Chapter 15: The Omen of the Outbreak

After the fall of the Arklay Research Facility, the tranquility of the Arklay Mountains was completely shattered.

The rolling mountains remained shrouded in a year-round mist, but this silent land, once belonging only to wild animals and the sound of wind through the trees, was now filled with desperate screams, the tearing roar of flesh being ripped apart, and the dying wails of humans.

Disappearance cases erupted like a tidal wave; tourists, hikers, hunters, forest rangers, and even residents of nearby towns stepped into the mountains one after another, never to walk out again.

The local police department initially treated these as ordinary disappearances or animal attacks, but as the number of reports skyrocketed exponentially and the mangled states of the corpses became increasingly bizarre, all of Raccoon City began to be shrouded in an invisible panic.

No one knew that the true culprit was not a bear, not a wolf, and not a serial killer.

It was the T-Virus that had leaked from the Arklay Research Facility.

At this moment, on the second basement level of the Arklay Research Facility beneath the mountains, the pale light remained blinding.

From the failed escape from The Orphanage in 1990 and being forcibly brought back to become a test subject, to the full-scale viral leak in early summer 1998, for eight whole years, Chloe had been completely forgotten in this underground cage.

The transmigrator Lu Qi, who had once curled up under the bed trembling, had long since merged with this body during the long years of experimentation, surveillance, and imprisonment.

She had just turned sixteen this year.

Her figure was slender; long-term silence and restraint had given her a line that was almost frozen in its length. Her shoulders and neck were clean and straight; even after sitting in a cold metal chamber for years, she still maintained a posture of almost instinctive alertness.

Her skin was the porcelain white of someone who had not seen the sun for years, delicate to the point of being translucent. Under the pale fluorescent lights, one could faintly see the pale blue veins beneath her skin, like finely traced patterns.

Her appearance was quiet to the point of coldness, possessing no excess aggression, yet she had a clean profile that made her unforgettable at a glance. Her eyebrows and eyes were slender and soft, and her iris color was a light tea brown.

Her nose was small and straight, and her lips were pale, usually kept gently closed, never speaking much. Only when feeling the sting of experiments or perceiving abnormal viral activity would her fingertips tighten slightly, and her lower lip would be gently bitten, leaving a fleeting trace of faint blood color.

On her arms, shoulders, and wrists, there remained pale needle marks from years of blood draws and injections, like a string of small, silent medals.

Those marks had not disappeared with time but had become a part of her body, reminding her of the fate destined for her since birth—test subject, vessel, specimen, S01.

Her long hair had grown to her waist, a soft silver-white. Usually, she tied it simply behind her head, with stray strands hanging at the side of her neck, making that stretch of neck appear even more slender.

The T-ε variant virus within her had long since reached complete symbiosis with her; violence and stability had achieved a bizarre balance in her blood. She could perceive every vibration, every breath, and every wisp of viral aura in the research facility, and could even penetrate the walls to "hear" the low gasps and roars of the infected creatures deep in the mountains.

Eight years.

Wesker had left.

William had left.

Lisa had disappeared.

Only she remained imprisoned here.

Chloe curled up in the corner of the isolation chamber and slowly closed her eyes.

It was coming.

The plot of Resident Evil 0 was finally about to begin.

She had waited for this day for eight whole years.

The T-Virus was completely out of control, Dr. James James Marcus's leech swarm was sweeping in, and the day of breaking out of the cage she had long awaited was finally at hand.

Meanwhile, at the Raccoon City police department, dozens of kilometers away, the atmosphere in the S.T.A.R.S. operations room was equally oppressive to the extreme.

The map of the Arklay Mountains on the wall was completely covered with dense red markings.

Every red dot represented a disappearance or death case.

Wesker stood in front of the map, his sunglasses hiding all emotion in his eyes. His fingertips tapped seemingly casually on the area with the densest markings; that was exactly where the Arklay Research Facility was located. He appeared calm and steady on the surface, but inwardly, he knew everything clearly.

The T-Virus leak was beyond recovery, and the opportunity he had waited for so long was finally about to arrive.

Chris slammed his fist onto the table, his face full of anxiety and confusion.

"It's too strange. All the attacks are concentrated in the Arklay Mountains, and the wounds are identical—all death by tearing and gnawing. The search and rescue teams sent by the local police can't even find complete corpses. This is simply not something ordinary beasts could do!"

