Umbrella Corporation, temporary camp.
"Dr. Isaacs, I need an explanation!" The grim-faced supervisor stood before Dr. Isaacs, hands clasped in front of his stomach and head bowed, as if trying to suppress the anger he had been building up for a long time.
Behind him stood two towering security guards, feet planted apart like statues!
Dr. Isaacs straightened his lab coat and smiled with the false, dazzling warmth of a fox. "My dear Mr. Cain, I think you've made a mistake. You have no right to demand an explanation from me."
Cain was the supervisor's name.
However, ever since he had become a supervisor, everyone had respectfully called him "Supervisor." Over time, he had grown used to—and even fond of—the title, so much so that many people had forgotten his real name.
But Isaacs remembered it, and called him by it as casually as could be.
The supervisor of the Raccoon City branch—Mr. Cain—had a face so grim it looked ready to drip water. "I'm afraid not, Dr. Isaacs. You may be a valuable asset to the company, but you're still an asset that can be discarded. I hereby announce that Dr. Isaacs is under arrest for suspected collusion with a rival company's spy and endangering the company's interests. In accordance with company regulations, you are to be arrested! Execute the order at once!"
Isaacs curled his lips into a smile. "That's exactly what I was going to say. Only, I'm not the one who should be arrested. You are, my dear Dr. Cain."
As he spoke, he pulled an A4 sheet of paper from his coat. It was densely covered in English, and the red-and-white Umbrella Corporation logo stood out clearly. "This is a personnel change notice just issued by the headquarters board. Effective immediately, I will be taking over from Mr. Cain and overseeing all affairs at the Raccoon City branch."
Then he pulled out another sheet, also bearing the Umbrella Corporation logo. "This is an arrest warrant issued by the board. Mr. Cain is under arrest for suspected abuse of authority, embezzlement of company property, and conducting unauthorized research into the advanced form of the T-Virus, the G-Virus, in violation of the headquarters' SSS-level ban. I am authorized to execute him by firing squad."
Supervisor Cain's expression changed dramatically. He snatched the two sheets of paper from Isaacs, and by the time he had finished reading them, all color had drained from his face.
"Now, gentlemen, as loyal Umbrella Corporation employees, shouldn't you carry out the board's orders?"
The two muscle-bound men behind Cain hesitated, then stepped forward and hoisted the stunned man up between them.
"Let go of me! I can walk!" Cain struggled free, then stared straight at Isaacs with his snake-like eyes. "Isaacs, you'll get what's coming to you. You're the one researching the G-Virus, not me!"
Cain seemed to know that his situation was hopeless, and didn't bother offering many more excuses. "The T-Virus isn't even perfected yet, and you madman have gone and researched the G-Virus, that 'God's Forbidden Zone'! Believe me, Isaacs, you'll get what's coming to you! Do you think the higher-ups don't know? Hmph! The corporation's already investigating you!"
Isaacs shrugged. "I was worried about that before...but now I have nothing to fear! God is on my side. He sent me an interesting Chinese boy. With his help, I've erased all the traces. The 'investigation team' won't find a thing." (Note: In the original film, there's a helicopter at City Hall—the one the protagonist takes at the end. I've made it a helicopter belonging to Umbrella Corporation's "investigation team.")
Gradually, Isaacs's smile faded. In a quiet voice, he said, "Twenty years from now, an old man with heart disease will be on the verge of death, but he'll escape the clutches of the Grim Reaper because he took a certain drug. And I, Isaacs, will be the one who invented it... That is science! That is hope! You, whose eyes see nothing but money and power, will never understand."
Isaacs's rambling words left Cain momentarily stunned. Then he said quietly, "I'll be waiting for you in Satan's domain!"
Then the two muscle-bound men escorted him away.
"See, Dr. Ashford? Can you relax now?" Isaacs said to Dr. Ashford nearby. "I'm the supervisor now. Your daughter will be here to take you away soon. It won't be long."
Unexpectedly, Dr. Ashford didn't look delighted. He stared coldly at Isaacs. "What he said was true? You're researching the G-Virus?"
Isaacs's expression stiffened. "Doctor...I thought your daughter mattered more to you."
"...You and I are both going to hell!"
With that, Ashford turned his wheelchair around and stared at the computer screen...
**********************
"Look! Yin Kuang's over there!" Zeng Fei whispered, pointing toward the distant street. In the faint glow of the flames, Zeng Fei's eyes—made for a sniper—easily picked out Yin Kuang lying on the ground.
Someone else lay beside Yin Kuang, their life or death uncertain.
"Shh!" Wang Ning hurriedly covered Zeng Fei's mouth and signaled for him to be quiet. Then he pointed toward another dark corner and whispered, "Someone's over there!"
Zeng Fei nodded, and Wang Ning let go.
Li Shuangmu and Qian Qianqian looked at Wang Ning in surprise, but they chose to trust him. Wang Ning wouldn't have said that without reason.
Sure enough, under the gaze of all four, two security guards wearing Umbrella Corporation uniforms emerged from the shadows. With guns in hand, they walked step by step toward Yin Kuang...
Yet Yin Kuang lay on the ground as if dead, seemingly indifferent to the two Umbrella Corporation guards who had suddenly appeared.
Zeng Fei hurriedly grabbed his AWM and was about to load a round.
"What are you doing?" Wang Ning glared at Zeng Fei, his hand gripping the sniper rifle tightly.
