The Story Begins

"I don't think this can save the world."

Hidden in a dark corner, Yinsen listened to Jill's complaints without offering an explanation. There was no way to explain something like this. Unless she saw everything with her own eyes, anything he said would only make her think he was crazy.

"You said you wanted to know, so I brought you here to see for yourself. Otherwise, how would you believe me? It just takes a little patience... You're a police officer, aren't you? Stakeouts shouldn't be unfamiliar to you, right?"

Yinsen casually found a comfortable position, leaned against a large tree, and closed his eyes.

After taking Jill back to his place and bringing along the equipment he had packed in advance, he and Arthur came to the outside of Alice's villa.

They had all come here this time not because Yinsen was certain the plot was about to begin, but because Arthur had fully recovered and no longer needed to stay in the hotel to rest.

In order to catch up with the plot at the first possible moment, Yinsen had Arthur wait here with him—Jill was merely along for the ride.

Without a better source of information, they could only rely on this clumsy method.

"You're not planning to steal something, are you?"

Hearing Jill's suspicion, Yinsen gave her a speechless look. "If I were going to steal something, would I bring a police officer along to arrest me?"

"Uh..."

It was not as if Jill had failed to realize that, but today's events had left her with even more questions. This young man refused to explain anything, leaving her no choice but to make guesses based on the investigative experience she had accumulated over the years.

Turning her head to look at the blond youth, who was also resting with his eyes closed, she suddenly felt that these two young men were a little strange.

"So what exactly are we waiting for here?"

"An opportunity to save the world."

Jill rolled her eyes. It was always this kind of talk. She was starting to feel as if she might actually believe it.

Just then, Arthur, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly said, "Something's happening!" Jill was utterly startled. "You can talk?"

She had investigated the two young men before. From what she had learned from many people, this blond youth had never spoken, and was very likely deaf and mute.

"My throat was a little uncomfortable before, so I couldn't speak."

The excuse they had prepared in advance came in handy at that moment, dispelling Jill's doubts. After all, it was nothing particularly unusual.

Only then did she realize what Arthur had meant by "Something's happening!"

"What's happening?"

As she spoke, Jill leaned out slightly and saw a furtive figure lingering outside the villa, seemingly observing something.

Yinsen noticed the person as well. Unlike Jill, who knew nothing of the situation, and Arthur, who did not know the plot, Yinsen knew exactly who this person was.

Matthew Addison, also known as Matt Addison. Matt was simply a shortened form, or nickname, for Matthew. His appearance here meant that the plot had already begun.

"So it's today."

Yinsen did not even know what to feel. He had thought they would have to keep watch for several more days before the plot began, but on Jill's first day here, they had run right into it. Was there some sort of bonus from the original character's aura?

"Since Matt has appeared, that mercenary squad should have arrived nearby as well."

According to the plot, the Red Queen in The Hive had suddenly gone out of control and slaughtered everyone inside. That should have happened during the day. Once the Umbrella Corporation discovered what had happened, it immediately dispatched a team of mercenaries to investigate The Hive.

The mercenaries arrived at night. Matt had also infiltrated this mansion at that time, only to be caught red-handed by the mercenaries.

Yinsen was considering whether they should retreat a little to avoid running into the mercenaries, or simply meet them directly and enter The Hive together.

Then he suddenly noticed that Jill was already preparing to rush out and bring that suspicious Matt to justice.

"What are you doing?" Yinsen quickly grabbed Jill by the arm and pulled her back.

Out of habit, Jill almost drew her gun, but she quickly forced herself to restrain the impulse. At the same time, she expressed her displeasure at Yinsen stopping her. "Why did you stop me?"

Seeing that Yinsen seemed to have known all along that the suspicious person would appear, she suddenly realized something. "You've been waiting for this person to show up?"

Yinsen shook his head. "No. But his appearance means certain things have begun. The real show comes next, so don't be too hasty."

How could Jill not be anxious? This damn young man never spoke plainly. She wanted nothing more than to pull out her gun and put a hole through his head.

"If anything bad happens, I'll arrest you as an accomplice."

"It's already happened. But once you know what I'm going to do, you'll sincerely thank me for everything I've done!"

"Tch. Stop talking big. Right now, I just hope my choice won't turn out to be too terrible."

