A surprised expression also appeared on her face, because she recognized the middle-aged man in front of her, Rogrid… the one who personally arrested her at the Umbrella Corporation's Paris branch Institute.
At that time, Claire was both anxious and angry when she was caught by this old man.
But now, looking at Rogrid's pale face and the blood seeping from his abdomen, Claire didn't know why she softened again and obediently put away the chair, because she could clearly feel that Rogrid in front of her was not a truly bad person.
Because when he arrested her at the Umbrella Corporation's Paris branch Institute, Rogrid did not harm her; it was purely an arrest, and he didn't even fire a single shot, even though Claire had already made a mess of the Umbrella Corporation's Paris branch Institute at that time.
Therefore, Claire chose to temporarily trust Rogrid this one time…
And after seeing that Claire did not continue to act, Rogrid also slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
This girl was very troublesome; Rogrid had spent a lot of effort to catch Claire, this mischievous little mouse, back then.
"Bang--!"
"Take these... These are the prison keys, and there are some lock picks that can help you open simple rooms.
Hurry and leave this island; time is running out.
Someone unknown attacked this island from outside; many Institutes on the island have been blown up, and a large number of zombies have run out.
Soon, this island will become a living hell just like Raccoon City."
"I don't know why a female university student like you would come here, nor do I know why you want to oppose the Umbrella Corporation, but now I advise you to run quickly.
Don't continue investigating; it's very dangerous here.
Run to the shore of the island; there are boats and yachts there.
Those vehicles should be able to help you leave this cursed place!"
"Also, I won't live much longer; I was shot in the abdomen and can't move quickly, so don't mind me.
I don't want to be a burden and die here... it can be considered atonement for myself.
After all, I have helped the Umbrella Corporation do evil for so many years, so it's a well-deserved punishment.
Oh, and take this pistol too!"
Seeing Claire's emotions stabilize, Rogrid immediately pulled out a string of keys and lock picks from his pocket and threw them to Claire, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead as he explained with difficulty.
He hoped that before he died, he could save Claire, this innocent female university student, and even to ensure Claire's self-preservation, Rogrid handed his only pistol to Claire.
"What...?"
And upon hearing Rogrid's explanation, Claire's expression also froze.
She hadn't expected that after just a short period of unconsciousness, this island would actually be attacked.
This was the Umbrella Corporation's secret island!
Could the people who dared to act against the Umbrella Corporation be the government's regular army?
If that were the case, wouldn't she be saved?
Thinking of this, Claire's face lit up with joy.
But soon, Rogrid interrupted Claire's fantasy:
"Don't think wildly; they are not the regular army sent by the government.
The government's relationship with the Umbrella Corporation is currently very delicate; generally, they wouldn't easily act, because the government also plans to take over all of the Umbrella Corporation's assets, so how could they destroy Rockfort Island Prison?"
"The other side is all dressed as mercenaries, and their weapons and aircraft are varied and inconsistent.
It should be done by a rival company of the Umbrella Corporation.
After all, the Umbrella Corporation is currently in a precarious situation; they want to kick them while they're down.
So, hurry up and run; don't keep fantasizing about these things."
Rogrid saw through what Claire was thinking at a glance and decisively spoke to shatter her illusion.
After speaking, he continued to urge Claire, this insensible female university student, to leave.
And Claire, looking at the stubborn Rogrid in front of her, had no other choice but to pick up the pistol on the table and turn to leave the interrogation room…
"Tap tap tap…"
Quiet footsteps echoed inside the prison.
Outside the interrogation room was a pitch-black corridor, surrounded by empty dungeons.
It was unknown whether Rogrid had released everyone or if they had already been taken by the Umbrella Corporation for virus experiments.
In any case, there wasn't a single person in sight.
Claire leaned against the wall and half-crouched, slowly moving forward stealthily.
After several months of infiltration training, Claire's experience was already very rich.
She knew when to half-crouch and move slowly, and she also knew when to break through.
After all, Claire had suffered too much in the Umbrella Corporation's Paris branch Institute.
For example, the watchtower next to the prison gate.
After reaching the vicinity of the prison gate, once Claire confirmed that there were no patrolling soldiers around, her gaze locked onto the watchtower outside.
A searchlight was continuously illuminating there, and outside the prison gate was an empty open space with no cover to hide behind.
Rushing out rashly would lead to being discovered by the searchlight and then being shot to death.
Therefore, the best way was to first break the searchlight on the watchtower, so that Claire could hide under the skirt of Mother Night and continue to sneak.
