“How can that possibly be okay?
I don’t want you to end up resenting me.
I have to compensate you—come with me.
I’ll pay you back with a cup of coffee and a new shirt.” The blond woman seemed a bit unwilling to let it go, insisting on compensation.
“Forget it.
You think this is some expensive brand?” Eddie waved his hand.
“This is a twenty-yuan street-stall special.
Get lost, alright?
I’m going to see someone.
Don’t go crazy—move aside!”
Even though the woman in front of him was stunning—your classic capable, sharp, professional beauty—he still couldn’t be bothered.
But Eddie knew perfectly well that this woman wasn’t some random city socialite.
She was Party Girl, the surveillance operative of Echo Six, Sienna Fowler!
A young beauty who was a frequent guest at upper-class gatherings, and also a deeply buried spy—so deep that even the military didn’t know who she was truly working for.
A gorgeous spy like that was not someone you casually “get along with.” Eddie wasn’t going to end up like that Executive Training School director John—getting played into one-sided lovesickness just because he exchanged a few letters with Ada Wong.
That kind of stupidity, and he still dared call himself a “successful person”?
“Give me a break.
If you don’t let go right now, I’m calling the police,” Eddie snorted as he started walking away.
“You’re insane.
If you’re sick, go to the hospital.
If you’re not sick, then let go.
Walk straight ahead, cross two traffic lights, turn left—there’s a matchmaking agency.
Go try your luck there.”
Sienna was so angry she laughed.
She’d planned to use Eddie to find the map to the underground research facility in Raccoon City, and now it looked like the mission would be difficult!
Funny enough, she refused to believe there was any target she couldn’t take down.
Upper-class elites, corporate sharks—she’d spun them all around her finger.
“Sienna, your flirt attempt failed!” From a rooftop, Echo Six’s recon operative Willow (Caroline Floyd) watched through binoculars.
She was one of the few with Native ancestry, exceptionally skilled in close combat.
Years of anti-drug work along the border—fights of blood and fire—had made her viciously tough.
“This was just an accident,” Sienna huffed, her mood turning sour.
“We still have other ways in.”
“You think I don’t understand anything?
Stupid woman!” Eddie felt leisurely and self-satisfied.
With a freshly bought casual outfit and a cup of coffee in hand, he sipped as he walked, soon arriving at Jill’s apartment building.
Right at the corner—thud!
Another collision.
Eddie was knocked a step back, and a pained cry sounded out.
A young girl with short chestnut-brown hair tumbled to the ground. Get faster updates on g.com.
Jill hurried over, pulling the girl up.
“Rebecca, are you alright?
Eddie—why are you here?”
This sweet-looking woman was actually Rebecca!
Bravo Team’s medic—the youngest of them all, and a true genius.
She’d graduated university at eighteen, and thanks to her outstanding grades in medicine and pharmacology, had successfully joined S.T.A.R.S.
“Ow, that hurt a bit.” Rebecca rubbed where she’d fallen, still smiling sweetly.
“Are you okay too, sir?”
“I’m fine.” Eddie extended a hand.
“Hello.
I’m Eddie—Jill’s boyfriend.”
Rebecca nodded and shook his hand with her gloved right hand.
“Hi, I’m Rebecca.
I’m a new member of S.T.A.R.S.
So you’re Jill’s boyfriend!
You really are handsome, just like they said.”
“Haha, I’m alright.” Eddie returned the compliment smoothly.
“You’re very pretty too.”
Jill sighed helplessly.
She didn’t refute Eddie’s words—fine, yes, whatever.
They’d met through a blind date, and he wasn’t bad.
Honestly, he was the kind of man you could marry.
“Alright, enough small talk.
Eddie, why are you here?”
“I came to see you,” Eddie explained.
“And to tell you something—don’t go to my place lately.
I rarely go back there myself.
My bodyguards went back for training.
And I happen to have a researcher job here in the city.
This is the villa key—if you have time, you can go on your own.”
“The Arklay Mountains are already that dangerous?” Jill took the key.
She might not use it, but it was better than nothing—and it was also a sign of trust.
“It’s better if you don’t live there.
So where are you staying now?”
“There’s lodging at the company.” Eddie smiled.
“But if you don’t mind, I can crash at your apartment for now.”
Jill rolled her eyes with full-on feminine exasperation.
“You don’t mind, but I mind.”
“Aww, you two…” Rebecca pouted playfully, then slipped away on her own.
“I’ll get going.
“That kid, honestly…” Jill shook her head.
“Fine.
Come up and sit for a while.”
Inside the apartment, Eddie had already changed into his new clothes.
The old shirt was a loss—soaked in coffee and sticky.
“Chief Brian Irons has been opposing us investigating the Arklay Mountains,” Jill said, her expression serious.
“I can tell something is being hidden there.
That weird zombie dog from last time is proof!” Jill still didn’t have a clear concept of bioweapons, and she had no idea about Umbrella’s conspiracy.
“I also hope things settle down soon,” Eddie said.
“Having a villa I can’t go back to is torture.
Jill—how’s your training lately?
If there are weird creatures in the Arklay Mountains, then there will definitely be other abnormal creatures too.
Being prepared is the most important thing.”
The plot would happen no matter what.
What Eddie needed to do was seize the chance and extract benefits.
“I understand.
I’ll be careful.” Jill smiled.
“Thank you, Eddie.
You’re really good to me.”
“Oh, right—keep the villa key safe,” Eddie added.
“There’s an off-road motorcycle in the villa, and some heavy weapons too.
They might help you.
I need to finish my current research project quickly.
Once I get a bonus, I’ll leave Raccoon City and buy a house somewhere else.
Then marry me—let’s get married!”
“T-That… isn’t that too fast?” Jill looked a little dazed.
Was this “fast pace”?
This wasn’t fast pace—this was skipping straight to the next track!
“Of course it isn’t!” Eddie pressed.
“Don’t you like me?”
Jill shook her head.
“It’s not that.
I do like you.
I’m just… not ready yet.”
“You’ll never feel ‘ready’ enough for something like this,” Eddie laughed.
“Just listen to me, and you won’t be wrong.
Dear—maybe in the future you can start calling me ‘husband,’ hahaha!”
“Stop being so full of yourself!” Jill scolded coquettishly, though she was obviously happy too.
It’s not really mandatory—I’ll eventually upload all the chapters here—but it helps a lot in supporting me and allows me to dedicate more time to it.