But what was strange was that the main entrance to the church hall didn't have a keyhole, nor did it have an attached chain lock, so how could it inexplicably get stuck and be unable to open?
However, very quickly,
Javier's gaze locked onto the bell tower next to the church.
Churches usually have bell towers to remind believers of prayer times, but if there's no other way in, then it's very likely that the 'open sesame' mechanism is inside the bell tower.
And speaking of the bell tower,
It was just an ordinary bell tower, with a tall, slender spire like the church, a large golden bell hanging above, and a thick hemp rope dangling down. When needed, it would be used to swing and strike the bell, producing a loud chime. It was the oldest type of bell tower, not one operated by gears...
"Dong—!"
"Dong—dong—dong—!!!"
Looking at the large metal bell above his head,
Javier didn't hesitate. He grabbed the thick hemp rope and began to swing it. As the rope swung, deafening roars from the great bell began to hum, subtly stinging his eardrums. Javier even wondered... could this thing be heard for miles around? It was practically a noise generator!
However,
Although the bell was rung,
The expected outcome didn't happen. No hidden mechanism was triggered, and the main hall door of the church didn't open, leaving Javier and the other two puzzled. Could it be that he had guessed wrong again...? Was this bell tower not the unlocking mechanism?
But it was quickly proven that Javier's guess was indeed wrong, because the real mechanism was on the floor beneath the bell tower. In the corners of four stone tile floor, there were four special patterns, which should correspond to some mythological story.
And as luck would have it...
At this very moment, Rebecca, with her protagonist's halo, stepped on one of the correct floor patterns.
"Click!"
A strange sound rang out,
The floor beneath her instantly dropped, immediately triggering a mechanism. The main hall door of the church, which had been tightly locked and impossible to open, suddenly opened automatically. This inexplicable mechanism startled Javier and the other two. So, this floor was the real mechanism.
"Eh?"
"The church door really opened! Hey... Javier, you guessed wrong. The floor is the switch to open the church door."
Feeling the anomaly under her feet,
Rebecca immediately looked up and exclaimed in surprise, not expecting to be so lucky as to hit the mechanism button right away.
"The floor?"
Following Rebecca's gaze,
Javier also slowly looked at the floor under Rebecca's feet. Sure enough, a part of it had sunken in. Seeing this... Javier quickly told Billy to check the main hall door of the church, and indeed, it was already wide open, without any obstruction.
But at that moment,
Just as Javier and the other two were about to enter the church, the previously open church door suddenly closed tightly again, as if playing a trick on them. This made Javier's expression slightly freeze, unsure what kind of trick this was.
It wasn't until he saw the sunken mechanism floor in the corner of the bell tower rise back up that Javier suddenly understood. It turned out this thing was a gravity-activated mechanism; someone had to continuously stand on it to keep the main hall door of the church open for entry.
This kind of design...
Wasn't it meant to separate the three of them?
It wanted them to enter the church alone, while one person remained outside. If it were just Rebecca and Billy Coen, they might have fallen for it, but now with Javier... Heh heh, this mechanism design was too stupid.
Under everyone's watchful eyes—
Javier ran directly to the lake next to the church, took out his Desert Eagle, and fired several shots at the stone pillar railing by the lake. The stone pillar railing, already covered in moss and eroded by wind and rain for many years, instantly shattered to the ground. Carrying the heavy stone block, Javier directly moved it to the mechanism floor in the corner of the bell tower, then let go and slammed it down hard!
"Bang!"
Feeling the weight fall,
The mechanism activated again, and the previously closed main hall door of the church quickly opened. This made Javier satisfied as he clapped the dust off his hands. Which stupid designer set up this mechanism? Trying to separate their group was simply too childish!
"Alright, that's done cleanly."
"Let's go into the church. I'm curious to see what secrets are hidden inside. After all... I also have many sinful secrets in my heart that I want to confess to our great Lord and beg for His forgiveness. Amen—!"
Wiping the dirt from his hands on his pants,
Javier's expression quickly changed, putting on the appearance of a devout Christian believer, saying with a serious face, which earned him looks of disdain from Rebecca and Billy beside him. What sins could this guy possibly confess? After all, he's completely a scoundrel to begin with.
