RE - Chapter 288: Want to Try This? (Patreon)

The cold glow of the monitor washed over the three of them. The clinical data on the screen silently laid out the truth with almost absolute certainty.

“Her organs are practically brand-new. Even their gene expression was deliberately tailored. There’s virtually no natural variation at all.”

Rebecca explained as she switched between different sets of data.

Grace stood beside Leon with her hands tucked together, calmly studying the information on the screen.

Leon was shocked by what he was hearing, but he still kept an eye on Grace’s expression.

“Based on what I’m seeing in your blood, your body essentially grew as a replica…

I hate to say this, Grace, but I’m fairly certain you were grown inside a cultivation chamber.”

Rebecca left the screen on and quietly stepped back a few paces, watching how the two of them reacted.

From the corner of his eye, Leon saw Grace smile.

“So does that technically make me a newborn baby?”

“According to the data, if we ignore the implanted memories, then yes.”

Grace glanced at Rebecca before turning her attention to Leon.

“Then shouldn’t you make me a bottle of formula? The baby’s hungry. Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

Relief flickered through Leon’s eyes as he answered with a completely straight face.

“No formula. Want to try this instead?”

As he spoke, he raised one hand and lightly lifted his shirt.

Grace smiled and gently pressed his hand back down.

“Just kidding~”

“I’m serious.”

“…You two are ridiculous.”

Rebecca pressed a hand to her forehead.

As if anything could possibly come out of there!

…Wait.

If the mammary glands were developed enough, maybe it actually wasn’t impossible.

Now that would make an interesting research topic.

Leon straightened his shirt and looked at Grace, who seemed remarkably composed.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

Grace glanced at the data on the screen again and spoke with a slightly playful, self-deprecating smile.

“At least I’m not living without knowing anything about myself.”

Seeing her expression, some of the tension in Leon’s face eased.

He turned back toward the screen.

“Rebecca, do you know why Simmons would choose to clone Alan’s memories?”

Rebecca was drinking milk with her breakfast. She pulled the straw from her mouth and thought for a moment.

“It’s obvious Simmons didn’t simply choose to do that.”

Rebecca picked up two sample tubes from the rack.

“These contain Alan’s and Grace’s blood. I compared their cellular composition, and they’re almost identical.”

She placed both tubes into the analyzer and continued as she worked.

“Normally, the DNA in each person’s white blood cells is unique, unless you’re dealing with identical twins.

There’s almost no chance the two of them are siblings. They’re not even the same race.

But their DNA is extremely similar, and their blood compatibility is as high as eighty-seven percent.

Do you know what that means? Even the vesicle structures in their blood are exactly the same.”

Leon and Grace exchanged a glance, then shook their heads at the same time.

“No idea.”

“We don’t understand.”

Rebecca stared at them.

“…What I’m saying is that if Grace were simply a clone, identical DNA would make sense. What doesn’t make sense is their blood composition being nearly identical.

Every body has different demands, so gene expression naturally varies.

And don’t think eighty-seven percent sounds low. That missing thirteen percent comes almost entirely from Grace lacking certain immune-system expressions.

Which means…”

Leon’s expression shifted.

“You mean…”

“Almost all of Grace’s blood originally came from Alan. I’m almost completely certain of that.

And this wasn’t something that happened overnight. It was done over a long period of cultivation, enough to forcibly alter the way her genes are expressed.”

Leon understood.

His face immediately darkened.

“Then doesn’t that mean…”

“Exactly.

Your Alan might already have been bled nearly dry.

Even with strict limits and nutritional support, repeatedly extracting that much blood would put enormous strain on his hematopoietic stem cells.”

Rebecca had only meant the last part as a dark joke.

She hadn’t expected Leon to react so strongly.

“I have to go.”

“Huh? We haven’t finished dealing with this little one yet.”

“I’m leaving her with you. I can’t stay here.”

Leon had barely started toward the exit when Grace grabbed the hem of his shirt.

“I’m coming with you.”

“Take care of yourself. Wait for me to come back.”

Leon exchanged a glance with Rebecca, then gave Grace an apologetic look before turning away.

Grace felt the fabric slip from between her fingers.

She slowly withdrew her hand and said nothing.

Rebecca held out her milk.

“Want some?”

Grace took it, stared at it for a moment, then quietly began drinking.

Rebecca gave her a gentle pat on the head before turning back to her work.

“Seeing you like this, I guess I can’t slack off either.

Come on. I’ll try to develop the antibodies as quickly as possible and turn you into a healthy little baby.”

“Can you make me grow some muscles too?”

“Sorry, probably not.

But you can ask Chris. He might know a thing or two.”

Outside the research facility, Leon opened the car door and climbed inside.

After shutting the door, he leaned back in the seat and pulled the handgun from his waist.

He checked it carefully, then returned it to the holster.

After glancing at the time on his watch, he turned the key and started the engine.

Clutch in. Shift gears. Gas.

As the scenery rushed past, Leon’s grip on the steering wheel gradually tightened.

Wait for me, Alan.

...

“What’s the deal with this hospital?”

“According to the records, it once belonged to Umbrella. It’s one of the remnants they left behind.”

Leon looked at the abandoned hospital looming ahead in the darkness like a haunted house.

“Why am I not surprised?”

“The government sealed off this entire area. I didn’t expect it to end up in Simmons’ hands.”

“They never change. Same tricks every time.

I’m going in. Stay on the line.”

Leon cut the communication and emerged from the woods, steadily approaching the hospital.

Despite being abandoned, the building itself hadn’t suffered much damage.

It had simply been left unused.

Not even crows seemed to come near it.

Just before entering the hospital grounds, Leon activated the portable jammer on his body.

“Lights out.”

As expected, the surveillance cameras hidden throughout the area instantly went dark.

Leon seized the opportunity and rushed inside, quickly clearing the first floor of any immediate threats.

He then hid in a spot he was certain the cameras couldn’t cover and switched off the jammer.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Soon, he heard what sounded like something heavy being moved.

Then came faint footsteps and the quiet creak of a door.

Through a narrow gap in the cabinet, Leon watched several security guards move through the first floor with pistols raised, carefully searching each area.

Only after the last one had passed and disappeared did Leon open the cabinet.

Following the route they had come from, he soon found a concealed elevator hidden behind a bookshelf.

Unfortunately, activating it required a passcode.

Leon had a bad feeling.

Don’t tell me I’m going to have to solve a puzzle.

“…Hunnigan, I’m sending you the data. Crack the passcode for me. Fast.”

“Understood. Go ahead.”

Leon pulled a prepared data cable from his pouch, removed the upper panel of the keypad, and exposed the ribbon cable inside.

After connecting the cable, he tapped the transfer button on his phone.

“…I’ve got the data.

Six-digit passcode. This is going to take a little time.”

Leon watched lines of code flash across the phone screen, then shifted his gaze toward the doorway.

“Don’t worry. The decoy is already in place.”

He pulled out his spare phone, entered a number, and immediately pressed Call.