RE - Chapter 338: This Time, We’ve Really Got the Firepower (Patreon)

August 2008, Africa, Kobo Town.

Dust billowed across the road as an SUV tore toward the distant town, leaving a thick cloud in its wake.

Outside the windows, the blazing sun beat down on the barren yellow earth, heat shimmering all the way to the horizon.

By the time the vehicle came to a stop, they were already inside the town.

The door opened, and a wave of noise and scorching heat rushed in, instantly making anyone want to get out of the sun and find somewhere cool.

Chris looked at Jill, who was already standing outside the vehicle. He shut off the engine, opened his door, and climbed out.

As Chris stepped away, the vehicle gave a slight bounce.

“Looks like our teammate still isn’t here?”

“No. She’s here.”

Jill followed Chris’s gaze over her shoulder and immediately recognized the woman she had seen in the files.

“Jill, Chris. Welcome to Africa.”

A Black woman approached them with a smile.

“So you must be Sheva.”

“That’s right. Follow me. This isn’t a good place to talk.”

Sheva turned away, and the two followed her off the street.

As they walked through an alley, Sheva explained, “Irving was last confirmed to have appeared inside Markistan. After that, he disappeared.”

“That probably has a lot to do with the war ending. Sounds like he realized there was nothing left that could legally stop us from arresting him.”

Sheva nodded at Jill’s words.

“Ever since Price and his team found concrete evidence that BOWs were being used, the international community stepped in. The fighting was halted, the leaders of the countries involved were called into negotiations, and in the end, they were forced to agree to stop the war.”

“So no matter where Irving is hiding now, no one can legally protect him anymore.”

Chris spoke slowly.

“Which leaves illegal methods.”

“Exactly... Come on. We’re here.”

Sheva pushed open an iron door and stepped inside.

The oppressive heat immediately faded, and the group visibly relaxed.

“Hey, Chris.”

Chris looked toward the voice and was visibly surprised.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Wherever there’s a biohazard, you’ll find the two of us.”

Alan tossed bottles of water to Chris and Jill as he spoke.

Leon had been discussing the local situation with the safe house contact. Once he saw that everyone had arrived, he wrapped up the conversation.

“Chris, we’ve been waiting for you for a while.”

Jill sat down and teased Alan.

“I heard you two started moving way before we did. You even tried to catch Irving?”

“Unfortunately, he got away.”

“There were only two of us at the time. Not much we could do.”

The five of them gathered around a table.

“All right. Shall we go over what we know?”

Sheva spoke first.

“Kobo Town was one of the first places where black-market trade recovered after the war ended. That includes virus deals. We suspect Irving may be trying to rebuild his operation here.”

“It’s possible, but I think there’s a better chance this is a diversion.”

Alan took a report from inside his jacket, placed it on the table, and unfolded it.

“This is a rough record of Irving’s movements over the past month. We can use it as a reference. At the beginning of the war, he kept appearing near the capital of Markistan. But shortly before the international conference began, his trail suddenly disappeared.”

“...Wow. You even managed to get this?”

Sheva looked genuinely surprised.

She was starting to see these two federal agents in a new light.

“Money talks. The locals were pretty helpful.”

Chris studied the report before offering his own opinion.

“This tells us he’s been keeping a close watch on the situation. Or more likely, someone has been helping him.”

“Exactly. Otherwise, it’s hard to explain why his trail just happened to vanish right before the war ended.”

“Wesker?”

“Very possible. Just like we worked out earlier.”

Chris fell silent for a moment.

He was weighing the danger of the mission, along with one other thing.

“What kind of gear do we have?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Rifles, heavy weapons, we’ve got all of it.”

“Too bad you never met that merchant. If you had, you’d understand just how loaded we are.”

Chris looked puzzled.

Merchant?

Probably some arms dealer.

“Anything that can actually threaten Wesker?”

Alan pointed toward the weapons case behind Chris.

“The same thing we used to snipe him last time is in there too. At best, though, it’ll probably only keep him suppressed.”

Leon thought for a moment, then shrugged.

“I heard the BSAA has its own weapons research division. Why haven’t you guys developed anything really nasty?”

Chris and Jill exchanged helpless looks.

“It’s not that we aren’t working on things. We just haven’t developed anything especially useful yet.”

Jill gave them a quick rundown of what the lab had produced so far.

A proximity grenade that emitted sound to draw groups of zombies together before killing them.

A multifunction utility pouch that finally solved the dreaded “inventory-space crisis.”

Specialized rifle barrels designed to withstand prolonged automatic fire.

And a flash matrix that could launch itself into the air, but couldn’t distinguish friend from foe.

“...None of that sounds particularly impressive.”

“Exactly.”

Jill sighed.

“We don’t have that many specialists yet. Not many people have joined the BSAA.”

Alan found that a little disappointing.

He had been looking forward to the BSAA’s electromagnetic cannon.

But thinking about the timeline, that wouldn’t exist until 2017.

He had heard the BSAA was also preparing for a major recruitment expansion. Maybe development on that sort of equipment would begin around then.

“All right, enough chatting. Let’s assign the mission.”

Chris nodded.

“Jill and I will investigate the black market and see if we can find any leads on Irving.”

“Alan and I are planning to check the port. There are plenty of people coming and going there, and if Irving wants to leave, there’s a good chance he’ll pass through.”

Sheva looked at Chris.

“I’ll guide you. Most of the locals here have at least some connection to the black market, so try not to stand out too much.”

“Understood.”

Alan and Leon stood up and began handing the three of them the weapons they had prepared.

Chris fell silent when a grenade launcher was placed in his hands.

With this much gear, you could probably take on a small country.

Jill, on the other hand, looked very pleased with the two submachine guns she had been given.

Alan had actually wanted to hand her a flamethrower too, but she refused.

According to her, it was too heavy.

Sheva immediately took a liking to the AA-12 she was handed, though she still muttered quietly, “I’m pretty sure I said we shouldn’t attract too much attention.”

Then she was handed two large drum magazines and a backpack full of equipment.

“...Ahem. I suppose a backpack works.”

“If you want, we’ve also got guitar cases and things like that. Though around here, I feel like carrying a guitar case would make you stand out even more.”

Alan packed the RPG into a backpack.

Leon filled his own with Claymore mines and high-explosive grenades.

Jill lightly elbowed Chris in the side.

“What happened to those two?”

“...No idea. But...”

Chris looked down at the grenade launcher in his hands.

“This is exactly my kind of setup.”