Chapter 14: James Marcus's Revenge

May 1998, the Arklay Mountains had been shrouded in continuous plum rain for nearly two months.

It had been exactly three years since William Birkin withdrew from the Arklay Research Facility and moved into the Raccoon City NEST laboratory.

The underground facility, once the core R&D site for the Umbrella Corporation's Progenitor Virus and T-Virus, was now nothing but an empty shell; high-level resources had been diverted to the G-Virus project, the Tyrant Project had entered final debugging before mass production, and the sole task of the remaining supervisor, John Clemens, was to watch over S01 experimental subject: Chloe, who had been forgotten on the second underground level.

The reinforced glass of the isolation chamber was covered in a faint layer of condensation, completely severing Chloe from the outside world.

For eight years, she had not left this laboratory for even a single step; the researchers, like programmed machines, punctually completed blood draws, vital sign monitoring, and viral synchronization rate comparisons every day, without a single word of unnecessary communication.

In the eyes of John's team, she was not a human, but a living gene bank sealed away by the Umbrella Corporation, the highest-spec specimen of perfect symbiosis with the T-Virus, no different from the virus test tubes on the shelves or the Tyrant prototypes in the culture tanks.

"Subject S01, body temperature 36.6°C, T-Virus activity stable, neural inhibition parameters normal, no trend toward berserk state." Researcher Luke lowered his head to tap on the data pad, his gaze never once falling on the glass chamber.

"Sample number AK-98-147, moved to cold storage zone 3, sedative infusion complete, isolation chamber safety lock in level-one locked state."

His partner, Irene, finished checking the console parameters, raised her hand to turn off the main indoor lights, leaving only the faint glow of two emergency wall lights, "Monitoring for today is finished, lock the laboratory."

The electronic door closed heavily, and the footsteps gradually faded away.

Chloe slowly propped herself up, her fingertips lightly touching the cold glass. She could clearly perceive the steady rhythm of the T-Virus within her, and even more, she could sense that the entire research facility was heading toward collapse.

This building, buried deep within the mountains, had long been a ticking time bomb abandoned by the Umbrella Corporation. And what she did not know was that a revenge spanning decades had already quietly spread from the ruins of the Training Facility toward Arklay.

June 12, 1998, the Training Facility completely lost contact.

In John Clemens's office, cold instructions came through the encrypted communication channel; his knuckles, gripping the communicator, turned slightly white, and his face was so gloomy it could drip water. His deputy, Carl, stood in front of the desk, reporting the latest situation with a panicked expression.

"Director, the Training Facility has had no signal feedback for 72 hours. Low-altitude reconnaissance by security drones shows that all peripheral buildings are destroyed, with no signs of life."

Carl handed the tablet to John, the screen displaying blurry aerial footage of devastation, "Headquarters has explicitly ordered that all personnel are prohibited from investigating, and they require us to prioritize reinforcing the Arklay Research Facility to strictly prevent the leakage of the T-Virus and the loss of experimental subjects."

John slammed the communicator onto the desk, his tone full of anger and confusion: "Prohibited from investigating? The Training Facility houses Dr. James Marcus's original research data, as well as the first-generation strain of the Progenitor Virus. What exactly is Oswell E. Spencer ignoring? Arklay is now an isolated city; headquarters doesn't care about our lives at all!"

"What's worse is that there have been multiple reports of abnormal wild animal attacks in the mountains, and reports of missing rangers have tripled." Carl's voice lowered, carrying undisguised panic, "I suspect... there might be a trace amount of the virus leaked from the facility."

John's pupils contracted, and he instantly stood up and rushed to the monitoring wall to check the footage of the third underground level's virus storage vault. Fortunately, the sealing system was intact, but a strong sense of unease grew wildly in his heart.

He knew very well that the core asset of the Arklay Research Facility was not the Tyrant, nor the T-Virus strain, but Chloe on the second underground level.

"Immediately initiate level-two alert for the facility," John ordered in a deep voice, his tone unquestionable, "All blast doors switch to automatic locking mode, security clearance for the experimental area is raised to the highest level, especially the isolation chamber for S01 on the second underground level; add double alloy protection. Without my vein authorization and password, no one is allowed to open it."

"But Director, the energy system can only support a level-one alert. Forcing a level-two mode will cause the ventilation and circulation systems to operate intermittently, and... we simply don't have enough security personnel." Carl argued hurriedly.

"Do it!" John interrupted sharply, "Chloe is the Umbrella Corporation's top secret. Even if this facility collapses, she must be locked in here. If she falls into outside hands, we will all be purged by headquarters, understand?"

Carl dared not say more and turned to leave. John was left alone in the office, staring at Chloe's calm figure on the screen, a hint of paranoid fanaticism flashing in his eyes.

William Birkin had taken away the results of the G-Virus, and he had to guard Arklay's final trump card. Only by firmly controlling Chloe could he maintain his position in the power struggle of the Umbrella Corporation.

Time advanced to July 23, 1998, when a torrential rainstorm swept through the Arklay Mountains.

At 23:17 late at night, the biological containment chamber on the third underground level suddenly emitted a shrill alarm, and red warning lights instantly flooded the entire corridor.

The duty officer in the monitoring room stared at the screen in horror, seeing countless pitch-black, viscous leeches emerging from the drainage pipes like a tide, gnawing on metal, corroding circuits; the on-duty security personnel were swallowed by the leeches in an instant, unable to even emit a complete scream.

