At their enthusiastic invitation, Kevin took the somewhat shy Angela and joined their nighttime revelry.
However, out of caution, Kevin did not accept the food they offered. He merely carried the little girl around the nearby forest and was lucky enough to catch a nest of rabbits.
After that came the slaughtering and grilling. Once he had briefly tested some seasonings, Kevin naturally borrowed a few.
And in return, he gave one of the roasted rabbits to the enthusiastic group of drifters.
It was not until nearly 11:30 p.m., after receiving Ada's message, that Kevin took the little girl and declined the drifters' earnest attempts to keep them.
Perhaps because they liked Angela so much, when the enthusiastic drifters noticed the two were preparing to return to Raccoon City, they decided to have a bearded drifter drive them home in the old truck the camp used to gather supplies.
Thanks to the help of those people on society's fringes, he and Angela reached their destination far earlier than expected.
At the basement entrance of Kendo Gun Shop, Kevin knocked in a steady rhythm, matching the code they had arranged earlier.
The sealed iron door was immediately yanked open, and Jill, the policewoman, rushed out first.
"It's good that you're back!" Seeing that Kevin was completely unharmed, she let out a long breath and lightly punched his shoulder in familiarity.
Kevin smiled slightly, picked up the somewhat timid Angela, and followed Jill into the basement.
At that moment, the place was brightly lit.
Former S.T.A.R.S. member Barry was wiping down his customized Bison pistol. The shop owner Robert sat by the stove with his sleeping daughter Emma in his arms, brewing coffee. The exhausted Matt siblings leaned against the wall together, fast asleep.
Claire was greatly relieved by Kevin's arrival, but a trace of displeasure soon spread across her face.
And Leon, who had originally driven the Black SUV out to lure away the enemy, was miraculously sitting beside the stove, warming his hands. When he noticed Kevin's return, he flashed him a sincere, delighted grin.
"Kevin, it's a good thing you helped take some of the pressure off me and drew away half the RPD officers. Otherwise, it really would've been hard to get away!"
Faced with the rookie cop's frank and sincere gratitude, Kevin felt a little guilty. Of course, he also knew why Claire was unhappy with him.
It was only after hearing Leon's account that Kevin learned this guy had gradually noticed that fewer and fewer officers were chasing him as he showed off his driving skills.
Afterward, using a blind spot to shake off the police cars temporarily, he had actually driven the Black SUV straight into the river beneath Blackstone Bridge, then cowardly hid in the water until nightfall before sneaking ashore.
What could he say? As expected of the "Vehicle Killer"...
Kevin wore an odd expression as he looked at Jill, who had lost her beloved car, with a touch of sympathy.
Fortunately, every action had achieved its intended result, and the policewoman did not dwell too much on the loss.
Once the Matt siblings slowly woke up, Kevin looked around with a solemn expression, committing every face to memory.
"I'm glad all of you made it back alive..."
Hearing this, everyone recalled the dangers of the day and showed relieved expressions.
"When we finalized the plan, I said that carrying it out would be extremely dangerous. Because I'm not an omniscient god, and God has no interest in answering your pleas or struggles..."
Jill and Barry recalled how their previous investigation into Umbrella Corporation's dark dealings had been obstructed at every turn, and they could not help nodding slightly.
They had long since stopped placing any hope in gods.
As Claire looked at Leon's resolute profile, shame appeared on her face. She had worried about the rookie officer's safety and unfairly taken it out on the planner.
"To be honest, I'm very grateful for your trust, because a bunch of fools like you are so easy to use!"
"But I will never become a rat hiding in a dark gutter, peeping at and manipulating everything while avoiding every risk..."
Leon recalled how, when he had been at the end of his rope, some of the police cars pursuing him had received new orders and headed out of the city to search for a hijacked school bus. He could not help smiling knowingly.
"Those who play chess must not only know how to arrange the board, but also have the resolve to become a piece themselves and step into danger!"
"No matter what, I am with you... all of you!"
After Kevin finished his low, infectious speech, he clenched his right hand into a fist, struck his chest, and wore a solemn expression.
The people who had gathered together for different reasons and with different goals felt their hearts filled with a stirring emotion, and they all raised their hands in response.
"Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!" However, a sudden burst of applause interrupted their cheers as they lost themselves in the moment.
