Slumping to the ground, Javier patted his damp pant legs, saying with a helpless expression, Of course, he hadn't wet himself; he wasn't that embarrassing. Instead, water from a sewer hole had splashed onto his pants. This area had been eroded by dampness year-round; even reinforced concrete couldn't withstand the erosion over time.
Furthermore, this Institute had probably been around for over a decade, considering it was now 1998. It would be strange if it hadn't decayed. He was truly unlucky to have encountered all this…
Ten minutes later—
After marveling at surviving the ordeal, Javier patted his backside and followed Rebecca and Billy Coen. Passing the interrogation dungeon and continuing further inside, they entered a new room. However, this room seemed to be for keeping the white ape Destroyers, as the rafters were filled with these monkeys scurrying everywhere.
It took Javier and the other two a long time to clear them out with their shotguns.
Although these monkeys were small and not overly aggressive, they were incredibly fast, jumping around. If their marksmanship hadn't been good, they would have been swarmed instantly. Once these monkeys jumped onto someone, they wouldn't let go, opening their fangs and biting indiscriminately, which was very troublesome.
Rebecca and Billy, for instance, weren't wearing any protective gear.
One only had a thin shirt and a bulletproof vest, while the other only had a black ordinary vest with nothing else. Forget being bitten; even a few scratches from the claws of these white ape Destroyers would be very problematic.
But fortunately,
These monkeys were very stupid.
Although fast, they never concealed their attack movements. The three of them simply squeezed into the doorway, using the wooden door as a backdrop, and fired their shotguns indiscriminately in the upper, middle, and lower directions, like an impenetrable fortress that couldn't be breached.
"Clang…"
In a flash,
They swiftly and cleanly dealt with the monkeys in front of them, leaving only spent shell casings on the ground.
And inside the room,
Javier and the other two discovered something new.
Because in the center, there were altar-like statues: an eagle, a deer, a wolf, a tiger, a horse, and a snake—a total of six statues. Each statue was carved lifelike, and below each animal statue, there were very clear hints:
Eagle: I soar freely in the sky with my wings, capturing footless prey with my sharp talons.
Deer: I stand on the earth, proudly displaying my antlers.
Wolf: I am agile and keen, able to bring down horned wild beasts.
Tiger: I am the jungle's enforcer; no prey can escape my grasp.
Horse: No matter how cunning, one cannot catch up to my nimble speed.
Snake: I crawl silently with my footless body, conquering the strongest kings with my venom.
These six animals,
Are basically ordered by the law of the jungle. As long as the correct sequence is chosen, the puzzle can be solved. And next to the statues, there was an oil lamp brazier. Undoubtedly, the correct method was to light these braziers in the correct sequence.
The correct sequence was actually deer, wolf, horse, tiger, snake, and eagle. The deer is a herbivore, the easiest to catch, and the deer's hint is its antlers. The wolf says it is very cunning and can catch horned animals, which means the wolf eats the deer. Then comes the horse, which the wolf cannot catch. The horse says no matter how cunning, it cannot catch up to its agile speed. And the tiger is the king of the jungle; dealing with a mere horse is an easy matter.
The venomous snake can easily subdue the tiger with its potent venom, conquering the king of the jungle, but it is helpless against the eagle, because the eagle stands above the sky, untouchable by any animal, making it the safest and strongest.
Therefore, the decryption sequence for the statues here is like this, very simple… Javier understood it at a glance—
Chapter 33: Before the Great Battle, There Must Be Supplies
The wolf eats the deer, the tiger eats the horse, the eagle eats the snake—a very interesting order. Without hesitation, Javier pulled out a lighter from his pocket and lit the corresponding braziers one by one.
The nearly dry kerosene lamp wicks instantly ignited upon contact with the flame. With a "whoosh," several braziers slowly began to burn in succession, adding much light to the entire dim underground.
Rebecca and Billy Coen, watching Javier's methods, shook their heads helplessly. This guy… always so clever. Before they even started solving the puzzle, he had already cracked the mechanism. But this was good, saving them a lot of time.
"Rumble…!"
"Click, click—!"
At this moment,
A series of loud noises rose,
And on the wall of this underground area, a hidden stone door suddenly appeared. This was their entrance to the next new map.
"So easy—!"
"Let's go, let's see what else is waiting for us."
Showing off his clumsy Chinese English,
Javier waved his hand, beckoning Rebecca and Billy Coen to continue deeper. They had already been delayed for a long time in this Institute Mansion. The Zodiac Train incident occurred around eight o'clock American time, and their S.T.A.R.S team arrived at the Akeley Mountains site by helicopter at ten o'clock. Now, it was almost two in the morning.
