The two took a few steps inside, and the motion-sensor lights flicked on.
It looked like an office.
There was no sign of Claire.
She really was bold, running off that quickly.
Alan Han pointed at the nearby elevator.
Leon nodded.
When it came back up, the two stepped inside together.
Leon pressed the down button, and the elevator started moving.
Before they could say anything, it had already reached the bottom.
As soon as they stepped out, they found a descending spiral staircase.
Instead of going all the way down, they turned off midway.
Halfway through, a strange screech echoed from above.
It wasn’t quite like a zombie, but it was just as unsettling.
“What was that?”
Leon looked up but didn’t see anything, so he kept moving forward.
…
Two minutes earlier.
Claire didn’t wait for them and went ahead on her own.
Suddenly, she heard light footsteps above her, mixed with labored breathing.
Looking up, she saw a small figure dart past.
“Hey?
Hey!”
Claire called out a few times, but the footsteps didn’t stop.
She tightened her grip on her gun and kept moving forward.
Seeing a toppled cabinet ahead, she holstered her weapon and tried to push it aside.
“Ugh…!”
“I can’t move it.”
Claire gave up.
Suddenly, a shadow shot out from behind the cabinet to the left, followed by the sound of something being knocked over.
Claire quickly aimed her flashlight in that direction.
Looking closer, it was a little girl?
“Hey…
it’s okay.
I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
Claire softened her voice, gently reassuring the frightened girl.
“Do you need help?
Come on, take my hand.”
The little girl looked at her timidly but didn’t reach out right away.
“Will you help me find my mom?”
Claire paused.
“…Is your mom here?”
“I think so…
I hope she is.”
“Okay.
No problem.
I’ll help you find her.”
A small smile appeared on the girl’s face as she took Claire’s hand.
“Claire!
Huh?
Why is there a little girl?”
Leon spotted Claire running over, with Alan Han right behind him.
“Leon!
Um, she was hiding behind that cabinet, so I brought her out.
She’s probably a survivor.”
“Hey there, I’m Alan Han.
What’s your name?”
Alan Han crouched beside Sherry and gently patted her head.
Looking at Alan Han, Sherry seemed less afraid.
So much for “completely non-threatening college student.” Though Claire fits that description too.
“Um…
my name is Sherry.”
“Sherry, that’s a beautiful name.
Come here, let me give you a hug.”
Claire picked Sherry up.
Seeing this, Leon turned his attention to the overturned cabinet.
“Looks like something dangerous was behind it.”
“Alan, give me a hand.”
Alan Han hurried over.
After bracing themselves, the two worked together to move the cabinet aside.
Alan Han: Why do I suddenly feel a chill down my back…
The next second, a clearly mutated zombie dropped down from above.
Its face hadn’t fully transformed yet, still showing a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
“Ugh…
what?
No!”
Leon was immediately grabbed by the neck.
Alan Han fired four or five shots at the zombie’s head, but it did nothing.
The creature went berserk, slamming Leon to the ground and knocking Alan Han down in the process.
“Ugh.
Raaagh!”
It lifted Leon up and smashed him down again and again, bending the metal grating beneath them out of shape.
With a deafening crash, both Leon and the monster fell through.
Luckily, there was still a path below.
“Leon!
Are you okay?”
Alan Han and Claire leaned over the edge, watching Leon gasp for air beside the monster.
“I’m…
fine.
This thing just doesn’t play fair.”
Leon rubbed his chest.
(So his back is completely fine?
Alan Han was stunned.)
The two above let out a sigh of relief.
Good.
Leon was just as tough as in the original story.
The monster got back up and moved to attack Leon again.
“Leon, catch!”
Alan Han threw the shotgun from his back down to him.
It was hard for him to shoot from above anyway.
Leon caught it and fired straight at the creature.
When the muzzle flash faded, he saw that aside from some splattered flesh, it was completely unharmed.
Then the eye on its shoulder suddenly opened.
Leon immediately raised the shotgun and blasted it repeatedly.
Hot shell casings clattered down, mixed with flashes of orange fire.
Seeing how close Leon was, Claire set aside her grenade launcher, drew her revolver, and fired a few well-timed shots.
The monster roared in pain and lunged at Leon as he reloaded.
He had no choice but to retreat.
Watching him pull back, Alan Han carefully jumped down, drew his pistol, and rushed over.
Claire picked Sherry up again.
“Sherry, do you know where that passage behind the cabinet leads?”
…
Following the sound of gunfire, Alan Han rushed over, only to see Leon nearly trapped against a railing.
Behind him was a bottomless drop.
“Leon!”
Alan Han aimed at the monster’s head and fired rapidly.
9mm rounds slammed into its skull, with a few hitting its neck.
