Although Carlos was honest and simple, he wasn't truly foolish. He understood Nikolai's character and personality, so without any hesitation, he immediately took the pistol, tactical dagger, and other weapons from Nikolai's waist, then used a tactical belt to bind Nikolai's hands.
He didn't want to reenact the fable of the farmer and the snake.
Facing a cunning Silver Wolf,
Carlos didn't want to become Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother, directly eaten by this evil wolf, so it was better to be cautious.
And so...
Under Carlos's threat, Nikolai had no choice but to abandon the idea of escaping alone and followed behind Carlos, searching for survivors. However, as time passed, Nikolai's gaze towards Carlos became increasingly filled with hatred, even wanting to flay him, tear out his tendons, and slice him into pieces to relieve the resentment of Carlos humiliating him.
However,
Carlos's choice was also correct,
Because after dozens of minutes of searching, dozens of survivors in the subway station had been found. Three or four survivors had been hit by collapsed subway facilities, breaking their feet or legs, and were unable to move.
They could only be moved onto the train to lie down, while the other survivors who could still move, at Carlos's call, used broadcast loudspeakers outside the subway station to loudly shout the news that the subway train was usable,
To attract as many survivors as possible to hear...
But this action also attracted more zombies. Carlos directed that group of survivors to use the weapons left by the U.B.C.S. members' corpses for a meager defense. This was the best method, and also the worst. They couldn't run out alone to find survivors, so they could only rely on survivors running in themselves.
After all...
The nuclear bomb attack was about to arrive, and they didn't have much time left—
P.S.: Overtime, overtime... Damn, I'm going to slack off for a few months after the New Year before going back to work.
Chapter 49: Afterword
"Da da da da da da —!!!"
Gunshots in the subway station were incessant.
And the attracted zombie horde was also growing larger and larger. With a population of about 100,000 in Raccoon City, the number of infected zombies was terrifying. Therefore, the already dilapidated subway station began to gradually fail to resist the zombies' attacks.
Coupled with the rapidly depleting remaining ammunition, there was no other way... Carlos could only lead the survivors to fight and retreat, moving towards the last train. And facing the survivors who hadn't yet arrived outside, Carlos could only say a shameful apology.
He was not a saint.
Even if the survivors outside also wanted to grasp the last straw of survival, considering there were more survivors inside the train, Carlos had no choice but to opt for elimination by numbers. It was impossible to sacrifice the lives of over fifty survivors inside the train to continue waiting for a few scattered survivors outside the subway station.
"Hey, idiot!"
"Don't keep wasting time like this, time is running out. Do you want us all to die here?"
Glancing at the watch on his wrist,
Nikolai, with his hands tied behind his back, angrily cursed at Carlos, "Saving people, saving people, even if you're saving people, why don't you look at the time before you save them? There are only tens of minutes left until the nuclear explosion. If we don't escape, are we really waiting to die?"
However,
This time, Carlos didn't refute Nikolai,
Because he himself knew he couldn't continue being so willful. He looked at the dense horde of zombies outside, forcefully pressing against the protective measures made of iron sheets, as if a surging flood was about to overflow the dam, extremely dangerous.
Carlos didn't hesitate. After loudly announcing the retreat to the surrounding survivors and the order to flee to the train, he immediately hoisted the four-barreled rocket launcher onto his shoulder.
"Sorry..."
"Click—whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!!"
The four-barreled rocket launcher on Carlos's shoulder instantly fired. Four rockets spewed powerful fiery exhaust trails, carrying rolling white smoke, all whistling towards the zombie horde behind the subway station's iron sheet defenses. With a loud "boom," nearly a hundred zombies instantly turned into fragments piled at the subway station entrance.
This could temporarily buy them a little time, giving them enough time to escape!
"Thump-thump-thump..."
"Thump-thump-thump..."
Urgent footsteps echoed in the subway station.
Dozens of survivors also discarded their empty weapons and all ran quickly towards the last train. No one wanted to stay here.
Especially after hearing Nikolai, that guy, try to incite infighting by saying that the government was about to bomb Raccoon City with a nuclear bomb, these survivors had no intention of lingering, even if their relatives were still trapped inside.
"Get ready, we're departing!"
"Click..."
"Buzz—!!!"
Seeing all the survivors board the train, Carlos slowly activated the train's power. Accompanied by a violent tremor, the train began to slowly operate, and the power output caused its speed to accelerate.
Before long, this last Noah's Ark rushed out of the subway station and quickly drove towards the outskirts of Raccoon City.
"..."
And looking at the rapidly flashing scenery around them,
The survivors on the train had incredibly complex feelings. Fortunately... they successfully escaped this hellish city, no longer tormented by those ugly monsters, and could return to their normal lives, just like this moving train.
