And the child among them was undoubtedly the young Luis at that time...
"..."
"Clang—clang—clang—clang—!!!!"
Approaching the cabin in the lake,
Leon, holding a shotgun, looked at the cabin in front of him, hearing a series of knocking sounds from afar, as if someone was nailing boards with a hammer, which made Leon frown.
Undoubtedly, in this village full of monster parasites, whatever was in the knocking cabin was definitely not a good thing.
Carefully,
Leon quietly approached the window of the cabin in the lake, quickly glanced inside, but found nothing. Besides some dilapidated furniture, there wasn't even a single person, which made Leon feel a hint of doubt, so he could only continue to approach deeper.
And next to the cabin,
Was a large lake.
It was nearing noon, and the sun had completely emerged from the clouds, with rays of light freely penetrating the lake surface, rippling with the waves, sparkling like shining fish scales, very beautiful.
Several fishing boats drifted by the shore; if not for the Plaga parasite invasion, this lake would probably be a very beautiful paradise.
But Leon had no time to appreciate these.
Taking a few steps into the cabin, he looked around but still found no trace of any villagers. Finally, Leon gritted his teeth and walked directly towards the direction of the sound in the cabin. He wanted to see what was causing the disturbance.
Finally,
At the end of the side room of the cabin, Leon found a villager diligently "working" with his head down. From his build, he was a middle-aged man with a large beer belly. An axe was placed next to the corner, and he held a hammer and nails, reinforcing some new wooden boards on the ground.
"Ho ho…"
"Clang—clang—clang—clang—!!!!"
The constant sound of hammer and nails striking came.
It looked like a basement entrance, and this villager was about to seal off the basement entrance of the house. This strange state made Leon frown. Villagers infected by the Plaga parasite have no self-awareness.
They can only act based on instinct and commands. Previously, the villagers in the village, except when hearing the bell, would mechanically continue their daily work.
But this villager in front of him,
Was actually nailing boards.
This was completely outside the scope of his mechanical work capacity, indicating that someone must have ordered him to nail boards here not long ago. Was someone trying to hide a secret?
Thinking of this,
Leon slowed his steps again, slung the shotgun onto his back, and crouched down, slowly beginning to stealth. The villager busy with "work" still didn't notice Leon approaching.
And Leon, who had already closed in, conveniently picked up the axe from the corner, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he raised the chopping axe high towards the villager in front of him!
"Hmph!"
"Pfft—crunch—!"
With a sudden burst of strength from both arms,
The sharp axe head emitted a faint cold gleam. Before the villager could react, the sharp axe blade had already struck his neck. The muscles were easily cut open, including the spinal bone inside, which was split in two in an instant. With a "thud," the stunned head immediately rolled onto the ground, and blood began to flow out.
"So easy, so easy!"
"It seems these villagers are indeed dumber than zombies. Of course, this is when no one is commanding them. Let me see what treasures you intend to hide in there."
Shaking off the bloodstain, Leon easily dealt with the villager, kicking his body aside. Then he took the axe and began to furiously smash the newly nailed wooden boards of the basement entrance. Soon, a new hole was smashed open.
Looking at the dark situation inside, Leon swallowed, still holding his small flashlight as he jumped down.
He was very curious about what these Plaga Parasite Villagers had hidden inside that required boarding up, and it was very likely that President's daughter Ashley was hidden in there...
"Thump-thump-thump…"
The faint light of the small flashlight swayed in the basement corridor. It was not as dirty and messy as Leon had imagined, but unusually clean, and the floor was dry. At the end of the basement corridor, a strange sound was heard.
"Wuwuwu…mmm mmm mmm…"
"Who—?!"
Hearing this sound,
Leon suddenly turned around,
Shining the light of his small flashlight, he found a body bag chained up at the end of the basement, but whatever was inside was not dead, but still alive.
It was even violently wriggling and struggling inside. This horrifying scene made Leon retreat a step, and he immediately drew his USP9 pistol, which had only a few bullets left.
Guess a prize…
Inside, it could be some unknown monster,
Or it could be a living villager from the village,
Of course, it could also be the target, President's daughter Ashley.
Thinking of these three possibilities,
Leon reached out his hand towards the zipper of the body bag, and the living thing inside the body bag seemed to sense someone, and its wriggling immediately stopped, which in turn made Leon's heart jump into his throat. Could it really be a monster?
"..."
"Ashley… Graham…?"
He asked softly.
The next second,
Leon quickly pulled down the zipper. Pleasantly surprised! A head, due to insufficient oxygen inside the body bag, immediately popped out, startling Leon. The cold USP9 pistol immediately pressed against the forehead of this head, and he almost couldn't resist pulling the trigger.
But upon closer inspection,
This was a living person's head, not a monster's.
But it was a man's head, not a woman's.
Slightly curly silver-gray hair, not very cleanly shaven stubble, a white rag stuffed in his mouth, wearing a medieval retro-style leather jacket, hands and feet bound, but a pair of clear eyes looked at Leon with surprise.
Undoubtedly, he was also happy that what he saw was not a parasitic villager, but a living person.
And this person was naturally Louis Sera—
Similarly,
Leon was also surprised.
He hadn't expected there to be living people in this village full of parasitic monsters? No… normal people, that is. Leon had thought that besides the kidnapped President's daughter Ashley, there shouldn't be any normal people here. After all, Leon had killed nearly forty or fifty villagers and hadn't seen any normal ones.
