Chapter 67: Evacuation

Jill gripped her handgun tightly, moving swiftly through the shadows of the corridor. The floor was strewn with shell casings, bloodstains, and the corpses of security personnel—marks left behind by the USS squad's raid. Most of the guards had either been cleared out or infected into zombies, saving her a great deal of trouble.

After turning two corners, she finally saw the alloy door labeled 【Dr. William Birkin's Private Laboratory - Maximum Clearance】.

She pressed her side against the door, holding her breath to listen for a few seconds. Hearing only the low hum of operating equipment, she slowly entered, scanning the room with her gun raised. The laboratory was a mess: lab benches were overturned, glassware lay shattered across the floor, and only an encrypted terminal in the corner was still running, its screen glowing with a faint blue light.

The air was thick with the pungent scent of chemicals mixed with blood, smelling exactly like the Arklay Research Facility. Jill's heart constricted sharply, as if she could see Chloe again, curled up inside an isolation pod, the dense needle marks on her arms looking exceptionally piercing under the pale lights.

She composed herself and walked quickly to the encrypted terminal. Its security system had already been breached by the USS.

The screen was covered with dense folders, all containing William Birkin's core experimental data from over the years. Jill's fingertips tapped rapidly on the keyboard, first copying all the core data for the G-Virus, T-Virus, and the mass-produced Tyrant Project onto an encrypted hard drive, then quickly searching for folders labeled 【S01】 and 【Chloe】.

Finally, in the most deeply hidden encrypted partition, she found the folder named 【Subject S01 - Complete Experimental Files 1990-1998】.

Jill's fingertips paused for a moment. She took a deep breath and clicked it open. The contents inside were horrifyingly extensive:

Starting from the accident at Ark Laboratory in 1990, Chloe, Series 70 Test Subject number 703, was sent to the Arklay Research Facility to become William Birkin's Subject S01.

For eight long years, day after day of blood draws, sampling, live tissue extraction, gene mapping, and virus stimulation experiments... every document and every set of cold data clearly recorded the inhuman torture this child endured within the cages of the Umbrella Corporation.

She saw William Birkin's lab logs stating, "S01 exhibits an unprecedented stable symbiotic characteristic with the T-Virus, the only isolated case for controllability research"; she saw Annette's evaluation report saying, "S01's mutation cannot be replicated, suggest terminating the experiment"; she saw the transfer files from 1995 when William Birkin was moved from Arklay, which read, "S01 to maintain basic life monitoring only, no deep experimentation required."

Flipping through page after page, Jill's grip tightened until her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood she didn't even notice. She finally understood why Chloe had that calculating personality, even lying at every turn; she had been forced into that state, step by step, by the Umbrella Corporation.

Her lies had even beautified her own experiences. Chloe, this sixteen-year-old girl, had been an Umbrella Corporation test subject since the moment she was born. Jill had actually thought the eight years of experimentation she'd mentioned were already bitter enough.

At the very bottom of the folder, she found an encrypted file named 【g-virus prototype inhibitor: Based on S01 Inhibition Mechanism】.

Jill's heart skipped a beat. Her fingertips trembled as she clicked it open. Inside was the complete development data and manufacturing process for the inhibitor. William Birkin had indeed replicated the T-Virus inhibition mechanism within Chloe's body, using it as a foundation to develop the g-virus prototype inhibitor, which could effectively suppress the cellular aberration of the G-Virus and delay the mutation process.

A note at the end of the file read: Prototype inhibitor samples stored in the cryogenic incubator.

She walked quickly to the incubator and opened the door, met by a blast of bone-chilling cold air. In the center of the cabinet, rows of sealed syringes lay quietly in a rack, filled with a pale blue transparent liquid. The label read: g-virus prototype inhibitor 1998.09.20. There was one empty slot, clearly indicating someone had taken a dose.

Jill carefully picked up the inhibitor. As her fingertips touched the cold glass, tears welled up once again.

She found it. The thing they had risked their lives to dive into hell for was now in her hand.

But the child who should have used this inhibitor to gain a new life was forever left in a sealed lab hundreds of meters away, never to be seen again.

She placed the inhibitor into a cryogenic storage box, copied all of Chloe's experimental files onto the hard drive, and printed a complete set of paper documents, folding them into her backpack.

These things were originally meant to be a gift for Chloe's new life; now, they could only serve as the evidence to nail the Umbrella Corporation shut.

She would let the whole world know what Umbrella had done, what kind of hell this girl named Chloe had endured, and what price she had paid to protect others.

Jill cleared all traces of her operations on the terminal and evacuated through the backup maintenance tunnel Chloe had marked in advance. This path led directly to Raccoon City's underground sewage network. With no surveillance and no security, it was the safest evacuation route Chloe had mentioned.

Along the way, there were only a few stray zombies, which she dispatched with clean headshots. Her movements were crisp and efficient, but there was no longer that calm voice in her earpiece warning her of danger, and no one to cover her blind spots while she reloaded.

She was all alone, walking through the dark, foul-smelling sewers, carrying a backpack full of evidence and the inhibitor she would never be able to use, walking step by step toward the surface.

When she climbed out of the maintenance hatch, the horizon was already turning the color of a fish's belly. Raccoon City at dawn was like a massive tomb. Overturned cars were burning, black smoke shrouded the entire city, and sporadic gunfire and screams drifted from the distance, the wind carrying a heavy scent of blood.

Jill hid behind a shipping container to confirm it was safe, then slipped into an alley, walking quickly toward her rental apartment.

