Deep within the Antarctic Base, a temporarily converted cell.
Albert Wesker glanced at the woman he had casually tossed onto the metal cot, as if looking at a tool that was temporarily useless.
He had made a mistake born of extreme arrogance.
He was too eager to pluck that sweet fruit named "T-Veronica."
In his mind, filled to the brim with power and ambition, Chris Redfield, Noah, and even the Genius woman Alexia Ashford who created the veronica virus, were the only pieces on his chessboard that truly required attention.
As for Jill Valentine, her greatest value was merely serving as live bait to lure Chris onto this frozen stage.
A bargaining chip that could be discarded at will once used.
Thus, he simply disarmed her and locked her in this cell, which he deemed secure enough.
His figure did not linger for a moment, quickly disappearing into the dark corridor leading deeper into the base.
He had more important things to do... The biting cold pierced every inch of Jill Valentine's skin, forcibly dragging her out of the abyss of unconsciousness.
She snapped her eyes open.
On her retinas, the final afterimage of the world spinning when Wesker's palm struck her abdomen still lingered.
Sharp pain surged from her abdomen like a tide.
But what occupied her brain even before the pain was the bone-deep vigilance cultivated through years of training.
She immediately checked her body.
Her ump9 submachine gun, Samurai's Edge, single-shot Grenade Launcher, and even the spare magazines and first-aid kit in her tactical vest were all gone.
She had been completely disarmed.
Jill slowly sat up, leaning against the cold metal wall, taking a deep breath that made her lungs ache from the freezing air.
She surveyed her surroundings.
A small cell welded from thick steel plates.
The only exit was a heavy iron door with an electronic lock and a small observation window.
The red lock indicator light emitted a desperate glow in the dim environment.
Despair?
That word had never appeared in the dictionary of S.T.A.R.S. elite member Jill Valentine.
A hint of mockery touched the corners of her mouth.
Wesker, you're still as arrogantly stupid as ever.
She raised her hand and tidied her short brown hair, which was a bit disheveled from the battle.
Her fingertips flicked lightly deep within the roots of her hair.
A tiny wire, glinting with a metallic chill, was carefully pulled out from a specially made hairpin.
This was her final and most secret trump card.
She had learned this from her father, the legendary master thief Dick Valentine.
Her fingers were somewhat stiff from the cold.
But when she probed the small manual unlock hole next to the electronic lock with the wire, her hand was as steady as a rock.
"Click."
A faint, almost inaudible sound.
"Click, click..."
The wire danced nimbly inside the precision lock cylinder, like a dancing elf.
Jill closed her eyes.
Her hearing was amplified to the extreme at this moment.
Inside the lock cylinder, the jumping of every pin and every slight collision were clearly fed back into her mind, forming an incredibly precise mechanical diagram.
Time passed, second by second.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on her forehead.
Finally.
"Clack!"
A crisp unlocking sound, like heavenly music, rang out!
The red indicator light on the door instantly turned green!
Jill pushed open the cell door without hesitation and slipped out.
She didn't flee immediately; instead, relying on her knowledge of Umbrella's general base layout, she quickly searched the vicinity.
Soon, at the end of the corridor, she found a room with a sign that read "Hazardous Materials Storage Room."
Whether the door was locked meant little to her.
She pushed the door open and entered, greeted by a strong odor.
In the corner of the room, a metal storage box sat quietly.
Jill strode forward and opened the box.
All her equipment lay inside, intact.
She picked up her familiar ump9 submachine gun; the cold metallic texture transmitted from her palm, and a powerful sense of security instantly spread through her body.
She quickly donned all her gear again, checked her ammunition, and loaded the chamber of her Samurai's Edge.
Only after finishing all this did she feel alive again.
However, just as she was about to leave the storage room.
A grating sound of metal grinding slowly drifted from deep within the corridor outside.
The sound was like someone dragging heavy chains while walking on the floor.
Jill's heart tightened; she immediately turned off her tactical flashlight and silently pressed herself behind the door, peering out through the crack.
The corridor lights flickered.
A massive and terrifying silhouette staggered over from the direction of the cell block she had just escaped.
It was a pale, muscular humanoid monster.
On its chest, a deformed heart was exposed outside its body, beating eerily.
