After all, the most critical moment had arrived.
Excella didn't want anything to go wrong with Wesker's plan. After all... as an admirer, Excella also wanted to stay by Wesker's side and become the Queen of the New World's God...!
"Any amount of time is enough,"
"In this massive Institute base, they won't be able to cause any trouble. Go pack your things, and then meet up with me in a bit,"
"I'll go greet these long-unseen guests first. After all, as the master of this place... what would it mean to stay hidden!"
Listening to Excella's worried words,
Wesker didn't seem to care at all.
He didn't believe that Chris, Javier, and the others could do anything to him on his home turf at the Institute base.
He then reached out and pinched Excella's chin. His cold eyes behind the sunglasses glanced at her briefly as he urged her indifferently,
"Alright,"
"Since you're so confident, there's nothing I can do. I'll head out first. I'll wait for your good news, my Emperor...!"
Feeling Wesker's slightly dissatisfied tone and the ambiguous atmosphere in the air, Excella didn't feel angry.
Instead, she smiled slightly, acted a bit coquettishly around Wesker, and then decisively winked and left.
As an outstanding strong woman,
Excella Gionne herself didn't actually know why she was so fascinated by Wesker. She only felt that the aura Wesker possessed was not something a normal human male had.
If she had to say,
It was the difference between a lion and a wild dog—!
In this law-of-the-jungle African savanna, the clever Excella was herself a noble leopard princess.
She was exceptionally gifted.
No matter what industry she engaged in, she could become a leader. After inheriting the Tricell family business, Excella quickly adapted to it and began to shine.
In the process,
Excella's mindset changed. Most men appeared submissive before her, and none could surpass her own brilliant mind.
Thus, over time,
Excella lost interest in men. This is a common trait among strong women; when they act as conquerors,
They need a stronger male conqueror to subdue them before they can barely accept it. Strong women only look upward for compatibility, rarely downward.
Just as Excella, who should have been completely uninterested in men, was slowly becoming a lesbian like Alexia,
She suddenly met Wesker...
This was the first time Excella had met such a powerful man. Whether in temperament or behavior, he exuded a thick air of dominance.
That tone that brooked no refusal,
Made Excella instinctively react with obedience. It was from then on that Excella understood... this was the man she was looking for.
Just like the King of Lions on the African savanna,
With just a glance, without needing any explanation, just by standing there, he made this equally strong leopard bow in submission.
Thus, the power-admiring Excella became obsessed with Wesker, and at the same time, the sense of mystery about him deeply attracted her.
No need for so-called emotional experiences or sharing trials and tribulations; with just one look... Excella made her decision.
This was their law-of-the-jungle survival rule, and their choice of a mate was as primitive as ever: follow whoever is stronger...
Therefore,
Faced with any of Wesker's words,
Excella didn't feel any resentment. Instead, it was as sweet as honey. Hearing Wesker's orders, Excella went to execute them with a look of pleasure.
She couldn't wait to take her place as this Lion King's mate and rise to become the Queen of this law-of-the-jungle savanna.
Unfortunately,
Excella never anticipated one thing,
That is, Wesker, this Lion King, was the type to be heartless after getting what he wanted. In his eyes, there were no such things as mates or offspring.
All he wanted to do was firmly grasp his power,
And become the ruler of this savanna forever. This was the only thing that existed in Wesker's heart. He could discard romantic feelings at any time, as easily as throwing away trash—!
...
Meanwhile—
After searching the vast lake in the oil tanker, Javier finally found the cave Elvin had mentioned before his death near a mountain range.
After docking the tanker at the shore,
Everyone intended to go deeper inside. After all, their goal was to find the mastermind Wesker and stop his conspiracy.
But as the danger of the situation gradually increased,
Josh, the captain of the West African BSAA squad, gave up on the idea of moving forward with Chris and the others.
Now, the two squads sent by headquarters were almost completely wiped out, with only him, Sheva, and one other member remaining. The severity of the situation had exceeded Josh's expectations, so he didn't dare to continue deeper like this.
Therefore, Josh directly explained the situation to Chris and the others.
He planned to terminate the cooperation and return to headquarters alone to request reinforcements. In Josh's view... blindly plunging deeper would yield no good result.
There had to be a way out,
So he chose to retreat to the headquarters base. When the time came, he could send more manpower. Even if the bio-virus Institute base ahead was a dragon's lair or a tiger's den, they could easily break through...
To this,
Chris did not refuse,
Instead, he agreed to Josh's plan. After all, Josh was the original squad leader, and his concerns were not without merit.
Because Chris himself wasn't sure if he could stop Wesker. If anything happened, Josh's return to headquarters for reinforcements would serve as a backup plan.
However,
Sheva, a member of the original West African squad, did not leave.
With the current lack of manpower, she didn't plan to run away but instead wanted to help Chris and the others. After all, she also wanted to see who this so-called Wesker was, to be so insane as to want to destroy the world!
Thus,
The depleted Savior Squad set out once again.
The reduction in numbers now meant that Lisa and Alexia could finally cut loose. Since the only outsiders were Chris, Jill, and Sheva, they didn't have to worry about exposing anything.
