"What's that sound...? Is it coming from the subway tunnel?"
Just as Carlos was about to carry his inherited ultimate weapon into the subway station, an angry roar suddenly echoed throughout the entire station, as if the ground itself was shaking.
This made the previously confident Carlos's expression turn serious. He slowed his steps and cautiously peeked inside.
However,
the monster that crawled out from within was something he would never forget...
It was a terrifying behemoth, even larger than the Second-Form Pursuer he had encountered before. If the previous Second-Form Pursuer was a small bulldozer, then this monster in front of him was a giant tunnel boring machine.
Its front end, resembling a drill, was a sharp proboscis that was wriggling. Its two tentacle-like forelimbs and large clawed hands slowly crawled out, gradually squeezing the space within the subway station.
Various barricades, signs, and railings obstructing the subway station were twisted into scrap metal like plastic with a mere touch from this massive creature. Everywhere it passed, deep gouges were carved, as if it were an invincible Wreck-It Ralph, wantonly destroying everything within the subway station. The ground also trembled slightly due to its presence.
This was a monster from hell—!
The moment Carlos saw the Nemesis-α Parasite Ultimate Form in front of him, he thought this to himself. Then he looked at the four-barreled rocket launcher on his shoulder and immediately lost the will to bother. This thing was more than enough to deal with a T-103 Tyrant, but for this giant monster in front of him...
It was like trying to blow up a cow's butt with a firecracker.
Not only would it not blow up the cow's butt, but he might also get a hard kick from the cow.
Thinking of this,
Carlos shook his head and decisively ignored the Nemesis-α Parasite Ultimate Form that was currently causing destruction inside. He carried the four-barreled rocket launcher and left the subway station, temporarily hiding in a nearby uninhabited apartment. He dared not come out until this monster had completely left the subway station.
...
Meanwhile,
at the Raccoon City Power Station—
After a journey of burning, killing, and looting, Javier and his group easily arrived at the Raccoon City Power Station. There was no other way... The only threats in all of Raccoon City were the T-103 Tyrant, the Pursuer, and G William, the three bosses. The former, G William, had already been swallowed by the Institute's self-destructing flames, and the Chaser Tyrant had just been instantly killed by Lisa. Only a single T-103 Tyrant remained, which was not a concern.
And the streets were full of zombies.
Even though these zombies had begun to gradually form hordes, in front of Javier and Leon, they were all just live targets. Relying on a bus they had seized from the roadside and their equipped firearms, Javier and Leon's group easily made their way through countless obstacles and arrived in front of the power station.
Looking at the enormous power station in front of them, with its various towering electrical lines, but now completely enveloped by a dense, sticky white substance, Javier and Leon's group knew very well that this white, sticky substance was apparently the true culprit that had cut off Raccoon City's power supply.
"Ding-a-ling..."
However, at the same time,
with the restoration of the signal,
Jill's old antique phone, which had been put aside for a long time, suddenly began to ring. At this time... who could be calling?
Chapter 44: The Reliable Fisherman
"Ding-a-ling..."
Very inopportunely, Jill's phone, which was on her shoulder holster, suddenly rang. The dazzling white screen flickered, and the crisp ringing wouldn't stop. A 1998 phone was still Nokia-level, but this didn't affect its sturdiness, durability, and battery life. At least... making a call was no problem at all.
Always carrying this phone,
Jill had originally intended to use it to contact Javier, but she didn't expect to be contacted first. As the police station's ice lotus, the number of people who could get the contact information of this beautiful woman, Jill, was basically few and far between.
So...
"Hello! Jill, are you alright?!"
"Where are Javier and the others? Are you all alright? Are you still trapped in Raccoon City?!"
She had just pressed the answer button,
when a steady middle-aged man's urgent concern came through. That familiar, weathered voice was undoubtedly Barry's. This reliable fisherman had appeared again at a crucial moment. It had been since the Mansion Villa mission that they had last parted ways.
Because of Wesker's betrayal,
he had kidnapped Barry's wife and daughter as leverage, threatening Barry to act as his informant, closely monitoring the whereabouts of Jill and Chris at all times. But in the end... Barry still could not betray his sense of justice and resolutely chose to confront Wesker, launching a struggle against the Umbrella Corporation!
Later...
