Chapter 16: Resident Evil 0

(There will be a lot of game plot later. Readers who know the story flow can wait a few days. After Resident Evil 1 ends, it will all be from the protagonist's perspective. I apologize for any inconvenience caused. ദ്ദി˶•̀֊•́)✧)

Raccoon City in July was stifling and dense with fog, the air thick with the fishy smell of rain, like congealed blood, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

In just one week, missing person cases in the Arklay Mountains soared to fifty-three. The remains found at the scene were mutilated beyond recognition, flesh rotted, bones exposed, each bearing marks of non-human bites.

Panic spread like a plague, completely shattering the city's psychological defenses. Convenience stores were looted, streets were empty, with only the sound of sirens and distant, faint roars echoing repeatedly.

The local police department had long been completely out of control. Officers were living in constant fear. The city hall, under pressure from public opinion and the Umbrella Corporation behind it, finally issued a mandatory search warrant for S.T.A.R.S. to enter the mountains.

This day, after all, had come.

At 10 PM on July 23, 1998, lead-grey clouds hung low over Raccoon City, and fine rain had already begun to slide down the windowpanes.

The S.T.A.R.S. operations room on the top floor of the Raccoon City Police Department was already brightly lit. The cold light of the emergency lamps illuminated the dense markings of missing person cases on the wall, with red thumbtacks densely pinned on the west side of the Arklay Mountains, like a spread-out web of death.

Everyone understood that this was no longer a routine search and rescue, but a high-risk operation facing an unknown threat—no one knew what was hidden in the mountains, and no one knew if they would return alive.

The clatter of weapons, the rustle of equipment, and the distant roar of a helicopter warming up intertwined. The crisp sound of metal friction and the suppressed breathing of the team members formed a suffocating prelude to battle.

Wesker stood before the command console, his black suit immaculate, sunglasses concealing all emotion in his eyes. He tapped his finger lightly on the table, his gaze sweeping over the ready-to-depart team members. His voice was deep and steady, carrying the unique reassuring power of a S.T.A.R.S. captain:

"The situation is clear. There are large-scale, highly dangerous unknown creatures in the Arklay Mountains that ordinary police forces cannot handle. Command orders Bravo Team as the advance force to immediately enter the mountains and conduct a carpet search; Alpha Team will remain on standby, ready for support at any time."

Enrico Marini stepped forward, his posture as steady as a pine tree, his gaze as sharp as an eagle. As the captain of Bravo Team, he had worked in the R.P.D.'s Homicide Division for many years, and his mind was meticulously thorough, almost to a fault. He had already sensed the strangeness behind this mission.

He raised a hand to push up his hat brim and said in a deep voice, "Captain Wesker, the mountain range is too vast, and the dense fog combined with heavy rain affects visibility, which is less than five meters. Should the search route be appropriately expanded to avoid missing any areas?"

"Proceed according to the planned route," Wesker's tone was calm, almost cold, yet it carried an undeniable firmness. "Focus the search on the area around the abandoned research facility on the west side of the Arklay Mountains; that's where the missing persons cases are most concentrated. Remember, if you encounter danger, prioritize the safety of your team members and call for support at any time."

This order was flawless and perfectly conformed to S.T.A.R.S. operational guidelines.

But only Wesker himself knew that the western route was directly above the Arklay Research Facility.

He wasn't arranging a rescue; he was feeding them.

Sending Bravo Team directly into the core area most severely infected by the T-Virus, into the death trap he had already set.

"Understood," Enrico nodded, then turned to his team members, his tone instantly becoming impassioned. "Everyone check your equipment! Board in five minutes! Remember, we are the guardians of Raccoon City, and we must root out whatever is hiding in those mountains!"

Bravo Team moved swiftly.

Rebecca Chambers sat in front of the first-aid kit, meticulously arranging hemostatic bandages, disinfectant alcohol, rapid virus test strips, and antidotes. Her fingertips trembled slightly, yet she maintained a professional composure.

This was her first combat mission since joining S.T.A.R.S.

And the true beginning of her destiny.

Enrico walked over to her, his tone softening a bit, and patted her shoulder. "Don't be nervous, Rebecca. Stay close to the team. Your job is to ensure the safety of the injured; you don't need to engage in direct combat. We're here, nothing will happen."

Rebecca took a deep breath, looked up, and a flicker of determination appeared in her clear, hazel eyes. She gripped the handle of the first-aid kit, her voice soft but clear: "I'm fine, Captain Enrico. I won't hold anyone back. I'll do my job."