Jill crossed her arms, her sharp eyes fixed on the map, and analyzed calmly: "The attacks have no fixed time, no fixed targets, and the modus operandi is extremely savage. Furthermore, there are absolutely no signs of resistance from the victims; it's as if they encountered something with extreme speed, immense strength, and absolutely no fear of humans."

Barry frowned, his voice low: "I've been in Raccoon City for over a dozen years, and I've never seen the Arklay Mountains this wrong. Umbrella Corporation was developing in the mountains before; who knows what is hidden inside."

Mentioning Umbrella Corporation, Wesker turned slightly, speaking in a flat, emotionless tone.

"The police have requested S.T.A.R.S. assistance five times in a row. The chief's intention is for us to be prepared to deploy at any time."

Chris immediately looked up: "When are we going into the mountains? If we drag this out any longer, more people will lose their lives!"

"The time is not right." Wesker flatly refused, his tone brooking no doubt. "Going into the mountains now will only alert the enemy. We need a complete plan, sufficient equipment, and official approval from headquarters."

Only he knew that he was not waiting for approval.

He was waiting for the moment of total loss of control.

Waiting for the moment when Umbrella Corporation could no longer cover it up, the research facility was completely overrun, and S.T.A.R.S. was forced to deploy everyone into the mountains.

By then, he could use the name of the mission to send this group of elite team members into hell and complete his final escape plan.

Bravo Team captain Enrico Marini pushed the door open and walked into the operations room, holding the latest case summary, his expression incredibly heavy.

"Just received news, two more youths have gone missing. A large amount of blood and torn clothing were found at the scene. No bullet marks, no signs of struggle, only... teeth marks."

"Teeth marks?" Jill raised an eyebrow.

"Completely consistent with all previous cases." Enrico nodded, his tone grave. "The medical examiner can no longer handle the pressure and told me privately that this tooth mark structure does not belong to any known creature. It's more like... human, yet several times stronger in bite force than a human's."

This sentence caused the entire operations room to fall into dead silence instantly.

Human?

How is that possible.

Rebecca Chambers stood in the corner, clutching the medical manual in her hands tightly, her small face slightly pale. She had joined S.T.A.R.S. for less than a month and was facing such a bizarre and terrifying serial case for the first time; she was both nervous and uneasy in her heart.

"If... if it really is a mutation caused by a virus?" She couldn't help but speak softly. "I learned in textbooks that certain unknown viruses can change an organism's behavioral patterns and body structure..."

All eyes were focused on her.

Rebecca paused slightly, but still gathered the courage to continue: "The Arklay Mountains used to have Umbrella Corporation research facilities. They have always been researching biological-related projects. Could it be..."

"Rebecca." Wesker suddenly interrupted her, his voice calm but carrying an irresistible authority. "Do not spread baseless speculation. Umbrella Corporation is the city sponsor; we have no right to question them."

Rebecca immediately lowered her head: "I'm sorry, Captain Wesker."

Wesker withdrew his gaze and looked back at the map, sneering inwardly.

The little girl was too naive.

She had guessed the truth, but she didn't know that the perfect captain before her was the very culprit pushing them toward the hell of truth.

Chris took a heavy breath, his eyes firm: "No matter what it is, hiding in the Arklay Mountains and harming people, we S.T.A.R.S. must ferret it out."

"That's right." Jill agreed. "We are the Special Tactics and Rescue Service; at a time like this, it's our turn to step up."

Barry, Enrico, Brad, Richard... all the team members' faces were written with the same determination and sense of responsibility.

They were the guardians of Raccoon City, the elite of the elite. From the day they joined S.T.A.R.S., they had been prepared to face all dangers.

They were not afraid of beasts, not afraid of criminals, and not afraid of terrorists.

But they did not know that what they were about to face were undead monsters created by a virus that exceeded human understanding.

It was the dark sins of Umbrella Corporation over decades.

It was the death trap their captain had meticulously set.

Wesker looked at this group of team members who trusted him, relied on him, and were willing to go through fire and water for him. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes held not a trace of warmth.

"Rest assured." He said slowly, his voice low and powerful. "Soon, we will go into the mountains."

"Soon."

Outside the window, the night grew thicker.

The mist of the Arklay Mountains, like a giant black net, slowly spread toward Raccoon City.

Inside the research facility, the roars of mutated creatures grew closer.

In the isolation chamber, Chloe waited quietly for the moment the cage would break.

The S.T.A.R.S. team members, in their ignorance, moved step by step toward the hell destined by fate.

The summer of 1998, the false prosperity of the bright 21st century, had finally come to an end.

The shadows of the mountains were about to devour everything.