Volume 9 Resident Evil 6: Chapter 17 Escape from Tall Oaks City
"Bang! Bang! Bang! —!!!"
A burst of gunfire rang out.
On the street, Ashley held her Beretta M84 pistol and pulled the trigger, her arm trembling slightly.
The bullet shot out rapidly, a tongue of fire spitting from the barrel.
It struck a zombie's head with great precision; blood splattered instantly as the zombie collapsed to the ground.
There were no accidents.
Although her movements were slightly rusty and unfamiliar, Ashley had undoubtedly succeeded in achieving the level of self-protection she desired.
"Great, I did it—!!!"
"Leon, did you see that? I just did it!"
Feeling slightly agitated, Ashley danced with excitement after killing a zombie. Even at twenty-eight years old, she still had a very youthful heart, and her celebratory movements were quite cute and playful.
"Bang—!!!"
However,
Ashley hadn't noticed another zombie lunging at her from the side.
Leon, quick-eyed and deft, snapped off a shot. The bullet instantly hit the zombie's thigh, causing it to fall flat on its face. Seeing this, Leon quickly followed up with a headshot to finish it off.
Only then did Ashley react.
She immediately took several steps back. It had been far too close; without Leon's help, the zombie truly might have gotten within reach.
"Very impressive,"
"But don't get too ahead of yourself. Pay more attention to your surroundings and don't let your guard down. Especially after firing, never just stand still."
"Try to move forward or backward after every shot to avoid giving nearby zombies a chance to close in."
Leon walked up.
He gave Ashley a light chop to the head with the side of his hand, eliciting a cute whimper from her. Faced with Leon's stern lecture, Ashley didn't dare talk back.
She could only pout and silently accept the lesson. After all, she really had been too smug just now; this was a wake-up call she couldn't afford to repeat.
"Hey, hey, hey, you two."
"Could you pay a little attention? There's another living person here. The gun shop is just ahead, about three hundred meters away. Let's move faster and stop flirting while there aren't many zombies on this street!"
At that moment, his partner Helena had also finished off a few zombies near her. She removed her magazine to re-check how many bullets were left.
Looking up, Helena immediately saw Leon and Ashley flirting and couldn't help but complain.
Helena then glanced at the map displayed on her smart communication device and, feeling helpless, urged the two to move quickly.
After all,
At this point, Helena didn't have much of a favorable impression of Leon.
She was more worried about the safety of her sister, Deborah. Only after Deborah's death would the isolated Helena completely project her need for security onto Leon and develop a sense of dependency on him.
In truth, Helena's personality was quite similar to Jill's.
Both were extremely strong and proud types. But women are emotional creatures; no matter how strong they appear on the outside, they are still fragile within.
Her prickly exterior was only a facade to protect her sister, Deborah. But once she learned her sister had been completely infected and turned into a biological monster,
the strong facade Helena worked so hard to maintain would become completely useless.
Physically and mentally exhausted, she would need a warm, solid shoulder to lean on like any normal woman, and Leon, being with her day and night, would naturally become Helena's safe harbor, leading her to gradually depend on him.
But for now...
Helena still maintained her suit of iron. With her mature and steady personality, she remained a sharp-edged female knight!
"Alright, let's move fast. Ashley, make sure to check your magazine count. Don't run out of bullets at a critical moment; that will cost you your life."
Hearing Helena's urging, Leon didn't argue. He gave Ashley a reminder, and then the three continued toward the gun shop.
Fortunately,
this street led toward the outskirts of the city, so it was sparsely populated.
Even with the outbreak of the biohazard, the number of infected zombies wasn't as high as in the main city center, especially the university where President Adam Benford had been giving his speech.
Almost tens of thousands of people there had been infected. Leon had managed to break out only by running fast with Ashley; any slower and they would have been completely trapped inside.
*Tap, tap, tap...*
*Tap, tap, tap...*
Very soon,
in less than a minute, the three arrived at the gun shop. The shop stood on a street corner, its streetlights still flickering and illuminating the dark street.
Several cars were parked in the spaces nearby. If one knew how to lockpick, they could probably easily start these cars and leave Tall Oaks City.
The gun shop itself wasn't very large.
It was about the size of a convenience store, with a large red sign displaying the word 'WEAPONS' in English letters along with firearm graphics. Through the transparent glass, various weapons could be seen on display.
But as they approached,
a cacophony of shouting came from inside the shop. It seemed Leon and his group weren't the only ones with this idea.
The biohazard had broken out in the city.
Nearby residents also wanted to rush to the gun shop to grab a few weapons for self-defense. Given the noise,
it was likely that people were arguing over the distribution of firearms. After all, one can never have too many weapons; having more means a better guarantee of survival.
"Wait..."
"Something's not right. Helena, Ashley, both of you stay behind me. I'll take the lead and see what's going on."
Slowing his pace and listening to the noise inside the shop, Leon quickly instructed the two women.
He then moved quietly toward the gun shop, while Ashley and Helena gripped their firearms tightly. If anything went wrong, they would fire back!
At that very moment,
inside the gun shop,
several groups were arguing: a young couple, a married couple, and a group of thugs. The shop owner had already been shot dead by them.
He was slumped by the cash register, a pool of crimson blood spreading on the floor. After all, even with the biohazard outbreak, the shop owner had still wanted to make a quick fortune.