She was worried, so she kept her eyes locked on the villa. At the slightest suspicious sound, she would rush out—though before doing so, she would make sure to take Yinsen down and cuff him.

Then Yinsen pulled her back again just as she leaned out, and before she could say anything, he clamped a hand over her mouth.

For an instant, she nearly drove a knee into Yinsen's family jewels. Fortunately, she noticed that Yinsen was staring solemnly into the pitch-black night sky while gesturing for her to keep quiet.

"The real show is beginning."

She did not know whether it was an illusion, but she felt as if those words had sounded directly in her mind rather than entering through her ears.

Beside them, Arthur took out pieces of equipment one by one from the backpack that had been sitting nearby, then quietly and carefully put them on.

"Armor?"

Jill had keen eyesight and recognized at once that these were not toy props for a convention, but genuine armor with actual protective capabilities.

When Arthur took out a longsword and hung it at his waist, she felt as though she were seeing a real knight from the Middle Ages—albeit a rather young one.

She turned to look at Yinsen. The Black-haired Young Man, who had already released her, was doing the same thing, putting on one piece of "outdated" equipment after another. Finally, he tucked an ornate iron rod and a thick hardcover book into the back of his belt, then hung a longsword at his side as well.

"What is this supposed to do?"

Jill was full of question marks, feeling that today's events were heading in an increasingly bizarre direction. But before she could ask anything, the thunderous roar of helicopter rotors instantly stole her attention.

"They're here."

The group crouched down and covered the armored parts of their bodies with cloth to prevent any reflections from giving them away. Then they silently watched as the military helicopter hovered in front of the mansion, dropped off several fully armed soldiers, and quickly departed.

It had only stayed briefly, but Jill still noticed the Umbrella Corporation logo painted on the helicopter.

"Umbrella Corporation's private armed forces? Why are they here?"

More and more questions filled her mind. Combined with the two young people beside her dressed in ancient clothing, she was beginning to wonder whether she was having some bizarre dream.

Once the mercenaries had rushed into the mansion, Yinsen turned to Jill and said, "Follow us. From here on, watch and listen more, ask less! Once things reach a certain point, you'll naturally understand what's going on."

Jill had been bursting with questions, but after hearing that, she could only force them all back down. She had already realized that today's events were anything but simple. Since Yinsen said she would learn everything by watching and listening, she did not mind waiting a little longer.

She believed that even if there was anything she still did not understand by then, this young man would be willing to give her an answer.

"Otherwise, there would have been no reason for him to bring me here."

Seeing that Jill had fallen silent, Yinsen gave Arthur a look. The two picked up their backpacks and openly strode toward the mansion's main entrance.

At that moment, events inside the mansion were unfolding exactly as they had in the movie Yinsen remembered. Alice had lost her memory and looked utterly confused; Matt had been caught red-handed by the mercenaries searching the place; and James Shade, the mercenary captain, was explaining why they had come to Alice.

But just as he was halfway through, one team member suddenly reported, "Captain, someone's approaching."

"Can you identify them?"

"Uh... it's two... young people in cosplay, and a young woman." The team member wore a strange expression. He did not even know how to report this situation, only feeling that this group of two men and one woman was far too bizarre.

If they were just people out having fun, one of the young men was a little too young, wasn't he? He looked like a child. If they were a family of three, that made even less sense—the two older ones did not look nearly old enough to have a teenage son.

He was not the only one looking constipated. After hearing his report, everyone wore similarly strained expressions. Rain, the Strong Woman mercenary, even suspected that her teammate had taken something before the mission and started hallucinating.

"Buddy, didn't I tell you not to touch that stuff before a mission?"

"I didn't!"

Unfortunately, his response lacked conviction. Even he was beginning to suspect that he was seeing things.

Fortunately, he did not need to waste his breath explaining. Yinsen and the others moved faster than they had expected. Before they had time to react properly, the group barged straight into the mansion and quickly appeared before them.

The mercenaries were highly trained. Even though everyone looked strained and disbelieving, they had already arranged their defenses the moment they heard someone approaching. As soon as Yinsen and the others entered the room, they found themselves surrounded by soldiers.

Several black gun barrels were aimed at them from different angles, but Yinsen was not worried in the slightest. He merely spread his hands to show that he meant no harm.

"Don't be so tense, James. I'm actually here to help you."