Facing them was a terrifying torture device—a stone statue holding a giant spinning disk of spikes, like a meat grinder. In the narrow space with no room to maneuver, it would be impossible to dodge its attack. The result of even a slight touch was unimaginable: flesh would be instantly torn apart, blood would splatter, ribs would burst, and a gushing heart would appear before one's eyes. The pain and screams would be agonizing.
This terrifying and horrifying scene made Javier realize the meaning of the inscription on the stone box. To find "peace" in death? Was it sarcasm? It should be a mad scream. No one could be at peace after encountering this trap. It would be a mercy not to be torn to pieces.
But fortunately, Javier and Rebecca were prepared. Whether it was a Hunter or a Tyrant, as long as it wasn't a boulder trap or a falling ceiling, they could handle it. A hard stone statue like this couldn't be broken by bullets, but what about a high-explosive grenade?
"Click—!"
Pulling the pin, Javier counted down, holding the grenade. A "flashbang" wasn't just something from movies and games; the technique itself existed. But it required the user to have a high level of mental fortitude. The fuse on a grenade was typically about 3 to 4 seconds, sometimes 6. It was extremely difficult to count down accurately within those few seconds. If you didn't do it right, the grenade could explode in mid-air and its shrapnel would hit you. Therefore, a "flashbang" was rarely used on the battlefield. Most people would pull the pin and throw immediately, as the tense atmosphere didn't allow for such high-risk behavior. It was only used by a large army cornering enemies in an alley or a building, where the presence of many people behind them provided a sense of security.
And coincidentally, the situation in front of them was similar to a narrow alleyway. As for a tense mood... Javier didn't have one. He wasn't bragging, he had practiced "flashbangs" many times in private. And the object in front of them was a statue, a torture device, not an agile monster. Its mechanical movements gave Javier more time to focus on the countdown.
"4... 3... 2... Throw—!!!"
At this distance, leaving one second was enough. A green high-explosive grenade was instantly thrown and precisely landed through the gap between the statue's legs. With a clang, the grenade successfully landed behind the statue. This would greatly reduce the power of the explosion. Throwing it behind the statue allowed the statue to block the force of the explosion, and all the shrapnel would hit it. If he had thrown it in front, it would have blown up the statue but also injured Javier and Rebecca. To be safe and to avoid getting hit by flying shrapnel in the butt, Javier used this precise throwing technique.
"Bang—!"
"Boom—!!!"
A loud bang echoed. A fireball bloomed in the narrow corridor. The stone statue, which had been trying to slaughter Javier and Rebecca, was blown to pieces by a terrifying force. The spiked disk on its chest was instantly blasted away, turning into countless fragments.
"Get down!"
Seeing this, Javier quickly tackled Rebecca to the ground. He wasn't trying to do anything inappropriate; he was using his body armor to block the flying debris. After the smoke cleared, the two of them slowly got up. Javier's face was filled with relief, while Rebecca's face was a little flushed. As for the statue... it was shattered into a pile of junk on the ground, and the walls of the passage were covered in black smoke from the explosion.
With that, they had the key!
On the other side, the beautiful Jill and Barry entered the botanical greenhouse. The surroundings were transparent glass, and many plants were growing inside. On the side, there was a giant potted plant with lush growth. Its branches were like tentacles, hanging down to the ground as if they could come to life at any moment. In the corner, there were several other potted plants with vibrant green herbs growing on them.
Jill and Barry didn't know what these green herbs were for, but if Rebecca were here, she would be very familiar with them. She had seen these green herbs many times in the training facility. This was a new and unannounced mysterious herb discovered by the Umbrella Corporation. Its medicinal properties were very strong. Rebecca had seen four types of herbs in the training facility: blue for detox, red for hemostasis, green for physical recovery, and yellow for mental clarity. These four primary-colored herbs were probably the raw materials for various medicines produced by the Umbrella Corporation in recent years. Their effects were powerful, comparable to various medicines on the market. For Rebecca, who loved to make medicines, this place was like paradise, with so many raw materials.
But for Jill and Barry, they were just useless weeds. Neither of them knew how to make medicine. Although Jill was also a medic, she only knew basic wound dressing and intravenous injections. When it came to herbs, Jill was not as good as Rebecca.
Of course, none of that was important. The most important thing was the gray mask hanging on the wall at the far end of the greenhouse.
"Four masks, one mask cannot speak of the devil, one mask cannot smell the devil, one mask cannot see the devil, and one mask cannot speak, smell, or see the devil... When the four masks are gathered, the devil will awaken...!" The Cursed Book described these masks this way. The mask hanging on the wall had vacant eyes, so it should be the one that cannot see the devil.
"..."
"There really is a mask. It seems Javier was right. We have to solve various puzzles in this mansion to proceed."
Looking at the mask hanging on the wall at the far end of the greenhouse, Jill muttered in disbelief. Barry felt the same way. He had thought it was some kind of prank, but it turned out that these masks really existed. If so, they had to get this mask.
