Chapter 100

Leon leaned against a cold concrete pillar, quickly checking the bullets in his handgun magazine with a tight frown.

Ada had already disappeared through the small door deep within the parking garage, leaving behind only a cold instruction: "Come find me once you've found the key."

Ben had been torn apart by the Tyrant in the Detention Cell. The blue keycard that could open the exit shutters was still hanging around his neck, but the cell door itself wouldn't open.

Leon grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the tactical knife Marvin had given him. He had no other choice; he had to return to the main building of the police station.

The entire police station was deathly silent, save for the never-ending sound of heavy rain outside and the occasional distant roar of zombies echoing through the empty corridors.

As he squeezed through the iron shutter leading to the main hall, a thick stench of rot hit him full in the face.

Holding his flashlight, Leon inched forward cautiously. Just as he was about to cross the hall, a familiar figure slowly rose from the shadows.

It was Marvin.

His police uniform was soaked in blood, the wound on his abdomen was hideously flared open, and his skin had turned a deathly grayish-blue. His once gentle eyes were now cloudy and hollow, saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth, and a low rasping sound emanated from his throat as he stumbled toward Leon step by step.

Leon's heart sank instantly, and his hand tightened around his gun.

"Lieutenant Marvin..." he called out, his voice hoarse, as his feet retreated uncontrollably.

Marvin didn't respond. He simply kept his mechanical pace, reaching out with stiff arms to grab Leon. His movements were slow, yet they carried a suffocating sense of despair.

Leon remembered clearly that just a few hours ago, this man had pressed the tactical knife into his hand and, enduring his pain, urged him "not to show any mercy to the zombies."

And now, he had become the very monster he hated most.

Tears blurred his vision uncontrollably. Leon closed his eyes and took a deep breath; when he opened them again, his gaze had become incredibly resolute. He slowly raised his handgun and aimed it at Marvin's forehead.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant."

The gunshot exploded in the empty hall, exceptionally piercing. Marvin's body jolted, then fell heavily to the ground, never to move again.

Leon holstered his gun, knelt down, and gently closed Marvin's wide-open eyes. He didn't linger, turning instead to the police station's backyard. He found the clearing where Marvin had previously buried the fallen officers, dug a shallow pit, and placed Marvin's remains inside.

Handful after handful of soil fell, covering the blood-stained uniform. Leon stood before the mound and gave a silent salute.

"I won't let you down, Lieutenant."

The rain fell harder, washing over the writing on the wooden markers. Leon wiped the rain and tears from his face and turned back toward the main building. He had to find the Detention Cell key as soon as possible and get out of this godforsaken place.

Leon headed up the stairs, clearing out a few wandering zombies along the way, and found an iron door labeled "Fire Control."

The lock had long since been destroyed, so Leon pushed his way in. The control room was a mess; most of the indicator lights on the dashboard were dark, with only a few red fault lights flashing frantically. He quickly checked the wiring and found that the main breaker had simply tripped.

Leon flipped the main breaker, and a piercing alarm sounded instantly. Immediately after, the fire sprinklers on the ceiling began to spray water. Cold jets of water poured down, extinguishing the raging fire from the helicopter wreckage at the end of the corridor, and the thick smoke gradually dissipated.

Leon breathed a sigh of relief and began rummaging through the storage cabinets under the console. Soon, in a dust-covered metal box, he found the ring of brass keys engraved with the words "Detention Cell."

Just as he was preparing to leave, a deafening sound of metal grinding suddenly echoed from downstairs.

Leon's heart tightened. He stepped quickly to the window and looked down.

The scene before him made him go cold instantly, and he couldn't help but gasp.

"My god!"

The helicopter wreckage that had crashed in the police station's fire escape—tons of twisted metal—was actually being effortlessly pushed aside by a man.

The man was over two meters tall, with bulging muscles. He wore a heavy black leather trench coat and a wide-brimmed fedora that hid most of his face in shadow. His movements were slow and stiff, yet they carried a non-human, terrifying strength, as if the multi-ton wreckage in his hands was nothing more than a light piece of foam.

Rain soaked his leather coat, dripping from the hem. He slowly raised his head and looked toward Leon's direction. Although he couldn't see the face clearly, Leon could feel a bone-chilling killing intent enveloping him like something physical.

Leon didn't hesitate for a second, immediately raising his gun to aim and pulling the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bullets accurately struck the man's chest. However, to Leon's despair, the bullets only left three small holes in the leather coat without a single drop of blood seeping out. The man's pace didn't even falter as he continued toward the police building step by step.

Leon grit his teeth and fired again. This time, he aimed for the head.

The bullet whistled through the air, accurately knocking the fedora off the man's head. The hat rolled into the muddy rainwater, revealing a bald scalp and a completely expressionless face. His skin was as pale as paper, and his eyes were pure black without a hint of white, like a demon crawling out of hell.

