Chapter 86: Chloe!

September 29, 1998, 02:42. Raccoon City Police Department, S.T.A.R.S. Office.

The emergency lights in the corridor flickered, stretching Carlos's shadow thin and long, like a snake slithering across the floor.

The crisp sound of his boots crushing broken glass was exceptionally piercing in the deathly silent police station; every step felt like he was treading on his own heartbeat.

The door to the S.T.A.R.S. office was slightly ajar, a faint blue light leaking through the crack, casting an irregular patch of light in the pitch-black corridor.

Carlos gripped his M4A1 tightly, pressed his side against the wall, took a deep breath, and kicked the door open.

The muzzle swept across the entire room; it was empty.

The air was thick with the smell of dust mixed with gunpowder, along with a faint, lingering scent of disinfectant. Various documents and empty coffee cups were scattered across the desks, and chairs lay crookedly on the floor.

Carlos's gaze finally landed on the desk closest to the outside.

The computer screen was on, its blue light illuminating the desk. A dark blue beret sat neatly beside the keyboard, the silver S.T.A.R.S. lettering embroidered on the brim showing some wear, indicating its owner wore it frequently.

Beside the hat, a small Polaroid photo was pinned down. It showed a silver-white-haired girl in a light blue floral dress, holding a strawberry ice cream. Her gaze was a bit reserved, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned in a very faint smile. Sunlight spilled across her hair, giving it a soft glow.

Carlos reached out and picked up the photo. He had never seen this child, but for some reason, his heart gave an inexplicable tug.

Just then, the computer screen flickered, and a video call request window popped up. A red 'Answer' button pulsed frantically against the blue background.

Carlos froze for a moment, then quickly put the photo down and clicked to answer.

The screen flickered a few times, and a man with graying hair and a face full of stubble appeared. He was wearing a blood-stained white lab coat, and one lens of his glasses was shattered.

Seeing Carlos on the screen, the man froze first, then his face erupted into an expression of wild joy, nearly lunging toward the camera.

"Oh, thank God! Do you know how long I've been trying to contact the outside world?" Dr. Bard's voice was hoarse, trembling with the relief of a survivor. "I thought everyone was dead!"

"Dr. Bard?" Carlos lowered his voice, aiming his gun at the door while listening alertly to the sounds outside. "Don't worry, we're here to rescue you. Where are you now? Give me your exact location."

"I'm trapped in a goddamn hospital! There are those disgusting monsters everywhere, biting anyone they see!" Bard suddenly glanced back at the closed door behind him, his voice dropping even lower, filled with extreme terror. "Listen, send S.T.A.R.S.! Only they know how to deal with these things! They have the experience!"

"I can't. That's not an option." Carlos shook his head, his tone heavy. "The police station has been overrun. S.T.A.R.S... they're long gone. It's just me and my teammates left."

"What?" Bard's face turned pale instantly. He staggered back a step, clutching his hair with both hands. "Then what do I do? What do I do! Umbrella Corporation has gone mad! They're killing all the researchers! They don't want anyone to leave this place alive!"

With a creak, the office door was pushed open.

Tyrone walked in with his gun raised. Seeing Carlos on a video call, he raised an eyebrow. Carlos immediately put his index finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.

Tyrone understood, gently closed the door, leaned against the frame, and crossed his arms while watching the screen.

"Listen, I'm the only one who knows how to make a vaccine to stop the zombies!" Bard turned back abruptly, lunging at the computer again, his eyes bloodshot and his tone bordering on hysterical.

"So you can choose to keep sitting there playing with yourself, or... or you can send a team that can actually get me out of here!"

With that, he abruptly reached out and disconnected the call.

The screen went black instantly, leaving only a dead silence.

The office was quiet for a few seconds, with only the sound of rain outside pattering against the glass.

"I actually kind of like this guy," Tyrone chuckled, walking to the computer and pulling over a chair to sit. "Direct enough, cranky enough."

"Yeah, he's your type." Carlos put the photo back in its place and picked up Jill Valentine's beret to cover it. "You heard him. Umbrella is silencing all the researchers. We can't hand him over to the company, or he's a dead man."

"That's not for us to decide; it's up to Michelle." Tyrone's fingers flew across the keyboard as he tried to recover the call log.

"I'll check the computer to see if I can trace the doctor's exact location. Raccoon City is a maze; without a precise location, we'll never find him."

Carlos nodded and began to search the entire office.

On Rebecca's desk, he found several unopened bottles of First Aid Spray and a pack of hemostatic bandages, which he stuffed into his tactical backpack.

Chris Redfield's desk was piled with documents. On top was a thick report titled 'Arklay Mountains Incident Investigation Report,' signed by Chris Redfield.

