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"Be careful!!"
Looking at the mine shaft in front of them, which, despite having a light every few meters, was still not very bright, Leon pointed to the palm-sized, but exceptionally bright, flashlight in his hand and whispered a reminder, "We only have this one light source right now, so when we go inside later, be careful not to get too far apart…"
"Understood."
The two then cautiously proceeded deeper into the mine along the tracks on the ground.
The journey was not entirely peaceful, as the two successively encountered several miner infected.
However, unlike the infected on the surface who would die after being shot in the head, these infected in the mine would not die immediately after their heads were blown off by bullets; instead, a huge tentacle covered in bone spurs and insect-like arthropod prolegs would shoot out from the exploded wound in their heads.
Only by using bullets to sever the connection between the tentacle and the neck would these special infected truly die.
Leon breathed a slight sigh of relief at the sight, thankful it wasn't the variant that could release a dark green poisonous mist.
Otherwise, he really didn't know if the simple gas masks he and Sheva Alomar were wearing would work in such a confined space.
But at the same time, this also reinforced his previous conjecture.
These Plaga Parasites appearing in the Kijuju Autonomous Region must have undergone some special modification, making them more advanced and dangerous than the ones he had encountered in a small village in Spain.
Thus, the two walked for over half an hour in the underground mine before finally taking an elevator to the surface, successfully arriving at the interior of the mining area.
"Leon, the target should be in that building."
Sheva Alomar was the first to take off her gas mask, hanging it on her waist, then pointed to a two-story building not far from them and said to Leon, "That used to be the office for the entire mining area, and the sanitary conditions are much better than other buildings… If Ricardo Elvin is here, he would definitely choose to stay there."
"Alright, let's go."
The two then cautiously approached the small building, checked it, and found no target on the first floor, so they went up to the second floor using the external staircase.
Bang—
Leon kicked the door hard, and it swung open, startling a middle-aged man inside, who was wearing an expensive yellow suit and frantically tidying up documents and accounts, by the sudden noise from the doorway.
But before he could react, he saw Leon and Sheva Alomar entering with guns drawn.
"I suppose you must be Ricardo Elvin?" Sheva Alomar aimed her gun at his head and said in an unfriendly tone.
"Damn it, how did you track me here?"
After Ricardo Elvin clearly saw Leon's and Sheva Alomar's faces, he first froze, then seemed to lose his composure, muttering angrily, "Are all those rebels completely useless? I clearly gave them such powerful… and they couldn't even stop two BSAA agents?!"
"I warn you, don't move, or I'll shoot."
Recalling the comrades who had fallen along the way, Sheva Alomar said fiercely, "You scum who traffics in biological weapons, do you know how many innocent civilians have died because of the virus you sold… In my opinion, you are no different from those damned terrorists, and you should all be executed!"
"Oh no, you're wrong. I'm completely different from those reckless guys."
Seeing Sheva Alomar's anger, Ricardo Elvin instead calmed down, his triangular eyes darting around a few times, and he immediately said with impunity, "I am an American businessman with a legitimate identity, so… you two are currently pointing guns at an unarmed civilian. Afterward, I will definitely report you to the United Nations."
That's right, although BSAA had already uncovered Ricardo Elvin's secret identity as a bioweapons dealer, he still enjoyed the diplomatic immunity granted to him as a legitimate American businessman until he was caught red-handed.
Perhaps this is the fundamental reason why people from all countries in the World try every possible means to get an American green card.
"Legitimate businessman?" Leon sneered, "Ervine, do you really think we don't know what you've done?"
"If it weren't for you secretly providing biological weapons to those rebels in the Kijuju Autonomous Region, this place would never have devolved to its current state."
"You… you're just slandering me."
A trace of panic flashed across Ricardo Elvin's face, and he quickly retorted, "If you have evidence, show it! Otherwise, be careful, I'll hire a lawyer to sue you for defamation!"
But just as the two sides were confronting each other, several tear gas canisters were suddenly thrown in through the window.
Crash—
Hiss—
The pungent chemical gas instantly spread throughout the office, and within a few breaths, the entire office was filled with thick smoke.
The smoke successfully obscured the vision of Leon and Sheva Alomar, and the pungent gas made it impossible for them to breathe normally, causing them to bend over and cough violently on the ground.
"Sheva, quickly put on your gas mask."
Just as Leon and Sheva Alomar were putting on their gas masks, a tall figure, completely covered in a black cloak, suddenly broke through the window from outside, and as he landed, he grabbed Ricardo Elvin by the collar and jumped out the window again.
The entire process took no more than 5 seconds, with swift and decisive movements.
"Damn it!!"
Leon rushed to the window, looked out at the empty mining area where there was no sign of the two, and said somewhat angrily, "It looks like Ricardo Elvin has a very capable helper with him…"
Then he turned around and walked to the pile of documents Ricardo Elvin had been tidying, searching through them as he spoke, "But that guy fled in such a hurry, there must be some important information left behind that he didn't want us to find…"
Soon, Leon found a document in the box, and when he saw its contents, his brow furrowed unconsciously.
Sheva Alomar, who had been guarding the window with her gun, quickly walked over and asked, "What is it?"
"Sheva, take a look at this."
Leon pushed the document in his hand towards Sheva Alomar and pointed to a section that looked like a map of some location, specifically marked with a red marker, saying, "I bet there's some unknown secret here!!"
"Wait a minute, that's…"
Sheva Alomar narrowed her eyes, and after carefully looking at the location on the map, she said, "That's a private oil field, located near a swamp not too far from here. What could they be doing there?"
