Chapter 57: The Situation at the Police Department

August 20, 1998. The air in Raccoon City was thick with an oppressive tension that seemed impossible to dispel.

Two days had passed since Jill Valentine last went to Jack's Bar. During these two days, she had scoured every corner of her rented apartment, organizing all the survival gear she could possibly use.

She packed the gear neatly into her military backpack and sat on the edge of the bed, her fingertips repeatedly tracing the map marked with the location of the underground sewage treatment plant. The red ink circles had long since faded from the constant friction of her touch.

Every minute, every second, she worried about Chloe in the sewers. She worried if that frail girl could withstand the cold underground, if she could avoid the hidden dangers, and if she would fall into a desperate situation due to the T-Virus in her body acting up.

Yet she continued to wait, waiting for a more suitable opportunity, waiting for more updates on the police department's movements from Marvin. She was well aware that Irons was still watching her every move; acting rashly would only drive both herself and Chloe into a desperate situation.

In the afternoon, a faint static sound suddenly came from the encrypted walkie-talkie on the bedside table. Immediately after, Marvin's hushed voice came through the noise, his tone heavy with gravity: "Jill, it's me. Respond immediately. There's an emergency."

Jill's heart tightened. She walked quickly to the window and confirmed there were no suspicious individuals watching from below before picking up the walkie-talkie and responding in a low voice: "I'm here, Marvin. Speak."

"The situation in the Arklay Mountains to the north has spiraled completely out of control." Marvin's voice carried an undisguisable exhaustion, along with a trace of imperceptible panic.

"The latest reported homicides, the cannibalistic murderer cases, have reached 11. The scenes are horrific; the victims' bodies all show extensive signs of tearing and gnawing. The medical examiner is completely unable to determine if it was a beast or a human, so they can only vaguely classify them as malicious homicide cases; furthermore, there are 3 other cases suspected to be caused by wild animal attacks, with the victims' states of death highly consistent with the mountain cases."

Jill gripped the walkie-talkie tightly, her knuckles turning white. She knew better than anyone that those were not some serial killers or ordinary wild animals, but zombies and mutated canines created by the T-Virus leaked from the Umbrella Corporation laboratory—the terrifying monsters she and her S.T.A.R.S. teammates had seen with their own eyes in the Arklay Spencer Mansion.

The upper echelons of the police department were being pressured by the Umbrella Corporation to deliberately cover up the truth, pinning everything on an elusive serial killer and allowing the tragedies to continue to unfold.

"What is the situation at the police station now?" Jill asked in a deep, serious voice.

"The police force is completely insufficient." Marvin sighed, his voice full of helplessness. "All officers have been dispatched to patrol the mountains and the riot-stricken areas of the city; we simply can't keep up. There's no one guarding the prisoners in the detention center, and robberies and assaults are happening on the streets every day. The police department has descended into total chaos."

"The chief just held an emergency meeting and made a preliminary decision to implement a city-wide curfew starting August 28th. All citizens are prohibited from going out after 8:00 PM; anyone found violating this will be immediately detained."

"Not only that, but the shortage of personnel in the department is too severe. The chief is preparing to submit an application to superiors to urgently bring in a batch of new officers to reinforce the force, but that won't solve the immediate crisis. The current situation in Raccoon City cannot be controlled just by adding a few more police officers."

"That guy, Irons, is still only concerned with colluding in secret with people from the Umbrella Corporation, turning a blind eye to the mountain homicides and the city riots. In the entire police department, the only ones left who can actually handle things are the deputy chief and me."

Curfew.

These two words felt like a heavy stone, slamming hard into Jill's heart.

Once the curfew was implemented, the streets of Raccoon City would be locked down by police forces. Let alone entering the underground pipe network to find Chloe, she wouldn't even be able to step out of her rental apartment without being immediately stopped by patrol officers. By then, not only would she be unable to save Chloe, but she would also expose herself right under Irons' nose, losing any chance she had left.

Meanwhile, Chloe was still struggling to hold on in the dark, damp sewers, with only one S01 Inhibitor by her side that could run out at any moment. The situation outside was becoming increasingly chaotic, and the speed at which the T-Virus was spreading far exceeded expectations. Every minute delayed meant one more minute of danger for Chloe.

There was no more time to hesitate.

