"A piano, and one with black and gold trim and patterns at that, you can tell it's expensive at a glance. Billy, your eyes are sharper. Although I don't know what brand it is, if we sell it, it'll definitely be worth much more than the fine wine and records here,"
"It's just a pity that there are only three of us here, so we can't use a trailer to transport it. Otherwise, we could definitely move it out,"
Noticing Billy Coen's gaze,
Javier slowly walked over to Billy Coen's side and looked at the piano in front of him… He immediately showed a look of sudden realization and said lightly, so he was interested in the piano, no wonder he wasn't interested in the fine wine and records.
And Javier, like a country bumpkin, stretched out his perverted hand and began to gracefully play on the expensive but dusty piano keys:
"Dong… Dong dong… Ding ding ding…"
A chaotic and uncoordinated performance,
Causing the expensive piano to emit a series of harsh sounds, which made Billy Coen frown slightly, while Rebecca showed a pained expression as if her ears were being assaulted by demonic sounds. Without a doubt… Javier played a terrible song of hell.
But Javier, completely oblivious, remained immersed in his own world, eyes closed, expression subtle, his head bobbing up and down with the music. He only felt that he was performing exceptionally well today, with extraordinary skill, creating unbelievably beautiful celestial music—
Until…
Rebecca, that little girl, became furious.
She picked up a nearby newspaper, rolled it up, and gave Javier a hard whack on the back of his head! With a "bang," Javier finally woke up from his dream. Javier then looked at Rebecca with a resentful expression, as if to say, "If you don't give me an explanation, I won't let you off today."
After all, Javier felt that his inspiration was gushing forth today, like an inexhaustible river, and he was about to create a great composition that would surpass Beethoven. So… why did Rebecca, that little girl, interrupt him?!
"Hmph!"
"What are you looking at, Javier? Why don't you dig out your earwax with a cotton swab? How long has it been since you cleaned your clogged ear canals? You can't even tell how terrible this piano playing is. How much longer do you want to torment us…?"
Facing Javier's expression,
Rebecca showed no mercy with her words, directly unleashing a barrage of insults at Javier, making Javier's face turn slightly awkward.
Indeed,
He knew his own limitations, he just wanted to stir things up, but he didn't expect Rebecca to be so disrespectful to him.
"Hehe…"
"What do you know? This is a new piece I created, based on the great Russian composer, Mr. Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Flight of the Bumblebee.' I've named it 'Spring of Inspiration.' Simply put, this piano piece can be played with different melodies depending on the performer's different emotions and situations. It's a very awesome new-age piece."
Pursing his lips,
Javier, still stubborn, explained with a hint of disdain. What a joke… How could his piece be easily understood by others?
"Simply put…"
"It's just random, nonsensical playing, right?"
And Rebecca still showed no mercy,
Continuing to deliver the final blow to Javier, making Javier's old face flush. He was too lazy to continue bickering with this annoying girl. This girl was too hateful, didn't she know to leave some room for future encounters? She was so disrespectful to him!
Meanwhile, Billy Coen, who had not spoken for a long time, looked at the two clowns in front of him with a helpless expression. They were at it again…
To avoid getting caught in the war between these two clowns,
Billy Coen voluntarily sat down on the piano stool, looking intently at the black and gold piano in front of him. His calloused fingers gently touched the black and white keys. A former Lieutenant suddenly transformed into a piano prince? Without a doubt… this scene was unimaginable to anyone.
"…"
"Billy, you can play the piano?!" +2
In unison,
Javier and Rebecca both looked at Billy Coen as if they had seen a ghost. After all, the style just didn't match, it was too strange.
But in reality,
Billy Coen really could. Before becoming a Lieutenant, Billy Coen's greatest hobby during his school days was playing the piano. This hobby has remained with him to this day. Billy Coen has never changed it, and is even still very familiar with it, never having discarded that touch of tenderness in his heart. Perhaps this is what it means to be a tough guy with a tender heart.
Billy Coen's piano skills couldn't be called master-level,
But at least they were professional.
After all, this was a hobby he had practiced diligently for many years. Once a mission was over, Billy Coen would often practice the piano during his leave, never letting it fall by the wayside.
"Ding…"
Slowly, a note was played on the keys,
Still so familiar and pleasant to the ear.