He finally stopped his advance, slowly raising his head as his hollow gaze locked onto Leon.

"Damn it!" Leon cursed under his breath, turning to run.

He knew all too well that ordinary bullets were completely ineffective against such a monster. The only thing he could do now was run, using his familiarity with the police station's layout to lose this terrifying pursuer.

Leon sprinted down the corridor, the heavy sound of footsteps behind him feeling like they were treading directly on his heart. He ducked into a narrow passage, slammed the fire door shut behind him, and headed down the fire escape.

A heavy impact sounded behind him, and a massive dent instantly appeared in the fire door. Leon didn't dare look back, running with all his might toward the underground parking garage.

He didn't know how long he ran, but once the footsteps behind him had completely disappeared, Leon leaned against a wall, gasping for air. His heart was pounding wildly, and cold sweat had soaked through the back of his uniform.

What on earth was that monster? How many more nightmares like this had the Umbrella Corporation created?

Leon shook his head, forcing himself to calm down. Now was not the time for this; he had to get the keycard as quickly as possible, meet up with Ada, and leave this place.

He gripped the Detention Cell key in his hand and walked quickly toward the detention area of the underground parking garage.

Only the sounds of zombies echoed in the detention center. Leon walked to the cell where Ben had been killed and unlocked the door.

The scene inside the cell was unbearable. Ben's head was shattered, blood was splattered all over the walls and floor, and the air was thick with the heavy scent of blood. Leon fought back the nausea and stepped inside.

The blue keycard was still hanging around Ben's neck.

Leon whispered a quick "sorry" and reached out to take the keycard. Just then, his gaze swept over a black object tucked into Ben's waist.

It was a Miniature Voice Recorder.

Curious, Leon took out the tape and pressed play. After a burst of static, the voices of two people came through.

"...But that doesn't explain the rumors about The Orphanage. I just think it's too coincidental that Umbrella is one of the sponsors..." It was Ben's voice, tinged with a bit of mockery.

"You clearly said this interview was about Umbrella's new scholarship program," a woman's voice replied, cold and guarded.

"Hahaha, come on, Annette, nobody cares about that... What they want to know about is the G-Virus, and..."

"Where did you hear that..." Annette's voice instantly became shrill.

"By the way, that stinking cesspool in the city... rumors say it leads straight to your underground lab."

"Alright, now are you going to tell me the truth, or what?"

"This interview is over!"

The recording cut off abruptly.

Leon turned off the player, his brow furrowed deeply.

The G-Virus? An underground laboratory?

He finally understood that what the Umbrella Corporation was hiding in Raccoon City was far more than just simple virus experiments. Ben's death was likely tied to this so-called G-Virus as well.

Leon tucked the cassette tape away, took the blue keycard from Ben's neck, and turned to walk out of the cell. Now, he could finally open the parking garage's exit gate.

He strode down the hallway toward the exit console, his mind still racing with the contents of the recording. Just as he was about to reach the console, the adjacent wall suddenly burst open, leaving a massive hole!

Amidst flying debris, a giant palm lunged out, seizing Leon by the throat and lifting him off the ground.

Suffocation instantly swept through his body. Leon's feet left the floor as he kicked and struggled desperately. He could see his assailant clearly now—it was that terrifying monster in the leather trench coat.

The Tyrant's fingers were like iron pincers, tightening their grip. Leon's vision began to blur, and the keycard slipped from his hand, clattering onto the floor. He flailed his arms in despair, but he couldn't even touch the Tyrant.

Just when he thought he was doomed, blinding headlights suddenly flared from the other side, followed by the deafening roar of an engine.

A SWAT transport truck, like a wild horse breaking its reins, slammed violently into the Tyrant!

The massive impact sent the Tyrant flying, smashing heavily into the opposite wall. Leon fell to the ground along with it, coughing violently and greedily gulping in the fresh air.

The car door opened, and Ada jumped down. At some point, she had put on a trench coat. Holding a silver handgun, her face remained devoid of expression.

“Ada?!” Leon looked at her in surprise.

Ada bent down to pick up the blue keycard, wiped off the dust, and spared Leon a glance. Her tone carried a hint of exasperation. “I’m almost getting tired of this. I’ve saved your life again... for the second time.”

Leon used the wall to pull himself up, rubbing his aching neck. He gave a bitter smile and said, “I didn't realize you kept score so closely.”

Ada walked to the exit console and inserted the keycard. “Listen up, this isn't a game. In here, a single second of distraction will turn you into a snack for those monsters.”

As soon as she finished speaking, heavy footsteps echoed from behind them.