If they dragged on like this,
They would have to wait until tomorrow morning to escape from here. If that happened… the entire Raccoon City would probably be in chaos. After all, the S.T.A.R.S team was deployed to the Akeley Mountains and had completely lost signal. This would cause great panic among Raccoon City residents, including the police department's tension.
At the same time, it would also attract the attention of the Umbrella Corporation.
If the Umbrella Corporation knew they were investigating the Institute, then even if they did manage to escape, what awaited them wouldn't be heroic commendations, but rather an all-inclusive year-long stay in prison. To prevent the ants under their control from speaking out, the Umbrella Corporation was capable of anything…
Therefore,
Javier and the other two had to race against time.
They had to seize the initiative before the Umbrella Corporation fully noticed—
However, this time,
It truly surprised Javier and the other two, because the room they entered was not some disgusting dungeon, but a modern military training ground. The dusty stone walls had been replaced with concrete walls, and red alarms were installed at the corners of the corridors. This was much more advanced and tidy than the disgusting dungeon they had just left.
The entire vast scene was set up as a military exercise ground, with large and small wooden crates piled up below, various railings blocking the way, and concrete walls for cover, like a maze. If one had to describe it… it was like a game map, with various corners for hiding and concealing, and large and small wooden crates perfect as cover objects.
Just like a gunfight map in a game…
And in reality, that was precisely what it was. This was a training facility set up by the Institute, specifically for training soldiers to deal with Resident Evil BOW. These narrow tunnels, blocking fences, and various sized wooden crates served as cover for them to hide behind.
Following the suspended steel walkway along the wall, Javier and the other two quickly reached the so-called exercise control room, which was an independent metal cabin. Standing inside, they could overlook the entire situation of the exercise ground below from top to bottom. And on the control panel at the front of the control room, there were many buttons.
Apparently, they were used to control the opening of mechanisms in the training ground below and the number of BOWs to be deployed.
What surprised Javier and the other two even more was that connected to the side of the control room was a weapon storage room, just like a police station's weapon locker. Inside were dozens of firearms, including assault rifles, shotguns, and even sniper rifles, all neatly arranged on the wall.
However,
Due to the passage of time,
After decades without maintenance, the exteriors of these firearms were already oxidized and rusty, especially the loading areas, where bullets could probably get stuck. Looking at the dense array of various firearms on the wall, Javier and the other two sighed with regret.
How great it would be if these could be used!
It was a complete armory resupply!
With so many firearms, and even assault rifles, each of them had two or three guns. Forget about zombies or monsters; they could walk sideways through the entire Institute, especially Billy Coen, the former Lieutenant. He looked at the weapons hanging on the wall with adoration, but after manually cycling the action, he found the barrels were completely rusted and difficult to move, making them unusable. He could only sigh helplessly.
"What a pity."
His Winchester 1887, that old-fashioned demon-slaying lever-action shotgun, was an antique compared to the advanced assault rifles on the wall. The difference in their power was incomparable.
If possible,
he still wanted more advanced weaponry. Otherwise, with just a small pistol and an antique shotgun, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. At the same time, Billy Coen finally understood Javier's previous statement about 'firepower anxiety.' Now it seemed… that was indeed the case. Without powerful weapons, one's confidence was truly lacking!
"However,"
"Even if these firearms are unusable, the bullets can still be salvaged. Bullets have a much longer shelf life than firearms, which is enough to replenish some supplies. My shotgun bullets in my backpack are almost used up, so now I can just restock. How wonderful."
"Don't just stand there. No matter how small a sparrow is, it's still meat. It's better than having nothing to eat at all. You two should also carry more bullet supplies."
Just as Billy Coen was still lamenting the pity,
Javier pulled out the tactical dagger from his waist. The sharp blade gleamed with a cold light as he plunged it into a white wooden box beneath the gun rack and pried it open. The old wooden box, already corroded by time, easily broke into countless splinters with a slight force.
"Clang… Crack—!!!"
Having successfully pried open the wooden box,
Javier nodded with satisfaction. After twirling the tactical dagger in his hand, he slid it back into the leather sheath at his waist. A small knife is an essential weapon for every Resident Evil protagonist, capable of immense utility at critical moments, especially for knife-killing Tyrants… Ahem, ptooey! It's especially useful in close combat. If there's no time to reload a firearm, a small knife can be used to fend off enemies.
To clarify,
knife-killing Tyrants is something other protagonists do.
Javier felt he could never reach that level, especially Leon S. Kennedy, who had yet to appear. In the later stages, he was practically a Resident Evil demon. At many critical moments, if it weren't for timely support from allies, Javier had no doubt that Leon could go solo and directly use a small knife to kill bosses.