The impact threw it off balance, and Leon seized the chance to roll through a gap and escape.
Only then did Alan Han relax, joining Leon in targeting the eye on the monster’s right shoulder.
Just as they were about to run out of ammo, Leon had already drawn his knife, ready for close combat.
Then, like a relapse, the monster suddenly staggered and fell into the abyss beyond the railing.
The two walked over to look down.
Leon let out a breath, but Alan Han didn’t relax.
After all, in Resident Evil, falling into an abyss is basically a buff.
“Leon, are you okay?”
Alan Han patted him all over, especially his back.
“Of course.
I’m not that easy to hurt.”
Leon rubbed his chest.
“Though the stuff inside my vest is digging into me a bit.”
Suddenly, a ladder dropped down behind them.
Leon and Alan Han turned around.
“Someone’s been watching us.”
“Leon!”
Claire appeared at the top of the ladder.
“Claire?
Did you lower that ladder?”
“No, I just got here.
What’s wrong?”
Leon frowned.
“Let’s loot the area first.
We were too busy dealing with that thing earlier.”
Leon nodded.
Instead of heading up right away, he quickly searched the area, replenishing his shotgun ammo and finding two grenades.
Afterward, they climbed up and regrouped with Claire, searching the surroundings again.
Leon then took out the herbs he’d stuffed into his vest and chewed on them.
Alan Han glanced at the lump of green and red in his hand.
Truly incredible.
Judging by his expression, it didn’t even taste bad.
“Han, thanks for earlier.”
After finishing the herbs, Leon felt the tightness in his chest ease and thanked Alan Han.
If he hadn’t shown up in time, I might’ve been knocked over the railing.
“Don’t mention it.
You still have to follow Marvin’s orders and escort this ordinary citizen to safety.”
They looked at each other and both burst out laughing.
“But the way you rushed in with a gun doesn’t look very ‘ordinary citizen.'”
Claire, chatting with the little girl, glanced at the two men.
“Sometimes, men are really easy to understand.”
After a short rest, the three adults and the child headed upstairs to a control room.
They saw an overhead crane and a suspended wire bridge.
Leon flipped the switch on the control panel.
With a mechanical rumble, the bridge moved into place, forming a path.
They quickly crossed and entered another room.
Inside a cabinet, they found a hip pouch.
Leon picked it up and handed it to Alan Han.
“Don’t give it back this time.
In a situation like before, you were a big help.
Having a hip pouch won’t hurt.”
“I agree.
Han, stop putting yourself down.”
Alan Han was silent for a moment, then accepted it and fastened it to his waist.
After organizing their gear, they looked at a nearby ladder, exchanged a glance, and climbed up one by one.
Leon pushed open the hatch at the top.
It led to what looked like a parking garage, and it seemed safe.
He climbed up, then turned back and pulled Alan Han up.
Though he hesitated for a moment, he accepted Leon’s help.
If I’m the third wheel, then so be it.
At least Claire’s here with me.
Once up, they headed toward the exit, but there was a card reader by the door.
“Damn it.
No key card.”
Just then, footsteps sounded from behind.
Leon and Alan Han turned to see two zombie dogs closing in.
“Seriously, can’t I catch a break?”
In an instant, the dogs lunged.
Leon was knocked flat, his pistol sent flying.
Alan Han, though prepared, was still tackled, though he managed to keep hold of his gun.
Claire shielded Sherry and backed away, drawing her weapon.
But seeing the two struggling, she hesitated, afraid of hitting them.
A gunshot rang out.
Alan Han, already getting used to it, smelled the gunpowder as he kept his sights on the dog that had released him.
Once it stopped moving, he kicked it aside.
His side was dealt with, but Leon was still pinned.
The dog clamped onto his chest, refusing to let go.
Yeah…
good buddy, huh?
Can’t ruin the moment, so…
“Damn it!
Leon, it won’t stay still.
It’s too close to you.
My aim’s not good.
I can’t help you!”
Hidden in the shadows, Ada Wong had originally planned to stay out of it, seeing Leon already had help.
But hearing that, she froze for a second before stepping in, shooting the dog off Leon with a precise headshot.
A distant gunshot echoed, and blood burst from the dog’s temple.
“…Who’s there?”
“Stay sharp.”
Leon immediately grabbed his gun and finished off the other dog with a shot to the head.
The sound of high heels approached.
Leon raised his gun, wary and confused, aiming at Ada Wong as she stepped closer.
Alan Han, though already knowing who she was, still played along and aimed as well.
Claire, seeing Sherry had calmed down, also looked over.
“Lower your weapons.”
Ada Wong took out an FBI badge.
“Federal Investigator.”