This must be one of that bastard Simmons' private research Institutes. Perhaps... he even knew Helena would come to the church looking for her sister, so he specifically left a Beauty Beast as a'surprise.'
"Thank you, Leon..."
"If I can save my sister Deborah, I'll do anything you ask..."
Hearing Leon's words, Helena's face flushed slightly, and she spoke with immense gratitude.
Indeed,
She was truly grateful for everything Leon had done for her. Not only was he willing to believe her, but he also helped her find her sister, Deborah. This was a debt she could never repay!
Immediately after,
The three of them didn't dawdle,
And hurried into the secret passage in the church basement. Descending through the stairs, Leon and the others soon saw the true face of the basement.
It was indeed a small bio-virus research base. Although somewhat crude, the necessary equipment and data were still preserved.
On a hospital bed,
Lay a woman who looked similar to Helena.
Wearing a thin T-shirt and shorts, she was drenched in sweat, her flaxen-brown hair soaking wet. She lay on the bed with her eyes tightly shut as if she had fainted. This woman was Helena's sister, Deborah.
Compared to her older sister Helena,
Deborah's temperament was more gentle and elegant. She didn't have Helena's strong 'big sister' aura; she seemed more like the girl next door.
"Deborah...?!"
"Deborah, are you okay? Wake up! Sister is here, I've come to save you. Wake up...!!!"
Seeing the familiar girl lying on the hospital bed, Helena couldn't help but rush forward.
She grabbed Deborah's body and pulled her up, her voice trembling with excitement as she repeatedly called Deborah's name, trying to wake her unconscious sister.
However,
No matter how much Helena called, her sister Deborah showed no signs of waking up, leaving Helena consumed with anxiety.
Leon, meanwhile, noticed a syringe that had fallen under the bed, labeled with the words 'c-virus.'
If it were Chris and his team,
They would be very familiar with this syringe, because the BSAA Squad that went on a mission to the Edonia Republic was wiped out after being infected by this type of c-virus syringe.
And since a c-virus syringe appeared here now,
Then there was no doubt that Helena's sister Deborah had also been injected and infected with the c-virus. The reason she hadn't mutated after so long,
Was likely because she was undergoing a new kind of mutation.
After all, some people have compatibility with the virus. If the fusion goes well, they become perfect hosts like Lisa, Alexia, and others.
But if it fails midway,
They mutate into even more powerful monsters. Helena's sister, Deborah, was currently going through this process.
"We're too late..."
"Helena, your sister has already been injected with the c-virus agent. The c-virus is likely the bio-virus that infected those monsters earlier. From the beginning, Simmons probably never intended to leave you or your sister Deborah alive."
"He put a bio-monster in the basement passage and injected your sister with the c-virus, intending to use that monster and your sister to kill you."
Sighing helplessly,
Leon didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only pick up the syringe from the floor and hand it to Helena.
The medicine inside had already been fully injected,
Leaving only an empty shell. At the same time, he turned Deborah's neck over,
And immediately saw a tiny needle prick on her neck. Meanwhile, the veins on Deborah's cheeks were bulging—a clear sign of infection.
"bio-virus...?!"
"How is that possible? Leon, you're joking, right? My sister... Deborah, infected with a bio-virus? How can that be? I don't believe it! She's still so young, how could she be infected with a bio-virus...!"
Hearing Leon's words,
Helena completely panicked. Looking at the 'c-virus' label on the syringe and the bulging veins on Deborah's neck, a sense of profound desolation instantly rose within her.
Helena began to mutter to herself in a daze, trying to deceive herself, as she truly could not accept the fact that her sister Deborah would turn into a bio-monster.
She had gone through so much hardship to find Deborah,
Only to be met with such tragic news. In an instant, Helena became completely despondent.
If her sister Deborah really became a bio-monster, then Helena didn't know what meaning there was left for her to live in this world...
"Don't get agitated, Helena."
"Actually... there's still a chance. Previously, humans infected with the c-virus turned into zombies in less than a minute, but your sister Deborah hasn't mutated even though she was injected a long time ago. This means the antibodies in her body are fighting the viral invasion."
"If she successfully holds out, she will complete the fusion with the virus. Not only will she gain great power, but she'll also retain her human reason. But if she fails, she might be consumed by the virus..."
Looking at the despondent Helena,
Leon quickly grabbed her shoulders and kept trying to comfort and persuade her.
He was afraid Helena might do something irrational. After all, one life was already at stake; Leon didn't want to see both of them lost. That would be too great a tragedy.
"Really...?!"
"Leon, you're not lying to me? You're saying Deborah can still be saved...?!"
Sure enough,
Upon hearing Leon's explanation, Helena acted as if she had caught a final lifeline and began to carefully examine Deborah's body.
Just as Leon said,
Her sister Deborah had been injected with the c-virus for a long time,
But she hadn't mutated yet. Instead, her body was emitting heat, which was clearly a sign of her immune system fighting the virus.
