be saved—or at the very least, preserved from utter silence. From the billions that once walked its surface, now only a handful remained… and most of them were in the Americas.
---
"Brother, another aircraft has been launched from Umbrella's base in Las Vegas," reported the Red Queen, her hologram appearing from Reuel's wristwatch.
"Oh? Any sign of more survivors, Red Queen? Where's Alice now?"
"Nurse Alice is leading the special operations unit in a search-and-rescue mission in Henderson City."
"Tell her to return. Let her know there's an urgent mission she needs to lead."
"Understood, Brother."
Alice is the main character in this world.
Every day, a few saints—the survivors hailed as symbols of hope—lead their troops to rescue anyone still alive. But Alice is different.
She doesn't save people blindly.
Alice knows that in a world that has already fallen, kindness can't be handed out unconditionally. She wouldn't hesitate to raise a weapon against criminals. The number of criminals who've died by her hand is already in the double digits. And it's not out of anger—it's out of choice.
---
"Red Queen, still no sign of activity from Raccoon City? In the underground facility—The Hive?" Alice asked, her gaze sharp as it fixed on the floating holographic projection from her wrist.
"I don't know, Sister," Red Queen replied calmly. Her voice was flat, emotionless, but honest.
"But I suspect they've already reached it. Umbrella has shielding technology against satellite detection. If they move at night and use that tech, I won't be able to track them."
"Still can't breach the Hive's system?"
"No. It's a closed intranet. I've tried several times, but failed. Unless someone physically brings my subroutines into the facility, I won't be able to break in."
Alice exhaled slowly, then turned her eyes back to the digital map displaying the western United States.
"In that case, forget the Hive for now. Focus surveillance on their base in Las Vegas. We'll take that one first."
A pause followed, until Reuel asked quietly,
"By the way, why don't you ask for help from those red-robed Mechanicus guys I mentioned yesterday?"
"No. I don't want to," Red Queen answered quickly, her voice almost resembling emotional rejection.
"They're scary. I've calculated several possibilities—if I ask for their help, the consequences could be bad."
Reuel fell silent. He understood what Red Queen meant. The Tech-Priests from the Adeptus Mechanicus worship an entity they call the Omnissiah, or the Machine God. If they knew Red Queen was a form of pure artificial intelligence—unsanctified and unblessed by their doctrine—their reaction could be… extreme.
Most likely, they would see Red Queen as heretical tech. A blasphemy.
Besides, the Tech-Priests had only been in this world for four months—far too early to involve them in any operation dealing with digital entities like Red Queen.
---
That night, Alice returned from her mission.
Her steps were steady, her face serious, filled with resolve. She went straight to the villa's living room where Reuel was. There were no greetings—both of them knew time was too precious to waste on empty formalities.
"What are you preparing, Reuel?"
she asked bluntly, not slowing her stride.
"Tomorrow, we're going to attack Umbrella's base in Las Vegas. We're going to destroy it,"
Reuel replied calmly, like he was announcing a routine plan.
"The base in Las Vegas? That's where Dr. Isaacs is—the one you told me about?"
Alice's eyes hardened, an old fire flickering behind them.
"Yes. That's the clone I mentioned,"
Reuel nodded. His voice was deep, resolute. No hesitation.
Alice smiled—a thin, meaningful smile. Not warm, not friendly—just filled with vengeance.
"Good. I'll take a few people with me. I've been waiting a long time to kill someone from Umbrella."
"My beloved wife,"
Reuel murmured, wrapping one arm around Alice's waist,
"we need to prepare this carefully."
Alice turned to him, her voice cold like metal scraped against ice.
"If there's still something left to discuss, we might as well just kill the bastard now."
"Don't be reckless, Alice. Every one of their bases is rigged with an auto-destruct system,"
Reuel warned. His tone wasn't loud, but it was enough to douse the fire inside Alice.
"I know. I'm just talking,"
Alice replied with a thin smile, her eyes staring deep.
"Don't take it too seriously."
Her tone shifted—more strategic now.
"What's the defense like at the desert base in Las Vegas? How many of them are there?"
"No exact numbers yet,"
Reuel replied.
"But I'm coming with you tomorrow. There's a research facility and a small cloning factory there. The defenses are tight. We can't rush in blind."
"Pick two elite squads to come with us,"
he continued.
Alice nodded. As the commander of a special operations unit, she led a thousand former American soldiers recruited from the best survivors. She knew exactly who she could count on.
"Alright. I'll start prepping them now,"
she said, then turned away—her gaze already seeing the blood that would be spilled the next day.
