"Hoo hoo hoo…!!!"
Just as Rebecca and Jill truly believed Javier wouldn't be able to rendezvous, a sudden rush of footsteps and a low hiss echoed from the passage leading to the top floor of the Mansion Villa. This familiar hiss—could it be zombies attacking?
No, it wasn't!
A tall, thin, disheveled monster was carrying the unconscious Javier, chasing after them. Her long, flaxen hair had dark red tips, her face was obscured, and she wore only thin, coarse linen clothes. Her skin was incredibly pale, and her wrists and ankles were bound with shackles and chains that clinked softly as she ran. Wrapped tightly in the tentacles on her back was a person.
It was Javier.
And the monster was the young girl Lisa Trevor—
"Monster?!!!"
The helicopter pilot, Brad, was startled the moment he saw the monster Lisa. He prepared to maneuver the helicopter to strafe her with machine gun fire, but Barry, standing nearby, shouted to stop him.
"Wait, don't shoot! She's not a monster! She's a girl, and she's carrying Javier. She's here to repay a kindness…"
Undoubtedly, everyone saw Javier on Lisa's back.
At this moment, Javier was still unconscious, his face covered in bloodstains, which made Rebecca's heart ache, but thankfully, he seemed to be alright.
"Hoo hoo hoo…"
"He… is… yours…"
The monster girl quickly approached them, slowly and carefully lowering the unconscious Javier from her back. Lisa's voice was hoarse and unclear as she instructed Rebecca and Jill.
After a final, deep look at Javier, Lisa did not linger or show any intention of leaving with them.
Instead, she instantly turned and fled.
Her figure quickly disappeared, as she leaped directly from the roof of the Mansion Villa, eliciting gasps from Rebecca and Jill. However, Lisa wasn't seeking death; with the G Virus, this height was not fatal. On the contrary, the Mansion Villa was about to explode, and since she couldn't take the helicopter, she naturally needed to leave quickly!
"Hey, Jill, time's running out,"
"You two, get on the helicopter quickly, or we really won't be able to leave,"
At this point, only fifty-odd seconds remained on the countdown to the Mansion Villa's self-destruction. The anxious pilot, Brad, could only continue to urge them loudly. It was then that Rebecca and Jill seemed to awaken from a dream, quickly picked up the unconscious Javier, and ran towards the helicopter…
Finally,
"Vroom vroom vroom—!!!"
"Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!!!!"
The helicopter successfully took off,
swiftly moving away from the Mansion Villa and flying towards the Akeley Mountains.
Under the morning sun, Jill, Rebecca, and the S.T.A.R.S successfully escaped. The Mansion Villa, with a loud "boom," completely self-destructed and was consumed by flames, turning into a pile of ashes and ruins, a truly lamentable sight.
Sitting quietly inside the helicopter cabin,
the pilot, Brad, his eyes flickering, occasionally glanced at Jill and Rebecca in the rearview mirror, lost in thought. Rebecca, meanwhile, looked at Javier, who was sleeping on her lap, with a pained expression, carefully wiping the wounds on his face. Jill and Barry gazed at the rising sun in the distance, their minds heavy…
But one thing was certain:
This was indeed survival after a catastrophe—
[Resident Evil 1 — END]
Volume 3: Resident Evil 2/3
Chapter 1: My Band-Aid
One month later…
Raccoon City—
"Welcome to tonight's news broadcast. I'm your lovely host, Ms. Nasha. Today, I'd like to announce some exciting news to all citizens of Raccoon City. After days and nights of tireless investigation and searching by our Raccoon City Police Department officers, the recent unsettling serial murders have been completely resolved."
"And the mastermind, just as Chief Brian of our Raccoon City Police Department wisely speculated, was a foreign cult organization. They attempted to instill fear in us and threaten our citizens into acknowledging their religious beliefs, but unfortunately… their conspiracy ultimately failed."
"Under the investigation and encirclement of our brave Raccoon City officers, this cult organization was dealt a decisive blow and completely eradicated. Therefore, citizens of Raccoon City, tonight you can finally open your doors wide and go out to celebrate freely. Don't worry, don't be anxious, enjoy your nightlife to the fullest. Raccoon City's wise officers are your best Umbrella!"
…
"At the same time, there's another piece of good news. Umbrella Corporation's newly developed medicine has achieved great success. Its properties are mild, and its speed in healing lesions is astonishing. Its sales are currently skyrocketing all over the world."