"Saving him." Zeng Fei tried to wrench the rifle free, but couldn't, so he said, "Can't you see Yin Kuang's in danger?"
Wang Ning said, "We don't know what's going on yet. If you open fire rashly, you might end up hurting him instead. Look, if those two Umbrella Corporation guards really meant to harm Yin Kuang, they'd have shot him already. Why would they walk over to check on him?"
Li Shuangmu turned his head too. "That's right. We'd better watch and wait. Besides, if we act rashly, we might attract more Umbrella Corporation personnel. We could end up failing to save him and getting ourselves killed instead."
After all, people were naturally inclined to seek gain and avoid harm.
Even Zeng Fei, after his first impulsive reaction, reconsidered. Looking back toward Yin Kuang, he realized Wang Ning and Li Shuangmu had a point. Still, he silently prayed for Yin Kuang. I just hope he'll be all right.
**********************
By now, Yin Kuang was completely paralyzed.
Besides enduring the despair of being unable to control his limbs, he also had to bear pain beyond anything words could describe!
If not for his stubborn determination, that wildness inherited from the mountains, Yin Kuang would have passed out long ago.
He was in no condition to worry about the Umbrella Corporation security guards!
He heard hard boots striking the asphalt with a "clack, clack." The heavy, orderly footsteps coming from the ground also told him the two guards were fully armed.
Yin Kuang didn't move. He just lay there.
Then a tall shadow appeared before him. Another man crouched down and roughly lifted Yin Kuang up.
The intense pain seemed to have numbed him. He struggled to open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was two round, black helmets.
"This guy's got one hell of a will to live. He still hasn't died after all that." A muffled voice came from inside a helmet.
"Give him a shot, quick," another equally muffled voice said. "If he dies, we'll have a hard time explaining ourselves. I don't want that madman dragging me off for experiments."
Then Yin Kuang felt a sharp prick in his neck, followed by a cool liquid flowing into his body.
"Alert: You have been injected with the Umbrella Corporation's proprietary T88 Cell Repair Serum." "Alert: Your health will continue to increase, recovering 1 point every minute until your health is full." "Alert: Because you are paralyzed, the Cell Repair Agent cannot fully treat you. You have entered a weakened state." "Alert: All your current base attributes are 1 point. This will last for 30 minutes."
Regardless, once he received the alerts, Yin Kuang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like Isaacs won't do anything to me for now... Thirty minutes, all attributes at 1... Sigh...
At that moment, the muffled voice from one of the helmets spoke again. "Hey, Chinese kid, where's that dog?"
Yin Kuang managed to open his eyes. Though his mind was still somewhat hazy, his senses had fully returned. "Give me the T-Virus... Once I leave, I'll tell... Isaacs!"
The two round black helmets turned toward each other, apparently exchanging a glance. After a long pause, one of them took out a silver-gray metal box about the size of a palm and slapped it against Yin Kuang's chest. "I know you Chinese people value keeping your word... If you break yours, I'll give you a bullet in God's name!"
"I don't believe in Jesus..." Yin Kuang smiled. "Because I'm Chinese... So you can trust me completely!"
"Are you sure you're in your right mind?"
"I'm fine!" Yin Kuang said. "You can go. Tell Isaacs to call me in five minutes... Also, leave me a gun so I can protect myself..."
"May God protect you from being eaten by Zombies!" One of the men in black helmets pulled out a pistol, fitted it with a suppressor, and slapped it onto Yin Kuang. Then he said to the other man, "Let's go!"
As the heavy footsteps faded into the distance, Yin Kuang's anxious heart finally settled.
By then, he had recovered 3 health points and could just barely stand.
When he saw Nicholas's body not far away, the light in his bright eyes gradually dimmed...
***********************
"Why... What's so bad about being alive!? You can leave this place... Go far away. What's so bad about staying alive?"
"Those who bear the weight of their sins are already guilty just by living. Death is the only true release... We're all sinners abandoned by God..."
"Bullshit! As long as you're alive, anything is possible!"
"You don't understand... Maybe one day, when you're tired of living, you'll understand... Death is the best cure... They're waiting for me..."
"Chinese... kid... stay... alive!!"
The powerful hand gripping Yin Kuang finally let go...
The Combat Knife plunged into his heart!
************************
"Nicholas... You were a man worthy of respect, a true warrior! But...you were a coward...!"
Yin Kuang murmured to himself.
Gradually, his gaze settled on the palm-sized metal box in his hand. The silver-gray box bore the striking Umbrella Corporation logo right in the center—a red-and-white regular octagon!
He opened it and received the following alert—
Item: 100% Pure T-Virus Serum Description: A sample of T-Virus Serum personally prepared by Dr. Isaacs, chief researcher at Umbrella Corporation's North American branch. It is one of Isaacs's proudest creations. It may also be Dr. Isaacs's final creation, and is therefore priceless. Rating: The only one in existence! Effect: When used by a "Rookie Student," there is a 45% chance of gaining a mutated T-Virus Enhancement, a 30% chance of gaining a perfect T-Virus Enhancement, and a 25% chance of mutating into an unknown creature! When used by a "High-Year Student," there is a 70% chance of gaining a mutated T-Virus Enhancement and a 50% chance of gaining a perfect T-Virus Enhancement, with no side effects! Find somewhere to smash it, and you'll be paying for the deaths of countless people!! (This line was conspicuously written in blood-red letters.) Note: The enhancement effect only works on "College Students"! Review: Even the most deranged gambler wouldn't choose to use something like this...
Before you continue