"I understand, Marvin. Thank you." Jill took a deep breath, her tone becoming incredibly firm. "Do me one last favor: keep an eye on the patrol forces near the underground pipe network. If there are any changes, notify me immediately."

Marvin immediately understood her plan, his tone becoming urgent instantly: "Jill, have you lost your mind?! Don't you know what kind of place the underground pipe network is? It's dark, narrow, and riddled with danger. Now that mutated creatures have appeared in the mountains, no one can guarantee whether there are infected monsters in the sewers. Going in there alone is practically suicide!"

"I have to go." Jill did not back down in the slightest, her voice calm but carrying unquestionable resolve. "Chloe is down there. She hid inside so she wouldn't implicate me; I can't just abandon her. Before the curfew is my only chance. Any later, and it will truly be too late."

Marvin was silent for a long time; there was only heavy breathing on the walkie-talkie. Finally, he compromised, his tone filled with worry: "I understand. I will help you keep an eye on the patrol forces. You must be careful. Remember, don't try to fight head-on. Find her and evacuate immediately. Irons' men are still scouting everywhere for your movements; make sure you don't expose yourself."

"Don't worry." Jill responded briefly, then turned off the walkie-talkie.

The room returned to silence. Jill walked to the mirror, adjusted her jacket, tucked her gun into her waistband, and strapped her backpack securely onto her shoulders. She looked at herself in the mirror; the anxiety of the past was gone from her eyes, replaced only by determination and resolve.

She was once an elite officer of S.T.A.R.S., shouldering the responsibility of protecting the citizens. But now, with the police department corrupt and the truth covered up, all she could do was protect the only person beside her. Chloe was a victim from that dark laboratory, the only person who made her feel a connection. She would never let that girl die alone in the sunless underground.

By evening, the sky had gradually darkened. The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the streets of Raccoon City a dark red. Pedestrians on the street became increasingly sparse; everyone looked panicked, quickening their pace to head home, as if they all sensed the approaching disaster.

Taking advantage of the last bit of daylight, Jill lowered her hat, avoided the patrol cars on the main roads, and walked quickly along the remote alleys, heading all the way toward the entrance of the underground pipe network in the old city.

Marvin had already sent word that the police force near the old city had been temporarily dispatched to the northern mountains for support, making this the moment when defenses were at their weakest.

After navigating the way, she finally arrived at that hidden entrance to the underground pipe network. The entrance was sealed by a heavy iron gate, covered in rust, and surrounded by weeds; no one ever came near it. Jill took the crowbar she had prepared in advance from her backpack and, using all her strength, pried at the lock of the iron gate bit by bit.

"Creak—" A harsh, grating sound rang out in the quiet street corner. Jill moved quickly, and before long, the iron gate was pried open just enough for one person to pass through. A cold, damp, foul air rushed toward her, mixed with the stench of rot and decay, exactly as the old beggar had described.

Without the slightest hesitation, she bent down and slipped through the iron gate, then walked down step by step along the steep stairs. The stairs were covered in moss and mud, slippery and difficult to traverse. The further down she went, the darker the light became, and the air grew increasingly turbid.

Jill turned on her emergency flashlight. The piercing beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the narrow pipe ahead. Beneath her feet was sewage that submerged her ankles; the sound of flowing water echoed in the empty pipe. Apart from that, there was nothing left but the sound of her own heartbeat and breathing.

This was where Chloe was hiding.

She gripped the flashlight in her hand, her other hand resting on the dagger at her waist, her eyes scanning the dark corners around her vigilantly. She didn't know what was waiting for her ahead—whether it was hidden mutated creatures, a disheveled and hiding Chloe, or countless dangers.

But she had no way back.

Curfew was about to be implemented, the virus was spreading, and the doomsday of Raccoon City was right before her eyes. She had to find Chloe in this dark underground world and take her away from this hell.

The beam of the flashlight extended continuously into the winding pipes. Jill walked step by step toward the depths of the sewers, her figure gradually swallowed by the endless darkness.

At this moment, in the abandoned control room of the sewage treatment plant, Chloe, who was curled up in a corner, suddenly opened her eyes. The super-perception granted to her by the T-Virus allowed her to catch the sound of strange footsteps coming from the distant pipes.

Someone had entered the sewer.