However, Wesker, who was standing nearby, sneered.
The reason he allowed Chris to inspect and collect those documents and evidence was because he was certain that Chris and the S.T.A.R.S members would never escape the Mansion Villa.
Since that was the case, facing a group of dead people, he figured they could know whatever truth they wanted; Wesker didn't care.
Furthermore, he had already prepared a backup plan just in case...
Meanwhile, deep within the underground Institute, the sole surviving Bravo Team member, Bravo Team's Captain Enrico Marini, a middle-aged man nearing forty, was gravely examining all the files and records before him.
At this moment, Enrico was covered in blood, and his leather jacket and tactical vest were torn, undoubtedly indicating that he had endured a difficult battle to reach this place.
The zombies he encountered along the way and the research data he found made it clear to Enrico that the Umbrella Corporation was the true mastermind.
This was a colossal case involving a biochemical virus.
To expose the Umbrella Corporation's conspiracy, Enrico, the Bravo Team Captain, intended to take the evidence out.
Therefore, at this moment, Enrico was highly tense.
His twenty-plus years in the police force had brought his heart to a certain level of alertness.
Sweat had plastered his messy hair to his forehead, and Enrico was nervously stuffing a pile of documents and a USB drive into his bag.
But...
Until he saw a photograph lying in the corner.
It was a black and white group photo of five Umbrella Corporation researchers.
Enrico found the people in it very familiar.
First was the famous William Birkin, the Umbrella Corporation's renowned genius biologist, who often appeared on television to discuss his research into various pharmaceuticals, earning widespread praise from the media and the public.
Unfortunately, he later disappeared from public view.
Rumor had it he was conducting closed-door research on a new type of pharmaceutical, but as an old police officer and the Captain of Bravo Team, Enrico had long memorized the identity cards of such important figures, after all, he was a key person in the Umbrella Corporation.
Of course, that wasn't the most crucial part.
The most crucial person was the one in the very corner of the photo...
A familiar man in a white lab coat, with slicked-back hair and dark sunglasses.
Although the man in the photo wore a happy smile, Enrico, who knew his personality well, understood it was a forced, fake smile.
In reality, that cold man rarely showed emotion about anything.
After all...
The man in the photo was Wesker!
Enrico could state with absolute certainty that the man in the photo was Albert Wesker, the captain of their S.T.A.R.S.
Enrico could recognize him even if he were reduced to ashes, which is why Enrico could be sure that Wesker's smile in the photo was fake, because he knew Wesker too well.
Having worked with Wesker for several years, Enrico found it difficult to discern any genuine emotion on the man's face.
It was as if everything was hidden deep within his heart; he was extremely cunning and a very dangerous individual.
The first time Enrico met Wesker, his twenty-plus years of experience as a police officer immediately told him that Wesker was not suited for police work.
His excessively deep cunning, in Enrico's view, made him seem more suited to being a sly criminal.
Wesker was the typical type who could be both an official and a thief, capable of ruling the world or becoming a chaotic overlord.
Unfortunately... because of the virus, Wesker seemed to prefer being a great villain.
But what puzzled Enrico even more was why Wesker's photo appeared here, within the Umbrella Corporation's files.
Could it be that... before Wesker was transferred to the Raccoon City Police Department, he had served as a researcher for the Umbrella Corporation?
Enrico felt inexplicably suspicious about this.
Although the Raccoon City Police Department and the S.T.A.R.S themselves were funded by the Umbrella Corporation, Enrico would not let the Umbrella Corporation's evil deeds go unpunished when faced with such significant matters.
As for Wesker, if he had previously served as a researcher for the Umbrella Corporation and was now the captain of the S.T.A.R.S, Enrico couldn't help but suspect that Wesker was a surveillance agent specifically sent by the Umbrella Corporation, fearing that these little police officers might, out of idleness, suddenly uncover the Umbrella Corporation's secrets.
This conjecture was highly probable, but it still required some evidence to prove Wesker was an inside man; otherwise, no one would believe him.
Thinking this, the experienced Enrico prepared to slowly uncover Wesker's true colors.
However, just as Enrico was about to put away the photo, he suddenly heard clear footsteps coming from behind him.
This instantly tensed Enrico's nerves, and he immediately gripped his handgun, hiding in a nearby corner.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
"Tap, tap, tap..."
There were two sets of footsteps.
And the people approaching were none other than Chris and Wesker.
At this moment, neither of them had noticed Enrico hiding in the corner, and Enrico hadn't immediately recognized Chris and Wesker.
