Huo Xiu put away the Daylight sample and prepared to leave Raccoon University.
Before going, however, he decided to give Professor Mueller one last warning.
Mueller had helped him, so Huo Xiu could at least return the favor with a few words.
Whether the professor listened was no longer his responsibility.
He had done what courtesy required.
“A word of advice, Professor Mueller.
That vaccine is valuable enough to save your life.
When the critical moment comes, don’t let curiosity get the better of you.
It may be the thing that kills you.” Whether Mueller listened was up to him.
His best chance of survival was to use Daylight as his bargaining chip and seek protection from the U.S.
military; otherwise, Umbrella would eventually find and kill him.
Huo Xiu also knew that, because today’s confrontation had ended without a real battle, Mueller would almost certainly look for another opportunity to test Thanatos.
By the time he finally activated the Tyrant for that purpose, however, it would already be too late.
With a scientist’s temperament like his, repeating the same mistake was probably unavoidable.
In that respect Mueller resembled William Birkin: both had far too much confidence—bordering on arrogance—in their own creations, and men like that often died because of it.
After leaving Raccoon University, Huo Xiu headed for the destination he had already chosen back at Laboratory Six: Kendo Gun Shop.
Robert and Joseph Kendo were among the finest gunsmiths alive.
The Samurai Edge they designed had outperformed the weapon developed by Umbrella’s own firearms division and became the standard sidearm of S.T.A.R.S.
Albert Wesker would continue using his customized Samurai Edge long afterward, which said enough about the design’s quality.
Huo Xiu had deliberately traveled without a firearm because what he wanted could not simply be taken off a shelf.
He needed something custom-built.
The weapon he envisioned would be able to switch between handgun and blade configurations.
It needed exceptional durability, a frame and grip strong enough to withstand his physical power, and a design that allowed him to exploit that power instead of constantly restraining himself.
Huo Xiu understood his greatest advantage perfectly: raw strength far beyond anything human.
A conventional pistol grip or knife handle might simply break if he squeezed too hard, leaving him no choice but to fight bare-handed.
His hand-to-hand combat was formidable, but fighting with a proper weapon was still preferable to brawling like a caveman.
The gap between an armed and unarmed combatant was real.
Against weaker enemies, Huo Xiu could overwhelm them through sheer physical superiority.
Against something on his own level—or stronger—a weapon could become the factor that decided who survived.
With that in mind, Huo Xiu stepped through the door of Kendo Gun Shop.
“Hi.
What are you looking for?” The voice was not that of a middle-aged man, but a young girl.
Must be the owner’s daughter.
She was already helping her father run the shop, which made the fate waiting for the family during the coming outbreak all the more bitter.
Huo Xiu quietly sighed.
I hope I can help them somehow.
Isn’t that why I came to Raccoon City in the first place—to keep as much of this as possible from happening again?
“I’d like to commission a custom handgun.
Is that something you can do?” He asked politely.
The moment the girl heard “custom,” she turned toward the back of the shop and called out.
“Dad!
Someone wants a custom gun!” A middle-aged man emerged from the rear room.
His gaze settled on the Umbrella emblem on Huo Xiu’s hat, and his brow tightened.
Something flickered across his face before he suppressed it and returned to business.
“Certainly.
What exactly do you want the weapon to do?
I’ll draw up a design around the functions you need, then refine it before we move on to fabrication.” There were two Kendo gun shops: one in San Francisco and one in Raccoon City.
The San Francisco shop belonged to Joseph Kendo.
Years later, in 2004, shortly before Leon S.
Kennedy traveled to Spain to rescue Ashley Graham, Joseph would personally design and build a handgun for him as a good-luck gift and a wish for Leon’s safe return.
Although the game allows the player to switch weapons, the background setting treated Joseph’s custom handgun as the weapon Leon used against nearly every major enemy of that operation aside from Saddler and Del Lago.
