"Bang bang bang—!!!"
With three shots, two heads fell.
A parasitic villager tried to struggle to his feet, but Leon instantly rushed forward and kicked him down, then pulled out the tactical dagger from his waist and slit his throat.
Leon discovered that the blade also had a clear suppressive effect on the Plaga Parasite Villagers; by assassinating and piercing their throats, these Plaga Parasite Villagers would die immediately, without transforming into the so-called Exploding Bug form.
This was likely due to the Plaga parasite being executed before it could react instinctively, leading to its rapid death.
It didn't have time to perform the Exploding Bug countermeasure, which, in any case, was good news for Leon.
But when Leon finally reached the main entrance of the church, he was stunned. The church's main door truly couldn't be opened. It required keys like stone tablets, not ordinary locks. Even Leon, an agent who had learned lock-picking skills, couldn't break such a primitive lock.
Thinking of this,
Leon decisively gave up.
He circled to a nearby corner,
and surprisingly found an open, pitch-black window on the side. This gave Leon an idea. He decisively climbed the nearby fence,
and then leaped towards the window on the church's attic, simultaneously gripping the protruding architectural edge tightly with both hands, hanging on for dear life. The church infiltration plan… was about to begin—
Chapter 27: Black Hand
"Bang—!!!"
With a muffled thud,
Leon, relying on his agile movements, successfully climbed from the outside of the church, along the attic window, into the church's interior. But when he fully landed, he was momentarily taken aback by the church's layout.
All around were chairs used by believers for prayer, with a prayer stand in the center. Behind it were dim candles. The prayer relics were not Jesus, nor Holy Mother Mary, nor even a cross,
but a large circular disk of three-colored glass, with a Plaga parasite symbol resembling a clock placed in the center.
In a sense,
this was The Illuminados believers' cross—
On the prayer stand were still three stone tablet keys. The passage leading to the attic next to it was firmly blocked by a row of sturdy barred gates.
The only movable area within the entire church was this prayer hall. Above were bright chandeliers and the ceiling, as well as the window Leon had just climbed through.
It turned out that this window didn't actually lead to the second-floor attic; it just looked a bit high, but in reality, it was still the first-floor prayer hall.
This made Leon somewhat frustrated.
He had thought he could find the President's daughter Ashley without a key, but he hadn't expected to trap himself inside. Wasn't this like inviting a wolf into the house, seeking his own death?
"Damn it!"
"Is there no building in this place that can be entered and exited freely without a key?"
Leon slammed the iron bars of the nearby passage, muttering helplessly. The steel bars of this iron fence were thicker than his fingers and couldn't be broken. He estimated that even a High-explosive grenade wouldn't be able to blast through it. There was simply no way.
In his helplessness,
Leon could only stay in the prayer hall of the cathedral, quietly waiting for Javier and Ada's return.
He hoped those two guys could really find the so-called keys, otherwise… let alone saving the President's daughter, Leon himself would probably die inside.
However,
what Leon didn't know was that,
Javier and Ada were indeed on their way back. After dealing with the Giant, the two immediately rushed to the sacrificial cave, where they extensively plundered, collecting all the remaining gems and evil god statues.
Especially some Plaga parasite symbols and statues, which were made of pure copper, pure silver, and pure gold, could fetch a lot of money. Javier and Ada could almost be said to have returned with a full haul.
And the loudly barking White Wolf now had two heavy parcels on its back. Uh… these were filled with the treasures Javier and Ada had looted.
Even Ada had to admit that, in a sense, being a thief… cough, a treasure hunter, was indeed much faster at making money than a virus hunter. More importantly, there was no guilt.
Yes,
guilt.
If it were stealing relics of some historical figure, Ada might still feel a bit uncomfortable, but these wicked Illuminados… uh… sorry, why does it feel like doing justice on behalf of heaven?
She had clearly been very resistant before!
Is this the mysterious "Zhen Xiang" law of the universe—?
Of course,
besides the treasures,
the church keys were also obtained as expected: three red, green, and blue stone tablets engraved with Plaga parasite symbols.
These were also the keys Leon needed while trapped in the prayer hall. After getting all this done, Javier and Ada immediately rushed back…
Only—
"Tap tap tap…"
"Tap tap tap…"
"Damn it? Where are they? Where did they all go? Could they have been captured by those Plaga Parasite Villagers?"
A few minutes later,
Javier and Ada successfully returned to the main entrance of the cathedral, but when they saw the empty church entrance, with only three Plaga parasite corpses on the ground, Javier and Ada were stunned. Hadn't they said they would wait for them to return before starting the operation?
Although they had said they needed help clearing the parasites, this was too ridiculous. Where did the cleared parasites go?
Not only were Luis and Leon gone, but even the large number of Plaga Plaga Parasite Villagers who had originally been lurking near the church had disappeared. This strange phenomenon made Javier and Ada uneasy and confused, not understanding what had happened.
"Woof woof woof—!!!"
At this moment,
the White Wolf, carrying the parcels, barked,
and kept pacing at the church entrance, looking at Javier, as if saying there was someone inside the church.
Seeing this,
Javier naturally didn't hesitate. He took the keys and intended to open the church door first. The three stone tablets were placed into the grooves.
After a short while, the entire church door made a crisp sound. The lock mechanism must have been opened.
And hearing this unusual sound,
Leon, who was in the church's prayer hall, changed his expression and looked vigilantly towards the church entrance, subconsciously thinking that those Plaga Parasite Villagers had returned.
