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(In official lore, this Nemesis, who awakened self-awareness and wanted to escape with other BOWs, was eventually disposed of; a Tyrant faced a similar situation.)
Claire's breath condensed into a faint white mist in the cold air.
The old desktop computer continued to emit a strained, persistent hum.
The text on the screen felt like a heavy tombstone weighing on their hearts.
A defective product that possessed self-awareness yet was judged as 'mentally deficient.'
A Nemesis with a completely unpredictable behavioral pattern.
This conclusion was more chilling than facing a whole squad of Tyrants.
The unknown is always the most terrifying.
Noah didn't turn off the computer immediately.
His fingers returned to the keyboard, and his eyes began searching through the vast sea of data once again.
He had an intuition.
There must be something missing in the diary.
A Researcher so frantic about his 'masterpiece' couldn't have left only these complaints and scribbled records.
He must have hidden something else.
"What are you looking for?" Claire's voice was soft and sounded a bit nervous.
"Looking for a hidden corner." Noah didn't look back, his voice steady.
"People subconsciously hide their most important things in the most inconspicuous or dangerous places."
"In this computer's hard drive partitions, there's a corrupted sector disguised as a System error."
"But its data structure is too complete."
"It's as if... someone intentionally broke it and then carefully blocked it with a sign saying 'No Entry.'"
Claire's eyebrows twitched slightly.
She didn't understand much about such complex technology, but she understood the meaning behind Noah's words.
Trying to hide something only makes it more obvious.
Noah's fingers tapped on the keyboard a few times to request remote assistance again.
This time, the screen didn't show cascading green code.
Instead, it was a simulated interface for reading hard drive data.
A red probe rapidly jumped and scanned across countless tiny squares representing data blocks.
Time seemed to stretch; the only sounds in the air were the wail of the computer's fan and the restrained heartbeats of the two people.
Suddenly.
"Beep."
A crisp notification sound broke the silence.
The red probe stopped on a gray area marked as "Corrupted."
The corner of Noah's mouth curled into a slight arc.
Found it.
[ACCESSING HIDDEN PARTITION...]
[DECRYPTION IN PROGRESS...]
Another encrypted file.
But this decryption seemed trickier than before.
The progress bar on the screen moved forward slowly at an agonizing pace.
Noah leaned back in his chair, pulled an energy bar out of his tactical backpack, tore open the packaging, and handed it to Claire.
Claire shook her head.
She had no appetite at all right now.
Noah didn't insist; he took a bite himself and chewed slowly.
His gaze never left the screen.
Ten minutes later.
[DECRYPTION COMPLETE.]
A new document was unlocked.
Its title was just one word.
[Prometheus]
Claire leaned in, her eyes falling on the screen along with Noah's.
This was still a diary.
But the tone of the records was much more serious than the previous one, and... much more desperate.
[September 25th]
[I gave him a name: Prometheus.]
[The Titan who stole fire from the gods and suffered eternal torment because of it.]
[I think the name suits him well.]
[He stole the spark of 'consciousness' from the 'Creators' (us).]
[Because of this, he was judged a 'defective product' and spurned by us Mortals.]
[Today, during the final function test before disposal, he did something I will never forget.]
[He refused an order.]
[It wasn't that he couldn't learn it, or that he was clumsy.]
[He refused.]
[When the command was given to destroy the dummies in the Test Zone, he just stood there motionless.]
[I could feel a kind of... sadness from his biological signals.]
[Damn, what am I saying? Sadness? From a Tyrant?]
[But I truly felt it.]
[Later, he walked to the observation window.]
[He looked at me.]
[In those cloudy eyes wrapped in data cables and metal braces, there was no violence, no killing intent.]
[Only a deep exhaustion that I couldn't understand.]
[Then, he raised his massive, deformed claw and gently tapped on the reinforced glass.]
[Three times.]
[Very rhythmic.]
[It wasn't an attack.]
[It was more like... an attempt at communication.]
[My mind went blank at that moment.]
[I even had an absurd thought... to turn on the intercom and ask him what he wanted to do.]
[Fortunately, that fat pig of a supervisor rushed in, kicked my chair, and cursed at me for not starting the disposal sequence yet.]
