"What's going on? Can that monster release poisonous mist into the surroundings, just like the 'Executioner' before?"
Sheva Alomar asked, putting on her gas mask.
"I'm not sure about that yet…"
Leon shook his head with a grave expression, then leaned into the military Humvee, replenishing his ammunition as he said in a deep voice, "However, this monster is clearly not the same type of B.O.W. as the previous 'Executioner.'"
Then he looked at the yellowish-green blood slowly evaporating on the ground. "Perhaps it's because it's nighttime now, and without sunlight, these yellowish-green bloodstains are evaporating so slowly… Otherwise, both of us would probably have died here."
"What?"
Sheva Alomar felt a chill down her spine upon hearing that, a sense of dread washing over her.
If not for the experienced Leon timely discovering the abnormality of the monster's blood, she probably wouldn't have realized it until the moment of her death.
Immediately, Sheva Alomar's gaze anxiously swept across the ubiquitous corpses of Delta Team members around her, searching for a while, but she couldn't find Captain Josh Stone's body among them, and she couldn't help but mutter worriedly,
"Old Josh, I really hope you're alright…"
Leon cautiously scanned the surroundings, and after confirming there were no lurking infected, his gaze finally fell on the increasingly dense yellowish-green poisonous mist, frowning as he said,
"Sheva, the situation has changed. You should go back quickly before things get worse!"
"What about you?"
Sheva Alomar clearly understood the meaning in Leon's words and asked with some surprise.
Leon thought for a moment and said truthfully, "I'm afraid I still have some personal matters to attend to. Thank you for your help along the way."
"Personal matters?"
Sheva Alomar's eyes widened in disbelief, assuming Leon was trying to be strong and complete the dangerous mission alone. She then raised her hand, pointing to the ubiquitous corpses around them, and urgently advised,
"Leon, look closely at our surroundings. This mission is simply not something one or two of us can accomplish. Headquarters must send more people and better equipment…"
"The most correct choice for us right now should be to quickly leave this cursed place!"
Although the two had only been together for less than a day, along the way, Sheva Alomar had already developed a deep sense of identification and reliance on Leon through numerous life-and-death crises.
So she really didn't want to see him die in this cursed place.
However, Leon shook his head slightly upon hearing this, "Sheva, you misunderstood. I came here not just to complete the mission of capturing Ricardo Elvin…"
"Leon, what are you saying?" Sheva Alomar's face showed a puzzled expression.
Seeing this, Leon knew he couldn't keep hiding it, otherwise, when the poisonous mist became denser, she wouldn't be able to leave even if she wanted to. So he bit the bullet and said,
"Earlier, I received some intelligence indicating that my two missing old partners might still be alive. At first, I didn't quite believe it, but after receiving the decrypted information from Captain Josh, I confirmed it… Chris and Jill are alive!"
"Wait a minute, are you saying… the two people in that intelligence photo?"
Sheva Alomar stared blankly at Leon, "Are you sure it's them? If I remember correctly, didn't the BSAA high command announce their deaths a long time ago?"
"No, the BSAA high command announced that to the public to evade responsibility. We always believed Chris and Jill were not dead."
Leon explained, reloading the Hydra Shotgun during a lull, "They are my old partners with whom I've been through life and death many times, so I am absolutely certain that the two people in the photo are them… And although the BSAA high command publicly declared them dead, they haven't been able to find any trace or body of them for two whole years."
Then, he changed the subject, "Sheva, thank you for your help and companionship along the way. Listen to my advice… go back. What happens next has nothing to do with you; you don't need to risk yourself for this!"
With that, he strode towards the dock in front of the swamp, minding his own business.
"Leon, wait… wait a minute."
Looking at Leon's departing back, Sheva Alomar felt a strange sensation in her heart. Then, she gritted her teeth and suddenly spoke up,
"You can't go to the oil field alone. You know nothing about the terrain there."
"It's fine."
Leon kept walking, without turning his head, and said, "I don't have much time left. I must find them… For this, I have waited for nearly two years!"
"Okay, then I'll go with you."
Sheva Alomar quickly rushed to Leon's side, and together they walked towards the small open-top speedboat docked at the pier. "All my comrades died here, and I must settle the score with the mastermind behind it!"
Leon stopped, his expression peculiar, and looked at her, saying, "Sheva, are you sure you want to do this? Just now you were planning to leave here…"
"Just now was just now, now is now."
Sheva Alomar puffed out her ample chest and said with high spirits, "Whether it's for Alpha Team or Delta Team, I can't leave like this, looking so disheveled!"
Leon's brows furrowed unconsciously, wanting to persuade her further, but he saw that the village behind them was already enveloped in a large expanse of yellowish-green poisonous mist, with faint, non-human whispers coming from within, all revealing an eerie and dangerous atmosphere. So he could only nod helplessly,
"You've made up your mind. From now on, there will be no more orders from headquarters, only the two of us."
"Of course."
Sheva Alomar shook her pistol and looked into Leon's eyes with a serious expression, "We are partners, and we have been from the very beginning… So, let's go!"
"Alright then."
Leon didn't say much else. The two then boarded the speedboat and, using the bright moonlight and the boat's searchlight, began their journey towards the oil field deep within the swamp.
