Chapter 93: News of Chris

The three medallions were finally gathered.

The cold metal, held in Leon's palm, grew slightly warm, as if carrying the last hope of the entire police station. He hurried through the empty corridors and returned to the station lobby.

The lobby was deathly silent, save for the rhythmic pitter-patter of rain against the glass.

Marvin lay on the sofa behind the reception desk, his face as pale as paper and his forehead covered in cold sweat. His abdomen was wrapped in thick bandages, and the seeping blood had already stained the white gauze deep red.

Leon embedded the three medallions into the slots on the base of the Goddess Statue. With a heavy mechanical whir, the platform beneath the statue slowly unfolded, revealing a dark entrance to an underground passage.

“This leads underground, right? We can escape through here! Lieutenant Branagh? Marvin!”

Marvin didn't react.

Leon's heart sank. He walked quickly to the sofa and gently touched Marvin's shoulder: “Hey, Marvin, it's time to go.”

The moment his fingertips touched Marvin's skin, Marvin suddenly bolted upright, a low, inhuman roar erupting from his throat. Leon recoiled a step, his hand instantly flying to the pistol at his waist.

“We have to get you to a hospital immediately.” Leon looked into Marvin's bloodshot eyes, his voice trembling slightly. He could clearly see the blue veins bulging on Marvin's neck and the faint twitching of muscles beneath the skin.

Marvin coughed violently several times, clutched the wound on his abdomen, and bent over, gasping in pain. After a long while, he slowly looked up, a flicker of clarity returning to his eyes: “No, it's no use. No, no... you have to run.”

“Don't say that, I'm taking you with me.” Leon took a step forward, wanting to help Marvin up. “The passage is open. We leave now, there's still time.”

“Go!” Marvin violently shook off Leon's hand and let out another roar.

Leon tried to persuade him again: “Listen to me, we still have a chance to escape together, if you just—”

Before he could finish, Marvin suddenly drew his service weapon, aiming the muzzle directly at Leon. His hand shook uncontrollably, and his eyes were filled with pain and resolve.

“It's too late, Leon. I tried, but there's nothing I can do. We can't let this thing spread. Now, it's all up to you. Just go!”

Rain lashed against the windows with a pitter-patter sound. A deathly silence fell over the lobby, with only Marvin's heavy, ragged breathing echoing through the empty space.

Leon looked at the tears in Marvin's eyes and fell silent. He knew Marvin was right.

“I understand.” Leon slowly lowered his hand from his gun and gave Marvin a deep look. “I won't let you down, Lieutenant.”

With that, he turned and entered the underground passage. The heavy iron door slowly closed behind him with a dull thud, completely sealing off the two worlds.

Leon stood on the dark stairs, looking back toward the iron door, then he switched on his flashlight and walked down with determination.

Just as Leon entered the underground passage, Claire was standing before the iron gate in the police station's backyard.

After separating from Leon, she had ducked into a narrow underground corridor to avoid the horde of zombies attracted by the sound of the explosion.

The corridor was piled high with discarded office supplies and trash, and the air was thick with the smell of mildew and decay.

In a storage room halfway down the corridor, she found a rusty iron gate key.

The key slid into the lock, making a harsh grating sound as it turned. Claire pushed the iron gate open with effort and slipped into the east fire escape of the police station.

She pushed open the side door on the east side of the station and entered the building. The corridor was filled with corpses, and the emergency lights flickered with an eerie red glow. Claire moved forward cautiously, her pistol held at the ready. Turning a corner, she finally saw the shutter door leading to the station lobby.

The lobby was empty. Claire walked past the reception desk toward the Goddess Statue, her gaze quickly falling on Marvin lying on the sofa. She hurried over and frowned when she saw the blood seeping through the bandages on Marvin's abdomen.

“Are you okay? Where are the other officers?” Claire asked softly.

Marvin slowly raised his head, looking at her warily: “Who are you?”

“Claire, Claire Redfield,” she introduced herself. “I'm looking for my brother, Chris.”

At the mention of the name “Chris,” a flash of surprise crossed Marvin's eyes: “You're Chris's sister?”

