"Hey…"
"Javier, why are you carrying so many weapons and ammunition? Are there really a lot of man-eating beasts in the Akeley Mountains?"
Having separated from the team, Rebecca and Javier were slowly exploring the dense forest, searching for traces of the railway tracks. Bored, the young girl Rebecca couldn't help but ask Javier out of curiosity. After all, if the usually laid-back Javier was so cautious, could it be that there was really some danger in the Akeley Mountains?
"Man-eating beasts?"
"There really are a lot of them, and they're very ugly and terrifying, so you need to be mentally prepared. When you see them, you must immediately open fire without hesitation!"
Facing the curious question from the young girl Rebecca,
Javier replied with a mischievous smile, trying to scare her. He hoped she wouldn't be afraid when she saw the zombies later. However, based on Rebecca's performance in the game's storyline, that girl's on-the-spot reaction ability was quite strong.
However—
Just at this moment,
"Buzz…"
A buzzing sound.
Javier felt a dizzy sensation in his mind.
"Task activated: Resident Evil 0 storyline begins. Please survive from the start to the end of the storyline, and complete the following sub-tasks as much as possible:"
"1. Eliminate zombies: Eliminate the zombies in the Akeley Mountains. Earn 1 point for each zombie eliminated, 1 point for each Mutated Leech eliminated, and 2 points for each beast zombie eliminated."
"2. Clear the Zodiac Train of zombies and Leeches, and take it to the Cadre Training Institute to trigger the remaining storyline."
"3. Eliminate the Prototype Tyrant in the Cadre Training Institute's sewers. Reward: 20 points."
"4. Eliminate the virus source boss of the Resident Evil 0 storyline, the Leech Queen, Dr. James Marcus. Reward: 100 points."
"5. Hidden task: Obtain a Leech Queen T-Virus sample. Reward: 80 points."
"Note: After the Resident Evil 0 storyline ends, the Merchant interface will be unlocked, allowing for the purchase of items and enhancements…"
A mechanical electronic female voice sounded in his ear.
Javier was not surprised by this; instead, he remained unusually calm. After all, it was an infinite beginner's village… unlocking a shop for enhancements was normal. Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult for an ordinary person to fight mutated zombies. There should be some rewards, right?
After all,
In the early stages, ordinary people with firearms could barely deal with T-Virus infected individuals, but later, with various mutated viruses flying everywhere, it was impossible to guard against them. Without enhanced power, he couldn't play at all. Leon S. Kennedy Leon next door even had Dante's demon form, and sometimes he couldn't help but use a small knife to kill bosses, so Javier himself was even more out of his depth…
P.S.: The shop must be opened; it won't work otherwise. After all, in the Resident Evil world, there are no perfect virus enhancements; they all require screening, and the compatibility is very low. You can't just grab a virus and inject it, or you'll die. You can't play with Dominant Plaga parasites, and in the later stages, the parasites also undergo various modifications and mutations, failing to keep up with the version.
So, I need to open a shop under the pretext of reasonably optimizing the perfection of the virus. But don't worry… the worldview will only have creatures like zombies and Vampires later on, so the abilities released will also be some original world virus abilities, nothing too overpowered. Basically, it's like strengthening weapons in the game, which should be acceptable, right?
As per the title, no updates today and tomorrow. Updates will resume the day after tomorrow. Sorry everyone… I'm very busy these two days. I just got back today. Since this is a new book, I also have an old book that needs updating, so I don't have enough time. Sorry everyone, no need to wait, I'll make up for it in a couple of days. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Chapter Nine: Billy Coen
"Hey…"
"What are you spacing out for, Javier?"
While Javier was hesitating, Rebecca, who was beside him, asked with a puzzled expression. Hearing her voice… Javier shook his head and pulled his thoughts back. Now was not the time to worry about what was in his head; he had to get through this part of the storyline first.
"Sorry,"
"I was just thinking about something. Let's go! We should go search for the train tracks in the Akeley Mountains. That thing doesn't seem hard to find; I remember it should be right around here."
Apologizing to Rebecca, Javier quickly adjusted his state and immediately walked to the front, raising his Winchester M1897 shotgun. This police riot gun had many accessories, including a police-issue nuclear-powered mini flashlight that could illuminate the front when turned on.
