Chapter 109: Lies and Trust

The tremors of the Nest grew increasingly violent. The harsh sound of twisting metal structures echoed from all directions, and the emergency lights overhead flickered frantically, casting the pure white corridor in a bloody, crimson glow.

Leon gripped the G-Virus sample tube inside his tactical vest and hurried through the corridor. Tiles peeled off the walls, and large chunks of concrete crashed onto the floor behind him, kicking up clouds of dust.

The gunshot wound on his shoulder tore open again during the intense run, warm blood soaking through the bandages, but he dared not slow down in the slightest. Ada was still waiting for him at the cable car station, and every second they stayed here increased the risk of being buried underground.

Passing through the final automatic bulkhead, the central elevator platform suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Leon had expected the place to be empty, but he was surprised to see that familiar red figure leaning against the elevator control panel.

Blood was seeping through the bandage on Ada's left leg again. She held a modified electromagnetic hacking pistol in her hand, and with a soft beep, the red light on the elevator lock instantly turned green.

Hearing footsteps, Ada turned her head sharply. The moment she saw Leon, her tense shoulders visibly relaxed, and a flash of panic, which she herself hadn't even noticed, flickered in her eyes.

She limped toward him, her voice carrying a rare sense of urgency: "I was worried to death. Please, tell me you got it."

"I got it." Leon panted, raising a hand to wipe the dust from his face. "But this place is collapsing. Umbrella Corporation has initiated the self-destruct sequence, and we have to leave immediately."

Ada reached out to him, palm upward, her tone brooking no argument: "Let me confirm the G-Virus sample, and then let's get out of this hellhole."

Leon didn't think twice and reached out to pull the sample tube from his tactical vest. Just then, rapid footsteps came from the other side of the platform, followed immediately by Annette's anxious cry: "Don't trust her! She's using you!"

Leon's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and he turned back to look in confusion. He saw Claire helping a pale-faced Annette walk over quickly, with Sherry clutching tightly to the corner of Claire's clothes, her little face full of terror. All three were covered in blood and dust; it was clear their journey here hadn't been easy.

"What does that mean?" Leon frowned, his gaze shifting back and forth between Ada and Claire.

Annette broke free from Claire's support and stumbled forward a step. She clutched her chest and coughed violently, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, yet her gaze remained exceptionally firm as she stared fixedly at Ada:

"She's not some FBI agent at all. She's a mercenary. If she gets the G-Virus, she'll just sell it, and then more cities like Raccoon City will turn into hell!"

Leon took a step back, his eyes filled with doubt and disappointment as he looked at Ada. He gripped the sample tube tightly, his voice low: "Is what she said... true?"

The ease on Ada's face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold sense of resignation. She let out a wry smile, slowly raised her hand, and a silver pistol appeared in her grip, aimed directly at Leon.

"Oh, Leon," her voice carried a hint of exhaustion, "why couldn't you just willingly hand the sample over to me?"

Leon immediately drew his own pistol, pointing it straight at Ada. His eyes were full of hurt and anger: "I really didn't expect you to be this kind of person. Everything before this... it was all an act, wasn't it?"

"I really didn't want things to come to this." Ada's finger pressed slightly on the trigger. "Listen to me, Leon, this is just my job."

"Then my job is to... arrest you!" Leon cut her off, his tone resolute. "Now, please put the gun down!"

"I don't want to hurt you, Leon." There was a hint of imperceptible trembling in Ada's voice. "So hand the sample over to me, and I promise I won't hurt any of you."

The air instantly froze. On the platform, only the roar of the collapsing Nest and the four people's rapid breathing remained. Sherry, terrified, hid behind Claire, clutching tightly to her clothes. Claire also drew her revolver, aiming it vigilantly at Ada, ready to support Leon at any moment.

At this tense moment, Leon suddenly made a move that surprised everyone. He slowly lowered his gun, letting it hang by his side, and looked at Ada with calm eyes.

"Then go ahead and shoot." His voice was not loud, but exceptionally firm. "I bet you can't bring yourself to do it."

Ada's pupils contracted sharply, and her hand holding the gun trembled slightly. She looked into Leon's clear, resolute eyes, and flashes of their journey together raced through her mind: him throwing himself in front of her to block bullets, risking danger to save her in the garbage pit, and clumsily promising to protect her on the cable car.

Her finger slowly released the trigger.

Just as Ada was about to lower the gun completely, the platform beneath their feet suddenly emitted a deafening roar!

The entire metal floor cracked open down the middle, and a massive fissure instantly swallowed the ground beneath Ada's feet. She cried out as her body fell backward uncontrollably.

"Ada!"

Leon's pupils constricted, and without a second thought, he lunged forward, catching her by the wrist at the very last moment before she fell.

The immense tension caused Leon's body to slide toward the edge of the fissure. His arm was strained painfully, his shoulder wound tore open again, and fresh blood streamed down his arm, dripping onto Ada's face.

The G-Virus sample tube slid out of Leon's open tactical vest, tracing a pale purple arc through the air before plummeting into the bottomless dark abyss.

"Give me your hand! The other one!" Leon roared, pulling at Ada with all his might, veins bulging on his forehead.

Ada raised her other hand, trying to grab Leon's arm. But just then, the fissure widened again, and more metal fragments and concrete chunks fell, crashing into the darkness below with muffled sounds.

