"Hmm?" Adam also walked up to the map to observe it and asked Sean, "Officer, are there any questions?"
"This mine had an accident fifty years ago." Sean frowned, then turned and walked toward the equipment room, saying urgently, "You two, attach the snow plow to the pickup truck. I'm going to get the gear issued by the company. Get ready to move out!"
Andy, who had just started putting on his cold-weather gear, was confused upon hearing that they needed to be fully armed. "Officer, it's probably just poor signal due to the blizzard, there's no need to..."
"Shut up." Sean unlocked the equipment room door, turned his head to look at the two Officers, and said in a deep voice, "We are field Agents for Umbrella. We must be mentally prepared to treat any incident as an anomaly."
"And you (pointing at Andy)! If I hear another question from you, I won't mind uploading my evaluation report of you to the higher-ups. If you get demoted to D-Class Personnel... you know what happens."
"Yes, Officer!" At that moment, Andy gave Sean an extremely standard salute.
Sean's gaze lingered on Andy for a few seconds before he walked into the equipment room to gather his gear.
"Phew—" Andy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright." Adam, having put on his cold-weather gear, punched Andy on the shoulder and laughed, "You know the Officer's temper. Plus, the missing children case isn't a small matter, so don't let your guard down. When the case is over, I'll treat you to a night at the bar, how about it?"
"Thanks, buddy." Andy smiled bitterly, "You just joined the company and don't have much money yet. Let me treat you instead."
"Haha, it's all the same. Let's finish the Officer's mission quickly."
"Alright."
Next, Adam and Andy worked together to install the snow plow on the front of the police pickup. As the vehicle was readied, Sean also brought all the equipment onto the truck.
Subsequently, Andy drove the vehicle, Sean sat in the passenger seat, and the youngest, Adam, was in the back seat. Immediately after, the three of them drove the pickup, equipped with a snow plow and snow tires, onto the road, maintaining a safe speed as they headed toward the abandoned mine.
Half an hour later;
Sean looked grimly at the GPS in his hand, compared it with the map, and then took out his phone to dial the Umbrella Agent hotline.
"Beep— beep—"
After just a few beeps, the call went through.
Operator: Hello, Agent. Is there anything I can help you with?
Sean: Yes, I need a UBCS support team at coordinates 54° 54' 23.6" N, 103° 20' 57.4" W.
Operator: Agent, are you certain you have discovered an anomaly?
Sean: I'm not sure, but... my intuition tells me I need support from high-level combat personnel.
Operator: (There was a moment of silence) Agent, you know the disciplinary measures for requesting A-Class personnel for containment without confirming an anomaly. You... have you thought this through?
Sean: (In a firm tone) Yes.
Operator: Very well. Confirming coordinates: 54° 54' 23.6" N, 103° 20' 57.4" W. Support request has been accepted. Estimated arrival at the coordinates is in thirty minutes. Agent, Good Luck.
Sean: Thanks.
Call ended.
"..."
The inside of the car fell into silence, with only the sound of the violent wind and the harsh scraping of the snow plow against the ground occasionally heard. The pickup had long left the town behind and was driving on a small road through the woods.
"Officer..." Adam, in the back seat, couldn't help but ask, "It's just an abandoned mine. The children's phones might just be out of battery, which is why we can't reach them. Is there really a need to call UBCS?"
"Right..." Andy, who had originally wanted to agree, quickly shut his mouth and focused intently on driving.
Sean turned his head to look at Adam, paused, and said calmly, "You are still young and haven't heard of many legends. According to the stories Grandpa told me, a very high content of tin was discovered on Blackwood Mountain, which was then seized and exploited by a group of capitalists. But that mountain is a sacred mountain and forbidden ground for the Native Americans; any act that desecrates the spirits will be cursed."
Upon hearing this, Adam said in disbelief, "Blackwood Mountain? Isn't that the mountain range where the mine is located?"
"Yes." Sean nodded heavily and continued, "Fifty-something years ago, it was also during a rare blizzard when this mine collapsed for no reason, causing the deaths of thirty miners. In the end, only eighteen miners' bodies were recovered. Twelve are still missing to this day, but everyone knows what happened to those miners. Later, the government downplayed the incident to cover up their various atrocities against the Native Americans."
"Officer, do you mean..." Adam couldn't help but feel nervous.
"That's right." Sean said with a serious expression, "As Agents of Umbrella, any case that involves legends must be treated as if we are facing an anomaly."
"Yes..."
"Officer." At this moment, Andy stopped the car and reminded everyone, "We... are here."
Looking forward through the window with decent visibility, there was a sealed mine entrance in front of the vehicle, and next to the mine was a huge, abandoned two-story building. It was likely the dormitory where the original miners lived, and what made the three Agents in the car alert was... the front door of the dormitory was wide open.
Seeing this, Sean took off his cold-weather gear and ordered, "Agents, switch to combat gear."
"Yes, Officer!"
Following Sean's order, Andy and Adam also took off their cold-weather gear. The three took out their equipment, put on their bulletproof vests, inserted the ballistic plates, and then put on their tactical belts, equipping magazines and grenades. They donned Fast helmets and holographic goggles, installed personal cameras, and performed other preparations.
A few minutes later;
"Clang— Clang—" The sound of vehicle doors opening and closing echoed across the empty field. The three Agents, now in combat gear, quickly advanced toward the dormitory in a triangular formation.
Arriving at the main entrance, the three leaned against the right wall in turn. Sean, in the lead, held his gun in his right hand and raised his left hand, signaling with gestures.
Three, two, one!
Sean was the first to rush into the dormitory, followed closely by Andy, while Adam remained outside to cover the rear. The camera angle switched to Sean's perspective.
He saw that the floor in the lobby was a mess, with many snowy footprints, which looked like they were made in a state of extreme panic.
After confirming there were no visible enemies, Sean used his headset to whisper, "Clear. Converge on me."
"Yes." (x2)
After the team members gathered around him, Sean ordered again, "Search the first floor first. Report any situation to me."
"Yes." (x2)
Receiving the order, Adam and Andy went together into the corridor extending from the lobby, checking room by room. As for Sean, he crouched down halfway to carefully observe the footprints.
There was one set that was very unusual... barefoot, and abnormally large in size. And... palm prints?
Before Sean could continue thinking, Andy's slightly trembling voice came over the comms: "Officer... you should come and take a look."
?
Hearing the call, Sean stopped focusing on the ground and, using the location display on his goggles, rushed to the room where his team members were.
The situation that followed actually made this Officer feel terrified. "Delicious... delicious... eh? Won't you come and have a taste? It's very delicious..."
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