"Is this an apology gift? Fine, I'll reluctantly accept it. Speaking of which… where did you steal these antique treasures from? And where are you planning to make money next? Take me with you, it's still early, I want to earn some extra cash."
She snorted coldly.
Faced with Javier's flattery, Ada's words were a little tough at first, but she immediately put the bracelet on her wrist.
Alright… even someone as strong as Ada has this rare side. There's no helping it; it's not that Ada is a gold-digger, but rather that she is a strong woman who simply likes money.
Looking back at the entire Resident Evil history,
Ada's appearance was definitely not due to the arrangement of some powerful organization, but simply a mercenary mission. The reason Ada accepted these mercenary missions was purely for US dollars, for money. Although Ada was interested in viruses, she never studied them like Wesker and others. She was simply a bounty hunter.
So, faced with readily available wealth,
Ada had no reason to refuse—
So, in a sense,
The easiest way to please Ada is definitely not with emotions, but with money. Of course, emotions are also something that money cannot measure for Ada; profound emotions will make this woman remember for a lifetime.
But the problem is… it's too difficult to use emotions to please Ada. Ada is famously a thorny rose, and deeply emotional princes easily hit a wall. So, often, money is simply more direct and effective.
"They were in the underground storeroom of the library. The owner of this castle had a group of Plaga parasite guards wearing knight armor in there. Although they were a bit tough to deal with, I managed to take care of all of them. After all, rich people always like to hide their important treasures among things of low value like books to throw people off, but they still underestimated my keen nose. No smell of money can escape my nose!"
"As for the next stop, that's it for now. Since you found me, I plan to go find Leon and Luis first. Ada, you wouldn't have abandoned Leon and Luis again, would you?"
He waved his hand.
Facing Ada's words, Javier boasted proudly, but then he realized something. If Ada was here, then Leon and Luis wouldn't have been abandoned again, would they?
"Luis gave me the amber-like sample as payment."
"He's now gone to the castle's central garden with the Plaga parasite inhibitor syringe to meet up with Leon and the President's daughter. I was planning to report the situation to Wesker first, and then go to the village to see if you were dead, but I didn't expect to meet you here. Should I call it luck?"
Listening to Javier's guess,
Ada immediately showed a look of disdain. Why did everyone think she was heartless, including that guy Luis? Was she that kind of woman? She would do a good job once she received her payment, okay!
"Cough, cough…"
"Sorry, I misunderstood you. But okay! Since that's the case, things are simple. We'll go meet up with Leon and Luis now, then take Ashley and directly assault the castle's inner palace, going straight for the kill."
"As for extra cash, you'll have plenty to earn soon, and they're all the sparkling gems you like, Ada, so many you can't count them."
He seemed to have noticed Ada's disdain,
Javier quickly coughed to apologize, then snapped his fingers and immediately announced the next plan. Of course, it wasn't really a plan, just a simple charge. Javier had already messed up all the traps and mechanisms in the middle section of Salazar Castle, so there would be no more scenarios of Leon being trapped and Ashley being captured.
All that remained was the battle with the Red Robed Big Black Bug and the Invisible Bug room level to break through. After these two levels, they could reach the very end of Salazar Castle, which meant a face-to-face confrontation with the castle lord, Ramon Salazar…
So Javier's idea was very simple:
Just charge straight ahead—!
"Gems…?"
"Does this broken castle really have that many treasures? Why did I only see junk all the way here?"
Facing Javier's confident assertion,
Ada was utterly perplexed. Although she had heard Javier say that this castle had treasures, she didn't know why, every place she walked through seemed to be the poorest.
Especially when following Luis to the old Institute room, the lighting in the corridors was just torches. All she saw along the way were oil paintings and candelabras in corners, but Ada thought those things were worthless and hard to carry. Where were the gems?
It was just a pity,
Javier didn't tell her,
As the Invisible Worm U2 gradually grew, its eyes would slowly harden into stone, and those things were natural gems, blue, green, yellow, red, and even purple. They were the easiest treasures to acquire.
The only regrettable thing was,
Most of the Invisible Worm U2 were mutated from human infant embryos, which might make Ada feel guilty and unable to act, but Javier didn't care. He would respect the living, but for those who had already died, there was only remembrance, but his dual pistols would show no mercy!