After Javier and the others successfully killed Wesker and the Prototype Tyrant T-002, escaped by helicopter, and returned to Raccoon City, Barry immediately rushed to rescue his wife and daughter, and then completely lost contact. Several months had passed in a flash, and even Jill couldn't help but suspect that something might have happened to Barry.
But she didn't expect,
that Barry, who had been missing for so long, would actually contact her again at this time, which made Jill both surprised and delighted.
And on the other side—
Barry was currently piloting a helicopter,
rushing towards Raccoon City.
"Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump...!"
The helicopter's rotor noise echoed in his ears. Looking at the constantly rising dawn in the distance, Barry's face was somewhat anxious, because he had just learned from the news that the United States Government had abandoned Raccoon City.
The virus outbreak in Raccoon City was already uncontrollable, and the government did not intend to spend too much manpower and resources to save the less than a thousand Raccoon City survivors. So, they decided to simply use a small nuclear bomb to destroy Raccoon City.
Upon hearing this news, Barry rushed to Raccoon City without stopping, piloting a helicopter. After all, he knew that Jill, Javier, and other comrades were still in Raccoon City, and he couldn't just abandon them.
After all, it was with the help of Javier and Jill that Barry was able to successfully break free from Wesker's control and rescue his wife and daughter. He couldn't forget this favor...
"Barry, I'm fine,"
"Javier is with me now. We're at the power station, preparing to restore power, because only then can we activate the train in the subway station and leave Raccoon City. How about you, Barry...? You've been out of contact for a long time. I thought something had happened to you. Have your wife and daughter been rescued?"
When old friends meet,
there are always endless things to say. While Barry inquired about Jill's situation, Jill was also very eager to know about Barry's situation. After all, Barry had been missing for several months, and his safety was even more important.
However,
Barry was not in the mood for reminiscing at this moment, but instead spoke with a very serious tone:
"Hey, listen, Jill!"
"We'll talk about those things later. I need to tell you something very important right now, and that is that the United States Government has abandoned Raccoon City. Yes, you heard me right. The government has learned about the virus outbreak in Raccoon City, but they don't plan to save Raccoon City. Instead, they're preparing to use a small nuclear bomb to destroy Raccoon City."
"This way, whether it's the virus, the zombies, or even the scandal of a biochemical virus outbreak on home soil, everything will be wiped clean. They can also save a large sum of money. A bunch of disgusting politicians!"
Barry's angry voice came from the phone.
Indeed, not only Barry, but even a fool would know the United States Government's purpose in planning to bomb Raccoon City with a small nuclear bomb.
For the sake of the government's face and reputation, and that dirty money, they would abandon a large number of living survivors in Raccoon City and still kill them all with a nuclear bomb.
This was the one thing Barry could not tolerate.
The ugly faces of these politicians had deeply pierced Barry's righteous and patriotic heart!
He didn't understand. He became a police officer and soldier to serve his country, but what did his country give him in return? It not only didn't love him as he loved it, but instead, it stabbed Barry's heart with a sharp dagger.
The pain within was self-evident...
"Damn it—!"
And not just Barry,
even Jill, upon hearing this, showed an unspeakable anger on her face. Is this the United States Government—?
"..."
"How many hours are left until the nuclear bomb strike?"
As her pale fists clenched tightly, Jill, whose heated mind gradually cooled down, asked Barry the most crucial question.
"There's not much time left, Jill. Those dirty politicians plan to bomb Raccoon City before dawn. There's only one hour left until dawn, so you all must act quickly."
"Remember, after you activate the power station's electricity, stay at the highest point and don't move. I'm coming to rescue you. I'm piloting a helicopter to Raccoon City right now and I'm almost there. Remember, don't move around!"
"Don't worry about the other survivors. I know you want to save those innocent civilians, but there's no time. Just restore the power to the power station, and then let them take the subway train to leave. Whether they can escape Raccoon City or not is up to their own fate!"
Barry's answer made Jill's heart sink.
There was only one hour left. What could they do in an hour? They could safely wait for Barry's rescue, take a shower, eat a meal, or even leisurely watch a movie, but they couldn't save the other survivors trapped in Raccoon City.
This was the most heartbreaking thing for Jill—!
And Barry seemed to have anticipated that Jill would be sympathetic, so he reminded Jill in advance not to do anything foolish at such a critical moment.