Numerous thick iron chains were still bound to its body, clanking as it moved.
What concerned Jill the most was that its eyes were tightly covered by a thick, dirty leather blindfold.
It didn't seem to have a clear target, merely wandering aimlessly through the area following some instinct.
Jill held her breath.
Her mind raced.
It can't see!
This was a major weakness.
But it also meant its hearing or other sensory abilities must have been enhanced to a terrifying degree.
Fighting it head-on was definitely a poor choice.
Jill's eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
She spotted an old fire alarm on the wall nearby.
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
She pulled an empty UMP9 magazine from her tactical vest and threw it with all her might toward the wall at the other end of the corridor!
"Clang—!"
The magazine hit the metal wall, letting out a sharp, loud crash, followed by a series of rolling sounds on the floor.
"Roar—!!!!"
The massive monster whipped around almost the instant the sound rang out!
Its blindfolded face turned precisely toward the source of the noise!
Opening its mouth, it let out a roar filled with tyranny and fury, dragging its heavy chains as it charged madly toward the darkness!
Jill's figure immediately shot out like an arrow from a bow, dashing away from the room in the opposite direction of the monster!
Her footsteps were as light as a cat's.
As she passed the monster, she could even smell the strong stench of formalin mixed with rotting flesh emanating from it.
She sprinted all the way, soon bursting out of the oppressive underground prison area and arriving at a massive platform resembling a Freight Transfer Station.
On one side of the platform, a massive lift gate stood open.
An indescribable, terrifying blast of cold air, enough to freeze one's Soul, swept in madly from outside the gate!
Jill felt as if the blood in her entire body was about to be frozen solid by this cold current!
She looked out through the gate where the snow and wind danced wildly.
Outside was a world of pure white, covered by eternal ice and snow.
This is Antarctica!
That bastard Wesker really brought her to the end of the world!
Her combat uniform was simply unable to withstand this level of extreme cold.
She had to find cold-resistant clothing as soon as possible!
Braving the fierce winds, Jill began to search quickly through the massive transfer station.
Soon, in a corner, she found a row of lockers for outdoor workers.
She smashed the lock of one of the lockers with her gun butt.
Inside hung a thick, orange-yellow one-piece cold-weather jumpsuit.
Though it looked a bit bulky, right now, it was a life-saving treasure.
However, just as Jill picked up the cold-weather suit and was about to change into it!
A cold gaze, filled with malice and madness, locked onto her from the top of a row of containers behind her like a venomous snake!
"Hehehe... the filthy rat who broke into my castle..."
A sharp, neurotic, and androgynous voice spoke sinisterly behind Jill!
Jill's body tensed to the limit in an instant!
She whipped around, her ump9 submachine gun pointing unhesitatingly toward the source of the voice!
On top of the containers.
A figure wearing a tattered white gown stood there.
A messy blonde wig, distorted makeup mixed with tears and bloodstains, and those bloodshot eyes burning with the flames of madness!
Alfred Ashford!
"Die! You damned woman!"
Alfred shrieked, pulling out a Luger P08 Pistol from under his skirt—completely out of place with his ridiculous outfit—and aimed it at Jill's head, ready to pull the trigger!
But he was fast, and Jill was faster!
Almost the moment he raised his arm!
"Bang!"
A crisp gunshot broke through the howling of the wind and snow!
A wisp of blue smoke rose from the muzzle of the Samurai's Edge in Jill's hand.
A 9mm bullet accurately spiraled through the air and tore into Alfred's right shoulder as he held the gun!
"Ah—!!!!"
A shrill scream!
A burst of blood blossomed on Alfred's shoulder, and the Luger pistol flew out of his hand.
The massive impact caused his footing to falter, making him lose his balance!
Like a puppet with its strings cut, he screamed and fell backward from the high container!
And behind him was a bottomless Maintenance Shaft that circled the entire transfer station!
"No—!!!!"
Alfred's scream, filled with fear and resentment, was stretched long and thin in the deep shaft, finally swallowed completely by the darkness.
Jill felt no sympathy at all.
She quickly changed into the heavy cold-weather suit, zipped it up, and completely blocked out the biting chill.
Then, she went to the transfer station's central console and began trying to activate her communication device.
