The next day, Andrey drove his team by jeep to the Raccoon City Police Department.
Chief Irons once again came out to receive him personally.
This time, however, they were here for an operation, so Andrey had no interest in exchanging pleasantries.
He asked directly about the current plan.
“We’ve assigned both the S.T.A.R.S.
Alpha and Bravo Teams to operate with you.
I’m entrusting their safety to you.”
Even Irons had to treat Andrey with courtesy.
They belonged to different command structures, but Andrey’s standing, connections, and overall influence were far beyond those of a mere police chief in Raccoon City.
No matter how much Irons disliked it, he had to humble himself.
Andrey was not someone he could afford to offend—even though Andrey himself did not particularly care.
“Sir, it’s a pleasure to meet you.
I’m Chris Redfield.
I’ve met your son, Li Yun.”
Chris extended his hand.
Andrey smiled and shook it, then told him they could talk on the way.
Right now, they had a mission to perform.
Chris nodded and boarded the helicopter with the others.
Andrey continued toward the forest outside Raccoon City by jeep.
The groups would rendezvous there and conduct the search together.
He calculated the available manpower.
The two S.T.A.R.S.
teams plus his own personnel gave them seventeen people for the inspection.
Andrey checked the twin Desert Eagles on his gear once more.
He was extremely wary of this mission.
Whatever was happening here might involve an entirely different virus from Rex’s Z-Virus, which meant there was no telling what kinds of enemies they might face.
[As long as it’s made of flesh and blood, human firepower can put it down.
If it doesn’t go down, that only means we haven’t brought enough firepower.]
After reaching the rendezvous point, all seventeen gathered together.
Andrey decided to leave part of the force behind to guard their vehicles and aircraft, ensuring that if they needed to retreat, they would not have to do it on foot.
“John, Albert, Barry, Chris, Jill, Rebecca, Richard, Kenneth Sullivan, and Enrico—you’re with me.
Everyone else stays here and secures the vehicles and helicopter.”
John was one of Andrey’s own men.
The rest were personnel he selected from S.T.A.R.S.
Alpha and Bravo Teams.
Together they would form the group responsible for the search.
Ten people would carry out the inspection while seven stayed behind to guard the vehicles.
That balance seemed about right.
Since Andrey held overall command of the operation, nobody objected.
The arrangement was genuinely reasonable, although some thought he was being overly cautious.
Two or three people should have been enough to stop tourists or drifters from stealing or tampering with their vehicles. Get faster updates on g.com.
Leaving seven seemed excessive.
Then Andrey did something even more outrageous.
In full view of everyone, he opened the tarp over the rear of his jeep and began assembling his signature SVD Custom.
By the time the enormous rifle was fully assembled, most of S.T.A.R.S.
was staring.
Chris and Albert were exceptions.
Chris’s reaction was basically: holy shit, that is awesome.
A man ought to use a gun that big.
Andrey loaded three additional magazines onto his gear.
He had prepared eighty rounds for the SVD Custom alone, never mind his pistol ammunition.
John was also carrying three rifle grenades for him.
Andrey genuinely felt confident now.
Whatever they encountered, he would simply drown it in firepower.
Even if the enemy was a steel plate, he would turn it into iron shavings.
Albert’s gaze sharpened.
At Andrey’s age, he could still maintain this kind of physical condition?
Impressive…
“Sir…
are we really just going into the mountains for an inspection?” The younger Richard stared at Andrey’s equipment and had no idea how to describe it.
This did not look like a man preparing to inspect a forest.
It looked like he was going to war.
Andrey told him that if it really was nothing more than an inspection, they should thank God.
In that case, they could find a decent bar in Raccoon City that evening, have a couple of drinks, then collapse into bed and sleep like the dead.
“Everyone check your weapons.
Report ammunition counts.
Set your radios to the common channel.”
They followed his instructions.
Then Andrey looked at the S.T.A.R.S.
officers and, for the first time, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
Most of them were carrying nothing but M92FS pistols.
Richard alone had brought a Remington shotgun, while Barry carried a large-caliber revolver.
Everyone else really had shown up with just a handgun…
Well, Chris and Jill were slightly better.
They had each brought three extra magazines.
Most of the others had only two spares; Chris and Jill had five apiece.
“What?
Nobody told you to bring submachine guns or assault rifles?
If these idiots told him they had under-equipped because it was ‘only an inspection,’ he would kick every one of them straight back to the station.
Better to get cursed at than sent to their deaths.
That was Andrey’s view.
But the officers shook their heads.
No one had actually told them to bring heavier weapons.
They really had believed this was only an inspection and that handguns would be enough.
True, the Arklay Mountains and surrounding areas had recently seen a string of bizarre attacks attributed to a group of roughly ten people—nine brutal murders involving killing and cannibalism, plus five missing-person cases.
But the recovered bodies showed virtually no gunshot wounds.
The group clearly did not possess firearms.
S.T.A.R.S.
had therefore assumed their current weapons would be sufficient.
Against ordinary lunatics, they should have been able to shoot them down before they ever got close.
Andrey’s eyes narrowed.
Victor was not the type to neglect preparation.
He absolutely would have warned the Raccoon City Police Department somehow.
He might not reveal the exact objective, but he would certainly tell them to bring sufficient equipment.
Which meant someone had intercepted Victor’s warning—or deliberately concealed it.
Police Chief Irons?
But why?
Andrey grew even more vigilant.
This was not a simple situation.
Not remotely simple.
“All right.
Once we’re moving, maintain proper spacing and don’t drift too far apart.
We’ll continue deeper into the area.
If we find nothing, we withdraw before sunset.”
Andrey had no intention of operating after dark.
A night mission in mountains and dense forest was too dangerous.
Even he considered that irresponsible with the personnel he had.
Especially because he understood better than anyone here what they might be facing.
There was no chance he would rush blindly forward or indulge in reckless heroics.
“Move.
Chris and Richard on point.
John and I take center.
Albert and Enrico cover left and right.
Rebecca, Jill, Kenneth, and Barry guard the rear.
Keep your intervals and advance.”
The ten-person group entered the forest and moved toward the Arklay Mountains.