RE - Chapter 350: The Ruins (Patreon)

“Sorry. I misunderstood you earlier.”

“It’s fine.”

Sam helped Alyssa carry the luggage from the doorway into the apartment, then picked up the magazine and loose round from the floor.

“I hope you... enjoy your stay.”

With that, Sam turned and left.

Alyssa set her briefcase on the sofa and stared at the doorway, muttering to herself.

“What a... strange kid.”

Enjoy your stay?

That was not a phrase she would have thought of anytime soon.

Once everything had settled down, Alyssa turned toward Grace Ashcroft.

Grace sat obediently on the sofa. She was still frightened from time to time, but curiosity kept drawing her eyes back to the stain on the ceiling.

Alyssa ruffled her hair.

“You really are timid.”

“Mm.”

“...Forget it. Being a little timid is probably better. At least you’re less likely to get kidnapped.”

After patting Grace on the head, Alyssa got up and started unpacking.

As for the boy from earlier...

He was young, but far more composed than she had expected.

She could not help wondering what his parents were like, and how they had raised him.

Unlike her... She had dragged Grace all over the place, yet somehow still managed to raise her into such a socially anxious child.

Wasn’t a child supposed to grow up by watching their parents?

...

“Achoo!”

Raymond took a step back and stared at Krauser without expression.

“Sorry... Mm. Might’ve caught a chill.”

“It’s fine.”

Krauser grabbed the canteen beside him, took a long drink, then slowly turned toward Raymond.

“Here for the handoff? I didn’t receive any orders.”

“For confidentiality reasons, the orders are delivered face-to-face.”

Krauser took another drink, then lowered the canteen to his side.

He wiped the corner of his mouth with his free hand and gave Raymond a faint, humorless smile.

“You think I’m stupid?”

The canteen suddenly flew straight at Raymond’s face. He immediately stepped back, but Krauser’s leg was already in the air.

A heavy kick slammed squarely into Raymond’s abdomen.

“Urgh!”

Clutching his stomach, Raymond slowly folded to the floor, veins standing out across his face as one baffled thought crossed his mind.

How did a guard know how to fight like this?

I let my guard down. I didn’t dodge.

Krauser stepped forward and effortlessly dislocated the joints in all four of Raymond’s limbs, then did the same to his jaw.

“Tricell really has lost its mind, huh? No plan at all. Just charging straight in.”

Krauser carried Raymond inside and tossed him into a corner without the slightest gentleness.

Only then did Raymond notice two or three other people already lying there.

Krauser bent down, picked up his canteen, and returned to his seat.

If there was one thing he had guessed wrong, it was that none of these people had come to rescue Excella.

They had come to kill her.

...

“Bravo Six calling HQ, requesting fire support!”

“Request acknowledged. Mark your position and clear the strike zone.”

“Coordinates: 14°30′N, 4°15′W.”

“Copy. Stand by.”

Price turned toward the others. “Clear the area! Find cover from the air strike!”

“Copy!” xN

Before long, the silhouette of an A-10 Thunderbolt II appeared on the distant horizon.

The familiar low roar of its engines rapidly grew louder.

Then bright flashes erupted from the aircraft, and thin, almost laser-like streams tore toward the ground.

The BOWs below barely had time to react before the cannon rounds ripped straight through them.

Dirt exploded several meters into the air, mixed with shredded flesh and splintered bone, then crashed back down.

Only after the blood mist had filled the air did the sound of the cannon finally reach them.

Like a thunderclap of divine fury, the barrage swept across the entire village.

As the roar echoed away, the aircraft’s engines receded into the distance, then curved back toward them from the horizon.

The same flashes.

The same thunderous roar.

And the same BOWs being blasted apart again and again.

“Targets confirmed hit. Returning to base. Happy hunting.”

“Fucking out.”

Price stepped out from behind cover and stared at the blood-soaked landscape before him.

“A different kind of rest, I suppose.”

Hearing that, Ghost slowly shook his head.

“Blood for blood. That’s the only thing I believe in.”

Price said nothing more and opened the comm channel.

“Calling Eagle. Village cleared. Preparing to move to the next location.”

“Copy. Hold your position. We’re on our way.”

“...Calling HQ. Village cleared. All inhabitants confirmed infected. Requesting support.”

“HQ copies.”

“Out.”

Price lowered his hand and slowly surveyed the surroundings.

“This tribe covers a ridiculous amount of ground.”

“Yeah... I can see more islands like this beyond the swamp.”

“Good thing we got more out of Excella during the follow-up interrogation. Otherwise, this would’ve taken a lot more work. We might even have had to deal with those things.”

At that, everyone looked toward the swamp and spotted dark shapes slowly moving through the water from time to time.

“Crocodiles? I heard some people call them swamp puppies.”

“Really?”

“Maybe. Some people think they’re cute.”

“Hell, it really is a big world. You see everything eventually.”

...

One hour later.

A helicopter swept rapidly over the oil field.

The flames pouring from the oil tanks bent wildly beneath the rotor wash, then slowly settled again after it passed.

Alan looked down at the mutated villagers wandering through the oil field and sighed, though he also felt a little relieved.

At least he would not have to fight his way from one end of the village to the other himself.

“Alan, I have a feeling Wesker’s about to make his move.”

Alan nodded. He had been worried about the same thing.

The sooner the international community learned the truth, the sooner Tricell could be brought down.

But that also meant Wesker would inevitably learn what was happening.

“He probably won’t care about these ruins. What he wants most is the Uroboros Virus.”

“And you’ve been carrying the Uroboros Virus this whole time, right?”

Alan lightly patted his chest, confirming Chris was right.

“It’s been on me the whole time. If he wants it, he knows the rules.”

“...We’re here, everyone!”

The conversation ended immediately.

Alan opened the cabin door and looked down at Price and his team, who had already established a temporary camp below.

“Let’s go. The sooner we finish this trip, the better.”

The three rappelled from the helicopter. Alan landed first and raised a hand in greeting toward Price.

“We were about to fall asleep waiting for you.”

“Sorry. Traffic was a little rough.”

“Oh? That doesn’t sound like good news.”

Price glanced at the clear blue sky and shrugged.

With the jokes out of the way, Price quickly explained what his team had found to the three new arrivals.

“These ruins go down frighteningly deep. We only checked the surrounding area and already found a massive open chamber below. There are plenty of mutated creatures inside too. But...”

Price’s expression grew more serious.

“The mutated insects down there don’t seem to be infected with the same virus as the villagers.”

“That’s why we didn’t go straight in. There may be things underground that we can’t even imagine.”