Return to Raccoon City

12:06.

There were still over sixty UBCS members remaining in the hangar.

At this moment, the Lieutenant swiped his right index finger across the capacitive tablet screen, then scanned the UBCS present with an expressionless gaze before raising his voice once more:

"Those whose names I call next, please stand up and leave as well. Once you exit the hangar, company personnel will be waiting to guide you through the next procedure.

Hosen Nate, Gamiel Zeko, Ken..."

After another few minutes, only 16 UBCS members remained in the hangar, among them the turncoat, Nikolai.

With Nikolai present, there was no need for further explanation; these 16 individuals were traitors whom the White Queen and Red Queen had gathered concrete evidence against, either preparing to betray the company or already in the process of doing so.

By now, several of the traitors with weaker nerves were already breaking out in a cold sweat.

If only I had known, why did I act this way in the first place? Seeing this, Sui Bian couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Victor, Carlos, Tyrone, and the others who had left the hangar in the first group were soldiers relatively loyal to the company.

Based on past spending records and background investigations, the White Queen had determined that these soldiers possessed good character.

Furthermore, most of these soldiers had families, and family represented responsibility—it was their untouchable bottom line.

The White Queen's investigation into the second group's spending records revealed that these individuals were extremely selfish, with the majority of their commissions squandered on debauchery, luxury goods, and keeping mistresses.

In truth, such behavior was standard for most mercenaries.

After all, mercenaries lived on the edge of a blade, earning money with their lives; they never knew whether tomorrow or an accident would arrive first, so they used extreme forms of indulgence to numb themselves.

However, this also meant these mercenaries had no bottom line. With "the highest bidder wins," their loyalty could not be guaranteed, let alone entrusting them with combat missions.

Therefore, the first group of UBCS boarded the C-17 bound for Raccoon City, while the second group was about to face the flash of a neuralyzer.

Once their memories regarding Umbrella were wiped, the second group would return to the status of "wild" mercenaries, but the final destination for the traitors would be...

"Sir." At this point, the bold and self-important Nikolai stood up, looking at Sui Bian with a composed expression, attempting to use his words to talk his way out:

"I wonder what kind of suicide mission you need us for."

"Lieutenant, he's yours."

Sui Bian, who understood Nikolai's true nature, had never intended to let him go. Who knew he would throw himself into the line of fire? This was truly just asking for death.

"Understood." The Lieutenant replied, drawing a .45 ACP Glock 21 from his shoulder holster and aiming it at Nikolai with his right hand.

???

Nikolai's face was filled with astonishment.

"Bang!"

"Pfft! Splat!"

Even after the gunshot rang out, Nikolai still wore a look of shock, but there was a bloody hole between his brows, and a fist-sized crater at the back of his head.

.

After the .45 ACP round pierced his skull, it tumbled rapidly through Nikolai's cranium before exiting through the hole in the back of his head.

He was dead beyond any doubt.

Immediately after, the light faded from Nikolai's eyes; he swayed back and forth before his body uncontrollably tipped forward, hitting the ground with a dull "thud."

!!!

Seeing their colleague killed, the remaining 15 traitors were all jolted into a state of panic.

"We're going to be killed no matter what! Fight him!"

"I'd rather die than go out like a coward!"

However, this also incited several hot-blooded traitors to launch a counterattack.

"Right! Let's fight!"

With someone taking the lead, all the traitors rushed forward, but as for the result...

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

They were naturally wiped out by the well-prepared Omicron and the security guards.

Looking at the corpses littering the floor, Sui Bian felt no ripples in his heart; it was as if he had grown accustomed to it without realizing.

The Lieutenant also glanced at the twitching bodies of the traitors, holstering his weapon while mocking:

"Heh, they were only fit to be D-class personnel anyway. Why be in such a rush to die? They would have only lived a few more days, otherwise, we'd have to feed them."

The Lieutenant wasn't as rigid as Hunk; sometimes, he even liked to tell a few cold jokes.

"Heh." Hearing this, Sui Bian chuckled softly before issuing an order: "Lieutenant, notify the technicians to cryogenically preserve these bodies, then transport them to Raccoon City together."

"Yes, sir." The Lieutenant responded, strictly following the order.

"Also, after I leave, I leave the surveillance of the headquarters here to you and Omicron." Sui Bian said with a slightly earnest tone.

From the moment Sui Bian took power on August 15th, he had the main unit of the White Queen located at the Paris Headquarters transported to the Hive.

Although Paris was the headquarters, the place where Sui Bian "started" was Raccoon City, so the center of gravity would inevitably shift toward Raccoon City over time.

Birkin was on the verge of completing the G-Virus, Rebecca had already been transferred to the Raccoon City Police Department, and there was the imminent arrival of "Leon" Leon; a series of trivial matters required Sui Bian to return to Raccoon City as soon as possible.

Thus, leaving the Lieutenant and his Omicron squad to "guard" headquarters was Sui Bian's best option for the moment; after all, compared to Zeta and Epsilon, Alpha and Omicron remained far more loyal.

Hearing Sui Bian's words, the Lieutenant set aside his previously playful mood and nodded solemnly. "Yes, sir. Please rest assured."

"Mm." Sui Bian gave a slight nod, reached out with his left hand to pat the Lieutenant on the right shoulder, and then turned to leave for the C-17 waiting outside the hangar.

12:25.

After Sui Bian boarded, the C-17 took off, carrying him along with Victor, Carlos, Tyrone, and other loyalists of the UBCS toward Raccoon City.

12:45.

The airport technicians loaded the sixteen traitor corpses, including Nikolai, into individual specialized cryo-units and placed them onto a C-130 that had no scheduled flights for the day.

12:50.

Once everything was prepared, the C-130 carrying the bodies also took off, trailing the C-17 that Sui Bian was aboard as it headed for Raccoon City.

Raccoon City Time: August 17, 14:45.

The C-17 carrying Sui Bian arrived at Umbrella Airport on the outskirts of Raccoon City.

15:35.

The C-130 carrying the sixteen corpses also arrived at the airport.