Ada looked at Leon's face, flushed red from exertion, then looked at the continuously collapsing platform, and gently shook her head.

"Forget it, Leon." Her voice was very soft, yet carried a resolute tenderness.

"Shut up! I'm going to save you!" Leon gritted his teeth, his arm muscles trembling from excessive strain. "I won't leave you behind!"

"I'm not worth it." A faint smile tugged at the corners of Ada's mouth, though her eyes were filled with reluctance. "Take care of yourself, Leon."

With that, she wrenched herself free from Leon's grasp.

"No—!"

Leon could only watch helplessly as the red figure fell into the endless darkness, vanishing into the swirling smoke and dust. He knelt at the edge of the fissure, reaching out to grab something, but only grasped a handful of cold dust.

"Leon! Come over here! This place is collapsing!"

Claire's shout pulled Leon back to reality from his despair. He looked back to see the elevator door already open, with Claire standing in the doorway, waving at him anxiously. The ceiling overhead had already begun to collapse on a large scale, with massive chunks of concrete falling continuously; the entire platform could collapse completely at any moment.

Leon clenched his fists and pounded the ground in frustration. He took one last look at the darkness, then abruptly stood up, turned around, and rushed into the elevator.

The elevator doors slowly closed, shutting out the roar and dust from outside. The car was deathly silent, with only the four people's heavy breathing audible. Leon leaned against the cold metal wall, closed his eyes, and the final scene of Ada's fall played on a loop in his mind.

Sherry cautiously tugged at the corner of Claire's clothes and asked in a low voice: "Big Sister Claire, where did Big Sister Chloe go? Why isn't she with us?"

At the mention of Chloe, Claire's expression darkened. She frowned and said: "She said earlier that she wanted to split up from me to go to William's private laboratory to find the G-Virus S01 Inhibitor, and that she would come back to meet up with us after finding it. She wouldn't... still be up there, would she?"

"I saw her in William's laboratory earlier." Annette spoke weakly, her voice hoarse. "She later went to the fourth underground level on the east side; that's the clone experimentation area."

Just then, the elevator jolted violently and slowly came to a stop. The doors opened to reveal a massive, circular central control room. Countless screens and consoles flickered with faint light; most of the equipment had ceased operation due to power failure, and only the main screen in the center was still lit, displaying a structural diagram of the Nest and the self-destruct countdown.

"Eight minutes left." Leon looked at the red numbers pulsing on the screen, his voice low.

Claire walked quickly to the main console, her fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard. She pulled up the Nest's surveillance system and quickly cycled through the feeds for various areas. Finally, on the surveillance feed for the eastern underground corridor, she saw that familiar silver-white haired figure.

"Chloe!"

Claire immediately picked up the walkie-talkie on the table, switched to the public channel, and shouted: "Chloe! Can you hear me? Chloe!"

On the other side, the eastern underground train station.

Chloe had just finished repairing the train's power system, and the indicator lights on the dashboard lit up one by one, emitting a steady hum. She wiped the grease from her hands and turned to look into the carriage. Angela was sitting obediently in her seat, dangling her two little legs, curiously inspecting everything around her.

"Angela, sit still and don't move around. We'll be able to leave here soon," Chloe instructed.

Just then, the communicator in the control room suddenly rang, transmitting Claire's intermittent voice.

Chloe walked quickly to the console and pressed the talk button: "Claire? Is that you? Are you all okay? How is Sherry?"

"Sherry has been saved! We're all fine! But this place is collapsing, Umbrella Corporation has initiated the self-destruct sequence, and there's less than eight minutes left! You have to escape quickly, hurry!" Claire's voice was mixed with static, cutting in and out.

"Don't worry, I've found a way out." Chloe looked at the train outside the window, her tone calm and firm. "There's an Umbrella Corporation backup escape train here, and I've already repaired the power. Where are you now? Can you make it here? The station is on the third underground level on the east side; you can find it by following the green indicator lights."

"Chloe? Chloe, I can't hear you clearly..."

A harsh burst of static suddenly came from the communicator, followed by complete silence.

Chloe tried calling a few more times, but there was no response. She frowned and turned off the communicator. She didn't pay it much mind, though; according to the original plot, they should be arriving here soon as well.

Meanwhile, in the circular central control room, Claire put down the walkie-talkie and shook her head helplessly: "The communication was cut off. I only heard her say she found an escape train at the station on the third underground level on the east side."

Leon hoisted the weak Annette onto his back and checked the Shotgun in his hand to confirm it had sufficient ammunition: "No time to hesitate. We're going there now."

Claire nodded, took Sherry's hand, and shielded her by her side. She glanced at the countdown pulsing on the screen and took a deep breath: "Let's go."

The four of them walked out of the control room, heading along the dim corridor toward the fourth underground level on the east side. The collapse of the Nest was becoming increasingly severe; the ground beneath their feet shook continuously, and debris fell from overhead from time to time. Steam billowed from ruptured pipes, obscuring their vision, and the air was filled with a pungent chemical odor and the smell of blood.

Leon led the way with Annette on his back, while Claire followed behind, holding Sherry's hand and vigilantly observing their surroundings. They all knew that these final eight minutes would be their last chance to escape this underground hell.