Chapter 52: The Girl on the Ruined Bench
Ever since Ashley escaped after Sadler took advantage of the Plaga parasite in her body to control her, Leon had been playing a game of hide-and-seek with her. After searching the vast castle for a long time, he finally saw Ashley's back on a chair at a corridor corner.
The young girl sat alone on an old, dilapidated bench…
Next to her was a long-abandoned wall, where the passage of time and the erosion of wind and rain had created a large hole. As time went by, verdant vines slowly began to grow on it, and a dazzling, clear moonlight streamed through the wall opening.
It shone on the mottled, messy floor, and the pretty back of the short-haired girl faced the viewer. Was she sadly covering her face and weeping bitterly?
A faint sobbing sound slowly entered Leon's ears, making one sigh at what a perfect picture it was, simply a perfect work of art, comparable to Manuela singing a lullaby in the water chapel of the Amazon Rainforest back then.
The lonely girl on the ruined bench,
The devout angel praying in the ethereal church,
Both are sacred and beautiful works of art under the pen of Capcom…
But—
Even so,
Leon, as the person involved, couldn't help but complain. This underage Massachusetts college student was simply too reckless, too much trouble. The scene before him was indeed beautiful, but this was a horror game script?!
My lady,
Are you really not afraid of death like this?
Sitting alone on a bench, secretly crying like this, what would you do if a castle servant or an Illuminados cultist suddenly appeared? Scream with tears and snot, then flee in a panic?
Seriously,
And can you please not turn your back to people? Leon really felt the atmosphere around him was a bit chilling. The eerie castle, the cultists wandering everywhere, the dilapidated bench, the lonely silhouette of the girl, and the faint sounds of sobbing.
This series of keywords put together makes it hard not to associate it with the ghost story trope of a female ghost on a bridge. Leon was even afraid that if he walked up and touched Ashley's shoulder, the face that turned around would be festering!
Therefore,
Leon truly had to marvel at this girl's boldness, daring to sit alone on a bench in such a dangerous place. Fortunately, he arrived early, otherwise, he really wouldn't know what might have happened.
"Tap, tap, tap…"
"Ashley, as a lady, you've been willful once. You absolutely cannot be willful a second time."
However,
Even so,
Leon still let out a deep sigh of relief, lifting his feet and slowly stepping towards Ashley. He wasn't afraid of Ashley hearing his footsteps; instead, he deliberately made noise. At the same time, Leon's large hand slowly reached out, wanting to grab Ashley's shoulder and speak softly.
The sudden sound behind her startled Ashley, and she quickly turned her head to look. When she realized the person was neither a castle servant nor a cultist, but Leon, Ashley quickly wiped away the tears from her recent crying. Ignoring her tear-streaked face, she quickly tried to stand up, lower her head, and continue to flee.
Seeing this,
Leon shook his head helplessly.
His large hand suddenly grabbed Ashley's wrist, which was about to escape. With a "thud," Ashley's wrist was firmly held by Leon. Ignoring the girl's gasp, Leon forcefully pulled her back onto the bench.
"Where else do you want to go—?"
With a slightly questioning tone,
Leon also spoke with a bit of temper. Ashley's current behavior had already made Leon very displeased. As a gentleman, he could allow Ashley, the young lady, one willful escape, but a second time, it could no longer be excused as mere willfulness. It should be called unreasonable and rude.
"I'm sorry, Leon, I…"
"I don't know how to face you. I can feel the changes in my body. I'm afraid I won't last until we leave. Instead of taking me, a burden, with you, you'd better escape this castle on your own. Otherwise, if you continue to take me with you, we might not only fail to escape, but you might also be dragged down by me. I don't want to hurt you!"
Hearing Leon's questioning,
Ashley was even more remorseful and ashamed. Before she could wipe away the tears on her face, she threw herself into Leon's arms again, crying and apologizing. An underage girl, when faced with such a situation,
Always at a loss, only able to choose to escape.
And looking at Ashley crying in his arms,
Leon's original words of reprimand stopped at his lips. As a qualified gentleman, his intuition told him that he should not use logic to persuade women, but simply encouragement. First, soothe their wounded hearts, and after their mood calms down, then deal with other matters. This was the most correct procedure.
"Alright…"
"You'll be fine, Ashley. I've promised you more than once that I will help you remove the Plaga parasite from your body, take you out of here, and bring you back to America, back to your family. I keep my word; I won't break it."
