RE - Chapter 267: Three-Way Operation (Patreon)

“Wasn’t this information spread by you?”

“I was just paid to do a job. That’s all!”

The interrogator looked down at the man curled up on the floor, then opened a communication channel.

“Sir, he still won’t admit it.”

“...Oh? Interesting. Kill him and clean it up.”

“Understood, sir.”

Once the call ended, the interrogator rested his right hand on his holster and drew his pistol.

The man on the floor was still doubled over from the pain in his stomach. By the time he noticed the gun out of the corner of his eye, panic had already seized him.

He never got the chance to speak.

An orange muzzle flash reflected in his terrified eyes.

A bullet tore through his skull and killed him instantly.

The interrogator lowered the gun, engaged the safety, and holstered it. Then he took a syringe from his waist.

He crouched beside the corpse and drove the needle into the man’s neck without hesitation, injecting its contents before immediately stepping back.

The drug soon took effect.

The dead man’s body suddenly began to convulse violently.

Black veins spread across his skin as his complexion rapidly turned pale, and a horrific scream tore from his throat.

After some time, the creature abruptly fell silent.

Its body writhed unnaturally before slowly rising to its feet.

Bloodshot eyes locked onto the interrogator.

“Remarkably consistent infection rate.”

The moment he finished speaking, the interrogator drew his pistol again and opened fire.

The infected creature had barely begun to lunge when the bullets punched through its skull one after another.

Blood sprayed through the air, and it collapsed again.

This time, however, even the corpse didn’t remain.

Its body gradually dissolved into a thick pool of blood.

Meanwhile, after ending the call with the interrogator, Wesker found himself mildly puzzled.

He studied the clue that had so deliberately been placed in his path and had little trouble figuring out who was behind it.

That was precisely what confused him.

“Spencer... I’m curious what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Still, curiosity was all it amounted to.

With Wesker’s abilities, any trap waiting for him would hardly matter.

He rose from his chair and picked up the coat lying on the table beside him.

“Then I suppose I’ll go hear this ‘truth’ of yours for myself.”

By the time he finished speaking, Wesker had already slipped on his coat and begun walking toward the facility’s exit.

His stride was controlled and powerful.

Beneath his dark sunglasses, a pair of unsettling crimson eyes flickered faintly in the shadows.

...

Several hours later, at the BSAA Americas Branch headquarters.

“Is the information reliable?”

“The source was an intelligence broker, but we can’t contact him anymore.”

“Someone selling information on the dark web? I have to question how trustworthy that is.”

Chris folded his arms and shrugged at Jill.

Jill had the same doubts, but she still held onto a little hope.

“Maybe. But someone willing to do anything for money might actually get his hands on something useful.

Rodrigo, can you pull up detailed information on the location he provided?”

“...Give me a minute.

West coast of Europe, extremely remote. The exact latitude and longitude are on the screen.”

Chris leaned closer and studied the display.

“I could see them hiding somewhere creepy and isolated like this. Fits them perfectly. Like rats.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go. We don’t have any missions right now anyway.”

“Hold on. I need to talk to O’Brian first.

If the intel is real, this is a pretty serious matter.”

Jill reluctantly suppressed the urge to leave immediately.

After all, the name Spencer carried enormous significance to people like them who had spent years fighting bioterrorism.

...

“You really can find anything on the dark web.”

Alan scrolled the mouse, and the location of the castle appeared clearly on the screen.

Patrick could never have imagined that his first assignment would end with him accidentally exposing his own employer’s location.

Then again, he could hardly have expected the information broker he contacted to be so desperate for money that he would try to sell the same piece of intel to practically anyone.

Fortunately, there weren’t that many people actively searching for Spencer at the moment.

He had been hidden away for years, after all.

Otherwise, the castle might genuinely have turned into a party venue.

Now that he had the address, Alan was ready to leave.

He pulled the disassembled sniper rifle from beneath the bed, where it had been stored inside a guitar case, then picked up the bag of supplies he had already prepared.

Finally, he turned toward the hallway and called out,

“Leon?!”

Footsteps approached.

Leon opened the door and looked at Alan curiously.

“Done playing with the grappling gun?”

“Still haven’t figured it out. I seriously don’t know how Ada uses this thing so smoothly.”

Leon went to retrieve the grappling gun, then returned and handed it to Alan.

“That’s because she’s light on her feet. You? The only thing you’ve got is a nice ass.”

Alan’s jab left Leon momentarily speechless.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t really argue.

Alan could use the grappling gun properly, even if he wasn’t particularly skilled with it yet.

“You don’t need me to come?”

Alan slung the backpack over his shoulder, picked up the guitar case, and looked at him.

“I’ll be less noticeable on my own.”

“Fair enough. Good luck.”

Leon stepped aside and followed Alan to the front door.

He leaned against the doorframe and watched Alan get into the car, start the engine, and slowly drive away from the safe house.

Once silence settled over the place again, Leon’s expression turned thoughtful.

“If he didn’t ask me to come, then it probably isn’t anything serious.

...Why didn’t he ask me to come?

........This is kind of annoying.”

Then his attention drifted toward the laptop Alan had left behind.

His eyes shifted slightly.

Without saying a word, Leon went back inside.

“Suddenly feel like browsing the internet.

...Huh. What a coincidence. There’s a laptop right here.”

...

One day later, outside the castle.

Night had already fallen.

A full moon hung high overhead, while lightning occasionally flashed between the clouds and thunder rolled across the dark sky.

Ever since Patrick retired, the entire castle had taken on a lifeless atmosphere.

The plants surrounding the entrance had withered and grown wild, while fallen leaves covered the stone path.

At Spencer’s request, every member of the security staff had moved indoors to defend the castle.

As a result, Wesker saw no one as he stood before the closed gates.

He looked at the entrance, then raised his gaze toward the windows above.

“Well. You’ve already decided how you’re going to welcome me, haven’t you?”

The next instant, Wesker vanished from where he stood.

The sound of shattering glass immediately echoed through the castle.

The security guard stationed in the main hall barely had time to react before Wesker had him pinned beneath his foot.

Wesker looked down at the struggling man and smiled faintly.

“Spencer, this isn’t much of a welcome.”

He applied a little pressure.

A burst of blood erupted beneath his foot, staining the carpet around the corpse.

“Move! We have an intruder!”

“He’s in the main hall! Get reinforcements!”

Hearing the commotion, Wesker casually wiped a streak of blood from his cheek with one finger.

Then he looked up at the security personnel rushing toward him.

“Look. The lambs have come to slaughter themselves.”