As for the greenhouse in front of them, it was full of green plants. Herbs were growing in countless pots, and a giant potted plant had lush vines hanging down to the ground. Only a single path was left for entry and exit. It was all just plants. There shouldn't be any problem, right?
Thinking this, Barry held his beloved Colt .44 revolver and prepared to take the lead. He had already made up his mind that he would not always obey that bastard Wesker. He didn't have the heart to kill Jill, so he had already decided to defy Wesker. As for the safety of his wife and daughter, Barry didn't believe that if he held a gun to Wesker's head, Wesker would still not let his wife and daughter go. So, having made his decision, Barry chose to protect Jill and was the first to enter the greenhouse with his Colt .44 revolver.
But just as Barry was about to walk further in, Jill immediately grabbed his clothes. Barry turned his head in confusion, and Jill shook her head helplessly.
"Barry, wait!"
"Don't just rush in. Such an important mask is placed in such an obvious place. There must be some kind of trap waiting for us. Let me try first..."
Although Jill was glad that the reliable Barry was willing to protect her, his habit of blindly rushing into things was too dangerous. The greenhouse in front of them seemed to be harmless, but Jill's sixth sense as a woman told her that danger was lurking inside! After all, as soon as she arrived at the mansion, Jill had encountered a Doberman zombie, the "smiling zombie," and a falling ceiling. Now, it was a greenhouse. Jill, who was highly sensitive to danger, had raised her paranoid level to the maximum. No matter what she encountered, she would think of the worst-case scenario. For example, in the case of the greenhouse, Jill even thought it was possible that the plants would come to life and attack people, or that the plants were just a cover and that some kind of monster was hiding underneath. This was Jill's crisis awareness, a wealth of experience gained from being scared countless times.
So, without any hesitation, Jill decided to test the waters first.
"Click—!"
She removed the magazine from her handgun, took out a bullet, and threw it at the lush plants. "Ding!" The bullet landed softly at the foot of a plant, but it was obvious that the plants had no interest in this lifeless object. After all, many carnivorous plants in nature shared the same hunting attitude as large predators; they preferred to wait for prey. They wouldn't blindly attack without absolute certainty. The bullet in front of them was cold, hard, and had no signs of life, so the plants would not move.
"Hmm?"
Jill's pretty face showed displeasure. She didn't believe her premonition was wrong. If her sixth sense as a woman could be wrong, then if she were to get married, her husband could cheat on her, and her sixth sense would not work at all.
"Hmph, bitch!"
She cursed in a low voice. Jill didn't hold back. She quickly reloaded her magazine, chambered a round, and held her handgun tightly with both hands. She took a firm stance and aimed the black, cold barrel at the greenhouse, especially at the lush, tentacle-like plant in the giant pot. She quickly pulled the trigger and fired wildly!
"Click!"
"Bang—bang—bang—bang—!!!!"
The bullets poured out like a torrential rain, hitting the lush, tentacle-like plant. Nearly 15 rounds of 9mm handgun bullets were completely emptied. The greenhouse became a mess. The ground was covered in broken tentacles and scattered leaf fragments, as if it had been ravaged. But even after suffering such a fierce attack, the greenhouse showed no changes. The plants that were attacked did not mutate, no terrible monsters were hiding underneath, and no traps were triggered. The only thing different was that the green liquid on the ground was a bit more abundant and darker in color than that of normal plants. Barry didn't find this strange; after all, it made sense for such lush plants to have more water.
On the other hand, Jill's pretty face was twitching, as if she were angry or annoyed, as if everything was just her own overactive imagination.
"Jill, I think it should be fine here..." Barry asked tentatively, holding his Colt .44 revolver. But all he got was Jill's exasperated shout:
"Shut up, Barry! I said there's danger in there!"
"Until the danger is completely cleared, no one is going in. Do you want to go in and be killed by those plants?!"
Her voice was full of frustration and anger. It seemed that Jill had fallen into a frenzy. This made the big man, Barry, shut up and raise his hands, indicating that he wouldn't say another word. Barry had seen this state in his own wife. When a woman gets like this, it's best not to say too much, or you'll die a miserable death. This was a lesson Barry had learned from years of being a henpecked husband.
"Bitch!"
"I don't believe you can keep up the disguise for much longer—!"
Looking at the motionless greenhouse, Jill's eyes were filled with hostility. This was no longer just a mission to retrieve a mask; it was a matter of her sixth sense as a woman being correct! A woman's most important weapon was her sixth sense. With this weapon, she could always monitor whether her husband was lying during a relationship or after marriage. Her sixth sense told her there was danger, so there had to be danger! If there was no danger, then her sixth sense as a woman would be completely useless. Jill couldn't imagine a future where another woman could cheat on her with her husband and she wouldn't even know, remaining a fool who was kept in the dark!