[Check Out My P4treon For +30 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! And get chapters before publishing them here for free on my p4treon][https://p4treon.com/talkfictome]
===
Leon carefully refolded the letter paper with the red lip print.
His movements were so gentle, it was as if it weren't an ordinary piece of paper, but a dragonfly's wing that would shatter with the slightest force.
He placed the letter, along with the envelope also bearing a lip print, treasurefully into the inner pocket of his jacket, the spot closest to his heart.
He even unconsciously reached out and patted it gently from the outside.
Confirming that the sudden sweetness had been properly put away.
In the living room, the thick, soft, long-pile carpet blocked out the chill of the floor.
The orange electronic flames in the fireplace leaped silently, casting flickering shadows that stretched the shadows of the three people very long.
The silly, uncontrollable smile on Leon's face looked particularly eyesore-ish under the warm light, yet it was authentically cute.
It was a kind of pure happiness, stripped of all halos and survival pressures.
Claire looked at him, and her heart, which had been hanging due to worry for her brother, seemed to be tainted with a hint of light sweetness.
The corners of her mouth, which had been tense all day, finally curled up slightly.
Darkness is like a boundless ocean, but even a tiny, faint light is enough for one to see the direction forward.
In this rare warm and slightly ambiguous atmosphere.
A sudden, monotonous, and rapid vibration broke all the tranquility.
It was the black cell phone Noah had placed on the carpet.
The black body vibrated stubbornly on the soft beige carpet, making a "buzzing" sound.
The smile on Leon's face vanished instantly.
Claire's brow, which had just relaxed, knitted tightly together once again.
That brief moment of relaxation was ruthlessly and completely shattered by the ringing.
Reality always comes colder and faster than imagined.
Noah picked up the phone.
The screen still showed that string of irregular, encrypted gibberish.
He pressed the answer button and then, without hesitation, turned on the speakerphone.
He knew that this call wasn't just for him.
That metallic, low, and magnetic voice flowed out from the small phone receiver once again.
"Lin, Leon, and Miss Claire, good evening."
Trant's voice was always so unhurried, carrying an absolute confidence of one who has everything under control.
As if their every move at this moment was under his invisible surveillance.
"It seems the atmosphere of your family dinner is quite good."
Leon's brow furrowed even deeper.
This feeling of being spied on made him very uncomfortable.
Noah ignored Trant's opening remarks and just calmly waited for what was next.
"The first phase of this operation was completed perfectly."
Trant's voice carried a hint of almost formulaic praise.
"The reward, three hundred thousand dollars, has already been deposited into your black gold card account."
Three hundred thousand dollars.
In 1998, this amount of money was enough to lead a luxurious life in any city in any country.
But at this moment, whether it was Noah, Claire, or Leon, there wasn't the slightest ripple on their faces because of this huge sum of money.
Money seemed so pale and powerless in the face of life-threatening danger.
"You still have some time to prepare."
Trant's voice paused, as if giving them time to digest.
The air in the living room seemed to become thick.
The silently leaping electronic flames seemed to be tinged with a layer of icy chill.
"Rockfort Island is the Ashford Family's private domain, managed for generations; its fortifications are impregnable."
"Under the current circumstances, a secluded island fully armed with heavy firepower—you probably wouldn't want to just barge right in, would you?"
"Wesker has already begun his actions on the island ahead of time."
Trant's voice was unhurried.
"However, you don't need to worry."
"Chris Redfield has not yet arrived on that island."
Claire's heart suddenly leaped into her throat.
"If Wesker's plan succeeds, the entire Rockfort Island will fall into unprecedented chaos."
"The defense Systems, communications, and even all the personnel there will become part of his plan."
"By the time that island becomes a veritable Hell on earth..."
For the first time, Trant's voice carried a hint of malicious and pleasant laughter.
"Only then will your brother, that hero overflowing with a sense of justice, receive the news and set out."
"And that will be the best time for you to depart."
"..."
A heavy silence filled the living room.
Trant nonchalantly unveiled this bloody plan.
He had calculated Wesker's madness, Chris's justice, and even their worries and anxieties.
Everyone was a different piece on his chessboard.
Claire's lips were trembling slightly.
She finally couldn't help but speak.
Her voice carried a hint of uncontrollable trembling and pleading.
"Mr. Trant..."
"Can you... get in touch with my brother?"
The moment the question left her mouth, she knew what the answer would be.
But she asked anyway.
Like a person about to drown, grasping at the last straw, knowing full well it was unreliable.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
Then, Trant's signature magnetic chuckle came through.
"I'm sorry, little girl."
His voice returned to that cold calm.
"While my intelligence network can let me know roughly where he is now,"
"And can also infer his next general move through his style of action and existing intelligence,"
"I do not have a channel to contact him directly."
Claire's shoulders slumped weakly, and she looked as if all her strength had been drained away.
Leon and Noah glanced at each other.