Besides,
You, a dignified member of the Raccoon City Police Department's S.T.A.R.S, when did you become a Christian? How come no one has ever heard of it? Did you just convert temporarily? Well, the Lord won't accept a lost lamb like you, who changes his mind like a weathervane...
"Thump, thump, thump..."
But Javier ignored the disdainful looks from Rebecca and Billy Coen.
Instead, he calmly stepped into the main hall door of the church. Hmph... you boring believers, how could you understand the Lord's intentions? The Lord loves to take in lost lambs like him the most.
And the interior of this church,
Was as expected, very beautiful.
Each arched window had colorful stained glass. When sunlight shone through these windows in the morning, they would emit a rainbow-like glow, very beautiful and sacred.
Besides these, the walls inside the church were also carved with many lifelike reliefs, even including the famous Last Supper of Jesus and the twelve disciples. However, the central prayer painting was not of Jesus himself, but of the more sacred and great Holy Mother Mary. As the Mother of God, she stood in the painting, gently and kindly holding Jesus in her arms.
Fully displaying a mother's tenderness and greatness—!
Overall... this temporarily built church was indeed more beautiful than the churches in Raccoon City. It truly lived up to Umbrella Corporation, willing to spend money, and with excellent aesthetics.
Paired with the warm yellow lighting,
It made Holy Mother Mary inside the church appear even more sacred and radiant, inspiring a sense of piety, as if endless words wanted to pour out...
However,
While sacred, it also gave Javier a strange feeling—
This strange feeling was in the atmosphere, not the surroundings. The surroundings were sacred enough, but the aura was quite peculiar, giving people an ominous premonition, indescribable and unclear, very frustrating!
But, the show must go on.
"Merciful and great Lord, and Holy Mother Mary full of love, your faithful servant is suffering the greatest confusion. I am like a lost lamb wandering aimlessly and hitting walls in a vast grassland. I have one sin that I wish to beg your forgiveness for,"
"I possess extraordinary power, but I do not know how to use it. Therefore, do you think I should go with the flow and act as I please, or should I prioritize the people and save them from suffering, just as you did in the past? This question has troubled me for a long time. Please, Lord, answer this humble plea of mine...!"
With a serious expression,
Javier stood beneath the paintings of Jesus and Holy Mother Mary, praying and confessing very earnestly, trying to get a response from the Lord. But unfortunately... the Lord is a liar. He has never answered the questions of lost lambs.
After waiting for a long time,
The expected inner voice did not sound—
This made Javier both angry and helpless. He was angry that Western gods were indeed liars, all a bunch of frauds. And he was helpless because... where do gods come from these days? Can't they be less childish? Although he had a golden finger, that didn't mean there was really a god. This behavior was too ridiculous.
Even Rebecca next to him looked speechless.
What do you mean you have extraordinary power and don't know how to use it? How come we haven't seen anything special or magical about you all this way...? You really can brag, and you're even bragging to the Lord. You're really not afraid of the Lord sending down divine punishment!
"Tch!"
"Jesus is indeed fake, completely useless. I really don't know why there are so many believers, or perhaps there are too many believers, and he's too lazy to reply to a lost lamb like me. That's right... I also have many girls in my phone who are after my good looks, and many times they want to call me for a hookup, but there are too many, so I'm too lazy to reply."
"Our Son of God, Jesus, is probably the same, how pitiful!"
His expression changed,
Javier shrugged, and then complained with another mindset, which made Rebecca completely put her hand on her forehead. This guy was beyond saving.
Too lazy to continue paying attention to Javier's self-talk and theatrics,
Rebecca and Billy began to search the church. If they weren't mistaken, there should be some kind of hint item or information here too, as it had been like this all along their journey.
And after Javier saw that no one was paying attention to him,
He turned and opened the door to the room next to the church hall. It should have been the priest's study, as the room was filled with various books, all neatly arranged on bookshelves. A desk lamp next to the desk was still lit, and under the lamp was a typewriter that Javier was very familiar with!
Typewriter—
An item that runs through most of the Resident Evil game's plot scenes. Whenever a boss battle is approaching or an important chapter is passed, this thing appears because the typewriter is Resident Evil's save device, an item specifically used for saving and loading games.