---
A gray sky welcomed their mission. Reuel and his forces boarded two Black Hawk helicopters, escorted by two Apache attack helicopters for air cover.
"We'll use gear from this world only,"
Reuel had said earlier.
"The Vendetta Heavy Gunship is too big and too conspicuous."
Ruined cities stretched out below them. Collapsed buildings, cars scattered like metal corpses across the roads, some still smoking. Amid the rubble, zombies wandered, swarming like ants that had lost their nest. The atmosphere was suffocating—even the hardened American soldiers felt chills on their scalps for no clear reason.
An hour later, Red Queen's voice echoed through the intercom:
"We're approaching the target zone."
Reuel looked down from the side of the helicopter. In the middle of the Las Vegas desert stood a small wooden house—it looked ordinary, almost like something out of an old cowboy movie. But Reuel knew better.
The house was surrounded by tall barbed-wire fencing on all sides. Outside the fence, black-skinned zombies howled, like guardians of a hidden little hell.
"Everyone, get ready,"
Reuel gripped the comm radio.
"Apache, clear the outer perimeter. Black Hawk, prep for landing."
The whir of Apache rotors roared. Seconds later, the first missile hit the zombie horde, scattering limbs in every direction.
---

At the same time, sirens blared throughout the underground Umbrella facility in the Las Vegas desert.
Emergency lights flashed red, turning sterile white corridors into hellish hallways filled with shadows.
"What's going on?"
Dr. Isaacs snapped, stopping his work and staring at the control screens.
A security officer ran into the room, panting.
"Doctor, we've detected intruders on the outer perimeter. Armed contact underway—we're exchanging fire."
Isaacs furrowed his brow, his face a mix of fury and shock.
"How the hell did they know our entry point? Wasn't the cloaking system active?! What the fuck have you all been doing?!"
"Sorry, Doctor,"
the officer lowered his head.
"We didn't detect any anomalies before. Maybe… maybe they slipped in without satellite detection—they could've been hiding in a blind spot."
Isaacs exhaled sharply, then gritted his teeth.
"Prepare a counterattack. Activate all automated defense units, and call for backup from other branches immediately. Deploy the Licker, Nemesis—anyone available. Don't let them get any further!"
"Right away, Doctor!"
The officer ran off, rushing to the tactical room.
Isaacs turned and walked quickly toward the lab.
---
After the Apache attack helicopters obliterated the Umbrella operatives hiding around the wooden house, two Black Hawk helicopters landed. The American special operations team immediately disembarked and established a defensive perimeter around the landing zone.
As soon as Reuel and Alice stepped off the helicopter, Reuel issued a sharp command.
"One team stays outside. The other comes with me."
The troops moved quickly, following orders with precision. Reuel led the way toward the old cabin in the middle of the desert. Upon reaching the door, he kicked it open hard, and the elite team swept the first room with weapons raised.
The house's interior looked like a typical family home, though it had clearly been abandoned for a long time. A rickety dining table stood in the center of the room, covered in dust. As Reuel approached, the table suddenly split in half automatically, revealing a hidden lift platform large enough to fit a full squad.
Without hesitation, Reuel and his team stepped inside. The lift began descending slowly. They stared downward, into a shaft that seemed endless.
"Umbrella is good at one thing," Reuel muttered. "They always know how to burn money."
The lift was nearing the bottom. Reuel turned to Alice.
"Get ready. And watch your back, Alice."
Alice glanced at him with a half-smile.
"I know. But maybe you should worry about your own first."
As soon as the lift doors opened, gunfire erupted from both sides. But Reuel's team was ready. Before the Umbrella guards at the door could even pull their triggers, Reuel and Alice dropped them with precision shots.
Black-clad bodies collapsed at the lift entrance, blood splattering into erratic patterns across the metallic floor.
Outside, a long corridor stretched toward the main laboratory. A dozen other guards already lay dead, taken out by the advance unit that had swept through the facility earlier.
Reuel didn't show the slightest emotion. Killing had long become a part of his routine—and he'd stopped keeping count ages ago.
---
Elsewhere, in the underground facility's central control room, alarms wailed. Dr. Isaacs turned sharply as the emergency phone rang.
He picked it up.
"Yes?"
"Dr. Isaacs, they've breached the facility. We can't send any emergency transmissions. All comms—completely down." The voice on the other end was panicked.
They hadn't realized yet that Red Queen, the artificial intelligence, had seized control of the global satellite systems. Their communications had been severed hours ago.
