In a daze, the two of them seemed to achieve a synchronization of mind and body.
After emptying a magazine, Kevin snapped out of his trance. The patterned reptilian vertical pupils deep in his eyes gradually returned to normal.
On his retina, a shadow modeled after Alice's body kept shifting through shooting stances before gradually dispersing.
A needle-like pain followed, and the savior's vast knowledge of firearms—her understanding and mastery of them—began pouring madly into his brain.
"Congratulations. You're officially a Bad Boy now!" Alice smiled in satisfaction after finishing the job, then mischievously slapped Kevin on the butt.
However, when she turned around to keep teasing the fast-improving kid, the Female Supervisor furrowed her brow. "You've got a nosebleed? Could this drug have some unknown side effects?"
Kevin shook his head blankly. Alice then took an alcohol swab from the medical kit and disinfected the blood, concern on her face.
"My body feels fine. Maybe it's just been dry and hot lately. Too much internal heat. I just need to drink more hot water."
Kevin came back to his senses and made up an excuse, burying the shock in his eyes.
His brain was like an overloaded CPU, absorbing and categorizing all that firearms knowledge into separate memory sections.
It gradually turned his understanding and control of such weapons into an instinct branded into his soul.
At the same time, amid a frictional sound like turning gears, that unseen mechanical voice came again.
"Apocalypse Baptism remaining uses (2/3)..."
"Worldline fluctuation..."
"Calamity Mission triggered: Origin Poison—Raccoon City Crisis (countdown: 3 days, 10 hours, 15 minutes, 12 seconds)."
"1. Locate key elements: T-Virus samples, antidote, experimental data."
"2. Remove the Red Queen's central processor."
"3. Destroy Umbrella Corporation's underground Hive."
"4. Prevent the destruction of Raccoon City."
The muscles on Kevin's face kept twitching. Though his will was incredibly strong, even he could barely withstand the shock before him.
All he wanted was to get registered in this world, then get as far away from that godforsaken place called Raccoon City as possible.
Giving Angela's family and Alice a friendly warning or two would already have been enough to ease his conscience.
Why was there a bottomless pit waiting right after a tiny bit of sweetness? Did they have to force him into a dead end?
This damned Calamity Mission was like dragging four Bronze-rank friends who had just started playing into a match, randomly picking heroes for a casual game.
Only to find the other side made up of five Glory Kings—and worse, those bastards had picked a full professional tournament lineup!
This was not how it was supposed to work. Kevin wanted to cry, but no tears came.
P.S. I'm here to screw over the protagonist again, but I'll go easier on him this time and let him show off to his heart's content.
Acre Mountains. Under Alice's watchful gaze, Kevin drove his beloved Beetle toward the highway leading into the city, his face dark and gloomy.
The Female Supervisor stared at the Acre Mountains beneath the blood-red sunset, her brow tightening further and further. The hazy mist rising through the forest filled her with a strange sense of oppression.
Ever since accidentally entering that bizarre experimental facility that was not even marked on electronic maps, the things inside had made even her skin crawl.
This was not a power humanity should possess, because it was dangerous enough to destroy its wielder.
Kid, I hope everything goes well for us. Alice silently prayed. Beneath the setting sun's afterglow, the growing female warrior seemed to be draped in a layer of scarlet armor.
"What kind of joke is this?!" Kevin slammed his fist against the steering wheel, fury filling his eyes.
"Unfortunately, because of the choice you made, this world has undergone major changes. Therefore, you must bear the consequences," a faint voice murmured from the ball of light in his mind.
Kevin's pupils contracted slightly, and the car immediately swerved. After steadying himself, he stared at the Light Orb reflected on his retina, his teeth grinding.
"You're the god controlling everything?"
"To be precise, I am an indirect product of the Divine River Civilization. I am an Apocalypse Series auxiliary combat program developed by a mentor of the Super God Academy, Serial Number 0001," the Light Orb replied mechanically.
"Then what exactly is your purpose?" Kevin appeared calm on the surface, but enormous waves were already churning in his heart.
The words Divine River Civilization carried far too much weight. In his vague memories from his previous life, he recalled it as a pinnacle cosmic civilization capable of creating gods through science.
"To erase latent Calamity Viruses existing at different spacetime nodes within the Chi Wu Star System..."
"To guide the chosen ones in accepting Apocalypse and preparing for the arrival of the Void Era..."
"To jointly resist Ultimate Fear and ensure the continuation of the Divine River Civilization..."
The Light Orb hesitated in its answer, as though conducting mechanical thought.
Kevin snorted coldly, still deeply suspicious of this unknown entity.
"Then why didn't you show yourself from the beginning? And why are you controlling me now in the name of mandatory missions..."
The flickering sphere of light began giving a scientific explanation.
"The Divine River Civilization has fallen. At the current spacetime node, there are no traces of you or me, and anything that interferes excessively with the world's operation will be erased by its rules in a 'reasonable' manner..."
"Therefore, you needed to replicate the savior's genetic information and deceive the laws of the world before we could communicate..."
"The game-panel presentation mode was chosen because it is easier for your cognitive level to understand. The form of Life Dataization can also display your growth more intuitively..."
"As for control... that is because whenever you cause a worldline fluctuation within an area covered by a Calamity Virus, it will trigger terrifying chain reactions. For example, you may encounter monsters that should not have existed in the original script."
"Therefore, as the culprit, you must eliminate the Calamity Viruses affecting the continuation of the Divine River Civilization in advance."
