Mutant Vines

Boom!!

An explosion erupted off the van's front right, hurling dirt and vegetation into the air. The violent shock wave nearly overturned them.

?!

"What the hell was that?!"

"Good God!"

The sudden crisis shattered the relaxed atmosphere, leaving Sears and the four students at a loss. Fortunately, none of them let out any annoying screams.

"Hold on! Get down!"

As Leon shouted the warning, he floored the accelerator and drove the van out of the muddy forest.

Vroom!!

The roaring engine engaged the four-wheel drive.

Whoosh—whoosh!

The shriek of incoming shells closing in.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted around the van once more. One shell blasted a massive tree in half, causing its upper portion to lose support and crash uncontrollably toward the ground.

Screech—!!

Realizing it was a mortar attack, Leon quickly cranked the wheel left, avoiding the falling tree and the fate of becoming a sitting duck.

Yet he was deeply confused.

They were only driving an old Volkswagen van from the 1980s. Was it really necessary to give them such a "welcome" with mortars?

Could it be...

Rat-a-tat!!

Sure enough, just as Leon began to suspect that they were not the mortars' intended target, gunfire erupted from the right, and a fierce clash broke out in an instant.

Ammunition of different calibers and shells tore through the forest, proving more effective than chainsaws as they "cut" through the dense vegetation between the two sides and forcibly created an open clearing.

Gun smoke filled the air. Even in the rainforest, where the air was excellent and naturally filtered, everyone in the van could still smell the heavy stench of gunpowder.

Crack!

Several stray bullets punched straight through the windows.

"Oh, my God...!"

"Professor... I want to go home..."

Following Leon's instructions, the teachers and students held their heads and covered their ears with both hands, curling up as tightly as possible in an effort to avoid the stray bullets.

Fear and despair were practically written across their faces. Their hearts were filled with regret. Why had they left home and risked coming to this war-torn region, putting themselves on the brink of death?

Leon, meanwhile, had no time to comfort them. He focused entirely on driving.

As he watched the commotion to the right from the corner of his eye, he vaguely caught sight of both sides in the battle.

To the east-northeast stood the mortars' true targets. They wore dark green uniforms and carried Soviet weapons—clearly the standard gear of rebels.

To the west, on the side of the village they were about to reach, were rebels dressed and armed the same way.

An internal conflict?

Warlords and rebel forces turning on one another over profit or the division of spoils was hardly uncommon.

Among the rebels near the village, Leon also spotted many ragged civilians who appeared to have been forcibly dragged into this internal conflict.

But Leon could not explain why the civilians were charging ahead of the rebels, acting even more aggressively and "bravely."

?

That was definitely not how people acted when they were being coerced.

Boom! Boom!

More shells landed nearby, and the explosions made the earth tremble.

Clang! Clang!

Shrapnel and fragments, no less deadly than bullets, blasted outward. The van rang with impacts as it became increasingly battered and wrecked.

Maybe luck was still on their side?

The shrapnel and fragments capable of easily piercing the van's body did not inflict any fatal wounds on those inside.

Only the female student who had tried to strike up a conversation with Leon earlier had her left forearm torn open by shrapnel and needed immediate treatment to stop the bleeding.

But...

Bang!

A tire burst.

"Ah!!"

"Help!!"

Amid the cries inside, the van that had carried them through the forest finally lost its balance and rolled over.

Driven by inertia, the van rolled several times across the muddy ground before finally slamming into a massive tree and coming to a stop.

Bang... bang!

Leon, who had quickly recovered, kicked out the already shattered windshield.

The instant he crawled out of the van, he rolled to his feet, drew his USP .40 from its holster, and scanned the surroundings.

The crash site happened to lie at the boundary between the village and the forest. A few more meters west would take them out of the rainforest, while toward the east-northeast...

Rat! Rat!

The distinct sharp crack of .40 S&W rounds leaving the barrel joined the intense firefight.

Leon had spotted two rebels carrying AKMs, who were about to reach the rear of the van. He raised his gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger in one smooth motion, punching a bloody hole into each rebel's forehead.

After dealing with the immediate threat, Leon kept the USP in his right hand so he could fire at once if necessary, while using his other hand to drag Sears out of the van.

The remaining four students were far more agile than their professor. They climbed out on their own and crouched beside the front of the van, where the engine was.

After confirming that everyone was alive, Leon took the medical kit from his belt and tossed it to the female student, telling her to stop the bleeding and bandage her left arm, which was missing a chunk of flesh.

Though they had been forced into a battle and were all scared half to death, Sears and the others understood that they absolutely could not scream and shout now.

It might have seemed like a way to vent their emotions and ease their fear, but it would only expose their location and make Leon, who was protecting them, more anxious.

Leon, this prospective Investigator, was just as shaken.

No matter how strong his mental fortitude was or how harsh his training had been, this had been his first time killing someone. An intense emotional reaction was unavoidable, and the surge of adrenaline made his hands tremble involuntarily.

Fortunately, he remembered Krauser's teachings. Leon quickly steadied his breathing, pulled a smoke grenade from his belt, removed the pin, flipped off the safety, and hurled it south of the van.

Hiss!

Smoke rapidly spread, providing them with more cover.

"Run for the village!"

"Okay!"

At the signal, Sears and the others hurriedly sprinted toward the nearest thatched hut.

Leon stayed at the rear of the group, responsible for taking down any rebels who approached or followed them.

After they escaped the rainforest and rounded the back of the thatched hut, just as they were about to turn into the village...

"Roar!!"

The male student at the front nearly collided head-on with a "villager" letting out a strange roar.

"Jesus Christ!" The male student staggered back repeatedly.

"Roar!!"

But the "villager" pursued him relentlessly, reaching out with both hands as if trying to strangle him.

Hearing the commotion, Leon immediately rushed to the male student's side, aimed his gun at the "villager's" left chest, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Rat-a-tat!

Two rapid shots into the chest, followed by one to the head.

After suffering three fatal hits, the "villager" threw his head back and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

If Leon had still been at the police academy, he might have shouted, "Stop! Or I'll shoot!" first. But police protocol clearly did not apply to the current situation.

Thud! Thud!

Yet the "villager" was not fully dead. He suddenly began convulsing violently, and then his head exploded.

Hiss!!

The "villager" let out an even shriller screech as a mass of thin tentacles resembling thorny vines poured from his severed neck.

(End of Chapter)