"Let's go..."
"Let's see this final secret. Just as the deceased Elvin said, this place hides the origin of the Umbrella Corporation and the bio-virus,"
"At the same time, it's time for a final showdown and closure with Wesker. After all, we've been entangled in a grudge with him since the S.T.A.R.S squad in Raccoon City,"
Jumping off the deck of the tanker,
Javier spoke indifferently while looking at Chris and Jill beside him. Chris and Jill couldn't help but look curiously at the pitch-black cave ahead and nodded. As Javier said, this might be the final stop of their journey!
Without hesitation,
Everyone began to slowly advance toward the dark cave.
Surrounded by continuous mountain ranges, it looked no different from any ordinary landscape. It was hard to imagine that Umbrella Corporation's Institute base would be built here.
No wonder even satellites had trouble finding them. It seemed the Umbrella Corporation was already very experienced in building underground Institute bases.
Step, step, step...
Step, step, step...
"What secrets do you think are hidden in here? Javier, you must have known in advance. Tell us what's inside, and what exactly you know,"
"Every time we encounter something, you always seem unperturbed. Isn't it time to tell me this secret?"
The quiet sound of footsteps echoed.
Jill, who was at the front of the group, suddenly stopped. Looking at the cave right in front of her, where the interior was still incredibly dark, Jill suddenly grabbed Javier's arm and asked with an extremely serious look.
Having spent so much time with Javier, Jill still didn't know what Javier's true purpose was.
Like Wesker,
Javier was shrouded in an intense sense of mystery. Since they were almost at the final stop, Jill wanted to know the answer she sought right now.
After all, Jill had a premonition,
That after this incident... she might retire from the BSAA. For no other reason than that Jill felt physically and mentally exhausted.
She might continue to fight against Bio Weapons, but it would be in a logistical support role,
Rather than being on the front lines as she was now. So before reaching the end, Jill wanted to get the answers her heart desired—!
Faced with Jill's question,
Javier also felt quite helpless. Some secrets were better left unsaid. He didn't know how these old friends and the main cast would look at him if they knew he had already fused with the bio-virus,
And that he intended to collect and fuse other bio-viruses from around the world to achieve his ambition of eternal life.
After all,
Such behavior was no different from villains like Wesker and Spencer. It was precisely because of this that Javier didn't dare tell the truth to Chris, Jill, and the others.
"A secret...?"
"I'll tell you when there's a chance, but for the current situation, let's resolve the event at hand first. I can tell you clearly that what's hidden inside the cave is actually a ruin,"
Declining Jill's pursuit of an answer,
Javier didn't stop. He led Alexia and Lisa slowly into the cave. Jill, who had been rejected, had a look of helplessness on her face.
But there was no other way...
Seeing this, she could only follow Javier's lead. After just a period of separation, Jill realized that the path Javier was taking had already diverged far from theirs.
"This..."
"Is the so-called ruin—?"
Under Javier's lead,
Everyone entered the cave. When they saw the spectacular sight inside, they all showed surprised expressions. The entrance to the cave seemed narrow,
But the interior was incredibly spacious,
As vast as a whole new world, like the fabled Peach Blossom Spring. Inside was an ancient city of the underground world.
The ruins of an ancient city, steeped in the atmosphere of ages, were completely exposed before everyone. Yes... what was hidden inside the cave was an ancient city ruin, surrounded by a large number of stone buildings.
The various patterns carved on the stone bricks and pillars clearly indicated that this ancient city ruin was a product of at least before the Common Era.
And products born before the Common Era,
Were almost no different from the still-standing Pyramids of Ancient Egypt. However, the various fragmented buildings and unique patterns remaining in this ancient city ruin,
Were much more exquisite than the so-called Pyramids. Could it be... that this was a civilization even more advanced than Ancient Egypt—?
And in fact, it was.
The Dibaya Empire relied on the powerful strength obtained from the Stairway of the Suns to build an incredibly great and advanced ancient civilization.
Although it collapsed in less than a hundred years, its level of civilizational advancement was indeed incomparable to that of Ancient Egypt.
"The Dibaya Empire..."
"This ancient city ruin is the remnant of the Dibaya Empire's civilization after its destruction. Thousands of years ago, a primitive tribal race lived on this continent, the Dibaya Tribe,"
"They accidentally discovered a mysterious red flower. Members of the tribe who absorbed the flower gained extraordinary power by chance, and this miraculous flower was regarded as a sacred object by the Dibaya Tribe, used in a holy ritual of trial..."
"If someone could survive the erosion of the flower's power and remain unharmed, then that person would be the tribe's new leader,"
"The Dibaya Tribe relied on the power brought by this mysterious red flower to gradually expand their tribe. Although many people died under the flower's power, this did not stop them from continuing to hold selection rituals, because it was necessary. Only a leader who passed the trial could lead the tribe toward greatness!"
"Then... in less than a hundred years, the Dibaya Tribe developed directly into an ancient kingdom with an advanced civilization. Surrounding tribal groups flocked to join the Dibaya Empire. They had very advanced civilizational technology,"