The moment that thought crossed my mind, I shuddered as I noticed my partner had already finished off her opponent and was now heading toward the open doorway.
A delighted chirping screech—there's no other way to describe the sound—burst from her lips at the sight of so many neatly sealed analyses, carefully poured into flasks. It was foolish to doubt that her backpack immediately came under ruthless assault, stuffed once more with all sorts of questionable substances. How fortunate that I hadn't witnessed this process at Umbrella's virus storage facility—or seen the look on her face when she had to blow it up… along with the remaining samples inside. My nerves would never have endured it. Truly, a mad scientist.
To her credit, even now she wasn't mindlessly sweeping everything into her bag—which was beginning to seem bottomless to me—but selecting one, sometimes two identical samples at a time, presumably to have a spare just in case, before moving on to the next type.
And I silently thanked every god out there that there were only about a dozen Hunter variants—and that some of them hadn't even been invented yet. If there had been a hundred, I wouldn't have made it through this!
We were stuck in that tiny laboratory for a good half hour while both women gathered everything they needed. In Ada's case—literally everything. She even took a couple of samples for herself, placing them into special compartments on her belt so they wouldn't shatter, and swept up all the documents without exception.
How all of that fit into such a modest-looking pouch—one that clearly already contained something beforehand—remained a mystery.
"Here."
Ada spoke once we emerged back onto the surface. I had turned my head, watching the sunset. Yes, we'd wasted quite a bit of time on this clinic. How were we supposed to track down and catch up to Jill now? Even if the antidote hadn't worked instantly, it was still life—it takes time. Suppose Carlos hadn't just thrown out a few words and vanished; again, this is real life, I reminded myself. So while he brought Jill up to speed, that must have taken some time as well. Even so, there was at least a ten-minute gap.
All right, that's still tolerable. They couldn't have gone far, and with our vision we'd spot them quickly. Better to move now—time was working against us. Especially with the city's destruction looming.
A jab to my ribs pulled me from those thoughts.
No, I didn't feel the jab itself, but the crunch—and Ada quietly swearing as she set her fingers back in place—that I did hear.
"What?" I asked.
"I said take it, you concrete monster," Ada Wong hissed, still shaking her hand.
Ah. Right. She was the most alive and sensitive out of all of us. By the way, I really ought to enhance Four Eyes's DNA with my altered strain somehow—at the moment, Ada was clearly winning in terms of "liveliness." But that would be better postponed until we left the city. If someone were to seriously hit Four Eyes now—purely hypothetically—she'd barely feel it. But if I raised her sensitivity to Ada's level, and there's no guarantee she'd get the same durable hide I have—Miss Wong certainly didn't—then she'd suffer noticeably, which would reduce her combat effectiveness.
"Are these the documents you collected?!" my partner exclaimed, peering over my shoulder.
"Yes. There were several copies. And I'm giving you part of the duplicate materials. That way, it's an equal partnership."
Ada's tone was even believable—if she hadn't flicked her gaze aside at the very end while explaining her reasoning.
Trying to put us in her debt? Well, well… Your debt is still greater—I did save your life, and gave you new possibilities. So you won't buy me off that easily or outplay me!
"Thank you." when you don't know what to say, it's best to say "thank you." I think one of Vector's instructors used to joke about that. I didn't expect it to come in handy in real life.
At that moment, I was genuinely pleased—but for a different reason. If, lost in my thoughts and not consciously controlling myself, I hadn't been overheard—and if it had been otherwise, this conversation would have taken a very different turn, and Yamata would have signaled it—then I could conclude that at least one of my abilities was finally under acceptable control.
I'm talking about telepathy. As for manipulating blood attraction—that's still a long way off.
Now I could breathe a little easier, no longer fearing that my thoughts would be heard.
And I must explain—or rather, lie—to Four Eyes about the "canon" she'd overheard mentioned. Though I know what I'll do, since I absorb memory, I'll just pass it off as canon. But that's for later. Maybe she won't even remember it anytime soon.
"And now, much as it pains me, I must take my leave. I won't suggest you accompany me out of the city—it would be too troublesome for you. Or rather, for you alone; as for her, I simply don't wish to take her along." Ada slipped in a barb, making Yamata frown.
Ada, yes. A useful acquisition. As an agent, she could be very effective. And remembering the canon, she had proven herself quite the slippery schemer—if not outright a bitch. Throughout the entire game series, she managed to shift the majority of the work—three quarters of it, easily—onto someone else's shoulders.
In the past canon of the second part, for instance, where Leon cleared the way for the 'innocent civilian', and she only had to rely on her combat skills a couple of times, mostly getting by on acting. The same pattern repeated in the later parts. In fact, if I recall correctly, it was mostly Leon whom she set up against enemies.
I'd better make sure she doesn't outplay me and end up comfortably perched on my neck.
On the other hand, perfection doesn't exist. As good as Miss Wong might be, she still got shot.
(End of Chapter)
Hey! Don't forget, your support is very important.
Please donate power stones, write reviews, and leave comments. It will be a huge help!
🎁 Bonus chapter at 100 power stones!