[I looked at his greasy face, distorted by anger.]
[Then I looked behind the observation window at the 'monster' standing alone.]
[At that moment, I suddenly wondered: who is the real monster?]
Reading the diary up to this point, Claire felt her throat go dry.
She could imagine the scene.
A 'monster' created with intelligence, trying to communicate with his 'father' in the final moments of his life.
And his 'father' could only prepare to press the button to execute him under the roar of another 'monster.'
What a profound irony and sorrow.
[September 28th]
[I didn't destroy him.]
[I falsified the disposal records.]
[I used my authority to transfer him to a spare cryogenic hibernation pod in Area C.]
[I told everyone that Test Subject A had a violent rejection reaction during the disposal process and had completely decomposed.]
[No one doubted it.]
[They couldn't wait for this 'failure' to disappear from the project reports.]
[I don't know why I did it.]
[Maybe it was because of those three taps on the glass.]
[Maybe it was because I didn't want what might be a miracle in evolutionary history to just turn into a puddle of protein solution for no reason.]
[Maybe... I just wanted to cause some trouble for that fat pig supervisor.]
[Who knows.]
[Durand discovered Prometheus, but he didn't make me destroy him. He only implanted a safety program as per routine... What on earth is this guy thinking?]
[When I put Prometheus into the hibernation pod, he was very quiet.]
[I read his brainwaves through the sensors one last time.]
[I 'heard' a sentence.]
[A fragmented, out-of-tune melody.]
[I feel like I've heard that melody somewhere before.]
[It's very familiar.]
[But I can't remember it.]
[I hope he can sleep forever.]
[In this cold and inhuman place, being awake is a form of torture.]
Noah's fingers tapped gently on the desk.
cryogenic hibernation pod.
This information was crucial.
It meant that the Nemesis known as "Prometheus" had not been disposed of.
He was just... asleep.
"If Durand released the restraints on all the test subjects..."
Claire's voice carried a hint of a tremble.
"Does that also mean... he has been awakened from hibernation as well?"
Noah didn't answer.
His gaze fell on the final paragraph of the diary.
[October 25th]
[Durand has gone completely mad.]
[He gathered all of us core Researchers in Area D.]
[I finally saw what was inside that Cultivation Tank.]
[It wasn't a simple 'doll' to satisfy his perverted desires.]
[It was a... Fusion entity.]
[He fused his wife Emily with the most perfect t-virus mutant strain, and... a progenitor virus sample extracted from the deepest part of the 'Hatchery,' as well as a type of fungus I've never seen before.]
[What he wants to create is not a resurrected shell.]
[He wants to create a... god.]
[A perfect lifeform with human intelligence, the power of a virus, and the ability to evolve infinitely.]
[He calls her—the 'holy mother of filthy blood.']
[He said it's a gift he's giving to this soon-to-be-decaying world.]
[The ultimate purification.]
[All of us were rendered speechless by his madness.]
[I know it's all over.]
[Umbrella Paris Branch is no longer a research institution.]
[It has become a madman's altar.]
[I must leave this place.]
[Before I am used as a sacrifice by him.]
[I've already booked a flight to London for tomorrow morning.]
[Goodbye, Paris.]
[Goodbye, my poor Prometheus, locked in your cage.]
[May God bless us.]
[Though I know He might have abandoned us long ago.]
The diary ended there.
Noah closed the laptop.
"Let's go." His voice was very calm.
But Claire could hear the turbulent waves suppressed beneath that calmness.
"Maybe... we can try to communicate with him."
Noah rubbed his chin, a smile on his face that looked worse than crying.
"If that 'Prometheus' really retains his humanity as the diary said..."
"Maybe we can save ourselves a lot of trouble."
It was a bold idea.
Even a bit naive.
But after witnessing so much madness and despair, they were willing to grasp at any slim possibility.
The two left the oppressive office that was filled with the atmosphere of corporate drones.
The fan-shaped hall outside was still empty and deathly silent.
The shadowless lamps cast a soft light on the pristine floor, reflecting a cold, metallic luster.
