Guide Dog Mary

Somewhere outside Raccoon City, at a temporary Umbrella Corporation camp, in the command center.

The supervisor of Umbrella Corporation's Raccoon City branch stood before the monitors. His black suit brought out his sinister, inscrutable air to the fullest. His hawklike eyes roamed across the screens, as if he wouldn't allow even the slightest anomaly to slip past him.

He loved the feeling of having everything under control. He enjoyed it, was obsessed with it. It was as addictive as smoking marijuana.

"Wait!" he suddenly called out, ordering the technician at the far right, "Rewind it... now!"

"Sir?" The technician didn't react at first. He turned to look at him, clearly unable to understand why he wanted him to do that.

"Do as I say." He was displeased that a low-ranking technician would dare defy the most powerful supervisor here.

The technician's heart fluttered under the gaze of those cold, snake-like eyes. He quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet his stare. "Yes, sir. I'll do it right away."

"That's it... rewind... rewind... stop! No, no, a little farther forward... stop!"

It appeared to be a traffic camera. The footage on the monitor was somewhat blurry, but still discernible. It showed an intersection. Everything was as usual: various vehicles lay overturned on the road, some with smoke rising from their hoods and flames burning. A car had smashed into a fire hydrant by the roadside, sending a tall jet of water into the air.

Nothing unusual, was there?

No!!

There was a black speck!!

The technician had sharp eyes too. He immediately played the next second. Sure enough, the black speck had moved forward a little.

What was that?

"Zoom in, you idiot."

The technician's hand shook. "Y-yes, sir."

Only after the technician skillfully zoomed in on the image did they see what the black speck was. It was a dog—a black dog. Looking closely, they could even make out a leash around its neck.

But it was just a dog, wasn't it? Was it really worth the supervisor's attention?

"Switch to the next camera. Keep that dog in view."

The supervisor's commanding voice rang out. The technician nodded repeatedly.

In a way, Raccoon City's development was actually thanks to Umbrella Corporation. It had established a branch here and provided countless jobs, attracting many people to move here for work and life. Gradually, the place grew into a city of considerable size.

Although the once-unremarkable town had grown into the city it was today, Umbrella's emblem had always loomed over it, expanding as the city did. In other words, everything in Raccoon City was in Umbrella Corporation's hands.

Accessing the traffic cameras was child's play.

Soon, more than ten cameras were trained on the black dog, following it all the way.

Gradually, everyone noticed what made the dog different. It trotted along, easily making its way through all kinds of obstacles. It wasn't afraid of the Zombies it encountered, nor did it bark. Stranger still, the Zombies it came across seemed to avoid it instinctively?! Yes, avoid it! This was an ordinary Labrador Retriever, yet the Zombies were afraid of it?!

It was unbelievable. Zombies, whose intelligence was practically zero, swarmed any living creature they encountered like bees to honey. But what were they seeing now? A dog that even Zombies feared?

Was it April Fools' Day?

What's more, everyone present finally noticed the real issue—it hadn't been infected with the T-Virus!!

Was that strange? It was very strange!! Everyone present knew how powerful the T-Virus was. And dogs were especially susceptible to infection—they had been using all kinds of dogs for T-Virus activity experiments, so dogs had almost no resistance to it!

But what were they seeing now?

A dog that hadn't been infected with the T-Virus!

By this point, the T-Virus had spread throughout all of Raccoon City. To put it bluntly, Raccoon City could now be called a dead city. Very, very few humans had survived. The other animals, especially dogs, had been infected and turned into Zombie Dogs long ago.

And yet this black dog before them, an ordinary Labrador Retriever, had just slapped everyone present in the face!

"Could the T-Virus have stopped working?"

The scientists and technicians gathered by Umbrella Corporation were all a bunch of lunatics and madmen. They didn't care about anyone else's lives; all they cared about was their research and their results! So when they saw the healthy Labrador Retriever, their first thought was, "The T-Virus has mutated."

To them, this was a nightmare!

Of course, there were exceptions. The supervisor, for instance. He made no attempt to hide his contempt, disgust, and scorn for the workers' shocked expressions. Then he turned his gaze to the Labrador Retriever. "A Labrador Retriever that can resist T-Virus infection... how wonderful, how miraculous! Praise you, Almighty God, for bringing this special gift before me..."

As though admiring a peerless beauty without a stitch of clothing, the supervisor's gleaming eyes never left the Labrador Retriever dragging its leash. "Sweetheart, come to me..."

"Order: deploy the Black Snake special operations team and bring that dog back to me. Right now!"

"...Yes, sir!!"

The fully armed Black man standing by the tent flap answered and left the tent.

Soon, the sound of helicopter rotors reached the tent...

************************************************

"What about you?"

Li Shuangmu and the others still didn't know that they had unknowingly ended up on the opposing side of Umbrella Corporation's security force. In the end, they chose "Yes," officially accepting the Hidden Mission called "Save Guide Dog Mary."

After the temporary group of four, along with Zeng Fei and Qian Qianqian, who had the special skill "Pitiable," had all accepted the mission, Li Shuangmu turned to Liu Xiatian and asked him one last time.

Liu Xiatian said, "I... I think I'll pass. I just want to get through this Entrance Exam safe and sound. I don't want to stir up trouble. Two hundred Study Points will be enough to buy me lots of things. I'm not as greedy as you guys... Happiness lies in contentment, haha."

Though his smile was strained, he had clearly made up his mind.

"All right." Li Shuangmu didn't press him. "Then stick with Senior Xiong. You should be safe with him."

Xiong Ba grunted. "Since you've accepted this mission, I can't go with you. I haven't accepted it myself, but if I follow you, the Headmaster will assume I'm involved too. That'll make your mission harder in ways you won't even notice... Be careful."

With that, his stern face finally softened into a fleeting smile. Then he turned and walked away.

Liu Xiatian glanced back at Li Shuangmu and the others. His expression was complicated. Finally, he stamped his foot and hurried after Xiong Ba. "Senior, wait for me."

"Senior, where are we going now?" Liu Xiatian caught up with Xiong Ba, smiling ingratiatingly.

Xiong Ba didn't even look at him, but still answered, "Now that I have fewer burdens to deal with, I'm going to take care of my own business."

"What's that?"

"Because of a bunch of useless rookies like you, I could lose the Comprehensive Evaluation I worked so hard to get at any moment. What do you think I should be doing? And I already told you: I'm your Teaching Assistant, not your bodyguard. I don't mind you following me—that's your choice. But if you get in my way... believe me, I'll kill you first!"

The smile froze on Liu Xiatian's face. He hesitated for a moment, then hurried after him anyway. No matter what, following behind this giant made him feel safe. As for anything else, he wasn't going to think about it.