Source of Evil in This World

"Help us?"

James looked at the two young men dressed like medieval knights, along with a young woman.

"I really can't see how you could help us."

At the same time, he signaled to his men. Naturally, someone stepped forward to subdue them.

Unfortunately, Yinsen had no intention of giving them that chance. Several soldiers who had just moved to pin them down were hit by a flash of white light before they could get close. Their vision blurred, and they immediately lost their center of gravity and fell to the ground.

The room was instantly filled with the clicks of safeties being released. The soldiers standing farther away had not seen what happened clearly. They had only seen a flash of white light, followed by their companions dropping to the floor. They immediately raised their guns and aimed them at the young man who had seemed harmless moments ago.

No one thought this young man was harmless anymore.

In fact, Yinsen had merely used the Book of Inheritance to cast a Magic Shield. He had discovered that when released explosively, the Magic Shield could produce an effect similar to a Flashbang.

Naturally, its power could not compare to a real Flashbang. It was only a brief flash of white light, and it worked only at night. It was useless in daylight.

Then, while they could not see clearly, he knocked them down. However, he had not struck heavily or injured them. He had merely conveyed one message: I'm not Ordinary People, so don't think you can threaten me with force.

"Hands up!" Unfortunately, the soldiers did not give Yinsen a response he found satisfactory. They still held up their weapons and ordered him to surrender.

Yinsen looked at James, who was aiming an MP5 at him, and spread his hands to show that he meant no harm. "I told you, I'm here to help. Otherwise, after that little move just now, you would have lost those men forever."

James had also been dazzled by the flash, but he had been less affected. Since he was some distance away, Yinsen had not knocked him down. He had barely managed to see Yinsen take down his men, and the other party indeed had not used excessive force.

"Don't shoot!"

He only told them not to fire; he did not tell them to lower their guns. As an experienced mercenary, he was not someone who trusted others easily.

"Tell me why you're here, young man."

"Yinsen. This is my companion, Arthur." He then pointed at Jill, who had also been flashed and was rubbing her eyes. "This is Officer Jill Valentine of the Raccoon City Police Department."

"A police officer?"

James did not care much about Yinsen or Arthur, but Jill's identity as a police officer made him wary. At the same time, he glanced at Matt Addison, who was standing nearby and also claimed to be a police officer.

Jill took out the badge she carried with her. "Raccoon City Police. State your identities, and explain why you entered a private residence fully armed."

James only felt that things had become troublesome. What they were doing was hardly aboveboard. If this had happened earlier, he could have handled her the same way he handled Matt—restrain her first, release her after the job was done, and leave Umbrella Corporation to deal with the rest.

But now... should they make a move?

From the way that young man had taken down his subordinates just now, it was obvious that he was skilled. Even if they could succeed through their numerical advantage, it would take quite some effort. They had no extra time to waste on this sort of thing.

Kill them outright?

If there had been no witnesses, or if they were somewhere remote enough, he might actually have dared to do it. But there were two police officers here now...

Yinsen saw James's dilemma. That was also why he had brought Jill along. With her present, this mercenary would have reservations. After all, Umbrella Corporation was still publicly a legitimate company.

It was precisely because Jill was with him that he had chosen to approach them openly. Otherwise, he could only have followed them into The Hive, then stepped in to rescue them once they fell into trouble.

Why did he have to get involved with these mercenaries? Because Yinsen did not understand computers.

In his Past Life, he had only been an ordinary person. He knew how to use a computer and could handle some basic problems, but relying on that little knowledge to hack into The Hive's control system and open the entrance hidden beneath it was nothing more than a fool's dream.

So, regardless of anyone else, he had to save Kaplan, the ready-made computer expert.

Otherwise, he would have no choice but to try building a relationship with the Red Queen... As an Artificial Intelligence, he did not think that thing would be easier to deal with than a person.

In short, if he wanted to become a true savior, he needed to make contact with these mercenaries, preferably reaching a consensus with them. If that truly did not work, he could only choose the backup plan: beat them into a consensus!

"All right, Yinsen?" James gestured to his men and lowered the muzzle of his gun toward the floor. Following his lead, the mercenaries lowered their weapons as well, though they remained alert and could raise their guns to fire at any moment. "You say you're here to help us. Then do you know what we're here to do?"

