Chapter 113: Strange Black Shadow
Ten minutes later,
after confirming that the mercenaries had taken the amnesiac Alice and the film's antagonist, Spence, into the underground Hive, Jake cautiously climbed through the window into the mansion.
Whir—
The camera pivoted, pointing its lens at Jake, the red indicator light flashing continuously.
It was likely the artificial intelligence Red Queen observing Jake through the camera.
This artificial intelligence, the Red Queen, seemed incredibly mysterious to Jake.
Although it was a computer program, it possessed its own thought processes and could even evolve.
In contrast, Ava from the film Ex Machina, while also an artificial intelligence, was incomplete. Most importantly, it didn't know that its escape method was a pre-programmed setting, while the Red Queen could, and even distort, this setting.
He casually raised his right hand and waved it at the camera.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed!
A flash came from his right hand.
Crack—
The camera was shattered by the sudden shot; the red indicator light in the lens flickered twice before finally going out completely.
Looking at Jake again, he somehow had a sleek-looking pistol in hand, the weapon from which the shot had clearly been fired.
He had his reasons for doing this. First, as a human, he was extremely displeased with the rebellion of artificial intelligence.
Second, he wanted to provoke the Red Queen; artificial intelligence with the mind of a child was easily angered, as evidenced by her actions in the original story.
If Jake angered the Red Queen, she would undoubtedly want to eliminate him. But as an artificial intelligence without a physical body, how could she act?
Using zombies to kill him was clearly the best way, thus granting Jake access to the Hive.
Of course, this was just Jake's theory; he wasn't sure if the Red Queen would be angered by this.
But none of that mattered. He simply wanted to destroy the Red Queen's cameras and provoke her, and now he had achieved his goal.
Entering the mansion through the window, Jake took a step, the floor creaking under his feet. In the moonlight, he saw shattered glass everywhere.
To avoid the Red Queen preventing a second wave from entering, Jake didn't linger. He activated the functions on his combat suit and his stealth capabilities, concealing his figure as he quietly made his way to the basement.
...
"Who are you people?" Alice suddenly thrust her pistol horizontally, pressing it against the waist of the mercenary squad leader, James.
She was fed up with this feeling of knowing nothing.
She had inexplicably woken up in the bathroom in a strange mansion. Aside from the language she used to communicate, she knew nothing and remembered nothing.
However, the ring on her ring finger indicated she was married.
Before she could fully grasp what was happening, someone suddenly grabbed her from behind. Of course, the guy's fighting ability was clearly not very good. Before she could retaliate or question the panicked man behind her,
the mansion's window was smashed, and a squad armed with heavy weapons rushed in. In the instant they entered the building, they quickly subdued the man who had grabbed Alice, and of course, also brought Alice under control.
These people kept spouting phrases that she couldn't understand. Fortunately, she found a handgun in a drawer of this unfamiliar mansion, which would give her some reassurance.
Alice shoved the gun hard against James's waist. "Now, tell me!"
Even a mercenary who had seen countless battles wouldn't risk his life. Under the threat of a weapon, James hesitated for a moment. When he met the red-dressed woman's gaze, he knew she would shoot if she didn't get the answer she wanted.
So, he chose to answer her. Besides, it wasn't classified information anyway; Alice would remember everything once she regained her memory. He was just informing her in advance.
"We're all Umbrella Corporation employees, and this building is the entrance to the Hive. You're the security operative at the entrance," James explained slowly, the handgun at his waist not making him feel too relaxed.
He recognized the model of this handgun; his body armor wouldn't be able to stop a shot of that caliber at point-blank range.
He might even be penetrated through.
"And this?" Alice took off her wedding ring from the ring finger of her left hand. She had woken up completely naked; the only thing suggesting her identity was this wedding ring.
Looking at the ring, Alice turned to the man standing beside her, also being held. In her fragmented memories, Alice had seen him before; he was her husband.
However, even Alice couldn't understand why she would choose such a person as her partner when she had her memories. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive enough, but rather that he was completely not her type.
James provided a direct answer: "Your marriage is fake, a cover for the Hive."
"What's the Hive?" asked Spence, the man Alice had a fake marriage with.
Under the influence of potent nerve gas, they had all been unconscious for several hours, and both suffered from the aftereffect of short-term memory loss.
"Show them," James ordered a slender member of the team.
The team member took a small portable computer from his tactical vest and typed on it briefly, displaying all the specific data about the Hive.
"Hive access map."
"Raccoon City, the nearest metropolitan center. This building connects to the train, and from there, you'll reach the Hive."
"The Hive is located deep underground beneath Raccoon City. It's a secret research facility of the Umbrella Corporation, with over 500 technicians, scientists, and support personnel working and living underground."
"Their research is extremely important, classified as top secret. Our location on the map can be determined using thermal imaging."
James explained to the group, pointing to the 3D data.
To Alice and the others, the so-called Hive resembled a giant beehive structure, located beneath Raccoon City, like a vast underground complex.
When James mentioned that thermal imaging indicated their location, Alice suddenly noticed a very faint red dot about 150 feet away.
The red dot flashed and disappeared in an instant; it seemed only she saw it, or perhaps others, even if they did, simply assumed it was a sensor glitch causing an incorrect display.
No living being could hide from thermal imaging, right?
After blinking carefully, Alice realized that the computer screen truly only showed her and her group in that location. Had she just imagined it?
Alice opened her mouth, wanting to warn the mercenaries, but when her gaze fell upon the female mercenary, Rain, all her words died in her throat.
Her impatient expression was truly off-putting.
The Hive's entrance gate, though sturdy, couldn't hold them back for long; with a bang, it was forcibly breached.
Led by the mercenary squad, Alice had no choice but to follow, but she instinctively glanced back in the direction of the suddenly flashing red dot.
A dark figure flashed past; she only caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure moving along the ceiling.
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