With a hint of dissatisfaction, the figure behind slowly walked out and spoke. It was a middle-aged man in his thirties, with golden slicked-back hair, an extremely stern face, a red breathable T-shirt, and a lightweight vest filled with various small knives and daggers. His chest muscles were well-defined, and his limbs were incredibly thick and strong, full of power.
This person was Leon's instructor during his special agent training with the United States Government, and also his partner for the Javier operation in the Amazon Rainforest of South America.
Jack Krauser—
Born in Los Angeles, USA in 1971, he served in the Red Berets in 1993. He was a very powerful and brave special forces king, extremely decisive in action, with vast practical experience, easily adapting to any environment. Krauser himself had a special fondness for daggers and was an expert in that area. In close-quarters combat with knives, it was likely that few could surpass him.
Krauser was in the Amazon Rainforest of South America as Leon's partner for this mission. Although their identities changed quickly, Krauser showed no dissatisfaction, as it was an order from above.
From beginning to end,
He had always worked for the United States Government.
Therefore, Krauser, as an instructor, didn't mind partnering with Leon, his former student. However... Leon's extremely unvigilant behavior just now made Krauser extremely displeased. He hated that a student he had trained would make such a serious mistake.
At the same time, this also indicated that his training methods were not as perfect as he imagined. Therefore... Krauser was very angry about Leon's performance, which was why he questioned him in an incredibly muffled and hoarse voice.
However,
Compared to Krauser's anger,
Leon, who was in front, spoke indifferently, as if it didn't matter:
"Hey, don't be angry, Major,"
"I noticed the venomous snake just now; I just trusted you to handle it for me. After all, as partners, we should trust each other, shouldn't we? What's more… we're no longer instructor and student. I graduated a year ago."
Shrugging his shoulders,
Leon turned around and replied. Compared to his time as an intern police officer in Raccoon City four years ago, Leon now had much less naivety and a bit more shrewdness. Years of arduous training had also suppressed his inner self, pushing him further down the path of cunning.
He could casually utter a few words to annoy others. Without a doubt, this current point in time was when Leon was at his most carefree.
"Hmph…"
Seeing this,
Krauser didn't say anything more. He just snorted, took out his water bottle, took a big gulp, then threw it to Leon and strode forward on his own.
"This godforsaken place isn't somewhere people should be."
"Remember to always watch your step. You can be confident or arrogant, none of that matters, but don't get bitten by these venomous snakes or insects. I don't have any antidote serum on me, because by then, those things won't save you. The only thing that can save you is your constantly vigilant and calm mind!"
Pushing aside the vines blocking his way,
Krauser was still teaching Leon in his capacity as an instructor. It was just that because he wasn't good at showing a kind expression, he appeared so fierce and spoke in a way that contradicted his true feelings. Strictness... sometimes, it was also a very good mask.
"Yes, Major!"
Leon responded with a faint smile.
Although he had a carefree personality, Leon actually valued his life more than anyone else, so he didn't need anyone to remind him. Leon always maintained a high level of vigilance internally. Those words just now,
Were just to break the boring atmosphere. After all, teasing the serious-faced Krauser was a very interesting thing, wasn't it?
At this moment,
The distance between Leon and Krauser and the village downstream of the Amazon Rainforest was actually not far; they were only a few kilometers away from reaching it.
However,
What neither of them expected was that the indigenous village in the Amazon Rainforest had already undergone a major change because Javier Hidalgo, the notorious drug lord, was furious that his beloved daughter had run away!
Everyone was implicated; the drug dealer guards were injected with the T-Virus and turned into zombies.
Viya, the private doctor, was not directly killed by Javier Hidalgo because he was still somewhat useful.
After all, Manuela still needed an organ transplant. Javier Hidalgo merely gave him a severe beating before locking him up in a dark, sunless dungeon again.
In addition,
His daughter Manuela's escape,
Once again made Javier Hidalgo point his finger at the Amazon natives downstream. He believed that the villagers had incited his daughter, causing her to flee from him. Coupled with the fact that his wife and daughter's illnesses were due to local endemic diseases,
This made Javier Hidalgo even more unable to contain his rage. He directly released the T-Virus into the downstream village, causing a large number of villagers to become infected and mutate into zombies, starting a large-scale destruction and infection.
At the same time, Javier Hidalgo also sent his wife, Hilda, who had mutated into a monster, to kill the villagers there, to prevent any survivors from escaping.
In short,
His daughter Manuela's escape made Javier Hidalgo incredibly furious. This was his only weak point; after all, his wife had become a monster, and he could no longer allow his daughter to die. Therefore, Javier Hidalgo would do everything to find Manuela, and no one could stop him…!
…
On the other side,
In the downstream village of the Amazon Rainforest,
This village was built along the banks of the Amazon River, a very unique floating village. Many houses floated on the water, like boats, secured by thick tree stumps driven into the riverbed and firmly tied with ropes, like anchors.
This way, even if the Amazon Rainforest entered the rainy season and the water level began to rise, their village would not be submerged, which was a very clever method.
And the village was close to the lake,
Not only were water resources abundant, but a large amount of fish could also be caught below, which was one of the means of survival for the indigenous people of the Amazon Rainforest.
However,
At this moment, the village appeared unusually silent.
There was no sign of anyone at all. Numerous wooden boats floated on the lake, drifting with the current. The air was filled with a faint smell of blood and foul odor. It was unknown what had happened here, or why there was no one in sight.
"Dada da…"
"Hoo…"
Just then,
A pure white, sacred figure slowly emerged from the rainforest. She ran barefoot into the village, wearing only a thin, pure white slip dress. The hem of her dress even had bloodstains and looked torn, and her right arm was bandaged.