Leon whipped around, raising his gun to aim. The Tyrant, who had been smashed into the wall by the SWAT truck, was actually slowly pushing the vehicle off himself. A tear in his leather coat revealed steel-like muscles beneath, yet there wasn't a single wound on him.

“This can't be real...” Leon muttered in disbelief.

Ada looked back and rolled her eyes helplessly. “Nothing in this place stays dead!”

With that, she pulled a black detonator from her pocket and pressed the button without hesitation.

“BOOM—!”

A massive explosion rang out as the SWAT transport truck instantly transformed into a fireball. The soaring flames illuminated the entire underground parking garage like broad daylight. The shockwave sent the Tyrant flying once more, burying him under a pile of collapsed rubble.

The exit gate slowly rose, letting in the sound of rain and the snarling of zombies from outside.

Ada turned toward the gate and said without looking back, “Let’s go. If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”

Leon hurried to keep up. As he passed Ada, he tossed the cassette tape to her.

“By the way, I found this. I hope you can explain what’s going on.”

Ada caught the tape and weighed it in her hand.

“Maybe. I’ll have to listen to it first.” She stuffed the tape into her pocket and stepped through the gate first. “Let’s move.”

Leon looked back at the Tyrant buried under the rubble, gripped his handgun tight, and quickly followed in Ada's footsteps.

【Author's Afterword】

This is the first novel I've ever stuck with, and now I've reached a hundred chapters. First of all, I want to thank the readers who have been following along; it's your support that made this book possible.

Below are some of my rambling thoughts. Readers who aren't interested can skip them. There will be a massive update tomorrow.

：

I've loved fantasizing since elementary school. Back then, I used a notebook to write some stories similar to Armor Hero. I think the title was something like 'Twelve Constellations.' Of course, it was just a bunch of world-building settings, and I didn't stick with it.

In middle school, I started using Qidian and read many novels. Especially after watching anime or movies, I would search for fanfiction on there. I even registered a Qidian author account, but not a single book made it past ten chapters. They were all fleeting sparks of inspiration that lacked follow-through.

In high school, because I was at a boarding school, I couldn't access the internet normally. So, I liked going to bookstores to buy 'Science Fiction World' to read. During evening self-study, my desk-mate and I would write settings for each other. At that time, I had finished watching the Resident Evil movies and was very interested in the grand sci-fi themes of multinational corporations. So, I wrote a story about the Yashen Group and the STR Company; I still have the original manuscript. The first game I bought on Steam after the college entrance exam was Resident Evil 2 Remake.

Back then, my daily stress relief was writing fiction—one after another. I'd write whatever came to mind without worrying about the plot, just writing beginnings.

This novel started the same way. Early readers might know that this book only had a beginning at first, roughly the plot where Chloe was captured after a failed escape attempt, and then I stopped writing.

When I first started this story, I simply felt that Chloe's identity could perfectly fit into all the historical milestones of Resident Evil. After all, I had wanted to write a Resident Evil fanfic for a long time. I posted it because I thought the idea was good and wanted to share my inspiration.

Then I stopped updating. Suddenly, one day, I received a few paragraph comments and reminders to update. Someone asked me: 'Author, are you not updating anymore?' Only then did I realize that people actually liked reading what I wrote.

After all, the Arcane fanfic I wrote before only had five or six chapters with no readers or reminders. Maybe it was because of the hype around Resident Evil 9, but anyway, the idea of continuing took root.

Because it was rushed, my original plan was the story of Chloe after she escaped Arklay on her own. But I really didn't know why Chloe would stay in Raccoon City after escaping—just to participate in the plot? Plus, I was playing Resident Evil 0 and 1, which I got on sale, so I thought, why not have S.T.A.R.S. rescue Chloe? Then came a long stretch of game plot. Many readers dropped the book then, and I had to release all my saved drafts and promise it wouldn't happen again.

But I broke my word. Yes, I didn't dare to change the original plot at will. You can see that if you remove Chloe's protagonist scenes, the plot is exactly the same as the original game, because I couldn't write outside the framework.

It might also be because I failed to get signed twice, which made me think about giving up. But the ratings kept increasing, and there was so much encouragement from readers. This is the first time so many people have read my writing, so I couldn't bear to let it go.

I've said a lot, but I just want to express my gratitude to all the readers.

As for the future, I will continue writing and give Chloe a complete life. There might be breaks in the future since I'm facing the choice between finding a job after graduation or taking the postgraduate entrance exam, but I will definitely not drop the book.

Readers can choose to follow along or stockpile chapters; either is fine as long as you interact and discuss the plot with me. I love interaction. Please don't let me write in a vacuum; after all, I'm doing this for the love of it qwq.

Moving forward, I will strengthen Chloe's narrative as the protagonist as quickly as possible and finish the Raccoon City arc soon.