In Leon's eyes was undisguised coldness and suspicion.
But Noah's gaze remained as calm as water.
As if everything was within his expectations.
"Rest assured, little girl."
Trant's voice rang out again, as if performing a final, procedural reassurance.
"Your brother is currently very safe."
"Well then, I look forward to your next brilliant performance."
With that, the call was abruptly disconnected.
"Beep... beep... beep..."
The monotonous busy signal sounded particularly harsh in the deathly silent living room.
Noah put away his phone.
He reached out and pulled the cold, slightly trembling girl beside him into his arms.
Using his own body heat and steady heartbeat to tell her:
You still have me.
After a long time, Leon's low voice, suppressed with anger, broke the silence.
"Do you believe that bastard Trant's nonsense about being unable to contact Chris?"
His voice was full of extreme disgust for Trant's behavior of playing with human lives in the palm of his hand.
Noah gently patted Claire's back and looked up at Leon.
"Of course he's lying."
"But so what?"
Noah smiled, a smile carrying a hint of coldness that saw through everything.
"Trant knew from the start that we wouldn't believe his nonsense at all."
"Because discussing it is meaningless."
Noah's voice became somewhat distant.
"In this world, the hardest card game isn't when you don't know your opponent's hole cards."
"It's when your opponent lays all their cards plainly before you and then tells you: 'I set the rules of the game.'"
"And you have no choice but to play by his rules."
Noah's words pierced through the fog shrouding Claire's heart.
She suddenly lifted her head from Noah's embrace.
In those azure eyes, which had been somewhat dim with sadness and self-reproach, a flash of light instantly appeared.
"Chris..."
Her voice was still a bit raspy, but it no longer held its previous fragility.
"The news that Chris knows Wesker is going to create chaos on the island..."
"...was deliberately leaked to him by Trant!"
"Snap!" Noah snapped his fingers crisply.
"Exactly!"
He looked into Claire's eyes, which had reignited with fighting spirit, and a look of approval appeared in his own.
"The chess game has already begun."
"It's just that Alfred Ashford, the Lord of Rockfort Island and Trant's opponent, is still completely in the dark."
Noah leaned back on the sofa, shifting into a comfortable position.
A hint of mockery played at the corners of his mouth.
"Or rather, our Heir to the Ashford Family is currently wallowing in his 'great' and perverted 'German Orthopedics' feelings, unable to extricate himself."
"He has completely forgotten about the massive threat looming outside."
"German Orthopedics?" Leon and Claire asked in unison, filled with confusion.
The expressions on their faces were identical in their bewilderment.
This strange term coming from Noah's mouth left them completely baffled.
Claire snapped out of it and reached out, lightly rapping Noah on the head with a hint of reproach.
"Speak properly."
Noah smiled and rubbed the spot where he'd been tapped.
Seeing their eyes overflowing with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, he cleared his throat and explained.
"'German Orthopedics' is a... mysterious code... from the East."
"It refers to Alfred Ashford..."
"...and his Genius younger sister, Alexia Ashford..."
Noah deliberately drew out his words, a meaningful and mischievous grin appearing on his face.
"...that kind of special, twisted affection that transcends the normal boundaries between siblings..."
"..."
"..."
The air seemed to freeze in that instant.
The expressions on Leon and Claire's faces shifted rapidly from curiosity and confusion to shock, then to disbelief, finally settling into an extremely contorted look mixed with disgust and loathing.
"WTF?!"
Once again, the two of them cursed in unison.
Their voices were filled with the massive shock of having their worldviews instantly shattered.
This news made them feel more physically uncomfortable than the idea of Wesker destroying an island.
Claire's face instantly turned bright red.
She felt her stomach churning.
She even slightly regretted rapping Noah on the head earlier and making him say such a disgusting thing.
However, after the initial massive shock and nausea, her clever and powerful brain immediately seized upon the key point.
She suddenly looked up, her beautiful azure eyes staring intently at Noah.
"Wait a minute," her voice became somewhat cold.
"The Ashford siblings—this kind of absolute top-secret information from Umbrella's highest levels..."
"...how do you know about it?"
"And how do you know it so clearly?"
The atmosphere in the living room, which had just been slightly weird due to the gossip, instantly dropped to the freezing point.
Leon also instantly snapped out of his worldview-shattering shock.
He also looked at Noah with a scrutinizing, inquisitive gaze.
He knew too much.
So much that it far exceeded the cognitive scope of an ordinary international student.
He was like a mysterious player with a full-map hack.
Always able to throw out the most lethal hidden information at the most critical moments.
The smile on Noah's face froze.
His heart skipped a beat...
===
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 120 on my patreon, go check it out
exclusive 18+ character images, and early chapters, please visit my Patreon. Thanks for your support!
p4treon.com/talkfictome
if you want more updates == supports with power stones
Every 40 Power Stones == Bonus Chapter
every three 5-star reviews == Bonus Chapter