"A wonderful speech. But now that you're back, shouldn't we first have a talk with our important client?"
Amid the insincere praise, a graceful figure in a red lace gown slowly descended the stairs leading to the gun shop above.
Beside her stood Raccoon City's current ruler—Mayor Warren—and the mayor's daughter Catherine, who hid behind her father like a startled bird.
"Tell me. What price will it take for you to make them forget everything that happened tonight?"
This energetic, sharp-eyed middle-aged man wore a perfectly neat suit even though he had left in a hurry. He radiated the arrogance and disdain of the upper class, the image of a standard politician.
In his mind, nearly everything could be negotiated and measured.
The lofty attitude instantly enraged everyone. Kevin raised his right arm and approached Raccoon City's ruler with a smile.
Ada's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of regret flickered deep in her eyes.
Bang! In an instant, a deafening gunshot echoed through the cramped basement.
Amid everyone's stunned expressions, Kevin held the M1911 he had pulled from Jill's waist and smiled as he aimed its hot barrel at Mayor Warren's forehead.
The formerly reserved and arrogant gentleman trembled violently under the grip of fear.
"Tsk. What made you think we're a pack of hyenas who would bow and scrape to you over a scrap of rotten meat?"
"Negotiation? Do you even have the right to negotiate?"
Kevin's puzzled question finally made Mayor Warren realize the danger of his current situation.
"Looks like you don't understand the situation yet. Fine, as your host, I'll kindly give you a little lesson. It'll cost extra, though."
The young mixed-race boy smiled as he returned the M1911 to Jill's holster, then pulled over a chair and sat down with his legs spread wide.
Interesting... Ada's eyes shone with fascination. She was growing ever more appreciative of this colleague wrapped in mysteries.
And he always brought her surprises!
Chapter 23: An Improvised "Script"
"Lisa, tell Mayor Warren exactly what Umbrella Corporation's underground research facility—the Hive—has been doing."
Kevin gave a slight wave, gesturing for the self-important elite politician to sit down, then had Matt's sister, who had escaped from the Hive, reveal Umbrella Corporation's true face to him.
Mayor Warren had originally been unconcerned. Every pharmaceutical organization had more or less some gray areas.
At most, there would be illegal drug trials and clinical research. What was so serious about that?
Trying to bring down Umbrella, whose tentacles stretched across the world, with that? Naive!
However, as Lisa's account went deeper, the forbidden human experiments, the insane animal modifications, and the bioweapons created by the terrifying Gene Virus...
All of it stirred up a raging storm in his heart.
By the end, Raccoon City's mayor was nearly numb. Even Jill and the others, who had already known something of Umbrella's dark side, felt lingering fear and drew sharp breaths.
"Fabricated! Hmph! This is all nothing but lies you made up to attack Umbrella!"
The shock was so great that Mayor Warren instinctively rejected the truth.
Because once Umbrella Corporation's crimes were exposed, the protection and favors he had provided them would become evidence that could bring about his downfall and even land him in prison.
At that moment, Kevin looked at the prisoner with pity, seeming to gain a little more patience and tolerance for him.
"Our words may not be believable, but what about the evidence on your dear friend Director Alons?"
Ada stepped forward with a smile, inserted a USB drive into the computer's data port, and opened it. A series of biochemical experiment photos and detailed records appeared on the screen.
Several text-only electronic manuscripts contained material even more horrifying.
"July 15, sunny. Dr. Isaacs, the person in charge of the Hive, came to find me and brought a half-finished product. He called it the T-Virus..."
"Unbelievable. It possesses the power to bring the dead back to life! This is a miracle—no! It should be called a divine miracle!"
"God, my decaying specimens can be saved! This is truly gospel bestowed by the Lord!"
"A semi-finished drug with certain traits removed can allow dead cells to retain a certain degree of activity."
"I must speed things up. I can't allow God's perfect creations to sink into aging and decay. Their beauty will be frozen forever in my hands!"
Uncle Alons... he was insane!
Catherine widened her eyes. Recalling her harrowing experience, she could not help trembling.
She finally understood why the repeated disappearances of young women near Apple Motel had gone nowhere.
Director Alons's actions had begun in secret long ago.