"So, you just need to choose to trust me. Don't be afraid, and don't just run away from me. It's very dangerous, understand? I'm not afraid of you hurting me; instead, I'm more afraid of you being hurt by those monsters!"
Gently patting Ashley's back,
Leon tried to coax the underage girl with a gentle tone, while lifting her tear-filled face and thoughtfully wiping away her sorrowful tears. This shifted Ashley's painful emotions, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she stopped sobbing.
Very good—
A standard gentle offensive,
Although a bit old-fashioned, and certainly useless against a seasoned player like Ada, it was a sure-kill move for an innocent girl like Ashley, who was just experiencing her first feelings. After all, Ashley had little experience; besides her father, she had never been treated this way by any other man.
She instantly fell back into Leon's handsome and cold face…
Just as she was still anticipating what might happen,
"Thump, thump, thump…"
"Hey!"
"So you two were here! I finally found you! Damn it, that woman Ada lied to me, saying you were near the castle's central garden, but I didn't expect you to be so far away. I searched for a long time and finally found you. Look what good stuff I brought!"
Just as Ashley, this innocent girl, was experiencing her first stirrings of affection,
From a distance, a profligate young nobleman suddenly came trotting over. The person arrived before his voice did; it was Luis. Dressed in a medieval-style retro leather jacket with curly hair, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, smoke curling upwards, Luis held two silver inhibitor tubes and spoke excitedly.
However,
He had only just taken a few steps closer,
Luis realized something was wrong. Had he arrived too early? As a small prince of romance, how could he not recognize the atmosphere before him? Wasn't this the prelude to a kiss?
A sad princess meets a gentle prince, and under the prince's careful comfort, she is suddenly moved and about to embark on a scene unsuitable for children,
But then he, the spoilsport, suddenly showed up and ruined the mood!
Damn it,
Luis only then realized he had become the villain. His excited expression instantly froze, and the raised silver inhibitor also stiffened in mid-air.
"Uh… that is…"
"Did I come at a bad time?"
Scratching his nose, Luis said with an awkward smile. As the saying goes, more harm than good. Luis knew that these two were developing feelings, so he should have been more observant and waited a bit longer before popping out.
But there was nothing he could do; who could blame him for being unable to control his excitement about finding the inhibitor and wanting to share it?
And seeing Luis's sudden appearance,
Leon, whose emotional reflexes were slower, didn't notice anything unusual at all. Leon believed he was simply comforting Ashley, an underage girl, which was perfectly normal. After all, taking care of the employer's daughter was a matter of course.
But conversely,
Ashley, who had other thoughts, was like a startled rabbit, quickly standing up from the bench and immediately putting some distance between herself and Leon, trying to maintain their previous casual friend status.
It was just a pity,
In the eyes of a seasoned veteran like Luis, the more startled and flustered a situation was, the more problematic it became. Luis could guess exactly what Ashley was thinking inside.
However, everything was unspoken. Luis did not burst the girl's first love bubble, but instead smiled slightly, glossing over the matter, and again held up the silver inhibitor in his hand.
"Found it…!"
"The Plaga parasite inhibitor. The capsule pills I gave you two before could only control the Plaga parasite during its egg stage of parasitism, but it's clear they've grown larger and even absorb the host's blood to grow, so injectable medicine is needed now."
"These two doses are both concocted by me. Injected into the vein, they can make the growing Plaga parasite enter a temporary dormancy and reduce its demand for blood. Simply put, it makes it sleepy and lose its appetite, so it won't grow for a while."
"However, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. The inhibitor won't last long; it can only delay for a period, and it can only be used once. A second use will lead to drug resistance, so it's still better to quickly go to the Island Institute for UV laser surgery to remove it."
Handing the two silver inhibitors to Leon and Ashley, Luis explained calmly.
Generally speaking,
The growth rate of the Plaga parasite is the most crucial essence of host parasitism. The faster it develops, the faster it parasitizes. Once it becomes an adult, it is difficult to stop.
The capsule pills invented by Luis can delay the development and parasitism of Plaga parasites in the egg stage, and can even eliminate them, but once they transform and develop, they cannot be eliminated and can only be delayed by inhibitors. This type of inhibitor can control the parasite for one to three days of parasitism.
The shortest case is one day, and the longest duration is three days.