At this moment, Alpha Team, led by Wesker, had arrived at the place where Allen and Bravo Team were located. Because Jill and Athena had joined them on this mission, it seemed they were able to survive the journey and arrive without losing any personnel.
The Alpha Team members were amazed at Athena's skill with a spear; her fighting style was even more effective at killing the mutant zombies that kept trying to attack them on their way to the mansion.
"Wow, I didn't expect your fighting style to be so incredible, Athena," Barry praised while reloading his modified Colt .44 Magnum revolver.
"Well, thanks for the compliment," Athena replied with a smile.
"By the way, Athena, can I ask what your previous job was?" Joseph asked, a little curious.
"Hmmm, before this, I was assigned along with Jill in Delta Force and worked as a combat instructor there," she answered.
"That's amazing," Joseph said, sounding like a hardcore fan at this point.
"Okay, stop talking, we've arrived. We should head inside and check the situation," Wesker ordered.
When they entered, they couldn't believe how grand and enormous the mansion was. But on a wall in the middle of the hall, they noticed a logo that was all too familiar.
"Is this mansion owned by Umbrella?" Jill asked, a bad feeling rising inside her.
"Wow, this mansion is really luxurious. I didn't expect a company as big as Umbrella to own such an extravagant place," Joseph said with a slightly joking tone.
"Of course, you idiot. They're a multinational group. Even Raccoon City was built with their investment money. Naturally, having several mansions like this is nothing unusual," Barry retorted, mocking Joseph.
"Let's split up to investigate and search for Bravo Team," Wesker said, then quickly walked off alone.
Chris tried to follow his Captain, curious about why Wesker moved as if he already knew this place, but he lost track of him.
"So strange… how could he disappear so quickly?" Chris whispered to himself before giving up and deciding to regroup with the others.
When they saw Chris return, the others were a bit confused.
"I thought you were going to follow the Captain," Jill asked.
"That was my intention, but somehow when I followed him, I suddenly lost track," Chris explained.
"Let's form small teams to explore this place. It'll be dangerous if we spread out too far," Joseph said, still a little traumatized at the thought of moving alone.
"I'll go with you, then," Chris said.
"Then I'll go with Athena," Jill added.
All eyes turned to Barry.
"I'll go alone. Don't worry, I'll be fine," Barry said, as if he wanted to prove his capabilities to the others. After all, he wasn't exactly the best at teamwork.
"Okay, be careful. Remember to call for help if any of us runs into trouble," Chris said, seeming to take on the role of leader while Wesker was absent.
Everyone nodded and went off into different areas to explore the mansion.
Because the space was narrow, Athena had no choice but to discard her spear. The weapon was already stained with zombie blood, and she had no intention of cleaning it. It was better to just leave it behind. She then chose to switch to her shield and pistol.
...
Meanwhile, downstairs, Barry was checking several rooms before entering the dining area when he suddenly received a phone call from his wife. At first, Barry was puzzled—why would there be a signal here?—but he still answered it.
"Barry, it's me. Wesker. I've kidnapped your family. And I know how much you love them, especially your daughter. After all, you're a good husband and father."
"Huh... Captain Wesker, what are you talking about? Have you gone mad?!"
Barry was still confused about why his captain was speaking like this—until he realized the number calling him was his wife's. That realization instantly made him furious.
Wesker, hearing Barry raise his voice, didn't seem to care much. He had already expected this kind of reaction.
"Listen to me, Barry. If you want your wife and both daughters to live, just follow my instructions. Bring Chris and the others to the basement behind the mansion," Wesker said calmly, typing on his keyboard as he activated the T.A.L.O.S. Project, preparing to retrieve battle data from a Tyrant Model 002 inside a cloning tube.
"Fuck you, Wesker!"
"Well, well, well. Will you refuse? You don't seem to be giving me a choice. I suppose I'll tell the people who kidnapped your wife and children to kill them."
"Wait!!—"
But inside, Barry was struggling with himself.
He was a man who upheld justice above all else. A S.T.A.R.S. member who had always fought to protect others.
This decision naturally left him feeling torn.
And yet now… if he didn't obey Wesker, his family's lives would be at stake.
Wesker knew that.
And that was exactly the weakness he used to control him.
Barry clenched his fists tightly, his entire body trembling. Anger and guilt began to eat away at him from the inside.
After what felt like an eternity of inner conflict…
He finally made his decision.
"Why are you taking so long? Do you agree or not?" Wesker asked coldly.
"I—I'll do it," Barry stammered, clenching his fists tightly before collapsing onto the floor.
"Good. Then I'll be waiting," Wesker said, adjusting his glasses as though everything had already gone according to plan.
"I'm sorry, everyone," Barry muttered under his breath.
He had no other choice.
He was being forced to betray his comrades… just to save his wife and daughters.
....
Meanwhile, at Allen's position—he had just stepped into another room with his two women—when suddenly, a body came crashing hard onto a table.
The figure was covered in wounds, with several bite marks all over.
It was Keynneth.
Nearby, Edward and Richard were also there—both unconscious.
The monsters they had been fighting weren't far either. A Zombie Hunter, along with a massive snake—far larger than the one Allen had fought before.
Rebecca and Svetlana reacted instantly, opening fire on the snake. Svetlana carefully aimed for its eyes, while Allen turned his attention to the Zombie Hunter, unleashing a storm of bullets.
Bang!... Bang!... Bang!...
Even so, Allen found it difficult to bring it down. The creature was fast—agile enough to dodge several of the shots aimed at its body.
Then suddenly—
It lunged straight at him, jaws wide open, aiming for his neck.
"Got you," Allen muttered.