A few minutes later.
A "zzz" static sound crackled from the communicator.
Jill spoke into the communicator in a low voice.
"This is Jill Valentine calling any... friendly units who can hear me. Please respond if you hear this!"
After a brief silence.
A voice full of surprise and urgency suddenly exploded from the communicator!
"Jill?! Is that you, Jill! It's Chris! Where are you right now?!"
Hearing this familiar voice, Jill's heart, which had been tense, finally relaxed a bit.
"Chris... I'm fine. I'm at the B4 level Freight Transfer Station of the base. Wesker locked me here, but I've already escaped."
"Great! We're coming right now! Stay where you are, don't move!"
The communication cut off.
In less than ten minutes, accompanied by hurried footsteps, the figures of Chris, Noah, and the rest appeared at the entrance of the transfer station.
When Chris saw that familiar figure, bulky in the cold-weather suit but still standing tall, his face, which had been grim, finally broke into a heartfelt smile.
"Jill!"
"Chris!"
The two shared a tight embrace.
Claire stepped forward, took a spare black polar combat suit from her Tactical Backpack, and handed it to Jill.
"Quick, change into this. It's much more convenient than what you're wearing."
Jill gave Claire a grateful smile.
She quickly changed into the futuristic black tactical suit, moving her body to feel the unparalleled fit and flexibility.
"Thank you."
"Alright, now is not the time for catching up," Ada's cool voice came,
"According to the base map, through this transfer station, there's a Snowmobile Garage leading to the surface."
"Wesker's target is likely the Ashford Family's main research facility on the other side of the ice field," Chris added. "We must get there as soon as possible!"
Without further delay, the group set off toward the garage.
However.
Just as they were about to cross the entire transfer station and step onto the steel bridge leading to the garage!
"Roar—!!!!!"
A roar, more violent and resentful than any before, suddenly erupted from the bottomless Maintenance Shaft they had just passed!
The next second!
A massive pale figure, dragging broken chains, leapt out from the darkness!
It slammed heavily onto the steel bridge, letting out a deafening boom!
Nosferatu!
The exposed heart on its chest was beating wildly at a terrifying frequency!
This completely liberated monster unleashed all its fury upon the humans who had disturbed its slumber!
"Fire!"
Chris roared, pulling the trigger first!
The M4A1 Carbine spat out lethal tongues of fire!
A storm of bullets instantly enveloped the monster!
"Bang! Bang!"
Leon's Remington Shotgun roared at close range; the massive buckshot sent pieces of the monster's flesh flying!
"Boom!"
The quad-barrel Grenade Launcher in Claire's hand fired a high-explosive grenade, exploding precisely at the monster's feet; the violent shockwave made its massive body stumble!
Jill's UMP9, Noah's Desert Eagle, Ada's TMP, and Steve's dual Ingrams—all firepower was unleashed without reservation upon the monster at that moment!
Countless shell casings, like golden raindrops, clattered and filled the entire steel bridge.
"Roar!!"
Nosferatu let out a pained howl, swinging its arms like massive claws and madly striking everything around it!
But the group's firepower was like a cage built of steel and flame, pinning it firmly in place!
"Pfft—!!!"
A dull, scalp-tingling sound of flesh bursting rang out!
The heart that provided this body with endless berserk power was completely blown into a spray of shredded meat by the omnidirectional firepower!
Nosferatu's massive body suddenly stiffened.
The crazily flailing claws behind it slumped powerlessly.
Its blindfolded face slowly turned toward the sky, as if looking at the Antarctic stars it would never see again.
Then.
Its massive body, as if all support had been pulled away, crashed backward.
Falling heavily into the bottomless dark abyss that had imprisoned it for ten years.
The battle ended.
Chris gritted his teeth. "It's time for the final reckoning with Wesker."
The group crossed the bridge and reached the massive garage housing several snowmobiles.
They quickly started one of them; the powerful engine roar sounded exceptionally clear on the silent ice field.
The snowmobile burst out of the garage, its headlights like two swords cutting through the wind, snow, and darkness ahead.
At the end of their vision, on the infinite white horizon, the silhouette of an even larger and more formidable building was faintly appearing.
The Ashford Family's Antarctic Main Research Institute.