"Can you tell me what happened to Chris and Jill?" During the journey, apparently unable to bear the quiet surroundings, Sheva Alomar was the first to ask.
Clearly, although she had never met Chris and Jill, she had long heard of their deeds.
After all, like Leon, they were among the 'Initial Eleven' who established the BSAA.
Branch Agents like her loved to discuss and uncover the history of the BSAA's early days.
"I was on an overseas mission in Europe at the time, so I'm not entirely clear about the specific circumstances when they had their accident."
Mentioning his two friends, Leon rarely sighed, then continued, "I only heard from the BSAA afterwards that they had an accident while pursuing Albert Wesker and have been missing ever since…"
"Albert Wesker?"
A hint of confusion appeared in Sheva Alomar's eyes. Clearly, their West Africa Branch was not very familiar with this true mastermind who had always lurked behind Oswell E. Spencer and the Umbrella Corporation.
Or perhaps… Sheva Alomar's current security clearance was not high enough for her to access such high-level classified information.
Leon clearly noticed the confusion on her face, so he patiently explained,
"It's normal that you don't know Albert Wesker. He was once a high-ranking researcher at the Umbrella Corporation and also the Captain of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service Team formed by the Raccoon City Police Department. After the Raccoon City incident and the Umbrella Corporation's bankruptcy, he disappeared from public view."
"Two years ago, Chris and Jill received reliable intelligence about the exact location of Oswell E. Spencer, the former founder of the Umbrella Corporation. So, the two of them planned to raid the ancient castle where he was hiding and interrogate him about Albert Wesker's whereabouts."
"But unexpectedly, they encountered Albert Wesker there, who had come to assassinate Oswell E. Spencer…"
At this point, Leon couldn't help but sigh, "I believe you've heard what happened next. The BSAA searched for Chris and Jill's bodies for three months, but they were never found. So, the high command, disregarding our advice, unilaterally announced the news of Chris and Jill's accidental deaths during duty, citing cost-saving measures."
"Over the next two years, I and a few friends relentlessly searched for any possible news related to Chris and Jill's whereabouts, but ultimately, we found nothing."
"Until recently, Rebecca… Ah, you probably don't know her either. She was once one of us, and she went through life and death with me, Chris, and Jill. Now she works for the Hyperspace Group… Rebecca told me that Chris and Jill might appear in the Kijuju Autonomous Region, so I voluntarily applied to headquarters to be dispatched here."
"You should know what happened next. I saw people in the photos who looked exactly like Chris and Jill, so no matter what, I have to go there and find out if they are still alive."
Sheva Alomar turned her head to look at Leon, who was driving the speedboat, and said with a complex expression, "I can tell that your relationship is very good, far closer than ordinary teammates…"
To be honest, she still couldn't understand why this man was willing to disregard his own life for two teammates whose fates were unknown, taking such a huge risk just to find their whereabouts.
But that didn't stop her from genuinely admiring his actions and character.
After all, in today's society, where self-interest reigns supreme, people with Leon's character are incredibly rare.
So she was very willing to be friends with such a person, even to become close friends…
"What about you?"
While driving the speedboat forward, Leon skillfully scanned the surrounding environment and asked casually,
"Why did you join the BSAA?"
Sheva Alomar fell silent for a long time upon hearing this, as if recalling some unpleasant memory, and slowly began to speak with a somewhat unnatural expression,
"When I was in my teens, my parents accidentally died in a biochemical leak incident caused by a certain company…"
Leon raised an eyebrow and asked tentatively, "That company wouldn't happen to be Umbrella, would it?"
Sheva Alomar nodded, "That's right, Umbrella Africa Branch, Factory No. 57. It was not far from my home at the time…"
"Later investigations revealed that what was initially called an accidental incident was actually just a cover-up for their failed biological weapon testing."
"All along, Umbrella's high command has treated Africa as their testing ground, so Umbrella must be held responsible for my parents' deaths; someone must pay the price for this!"
Leon said with a gentle expression, "So that's why you decided to join the BSAA?"
However, Sheva Alomar did not answer his question, but instead smiled at him with a touch of emotion,
"Leon, do you know? I honestly never thought I would one day partner with a legendary figure like you."
Leon waved his hand, unable to help but laugh, "No, I'm not some legendary figure."
But then he sobered up, and said with a serious expression, "However, what I want to remind you is that from now on, only by working together can we ensure we survive this… "
Sheva Alomar also said seriously, "Leon, let's avenge our brave fallen comrades!"
Leon nodded heavily, and then the speedboat continued to travel for a while until they saw a primitive village built on a raised piece of land.
With the bright moonlight and the light from the bonfires and torches scattered throughout the village, Leon and Sheva Alomar were able to make out the general outline of the settlement.
The village wasn't very large; it was surrounded by simple protective walls made of sharpened wooden stakes. To enter, it seemed they would have to use the main gate, woven from vines and tree trunks.
Although the tall wooden walls obscured most of Leon and Sheva Alomar's view, they could still see many simple wooden buildings constructed inside the village through the space above the walls.
The roofs of these wooden buildings and houses were all covered with large amounts of thatch and leaves, and the two could vaguely see figures moving inside some of the structures.
In short, the entire village was filled with a mysterious, primitive aura.