There was no way these civilians, desperate to escape, were going to pay.
They had shot the owner to steal the weapons, but now that it was time to divide the loot, a dispute had broken out.
To be precise...
The group of thugs had taken the initiative to turn on the couple and the married pair, claiming they had occupied the shop.
They stated that if the other four wanted weapons—no, if they wanted to live—they had to pay a price. Not only did they have to hand over all their money, but they also had to leave the women behind.
The couple and the married pair refused.
Naturally, a conflict ensued. The thugs had intended to shoot the two obstructive men, but they hadn't expected the couples to have found guns as well.
Everyone was holding weapons in a standoff; no one dared to fire first for fear of a chaotic gunfight, so they remained in a stalemate.
"Come here..."
"Helena, Ashley, when we get closer, we'll immediately open fire on those thugs. Note... just shoot the guns out of their hands."
"Try not to kill them if possible. These thugs are trying to extort the civilians. We don't have time to mess around with them; if necessary, just wound their arms."
Hearing the commotion and understanding the situation inside the shop, Leon didn't hesitate and gave orders to Ashley and Helena behind him.
A group of thugs trying to extort people and kidnap women was naturally something Leon wouldn't ignore.
But they didn't have much time to stay in Tall Oaks City.
Therefore, Leon didn't plan to lecture these thugs; he would use gunfire to intimidate them, shooting the weapons out of their hands or simply wounding their arms.
Helena and Ashley didn't refuse, as they also understood the situation.
Even without a biohazard, these thugs were the scum of society. Not killing them outright was already a mercy.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! —!!!!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! —!!!!"
In the next second,
a burst of intense gunfire erupted.
Bullets flew out rapidly, emptying the magazines of all three pistols. Without exception, the bullets struck the weapons held by the thugs.
A few unlucky thugs had their arms wounded; not only did they drop their weapons, but they also collapsed to the ground, clutching their injured limbs and struggling wildly.
The sudden turn of events startled everyone.
The young couple and the married pair quickly turned their weapons toward Leon's group outside the shop. Although Leon's group had just helped them,
they couldn't fully trust outsiders, especially with the memory of the thugs' threats still fresh in their minds.
"Lower your weapons. We are senior agents of the Federal Government. We only came to the gun shop to get weapons; we have no interest in you."
"Besides, we just saved you. Is this how you treat your saviors? If that's the case, we might as well have shot you along with them."
Seeing the muzzles pointed at him,
Leon's expression darkened. He quickly pulled out his Federal Government Senior Agent credentials and warned them.
Helena did the same. In such a chaotic situation, meeting government personnel—even agents rather than police—was significant, and the badge with the Federal Government emblem was still very intimidating.
The couples immediately lowered their weapons. After all, senior FBI agents were formidable figures that ordinary citizens didn't dare to provoke.
"Sorry...!"
"Sir, we didn't mean it. Those thugs were just threatening us. By the way... sir, does the government know about the biohazard in Tall Oaks City? When will the military come to the rescue?"
Upon seeing the ID, the couples quickly lowered their weapons and apologized to Leon's group.
At the same time, they impatiently asked Leon, the government official, when military reinforcements would arrive.
Leon fell silent at the question.
After all, he didn't have much certainty himself, especially since he and Helena were currently wanted by the US Government.
Obtaining specific information was as difficult as climbing to heaven. Leon didn't know the answer, and in the worst-case scenario, it could be like the Raccoon City incident.
Tall Oaks City might be bombed by missiles. Though the probability was low since Tall Oaks was a prosperous city—unlike the mountainous Raccoon City—and there would be hesitations, it wasn't impossible.
After all, if that bastard Simmons really was the mastermind, there was no telling if he would use missiles to destroy Tall Oaks City in the President's stead to erase evidence of his crimes.
Now that the President was gone,
Simmons, with his status as a Senior Security Advisor, had a great deal of power. Furthermore, his Family Organization was quite influential and could bribe other high-ranking officials to carry out such an operation!
"I'm not sure. I suggest you drive out of Tall Oaks City, taking small roads away from the downtown area if possible. If you really don't want to leave,"
"then carry as many weapons as possible and head for high ground. Find a tall building to use as a shelter, block the stairwells, and prepare about a week's worth of food. The biohazard in Tall Oaks City has only been going on for twenty-four hours."
"It will take at least three days for the government to notice and mount a rescue. We have a more important mission and can't stay in Tall Oaks. We're leaving as soon as we get our weapons."
After hesitating for a moment,
Leon chose to answer truthfully.
After telling them the necessary precautions, he didn't waste any more words.
Leon led Helena and Ashley to the shelves of the gun shop, quickly grabbing two assault rifles, a sniper rifle, and a shotgun.
He also took two or three crates of ammunition.
In passing, Leon picked out a new pistol for Ashley. While the Beretta M84 was compact and easy to use, its power was insufficient, so a newer model would be better.
Once finished,
Leon carried the firearms and ammunition out of the shop, no longer concerning himself with the people inside. After finding a pickup truck,
Leon skillfully used his gun to smash the window and unlock the door. He immediately signaled Helena and Ashley to get in and loaded the weapons and ammo into the vehicle.
Leon once again demonstrated his senior agent skills, opening his ID folder to reveal a multi-functional lockpick tool.