"You guys say…"
"Is there any possibility that his wife and daughter are still alive?"
At this moment,
Barry, who was beside him, took the photo from Javier's hand and gently wiped the happy family of three in the picture. As if his compassion had been touched, Barry's face showed a self-deceiving bitter smile as he asked Javier and the others softly,
The family of three in the photo,
was like a reflection of Barry's own family.
As a qualified and responsible father, if George's wife and daughter were still alive, Barry could assure George that he would definitely fight with his life to rescue his wife and daughter. This was a mutual recognition and promise among fathers.
But unfortunately…
"I can understand your feelings, Barry,"
"But the Mansion Villa has been abandoned for a long time, at least several years. Plus the yellowing of this paper and photo, it must have been a very long time. Given this time gap, I think… I'm sorry!"
Seeing Barry immersed in pain, Jill, who was more rational, hesitated for a while before cruelly informing Barry of the harsh reality.
After all, there was no way around it.
So much time had passed.
Umbrella Corporation's bio-virus experiments had never been exposed until today, so it was impossible for outsiders to have come into contact with George's wife and daughter. Therefore, they were most likely disposed of as waste, as stated on the paper!
Unless some researchers from Umbrella Corporation had a sudden change of heart,
and secretly released George's wife and daughter, but that conjecture seemed even more impossible—
But looking at Barry, who was in immense pain,
Javier tilted his head and said lightly:
"The letter says his wife and daughter were also injected with the T-Virus. If these viruses can perfectly integrate into the human body, there will be no side effects, and they won't turn into Zombies. They might even become Superhumans. This was Umbrella Corporation's initial goal in researching the virus."
"Look on the bright side, maybe the mother and daughter perfectly integrated the virus, hid from Umbrella Corporation's eyes as Superhumans, and escaped through feigned death. Perhaps they are now living a peaceful and ordinary life? Don't look at me… I don't like painful stories. I prefer coffee with a touch of fairy tale sugar, I'm only interested in drinking it if it's bittersweet."
As if lying without a care in the world,
Javier comforted Barry in this way.
Javier didn't bother with the speechless expressions of Rebecca and Jill beside him. After all, fairy tales cater to different audiences. Didn't Barry's face look much better after hearing his words?
Of course,
it was indeed the case.
However, only Lisa herself perfectly integrated the virus. Her mother had died long ago.
Lisa's physique, throughout the entire Resident Evil history, was one of the best. She received a very good response from the initial injection of the T-Virus. Although there were still adverse reactions, compared to those who either died or completely turned into Zombies and lost their minds upon T-Virus injection, Lisa seemed mutated but still retained her sanity. This single point was incomparable to others.
Subsequently, Lisa was injected with various viruses developed by Umbrella Corporation, and Lisa accepted all of them one by one. Besides her firm longing for her parents, her miraculous body was also one of the main reasons.
At this time, Lisa
was already a virus fusion body. The T-Virus and various other viruses fused, and during this period, she was even injected with the Nemesis-α Parasite. It was not the Plaga parasite from the fourth generation, but a parasite independently developed by Umbrella Corporation. Its function was not as excellent as the ancient Plaga parasite, and its mortality rate was even very high.
But within Lisa's body, it not only didn't cause trouble but was completely absorbed by Lisa. With the help of the parasite's power, Lisa even regained a little bit of her sanity.
Therefore,
Lisa could be said to be a natural breeding ground and container for viruses. Countless viruses underwent secondary mutation after combining within her. Under the mutual fusion of a large number of viruses, G… began to show its signs of birth.
Undoubtedly, the greatest characteristics of the G Virus were its uncontrollable mutation and tenacious survival ability.
This was also one of Lisa's greatest characteristics.
Lisa was able to withstand the erosion of so many viruses precisely because of her tenacious survival ability. This also reflected the similarity between G and Lisa, and it was also the characteristic that G replicated from Lisa.
The G Virus would mutate according to its surrounding environment. When it encountered a natural enemy or dangerous weapon intended to destroy it, it would quickly mutate into the most suitable form for survival in the current environment. Therefore, the mutation of G was uncontrollable.
Its mutation depended on the surrounding environment and the degree of danger. The mutation pattern of each G Virus would not be the same, just as there are no two identical leaves in the world, which is quite miraculous.
This was also the aspect of the G Virus that deeply fascinated William.