Instead, he instinctively assumed they were either zombies or Umbrella Corporation's clean-up crew.
After all, with such a big secret hidden inside, someone would surely come to destroy it.
If Enrico could apprehend the Umbrella Corporation's logistics personnel, then things would become much simpler.
After all, with a witness, he could expose the Umbrella Corporation's crimes however he wished!
Thus, neither party was aware of the other's presence.
And Enrico, the Old Police, took a deep breath before immediately entering a state of breath-holding.
This method allowed his mind to become highly focused, his brain emptying to concentrate on a single task, while also temporarily stopping his breathing to reduce the chance of being discovered.
After all, Enrico didn't want to be discovered prematurely by the Umbrella Corporation's logistics personnel because of his nervous breathing!
"Tap, tap, tap..."
"Tap, tap, tap..."
The footsteps grew closer.
Chris and Wesker still entered the Laboratory where Enrico was hiding, but the highly alert Wesker still noticed a clue and immediately extended his hand to stop Chris.
With his dark, cold sunglasses, Wesker looked at everything inside the Laboratory, and his expression immediately darkened.
Because Wesker felt that the Laboratory was unusually messy.
It didn't feel like it had been sealed for a long time; the dust on the files had been wiped away, as if they had just been handled.
More importantly, there was a faint smell of sweat in the air, as if someone had just been there.
After all, after the Progenitor Virus enhancement, even though it was only in the initial enhancement stage, Wesker's senses of smell, sight, and other perceptual abilities had been greatly enhanced, making it easy for him to detect other smells lingering in the air.
Of course,
Chris, standing nearby, also sensed something was wrong.
He didn't have a dog-like nose like Wesker; Chris confirmed the situation by finding sweat stains on the ground.
When a person is highly nervous, their body also dissipates heat, and the sweating system isn't just limited to the forehead, armpits, and other areas; all hair follicles throughout the body will sweat, though the amount of sweat varies.
Coincidentally,
Enrico had just been sitting on the ground.
The floor already had a clear sweat imprint of his backside, which is why Chris was certain that someone had indeed been here recently.
And judging by the still-wet sweat print on the ground, it hadn't been many minutes since they left.
"Someone...!
I guessed right, someone was indeed just here!"
Not sensing the danger permeating the air, a green Chris half-knelt, pointing at the sweat stains on the ground and speaking, while Wesker, as the Captain, stood rigidly in place as if his body was stiff, not moving casually.
Because just now,
Wesker's sense of smell had locked onto an even stronger scent of sweat, and that sweat... seemed to be right behind them. Wesker, who had not fully awakened the Progenitor Virus, could not use his teleportation skill yet, so he had no way to deal with the threat behind him.
"Don't move--!!!"
"Raise your hands, let me see your hands, don't try to touch anything, or I can't guarantee the gun in my hand has eyes."
A sudden sharp shout from behind,
startled the green Chris like a clap of thunder.
Because even Chris himself hadn't expected that there was someone hiding behind them. In contrast, Wesker, who was beside him, seemed to have anticipated it and raised his hands cooperatively, his pistol at his waist not drawn.
Seeing this,
the green Chris saw that even Captain Wesker had compromised, so he naturally had no choice and wisely raised his hands as well.
Up to this point,
both of them had their backs to the target,
and had not clearly seen the identity of the other party, nor could they determine the other party's position. Rashly drawing a gun, turning, and shooting, if their reaction speed wasn't enough, they could very likely be killed instantly. Therefore, there was no other way but to compromise.
But...
When both Wesker and Chris turned their heads,
their expressions froze, because the person who had been shouting warnings at them from behind was none other than Enrico Marini, the Captain of Bravo Team. Enrico himself was also stunned, not expecting the Umbrella logistics personnel he intended to apprehend to turn out to be members of S.T.A.R.S.
"Hey, Captain Enrico, why is it you--?!"
"Please wait, don't shoot, I'm Chris, and he's Captain Wesker, we're all on the same side!"
After confirming that they were all friendly forces,
the green Chris let out a huge sigh of relief and quickly explained loudly. However, despite his surprise, Enrico did not immediately lower his guard, instead glancing at Wesker beside him. Until this guy's identity was confirmed, he couldn't relax his vigilance. After all, he had found photos of Wesker as a researcher in the Laboratory.
This meant that...
Before Wesker joined the Raccoon City Police Department as Captain of S.T.A.R.S, he had participated in and was aware of these inhumane experiments. It was very likely... that this guy was an inside agent!