They passed through the [Fusion Zone] and the [Test Zone].
The doors to both areas were tightly closed, with the words [ACCESS DENIED] flashing in red.
Clearly, the clearance required here was higher.
Noah didn't waste time trying to hack them.
Their goal was clear.
The cryogenic hibernation pods in Area C.
And the most mysterious and dangerous Area D.
According to the diary's description, Prometheus was hidden in Area C.
Durand's final plan was in Area D.
But all the area markers here only went as far as the Test Zone.
There were no so-called Area C or Area D.
"It seems those two areas have been hidden."
Claire looked around, searching for any possible traces of a hidden passage.
Noah also stopped in his tracks.
His gaze fell upon the largest metal door at the end of the hall.
[Observation & Testing Area]
This was the central axis of the entire fan-shaped hall.
It was also the only path leading deeper inside.
Just as they were about to approach the door,
An extremely faint sound, almost imperceptible, drifted out from behind the door.
The sound was deep.
It carried a raspiness like metal grinding against metal.
Like an old bellows, struggling to pull back and forth, stroke by stroke.
But within that sound, there was a strange and gentle melody.
Noah and Claire stopped instantly.
The two of them exchanged a look.
Both saw extreme shock and confusion in the other's eyes.
They held their breath and cautiously moved forward a few more steps, straining to listen.
This time, they heard it more clearly.
It was a voice.
A heavy, raspy man's voice.
He was... humming.
He was humming a slow and beautiful melody.
The melody was soft and melodious.
It carried a romance and sentimentality of old times.
Claire's eyes suddenly widened.
She had a familiar memory of this melody from a coffee shop at school.
la vie en rose.
A timeless chanson about love and hope.
A raspy, monster-like voice.
A gentle human love song.
These two elements, which should never have appeared in the same space-time, were now eerily fused together.
It created a sense of absurdity that made one's scalp tingle and skin crawl.
Noah thought of that diary.
When the Researcher last read Prometheus's brainwaves, he heard an out-of-tune melody.
Could it be... this?
"Perhaps..."
Noah took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent waves in his heart.
"I can really try to communicate with him."
Claire looked at him, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.
But she eventually nodded.
"Fine."
"But don't let your guard down."
Noah put away the magnum and holstered it at his waist.
Claire stepped back a few paces, ducking behind a massive load-bearing pillar.
She raised her mp5 submachine gun, the dark muzzle aimed precisely at the sensor door that was about to open.
Noah gave her a "don't worry" gesture.
Then he stepped forward, walking step by step toward the metal door that separated two worlds.
Hum—
The sensor door detected his approach.
Accompanied by the low sound of a hydraulic System starting, the heavy metal door slowly slid open to both sides.
The sight behind the door made Noah forget to breathe for a moment.
It was an even more massive and empty circular space, surrounded by an observation room made of one-way reinforced glass.
Overhead were countless large shadowless lamps, casting a pale and cold light.
The entire space was so clean it looked like a surgical operating room that had never been used.
And in the center of that open area, large enough to park a helicopter,
Sat a simple, metal-framed single bed.
An unusually tall figure was sitting by the bed.
He wore a black leather trench coat that resembled a straitjacket.
The surface of the coat was covered in metal rivets and straps, along with some thick tubes connected to unknown equipment.
His body was even more stalwart and burly than a common Tyrant.
The exposed skin was a sickly grayish-white.
Beneath the skin were knotted, terrifying muscles that looked ready to explode.
His head was encased in a complex restraint device made of metal and leather.
Only one cloudy eye, seemingly covered by a white cataract, was visible.
Nemesis.
It was the Pursuer named "Prometheus."
Noah's heart rose to his throat.
But he forced himself not to make any threatening movements.
His gaze moved past the massive figure and landed on the bed.
A person was lying on the bed—or rather, a creature that used to be a person.
It was a female-form Tyrant. (In the original Resident Evil lore, the female Tyrant Morpheus—who was actually a cross-dresser...)
Her figure was much taller than an ordinary woman's.
But she still retained a hint of soft, feminine curves.
Her skin was the same deathly pale.
But it was much finer and smoother than the Pursuer's.
