The
Licker β, or
Licker Beta was the resulting creature when TRICELL decided to build upon the research data from Umbrella Corporation and develop a newer, experimental version of the
Licker, which was an unexpected evolution after certain humans infected with the
t-Virus (Zombies) entered a process after a period of time of inactivity (whether that be from damage or starvation) has elapsed where they would transform into the beast, a process later known as V-ACT.
The reason TRICELL decided to take another swing at it as that the
Licker was a formidable creature, but it was uncontrolled and difficult to determine whether a
Zombie entering the V-ACT process would even become a
Licker, as some became Crimson Heads. The first batch were created by injecting a standard
Licker with the Progenitor virus (an early Umbrella virus). A mutation occurred where the creature grew in size and became more muscular - a side effect of this was that they also became more vascular and as such, their hearts were exposed (a common weakness in advanced
t-Virus B.O.W.s). Otherwise, they retained the same agility and abilities as the regular model, such as being able to walk along any surface and use their prehensile tongues as weapons.
Most importantly, the
Licker β was capable of reproduction at a fairly fast rate. Therefore, they no longer needed to be created in a lab - theoretically an unlimited stream of revenue for TRICELL who were banking on selling them as a mass-produced B.O.W..
Interestingly, TRICELL also explored using the
Plaga parasite with them as there were variants which had been implanted with the experimental Type 4
Plaga - and all those with the parasite could be controlled by anybody hosting a Dominant Species
Plaga.
TRICELL later abandoned development of the creature, deeming it not strong enough to be used for mass-production.
