Chapter 129: The Deal with the Doctor
In Raccoon City,
a helicopter flew low overhead. Countless people waved their hands frantically, trying to attract attention, but their efforts were futile.
They had been abandoned from the very beginning.
Among those waving for help were members of an Umbrella Security Division tactical team. Deployed by their superiors to maintain order, they were now surrounded by infected and had no way to escape.
Their flares illuminated a small patch of darkness as they desperately signaled, hoping to draw the helicopter's attention, but it was destined to fail.
"Where are they going?"
"They're landing over there, let's move!"
The tactical team members clung to a last glimmer of hope—perhaps the helicopter hadn't seen them? As they headed toward the helicopter's landing site for help, the aircraft arrived at its destination and airdropped two large metal containers.
The team members following behind watched as the helicopter dropped its cargo and then departed without a moment's hesitation.
"No! Don't leave! We're here!" They were still waving desperately.
"They dropped something."
"Maybe it's a radio."
Soon, the group reached the airdropped supplies and pried open the containers.
"What is this?"
"Looks like weapons!"
"We don't need weapons!" An exasperated team member kicked the container angrily.
"This doesn't seem meant for us..." They sensed something dangerous was about to happen and decided to leave quickly.
Moments later, a massive figure arrived and retrieved the weapons.
It was Matt, the environmental activist who had been with Jake at the Hive. After being captured by Umbrella Corporation, he was injected with the T-virus, but unlike Alice's successful evolution, he had taken a completely different, monstrous path.
His skull had been surgically modified and a control device implanted inside. Umbrella Corporation operators controlled his actions remotely. Matt was essentially dead; what remained was merely a bio-weapon—the Nemesis.
Picking up a weapon from one container, it turned and left, seemingly uninterested in the contents of the other.
However, at that moment, another figure appeared!
Clearly another Nemesis unit!
The timeline had diverged; two Nemesis specimens had been deployed! This newly appeared Nemesis was none other than Kaplan, who had survived due to the changes Jake had made to events!
The two Nemesis units split up, wielding heavy weapons, and began systematically eliminating any remaining armed resistance in the city.
The other side of the city was much quieter.
Jake, Alice, and the others walked through the deserted streets.
Suddenly, a phone rang in a nearby booth, but no one paid attention, and no one bothered to answer it.
It might have been a malfunction, or something else; the ringing phone would attract infected, so the group immediately moved on.
This phone call was the reason Jake had returned to the Resident Evil world. He wanted to recruit the creator of the T-virus to work for him. Actively contacting them wasn't realistic, so waiting for them to reach out to him here was much simpler.
The remaining armed forces in Raccoon City were being eliminated one by one to serve as test subjects for the Nemesis units, so Jake wasn't worried about the doctor not seeking help.
However, Jake didn't answer the phone. Like Alice, he ignored it. Was he going to rush over and grab it like a desperate person? Without maintaining the proper leverage, the negotiation wouldn't go well.
The group quickened their pace. Thanks to the Red Queen, Jake had obtained a complete map of Raccoon City, so he intentionally guided them toward a nearby elementary school to expedite their next move.
The phone rang wherever they went.
Alice, unable to bear the persistence any longer, finally answered.
Dr. Charles Ashford, who had been calling continuously, finally breathed a sigh of relief; his daughter might be saved.
After connecting, Alice spoke with him briefly.
She covered the phone with her hand, turned to Jake, and asked, "Can you still use that ability?"
Jake knew what she meant: dimensional travel. If he could really teleport at will, he would have already found the professor and negotiated directly. Why would he use such a roundabout method?
"That ability has limitations," Jake shook his head. "It doesn't work on living things. I haven't mastered transporting living beings yet."
This was something he made up on the spot, but Alice nodded. She believed Jake wouldn't lie to her.
Otherwise, he should have just transported them out of the Hive instead of working so hard as their protector, and he certainly wouldn't have fought the Lickers.
"He's Dr. Ashford, head of genetics and virology research at Umbrella Corporation."
"What does he want us to do?"
"Rescue his daughter, Angela. She's trapped in the city. Umbrella was going to evacuate her, but couldn't reach her. She's hiding in a school now."
"If we find her, he'll help us escape." Alice said, looking at Jake, waiting for his decision.
"Impossible," Peyton disagreed. "We should find somewhere with strong walls and secure doors, barricade ourselves inside, and wait for rescue."
Terri, standing nearby, quickly nodded in agreement.
"No one's coming," Alice said flatly. "Umbrella Corporation knows they can't contain the outbreak, so Raccoon City will be completely sanitized at sunrise."
"What do you mean by 'sanitized'?" Terri seemed to understand the implication, but was hesitant to believe it.
"A tactical nuclear strike."
"How powerful?"
"Equivalent to five kilotons."
After this revelation, everyone fell silent. They realized they had no real choice.
"What does that mean?" Only Terri didn't fully grasp the implications.
"It means they'll completely stop the viral spread...and destroy all evidence."
"Bullshit! That's complete bullshit!" Peyton roared, cursing Umbrella Corporation. "They won't get away with this."
"They'll blame it on a meltdown at the nuclear power plant," Alice crushed Peyton's last hope, and the large man seemed drained of all strength.
So, only one option remained: find the little girl Angela and secure their chance to escape.
The group hurried on, moving at almost a jog, when suddenly a burst of heavy machine gun fire erupted as they crossed an overpass!
A massive figure in the distance was wielding a custom-made Gatling gun, firing directly at them!
Alice instantly sensed lethal danger.
She leaped off the overpass, shouting to the group, "Run!"
Clearly, this woman intended to buy time for the others with her own life.
Jake wasn't entirely confident he could defeat a Nemesis unit alone, but Alice, whose T-virus enhanced abilities were rapidly developing, might be able to.
Of course, he also wanted to team up with Alice to take it down, but she had other plans. In the blink of an eye, the two split off in different directions.
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