Chapter 5: A Cage Deep in the Mountains

The night was like a piece of ink-soaked velvet, smothering every inch of the Arklay Mountains.

Chloe had been locked in the reinforced isolation room of The Ark's underground laboratory for a full twenty-four hours.

The restraint straps on her wrists and ankles glinted with a cold, hard metallic light, biting into her skin, but they also restricted her movements. She didn't howl or struggle like the other crazed test subjects; she simply curled up quietly on the cold floor, using the pale emergency light overhead to observe the surveillance camera on the door.

The camera behind the glass dome rotated slightly, recording her every expression.

Chloe's ears twitched slightly.

She could hear the footsteps of the guards outside—one, two, three steps—and then they stopped at the end of the hallway. That was the interval during the shift change, the moment when security was at its laxest.

Her fingertips lightly brushed the floor, leaving behind a few very faint scratches.

Even while locked in here, her brain was still working at high speed.

The confrontation from earlier was still fresh in her mind: she had thought the security was thin and that she could control the situation with a single gun, but she hadn't expected that seemingly weak researcher to be feigning from the start, waiting for the moment she let her guard down.

The moment the sedative was plunged into her neck, that cold, nerve-numbing chill had remained in her fingertips until now.

She closed her eyes, forcing herself not to think about the feverish heat she felt before losing control.

Just then, the alloy door of the isolation room emitted a low "hum" and slowly slid open to both sides.

Two men in black combat uniforms walked in; they wore gas masks, their expressions unreadable, with walkie-talkies hanging from their waists and weapons gleaming coldly in their holsters.

They weren't ordinary researchers from The Ark, but transport personnel from headquarters. She recognized them at a glance—this was Umbrella's USS, though she didn't know if Hunk was among them.

A man stepped forward, holding a sedative in his hand.

Is this an execution, or are they taking me for surgery? Chloe thought as she watched him jab the needle into her neck.

As the sedative took effect, Chloe felt her limbs go numb and her whole body grow heavy.

She wasn't untied, nor was she taken out of the isolation room; instead, several transport personnel in full hazmat suits secured her directly into a black, sealed experimental transport pod.

The pod wasn't long, just enough to accommodate her eight-year-old body. Inside were hard restraint straps, and the breathing port was connected to a circulating air system. There wasn't a sliver of light or a single sound.

This wasn't an escort; it was cargo transport.

"Sample confirmed: S01, Chloe. Memory transplant surgery not yet implemented. Mental resistance stable, no signs of losing control."

"Transport Level: Top Secret."

"Destination: Arklay Research Facility, Underground Core Area."

A cold electronic voice sounded outside the pod. Then, the transport pod was locked tight, and the rollers made a dull sound as they slid across the floor.

Chloe curled up in the narrow pod, motionless.

The vehicle slowly drove away from The Ark and entered the long, dark mountain roads.

No one opened the pod cover during the entire journey.

No dialogue, no reassurance, no scrutiny.

She was like a piece of lifeless hazardous material, sealed tight and sent into the depths of the mountains where countless secrets were said to be buried.

After an unknown amount of time, the vehicle stopped.

The transport pod was lifted again, passing through several alloy gates that required multiple levels of authorization, descending further and further into the heart of the mountain.

This was the Arklay Research Facility.

It wasn't until the pod was secured onto a base in the dedicated experimental area on the second basement level that the mechanical sound of unlocking came from outside.

The sealed pod slowly opened a crack, and at the same time, Chloe slowly woke up.

Cold white light pierced in, bringing with it a heavy scent of disinfectant and reagents.

The laboratory was very quiet, with only the low hum of operating instruments.

Two metal chairs were placed facing each other. A cold-faced man in a black suit sat in one, while another man in a white lab coat with a fanatical look in his eyes stood by the other, holding a document.

It was Wesker and William Birkin! Chloe saw them as soon as she opened her eyes. It was 1990, which meant they had already killed James Marcus and taken over the Arklay Research Facility.

Chloe's heart rate quickened slightly. She hadn't expected to run into them. Does that mean I'm in the Arklay Research Facility now?

They didn't come close or touch her; they just observed the little girl in the pod coldly from a distance.

Wesker looked up, his gaze falling on Chloe as if he were scrutinizing an object.

His gaze was very cold, without a hint of warmth, yet it possessed a piercing sharpness that seemed to see through everything.

"Is this her?" Wesker's voice was flat, but it carried an unquestionable authority.

"Yes." William Birkin stepped quickly to Chloe, his eyes fixed on her as if he were looking at a rare treasure. "The report from The Ark was correct. She... truly is a natural perfect vessel. She hasn't undergone memory transplant surgery, yet she can resist the mental interference induced before the procedure, and even maintain her sanity..."

His voice was full of fanaticism.

In his eyes, Chloe wasn't a test subject, but the key to cracking the Elpis Memory Transplant Project, the perfect material to realize his dream of eternal life.

Wesker slowly stood up and walked over to Chloe.

He reached out and gently tilted her chin up, making her look at him.

"Chloe," he said her name, his tone devoid of any emotion. "From today on, you are no longer Number 703 from The Ark. You are S01 of the Arklay Research Facility's Memory Transplant Vessel Project."

Number S01.

The first, and the only one.

Chloe's heart suddenly constricted.

She understood.

Though she didn't know the reason, it seemed she was no longer a failure that could be destroyed at any time, but the most precious "raw material" targeted by Oswell E. Spencer, Wesker, and William Birkin together.

She was taken into an individual isolation pod.

The isolation pod was transparent, containing a bed, a sink, and a monitoring device.

It was more comfortable than the isolation room at The Ark, yet it was also more like an exquisite cage.

"Remember," Wesker's voice came from outside the isolation pod, clearly reaching Chloe's ears through the glass, "here, you are top secret. You are not allowed to leave the isolation pod or have contact with anyone, especially that 'thing' on the bottom floor."

Chloe looked up at him.

Wesker pointed downward. "On the third basement level, Lisa Trevor is locked up. She is a test subject of the Progenitor Virus, an immortal monster. You are different from her; you are the vessel chosen by Mr. Spencer, so you'd better stay awake forever."

Lisa Trevor?

The Progenitor Virus test subject, the daughter of the Arklay Spencer Mansion's architect? This place really was the Arklay Research Facility.

William Birkin's voice followed, tinged with urgency. "Don't worry, we will perform the most comprehensive tests on you to find the root of your mental resistance. We will make you... the most perfect vessel."

The alloy door of the isolation pod slowly closed with a "click" as the lock engaged.

The lights came on, casting Chloe's silhouette onto the transparent walls of the pod.

She sat on the bed, looking at the cold incandescent light, and took a soft breath.

This place was more dangerous and more secluded than The Ark.

Wesker and William Birkin were smarter and more terrifying than the researchers at The Ark.

Oswell E. Spencer was the one standing at the top of the pyramid, controlling her entire fate.

Well, what's the point anymore? I might as well just give up! I didn't escape The Ark, and now I've fallen into Wesker's hands; my days ahead are going to be miserable.