I will release an extra episode if I get +50 power stones.
At this point in time, Asa purpose was clear.
He wanted to speedrun the Training Facility; as for what happened to the researchers at the Arklay Laboratory, it had nothing to do with him.
If you lined up ten researchers from that lab and shot nine of them, one might be innocent; but if you shot all ten, not a single one would be wrongly accused.
The vehicle pulled over to the side of the road.
"For the road ahead, we first need to follow the trail to find the Ecliptic Express tracks, then follow the tracks into the tunnel to reach Umbrella Corporation's Training Facility at the end."
Asa explained while pointing at the map.
"Also, Officer, don't tell me you didn't bring a gun."
Jill Valentine wasn't wearing her blue S.T.A.R.S. uniform or beret today; she was dressed almost like an ordinary civilian, so Asa felt the need to remind her.
"Don't question a professional's expertise, boy."
Jill Valentine, who was only five years older than Asa, spoke in a deep tone as she pulled a Winchester Shotgun from the trunk.
"Whoa, that's a big one."
"Now, can you tell me why I can't notify the other team members or report to the higher-ups? Asa."
Having taken out the shotgun, Jill Valentine did not step onto the trail yet. Before they arrived, Asa had warned her that they couldn't tell anyone about Umbrella Corporation's human experiments for the time being—not their comrades, not their superiors, not even their superiors' superiors.
On an impulse, Jill Valentine had decided to take Asa and investigate the truth of the Training Facility alone, but they had agreed that Asa must explain the reason before they entered.
Asa stopped fiddling with the camera in his hand and handed a photo from his jacket pocket.
As everyone knows, Photoshop hadn't been born yet, so the photo was real.
In the photo was a mysterious man with blonde hair combed back and sunglasses, standing next to Umbrella Corporation's chief scientist, William Birkin.
"The Captain? How is that possible?"
Jill Valentine exclaimed after taking the photo.
How could the respected Alpha Team Captain, Albert Wesker, be involved with an Umbrella Corporation executive?
"Was Wesker bought off by your company too?"
After a moment of silence, Jill Valentine threw the photo back to Asa and asked with a complicated tone.
"No, he wasn't bought off."
Hope immediately flared in Jill Valentine's eyes. She firmly believed that her respected and trustworthy captain must have some hardship; seeing Asa expression, there was indeed more to the story!
"Wesker is an agent of Umbrella Corporation's intelligence department. He was just acting as a spy; he was one of the company's people from the start. So, there's no such thing as being 'bought off'."
Jill Valentine: "..."
As if remembering something, Asa added:
"Speaking of being bought off, your Chief Brian has kidnapped many orphans from the Raccoon City orphanage over the years and sent them to Umbrella Corporation for human experimentation. He's the real mole."
Jill Valentine: "..."
Although she still held some doubts about Asa words, hearing this news made Jill Valentine feel a surge of anger. Her strong sense of justice urged her to uncover the truth quickly.
Whether it was fact or fiction, she would not allow Wesker and Umbrella Corporation to continue harming innocent people like this.
"Hold the camera and stay behind me."
"Let's go!"
Jill Valentine took the lead and stepped out first.
It was summer in the Arklay Mountains, and it seemed to have rained lightly a few days ago. Asa walked along the muddy trail Jill Valentine had taken, the Canon Camera in his hand not yet recording.
Perhaps Asa performance had given Jill Valentine a false impression, as she didn't maintain any guard against him.
Asa certainly wasn't going to take the opportunity to pull a prank; while Jill Valentine was looking ahead, he silently changed his equipment slots in the system.
[Switched to 2077 Equipment Loadout.]
The moment the switch succeeded, Asa footsteps subconsciously faltered before immediately returning to normal.
In the Resident Evil world, without Infinite Overload to back him up, his brain would feel dizzy for a moment every time he switched equipment.
The Training Facility they were about to enter was covered in cameras. Asa didn't want to appear on screen for now, so he could only hit Umbrella Corporation with some high-tech tricks from the year 2077.
The two found the Ecliptic Express tracks and followed them north until a massive, dark tunnel entrance appeared in their sight.
"The end of the line is the Training Facility from years ago. It's abandoned now."
"There are still quite a few biological weapons left over from Umbrella Corporation's experiments in the basement of the Training Facility. Be careful from here on."
Asa, acting as the informant, reminded her. They should have invited Chris for this dungeon run, but unfortunately, that thick-browed guy had taken the weekend to visit a pure college girl at a university, missing out on this mob-grinding opportunity.
Well, the truth was that Asa hadn't invited him at all.
After all, those who proactively teamed up with Chris usually didn't live to see the end of the game.
"Biological weapons? Do you mean those flesh-and-blood monsters in the files you gave me?"
Jill Valentine frowned slightly. If it were a giant monster of the Tyrant series, her shotgun probably wouldn't be enough.
The two stood in front of the tunnel discussing their next move when suddenly, a rustling sound came from the surrounding jungle.
"Watch out!"
Asa was the first to warn her, directly activating the thermal imaging mode in his Cyberopticss.
As expected, some hikers who had impulsively come for a trek had been killed, and more than one.
The moment Jill Valentine heard the noise, she also raised her Samurai Edge and aimed at the source of the sound. The two stood side by side, holding their breath, afraid to even exhale loudly.
The air after the rain had an earthy smell, but this scent gradually turned into a heavy stench of blood and rotting decay. As Asa and Jill Valentine quieted down, the rustling disappeared.
Slowly, a bone-chilling chewing sound came clearly from behind the bushes.
Jill Valentine and Asa exchanged a glance. Jill Valentine shook her head slightly at Asa, then took a step forward and parted the bushes.
The full scene came into view: a humanoid figure in hiking gear was crouched over a mangled corpse on the ground, back turned to them, gnawing on the corpse's internal organs.
As if sensing something, the figure's chewing stopped abruptly. Sensing the gaze behind it, the figure slowly turned its head, revealing half of a deathly gray face.
Then, the entire face turned around completely—face stiff, eyes cloudy, skin rotting. Its eyeballs rolled once before fixing firmly on Jill Valentine.
"W-what is this monster..."
Even though Jill Valentine thought she had prepared herself mentally, she still found it unbelievable when she saw this scene.