Darkness was her best companion.
Thinking of this, without any hesitation, Claire raised the pistol that Rogrid had given her high up.
The muzzle and sights immediately aimed at the searchlight on the watchtower.
This distance was about 50 meters, a test of one's shooting accuracy—
"OK…"
"Let me see."
One eye slightly closed, the other slightly open, Claire used her self-created range-finding method.
After giving a thumbs-up with one hand, she raised the muzzle, and then in the next second, artilleryman Claire instantly pulled the trigger.
"Bang----!"
A gunshot rang out.
Whether it was due to incredibly strong genes or simply a lucky guess, Claire's single pistol bullet accurately hit the searchlight on the watchtower above.
With a shattering sound, the ground returned to its usual darkness.
Seizing this opportunity, Claire quickly fled, charging forward desperately.
But she had underestimated the sharp eyes of the guard on the watchtower.
Even though the searchlight was shattered, the moment they saw Claire, this big black rat, dart out, the watchtower immediately raised its rifle and began to spray bullets.
"Tat tat tat tat tat…!!!"
Bullets whizzed.
Although the momentum was great, it seemed the guy on the watchtower lacked a bit of accuracy in his shooting; all the bullets followed behind Claire, not a single one hitting her.
This made Claire, who had been startled, breathe a deep sigh of relief, but while relaxing, Claire also didn't forget to raise her pistol and fire a shot at the guy on the watchtower.
"Click… Bang—!!!"
But this shot also had a touching lack of accuracy.
The guy on the watchtower didn't even have time to duck; Claire's shot hit the very top of the watchtower, grazing the metal and sending sparks flying.
It seemed that without range estimation, Claire's marksmanship wasn't that outrageous.
However, because of this shot, the guy on the watchtower had a strange reaction, inexplicably giving Claire a French military salute, and then shouted loudly:
"Hey!"
"Don't shoot! Sorry… I just thought you were a zombie, which is why I attacked you, but now it seems you're not."
The voice was that of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, completely young, a typical greenhorn.
Before Claire could react, the young man on the watchtower immediately jumped down, completely disregarding the height of the watchtower.
Goodness gracious… in some games, this would directly break his leg (funny).
"Thud…!"
A muffled thud.
A figure instantly landed.
Under the faint light, Claire also clearly saw what kind of young man was in front of her. He had a flaxen-red, eye-obscuring, non-mainstream hairstyle similar to Claire's, firm eyes, and a face that was uncharacteristically immature. He wore a blue jacket over a yellow T-shirt, black wristbands on his arms, camouflage trousers and tactical boots, and even a distinctive collar around his neck, just like Claire's.
He was a perfectly typical chuunibyo youth.
He even looked like a young, shrunken version of Iori Yagami, the sole descendant of the Yagami clan from SNK's King of Fighters. After all, that mysterious red hair, mysterious eye-obscuring style, and mysterious collar—if Javier saw it... it felt like adding a cosplay outfit would make it perfect.
And this strange chuunibyo youth was Steve Burnside.
—
A confused youth wandering on the edge of a lost path, awaiting the dawn of salvation from big sister Claire. He was one of the prisoners on Rockfort Island Prison. Because his father had privately sold information related to the Umbrella Corporation, Umbrella Corporation retaliated by killing his mother and then detaining Steve's father and him on Rockfort Island Prison for punishment. His father had already turned into a zombie many years ago after being infected with a virus...
He was left alone on Rockfort Island Prison, a pitiful youth with a tragic past. Both parents were dead, and his appearance was that of a shrunken version. Javier seriously suspected that Capcom designed this character based on Iori Yagami—!
Chapter 4: G Virus Sample (Improved)?
"..."
"Who are you?"
Seeing Steve jump down from the watchtower, and looking like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old kid, Claire temporarily determined that this young man posed no threat to her. But even so... a wary Claire still questioned him.
At the same time, Claire tightened her grip on the gun in her hand, ready to deal with any sudden situation. After all, a young man is a young man, but if he launched a sneak attack, Claire would be unable to defend herself, so she still needed to be careful and vigilant.
"..."
"My name is Steve Burnside. Do you see the collar around my neck? Like you, I was captured by the Umbrella Corporation, that's all. It was my fault just now, I'm sorry... I thought you were a zombie, I didn't expect you to be a living person."
"But now that the misunderstanding is cleared, I'm leaving. Don't follow me... I don't like cooperating with unfamiliar strangers, that's it!"