Though young, she was exceptionally strong-willed. From the day Wesker exceptionally recruited her, she vowed to become a qualified frontline medic, to save lives and heal the wounded on the battlefield.

But she didn't know that this seemingly glorious mission was, from the very beginning, a death trap designed for all of them.

Five minutes later, the S.T.A.R.S. helicopter's propellers roared to life, and the immense wind pressure, carrying rain and fallen leaves, stirred up a frantic vortex on the helipad.

The aircraft, emblazoned with the distinctive blue S.T.A.R.S. logo, slowly ascended in the faint morning light, heading towards the Arklay Mountains, shrouded in dense fog and torrential rain.

The rain grew heavier, and the helicopter's roar sounded particularly abrupt in the downpour.

Bravo Team officially stepped into hell.

Wesker stood on the rooftop, hands in his pockets, silently watching the helicopter's silhouette gradually disappear into the thick fog and curtain of rain. Beneath his sunglasses, a faint, cold curve played on his lips, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

The plan was proceeding as he expected.

The helicopter flew deep into the Arklay Mountains. The fog grew thicker, and the rain, like a dense curtain of needles, blurred everything around them into a grey-white expanse.

The aircraft was enveloped in a vast whiteness, completely losing sight of ground references. The pilot could only rely on instruments for navigation. The crew was adjusting the course as per procedure, trying to avoid dense rain clouds, but just as the helicopter flew over a dense coniferous forest, the instrument panel suddenly burst into a piercing alarm.

Red warning lights flashed wildly, the tachometer needle swung erratically, and the engine let out a violent roar, then its speed plummeted.

"Damn it! Power system failure!" Pilot Kevin Dooley yanked the control stick, his forehead covered in cold sweat. "Hydraulic failure! Engine power dropping rapidly!"

Without any warning or prior notice, Kevin, relying on his excellent piloting skills, managed to keep the aircraft steady. The helicopter was no longer falling out of control but was struggling to adjust its posture in the heavy rain and dense fog. Its propellers furiously cut through the treetops, forcibly carving out an emergency landing path through the dense branches and leaves.

The aircraft violently lurched and vibrated but never lost control. Kevin gritted his teeth, gliding forcefully for dozens of meters through the dense forest, finally landing the helicopter in a relatively open, muddy clearing in a relatively stable posture.

"Bang—!"

The aircraft hit the ground heavily, sliding several meters through the mud, emitting a dull thud. Yet, there was no explosion, no breakage, only slight deformation of the outer shell and minor damage to the propellers. The smoke was faint, quickly extinguished by the rain, and the entire helicopter maintained its structural integrity.

Enrico stepped out of the cabin steadily, almost completely unharmed except for some mud. He quickly scanned the area, then solemnly called out the names: "Everyone gather! Check for injuries! Richard, Kenneth, Forest, Rebecca, Edward!"

"Captain!" Kevin turned from the cockpit, giving a thumbs-up. "I'm fine! The helicopter can still be repaired! Only the engine and hydraulic systems are damaged, so we can't take off for now!"

Edward flexed his left hand. It was just a minor cut from broken glass, which stopped bleeding with a simple press. "Just a small scratch, it won't affect my movement at all."

Richard's shoulder had been grazed by a branch, only his combat uniform was stained with some blood. "I'm fine, equipment is intact, and the communicator can be activated normally."

Forest gripped his rifle, quickly scanning the surroundings. His arm had a slight scrape. "Captain, there are unknown sounds nearby, otherwise no abnormalities."

Kenneth raised his binoculars, his expression grave but his actions steady. "There are moving shadows in the distance, no signs of approaching for now."

Rebecca hurried forward with the first-aid kit. Although still a bit nervous, she had calmed down. "Everyone's injuries aren't serious, I can treat them anytime! We can call Alpha Team for support immediately!"

Richard immediately pressed the communicator, but the next second his face fell: "No! The signal is severely jammed, I can't contact the outside world at all!"

Enrico's brows instantly furrowed.

Sudden engine failure, forced signal jamming, a precise forced landing in the core of the mountains, unknown threats hidden by dense fog and heavy rain... all of this was no longer an accident.

But he didn't panic; he quickly made the most prudent deployment.

"Kevin!" Enrico looked at the pilot, his voice firm, "You stay with the helicopter, immediately check for damage, and try to repair the system. We will contact you at any time!"