No need to hold a gun with one hand,
And a flashlight with the other, a terrible operation.
Under the illumination of the nuclear-powered mini flashlight, the dense forest of the Akeley Mountains also cast a faint glow. Although the brightness was not great, at least they could see the path under their feet. If possible… Javier decided to customize a super powerful flashlight next time.
Although the flashlights in horror games are all nuclear-powered and have ridiculously long battery life, due to the nature of horror games, their brightness is always very dim, and they are occasionally suddenly extinguished by various debuffs.
If there was a chance,
Javier would definitely ignore this annoying setting and just get a super powerful flashlight that could shine from one neighborhood to the opposite, or even illuminate the effect of Old Wang next door secretly playing cards! Let's see what kind of monsters are in these Akeley Mountains—
"Thump, thump, thump…"
"Thump, thump, thump…"
The footsteps of Javier and Rebecca echoed clearly in the dense forest. In the Akeley Mountains, which were as silent as death, it was so quiet that even stepping on rotten branches was crystal clear. It was hard to imagine that anyone would be so reckless as to enter this cursed place.
But fortunately,
Javier and Rebecca were lucky.
After only a short search nearby, they found the railway tracks in the Akeley Mountains. The road, covered with gravel, had train tracks laid upon it, but because they were not frequently used, the outer layer had rusted considerably.
"We found the tracks…"
"As long as we search along the tracks, we'll be able to find the wrecked Zodiac Train!"
Seeing the rare landmark,
Rebecca, who was beside him, excitedly exclaimed. This was actually similar to finding a stream in a wild jungle, a rare original path. After all, this way they wouldn't get lost in the Akeley Mountains. Whether retreating or advancing, as long as they followed the tracks… they would be able to find the wrecked Zodiac Train, or return to Raccoon City along the same path.
Meanwhile, Javier,
Gripped the shotgun in his hand even tighter.
If he wasn't mistaken, the events from his memory of the storyline were about to unfold.
As expected,
After walking a bit further along the tracks, Javier and Rebecca quickly discovered an accident scene: a military off-road vehicle overturned next to the tracks. Even before they got close… Javier and Rebecca smelled a foul, putrid odor—
It was the smell of decaying corpses.
This was something they, as S.T.A.R.S members, were all too familiar with.
"There are bodies…"
"And they've been dead for days!"
Javier and Rebecca exchanged glances, both understanding the meaning in the other's eyes. They quickly sped up and ran over, soon finding several bodies next to the overturned off-road vehicle. They were all military personnel, dressed in uniforms, and the off-road vehicle was also military-grade.
"Ugh…"
"How brutal—!"
Taking the flashlight and getting closer for a look,
Rebecca immediately gagged in fright. The bodies on the ground were horribly mutilated and terrifying. Almost everyone's eyes were wide open, pupils extremely dilated, indicating that they had seen something incredibly terrifying before their deaths. The ground was covered in blood, and the exposed parts of these bodies—arms, necks, etc.—were covered in bite marks of various sizes.
They had all been severely gnawed, not by the mouthparts of Mutated Leeches, but by the canine teeth of ferocious beasts, violently tearing them apart. There were even intestines pulled out on the ground. If they hadn't been on an empty stomach, Javier and Rebecca would have almost thrown up their dinner…
"This…"
"Who on earth did this? Could it be the serial killer or large beast mentioned in the news? But… it's unbelievable that even regular soldiers couldn't defeat it."
Looking at the bodies on the ground,
Rebecca covered her nose and murmured in confusion. By now, Rebecca could no longer imagine what kind of perpetrator had caused this scene. Not only were their methods cruel, but their nature was also extremely twisted, even having a habit of cannibalism. And if it wasn't human, then what kind of beast was it?
Black bear? Tiger? Or, with a bit more imagination… dinosaurs came back to life?
Heh heh, Javier would surely chuckle if he knew this little girl Rebecca was thinking such nonsense. Her imagination wasn't rich enough. It was clearly infected beast zombies that attacked them!
As for these bitten soldier corpses,
The reason they didn't mutate into zombies was mainly because the T-Virus's infectivity was still very low in the early stages, not to mention it was a decreasing infection. The T-Virus, after Marcus's modification, had already injected the original viral substance into Leeches, then the mutated Leeches bit beasts to inject the virus, and finally, the mutated beasts bit humans.