"Citizens who haven't purchased this product yet, please feel free to buy it. Umbrella Corporation, considering the concerns of the general public, has also introduced subsidy clauses, so you no longer need to worry about after-sales issues. Alright… this is your lovely host, Ms. Nasha. Welcome to the next news broadcast. Goodbye!"
The day's news was playing on the big-headed television.
The blurry screen distorted the news anchor's face, making her look like a monster in human skin. The TV static was also very noticeable and messy.
Helplessly,
a hand slowly reached for the remote control and turned off the dilapidated television.
"…"
"Is the virus about to break out? In the end, the report and exposure failed. It seems Umbrella Corporation still has immense power; the news couldn't even get out of Raccoon City."
A hoarse voice murmured faintly.
In a chair in front of the television, a lazy man leaned back. With black hair, dark eyes, and slightly yellowish-white skin, he was Asian. At this moment, he wore a black police cap and a blue police uniform, yawning idly.
The person was Javier Li.
At this moment, his uniform was no longer the special S.T.A.R.S police uniform, but an ordinary blue police uniform. And the surrounding environment was not a police station, but a warehouse, a storage for gun parts and other miscellaneous items.
Yes, he had been demoted.
S.T.A.R.S was disbanded by Chief Brian, that fat pig of a police chief. From then on, there would be no more S.T.A.R.S in Raccoon City. Javier was demoted on the spot and assigned to guard gun parts in the armory.
It was a good assignment, but also a bad one.
Because Javier and the other S.T.A.R.S members had offended Chief Brian of the Raccoon City Police Department. Javier seemed to be guarding the armory, like letting a mouse into a granary, but in reality, this was Chief Brian's best way to monitor Javier.
Because Javier was working right under his nose, Chief Brian could easily monitor whether Javier was making any small moves.
The benefits and drawbacks of the two were relative.
Moreover, Javier had no right to go out on duty. As soon as he started work, he had to stay in the warehouse and could not leave for half a step, nor did he have the right to go out for investigations. Even when he returned home, he was monitored. This situation was very difficult.
But there was nothing they could do, who told them they lost from the start…
On the day the Mansion Villa investigation concluded, Jill and Rebecca, who had just returned to Raccoon City by helicopter, immediately reported Umbrella Corporation's evil deeds to Chief Brian.
But unfortunately,
this almost played right into Chief Brian's hands. He had long been bought off by Umbrella Corporation, so when it came to matters that threatened Umbrella Corporation, he naturally chose to conceal them. Thus, he immediately announced the disbandment of S.T.A.R.S, and even temporarily revoked Jill and Rebecca's police licenses, citing their excessive mental stress and their spreading of panic about monster incidents, ordering them to take a six-month leave before their positions would be reinstated.
This handling method
immediately enraged the hot-tempered Jill and Rebecca.
They immediately started yelling at Chief Brian. Of course… yelling at the Chief of Police naturally had no good outcome. Jill and Rebecca were once again announced to have their police licenses directly revoked, and at the same time, due to insulting the Raccoon City Police Department's chief and having mental abnormalities, they were temporarily supervised for one month.
At this point, the idea of reporting and exposing Umbrella Corporation's crimes was completely shattered, dying directly in the hands of Chief Brian.
Don't doubt Chief Brian's capabilities. He might not be effective elsewhere, but in Raccoon City, he practically held absolute power, even more than the Raccoon City mayor. Coupled with Umbrella Corporation's backing, his words were absolute commands, no different from a local tyrant.
At that time, Javier, Chris, and Captain Enrico actually knew that Chief Brian was problematic, but unfortunately, all three were unconscious at the time. Jill and Rebecca, being impatient, hastily reported it, which played right into Chief Brian's hands.
If they had planned it out carefully, perhaps things might have taken a turn for the better… but now, it was basically too late to say anything.
Javier was demoted on the spot and sent to guard the warehouse as a low-ranking police officer. Chris and Enrico, those two tough guys, couldn't stand Chief Brian's actions and angrily decided to flee Raccoon City, preparing to join other organizations to fight against Umbrella Corporation and Bio-weapons.