The sound quality of this piano was also excellent, worthy of being an expensive old-brand piano, making Billy Coen feel eager to try. The sheet music placed on the piano was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in C sharp minor. Billy Coen hadn't played it for a long time, but when the feeling came, he couldn't stop it.
"Dong… Dong dong dong… Dong… Dong dong…"
"Ding… Ding ding ding…"
First, a series of low notes,
As if arriving at a quiet sea at night, waiting for the moonlight to slowly rise. As the piece progressed, the low notes gradually became more active, and the bright full moon was already hanging high in the sky, freely casting its clear light.
Suddenly,
Javier and Rebecca were both immersed in the Moonlight Sonata played by Billy Coen. Although not completely captivated, their expressions were clearly enjoying it. Billy Coen's piano skills were indeed professional level, very impressive!
And gradually,
The song ended, pulling Javier and Rebecca's thoughts back to reality—
"…"
"See? This is what you call music, this is what you call piano. What was that thing you just played…?"
It was over.
Savoring the piece they had just heard, Rebecca still felt it wasn't enough. She had taught herself piano when she was in school, but unfortunately, she didn't have the talent. What she played was only slightly better than Javier's. Therefore, seeing Billy Coen's professional-level piano skills, she was very impressed!
Of course,
Impressed as she was, Rebecca still didn't forget to tease her partner, Javier. After all, the contrast between what Billy Coen and Javier had just played was like the difference between dog shit and flowers, too vast.
And facing Rebecca's taunting remark,
Javier didn't retort, only letting out a cold snort. Because he also thought that Billy Coen's piano playing was indeed good, leaving no room for rebuttal. He was also very impressed, but this didn't mean Javier admitted defeat, because he simply wasn't good at the piano.
In his previous life, during his school days,
Javier had also specifically learned some musical instruments to cultivate his temperament, but he just didn't choose the piano. After all, the piano was so big, it could only be played in a dedicated venue, and buying a practice piano was outrageously expensive. Playing it was elegant, but too troublesome, so Javier chose to give up.
Instruments like the guitar and drums were too unique, and didn't possess an elegant and noble (pretentious) aura. On the contrary, they leaned more towards a free style. Therefore, Javier, unwilling to give up his elegant and noble (pretentious) aura, chose the more unrestrained harmonica.
Compared to the piano,
Although the harmonica lacked a bit of nobility, it had more freedom, like a man of the wind. After all, ancient European bards, besides playing the harp, reciting poetry, and telling stories, would also play a beautiful harmonica.
Therefore, compared to the piano, Javier stated that he was more proficient in the harmonica, able to play 'Castle in the Sky,' 'Kikujiro's Summer,' 'Anohana,' and 'A Thought Beyond Time' in minutes. It was fortunate that he had transmigrated into Resident Evil and was a member of S.T.A.R.S, having to deal with zombies every day.
Otherwise, if it were a typical school romance or some superstar Instance World (instance world/dungeon), Javier would definitely become the most outstanding harmonica composer of the 21st century or something. After all, copying documents is something every transmigrator can do.
What a pity…
He couldn't be the most outstanding composer of the 21st century.
He could only be a member of S.T.A.R.S to eliminate zombies and save the world. How boring—!
"Billy Coen's piano skills are certainly impressive, but what I'm better at is actually the harmonica. If you heard me play, you'd probably worship me even more…"
Pursing his lips,
Javier muttered to himself, dissatisfied.
"Buzz—!"
"Crack…!!!"
However,
Just at this moment,
Before Javier could continue speaking, a sudden sound interrupted the trio's thoughts, drawing all their attention to the wall behind the piano stand. As the music ended, the entire wall suddenly began to indent, revealing very obvious cracks. A hidden wall secret door suddenly slowly opened in front of Javier and the other two.
"Rumble…",
Just like the legendary "Open Sesame,"
The secret wall door slowly pushed open, revealing a hidden room. So… the piano earlier was the mechanism, and the key to opening the secret room was the sheet music on the piano. Playing the corresponding song would successfully open the door.
This was truly a difficult mechanism to guess. This mechanism would likely stump many people. For piano illiterates like Javier and Rebecca, it would probably take a long time to play the piece completely.
However… what Javier and the other two didn't expect was that the secret room inside wasn't a mysterious place for hiding treasures, but merely a wine cellar.
Inside the secret room were rows of wine racks, each holding bottles of precious vintage wine. Judging by their years (vintage), they were even older than the wines on the bar's shelves. Without a doubt… these were the fine wines hidden by the Institute.