Long golden hair was spread messily across the pillow, looking somewhat dry and having lost its former luster.
Her chest did not expose a beating heart like other Tyrants.
Instead, it was covered by a thin layer of keratinized white carapace.
The carapace had some pale blue lines that looked like blood vessels.
With her faint, steady breathing, those lines pulsed rhythmically in the light.
Like the most distant stars in the night sky.
She slept peacefully.
Like an ordinary girl just having a beautiful dream.
The Pursuer was sitting sideways by the bed.
His massive, deformed claw, capable of crushing steel, was hovering in an extremely gentle posture before the female Tyrant's forehead.
He seemed to want to touch her, yet feared disturbing her dream.
His raspy, broken-bellows-like humming continued.
Over and over, he repeated the main melody of la vie en rose.
In that song, there was no killing, no tyranny.
Only a clumsy yet deep tenderness that bordered on despair.
This scene was so eerie, yet so heartbreaking.
For a moment, Noah even forgot his purpose for being here.
Just then.
The Pursuer seemed to sense his presence.
His singing stopped abruptly.
His massive body turned around stiffly and slowly.
That cloudy single eye fell upon Noah.
Noah's muscles tensed instantly.
Every cell in his body was screaming, issuing a maximum-level danger alert.
However,
The Pursuer did not show any signs of aggression.
He just looked at Noah quietly.
Then.
He raised his left hand, which could barely be called a hand, and extended a thick index finger.
He placed it before his lips, which were covered by metal and leather and impossible to see clearly.
He made a... shushing gesture.
Shh—
This simple action, full of human social attributes, performed by such a terrifying biological weapon,
Carried an unparalleled visual and psychological impact.
Noah's brain stalled for a split second.
All his plans and all his vigilance seemed so laughable at this moment.
The Pursuer slowly stood up.
His height was nearly three meters, like a moving small mountain.
The shadow cast by his massive body almost completely enveloped Noah.
But his next move once again exceeded Noah's expectations.
He slightly raised both hands, palms facing out, and then waved them gently.
This was a body language universal in any culture.
After making this gesture, he pointed to the female Tyrant on the bed.
Then he pointed to the open door behind Noah.
His meaning was clear.
Talk outside.
Don't wake her up.
Noah felt as if his worldview was being repeatedly rubbed into the ground.
He could now be one hundred percent certain that the Pursuer before him was Prometheus, the one who had retained his self-awareness.
Or perhaps... he should say... he had regained his original... consciousness.
Noah took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He gave a gentle nod to Claire, who was behind the distant pillar and also in a state of shock.
Signaling to her that it was temporarily safe.
Claire's wide, beautiful eyes were still full of disbelief.
She looked at this unique, one might even say... gentlemanly B.O.W.
Feeling as if she were in a dream.
Just then.
The Pursuer pulled something out from an inner pocket of his worn leather trench coat.
Without any redundant movement,
He threw it directly toward Noah.
Noah instinctively reached out and caught it.
It was a cold, hard metal object.
Opening his palm,
It was a purple, faintly shimmering chip.
The chip's craftsmanship was extremely precise.
An internal Umbrella code was engraved on it.
The Pursuer nodded at Noah.
It was a small movement, but it was full of a sense of power.
Then he spoke:
"Talk... outside."
His voice was even raspier than his humming earlier, and more strained.
Every word seemed to be squeezed out of a rusted throat with all his might.
"Don't..."
"...wake..."
"...Aila."
He paused, seemingly gathering the strength to speak.
That cloudy single eye glanced at the sleeping golden figure on the bed.
His gaze revealed a complex emotion that Noah couldn't fully read.
There was affection.
There was worry.
And... a hint of deep fear.
"She..."
"...is not..."
"...like..."
"...me..."
"...stable."
After saying this, he no longer paid attention to Noah and Claire.
Instead, he took heavy strides, leading the way out of the Observation & Testing Area.
Every step made the smooth floor emit a faint tremor, as if it were under an unbearable load.
Noah and Claire stood in place for a long time without moving.
They silently followed behind that massive figure.
Their hearts were incredibly heavy and complex.
===
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