He sidestepped smoothly and, in the same motion, shoved a grenade straight into its mouth.
Boom!
The Zombie Hunter's body exploded into pieces.
Without wasting time, Allen quickly checked on his injured teammates who had been bitten, then rushed back to support the others.
On the other hand, Rebecca and Svetlana kept the giant snake busy, bombarding it with relentless gunfire.
Its massive tail whipped violently toward Svetlana—
—but hitting her wasn't that easy.
She leaped aside gracefully, grabbed the tail mid-motion, and yanked it hard, dragging the creature's body away from the others.
"Allen, now!" she shouted.
With a powerful swing, she hurled the snake straight into the wall before diving for cover.
Allen was already prepared.
RPG in hand, he pulled the trigger.
Boom!
The rocket hit the snake's massive head directly.
The explosion tore through its body, completely destroying it.
The blast echoed throughout the mansion—loud enough for the other S.T.A.R.S. members to hear from a distance. Without hesitation, they began moving toward the source.
After the fight, Rebecca quickly rushed to check on the injured.
Edward and Richard were in critical condition due to the bite wounds, while Keynneth only had a few bruises and broken ribs.
"Allen, it looks like Edward and Richard were bitten by that snake," Rebecca reported.
"Use the antidote we made earlier—and give some to Keynneth too, just in case," Allen said, noticing a few scratches on him.
Not long after, Rebecca injected them with the antivirus and treated their wounds.
Slowly, their condition began to stabilize.
Seeing that, Rebecca finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Let's move them somewhere safer," Allen said, lifting Keynneth onto his shoulder.
But just as he reached the door—
Click.
The door suddenly opened.
"Allen!"
Two voices called out at the same time.
"Athena? Jill? What are you two doing here? You girls should be in LA—why are you back here?" Allen asked, clearly surprised.
"This was Jill's idea, don't blame me," Athena said immediately, shifting all the blame without hesitation.
Jill's eyebrow twitched.
Seriously, Athena? I thought we were best friends…
"Traitor," Jill muttered under her breath, shooting Athena a sharp glare.
Athena simply turned her head away, pretending not to hear it.
Allen sighed.
"Alright… we'll talk about this later. Once we're back in Raccoon City."
Of course, in the back of his mind, he was already thinking about how to deal with these two later.
Not long after, Barry entered the room.
When he saw Allen and the others, his eyes widened in shock.
"Ahhh Allen, thank God you're all safe," Barry said.
But when he noticed the condition of the others, his expression turned serious.
"What happened to them? Are they going to be alright?"
His voice carried concern—but his hand clenched slightly.
"They're injured, but they're stable now. We've already treated their wounds—we just need to wait for them to wake up," Rebecca explained as she and Svetlana carried Richard.
"Let's find a safer place first. We can talk later," Allen said.
Barry nodded and followed them without hesitation.
After they moved the injured into a secure room, Allen couldn't help but notice something off about Barry.
He wasn't acting like his usual self.
"Barry… are you alright? Are you hurt or something?" Allen asked.
Looks like Barry's plot has already started… damn Wesker, he's really cunning, Allen thought.
Still, he didn't blame Barry.
If he were in the same situation…
He might have made the same choice.
"I'm fine. Ohh Allen, can you explain what happened to them?" Barry asked.
"They were attacked by monsters—like a giant snake and a big lizard. Luckily we showed up in time. Otherwise… they would've already been eaten," Allen said calmly.
Hearing that, Barry clenched his fists tightly.
"Are they going to be alright?" he asked, clearly worried about his comrades.
At the same time, guilt crept into his chest, making his thoughts even more complicated.
"Well, don't worry—they'll be fine. Even though they were bitten and poisoned, Rebecca and I managed to cure the poison and give them the medicine we made in the lab. We were lucky to find some notes about the drugs that might've caused all this… and also the antidote," Allen explained.
The lie came out so naturally, as if it were second nature to him.
The girls who heard it could only roll their eyes, completely speechless at how smoothly he delivered it—but of course, none of them said anything.
"Thank goodness… In that case, I'll go look for the others first," Barry said.
Right now, bringing Allen and the others to Wesker would be too difficult.
After Barry left, Svetlana stepped closer to Allen.
"There's something strange about that man… like he's hiding something."
"I know," Allen replied, meeting her gaze.
At the same time, Jill walked over as well.
"Is Barry in some kind of trouble?" she asked. She had noticed the change in his behavior not long after they split up earlier.
"I think so too," Allen admitted.
"Are you going to help him?" Jill asked again.
Svetlana was also curious about his answer.
"Yeah, of course. He's my friend," Allen said without hesitation.
"Ohh, I thought you only helped women," Svetlana teased lightly.
"Hey… what kind of man do you think I am?" Allen replied, shaking his head.
Of course, he would help his friends—man or woman.
He wasn't some kind of sociopath.
Not long after, Keynneth, Richard, and Edward slowly began to regain consciousness.
As they opened their eyes, they saw Allen, Rebecca, Svetlana, Jill… and one unfamiliar woman.
Allen then explained the situation and introduced Athena as his wife.
"Thank you, Allen… Rebecca… and you too, Svetlana. It's a good thing you came when you did," Edward said with a relieved smile.
"I'd like to say the same," Keynneth added, though he still struggled to move due to his injuries.
"Hey, me too. Drinks are on me when we get back," Richard said, coughing lightly.
"Alright, alright… don't push yourselves," Rebecca said, sounding more like a worried mother at that moment.
"Yeah, we can talk about that later. So… where's Captain Enrico?" Allen asked.
"The Captain and the others went to the lab under the stairs. There's a hidden door there—it leads to the underground lab," Edward explained.