Corpses. A young girl.
These two things should have had nothing to do with each other, yet before the eyes of those participating in this containment operation, they appeared strangely beautiful... poignantly beautiful.
Everyone stood scattered across the towering ruins surrounding the area, their gun barrels pointed downward, aimed into a crater collapsed by bombardment.
In the center of the crater lay countless corpses of infected and pink hunters, and at the very top of the pile of corpses sat a young girl, motionless in a kneeling posture.
The girl with an orange-yellow ponytail hugged her knees with both arms, burying her face between her legs. The pristine white dress she wore formed a stark visual contrast with the thousands of corpses beneath her.
Seeing the scene before him through his helmet display, William Russell wore an expression of disbelief and asked himself internally: 'Is this really Elizabeth Green?'
In his memory, Elizabeth Green was slightly "shamate," wearing black leather tight-fitting clothes and bloodstains that seemed impossible to wash away.
She looked very similar to the humanoid anomaly targeted by their gun barrels, yet she was different.
Furthermore, Elizabeth Green hadn't used the corpses beneath her to create the giant, worm-like bio-armor seen in the game.
But William Russell didn't care; his only thought was how to contain her. He immediately said calmly to Cortana: "Cortana, scan the pile of corpses and confirm if there are any living things left. I don't want to be ambushed."
Within seconds, Cortana replied: "Boss, apart from Elizabeth Green, whose virus levels have reached their peak, there are no other living things."
"Very good."
William Russell nodded, walked toward Myron, who was wearing the herundin nearby, and said: "Everyone, we are the Containment Troops, not a firing squad, so do not attack rashly until Elizabeth Green shows signs of movement."
"Yes."
Myron was simple-minded, but that didn't mean he was stupid.
Seeing his boss approaching, Myron turned around, revealing the containment box hanging on the back of his herundin.
Containment Box.
As the name suggests, it is a specialized containment device developed by Umbrella to deal with humanoid anomalies of Keter class or higher.
Unit: Meters. Length: 2. Width: 0.8. Height: 0.6. Constructed with 15-centimeter thick ship-grade titanium alloy armor.
Rectangular, sturdy, and sealed—these are the characteristics of the containment box.
William Russell first hung his gauss rifle on the back attachment point of his bio-armor, then with an effortless lift, shouldered the containment box onto his left shoulder.
Immediately after, William Russell leaped into the crater, landing his feet firmly on the lower corner of the corpse pile.
He looked at the still-motionless Elizabeth Green and ordered: "Everyone, if Elizabeth Green suddenly attacks, you only need to provide covering fire from the perimeter."
"Yes."
The group agreed, and even Hank and the Alphas, who were most concerned about William Russell's safety, had no objections.
Firstly, it was because they completely obeyed William Russell's orders.
Secondly, yesterday at the Long Island fortress, to convince everyone that he could truly participate in the containment operation, William Russell had single-handedly and easily defeated all the Alphas and Spartans.
After all, most people hadn't even caught a glimpse of William Russell's afterimage before they were already down on the ground, out of the fight.
With this, William Russell not only demonstrated his strength but also elevated his prestige to a new level.
Therefore, seeing William Russell containing Elizabeth Green alone, while they remained vigilant, they also had near-infinite confidence in their boss.
As for William Russell.
To say he was calm and unruffled would be an exaggeration and showboating; it was more a matter of caution and care.
He walked slowly up the smooth, soft slope of corpses, stopped a few meters away from Elizabeth Green, and placed the containment box horizontally in front of him.
With a "Qi~" sound, the heavy sealed lid was opened by William Russell.
He looked up to observe.
He found that Elizabeth Green still hadn't moved.
Seeing this, William Russell squinted his eyes behind his helmet and tried asking the system:'System, Elizabeth Green's state... it seems she has fallen into a stasis. It feels a bit wrong. Can you help me monitor her details?'
[Replying to Host, yes. This system has detected that Elizabeth Green has suffered heavy damage, and her combat power has dropped from the original 727 to 294.]
'Your system's functions really do need to be explored further,' William Russell couldn't help but tease.
294?
With this combat power, the John trio could subdue her. It seems that the recent "Saint Mary" wave was indeed effective.
Even the estimated rating should be lowered. Since there is a specialized vaccine and the characteristics can be contained and controlled, Elizabeth Green no longer belongs to the Exafanistei class and should be reclassified as Keter class.
"You—" Suddenly, Elizabeth Green slowly raised her head with an echoing tone, revealing her face, and stared tightly at William Russell with her pale green eyes, saying: "Flowing with similar blood inside, you, why did you... slaughter my children—"
!
The sudden situation caused everyone, including William Russell, to immediately go on alert, and they all took out their gauss rifles, aiming at the rising Elizabeth Green.
However...
William Russell didn't know why, but he could perceive sadness, fear, anger, and confusion; it was a real experience, not some delusion.
Watching Elizabeth Green approach, he couldn't help but ask himself: 'Could it be that she is... conversing with me?'
"Spartan-IV is ready and can shoot through Elizabeth Green's legs at any time."
"Boss! Should we fire!"
"Sir..."
Hearing the noise from his earpiece, William Russell said calmly: "Not for now. Besides, the defensive power of the bio-armor is not just for show."
Elizabeth Green also seemed to sense the restlessness of the Soldiers above, consciously stood two meters away from William Russell, slowly raised her left hand, and said: "Look—"
As soon as she finished speaking.
William Russell seemed to enter Elizabeth Green's memories; blurry, blood-colored "slides" flashed rapidly before his eyes.
Finally, it settled on a certain night.
Watching from the side, William Russell discovered that Elizabeth Green was lying in a damp, silent alley in Manhattan.
Wearing a white dress, she opened her eyes and stood up. Her dull expression and gaze indicated that she knew nothing about this World, nor could she feel the sub-zero temperatures of late December.
She walked out of the alley barefoot.
Coming onto the street, she saw the bustling traffic and the neon-lit luxury of Manhattan.
However, William Russell, like an onlooker, knew deeply that this was only the surface of New York's prosperity. In the dead of night, especially for a "young woman" dressed like Elizabeth Green, it was very easy to be harassed.
Sure enough.
Not seconds after William Russell's thought surfaced, he saw three financial men in suits with their arms around each other's shoulders walking toward her. Judging by their staggering gait, they were undoubtedly drunk.
The financial men stopped when they passed Elizabeth Green, gathered around her, and began to harass her, the words spilling from their mouths being quite unbearable.
William Russell felt her humiliation and anger.
When the financial men tried to make physical contact...
The killing intent came, followed by scenes of red mosaics, which then allowed Elizabeth Green to instantly gain the lewd thoughts of this group of financial men.
And there was the previous drinking spree, a celebration of how they had used their own knowledge to successfully deceive ignorant investors into a trap and make a huge profit.
Selfishness, greed, lies, and all kinds of disgusting behaviors flooded Elizabeth Green's mind.
In the end, she chose to walk toward the plaza hotel across the street.
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