However,
What Claire didn't expect was that
The young man in front of her, Steve, had no intention of paying attention to Claire. The only reason he jumped down from the watchtower was to explain himself to Claire, after all, he really didn't mean to shoot just now.
After speaking,
This utterly chuunibyo youth sternly warned Claire not to follow him. Then Steve, ignoring Claire's further questions, rushed into the building complex outside the prison, his words full of vigilance.
It seemed this young man was also very wary of strangers, even overly agitated, looking like he didn't easily trust anyone.
No choice,
In his early years, Steve's mother was killed by Umbrella Corporation, and his father was infected with a virus and turned into a zombie. He survived alone in the prison, so naturally, he was very wary of everything around him, just like a young wolf without the protection of its parents.
However, what was commendable was that after making a mistake,
Even though he was very afraid of strangers, his willingness to come out and apologize surprised Claire.
"Sigh…"
"What a baffling little brat,"
Watching Steve disappear in a flash, Claire sighed deeply. This kid, two years younger than her, was indeed troublesome. But then again, her own brother usually disliked her so much, would she, as a sister, also seem so clumsy in Chris's eyes?
Uh…
In an instant,
Claire suddenly understood the hardship of being an older brother or sister. After all, dealing with a kid younger than oneself was truly troublesome.
But even so,
Claire reluctantly took on the role of an older sister and chased in the direction Steve left. After all, she couldn't let a young man run around unsupervised in such a dangerous place.
"Thump, thump, thump…!!!"
"Thump, thump, thump…!!!"
Not long after,
Claire caught up with Steve, who was rummaging through something on a computer in a data room. The room was filled with various bookshelves, files, and documents, likely where this prison island recorded every experimental subject.
"Phew…"
"Why are you running so fast? Don't you know it's dangerous here? Someone bombed this island with an army and planes, and many of the zombie monsters imprisoned by the Umbrella Corporation have escaped. If you want to escape alive, you have to stick close to me. Oh, by the way... my name is Claire Redfield, you can call me Claire or Big Sister Claire, since you're younger than me."
Looking at Steve's back as he diligently searched the computer data,
Claire slightly exhaled in relief. It was good that this kid wasn't running around aimlessly. So, calming herself, Claire slowly began to explain to Steve, trying to make the young man realize the seriousness of the current situation and stop running around.
However,
Claire didn't notice the identity information Steve found on the computer. It was a photo of a middle-aged man in a green military uniform. His youthful face had faded, replaced by a steely, resolute countenance. Despite countless setbacks, his eyes still shone with hope and miracles. With a short, crew-cut hairstyle, there was no doubt that this was Chris Redfield, Claire's long-sought brother.
"..."
"Claire… Chris? Why do your names sound so similar, and you both have the surname Redfield? Are you relatives?"
Hearing Claire's incessant chatter behind him, Steve, annoyed, also caught crucial information. He found that Claire and the person on the computer had identical information, so he guessed they might be relatives!
And as expected,
Upon hearing Steve's words,
Claire's expression froze, and she immediately leaned in to look. The photo displayed on the computer was her brother Chris's file. This made Claire's face light up with joy. She never expected to finally find news of her brother, whom she had been searching for so long. It was truly difficult.
Meanwhile, Steve, feeling Claire suddenly close, his nostrils filled with the pleasant scent of this youthful, sunny, athletic woman, his immature face instantly flushed with shyness. Indeed... adolescents truly cannot resist the charm of such budding affection.
It's just that…
Steve chose the wrong person.
This was the famous Claire Redfield, the second child of the 'K' family. Her older brother, Chris Redfield, goes without saying. Claire also inherited the 'K' family's passive ability to 'counter' people. Anyone or anything that tries to form a relationship with her, whether a vehicle or a person, will come to a bad end. Only those with extraordinary fates can have even a slight connection with her.
For a character like Steve, whose protagonist aura is completely insufficient, trying to get involved with a 'Heavenly Counter-Girl' like Claire is simply suicidal. Javier, from afar, could only pray that this kid would look out for himself, as everyone knew Steve's fate in the original work—it was truly tragic.
"Big brother…?!"
"Sure enough, Big Brother's sudden departure back then was because of the Umbrella Corporation. Was he planning to destroy Umbrella Corporation's bio-virus Institute and base by himself? That's a bit too reckless, isn't it? He's really not making things easy for people. Doesn't he know his sister would worry too?"
Looking at the archive data above.