"What? How the hell did the satellite signal get cut?"
"No transmission can get through. And our forces... they can't hold them back."
Dr. Isaacs clenched his fists, fury blazing in his eyes.
"Impossible... This must be internal sabotage…"
He turned toward the control panel.
"White Queen! Open all experimental rooms in Area A! Release all the zombie specimens!"
A calm yet firm voice responded through the system:
"Dr. Isaacs, I do not advise that course of action."
"Open them. That's a direct order!" Isaacs barked, his voice cracking slightly, rattled by the gunfire that was growing louder from the outer corridors.
"...Understood, Dr. Isaacs," White Queen finally replied, submitting to her superior's will.
On the monitors, the security locks turned green one by one. Steel doors slid open. And from the darkness, starving creatures began to crawl out...
---
Meanwhile, Reuel and his team continued advancing through the underground facility's corridor. Alice was at the front, like death's own shadow. With weapons in both hands, she fired relentlessly. Her movements were swift, precise, and deadly. She even changed magazines in one fluid motion without slowing down for even a second. In an instant, she had become a Valkyrie in the heart of man-made hell.
Suddenly, from behind a steel door bearing the Umbrella insignia, came a chorus of screams. Male and female voices overlapped—muffled, but full of panic. Something was terribly wrong in there.
"Careful," Reuel called out, raising his weapon. The entire team stopped and took position.
Gunfire and bloodcurdling screams echoed from behind the steel door.
"Bang! Bang! RATATATATAT! BRAKKA-BRAKKA!"
"AAAAHHH! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!"
Then...
"BOOM!"
The steel door shook violently.
From behind it, a massive horde of zombies in white lab coats burst through. Their eyes were vacant, their bodies moved in wild spasms, and their howls pierced the air like sirens of the damned.
"Experimental zombies..." Reuel muttered, his face hardening. "Umbrella really has no soul."
Alice stepped forward, cold and unflinching.
"Fire."
A hail of bullets was unleashed. The first wave of zombies dropped instantly, but more came pouring in from behind—climbing over the corpses of the fallen.
Alice swung her leg, kicking a zombie backward, then holstered her weapons and drew a combat knife from her belt. Her body moved with agile precision, slicing down one zombie after another. She spun, stabbed, dodged, and slashed again. Wherever she moved, zombies fell like wheat before the sickle.
The special forces covered her from behind, firing at any undead that got too close from the flanks.
"RATATATATAT! BRAKKA-BRAKKA!"
Seeing Alice surrounded, Reuel couldn't hold back. He drew his own blade and charged into the fight, cutting down zombies alongside her. They fought side by side, like two parts of a perfectly synchronized war machine.
Minutes later, the corridor fell silent again—all the zombies lay dead.
"Move out," Reuel ordered, and the team continued forward, leaving behind a blood-soaked hallway littered with limbs and the stench of death.
---
In the main control room, Dr. Isaacs watched the chaos unfold on the monitors. His eyes widened. The zombies—even his prized bioweapons—weren't enough to stop them.
He stood still for a moment, then slammed the control table in frustration, cracking it. He marched toward a refrigeration unit at the back of the room. Opening it, he pulled out a vial filled with a bluish liquid—pure T-virus serum.
Without hesitation, he rolled up his sleeve and injected the serum directly into his vein.
"Crkkk—pop!"
His body convulsed violently.
"AAARRRGHH!! MY BONES...!! AAAAAAARGHHH!!"
He collapsed to the ground, writhing, his body mutating. Muscles bulged grotesquely, bones stretched, skin tore, and his skull distorted beyond recognition. Within moments, Dr. Isaacs was no longer something that could be called human.
The monster had risen.
---
Elsewhere, Reuel and his team finally reached the control center. The room was filled with corpses—both zombies and researchers who hadn't died clean.
"Watch for any movement. Make sure nothing is still alive—or comes back," Reuel said.
"Yes, sir," replied one of the soldiers, immediately sweeping the perimeter.
Reuel walked toward the main console. He knew if there was any way to locate Isaacs, it would be through this system. He tapped several panels—and suddenly, a soft voice came through the speaker.
"Apologies... I didn't mean to startle you," said a female voice.
The room filled with white light, and a small holographic girl appeared in the center. Her face was sweet, but her expression remained neutral.
The American soldiers instinctively raised their weapons, startled and alert.
"Stand down," Reuel said quietly,
The holographic girl looked at Reuel.
"Welcome, sir. If you are looking for Dr. Isaacs, I know where he is. But I'm afraid... he is no longer human."