Rebecca, that girl, also had a child-like temper and decided to expose Umbrella Corporation's conspiracy herself. Later, she was invited by David Trapp of the S.T.A.R.S Exeter Branch in Maine to go to Caliban Cove, a small town in Maine, where there seemed to be an Umbrella research facility.
David's plan was to steal evidence of Umbrella's bio-experiments from inside and make it public, while Rebecca also intended to expose Umbrella Corporation's conspiracy through other means—
As for the old man Barry, because his wife and daughter were kidnapped by Wesker, he left alone to rescue them. Although Barry was also indignant about Umbrella Corporation's evil deeds, the safety of his wife and daughter was more important, so he prioritized rescuing them…
Jill, on the other hand, was confined to her residence because she had defied Chief Brian. She was monitored daily and not allowed to leave her room for half a step, having to stay for a full month before gaining her freedom.
Brad Vickers, the Alpha Team pilot, that coward, was not within Chief Brian's scope of retaliation. After all, everyone knew his personality.
He was completely and utterly a coward, not daring to utter a peep, only occasionally showing courage once. Besides having his police license temporarily suspended, he generally faced no great difficulties and was even granted the right to move freely.
All in all,
the current situation was very troublesome.
S.T.A.R.S was scattered to various places, completely unable to regroup, and subjected to surveillance. The plan to expose Umbrella Corporation's crimes and resist them had basically fallen through—!
"Sigh…"
"So, it's completely over now,"
Stretching deeply in the storeroom, Javier said to himself. With a keyring tucked into his waist and a thermos on the table, he felt like an old man on the verge of middle-aged retirement crisis, just missing a beer belly.
"Javier, what are you sighing about? Our job guarding the storeroom isn't exactly busy, is it?"
"Hehe, I'm telling you, our Raccoon City Police Department got a new batch of police officers today, and several of them are female officers, very charming! Instead of staring at our ice queen, Officer Jill, why don't you try the fresh flowers in front of you first, see if they smell good, how about it…?"
Just as Javier was sighing,
a police colleague next to him quickly started gossiping. Javier looked at his colleague with disdain. There were two people guarding the storeroom, and this thin, scrawny, blonde man with a monkey-like face was his colleague. Don't let this guy's appearance as a gossiping, law-abiding corporate drone fool you into thinking he's an honest person.
But in reality, that was not the case.
After dozens of days of getting along,
Javier had already figured out this guy's true colors. This guy was actually an undercover agent sent by Chief Brian, that old fat pig, to monitor him. His frail appearance was also a deliberate disguise, and it showed how much effort Chief Brian had put into monitoring him.
Because Javier had no intention of causing trouble or escaping from the beginning…
After all, he was alone now,
and trying to cause trouble wouldn't amount to anything. Therefore, all Javier could do at the moment was wait for the T-Virus to fully break out. Only then could he fish in troubled waters.
And now,
Javier's strength had only increased a little.
[Name: Riding]
[Level: B-]
[Effect: Ace driver ready for action. Can skillfully ride and drive common vehicles and mounts, such as cars, airplanes, horses, elephants, lions, etc. As long as a rein can be pulled, these steel and beasts can be tamed…]
[Note: Riding skill can be upgraded. Each upgrade requires a large amount of points. Please allocate them reasonably. The maximum level is EX. Once a riding position is obtained, all things can be ridden (true)—]
Yes, this was the skill reward Javier received.
To be honest, Javier hadn't expected to get the Riding skill. He had only complained about it before, never thinking he would actually get it. This skill was somewhat useless to Javier; he was here to fight zombies and rarely used vehicles.
Furthermore, given the nature of Resident Evil, it was difficult for the protagonist to drive vehicles and mow down enemies, not to mention the "vehicle killer" setting in Resident Evil.
Therefore, Javier felt it was useless.
But when he saw that Riding could not only drive vehicles but also control mounts, Javier suddenly felt the skill was useful again. Because Javier had already begun to fantasize about riding Lickers or Tyrants and wreaking havoc. Moreover, this Riding skill seemed to be a conceptual skill, just like Gun Kata.
If the skill could be leveled up to maximum,
then any creature or object could be ridden, for example… *cough cough*, Dragon Knight! And driving an off-road vehicle with double headlights, a massive rear tire, and a roaring exhaust pipe in bed, Javier could subdue any chaste warhorse, as long as he could get into the riding position!
Hmm—
Javier suddenly thought this was a divine skill!