But unfortunately,
They had escaped, and the government was going to use a small nuclear bomb to bomb the entire Raccoon City. Their relatives were still trapped inside, but they were powerless, only able to selfishly escape like this. Therefore, everyone's feelings were incredibly complex, their hollow eyes staring at the ground, their dazed expressions lost in thought.
"Tsk... conceited fellow,"
On the other side,
Nikolai, with his wrists bound, looked at the forty or fifty survivors inside the train and couldn't help but click his tongue, muttering disdainfully. He hated Carlos, especially when that guy dared to ride roughshod over him earlier. But now that he could truly leave Raccoon City, Nikolai didn't care as much anymore.
Because he still had two choices.
The first was to sell the scale of destruction and combat data of the Bio-weapon virus and BOWs to Umbrella Corporation after getting out. These were things Umbrella Corporation wanted, even if Nikolai had already anticipated that Umbrella Corporation would be on the verge of bankruptcy after this Raccoon City incident, it didn't matter.
Because as long as it could rely on the power of the virus, Umbrella Corporation could always change its skin and make a comeback at any time. Therefore, Nikolai still believed that the intelligence he held was very valuable.
The second was to whitewash himself and defect to the government. Precisely because the intelligence he possessed was so important, Nikolai was even more confident that the government would value him greatly, after all, if the government wanted to strike at Umbrella Corporation, it would need necessary evidence, and he could provide it!
In this way,
Under the government's protection, he could comfortably receive a large sum of money and a legitimate profession, and perhaps even become a politician with a little power. It sounded great, much better than working himself to death on the front lines risking his life for intelligence.
But how to choose between these two options?
No...
The clever and witty Nikolai believed there was no need to choose,
Because the Silver Wolf is always cunning and greedy. He was confident that he could swallow all these delicious and tasty slices of profit from both the government and Umbrella Corporation without either of them realizing it. Therefore... Nikolai declared that he wanted it all!
So,
Facing these impending benefits,
Nikolai's hatred for Carlos naturally diminished. Just a conceited idiot, anyway, they would never be on the same level. Once he became successful, he wouldn't need to bother with such people.
And so...
Thus, this last Noah's Ark was carrying Carlos and the survivors away from the surging flood, searching for the last habitable land island on the ocean—!
October 1, 1998—
Because the United States Government and the military could no longer control the spread of the T-Virus, they decided to use a small nuclear bomb to bomb Raccoon City. In the early morning of October 1st, a small nuclear bomb was launched from a U.S. military base. It pierced through the clouds at an extremely fast speed, accurately appearing above Raccoon City, and was dropped!
October 1st, 6:01:30 AM.
With an explosion that echoed through the clouds, a massive mushroom cloud rose out of nowhere, and a powerful shockwave storm swept through a hundred-mile radius. In the blinding yellow-white light, Raccoon City was completely annihilated. This famous city in Colorado erased its name from the map. A total of 100,000 people in Raccoon City perished, with fewer than a hundred survivors successfully escaping.
This was perhaps the most heinous act of sanction against Resident Evil in American history...
But the United States Government and the military vehemently denied it, even though citizens in other cities of Colorado had witnessed this massive and tragic nuclear bombing with their own eyes.
However, the government and military still used the excuse of testing a new type of nuclear weapon to evade and prevaricate, and they blocked most of the news. Except for cities in neighboring states, most people in other states and cities in the United States remained in the dark...
...
Three days later—
Meanwhile, on the other side,
In the countryside of New York, the economic capital...
Inside a rather large church, several devout Christian believers were performing their prayers. In the countryside... places like churches are always very popular because they can hold the hopes of people's hearts.
And in one room, a man dressed in a black priest's uniform and wearing a golden cross was looking with interest at the beautiful blonde girl lying on the bed in front of him. Her rosy little face was dotted with a few freckles, a red hair clip was tied to her head, and her golden hair was scattered messily across her forehead. Her small face was playful and cute, like a little Snow White princess from a fairy tale.
There was no doubt this was a cute and stubborn little girl.
Because even though it was clearly noon, this little girl was tightly wrapped in a white quilt, and her occasionally trembling eyelashes and rolling eyeballs were enough to prove that this cute little girl was feigning sleep, refusing to wake up even though her forehead was covered in fine sweat.
And this little girl, who made people unable to help but smile, was Sherry Birkin.
And the man in the black priest's uniform in front of her was not some pervert attempting to molest a minor... no, to molest a girl, but Javier, who was currently in the midst of role-playing.