"Warning! Unknown biological intrusion! Third underground level containment system damaged! Large-scale T-Virus leakage! Repeat, T-Virus leakage!"

"Security troops lost contact! Experimental subjects out of control! Tyrant prototype broke through the culture tank!"

"Emergency evacuation procedure initiated... insufficient authorization, unable to initiate!"

The ear-piercing alarm tore through the silence of the rainy night, and the entire facility instantly plunged into chaos. John had just come out of the Tyrant experimental area; the moment he heard the alarm, his face turned pale. He drew his pistol and rushed toward the monitoring room like a madman.

The scene before him made his blood freeze. The corridors were filled with zombies and out-of-control Hunters, pitch-black leeches submerged the floors, and in the center of the monitoring screen stood a man with a twisted figure, wrapped in leeches.

Dr. James Marcus.

That Umbrella Corporation founder who had been assassinated by Oswell E. Spencer decades ago had actually been resurrected in the form of a leech monster.

"It's James Marcus's revenge... He destroyed the Training Facility, and now he is coming to destroy Arklay..." John muttered to himself, his back completely soaked with cold sweat. He finally understood why headquarters abandoned the Training Facility; it wasn't indifference, it was fear. But at this moment, fear was already too late.

"Director! The first and third levels of the facility have completely fallen! The T-Virus has spread to the mountains through the ventilation system and drainage pipes!" Carl rushed into the monitoring room covered in blood, dragging a gruesome wound on his right leg, "The energy core is about to overload, we must evacuate immediately!"

John ignored his roar, his eyes locked on the monitoring screen of the second underground level. Chloe was still sitting calmly in the isolation chamber, as if the hell outside had nothing to do with her.

At that moment, a crazy thought took shape in his mind: Chloe must never be taken by James Marcus, and this perfect experimental subject must never become a weapon to destroy the Umbrella Corporation.

"We can't leave!" John grabbed Carl by the collar, the force so great it almost crushed the other man's bones, "Come with me to the second underground level, lock the S01 isolation chamber!"

"Are you crazy? It's full of monsters outside! Going there is suicide!" Carl struggled desperately.

"Suicide is better than being purged by Oswell E. Spencer!" John roared, pushing Carl away, and rushed toward the second underground level alone, "Chloe must stay here! She is my research result, the final bottom line of the Umbrella Corporation! No one is allowed to take her away!"

In the corridor, zombies stumbled forward, the roars of Hunters were deafening, and leeches flowed on the ground, leaving black water trails. Relying on his familiarity with the terrain, John dodged the monsters one by one and finally kicked open the door to the second underground level laboratory.

In the isolation chamber, Chloe slowly opened her eyes, looking calmly at the disheveled, crazed John before her.

"Subject S01, don't you think about moving." John rushed to the console, his hands frantically tapping the keys, entering authorization passwords in succession, "James Marcus can't destroy my research, and the Umbrella Corporation won't give you up. You can only stay here, stay here forever!"

"John, this research facility is finished." Chloe spoke, her voice calm but carrying a power that penetrated the heart, "The T-Virus has spread, Arklay has become hell; you can lock me up, but you cannot lock up the sins created by the Umbrella Corporation."

"Shut up!" John scolded sharply, slamming the highest-level lockdown key, "I don't need to hear a lecture from an experimental subject! Your mission is to be controlled by me, providing genetic data for the Umbrella Corporation until the day you lose your value!"

The console emitted a heavy mechanical whirring sound, and the alloy armor plating on the outer layer of the isolation chamber slowly descended, completely shielding the reinforced glass.

The independent oxygen circulation system was activated, and all external monitoring, communication, and energy were cut off. This was the Umbrella Corporation's highest-level permanent sealing mode; once locked, it was impossible to open except by physical demolition.

"Rot in this coffin!" John stared at the completely sealed isolation chamber, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes, "When this disaster is over, I will come back to take you away. If I don't come back, you will be buried in the mountains of Arklay forever with this facility!"

Just then, the laboratory door was violently smashed, and a mutated Hunter rushed in, roaring. John's expression changed drastically; he dared not stay any longer, turned, and fled, disappearing into the endless darkness and roars.

In the sealed isolation chamber, only the faint light of the emergency lamp remained. Chloe leaned against the chamber wall, able to clearly feel the entire facility collapsing, burning, and being swallowed by leeches and zombies.

The shock of explosions came from underground; walls peeled, pipes burst, and the T-Virus, along with rainwater and blood, completely seeped into every inch of soil in the Arklay Mountains. The beasts in the forest were infected, the streams were polluted, the missing tourists turned into zombies, and a biochemical disaster that no one could stop officially began.

James Marcus's revenge had completed the liquidation of Arklay.

The dark secrets of the Umbrella Corporation could no longer be buried.

William Birkin's G-Virus experiment in Raccoon City was approaching the point of no return.

And Chloe, locked firmly at the very center of the destruction, became the only forgotten prisoner in this disaster.

She closed her eyes, feeling the T-Virus within her resonate with the virus permeating the outside world, the restless power flowing through her veins.

The isolation chamber was still sturdy, but she knew the moment the cage shattered was not far off.

The downpour in Arklay was still pouring, and the countdown to the destruction of Raccoon City officially began from this moment.