Wendigo

Given that Dr. Halsey's whereabouts were unknown, Captain Lance made an exception and allowed 049 to provide assistance.

Time: February 25, 2007.

Location: Containment Center One.

Video playback.

The perspective was shown through the surveillance camera in the Interrogation Room.

049 sat with his back to the wall, legs together and hands resting on his knees as he waited quietly.

The gate opened.

Four security personnel in protective suits brought the Containment Object, strapped to a gurney, before 049.

The gate closed.

The security personnel stood at the four corners with flamethrowers in hand, responsible for protecting 049's safety.

049 rose and went to the gurney, carefully examining the Containment Object.

When the bound Containment Object saw 049, its struggles clearly intensified.

.

Lance: (speaking through the broadcast) Doctor, may I ask if you can...

049: (interrupting him, raising his right hand and extending his index finger toward the camera) Shh, Captain. Please don't disturb me.

Lance: Understood.

049: (nodding in satisfaction) Good.

.

For what followed, 049 did not use the medical kit he carried to conduct any experiments on the Containment Object.

Instead, he kneaded his temple with his right hand and tapped the edge of the gurney with his left.

Even with the recording equipment adjusted to its maximum, 049's muttering could still be heard.

.

049: (sighing) Ah... I feel like I've seen this kind of patient somewhere before.

My forgetfulness... I really wish someone could help treat it. My God.

(He gently tapped the side of his head with his right hand.) Come on... come on... Remember!

.

049 then pulled a notebook from his medical kit and flipped through it rapidly.

Soon, 049's behavior showed that he seemed to understand how the Containment Object's infection spread.

.

049: (walking beneath the camera) Captain.

Lance: Doctor, did you discover anything?

049: (nodding) Yes.

(He picked up the notebook and looked at it.) According to my records from a previous visit... yes, that's right.

The patient was affected by some kind of... um... what was it called...

(looking somewhat irritated) Ah, damn it!

(After a long while, he suddenly understood.) Wendigo! An evil spirit!

Lance: (unable to believe it) An evil spirit? Doctor, are you sure?

049: (shaking his head) That's only the closest description.

(He put the notebook into his backpack and walked toward the Containment Object.) I forgot what era I encountered them in, but I remember it was an extremely cold winter.

Wendigos would appear when temperatures were extremely low and food was scarce.

They would lead people whose minds had become unclear to practice cannibalism.

If someone failed to resist the temptation and actually acted on it, their scheme would succeed.

They would possess the patient and turn them into this—(pointing at the Containment Object)—plunging them into an endless abyss of hunger.

Hmm... It's somewhat similar to a plague.

Lance: One of our agents was bitten and torn by a Wendigo. Won't he mutate? Or... become possessed?

049: Yes. As long as that brave soldier doesn't consume another human being, he won't become a patient.

Lance: Then how can we bring them completely under control?

049: (cheerfully) Ah, that's simple. Just burn the patient to ashes. They're much easier to deal with than a plague!

Lance: Then how can they be contained?

049: (kneading his temple again) Hmm...

Wendigos only appear in extremely cold weather and certain mountainous regions.

As for the containment you mentioned, that isn't my area of expertise. I'm afraid I can't help you, Captain.

Lance: No, Doctor. You did very well. Thank you for your help.

049: (smiling) It's my duty.

Oh, and I'm running short of experimental material. Could you help replenish my supply?

Lance: No problem, Doctor.

The video ended.

Containment Center One classified the Wendigo as Euclid.

After confirming that there was no risk of mutation or possession, Agent Adam Gale was sent to Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan.

The agent would receive the best treatment at Umbrella General Hospital in Regina.

Wendigo 01, which had survived, was confirmed dead during experiments conducted by 049.

Wendigo 01 was taken by the security personnel of Containment Center One to the incinerator for complete destruction.

The Wendigo's method of infection was special, making it an anomaly that could not be completely contained.

Therefore, under the command of Colonel Andre, the Blackwood Mountain region where the incident occurred was completely sealed off, and humans were forbidden from entering within a three-kilometer radius.

Additional agents were assigned to Deschambault Lake. Once Adam Gale recovered, he would take over as Police Chief.

Afterward, using the brainwashing technology perfected by Dr. Halsey, the company downplayed the cases involving the disappearance of eight high school students and the deaths of two mounted police officers, while having its agents warn the town's residents not to go to the Blackwood Mountain region.

Reading complete.

Time: (East Zone 1) March 1, 2007

Airspace: Above Cairo, the capital of Egypt.

Aviation clearance: Special approval obtained from the Egyptian government.

The A380 carrying William was returning westward to Troy Base under the escort of two F-22s.

Inside the cabin;

William sat on a sofa, reviewing the contents displayed on the laptop screen before him.

Beside him, Halsey had both arms wrapped around William's right arm, her gaze likewise fixed on the screen.

"..."

After William finished reading about the Containment Operation involving the Wendigo, he couldn't help but question the system in his heart:

System, didn't you say that anomalies only began appearing one after another in January?

But that miner-turned-Wendigo had existed for at least fifty years. What's going on?

[In response to the host, that anomaly had indeed existed for fifty years.

But it only awakened because of the extreme cold weather, which fits the characteristic of appearing one after another.]

So that means...

Anomalies had existed on Earth in this world's past, and now they're beginning to revive one after another, right?

[That is quite similar, host. You may think of it that way.]

All right.

No matter what...

The anomalies were already there. There was no use agonizing over them.

Whatever.

"Ah." Halsey suddenly sighed beside him.

?

William looked at her in confusion. "What is it?"

"Boss."

Halsey raised her head toward William and said sadly:

"I feel that those three agents were really unfortunate. If they had AAES too, those Wendigos wouldn't have stood a chance."

"There's nothing we could do." William said helplessly, "A single set of AAES costs more than twenty million, and even UBCS hasn't been fully equipped with them yet.

"But the families of the fallen agents also received benefits ensuring they would never lack food or clothing. At least that means they can ascend peacefully."

"That's good~"

Halsey tightened her arms around him and rested her chin on William's shoulder, smiling with narrowed eyes.

"I hereby declare that, from this moment on, you're no longer a heartless boss~"

"I never was, all right?"

{The Wendigo is a cannibalistic monster from North American folklore, and there really is a mental illness of the same name, with many documented cases.

As for the visual inspiration for the contained Wendigo, it came from the 2015 game Until Dawn.}