Leon shook his head upon hearing this, then opened his communicator to report, "Delta Team, this is Leon. We just found Ricardo Elvin, but he escaped again under the protection of a helper!"
Soon, Josh Stone's voice, who had previously supported them, came through the communicator, "Damn it, that cunning bastard… Leon, do you know where he escaped to?"
Leon thought for a moment, then immediately said, "Sheva and I guess that the other party is very likely heading to the private oil field in the swamp."
"OK, I'm sending people there to set up a perimeter now. You and Sheva also leave for outside the mine immediately. I'll have someone meet you two there… This time, no matter what, we absolutely cannot let that bastard escape again!!"
"Received" x2
After ending the call, Leon and Sheva Alomar first scavenged for weapons and ammunition in the office, then walked along the winding mountain road within the mining area towards the outside.
However, due to the loud commotion they had caused in the office, a large number of miners had already been attracted within the mining area.
Although these miners still maintained a human form, it was not difficult to discern from their unusually violent roars that they were all infected by the Plaga Parasite.
Bang bang bang—
Leon accurately shot and blew up several infected who charged at them with crude weapons like shovels and pickaxes, and while running forward, he said to Sheva Alomar, who was following closely behind him, "There are too many of them. Be careful to conserve ammunition and reduce unnecessary shooting… Otherwise, when we get to the swamp, we'll only be able to fight Ricardo Elvin's minions with our bare hands!"
"Understood."
Sheva Alomar took two quick steps, her body surpassing Leon, and rushed onto the winding mountain road to one side, "Keep up, we'll go this way."
However, just as the two were jogging along and about to reach the top of the mine, they suddenly heard a terrifying, Beast-like roar from the deep pit below.
Immediately after, a monstrous alien creature with two pairs of blood-red wings on its back, an upper body like a bat magnified dozens of times, and a lower body like a giant maggot or caterpillar of twisted blood-red soft tissue, with a huge mouth full of sharp teeth at its tail, rapidly flew up from the bottom of the mine pit towards Leon's and Sheva Alomar's location, flapping its wings.
"WTF?!"
Sheva Alomar couldn't help but curse when she saw it, "What the hell is that thing?!"
"It should be a new type of B.O.W. (Biological Organic Weapon)."
Leon immediately pulled out the reloaded Hydra Shotgun from his back and said with a slightly relaxed tone, "I'll bet 10 U.S. dollars that this monster was definitely created by Ricardo Elvin and his associates…"
Sheva Alomar rolled her beautiful eyes upon hearing this, "Should I praise you for being brave and fearless, or for being so carefree?"
As the two spoke, the giant monster (Bat-Winged Bug), which had already flown to the top of the mine, flapped its wings and swooped down from mid-air.
Bang—!!!
Leon and Sheva Alomar seized the opportunity and lunged to the side, and the huge monster directly crashed into the stone wall behind them, instantly dizzying its head.
"Shoot for the head and abdomen."
Leon grabbed the Hydra Shotgun, aimed at the monster's large head, and repeatedly pulled the trigger.
Clang clang clang—!!!
Accompanied by a series of explosion-like roars, powerful slugs directly shattered more than half of the monster's head.
Sheva Alomar took the opportunity to empty the magazine of her MP5 Submachine Gun into the monster's soft abdomen, and pungent, foul-smelling yellowish-green blood splattered out, a truly disgusting sight.
"Roar…"
The giant monster couldn't help but let out a series of shrill screams, then twisted its huge body and rolled down from the edge of the winding mountain path.
From its appearance to its exit, the entire process lasted only a few minutes, yet it failed to cause any harm to Leon and Sheva Alomar.
"Phew…"
Sheva Alomar supported her thighs with her hands, bending over and gasping for breath, looking at Leon, whose expression was normal, and said with emotion, "It's truly incredible that you've dealt with this kind of monster several times before and still managed to get out unscathed?!"
"Maybe I'm just lucky?"
Leon said humbly, then looked at the increasing number of infected below the mine pit and reminded, "We need to leave quickly, they're about to catch up."
Beep beep~~
Just then, a modified military Humvee suddenly drove up the winding mountain road in the distance, and the camouflage-clad driver poked his head out of the car window, shouting loudly to Leon and Sheva Alomar, "Sheva, Leon, get in the car quickly!!"
"It's Dave…"
Sheva Alomar quickly said, "He's a member of Delta Team, let's get in the car quickly."
Leon nodded, and the two quickly jogged to the Humvee.
Then, with a roar of the engine, the Humvee rushed out of the mine and onto a plain.
"I never thought that guy would be so cunning."
The driver, Dave John, said while driving, "I've been hearing Ricardo Elvin's name a lot lately. That guy is simply a cunning villain. Captain Josh has always wanted to catch him with evidence of his crimes and personally send him to prison, but every time he has successfully escaped."
Sheva Alomar reached out and patted his shoulder, saying with certainty, "Don't worry, this time we will definitely catch him."
Then she opened her communicator and began to report the situation, "Sheva calling headquarters, respond if you receive… "
Before long, a reply came through the communicator, "This is headquarters, Sheva, what's the situation with you and Leon?"
"Ricardo Elvin has very likely escaped to the swamp oil field. Leon and I are currently heading there to rendezvous with Delta Team and conduct a new round of apprehension of Ricardo Elvin."
"Understood, please be careful."
And while Sheva Alomar was reporting to headquarters, Leon seemed to sense something, suddenly looked into the rearview mirror, then his expression changed, and he somewhat speechlessly reminded, "Ah… Look, our friend is catching up again!"