Using Catherine, the mayor's daughter's money ability, Javier successfully obtained the disguised identity of a church priest and went undercover in the countryside, changing his appearance to avoid investigation by the United States Government and Umbrella Corporation—
After all, those who escaped from the hellish city of Raccoon City,
More or less, they would be targeted by the United States Government and Umbrella Corporation, because they feared these survivors would speak out, so they wanted to secretly and strictly detain the survivors.
Javier was currently unwilling to interact with the United States Government, so he simply fabricated information of his death, changed his identity, and escaped.
After all, who knew if there were any Umbrella Corporation undercover agents hidden within the United States Government? Javier had ruined Umbrella Corporation's good deeds three or four times. If he were to have his throat slit by an inside agent from the United States Government while sleeping, that would truly be a big problem.
Therefore, laying low for a while was the best option.
And Catherine, as the mayor's daughter, was also not having an easy time. Although Javier successfully brought her out of Raccoon City, she only discovered upon leaving that her father, Mike Warren, had already died. The cause of death was an accidental T-Virus infection, after which he turned into a zombie outside Raccoon City and was forcibly killed by others.
This immediately drew the high attention of the United States Government... because it was a case of viral leakage. The moment it was discovered, all news was sealed, and Catherine, as his daughter, was also thoroughly investigated.
However, this cause of death was very melodramatic and absurd.
As the mayor of Raccoon City, he had a dedicated helicopter and bodyguards for his escape, and he fled immediately when the T-Virus first broke out. Even if he were infected, it would be difficult for a zombie to get close to him.
Therefore, Javier suspected that this was an assassination and cover-up carried out by Umbrella Corporation. After all, as the mayor of Raccoon City, Mike Warren must have known many of Umbrella Corporation's secrets, including the fact that Umbrella had established an Institute in Raccoon City's sewers. This was detrimental to Umbrella Corporation, so secretly eliminating him was a very normal thing.
And a T-Virus infection as the cause of death would be even more suitable...
However,
This also saved Javier a lot of trouble, because after the death of Mike Warren, the mayor of Raccoon City, all his assets went to Catherine, the mayor's daughter. A large amount of real estate, land, and fund bonds made Catherine a billionaire worth billions. One must remember... this was 1998, and being a billionaire was not that simple. Of course, most of it was money from bribes with Umbrella Corporation.
Therefore, Javier could be said to have latched onto a powerful backer.
The two collaborated for mutual benefit.
Javier needed Catherine, the wealthy daughter, to provide some financial assistance, while Javier would protect her from the harm of Umbrella Corporation and resolve business obstacles.
So, the death of Mayor Mike Warren, in a sense, was a blessing in disguise. Catherine was suffering, while Javier was happy, as manipulating Catherine was much simpler than manipulating an old fox like her father.
As for Claire and the others...
They had all left the United States, as it was not a good idea for them to remain in America during this sensitive period; they could easily be targeted by the United States Government and Umbrella Corporation.
Claire went to Italy with Barry, where Barry had settled his wife and daughter, so it was very safe. Claire had recognized the ugly faces of the United States Government and those politicians and was now very confused. She could only adjust her emotions slightly with Barry, hoping to lift her head again and move forward.
As expected, Leon was noticed by the United States Government. This rookie intern police officer managed to escape from Raccoon City, where the Resident Evil outbreak occurred, which showed his character and ability. This greatly pleased the United States Federal Government organization, which invited Leon to join and form a special operations team specifically to deal with Bio-weapons.
Although Leon also hated the politicians in the United States Government, he had no other choice, because a small police officer could not achieve his grand ambitions. Only by becoming an agent of the United States Government could he rescue more innocent civilians harmed by Bio-weapons. After escaping from Raccoon City... Leon had always held this firm belief.
As for Claire, the strongest female college student,
Because she was not a native resident of Raccoon City, she was not subjected to strict scrutiny by the United States Government, nor was she targeted by Umbrella Corporation, which annoyed Claire.
She was especially angry because her motorcycle, which she had saved money for by working part-time while studying, was destroyed in Raccoon City shortly after she started riding it. Therefore, Claire did not heed Javier's advice and continued to search for her brother's whereabouts...
And finally, Sherry Birkin, who was right in front of him—
After Javier cruelly informed her that her father and mother had died, this was the third day she refused to acknowledge Javier. Every time she saw Javier, this stranger, Sherry would defiantly pretend to sleep in protest.
Because she never believed the fact that her parents had died, and every time she tried to escape the church, she would be caught by Javier, which made Sherry dislike Javier more and more...
...
"Aren't you hot? I bought you a sweet strawberry sundae."
"Also, didn't your mother and father tell you not to move your eyeballs when you're pretending to sleep? Because it's very easy to be discovered that way!"
Looking at the sulking Sherry, Javier helplessly and softly spoke, exposing her...