RE - Chapter 279: The Bloodhound (Patreon)

In the early hours of the morning, the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center had long since closed for the night. To anyone outside, the facility appeared completely shut down.

The laboratory beneath it, however, was bustling with activity.

“Inject 300 milliliters. Begin the experiment.”

“Understood... Injecting now.”

Victor stood before the tank, silently watching the girl inside.

“Injection complete. Adjusting the environment now.”

“The memory factors in the hippocampus are showing signs of integration!”

“It’s still happening! And the process is stable!”

Victor hurried to the control console.

After confirming the results himself, a quiet laugh escaped him.

“Yes... That’s it. Once we figure out what caused the abnormal changes in the vesicles inside Alan’s body, there’s a very real chance my mentor can be brought back to life!”

Excited, Victor walked over to what remained of Spencer’s corpse, half of which was now preserved in formalin.

More specifically, he addressed Spencer’s lower half.

“Mentor, you’ll be proud of me!”

Once his excitement subsided, Victor remembered the more immediate problem.

If he wanted to study this properly, he would have to keep Alan completely under his control.

Leon would be troublesome.

If Alan suddenly disappeared without explanation, Leon would inevitably start asking questions.

Victor clasped his hands behind his back and thought for a while before quickly coming up with a solution.

He ordered one of the researchers nearby to place Alan inside a specially prepared container, then left the laboratory and returned to his office.

Without hesitation, he called Simmons’s side.

“...Mr. Gideon? Is something wrong at this hour?”

The person answering sounded exhausted, but Victor ignored it completely.

“Get Simmons on the line. Now.”

“At this hour, that might be...”

“Tell him that if he wants cloning technology to advance any further, he’d better take the call.”

“...Understood.”

The line went quiet.

Victor waited patiently.

After some time, Simmons’s voice finally came through.

“Victor, I hope you’re not wasting my time.”

“I’ve discovered a method that allows memories to be implanted stably. All I need now is the proper environment to continue the research.”

“A method? Can you prove it?”

“Easily. The problem is that the memories I copied came from someone rather troublesome.

“And this implantation method depends on that person as well, which means I need your help.”

Victor’s words immediately caught Simmons’s interest.

“How troublesome are we talking? Who is it?”

“The agent who stays close to the President. Alan Han.”

Simmons seemed unsure he had heard correctly and asked again.

When Victor confirmed it, his surprise was obvious.

“Him?

“Wait. He’s inside your laboratory right now?”

Victor briefly explained what had happened over the past year.

After hearing the story, Simmons couldn’t help remarking,

“I never imagined someone I considered a nuisance would one day become useful to me.

“A man with that level of combat ability, defeated like this of all things.

“Hahaha. Humans really are emotional creatures.”

“Enough. Can you meet my requirements or not?”

Simmons thought for a moment.

“Of course. I can tell Graham that Alan has been temporarily reassigned. That way, no one will find his disappearance suspicious.

“But it can’t last too long. His partner Leon is a bloodhound with a very sharp nose.”

“At least six months.”

“...Fine. Give me some time to arrange it. Anything else?”

“Leon will eventually realize something is wrong. When he does, the care center will probably be the first place he suspects.

“I need you to fabricate evidence showing that Alan left this place.

“We also need to temporarily move the equipment here, and I need a dedicated laboratory where I can continue the experiments.”

“That’s a major operation. Pulling all of that off quietly within six months...”

Victor took a deep breath.

...What a greedy bastard.

“I’ll give you a complete copy of the data from this cloning experiment. I’m sure it’ll be extremely useful for whatever you’re trying to accomplish.”

“Hmm. Now that I like.

“I’ll make the arrangements. When the time comes, you’ll be able to conduct your research without distractions.

“I may also ask you to take a look at some of my own research projects. I hope you won’t refuse.”

“...I hope everything goes smoothly on your end.”

“Don’t underestimate The Connections.

“And don’t underestimate me.”

The call ended.

Victor stood silently for a moment.

But the thought of bringing his mentor back to life quickly reignited his motivation.

“It’s going to be a long night.”

...

Three days later.

“Why the hell isn’t Alan answering any of my messages?”

Leon jumped down from a helicopter with a bag slung over his shoulder, staring at his phone as he muttered to himself.

“...I’ll call Hunnigan.”

He quickly got through and asked her what was going on.

Her answer caught him completely off guard.

“Simmons had him reassigned?”

“Yeah. Simmons spoke directly with the President, and the President approved it.”

“I see... If the President personally approved it, then it should be fine, right?”

Despite saying that, Leon didn’t look any less worried.

“Has Alan contacted you?”

“...No. I can’t reach him either.”

Leon’s pace immediately quickened.

Then he broke into a run toward the parking area in the distance.

“I’m heading over to your office now. Pull together everything you can on Alan’s last known movements.”

He hung up and sprinted to his car.

Leon threw open the door, turned the key, shifted into gear, and hit the gas.

The engine roared to life.

The tires spun rapidly against the pavement, and the instant he released the handbrake, the entire car shot forward.

Thin white smoke rose from the black skid marks left behind as the car disappeared down the road.

Leon drove without wasting a second, reaching Hunnigan’s office as quickly as possible.

He knocked, entered, and walked straight over to her without even stopping to catch his breath.

His eyes immediately went to the computer screen in front of her.

“Tell me what you’ve got.”

“Three days ago, Alan completed the arrest operation in Europe and submitted his mission report. After that, he requested a day off.”

“I know. You told me he went to the care center.”

“Right. And after that, we completely lost contact with him.”

“Can you track his phone?”

“...The last signal came from the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center.”

Leon immediately pulled out his phone and called Victor.

While waiting for him to answer, he continued scanning the information on Hunnigan’s screen.

“...This is Rhodes Hill Chro...”

“Victor, it’s Leon.”

“Leon? What’s wrong? Alan’s treatment didn’t work as well as you expected?

“Well... recurring nightmares can be complicated. He may need a few more treatment sessions.”

Leon frowned.

“You mean he left after the appointment?”

“...He didn’t make it back?”

Victor knew exactly what had happened, but played dumb.

Because he had maintained a friendly relationship with both Alan and Leon for so long, the act actually worked.

More importantly, Leon could see footage on Hunnigan’s screen showing Alan’s car leaving the care center three days earlier.

“Sorry. I suddenly lost contact with Alan. The care center was the last place he went, so I wanted to ask if you remember anything unusual about him that day.

“Did he mention where he was going afterward?”

Victor seemed to think for a moment before answering hesitantly.

“Ah... I think he complained about getting stuck with another assignment.

“He also mentioned that without you around, he’d probably be busy for quite a while.”

Leon and Hunnigan exchanged a glance.

That lined up with what they already knew.

“Thanks, Victor.”

“No problem. We’re friends.

“If you find Alan, remember to ask him how this treatment session worked out.”

“...I will.”

Leon hung up, his expression becoming even more serious.

“So Simmons is still our best lead.

“What kind of assignment would prevent Alan from contacting anyone at all?”

“That would mean a very high level of classification, and it’s probably connected to a biothreat.”

“That’s one possibility...”

Hunnigan looked at Leon’s tense expression with concern.

“Do you want to rest for a while? I can handle things here.”

Leon blinked his dry eyes and ran his tongue over his cracked lips before slowly shaking his head.

“Alan can’t manage without me.”

Hunnigan was momentarily speechless.

Then she shook her head with a wry smile.

“You two really do have an enviable bond.”

A tired smile appeared on Leon’s face.

“That guy has a certain charm that belongs to him alone.

“And as for the people who understand that...”

Leon paused.

“Sorry, but right now, I’m the only one.”