Seeing this…
Javier was too lazy to continue showing off,
He ran forward and took several bottles of wine, putting them into his tactical backpack. The wine here hadn't been opened yet. This 1998 vintage… no, even older vintages. If sold in 2023, how much money would that be!
It is said that some red wines in five-star restaurants now, such as the well-known Lafite Rothschild wine online, no longer have the so-called 1982 vintage. The stock has long been sold out. With such large sales, where would so much 1982 Lafite come from? They just use 1982 bottles and pour new red wine into them for sale. It's like Moutai now, selling the bottle, not the wine.
Therefore, it is evident how sought-after these fine wines are for sale, and how much money can be made. As an old miser, Javier naturally couldn't let them go—
However,
Besides these fine wines,
There was also a large battery placed inside the wine cellar wall. Although its exterior was a bit rusty, its internal storage capacity didn't seem to have weakened much, and it could still be used. Whether it was intuition or something else, Rebecca's eyes looked at the battery in front of her, feeling that this thing would be useful later. She didn't hesitate to take it down…
As always, once the word count is met, it's time to put it on the shelves to make money. No choice, I also need income, but the results are not ideal. After all, Resident Evil… the theme is niche and unpopular. I only started writing Resident Evil on a whim after the Resident Evil 4 remake.
Currently, with less than a thousand favorites, I guess it's doomed, but it doesn't matter. I'll be content with just enough to eat. I will guarantee to finish writing this one. I've written nearly five or six books on Ciwei Mao, totaling almost ten million words, and I've never abandoned a project, so please rest assured.
Of course, old fans, don't bring up my dark history. My alternate account's FGO Grand Order hasn't been updated for several months now, and Cyberpunk hasn't been updated this month. I'm busy writing this Resident Evil book, so I've temporarily put those aside. I'll finish Cyberpunk in the next two months, and then most likely continue writing FGO on my alternate account, and double-update this Resident Evil. Therefore, the probability of me abandoning a project is still very low.
Finally, subscriptions will open tomorrow morning. For those who can subscribe and think this book is decent, thank you for subscribing and casting recommendation votes. Thank you, arigato, minna-san…
Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Church
After taking the battery,
Javier and the other two thoroughly searched the secret wine cellar again, but unfortunately… it seemed that besides this battery, there weren't many other useful items here.
In desperation,
Javier and the other two could only reluctantly abandon the wine cellar and the piano, and continued to the next room. It was a pity about these fine wines; Javier could only stuff a few bottles into his pockets. How great would it be if he could take them all…
"Click…"
"Clang—!"
As the doorknob continued to open,
The next room appeared before Javier and the other two. The previous room was an entertainment bar, while this was a modification workshop. Many machines and lathes were piled up here, seemingly specialized for processing certain objects. There were also some carved defective products on the ground.
And in the corner of this workbench,
There were several heavy, large steel calipers, clamping a stone tablet. This was one of the three stone tablets Javier and the others were looking for: the Obedience Tablet.
They had already obtained the Unity Tablet, and with the addition of the Obedience Tablet, they only needed one more Discipline Tablet to collect them all. The process wasn't particularly difficult, but the Obedience Tablet was firmly stuck in the steel calipers, making it very difficult to remove. Forcibly removing it would break the tablet.
Javier and the other two searched the modification workshop for a long time before finding an iron handle to pry open the steel calipers and remove the Obedience Tablet. All that remained… was to find the last tablet—
After collecting the tablet, they returned the way they came, back to the Institute's main hall. There was a second Knight's Gate here that could be opened. The previous Knight's Gate was in the conference room, leading to the emergency passage and Marcus's office.
This new Knight's Gate, however, led to the outside of the Institute, serving as a back exit. So, if they could get outside, would they be able to escape the Institute?
No…
Although that was said, a practical inspection proved to be very frustrating, because the outside area accessed by the Knight's Gate was still blocked by a tall iron fence, making it impossible to climb over. Moreover, the Institute's main bridge had already been damaged and broken, so even if they got out, they would still be trapped within the Institute's perimeter.
Furthermore,
There were still many things in the Institute that Javier and the other two needed to explore.
They had to find strong evidence inside to prove the Umbrella Corporation's evil deeds. Therefore, Javier and the other two could not leave for now. If they couldn't escape through the front, perhaps they could leave through other passages in the Institute.
"Wait…"