Carlos flipped through a few pages; it was full of technical jargon he didn't understand and photos of various monsters. He frowned and put the report back.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, the encrypted radio at his waist suddenly crackled with static.

Carlos immediately pulled out the radio and pressed the talk button: "Tyrone?"

"Wasn't me." Tyrone's voice came from the computer; he looked up at Carlos. "My radio didn't go off."

Carlos froze for a moment, then realized what was happening. He took a deep breath and pressed the talk button again: "Who is this?"

September 29, 1998, 02:57. Raccoon City, along the Mar River.

Jill Valentine coughed violently, a mouthful of blood with a metallic taste spraying onto the cold concrete floor.

Waves of agonizing pain radiated from her ribs; every breath felt like a knife twisting inside her. She struggled to sit up and looked around.

She was on a small platform in a subway tunnel. The walls were covered in mold, and discarded tools were piled in the corners. The explosion had thrown her here, and she had narrowly survived.

She instinctively reached into her coat, but her hands met empty air. Panic flared instantly as she looked around, finding the cooler box lying nearby.

Seeing the cooler box was still there, she quickly retrieved it. The cold metal touch allowed her heart to settle slightly.

Jill Valentine braced herself against the wall and slowly stood up. She picked up her assault rifle from the ground and checked the magazine; there was still half a clip left. At the end of the platform was an iron ladder leading straight to the surface.

Gritting her teeth, she climbed the ladder step by step and pushed open the manhole cover at the top.

A gust of air mixed with rain, gunpowder, and the scent of blood hit her face.

Outside was the walkway along the Mar River. The night was deep, and the rain had intensified. Across the river, the spire of the Raccoon City Clock Tower loomed in the mist, its hands pointing to three in the morning.

In the distance, the city was ablaze, the sky stained a dark red. The faint roars of zombies and sporadic gunfire could be heard.

Jill Valentine climbed out and replaced the manhole cover, then headed along the riverbank toward the Clock Tower.

A pedestrian bridge spanned the Mar River. Rain lashed against the bridge deck, splashing up in sheets. Jill Valentine held onto the railing, moving forward cautiously.

Just as she reached the middle of the bridge, a deafening explosion of fire erupted behind her.

She spun around abruptly.

A massive figure engulfed in flames charged out from the direction of the tunnel exit. Its skin was charred black, and its clothes hissed and smoked. It was Nemesis.

It staggered toward the riverbank, letting out a roar of agony before plunging headlong into the icy water, creating a massive splash.

Jill Valentine watched the bubbles rising continuously from the river's surface, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Can't even swim."

She shook her head, pulled out the encrypted radio from her waist, and pressed the talk button.

"Carlos, this is Jill."

"Yeah, what's up?" Carlos's voice came through the radio, accompanied by a bit of static.

"We failed. The train derailed." Jill Valentine's voice was hoarse, carrying an unmistakable exhaustion and sorrow.

"Derailed? Is anyone hurt?" Carlos's tone immediately became tense.

Jill Valentine leaned against the railing, looking at the rushing river water, and took a deep breath.

"Everyone is dead. Michelle... he's dead too."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the radio, followed by a low curse from Carlos.

"Oh, for fuck's sake."

"Nicholai left me to die!" Jill Valentine's voice trembled slightly, a tidal wave of fury erupting from her heart. "He locked the carriage doors and cut off our escape!"

"Wait, what? Nicholai?" Carlos's voice was full of shock. "How could he..."

Jill Valentine wanted to say more, but she suddenly heard a strange sound from the river below.

She looked down sharply.

The previously calm river water had suddenly become turbulent. A massive dark shadow was swimming rapidly underwater, charging toward the bridge. Jill Valentine's pupils constricted as a chill shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

A second later, with a massive splash, Nemesis lunged out of the river.

It had changed completely.

Its originally humanoid body had become much bulkier, its skin turning a deep green and covered in a layer of slimy mucus.

A massive dorsal fin had grown on its back, and webs had evolved on its arms and legs. Its once-sturdy legs were now short and powerful, forcing it to crawl on all fours.

Its head had become even more hideous, its mouth split back to its ears to reveal a maw full of sharp fangs. Its crimson eyes were locked onto Jill Valentine on the bridge.

Jill Valentine cursed under her breath and turned to run.

Boom!

Nemesis slammed into the pedestrian bridge. The sheer force caused the entire bridge to shake violently, and the railings were instantly smashed to pieces.

Jill Valentine's foot slipped, and she nearly fell off the bridge. She grabbed a broken railing, leapt with all her might, and jumped down, landing heavily in the plaza by the river.