So he quietly approached the church entrance and slowly took down the shotgun from his back. The powerful shotgun could instantly break through a crowd of congested Plaga Parasite Villagers, giving Leon a chance to break through.
"Click—!"
The church door opened in response.
And as soon as a tiny crack appeared, the black shotgun muzzle anxiously extended out, pointing directly at the newcomer's forehead.
At the same time, Leon subconsciously let out a low growl: "Don't move." He would decide whether to shoot once he clearly saw who was opening the door.
However…
To Leon's surprise,
just as he uttered "Don't move," a slender, jade-like hand, even faster than his, reached out from the side. A similar agent's pistol was quickly pressed against Leon's forehead, the cold mechanical touch causing his brain to temporarily freeze.
"Want to see whose gun is faster, Leon!"
"I thought it was someone else inside, but it's you. By the way, where did Luis go? And where did the Plaga Parasite Villagers who were originally lurking near the church go? Don't tell me that guy ran away again!"
The agent's pistol pressed against his forehead was slowly lowered.
Ada relaxed her guard after seeing that the person inside was Leon, but a quick glance showed no sign of Luis in the church besides Leon.
This made Ada feel confused. Where did that troublesome Middle Ages noble playboy run off to play now?
She knew that her real purpose was not to play house and go on adventure missions with them. Amber, amber, she hadn't gotten the amber sample she longed for yet.
That was something worth two million US dollars. Although Ada had appeared nonchalant about it before and after, this was truly a large sum of money. One successful job would be enough for her to live for three years.
"Sorry,"
"I didn't expect it to be you guys…"
And upon seeing that the newcomers were Ada and Javier, Leon also breathed a sigh of relief, lowering the shotgun in his hand and apologizing with a somewhat helpless expression.
At the same time, facing Ada's questions,
Leon explained everything one by one,
including their encounter with the Merchant to obtain weapons, the Merchant's commission, and Luis's distraction plan. At this very moment, he had already lured away all the Plaga Parasite Villagers who had been lurking near the church.
Relying on Luis's familiarity with the terrain from growing up in Wolf's Valley, he could easily lead that group of Plaga Parasite Villagers around the village in Wolf's Valley a few times.
"I see…"
"I thought that guy had run away. In that case, without further ado, let's start solving the mechanisms inside the church. The sooner we rescue the so-called President's daughter, that foolish princess, the sooner I can get the amber and leave this place."
Hearing Leon's explanation,
Ada nodded, indicating she understood. As long as Luis wasn't dead, it was fine. She didn't want her amber sample to mysteriously disappear.
Although Javier had told her there were amber samples underground on the Island, it was too troublesome to sneak in. It would be more convenient to have Luis give it directly to her.
On the other side,
when Javier heard that the Merchant who sold them weapons was actually a mercenary from the Island, he couldn't help but feel a slight surprise, but he quickly became relieved, because it seemed to make sense.
The Merchant in the Resident Evil 4 instance was originally a bug-like existence, a game mechanism to provide players with a comfortable adjustment of difficulty by allowing them to purchase and upgrade weapons to reduce the challenge of clearing the instance. But the game world is one thing, and the real world is another.
And now, being able to transform the Merchant's identity into a mercenary from the Island also fit very well. After all, how could an ordinary Merchant appear in such a godforsaken place, and even carry so many weapons?
But if he were a mercenary half-parasitized by the Plaga parasite, it would be different. Relying on the Plaga parasite's ability to sense its kind, he could freely traverse anywhere in Wolf's Valley.
Plus, being a mercenary himself, he would be very familiar with the weapon warehouses on the Island, so naturally, stealing them would be very simple.
Of course, the most crucial part was the subsequent commission.
Because he was infected with the Plaga parasite,
the Merchant also needed to clear the parasites, and as long as the parasites were cleared, the Merchant could arrange a speedboat to take them away from here…
Perhaps—
In a sense, this was also a hidden quest. If they didn't help, the Merchant would likely end up like the game speculated, becoming a Regenerator's body bag thrown into the trash, disappearing with the explosion of the Island.
But if they helped,
Javier could complete the hidden side quest of this instance, and perhaps even receive additional rewards…
Thinking of this,
Javier didn't hesitate. Under the gaze of Ada and Leon, he took the three-colored stone tablets and placed them into the grooves on the prayer stand.
This mechanism was very simple. The glass behind the Plaga parasite cross in front of them was shattered, with three primary colors: red, blue, and green. They just needed to piece the shattered three-colored glass back together.
Saying that,
Javier began to act.
Aside from the Cadre Training Institute and the Mansion Institute, Javier had rarely played puzzle games with mechanisms. The main reason was that subsequent instances had reduced puzzle elements.
It wasn't until the Middle Ages castle style was incorporated into Resident Evil 4 that this type of element suddenly increased. After all, who could refuse such an authentic exploration design?
"Click—!"
After a short while,
the mechanism was opened.
The three-colored glass fragments behind the Plaga parasite clock were successfully reassembled, forming a complete pattern, somewhat similar to the colorful stained-glass windows often seen in churches, symbolizing a myriad of phenomena, or perhaps the light bestowed by God.
And at the same time,
with the successful assembly of the mechanism,
the thick iron bars firmly stuck beside the passage were successfully raised, revealing an opening for a single person to pass through.
And deep inside was a vertical iron ladder climbing upwards. From here, one could reach the church's second-floor attic. If nothing unexpected happened, the President's daughter Ashley was trapped inside.
"Let's go!"