At that time, William was the one responsible for researching Lisa, this miraculous experimental subject. After obtaining the G Virus from Lisa and improving it, William believed that the original virus in Lisa was far weaker than his improved G Virus. Therefore, he immediately burned his bridges and disposed of Lisa, the original G Virus host…
Javier could only say that this was a foolish idiot.
William seemed like a genius, but in reality, he was a bookworm. He was only excellent in research; his thinking ability in other matters was simply idiotic.
With a high-strength virus fusion container like Lisa, he could actually research various new types of viruses. Because Lisa herself was a virus fusion card, all kinds of viruses in her body could fuse. Even with repeated experiments, he might truly research new viruses without side effects, the kind that could help countless people become new Superhumans…
It's just a pity,
William was very stupid, but this could also be considered letting go of this poor girl, Lisa. Anyway, Javier didn't want Lisa to be tormented any further.
Afterward,
Lisa, who had been disposed of by Umbrella Corporation, did not die. She still survived and was currently wandering in the mountains behind the Mansion Villa, only to find her mother.
And the next mission,
was very likely to be finding Lisa, as Javier's system had arranged it this way. At the same time, Javier also hoped to release this poor girl from her suffering soon. However, what made Javier curious was that besides helping Lisa find her mother's remains, it also mentioned helping Lisa alleviate her pain?
This made Javier extremely puzzled.
What exactly did this so-called alleviation of pain mean… was it to let Lisa die in peace, or to help her regain her human form?
The former was very easy to understand, while the latter was inconceivable.
…
And on the other side—
What Javier and the others did not know was that,
in a dense forest cabin behind the Mansion Villa, a slender, eerie monster wearing heavy shackles was wandering and lingering. Its skin was extremely pale, but not Rotten, it wore thin cloth clothes, and its head was wrapped in various human skins, appearing incredibly huge. Its arms, due to long-term wearing of shackles, had become slender and extremely long, coupled with its hunched back… making it even more terrifying!
And this monster was Lisa Trevor, whom Javier and the others were discussing—
When she was disposed of by Umbrella Corporation, the Umbrella Corporation personnel did not crush her into countless pieces. Instead, like ordinary garbage, they hastily buried her in the dense forest. This allowed Lisa, who had briefly died, to come back to life with the G Virus. She then wandered around the Mansion Villa and the dense forest behind the mountain.
No one knew what she was looking for… only she herself clearly knew what she was looking for—!
Chapter 24 Jessica Trevor
Lisa Trevor, carrying heavy shackles, was traversing the dark Akeley Mountains forest, slowly walking towards the Mansion Villa, her figure swaying… Along the way, countless Doberman Zombie Dogs barked incessantly at her, but none dared to step forward and attack, as if this deformed figure before them was exceptionally terrifying—
…
And Lisa, however, paid no attention.
Her figure continued to sway towards the Mansion Villa. She smelled the scent of living people. A new group of guests had arrived at the Mansion Villa. If they were from Umbrella Corporation, Lisa would kill them all, just for revenge!
And if they were not from Umbrella Corporation, Lisa wanted to ask them for a favor, a very important favor.
There's no need to doubt Lisa's actions…
Because from beginning to end, she never completely turned into a monster. Although she was a thorough "poison pot" in Resident Evil, with countless bio-viruses living inside her, none of them had ever completely devoured her. In fact, ever since she absorbed the Nemesis-α Parasite, Lisa's consciousness had always been present and had never left.
And in the eyes of William and Wesker, her act of tearing off female skin and sticking it onto herself was a sign of madness, mutation, and loss of sanity.
But in fact, it wasn't.
That was not a sign of Lisa losing her sanity, but rather an obsession… the madness that arose from an excessive longing for her mother and father. It was like human aggressive behavior; it was actually a controllable emotion. If Lisa's mother were still alive, and if Umbrella Corporation could allow Lisa to see her mother every day, Lisa probably wouldn't resist and might even willingly serve as an experimental subject for Umbrella Corporation.
Therefore,
uncontrollable emotions can be called a loss of sanity.
For someone like Lisa… it can only be barely described as dissatisfaction.
So from beginning to end, everyone was deceived by Lisa's deformed appearance and strange behavior. She was a monster, that was true, but it didn't mean she had no sanity. So Lisa had always been very clear about what she was doing—!
…
And on the other side—
Javier and the others, relying on the rough floor plan of the Mansion Villa drawn by George, the great father, passed through numerous traps and obstacles and arrived at the mine shaft behind the Mansion Villa. This was the route they found based on clues.