"Fine. Let's take this one thing at a time. What exactly is Ultimate Fear?"
"It can only be described as a disaster for all civilizations. Insufficient information. Unable to answer."
After a moment of silence, the Light Orb finally gave another vague response. "According to the Divine River Civilization's database, there is only one description of it..."
"Fear arises from the unknown, yet the end of knowledge is ignorance!"
That cold mechanical voice somehow carried an icy chill.
"Then next, what exactly is a Calamity Virus?"
Unable to understand, Kevin decided not to dwell on it and asked another question that puzzled him.
"A shackle upon civilization, or perhaps a trial. When a world's civilization reaches a critical stage of development, seeds of destruction are planted. Once they accumulate to a certain point, if no suitable solution is found, calamity will inevitably descend and destroy the existing civilization system. The Divine River Civilization calls this a Calamity Virus," the Light Orb explained calmly.
It added, "...According to geological scans and comparisons with part of my database, this planet you call Earth has already experienced at least five civilizational extinctions..."
Kevin seemed to understand. According to Maya calculations, Earth had gone through roughly five Civilization Eras.
The first Sun Era was the Gendaya Civilization, a civilization of superpowers, destroyed by a great flood.
The second Sun Era was the Mesopotamian Civilization, a continuation of the Gendaya Civilization's refugees. It perished when Earth's magnetic poles shifted.
The third Sun Era was the Muria Civilization, a civilization of Bio-energy. It was a continuation of the previous civilization's—Mesopotamian Civilization's—refugees, and ended when the continent sank.
The fourth Sun Era was the Atlantis Civilization, a civilization of light energy that inherited the previous civilization. Legend said Atlantis came from colonists from Orion, and that civilization likewise fell in a catastrophe of continental submergence.
The fifth Sun Era was the Tonatiuh Civilization—named after the Mayan Sun God, a civilization of emotion. It ceased to exist because of internal wars.
As for the present, it was called the Sixth Epoch Civilization. Perhaps unknown mass extinctions truly had occurred in the past, and their cause was very likely the Calamity Viruses the Light Orb spoke of.
The T-Virus in The Hive beneath Raccoon City certainly counted as a Calamity Virus.
If humanity could conquer it, biological civilization would make a qualitative leap. But if they screwed it up, it would be a disaster that directly formatted the source code of the real-life game called Earth OL!
But the world map that had flashed through his mind before made Kevin's heart skip again. Frowning, he asked, "Besides Raccoon City, how many similar Calamity Viruses are there?"
"At least more than ten... and because this spacetime contains strange instability, the number of Calamity Viruses appears to still be increasing."
The Light Orb displayed a world map scattered with crimson points of light for Kevin.
At that moment, Kevin had only one sentence in his heart: what the hell.
At least dozens of Calamity Viruses no less severe than Biohazard Crisis?
Earth could no longer be described as merely disaster-ridden. Compared to it, even barren Mars seemed safer.
"Can I refuse?" Kevin realized that this "doctor" profession did not seem like a good job.
Besides, in his memories, there seemed to be an unlucky doctor named Roman who had already proved that point for him.
"This world is sick and needs our treatment. According to the Divine River Civilization Mutual Aid Law, we have the responsibility and obligation to extend a helping hand!"
"Otherwise, the Apocalypse Series auxiliary combat program will initiate its self-destruction sequence..."
Though the Light Orb's tone was calm, Kevin heard a trace of sinister intent within it.
Anyone could figure out that if the thing in his head blew itself up, he would definitely be buried with it.
"Well then, what a pleasure to meet you..." Kevin said mockingly as he shook hands through the air with some nonexistent data lifeform.
Before the Calamity Mission had begun, Kevin instinctively wanted to avoid danger. He was an ordinary person; he only wanted to live and uncover the mysteries surrounding himself.
As for how long he could survive alone after the Biohazard Crisis broke out, he had never seriously considered it.
Change was difficult for most people. Before danger arrived, wishful thinking made everyone believe they were destiny's favorite.
Now, the fury of being driven into a corner intertwined with absolute calm in his heart. He no longer had the option of blindly running away. He had to face this damned Calamity Virus head-on with the resolve of a rabbit fighting a lion.
"Detected intense emotional fluctuation in host. Blood alcohol concentration: 30 mg/100 ml. This constitutes drunk driving."
"Friendly reminder: There are countless roads, safety comes first; drive improperly, your loved ones..."
While sorting through information in someone's mind, the data lifeform kindly reminded Kevin in an extremely aggravating electronic voice.
The combat system that had read his vague memories was clearly experimenting with different language styles.
"Shut up!" Unable to endure it any longer, Kevin gripped the steering wheel with one hand and fiercely raised his middle finger at the air.
Boom! At the same time, a cylindrical glass chamber suddenly appeared around the bend ahead and exploded. Its ejected hatch slammed hard into the windshield of the blue Beetle.
As the airbags deployed, the smoking blue Beetle crashed heavily into a tree trunk. Kevin kicked open the warped, broken door and stumbled out from the airbags.
A streak of blood from his forehead blurred his vision, and sinister rage burned in his pupils.
"Fuck your... grand... pa..." The victim's suppressed curse became a strangled birdlike whimper the moment he saw the figure stepping out of the cylindrical glass chamber.
The newcomer wore a green military overcoat and stood over two meters tall. Its bluish-gray skin resembled hard stone, and with every heavy step, its terrifying pressure nearly made it impossible to breathe.
The first foreshadowing had arrived.
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