Retro design,
Yellowed paper,
Familiar twenty-six English letters, and a true mechanical keyboard. The keyboards of modern computers are simply weak compared to this in terms of mechanical feel. This was a true mechanical switch. And as if on a whim, Javier walked up to the typewriter and skillfully typed out a line of English letters.
The approximate meaning was:
"July 23, 1998, 3:30 AM, Raccoon City Police Department S.T.A.R.S, Javier Li, Rebecca Chambers, and one surviving Marine Private, infiltrated the Institute to investigate and search for evidence of Umbrella Corporation's monstrous crimes. Currently passing through the church location, leaving behind evidence of our presence, in case of unforeseen circumstances..."
A simple save was thus completed.
After doing all this, Javier breathed a slight sigh of relief. Just as he was about to doubt whether this typewriter had the game's save effect,
At this very moment,
Rebecca and Billy Coen, who were in the church hall, let out a scream, as if they had been attacked by something!
"Ah—!!!!"
"Bats, so many bats! Where did all these bats come from!"
"Be careful, these bats are carrying viruses, don't let them bite you! Bang—bang—!!!"
Screams came one after another, accompanied by deafening gunshots, which made Javier's face pale in the study. He quickly ran out of the study. Has the boss really arrived?
Chapter 41: Church on Fire
Bats—
So many bats,
At some point, many bats had infiltrated the church. Their bodies were pitch black, like shadows darting around the church ceiling, making chirping sounds that were particularly piercing and incredibly annoying!
Furthermore,
All these bats, without exception, had crimson eyes.
Their teeth were much sharper than ordinary bats. Undoubtedly... these bats, like the crows outside the Institute, had consumed zombie decaying flesh and become infected mutants, with much stronger aggression.
Even more difficult to deal with—
Was the unity of these bats. Although bats don't hunt a single prey together like wolves, they can indeed communicate as a team. This is something ordinary animals don't have, and bats will collectively go out to forage, then gather in large groups to roost and rest when returning to their nest.
This indicates a high tolerance for their own species, and thus strong communication skills. Once they target you, it's difficult to escape their pursuit range; you'll be constantly harassed. Not to mention that the virus has now strengthened this series of their behaviors, making them even more troublesome!
It's also worth mentioning that,
About seventy percent of bat species are actually vegetarian, feeding mainly on nectar and fruits, with only the remaining thirty percent choosing to feed on blood. But unfortunately, now that they are infected with the virus, they have become extremely violent, and even omnivorous bats would probably crave flesh and blood.
And even more terrifying,
Is the large amount of virus these bats inherently carry. It is well known that... bats are one of the most adaptable mammals in the world. Their bodies can withstand extreme temperature differences; the highest temperature they can endure is around 50℃, which would be a fatal fever for humans, burning out internal organs and the brain, but bats can completely tolerate it.
Then, when the ambient temperature reaches around 16℃, bats enter deep sleep, reducing their metabolism and energy consumption, allowing them to survive longer.
This amazing physical constitution, coupled with excellent aerial transmission capabilities,
Has led to bats becoming one of the most excellent natural carriers of zoonotic viruses. Their excellent temperature adaptability allows them to harbor a large number of viruses. A single bat can carry about a dozen types of disease viruses, which is a very terrifying thing.
Therefore, scientists speculate that
Many human plague disasters,
Are most likely spread by bats, after all, they are the most adaptable to viruses without dying, and their flight transmission ability is excellent. It is very easy for them to spread a virus!
And in fact, this is indeed the case.
Many recent viruses are indeed carried by bats, but blaming them for it is not advisable. However, regardless, bats carry a large number of viruses, and even if they are only slightly infected with the T-Virus now, if bitten...
The infected person would probably wish they were dead,
Because you simply don't know what kind of monstrosity the T-Virus combined with the dozen or so disease viruses in a bat's body would create. Injecting such a mixed virus into the human body would surely be a very unpleasant experience, and even if a great immortal came and gave you a golden elixir antidote, it would likely be too late to save you!
Therefore—
In Javier's opinion,
These bats were undoubtedly very troublesome infected creatures.