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[HOTD] Chapter 42 – Rescue Team and Underground
🕑 Added 2025-04-14 10:58:00 +0000 UTCRei and Saeko went into the mall to fetch some water for us. Although Saeko was injured, she was adamant to fetch some food.
"I also want to straighten things out with her, so this is a perfect time." She told me that before disappearing with Rei.
Saya sat on the chair next to Takashi with her head hung low. She looked dejected and somewhat irritated. Both hands folded together rested firmly upon her thighs.
"So," she said quietly, breaking the silence "That thing outside..."
"The big giant with weird veins and stuff?" I asked nonchalantly.
"Yeah..." She hesitated slightly before continuing, "What was it?"
"That is..." I paused momentarily, gathering thoughts properly inside my mind.
It would be strange if I knew that thing existed since no one even knew where the zombies came from. Maybe the story would change if they knew that zombies were biologically manufactured as weapons and became out of control based on Umbrella Corporation's background.
But there was no point for me to say this anyway. Let alone about T-Virus, virus outbreak, or Bio Organic Weapons. All of them were still unknown.
"...a powerful mutated zombie." I answered.
Saya glanced back up and stared directly into my eyes. Then, she seemed to fall into a deep thought and nodded to herself.
"That's possible. Even viruses can mutate and become something else. If a virus can revive people and turn them into zombies, then there is a possibility that it changes and turns someone into that thing. A human with a big body size might have a bigger chance to change into one."
Takashi fell silent listening to Saya. It didn't take long before he broke it with a question aimed at her, "What is the possibility for such virus mutation to happen in nature?"
"There are always possibilities in nature. Especially viruses." She sighed and leaned back slightly on her seat before continuing further, "They mutate in unpredictable ways so you never know when and where things could change."
"So there may be another mutated zombie like that." I interjected curiously while gazing outwards through large windows nearby. "Don't forget birds, animals, and fish that could also get infected with this virus."
"That would be scary." Saya shivered visibly despite the warm temperature surrounding us.
She looked pale and slightly disheveled; no doubt thinking about potential danger posed by wildlife creatures turning aggressive due to infectious disease spreading rapidly among animal populations.
"That means nowhere will be safe. The virus might also prevent the flesh from decaying too fast. So even if decades pass, it might still remain and roam the streets." I added.
Both Takashi and Saya nodded solemnly at my remark. I too felt gloomy hearing my own words uttered aloud.
My plan had to change. Returning society to normal was impossible. Creating a shelter that housed thousands might be the limit. A whole city would be hard work. And there was no point in living in modern society if everywhere became ghost cities filled with zombies.
It meant my idea to create a city of commerce that gathered survivors from across Japan might fail. To create a trade route, I might need to clear every city and connect them.
'It would take a year or two clearing only one route. And to go overseas, it might need more. Unless I have a plane or something that I can use. Maybe a cruise ship... Nah, fuck that. Ship and zombie apocalypse only mean death flag.'
Thinking about this problem was useless if I didn't have a clue to cure the virus. Even if I had access to many things in my shop, none of them could cure the virus for cheap.
'If Umbrella exists in this world, then the hint to make a cure will be in their lab.'
Racoon City Incident and Raccoon City Outbreak Game event. Their lab might have clues for me. At least I won't have to worry about searching blindly. At worst, I could search for Leon S Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Chris, Ada Wong, and Jill Valentine if they existed in this world.
Being with them would increase my safety.
Yes, creating a shelter with strong and reliable people might be a better plan for now.
As we waited, Saeko and Rei returned with bottled waters and crackers. The latter's expression didn't seem all too great though when handing them out.
Perhaps because of what transpired earlier? Something definitely happened between her and Saeko when they fetched the water.
I didn't really care and just focused on drinking.
Following that, we planned our way back to the mansion, but that seemed to be unnecessary.
Vroom!
A familiar sound could be heard from the outside and I quickly recognized what that was. Rushing to the exit with Saeko and the others behind me, I saw three men and one beautiful woman exiting a humvee.
Seeing them, our expression lit up. I couldn't help but feel happy too because reinforcements had arrived, although they were really late.
Logically, I would return to Takagi Mansion along with the others right away.
However, I was too curious about the underground that Takashi mentioned and decided to check it out. As much as I wanted to go alone, I wasn't allowed to due to my injury. Don Takagi was with me while the others were waiting outside.
Going downstairs using the staff entrance, we quickly located the entrance to the underground.
"This is curious." Don Takagi said as we looked at the entrance, "The metal door is smashed. And there is a handprint of blood here."
Yes, the metal door was smashed open from inside.
The culprit? Most probably Tyrant Nishimura.
And that made it easier for us to enter what seemed like a larger room. Light constantly flickered ominously above our heads illuminating otherwise pitch black darkness encasing our vicinity.
Small particles of dust wafting gently around us. A faint odor reminiscent rotting meat permeated throughout the room, with some liquid creating a puddle on the ground.
Glass tubes illuminated brightly by light emitted from overhead ceiling fixtures. Some contained fluids similar in coloration and viscosity as water, whereas others possessed thicker consistency reminiscent of mucus mixed alongside brownish grey substance.
A multitude of pipes ran criss-crossed pattern beneath translucent panels lining the opposite wall; leading downward towards a pit filled to the brim containing murky reddish brown colored fluid.
Several machines lined one side; large cylindrical tubes containing clear liquid mixture connected via transparent hose running upward towards the upper section housing the filtration device.
And amidst them all, one tube was broken, the glass shattered apart. I looked around and exchanged glances with Don Takagi.
"Keep this a secret." He whispered to me, "If this information goes out, it can cause panic among our members."
"Yes, sir." I nodded understandingly. I wanted to ask a lot about his knowledge, whether he knew about it or not, but I knew it wasn't the right time to do so.
However, I judged that he knew nothing from his reaction. This project didn't involve him at all, and even a person of his stature was kept in the dark.
Maybe this lab was an illegal one, and the one who created them might be people related to Umbrella Corp. One that had authority and power. Or maybe an associate to the government. With a small lab like this, there might be no records or documents to keep.
'Still, there should be some traces left behind.'
"Let's get some documents or research about what they did here."
As soon as I spoke, Don Takagi agreed and went to gather all possible documentation available.
Afterward, we searched meticulously throughout the entire laboratory. We didn't dare to touch the cables or broken tube. Some of them still leaked and dripped down to the floor, causing a puddle to form underneath its surface.
Fortunately enough; nothing happened during our search. We returned to the surface soon with a bunch of documents in hand, unaware whether they were useful or not.