"Understood!" Kevin nodded immediately and turned to inspect the aircraft's equipment.

Enrico looked at his team members again, his voice steady and strong: "The rest of you follow me into the dense forest to find high ground to restore the signal and investigate surrounding threats. Maintain formation, cover each other, unknown dangers are nearby, everyone raise your vigilance!"

"Yes!"

Everyone quickly organized their equipment and followed Enrico's footsteps, entering the depths of the Arklay dense forest shrouded in thick fog.

Just as the team was about to withdraw, Rebecca's gaze inadvertently swept over the muddy clearing to the left of the helicopter. There, an overturned military escort vehicle was awkwardly stuck in the mud, its body covered with impact marks, clearly having undergone a violent collision.

Rain washed over the vehicle, revealing the U.S. Army Military Police Corps emblem printed on its side.

Rebecca's steps halted, her pupils slightly contracting.

"Rebecca, come on!" Enrico called back.

"Wait a moment!" Rebecca lowered her voice and quickly walked to the escort vehicle, the rain wetting her hair and sticking to her cheeks.

She walked around the overturned escort vehicle and found that the door had been knocked open, hanging crookedly from the vehicle body.

Inside the vehicle, it was a mess.

Scattered documents, broken helmets, and blood-stained badges lay in the mud.

In the driver's and passenger seats, two military police officers lay twisted, their bodies already cold, covered in gruesome bite marks, flesh rotted, revealing stark white bones, clearly victims of some creature's attack.

Rebecca's heart sank. She crouched down and picked up the scattered documents on the ground.

The rain had soaked the paper, blurring the handwriting slightly, but it was still clearly legible.

The topmost document was a death row inmate transfer order.

It bore the exclusive seal of the U.S. Army, and the core information section of the transfer order read:

Name: Billy Coen

Rank: Army Lieutenant

Verdict: Death Sentence

Escort Destination: Leckson Military Base

Escort Unit: U.S. Army Military Police Corps (3 personnel)

Rebecca's fingertips trembled slightly. She looked up at the dense forest shrouded in fog. The rain blurred her vision, yet it made her more clearly aware that this seemingly peaceful Arklay Mountains was far more terrifying than they had imagined.

"Rebecca, don't touch the evidence!" Enrico rushed over, grabbing her arm, his voice urgent and serious. "It's dangerous here, get back to the team immediately!"

Rebecca abruptly looked up, her voice slightly tight with shock: "Captain... this is a U.S. military escort vehicle. It was transporting a death row inmate named Billy Coen, and now... the military police are all dead, and the prisoner... is missing."

Enrico took the transfer order and quickly scanned it, his face instantly turning grim and serious.

Years of police experience led him to the most logical conclusion immediately: the death row inmate attacked the police, seized their weapons, killed the escorting military police, and escaped into the Arklay Mountains.

The string of bizarre deaths and gruesome biting incidents in the mountains... at this moment, they all instantly pointed to this escaped death row inmate in his mind.

A heinous deserter.

"He did it," Enrico said in a deep voice, his eyes sharp as knives. "Billy Coen assaulted the police, escaped from custody, killed the escorting military police, and fled into this forest. The missing person cases and assault cases in the mountains... I'm afraid they are all his doing."

The team members' expressions changed simultaneously.

A murderer and a deserter were far more terrifying than unknown beasts.

"But Captain... the wounds on those bodies..." Rebecca hesitated, wanting to say that the marks didn't look like they were caused by humans.

"Now is not the time to analyze wounds!" Enrico interrupted her, his tone unyielding. "An extremely dangerous armed death row inmate is in these mountains. We are S.T.A.R.S., and we must apprehend him immediately!"

He quickly turned to face all Bravo Team members, issuing instructions:

"Listen! Kevin stays with the helicopter, the rest of us will spread out and search! This person is extremely dangerous and armed. If you spot the target, do not act alone, call for support immediately, attempt to capture him alive, and if necessary, subdue him on the spot!"

"Understood!" Everyone responded in unison.

Enrico took one last look at the bloody escort vehicle and said coldly:

"Expand the search area, keep your walkie-talkies clear. We must catch Billy Coen before he can harm anyone else!"

"Move out!"

At his command, Bravo Team immediately dispersed, vanishing into the dense forest shrouded in torrential rain and thick fog.

Rebecca clutched the transfer order and followed the team deeper, a faint unease rising in her heart.

She just felt that the state of the military police's deaths... in some ways... didn't seem like something humans could have caused.