The Raccoon City shop, meanwhile, belonged to the man standing in front of Huo Xiu: Robert Kendo.
Robert was a friend of S.T.A.R.S.
member Barry Burton and was also on good terms with Jill Valentine; in the original course of events, Jill would even call him before evacuating.
He had personally worked on one of Barry’s custom Samurai Edge handguns.
During the Mansion Incident two months earlier, Barry’s family had been taken hostage.
They ultimately survived, but afterward Barry moved his family to Canada, outside Umbrella’s immediate reach.
Barry had revealed at least part of what had happened to his friend Robert.
He could not warn him too openly, however.
Raccoon City remained under Umbrella’s influence, and a direct accusation might place Robert and his family in even greater danger.
Robert was no fool.
After Barry’s warning, he had little reason to think kindly of Umbrella.
Still, in a city effectively controlled by the corporation, he had learned to watch what he said and how he acted.
Robert himself was not afraid to die, but he had a daughter.
He refused to ruin her life because of his own anger.
So even if the customer standing before him truly worked for Umbrella, Robert could not openly reject him or provide the company with any excuse to retaliate.
For once, he found himself hoping the man’s request would be outrageously difficult.
At least then he could charge Umbrella an equally outrageous price.
It was one of the few harmless ways he had left to vent his anger over what had happened to Barry.
“I need it to switch between a handgun and a knife.
It has to work at range and in close combat.
The materials need to be exceptionally tough and durable—strong enough to handle extreme force without breaking.
Can you do that?” Even Robert had never heard a request quite that absurd.
This went far beyond customization.
The customer was asking him to design an entirely new weapon from the ground up.
Robert doubted he could solve the problem alone.
He would probably have to call Joseph and work through the design with his brother.
Yet the sheer audacity of the request also ignited his enthusiasm as a gunsmith.
Robert immediately understood one other thing: the weapon would be expensive.
He had no idea who needed a handgun-blade hybrid built from materials capable of surviving that kind of force, but he knew perfectly well that neither the materials nor the labor would come cheap.
“I can.
Would one week work for you?” This was not a simple challenge.
Even Robert proposed a deadline longer than he normally needed.
The Samurai Edge variants he and Joseph had designed separately had each taken less than a week.
This project, even with both brothers collaborating, would require at least that long.
“That’s fine.” Huo Xiu agreed immediately.
Charging it to the company account really is wonderful.
None of the money would come from his own pocket.
The Spencer family and Umbrella could afford it.
Compared with the sums the company spent on military weapons research and the construction of research facilities, one custom firearm was pocket change.
“All right.
Could you give me your permanent address or wherever you’re staying?
Once it’s finished, I’ll personally arrange delivery.” The service was certainly good.
Huo Xiu did not expect to remain in Raccoon City for long, but he did have a temporary address.
“I’m staying at the Apple Inn.
Just leave it at the front desk and tell them it’s for Mr.
Hyp Hoffman.
They’ll notify me.” Huo Xiu knew the pickup routine well enough.
Before transmigrating, he had ordered more than his share of deliveries.
Of course, by the time the weapon was finished, Raccoon City would be in the middle of a biohazard.
Nobody’s going to steal a package during a zombie outbreak…
probably.
Then again, survivors would eventually shelter inside the Apple Inn.
If supplies were scarce, somebody might open an unattended package without thinking twice.
More importantly, once the city was sealed off, there was no guarantee a delivery could get inside at all.
Better pick it up myself when the time comes.
“Let’s exchange contact information.
Just message me when it’s ready.” The mobile phones of the era were still blocky bricks compared with twenty-first-century smartphones, but their basic performance was more than adequate.
They exchanged numbers without trouble.
“One more thing.” Huo Xiu stopped just before stepping out the door.
“That cannibal-disease outbreak in the Arklay Mountains may spill into Raccoon City soon.
Take your daughter to San Francisco.
It’s safer there, isn’t it?” With that, Huo Xiu left Kendo Gun Shop.