It had already passed through too many infected bodies,
The virus's infectivity had already greatly diminished, so it was normal for these soldier corpses on the ground not to mutate.
"Wait, there's a black box here…"
"It looks like it's used to store some files. It says… Name: Billy Coen, Gender: Male, former Lieutenant, sentenced to death by military court for harming 23 innocent civilians during a mission. Ordered to be escorted to the Caucasus base for execution. This is an escort order, but it's strange… none of the bodies here belong to the man on the escort order. He must have escaped."
While Rebecca was deep in thought,
Javier saw a scattered black box nearby and quickly pulled out a military court escort order from inside. After a quick glance, he explained it to Rebecca.
"A prisoner?"
"He harmed 23 innocent civilians! Then he must be an out-and-out psychopath. Could the people here also have been killed by him?"
Taking the escort order Javier handed her, Rebecca looked at the young man pictured: wearing a vest, with messy slicked-back hair, a rugged face, sharp eyes, and a tattooed left arm, along with descriptions of various crimes. Rebecca had no good feelings for someone who killed innocent civilians like this, even speculating that the soldiers' bodies here might have been killed by him.
After all, having brutally killed 23 innocent civilians,
It didn't seem impossible that he might have taken the opportunity to ambush and kill several escorting soldiers. As for the bite marks, perhaps the smell of blood attracted beasts from the Akeley Mountains, leading to the gnawing and tearing.
However, regarding this,
Javier shook his head helplessly.
He knew Billy Coen was one of the protagonists in the Resident Evil 0 storyline, a typical American soldier who killed innocents for merit, ultimately pinning the blame on the honest Billy. Furthermore, there were no gunshot wounds on these bodies.
A former Lieutenant, no matter how strong he was, couldn't possibly have taken down four or five escorting soldiers bare-handed, especially since these soldiers were all carrying firearms. Rebecca's conjecture was completely impractical!
"Alright,"
"This person isn't important for now. Let's find the Zodiac Train first!"
Javier grabbed the little girl Rebecca by the back of her collar and said calmly. Then, Javier picked her up and continued walking forward along the tracks, causing the girl Rebecca to puff out her cheeks and squirm like a wild cat.
"Ah…"
"Quick! Put me down—!"
Amidst their bickering,
The two did not notice that several crimson eyes had appeared in the dense forest of the Akeley Mountains. They were the infected mutated beasts of the Akeley Mountains, staring intently at the retreating figures of Javier and Rebecca.
…
Ten minutes later—
"Quick, quick, quick…!"
"Javier, is that the Zodiac Train up ahead?!"
After searching for a long time near the tracks, they finally found what they were looking for. Rebecca and Javier discovered the rear car of the Zodiac Train ahead. Although it was hard to see in the dark night, they could vaguely confirm it, and Rebecca excitedly called out to Javier.
The entire Zodiac Train stood motionless and steadily in the middle of the Akeley Mountains tracks, silent as death. Even more terrifying was that… despite there being no sound, the train cars were actually lit up.
Didn't they say all the passengers on the Zodiac Train had perished? Then why wasn't there a single body near the tracks, not only no bodies, but not even a trace of living presence?
"Wait…!"
"Rebecca, the atmosphere is very wrong. We'd better be careful."
Pulling back Rebecca, who was about to rush in and die, Javier said in a low voice. If he wasn't mistaken, the moment that train door opened, it would definitely be a "surprise" jump scare—!
Chapter Ten: Jump Scare
"Huh?"
"What could be inside?!"
Discovering that her collar was once again grabbed by that scoundrel Javier, the young girl Rebecca cried out in annoyance. However, despite her words, Rebecca quickly drew the pistol from her waist. Her words were stubborn, but her body was honest.
After all, seeing the previous scene of bodies,
Had already raised a slight sense of vigilance in Rebecca.
"…"
"You can try if you don't believe me…"
Meanwhile, Javier, seeing this,
Released his grip on Rebecca's collar and said playfully. Since they had to face the zombies anyway, why not let the young girl Rebecca try first? He would follow behind just in case.
"Hmph…"