To enter the underground Laboratory of the Mansion Villa, one could only enter through the mine shaft in the back mountain. The entrances and exits of the two were not as numerous as those of the Cadre Training Institute. Therefore, out of necessity, Javier and the others could only come to the mine shaft in the back mountain.
This place was actually very close to the Mansion Villa.
Only a hundred meters away, and judging by the scale of the excavation inside, it was very likely that it also hid many secrets.
"Cough, cough…"
"How long has it been since anyone came here? So much dust. Besides researching viruses, is Umbrella Corporation also interested in mining? Is this stuff more valuable than their virus research?"
Just as they entered the mine shaft,
Rebecca and Jill were choked by the dust inside. Spiderwebs were everywhere, and the cold environment made Rebecca and Jill feel very uncomfortable. They also couldn't understand why a pharmaceutical company would be involved with coal mining. Was there any connection between the two?
"Not exactly…"
"Although the framework of this mine shaft has been reinforced, it's not for excavation. The surrounding walls have holes, like they were used to place candles and oil lamps. This place should have been purely for living, or more directly… this place is a dungeon or a pigsty specifically for keeping experimental animals."
After roughly surveying the surroundings of the mine shaft,
Javier calmly explained to Rebecca and Jill. This place was too clean and tidy, even a bit unusually so. Of course, he wasn't saying the mine shaft environment was clean and tidy, but rather that the mine shaft itself was too clean and tidy.
The excavation direction of a typical mine tunnel is determined by the ore vein itself. Miners dig wherever there is more ore, and it's common to see narrow tunnels here and wide tunnels there, with large holes sometimes and small holes at other times.
But this mine shaft… the tunnels were perfectly straight, and there were even occasional cross-intersections, just like the rooms in the Mansion Villa. Therefore, Javier could easily determine that this mine shaft was not for mining; it was most likely for housing people.
Imprisoning experimental subjects as hostages inside the Mansion would be easily discovered, especially since the Mansion Villa was frequently visited at that time, making it unsafe. However, imprisoning them in the mine shaft was very suitable. The surroundings were solid rock walls, making escape impossible, and the soundproofing was excellent, so there was no fear of being discovered.
Besides…
No normal person would be interested in a dark mine shaft. Even if someone did notice something unusual, looking at the dark and oppressive mine tunnels, very few people would have the courage to go in and investigate.
Therefore—
Umbrella Corporation's choice of the mine shaft as a prison indeed had its outstanding advantages…
"Livestock?"
Hearing this word,
Rebecca and Jill couldn't help but frown.
It seemed they both disliked the term, but there was nothing they could do. Umbrella Corporation… they indeed treated experimental subjects no differently than livestock, as viruses were what they were passionate about.
Soon,
Javier confirmed the veracity of his earlier words. The four searched everywhere in the mine shaft. The mine shaft was full of excavated rock-walled rooms. Inside the rock-walled rooms, there was a hard stone bed covered with a simple, worn-out burlap sheet. There wasn't much furniture inside.
Next to it were rotten tables and chairs, and in the corner, there was a carved out recess where lit candles or oil lamps could be placed. The door to the rock-walled room was an iron door with only a small window for serving food. If there were no candles for illumination, these prison cells would be completely dark and very oppressive.
And in many of the prison rooms,
Javier and the others also found many skeletons, with only tattered rags clinging to the white bones. Judging by the degree of decay, they had been there for at least several years, which showed just how cruel Umbrella Corporation was back then—!
Of course,
besides that,
Javier and the others were not without Gains.
They found a special rock-walled room in the mine shaft prison. Compared to the dilapidated rooms around it, this one appeared somewhat tidy and luxurious. There was an extra cabinet, painted red, and red cloth drapes hung over the stone bed. The table and chairs were neatly arranged and dust-free, and spiderwebs had been cleared. More importantly… there were several white candles burning in the rock recesses on the wall.
This indicated…
Someone had been in this rock-walled room before—!!!
And judging by the extent of the candle's burning and melting, it seemed they hadn't left long ago, at most an hour or two. The fact that there were still living people in the mine shaft prison startled Javier and the S.T.A.R.S team members!
If there were still living people in this ghost-like Mansion Villa… who could this living person be?
Why hadn't he escaped? Why hadn't he reported to the Raccoon City police? And why hadn't he even reported Umbrella Corporation? Why was this?! All these mysteries suddenly enveloped the minds of Rebecca, Jill, and the others.
Undoubtedly,
this room in the mine shaft prison, flickering with warm candlelight,
brought considerable mystery to Javier and the others. They couldn't guess who the true owner of this rock-walled prison was.