"I know roughly." Yinsen pointed at Alice, who had been standing to the side in a dazed state the entire time. "You're here to enter The Hive and investigate what happened inside. And she is one of The Hive's security personnel."

The mercenaries' expressions darkened. Their mission had somehow been discovered by a young man of unknown origin. No matter how they thought about it, that was not a good sign.

James's face had already been dark enough, but now it was as black as the bottom of a pot. "How did you know?"

"I have my own sources." Yinsen smiled. "And I know far more than you do, including what exactly happened in there."

James's expression worsened. Yinsen's words made him think of two possibilities: Umbrella Corporation actually knew what had happened in The Hive, yet still sent them in to investigate. That meant the situation was not so simple, and they might very well be sacrificial pawns.

Or Yinsen was playing him. The young man did not know what had happened at all and was merely spouting nonsense.

Neither possibility was pleasant.

"Then what happened inside?"

This time, not only James, but nearly everyone present focused their attention on Yinsen.

"Before you came here, I assume you already knew that the Red Queen, The Hive's main control computer, suddenly went out of control and killed everyone inside?"

All the mercenaries knew that much. Only Matt, the man pretending to be a police officer, had reddened eyes upon hearing it. Unfortunately, he was pinned to the ground and could not move, much less do anything rash.

"Then you definitely don't know why the Red Queen suddenly did that."

Everyone shook their heads, so Yinsen briefly explained the situation. However, he only said that The Hive had been researching a virus, that the virus had suddenly leaked, and that the Red Queen had no choice but to kill all the infected and seal The Hive's doors to prevent the virus from spreading.

Even that much was enough to make the mercenaries' hearts pound.

"A virus?" James's face twitched continuously. "What kind of virus could be so terrifying that the Red Queen had to kill everyone? Couldn't it simply isolate them and call for outside assistance?"

Yinsen looked at James. Seeing his increasingly ugly expression, he understood that James was not upset because the Red Queen had killed so many people. He was upset because Umbrella Corporation had sent them into such a dangerous environment, amid an outbreak of such a dangerous virus, without warning them in advance or providing any antiviral serum. It meant the company simply did not care whether they lived or died.

"You'll find out the details once you go in." Yinsen looked at James. "You're still going in, right? After all, your mission is to retrieve the Red Queen's mainboard."

James became increasingly convinced that Yinsen's information had been leaked from inside Umbrella Corporation. Otherwise, how could the other man know every detail of his mission? If he had a contact inside The Hive, there was no way he could know the mission arrangements on their side.

"Yes, we still have to go in."

Not a single mercenary objected. This was their line of work. Since they had taken the money, they had to do the job. They had to face every danger unless they had refused the mission from the start.

At the same time, James saw that Yinsen intended to enter with them and did not object. Since they could not kill him, they could only keep him with the team and let him leave after the mission was complete. Since he was willing to go in with them, things actually became simpler.

That was precisely why, whether they believed him or not, it would not stop him from entering The Hive alongside the mercenaries.

"Then let's go!" Yinsen waved again. "You don't need to worry too much either. The Hive is still relatively safe for now. That virus could only spread through the air right after it leaked, so you don't have to worry about being infected the moment you enter The Hive."

Despite his words, the mercenaries still felt uneasy.

The moment The Hive's door opened, nearly everyone instinctively took a step back. Even Jill, who only had a vague understanding of the situation, felt a little afraid.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"It's safe."

"You're certain?"

"If it weren't safe, would I be standing here so calmly?"

Perhaps Yinsen's earlier display of seeming to know everything had left a deep impression on them. When he said that, everyone believed him without prior discussion—or perhaps they simply wanted a reason to feel reassured.

Once they boarded the train leading into The Hive, Yinsen clearly remembered that the greatest villain in this film was hiding aboard it, along with the Virus Stock Solution and Antiviral Serum he wanted most.

Still, taking those things out so directly did not seem appropriate, so he could only suggest to James, "But it's still better to be cautious. We should inspect this train first."

Even if he had not said anything, the mercenaries would have done so. This was how they found Spence in the original story, though they had overlooked the suitcase in the corner.

This time, with Yinsen there, it would naturally not be overlooked. After finding the chief villain, Yinsen casually pulled out the suitcase, drawing everyone's attention.

"What is that?"

Yinsen looked at the item in his hand and replied in a rather mystifying tone, "The greatest Source of Evil in this world!"