The girl's face was pale and tired, and her grey-blue eyes occasionally glanced backward, as if she was wary of being followed.
The person who arrived was Javier Hidalgo's most beloved daughter,
Manuela Hidalgo—
Three days ago,
She escaped from a secret passage in the large dam, but her father, Javier Hidalgo, quickly discovered her escape and sent people to chase her. Manuela, with her weak body, maneuvered through the rainforest for a long time, barely managing to escape the encirclement.
Therefore, Manuela was now very afraid that the pursuers would catch up, which was why she appeared so cautious.
She couldn't be captured by her father's drug dealer subordinates again.
She also couldn't continue with the organ transplant surgery.
She didn't want to cause the death of more innocent people.
But Manuela didn't know that her actions had actually caused the death of even more people, because the indigenous village she had just arrived at was already deserted; they had all been slaughtered by her mother, Hilda, who had mutated into a monster…!
Chapter 8: A Series of Handsome Moves
If,
Manuela had obediently listened to her father, Javier Hidalgo, and not run away on her own, calmly accepting surgical treatment, then only about a hundred girls her age would have died.
But now that she had escaped,
The drug lord Javier Hidalgo was enraged, and in his fury, he directly massacred all the indigenous villages near Colombia in the Amazon Rainforest, leading to the deaths of hundreds, even thousands of people. Without a doubt, this price was far more tragic.
But should Manuela be entirely blamed…?
Without a doubt, no, because the real mistake was her father, Javier Hidalgo, not her kind self.
Manuela simply made the right choice. On the contrary, even if Manuela hadn't run away, Javier Hidalgo, who had already fallen into depravity, would still continue to kill.
Because he had become infatuated with the power of Bio-weapon viruses.
He was not only helping Manuela with her illness but also expanding his own ambition. The power of the virus could dominate everything, gradually making him feel other authorities that his drug lord identity did not possess, which was the forbidden thrill of dominating life.
He could infect and mutate those drug dealer subordinates into zombies, and he also privately created a large number of inhuman Bio-weapons, BOWs. Javier Hidalgo even privately kept a V-Complex, a combination of plants and the T-Veronica Virus, in the Amazon Rainforest—!
These things made his ambition swell inexplicably.
Like other virus-infected entities,
After gaining power, he believed himself to be a creator who could dominate everything. Therefore... even if Manuela hadn't run away, the indigenous people of the Amazon Rainforest might not have been spared.
…
"Hoo… hoo hoo…"
Breathing heavily,
Manuela's slender figure paused slightly. Her bandaged right hand leaned against a nearby tree as she stopped to rest and regain her strength. A stinging pain came from her clean bare feet. Manuela looked at her unblemished soles, which were now covered in bloodstains.
This was the result of her three days and three nights
Of fleeing through the Amazon Rainforest.
Numerous thorns and sharp wild grasses mercilessly cut her fragile and tender skin. There were long scratches on her thighs and calves, and the soles of her bare feet suffered even more severe damage. Fortunately, she frequently cleaned them and hastily applied herbal remedies, otherwise, they would have been festering by now.
And her father's drug dealer subordinates were in close pursuit,
Plus, she hadn't eaten for several days, so in desperation, Manuela risked coming to the downstream village. She planned to find something to eat there, then secretly take the villagers' fishing boats and escape downstream by water. That way… she should be able to quickly shake off her pursuers.
However—
She reached out and touched her chest. Her heart rate was very slow, barely a faint beat. Manuela understood… this was a sign that her heart was failing. She didn't know how much longer her body could hold on, but Manuela still wanted to go further.
"But then again…"
"Why is the village so quiet? Wasn't it always very lively? How can there be no one in sight?"
After resting for a while,
Manuela felt she had recovered enough, so she quietly walked towards the village. But when she found no one in sight, a hint of unease couldn't help but rise in her heart. A deathly silence permeated the air.
She had a bad feeling.
Perhaps… her father's drug dealer subordinates had already arrived at the village first?
Thinking of this,
Manuela's face changed. She casually picked up a fishing spear placed outside a village house and, with a resolute figure, walked towards a house with a bloody smell. It was a blue tin house, and the half-hanging wooden door was covered with bloody handprints. There seemed to be a slight movement inside?
"Gulp…"
Swallowing slightly,
The slender girl Manuela took a deep breath, gripped the fishing spear in her hand, gathered her courage, and immediately reached out to pull the half-hanging wooden door.
"Creak… creak…"
The harsh, grating sound of the wooden door came.
As sunlight streamed into the house, Manuela also clearly saw the situation inside. There were two people… no, it should be one monster, a man with gray, badly decayed skin and a foul odor emanating from his entire body, wearing ragged clothes, gnawing on something on a woman who had long since died. Large amounts of red and yellow liquid flowed onto the ground, and an indescribable smell filled the air.
But without a doubt,
This nearly made Manuela want to retch and vomit.
The girl couldn't imagine such a terrifying scene hidden inside.
However,
Before she could react,
The zombie, which had been busy gnawing on a brain on the ground, reacted immediately upon seeing Manuela. Its bloated, fish-like eyes stared fixedly at Manuela, constantly emitting low snarls.
A disgusting goo flowed from its mouth. Without any hesitation, it swung its blood-stained hands and lunged towards Manuela.
"Roar roar roar—!!!"
Looking at the monster that suddenly erupted before her,
Manuela was directly startled.
She hadn't expected the monster's speed to be so fast, but the girl still instinctively acted. The fishing spear tightly held in her hand was suddenly thrust forward, her eyes tightly shut in fear, the sharp tip of the spear aiming at the zombie's head.
No…
If anything,
It should be that Manuela positioned the fishing spear, and the zombie in front of her actively charged forward and ran into it, after all, this thing had no intelligence whatsoever.