Ten minutes later, she reached the third floor of the apartment building. She slipped inside, locked the door behind her, and pushed a heavy wardrobe against it. After confirming all the windows were locked, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, allowing her nerves, which had been frayed all night, a moment of relaxation.

Jill placed her backpack and gun in the entryway. After ensuring there was nothing unusual in the street below, she went into the bathroom, stripped off her blood-stained tactical gear, and took a cold shower.

The icy water hitting her body made her shiver, but it also cleared her chaotic mind. Yet, no matter how much she washed, she couldn't seem to scrub away the scent of blood, the image of Chloe being torn apart, or the heavy guilt in her heart.

She changed into a clean blue tank top and cargo pants, lightly bandaged the abrasions on her arms and back, and walked to her desk. She laid out the encrypted hard drive, the paper experimental files, and the inhibitor one by one on the tabletop.

The warm light from the desk lamp shone on the dense data—cold words recording a girl's life in hell.

Jill sat in her chair, flipping through the files page by page. She found a photo of Chloe when she first entered Arklay at age eight. The little girl in the photo had short silver hair and a hint of awareness in her eyes, looking like a completely different person from the calm and steady girl she had become.

Tears fell drop by drop onto the paper, blurring the black ink. She picked up the inhibitor and held it in her palm. The pale blue liquid shimmered under the lamp like a broken star.

“Chloe, I'm sorry,” she whispered, her voice raspy. “I couldn't keep my promise. But don't worry, I will make Umbrella pay in blood, I swear!”

Just then, the phone in the corner of the desk suddenly rang. The urgent ringing was exceptionally jarring in the silent room. Jill instantly gripped her handgun, and only when she saw the caller ID did her tense body suddenly relax.

It was Chris. Jill took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.

“Jill? Thank God, you finally picked up!” Chris Redfield's familiar voice came from the other end. His usually steady tone was tinged with undisguised anxiety and relief. “I've been calling you all day and you didn't answer. I almost thought you...”

“I'm okay, Chris.” Jill spoke, only to find her voice was terribly raspy. “I'm still alive.”

“It's good that you're alive.” Chris's voice clearly relaxed, then became serious. “What on earth happened in Raccoon City? The news I'm getting is all over the place. I only know that Umbrella's virus leaked, the whole city is under martial law, and the military is preparing to blockade the entire city. Where are you now? Are you safe?”

“I'm at my apartment, I'm safe.” Jill leaned against the back of her chair, her fingertips gently tracing the cold glass of the inhibitor. “The T-Virus has completely leaked. Raccoon City is about to turn into hell.”

“I've already contacted some reliable people; we'll find a way to get you out.” Chris's tone was resolute. “Jill, listen to me. Don't worry about anything else right now. Find a safe place to hide. Don't try to be a hero, understand?”

Jill was silent for a few seconds, her eyes stinging again. She was never one to show weakness. Since returning from Arklay, facing Umbrella's suppression and slander, she had carried all the pressure alone. But in front of Chris, all her strength crumbled into a mess in that moment.

“Chris, I messed up...” her voice choked up. “I couldn't protect her.”

“Who? Protect who?” Chris's tone immediately became tense.

Jill took a deep breath, suppressing the sob in her throat. She told him everything, word for word: her separation and reunion with Chloe, infiltrating NEST, and how Chloe was torn apart to save her.

Chris listened quietly on the other end until she finished, then he spoke slowly, his voice steady and gentle.

“Jill, this isn't your fault,” he said. “That child made a choice to protect you. If you had stayed, not only would you have failed to save her, but you would have made her sacrifice meaningless. You being alive, and carrying that evidence, is the best way to honor her.”

“I only went to NEST for her!” Jill closed her eyes, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I promised to bring her out, to help her find the inhibitor. Now the inhibitor is in my hands, and the lab records are in my hands, but she's gone... These things can now only serve as evidence against Umbrella. Other than that, they're useless.”

“No, they are useful.” Chris's tone was exceptionally firm. “What you're holding is the hard evidence that can completely bring Umbrella down. All the dirty laundry they've hidden for years, those inhuman experiments, those ruined lives—it's all in the documents you have. We need to make these things public, let the whole world see Umbrella's true face, and make them pay. This isn't just for our teammates or for Chloe; it's for everyone whose life they've destroyed.”

Listening to Chris, Jill's clenched fists slowly relaxed. He was right; she couldn't keep drowning in guilt. Chloe had traded her life for Jill's chance to live; she couldn't let that sacrifice go to waste.

“I understand.” Jill took a deep breath, her tone becoming firm again. “I've already copied all the experimental data, and I have the g-virus prototype inhibitor and Chloe's complete experimental files. When I get to you, we'll expose these things together.”

“Good,” Chris replied. “I've made arrangements. In five days at most, someone will meet you. Until then, you must ensure your own safety. Don't leave the house unless necessary, and don't trust anyone—especially anyone from Umbrella. Understood?”

“Understood.” Jill nodded.

“And, Jill.” Chris paused, his tone softening. “Don't carry everything on your own. I'll always be here. We'll solve this together.”

“Okay.” A faint smile finally tugged at the corner of Jill's mouth. “I'm counting on you now, Chris.”

After hanging up, silence returned to the apartment. Jill carefully placed the inhibitor into her desk safe and locked it, then hid the hard drive and paper files in two separate, concealed locations.

She walked to the window, pulled back the curtain, and looked toward the city center shrouded in black smoke. NEST was deep within that haze.

When Chris's people arrived and she had enough firepower, she would definitely go back.

She would bring Chloe back and fulfill her promise.

And then, she would make Umbrella pay the most painful price for all the crimes they had committed.