The plaza was scattered with the corpses of armed personnel. They wore black combat suits, their bodies covered in claw marks and lacerations.

Nearby were several blown-open supply crates, with various weapons and ammunition scattered across the ground.

Most notably, a severely damaged set of black Exoskeleton Armor lay in the center of the plaza. The back of the armor had been blown open with a massive hole, and it was covered in gashes that looked like they were torn by something extremely sharp.

Carlos had mentioned before that a silver-white-haired monster had instantly killed two soldiers wearing this kind of armor at City Hall Plaza.

Could it be...

Jill Valentine shook her head, pushing the thought aside. Now was not the time for this.

She rushed to a supply crate, picked up an M240 General-Purpose Machine Gun, grabbed a few drum magazines for a Grenade Launcher, and quickly loaded up.

Nemesis had already climbed down from the bridge. It moved rapidly on all fours across the slick ground, faster than before. It let out a low roar and charged at Jill Valentine.

Jill Valentine pulled the trigger.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!

The M240 spat a long tongue of fire. 7.62mm bullets rained down on Nemesis like a storm, splashing bits of dark green blood. But Nemesis only faltered for a moment, its speed not slowing in the slightest.

Jill Valentine immediately turned and ran toward the Clock Tower beside the plaza, using its pillars as cover to continuously kite Nemesis. She turned to fire periodically, aiming for weak points like Nemesis's eyes and mouth.

Nemesis roared in fury, repeatedly slamming into the pillars of the Clock Tower, causing rubble and bricks to shower down. It suddenly lashed out with a thick tentacle toward Jill Valentine.

Jill Valentine rolled across the ground, dodging the attack. The tentacle struck a pillar, causing a massive crack to open in the concrete.

Jill Valentine took the opportunity to raise the Grenade Launcher, aimed at Nemesis's back, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!

The high-explosive grenade detonated on Nemesis's back. The massive shockwave sent it flying, where it crashed heavily to the ground, blood spraying everywhere.

Jill Valentine panted for breath, leaning against a pillar, sweat and rain mixing as they ran down her cheeks. Her arms ached from holding the machine gun for so long; her stamina was nearly depleted.

Nemesis slowly climbed up from the ground. Its back was a bloody mess, but it was still alive. It shook its head, let out an even more furious roar, and charged at Jill Valentine again.

Jill Valentine gritted her teeth and raised the M240 again, preparing to continue firing.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the top of the Clock Tower.

A slender figure stood on the spire of the Clock Tower, facing the sky full of fire and rain. Silver-white hair flowed wildly in the wind and rain, like a waterfall woven from moonlight.

She wore a black combat suit, the clothes at her waist showing tear-like patterns. Her fingers had become sharp Blade-claws, and her face was covered by a mask. Her eyes shimmered with a cold red light in the reflection of the night.

Jill Valentine's breath hitched instantly.

She just stared blankly at the figure on the Clock Tower, tears welling up uncontrollably and mixing with the rain.

"Chloe..." she murmured.

In that moment of distraction, Nemesis had already reached her. It swung a massive claw, slamming it hard into Jill Valentine's chest.

Jill Valentine flew back like a broken kite, crashing heavily against a wall as a mouthful of blood sprayed out. Her vision went dark, and her consciousness began to blur.

Nemesis walked toward her step by step, opening its bloody maw to deliver the final blow.

Jill Valentine closed her eyes in despair.

Just then, a silver-white flash of lightning streaked down from the Clock Tower.

Fast.

Incredibly fast.

Jill Valentine only saw a silver blur, followed by a shrill scream of agony from Nemesis.

She snapped her eyes open.

Chloe was already standing behind Nemesis. Her right Blade-claw was buried deep in the back of Nemesis's head, protruding from its forehead. The Elbow Blade on her left arm had directly severed Nemesis's spine.

Nemesis's body stiffened. Its limbs twitched a few times before it crashed heavily to the ground, motionless. Blood gurgled from its wounds, quickly pooling into a puddle on the ground.

Chloe slowly withdrew her Blade-claw and flicked the blood off.

She turned around and looked at Jill Valentine, who was leaning against the wall.

Her blood-red pupils held no human emotion. Her face was covered by a Reaper-like exoskeleton mask, and her silver-white hair clung wetly to her face. She looked like a god of death crawled out of hell—cold, powerful, and lethal.

Jill Valentine looked at her, the tears falling even harder.

She struggled to reach out, her voice trembling:

"Chloe..."

Chloe did not respond.

She just stood there quietly, her blood-red eyes staring unblinkingly at Jill Valentine.

The rain continued to fall, and the distant fires still blazed.