As for Javier's small knife,
it was a cheap, tens-of-dollars item from the police station, with no legendary history. It wasn't Marvin's final righteous entrustment, nor was it Krauser's beloved blade. It was just an ordinary piece of rust-prone metal. But Javier firmly believed… with his efforts, this small knife would also gain its own reputation. Of course… as long as it didn't break prematurely.
Because this small knife had just pried open the wooden box, and its tip already seemed to be bending. As expected of a cheap item from the police station, it was truly a rip-off—!
After complaining about the police station's cheap knife,
Javier gave up his dream of his beloved knife becoming famous.
Instead, he turned his attention to the wooden box. Inside were various loose bullets, large and small. Although the bullet casings had started to seep oil, they were still perfectly usable. American craftsmanship was reliable; it was tough. Most of the bullets were copper, which was very luxurious and shiny.
Copper has excellent ductility and flexibility,
making it ideal for manufacturing bullets. Copper bullets are also self-lubricating, which greatly reduces barrel wear and extends the firearm's lifespan. When exposed to high temperatures, copper's airtightness improves, preventing cracks. These are all advantages of copper bullets.
The only drawback of copper bullets is their cost…
That's right,
they are very expensive.
Even in our great Heavenly Dynasty, with its abundant copper mines, we are reluctant to use copper to make bullets. Generally, we opt for copper-plated steel projectiles, which greatly reduces copper consumption. However, all of America's bullets are copper bullets, showing their extravagance.
Inside these wooden boxes,
there were not only 7.62mm sniper and rifle bullets but also 9mm common pistol bullets and shotgun shells. They were all very well-stocked, with almost every type of bullet available. Of course, Magnum bullets were absent. Magnum bullets are too powerful; no instructor would let their subordinates train with such bullets.
After this round of scavenging,
Javier's tactical backpack gradually became full and considerably heavier. He had previously consumed a lot of ammunition clearing out the Institute's zombies, and now with ample ammunition again, Javier's previously anxious heart began to feel confident.
His firepower anxiety was directly cured. This was great…
However,
thinking of this,
Javier's heart was startled again.
He had been busy immersing himself in the joy of scavenging bullet supplies, but he had completely forgotten a rule of Resident Evil: before a major battle… there must be supplies!
So many bullets,
wasn't that a very generous supply? And did this also mean… they would suddenly have to face a major battle next? What kind of monster would the opponent be? Would the Tyrant appear early? Or some other boss?
And while Javier was still busy feeling apprehensive,
Rebecca, who was nearby, noticed some file documents in the corner of the control room. She slowly picked them up and began to read them. This document was a usage guide for the drill training ground.
This drill training ground
was a place specifically used by the Institute to train soldiers to deal with BOWs. However… while it was said to train soldiers, it was more accurately a testing ground for collecting BOW data. For the soldiers… the Institute had no concern whatsoever. Training soldiers was merely a pretext. There were proper places to train soldiers.
This place was primarily used to collect combat data on Resident Evil BOWs. They would throw some soldiers in, then deploy BOWs to fight each other, thereby obtaining combat data. This was the true purpose of this drill training ground—
As for what kind of monster the deployed BOW was?
Rebecca did not know.
But at least for now, it was certain that if the three of them wanted to leave this drill training ground and proceed further, encountering the BOW monsters here was unavoidable. Because the door to the next passage was below the training ground, trying to pass through safely was completely wishful thinking.
"Javier, Billy!"
"You two, come and look at this! This isn't a soldier's drill training ground; it's the Institute's combat data collection site for BOW monsters. The Institute's experimenters would give some prisoners or soldiers weapons and throw them down there, then release BOWs, letting them fight each other to obtain combat data. If we want to pass through this place, we are bound to encounter the BOW monsters here!"
"What do you think… should we press the BOW deployment button in the control room? Because if we don't press it now, we'll still have to face these monsters when we go down later. Or should we take advantage of our high ground and clear them all out now?"
Rebecca waved,
calling Javier and Billy Coen back. She handed them the documents she had just found and tentatively asked. At the same time, Rebecca herself walked to the equipment in the control room and looked at the buttons on it, her expression full of helplessness.
Because on the control panel of the equipment, there was no so-called stop deployment button, only activation and deactivation buttons for the mechanism. In other words… the BOWs in this drill training ground were linked to the mechanism.
To leave this place,
and proceed to the next area, Rebecca and the other two had to activate the mechanism. And activating the mechanism would very likely release BOWs. Therefore, Rebecca felt very helpless. This was an unavoidable encounter; there was no way to bypass it. Besides facing them head-on, there was no other option…