"Chris, why are you here? Where are the others?"
"Have you seen the rest of Bravo Team? Are Javier and Rebecca alive? It was my carelessness, bringing them casually into this hellish Akeley Mountains. This place is full of monsters, it's simply a human slaughterhouse."
However, despite his vigilance,
upon seeing Chris, who was one of his own, Enrico couldn't help but inquire about the whereabouts of the other members of Bravo Team, with Javier and Rebecca, the two newcomers, being his greatest concern.
Javier and Rebecca were the last to join S.T.A.R.S. Rebecca entered S.T.A.R.S as a medic right after graduating from university. Her training was lax, she was engrossed in the study of potion concoction, and her marksmanship and close-quarters combat were lacking, even very poor.
As for Javier, he had only just entered S.T.A.R.S a few months after graduating from the police academy, a complete rookie. Coupled with his extremely rebellious and mischievous personality, although his shooting talent was not weak, Enrico was very afraid that Javier's recklessness would cost him his life, as he had seen many overconfident geniuses die this way.
Furthermore, the two of them were usually very lax during patrols,
so Enrico was most worried about these two. He didn't want two young police officers to lose their lives in vain due to his mistake. If that happened... Enrico would be very remorseful.
After all...
It was he himself who had personally ordered Javier and Rebecca to team up and go deep into the Akeley Mountains to investigate the huangdao Train. He later learned that there were many monsters hidden in the dense forest, which Javier and Rebecca alone could not handle.
Therefore,
the moment he saw Chris,
Old Captain Enrico couldn't help but ask about the situation.
But facing this question... Chris seemed a bit unsure how to answer. It wasn't a question of whether Javier and Rebecca were still alive.
On the contrary... their performance was even better than Chris himself. These two had fought their way from the huangdao Train to the Mansion Villa, and even helped them deal with dozens of Doberman Zombie Dogs. This seemed to be no longer a question of whether they were alive!
Chapter 20: Infernal Affairs
"This..."
"Actually, Captain Enrico, you don't need to worry. Javier and Rebecca are still alive. We already met up in the dense forest of the Akeley Mountains before coming to the Mansion Villa, and they are much more experienced than you might expect."
"On the contrary... the rest of Bravo Team are currently out of contact. Edward, Spyer, and Richard cannot be reached by communication. As for Sullivan, he has been confirmed dead. He died in the main hall of the Mansion Villa, bitten to death by a zombie. Please accept my condolences for that."
"Our Alpha Team isn't doing much better. As soon as we landed, that guy Brad already fled in the helicopter out of fear, and that guy Joseph, because he was too reckless, was the first to die at the jaws of the Zombie Dogs."
Facing Enrico's words,
Chris answered everything he knew, while Wesker on the side remained cold and aloof, not saying anything else, maintaining his cool and ruthless demeanor.
However,
such an action,
only made Enrico, who was secretly observing, more suspicious. Members of S.T.A.R.S were dying and getting injured. Even if Wesker was truly cold-blooded, he would at least show some emotion. But this demeanor... it was as if they weren't his subordinates, and it was even possible that Wesker didn't consider them living people.
This really could be a spy sent by Umbrella--
"Is that so...?"
"Captain Wesker, I'd like to ask you something. When the mission was first assigned, were you aware of the dangers present in the Akeley Mountains? Or was it... a secret mission issued by the Police Department itself, without any information disclosed?"
After listening to Chris's answer,
Enrico was silent for a moment, not intending to immediately expose Wesker's true identity. Instead, he asked indirectly. As Enrico, who had been a police officer for over twenty years, he intended to use his experience in interrogation to see if he could subtly elicit any slip-ups from Wesker.
However,
as soon as the words fell,
Wesker narrowed his eyes slightly, turning his cold gaze from beneath his dark sunglasses. These words... seemed to indicate that Enrico, the Captain of Bravo Team, had discovered some extraordinary secret and was planning to suspect and question him?
Thinking of this,
Wesker's expression immediately turned grim, of course not from nervousness, but from anger. He used the same method he had used to intimidate Chris before, answering in a very displeased tone:
"What do you mean?"
"Enrico, are you trying to blame the deaths of S.T.A.R.S members on me? The mission was issued by the Raccoon City Police Department, and it was a direct order from the Chief himself. Do you have a problem with that? The Akeley Mountains serial killer case has caused panic among the citizens, and haven't you all wanted to investigate it for a long time?"