"August 20, cloudy. I'm curious what effect the T-Virus will have when used on living subjects?"
"Although Isaacs has repeatedly stressed its danger, as a pure artist, exploration is part of my nature."
"The early symptoms of T-Virus infection are no different from ordinary minor illnesses—coughing, sneezing, or an itch like a rash. But antibiotics and cold medicine are completely useless..."
"The second- and third-stage symptoms mainly manifest as a rapid increase in the infected body's metabolism and an intense desire to feed, especially on meat and blood products..."
"The fourth-stage symptom is the final stage of the 'zombie' form. At this point, the zombie's subcutaneous tissue has begun to rot, and the infection has become completely irreversible..."
"And according to internal Hive data, the first three stages of infection often last anywhere from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. If transmitted through bodily fluids, the process will shorten dramatically..."
The pictures of those bloody mutants made Mayor Michael Warren, who had always lived in comfort, turn pale and retch. He nearly vomited up the black pepper steak from dinner before it had even been digested.
As Mayor Warren lowered his head and dry-heaved, Ada, who was responsible for exposing the truth, secretly winked at Kevin, who stood calmly beside her.
Director Alons might have had an exploratory spirit, but he would never have been suicidal enough to research the "T-Virus."
Moreover, a top Umbrella secret like the "T-Virus" would never have been leaked by Dr. Isaacs to a mere political ally.
Therefore, those electronic manuscripts and pictures of test subjects had largely been fabricated by Kevin using excerpts from the materials in the Matt siblings' possession.
But after seeing Director Alons's true nature exposed and experiencing the danger his own daughter had faced, Mayor Warren had subconsciously chosen to believe it.
The two shameless conspirators saw that their goal had been achieved and nodded at each other in tacit understanding.
After waiting for Mayor Warren to calm down, Kevin smiled faintly and began recounting what they had experienced recently.
"Yesterday, my close friend, Matt—a law-abiding American citizen—received a call from his sister Lisa and went alone to meet his only remaining family."
"In fact, Lisa used to be an ordinary employee at the Hive. But because she held to her moral bottom line and retained the light of humanity, after witnessing Umbrella's string of illegal experiments, she decided to expose Umbrella's dark dealings."
"In order to make the evidence she had gathered public, Lisa spared no expense in putting her brother Matt in danger by arranging a meeting with him."
Matt, who had originally had ulterior motives and secretly instructed his sister to infiltrate Umbrella and steal information, now wore a completely baffled expression.
Because in Kevin's story, his sister Lisa had become a fighter who bravely resisted evil forces for love and justice.
At that moment, Kevin's tone turned furious and impassioned.
"But those villains from Umbrella Corporation actually sent U.S.S., a group of executioners, in secret to silence them! Matt had no choice but to ask me for help..."
"Fortunately, at that moment, I encountered Jill and Barry—two dedicated officers suspended for insisting on exposing Umbrella Corporation's ugly face—as well as Leon, who had just arrived in Raccoon City yet was filled with a sense of justice, and Ada, an FBI agent investigating Umbrella's criminal activities..."
"After hearing about Matt's ordeal, they were filled with righteous indignation and took the initiative to help plan the rescue..."
"In the end, these passionate ordinary heroes risked their lives and rescued the trapped Matt siblings from U.S.S.'s clutches!"
Seeing someone's face full of gratitude while that rousing tone echoed in their ears, the worldly Barry and Jill's mouths twitched.
"But these Umbrella hyenas still refused to give up and colluded with Director Alons of the police department."
"He then privately mobilized the entire RPD force to hunt down these heroes burdened with slander and infamy!"
"When we were in grave danger, it was once again Leon, this passionate officer, who took the initiative to drive the Black SUV and lure away the misled Raccoon City officers in order to avoid needless bloodshed and sacrifice."
The inexperienced Leon blushed a little.
Still too young. Kevin glanced at him and sighed inwardly, but the script still had to go on...
"And just when we thought justice would be absent, my mentor, Dr. Charles, who had long suffered under Umbrella Corporation's threats and oppression, bravely stepped forward!"
In an instant, Ada recalled Kevin's demand aboard the school bus and offered a moment of deep silence for the unfortunate professor.
This time, even if it was mud splashed onto his pants, it would still look like shit.
Before you continue