Standing before the familiar giant glass containment tank—nearly three meters high and filled with green nutrient fluid—Wesker looked down at the sleeping giant with utter disdain. He honestly couldn't be bothered with this "defective product" if he didn't need the Tyrant's combat data as leverage for his future endeavors.
As a genius product of the "Wesker Project," Albert Wesker's intellect was unquestionable. However, in the field of virology, he was not as gifted as his junior, William Birkin. William's pathological obsession with viruses surpassed Wesker's, meaning Wesker had less standing and less importance within the Umbrella Corporation, despite his superior networking skills. Since the CEO, Ozwell E. Spencer, prioritized immortality through viruses, not competent managers, Wesker felt undervalued. This was the primary reason for his planned betrayal.
Now, looking at the T-002 model—once a source of excitement—Wesker felt nothing but contempt. He had already injected himself with the Progenitor Virus, and he could feel his own body rapidly evolving: his senses, strength, speed, and nerve responses were all enhancing without side effects. He was the true evolution; the T-Virus and the Tyrant were merely flawed prototypes.
"..."
"Hello, defective product. I truly don't know why those fools worship you. 'Ultimate Life Form'? Laughable. But it doesn't matter. You'll suffice if you can get me the leverage I need. Now, let's see the strength of your so-called ultimate evolution, Tyrant."
Wesker approached the console, input his access code, and pressed the release button.
"Click!"
"Woooo—!!!"
The entire lab filled with a loud, mechanical hum, and alarms blared.
"Detection of biological weapon leakage. Detection of biological weapon leakage. Danger level: EXTREME! All researchers evacuate immediately. Repeat, all researchers evacuate immediately."
As the mechanical voice echoed, the green nutrient fluid quickly drained away. The sleeping giant's body began to tremble, showing signs of awakening.
Chris and Enrico, watching from afar, were stunned. They had no idea what this massive, bald, and incredibly muscular figure was. It stood nearly 3 meters tall, its pale skin scarred but not heavily decomposed. The giant, throbbing red heart exposed on its chest and the immense claws on its right hand suggested terrifying power. Was this Umbrella's ultimate bioweapon?
Wesker interrupted their thoughts.
"That is the Tyrant T-002 model. Umbrella's secret ultimate bioweapon, intended to be a controllable soldier for mass deployment. Too bad it's just a defective prototype. The purpose of leading you S.T.A.R.S. here is simple: I need combat data from the Tyrant. The mission of fighting it is yours, Chris, Enrico. Are you surprised? You both wanted to be heroes. Now, the task of dealing with an ultimate bioweapon is yours."
Seeing the T-002 about to awaken, Wesker dropped all pretense. He confirmed that he had activated the lab's recording devices to stream the combat data to his computer and, more importantly, had initiated the mansion's self-destruct sequence, set to go off in five minutes. Five minutes was more than enough time for the T-002 to eliminate the two "failures," and Wesker didn't expect them to last that long anyway. With the data secured and the mansion about to explode, he no longer needed to be here.
"Oh... I almost forgot!" Wesker suddenly paused, a playful glint in his eyes. "You two can't possibly survive for five minutes against the T-002 unarmed. Here you go. Struggle to survive. There are more desperate surprises waiting for you later..."
He tossed the confiscated police pistol back to Chris and Enrico.
"There's only one handgun. Don't try to ambush me with it. It only has 15 rounds. Use them up, and you won't be able to defeat the T-002. Good luck, S.T.A.R.S."
Wesker chose not to engage the Tyrant directly this time. With a cold finality, he turned his back on Chris and Enrico and swiftly disappeared into the tunnel on the other side of the lab.
The Mole and the Traitor's Confession
Meanwhile, in a different section of the underground lab, Javier's group was searching for evidence and came across an email on a computer terminal:
"June 8th, 1998—
Dear Ada, by the time you read this, I may no longer be myself. The test results came back an unpleasant positive reaction—the result I dreaded most. But perhaps this is fate! Just the thought of the coming nightmare drives me mad. I would give up everything to not turn into a monster."
"To my knowledge, you haven't been infected, and I sincerely hope it never comes to that. But if you are the only one left, please retrieve the data from the Visual Data Room."
"Then, activate the self-destruct system in the Power Room. Do your best to expose the truth. If all goes well, you should be able to unlock all the doors. I've set up the terminal: the first set of login credentials is my name as the account and your name as the password. The final password is in the X-ray film in the Visual Data Room. You're clever; you'll figure it out. Lastly, a final request: if I truly become a monster and you happen upon me, please end my life. I don't want to be an ugly creature. That is all. I love you, Ada."
"Yours sincerely, John..."
Jill and Barry were astonished. The evidence they needed was hidden in the Visual Data Room. This simplified things: find the X-ray, get the last password, and expose Umbrella.
Javier, however, had a different reaction.
"Ugh... how cheesy," he muttered mentally, internally disgusted. "I love you, Ada." This was Ada Wong, the international agent and spy. This John, the former director of the mansion lab and a virology genius, had completely succumbed to her charms, turning into a "dog" for her.
Javier knew that "Ada Wong" was an alias and that she was an agent for a rival organization. John, the "genius," had been so easily duped by her sweet words and promise of love that he willingly gave her the keys to Umbrella's secrets—even setting the password as "Ada Wong"—believing she would expose Umbrella. Genius intellect, negative emotional quotient, Javier scoffed. He was amazed at how easily Ada manipulated him and how John had been successfully led to believe she would expose the corporation.
He briefly entertained the thought of how this John would react if he knew his beloved Ada would soon meet the handsome rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy in Raccoon City and fall head over heels, starting a decades-long, codependent affair.
Javier's thoughts were interrupted.
"Bang—!!!"
Despite the distance, the gunshot echoed loudly through the underground tunnels. A shot from a handgun could only mean one thing: human activity.
Javier's group exchanged glances. They immediately abandoned the computer terminal. A living person in distress was far more important than any email evidence right now. They swiftly ran toward the source of the gunshot.