After all, once infected with a virus,
The body raises its temperature to kill the virus. And now Deborah was covered in sweat, indicating she had been fighting the viral invasion for a long time.
Thinking of this,
Helena hurriedly laid Deborah back down on the bed, took out a tissue from her pocket, and wiped the sweat from Deborah's forehead.
Then she squeezed Deborah's small hand,
And began to whisper encouragement into her ear, trying to wake her sleeping sister and give her the courage to face the viral invasion.
But unfortunately,
Ordinary people are ordinary people after all.
Although Deborah's body was somewhat special, it was far from being able to achieve a perfect fusion with the c-virus.
One must know that in Resident Evil 6,
No one had ever perfectly fused with the c-virus. Although Simmons possessed the ability of a transformer, that wasn't a perfect fusion; at most, it was a mutant infection.
After all, he couldn't control the power of the c-virus at will, and Carla, who turned into a mass of white spores and sludge, showed no signs of perfectly controlling that power either.
Even a real man like Piers,
Who was injected with the enhanced c-virus and gained the power of an electric Pikachu, still inevitably showed signs of monsterization in his body.
None of these three had perfectly fused with the c-virus,
Let alone Helena's sister, Deborah. It was very difficult for her; having held out this long was already her limit. At most, she could only turn into a slightly stronger c-virus monster!
"Sister..."
*Gurgle... gurgle...*
As if it were a final farewell,
The unconscious Deborah suddenly called out for her sister Helena, and immediately her entire body underwent a mutation.
Deborah's skin began to secrete a viscous liquid that wrapped around her whole body, just like a caterpillar spinning a thick cocoon for itself.
Seeing this scene,
Leon quickly pulled Helena away, fearing she might also get infected.
This cocoon state was exactly like the humanoid cocoons Chris and the others had seen during their mission in the Edonia Republic.
This was the most critical moment.
Once a humanoid cocoon appears, it means the most critical stage of infection, evolution, and mutation has been reached. If successful,
Then Deborah would be like that woman Carla, emerging from the cocoon with a delicate human body. If she failed... then it would be the body of a monster!
Volume 9 Resident Evil 6: Chapter 21 - Lingering
*Crack, crack...*
Soon the humanoid cocoon burst open,
But contrary to their wishes, it did not reveal Deborah's delicate human body. Instead, four or five thick, giant appendages were the first to unfold.
They looked like yellow, withered wood twisted together, hard on the outside and covered in spikes, resembling tails—much like the Kagune tails of a Ghoul.
"Heh... heh... heh..."
Familiar low gasps were heard,
And once the humanoid cocoon had completely split open, Deborah's entire body was exposed before Leon and the others. Her skin was a grayish-black, and her body was covered in ragged cracks.
The skin on her face was deathly pale and covered in blood-red veins. Her flaxen-brown hair draped loosely behind her. Her eyes had lost their pupils, the whites turning black.
Giant tail-like appendages grew out from her back.
This was the current state of Helena's sister, Deborah. These were the characteristics of a complete infection. At the final moment, Deborah had failed to maintain her reason,
And was completely infected by the c-virus.
However, Deborah hadn't turned into a hideous monster; she still retained a humanoid form.
This indicated that her fusion had only gone halfway; it was a mutation rather than an evolution. This was both a stroke of luck and a tragedy.
At this moment, Deborah,
Looked like a forest elf whose wings had turned into withered wood—seemingly terrifying yet filled with a desolate beauty.
"Retreat! Get away from her, Helena!"
Seeing the completely infected Deborah, Leon didn't hesitate and quickly pulled Helena and Ashley back.
Leon's intuition told him,
That Deborah had completely lost her mind. There was no way she would still remember her sister Helena, and she might even attack them at any moment.
And that was indeed the case.
Although the newly awakened Deborah's eyes were still a bit dazed,
The commands from her body's cells were urging her to feed. After all, evolving from a humanoid cocoon to her current state had consumed a lot of energy. Now the c-virus in Deborah's body was craving energy to replenish itself.
And without a doubt,
Leon's group of three became the only remaining prey in the basement.
Three living blood-meals were a huge temptation for Deborah, this c-virus monster. This made Deborah unable to resist turning her gaze toward Leon's group.
Her eyes were full of greed and desire. Having lost her reason, she wouldn't recognize her sister Helena. It was a tragedy.
After all,
Not everyone was as lucky as Lisa, who could swallow a Nemesis-α Parasite at a critical moment to restore her reason.
The original Lisa was similar to Deborah, having been tortured beyond recognition by viruses,
And even losing her mind. But in order to test Lisa's body, William and Wesker had brought the new bio-product from the French Branch, the Nemesis-α Parasite.
This parasite was extremely violent,
And had parasitized many bio-monsters, but none of them survived; all of them died suddenly.
Only in Lisa's case did a miracle occur.