"Who are you…?"
Looking at Luis in front of him, Leon frowned. It wasn't President's daughter Ashley inside, which disappointed Leon quite a bit. He had thought the mission could end quickly, but now it seemed he had been mistaken.
However,
Luis couldn't answer Leon's question because his mouth was still stuffed with the white rag, making it impossible for him to speak. Seeing this, Leon could only shake his head helplessly, motioning Luis not to yell, and then slowly pulled the rag out of his mouth.
"Cough cough…"
"Oh, what a rare breath of fresh air. Hey, buddy, I was almost suffocated in there. These villagers are really unfriendly. The command was just to keep me trapped, but they almost killed me."
"It seems the side effects of the Plaga parasite are quite significant for them. By the way, do you have any cigarettes on you? Give me one, I've been holding it in for too long, my nicotine craving is acting up."
Just after the rag was pulled out,
Luis's mouth was like a water tank, pouring out an endless stream of words, which immediately made Leon look at Luis with disgust.
This unreliable man was a chatterbox, blabbering on endlessly. Leon somewhat regretted helping him break the seal, as he had just met him and was already talking so much. Leon couldn't stand it.
"Stop stop…!"
"I don't have cigarettes, and I don't like to smoke."
"As your savior, I need to ask you a few questions. You can choose not to answer, but I also have the right to keep you in that suffocating body bag."
"So… first, what is your name and who are you? Second, have you seen the girl in the photo, and where is she now? Third, what exactly happened in this village, and why is everyone so strange?"
To prevent Luis's mouth from continuing to spew out boring words,
Leon quickly interrupted Luis's eloquent speech.
He took out a photo from his pocket, pointed at President's daughter Ashley in it, and questioned Luis, while also drawing his previously holstered pistol again, looking very unfriendly, hoping Luis would cooperate obediently.
Otherwise,
He would have to continue struggling and wriggling back in the body bag.
After all,
He had no time to listen to a chatterbox king's boring words…
"Oh, alright… alright,"
"As you wish, sir, but you'll have to let me organize my thoughts a bit. After all, I just got a breath of fresh air, and my mind isn't that clear yet."
Looking at the dark, cold muzzle of the gun in Leon's hand, Luis slightly reined in his cynical nature, cleared his throat, and glanced at the photo in Leon's hand. Seeing the young girl in it, Luis's pupils suddenly contracted, but he quickly hid it.
After organizing his words slightly, he slowly began to explain and answer:
"Louis Sera,"
"You can call me Luis. I was also kidnapped and brought to this village. I have indeed seen the girl in the photo you have. She was kidnapped along with me, but she was taken away by a group of black-robed figures. According to what I overheard them say, they seemed to have gone in the direction of the church. If you can guarantee my safety, I might be able to help you lead the way."
"As for this village, I can only tell you… the villagers have all been possessed by a terrifying monster inside their bodies. That monster is called the Plaga parasite, and it can control the villagers' bodies, which is why they seem so strange. Of course…"
"Wait, someone's coming—!!!"
In response to Leon's words,
Luis answered with a few words mixed with lies.
Just as Luis was about to continue fabricating lies, he suddenly froze. At that moment, a dull thud of footsteps suddenly came from above the basement, which made Luis's face change.
Because Luis was very familiar with these footsteps; it was the village chief, Bitores Mendez, who had captured him earlier.
Now it was over.
Knowing that Village Chief Mendez had returned, Luis sighed immediately. There was no hope; he could only quietly await his tragic end.
And Leon, seeing Luis's sudden dejected look, also froze, hurriedly holding his shotgun and small flashlight, staring intently at the basement passage ahead. What kind of monster could scare Luis like this?
"Thump-thump-thump…"
The dull footsteps continued to approach.
Each step made Leon's heart pound a little faster.
But before Leon could react, a tall figure had already entered his sight. Was it a Tyrant? No… a Giant?! No, it was a burly man!
With a massive height of almost two meters, and a very sturdy and robust physique, like a door panel, he wore a black leather coat and a black hat. He was in his fifties, with a spotted, wrinkled, dead-looking face.
His chin was covered in dense sideburns, and a pair of cold eyes stared fixedly at Leon and Luis in front of him. This was Bitores Mendez, the chief of Wolf's Valley Village.
The first time Leon saw Village Chief Mendez,
He thought the other person was a Tyrant.
After all, their tall stature was too similar, coupled with that black leather coat, they were almost identical. But when he saw the expressionless human face, Leon realized that the other person was human and not a Tyrant.
He was just as burly as a Tyrant, that was all. Was this the person Luis feared? Or… was he also a giant controlled by the Plaga parasite?
But looking at Village Chief Mendez, who was getting closer and closer,
Leon had no extra time to think wildly.
He quickly aimed his shotgun at Village Chief Mendez's chest and pulled the trigger. The shotgun fired rapidly, he wanted to test what kind of thing the opponent was.
"Bang—bang—!!!"
Two loud bangs,
The pump-action shotgun immediately sprayed out splashing pellets, creating fiery silver sparks in the dark basement, shooting towards Village Chief Mendez's leather coat. Did the other party's leather coat also have the ability to block bullets? Of course not!
"Pfft…!"
Without exception,
These hot shotgun pellets easily penetrated the leather coat and entered the body. Village Chief Mendez's body showed dense small holes, and even blood flowed out.