After all, they were police officers and soldiers, that was true, but the premise of saving others was to save themselves first. Self-sacrifice was too grand and too distant. In that case... it would be more reasonable and rational to stay alive to save more people!
"..."
"I... understand..."
Finally,
Jill still promised Barry that she wouldn't do anything stupid at the critical moment—
At the same time, Jill, who had hung up the phone, also explained the situation to Leon and Claire. Undoubtedly... everyone's faces were very shocked upon hearing this news.
Especially Leon... As a newly appointed intern police officer, he had a sense of honor and pride in his position.
But now... after this decision by the United States Government, Leon suddenly didn't know what he should do. There were still many innocent civilians in Raccoon City who needed to be saved, but the government simply closed its eyes and ignored these civilians.
Even Leon, who had long known about the dirty deeds of the United States Government politicians, couldn't help but feel a sigh of regret when experiencing it firsthand at this moment—
Catherine, the mayor's daughter, also had a look of disbelief. She thought Raccoon City was finished, but she never expected the government to go to such lengths as to destroy it with a nuclear bomb.
However,
only Javier and Lisa among those present felt absolutely nothing. Because Javier, as a spoiler player, was already used to these plot developments, and Lisa didn't care... Thirty-one years of torment had left her alone. What did the United States Government have to do with her? What did other people have to do with her? As long as she wasn't killed by the explosion, that was all that mattered.
"Alright..."
"Stop sighing. Since it's already happened and can't be changed, sighing won't help. Let's quickly solve the power station problem in front of us. Perhaps restoring power can create a last ray of hope for the survivors in the subway station!"
Facing the somber atmosphere,
Javier shrugged and began to comfort everyone.
After all, at this point, what else could they do besides accept it? Turn into Superman or Iron Man and throw the nuclear bomb into outer space or another dimension? Impossible, Javier didn't have that much power. That was a capability only possessed by the Reincarnators under the main god in infinite stream novels.
However, if an infinite stream Reincarnator were to break in at this moment, that would really be playing big. Javier would instantly suspect if he had gotten the wrong script, or suspect that he was just a clown NPC.
Hearing Javier say this,
everyone then realized that restoring the power station was their main objective for this trip. So... without any hesitation, led by Jill, everyone slowly continued deeper into the power station.
"..."
"This little girl, she's been sleeping for several hours already. Is the side effect of the G Virus that strong? There's no sign of waking up at all."
And while advancing,
Javier turned his head and glanced at the G Virus infected Sherry, who was almost forgotten. This child had been curled up in Javier's tactical backpack, sleeping for a full three hours, still in a very deep sleep. This made Javier very worried that if the vaccine didn't work, or if the G Virus retaliated,
Then he would truly be letting down the deceased Annette. After all, her mother trusted him so much, and he had to at least persevere in bringing Sherry out of Raccoon City...
"Thump-thump-thump..."
"Thump-thump-thump..."
"Thump-thump-thump..."
The sound of their footsteps echoed crisply within the silent power station factory. Due to the virus outbreak, coupled with the surrounding scene wrapped in a sticky white substance like a nest, there was basically no sign of anyone here.
However,
just by touching the white sticky substance on the power station factory wall, Javier immediately identified what it was: spider silk...
Yes,
it was spider silk.
Javier was too familiar with this white sticky substance. After all, during his mission with Rebecca at the Cadre Training Institute and previously at the Mansion Villa, there were signs of these T-Virus mutated spider BOWs. It seemed these mutated spiders had taken the power station factory as their nest, which allowed them to entangle such a massive amount of spider silk.
And spider silk isolates electricity, so a large amount of it naturally causes damage to the power station factory.
"It's spiders..."
"Remember the mutated spiders from the Mansion Villa? Those things have taken over the power station factory, making it their nest, so be especially careful overhead. Don't let them pounce on your faces. Also... I feel there's something else in the power station factory besides these spiders."
Forcefully pulling off the extremely sticky spider silk from his hand, Javier then reminded Jill, Leon, and the others.
At the mention of spiders... Jill, Claire, and Catherine, the female members, couldn't help but frown slightly. While they weren't screaming in terror, their fear of spiders was deeply ingrained in their DNA.
Don't ask Lisa...
As a monster, that girl was even scarier than mutated spiders! She basically ate spiders one by one.