“Yes. Why? Do you know where he is?” Claire asked urgently, her eyes full of hope.

Marvin shook his head, his face showing a look of pain and guilt: “There's been no word from them since the Arklay Incident. Chris, Barry, Rebecca... even Jill went missing a few days ago. We can't contact any members of S.T.A.R.S. We should have believed them back then, damn it...”

He punched the armrest of the sofa with force, which pulled at the wound in his abdomen, causing him to hiss in pain.

“What exactly is going on here?” Claire asked, quickly steadying him.

“About two months ago, there were rumors in town about monsters attacking humans at a mansion outside the city,” Marvin said slowly, gasping for breath. “Chris and the other S.T.A.R.S. members went to investigate and found that the Umbrella Corporation was behind everything. They bought that information with their lives, but no one believed them. That bastard Irons took Umbrella's money, suppressed all the evidence, and suspended them.”

He paused, his eyes becoming somewhat vacant: “And that little girl they brought back, I wonder how she is... Jill said she was an orphan and wanted to adopt her, now...”

Before Marvin could finish, a sudden surge of intense pain came from his abdominal wound. He cried out, doubled over, and his body began to twitch violently.

“Are you alright?” Claire asked worriedly, wanting to check his wound.

“I'm fine.” Marvin waved her off, forcing a smile. “If you want to find information about Chris, you can go to the S.T.A.R.S. office on the second floor. His things shouldn't have been moved.”

With that, he leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes, seemingly drained of all strength.

Claire looked at Marvin's pale face, her heart heavy with mixed emotions. She nodded and said softly, “Thank you.”

Then, she gripped her revolver tightly and turned toward the stairs to the second floor. The emergency lights flickered eerily in the corridor, and the air was filled with the mixed scent of gunpowder and rot.

She approached the door marked “S.T.A.R.S.” step by step. The door was ajar, and the inside was a mess—files were scattered everywhere, desks and chairs were overturned, and stray bullet holes marked the walls.

Claire pushed the door open and immediately noticed Jill's desk.

The desktop was relatively tidy. A computer screen glowed with a faint blue light, and a dark blue S.T.A.R.S. beret sat neatly beside the keyboard, its brim slightly worn. Beneath the hat was a small Polaroid photo.

She picked up the photo.

The photo showed a girl with silver-white hair, wearing a light blue floral dress and holding a strawberry ice cream cone. Her expression was a bit stiff, yet she wore a faint smile. Sunlight fell on her hair, looking so gentle it seemed entirely out of place in this hellish city.

Claire's heart tightened; this must be the girl Marvin mentioned who was always with Jill.

She set the photo down and turned her gaze to Chris's desk nearby. It was piled with documents, and at the very top was a thick stack titled “Arklay Mountains Incident Investigation Report.” She flipped through a few pages, seeing monster illustrations and experimental records.

Claire continued to the innermost part of the office and opened the iron door where weapons were stored.

Among the firearms and ammo boxes, she found a manila envelope with Chris's handwriting on it:

“A Letter to All S.T.A.R.S. Members”

She opened the letter and scanned it quickly:

【A Letter to All S.T.A.R.S. Members】

To my best colleagues,

How are you all doing in that dull, dilapidated police station? Still serving that old man Irons? As for me? I'm dating a hot babe and just got back. Guess what we did under her oversized parasol?

Europe is truly amazing; even a month of sightseeing isn't enough. Maybe I'll extend my vacation for six months. Barry, haven't you thought about coming to find me? You wouldn't want to make all the lovely ladies sad, right? So you left them all to me.

And Jill, if Claire tries to contact you, please let her know I'm okay.】

After reading, Claire's tense heart relaxed slightly; at least there was news of her brother.

But a second later, her brow furrowed again.

Something was wrong.

The tone was too frivolous—full of jokes and acting like a slacker.

This didn't sound like something Chris would say at all.

She knew her brother too well. Chris never made such flippant jokes, let alone used this method to report his safety. This letter seemed more like a deliberately feigned lightheartedness used to cover something up.