Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

"No, to make a long story short, listen to me first. Immediately, gather all the evidence and documents you've collected, prepare your self-defense weapons, and take basic precautions. I've returned from Europe, departed from San Francisco, and am about to arrive in Raccoon City..."

"Your location... your current location may have been exposed. Umbrella is going to destroy all the evidence in Raccoon City, and you're likely to be a target... Anyway, move to the west side of the city. My and Umbrella's forces will enter Raccoon City from the west and meet up with you."

"Wait, what are you saying? You're with Umbrella's troops?" Jill's voice suddenly rose several octaves.

"That's hard to explain. I'm with Umbrella's forces, but not with the Umbrella forces in Raccoon City..."

"Does it make a difference?"

"Hey Jill, anyway, trust me, you move first, be careful, the sooner the better." *Beep!* The call ended.

Jill put down the phone in a daze. "Chris, what on earth is going on?"

Despite her confusion, the bond and trust forged through shared hardships with STARS prompted Jill to immediately begin packing the documents, photos, photocopies, film, and other items from the wall into her travel bag. Just as Jill finished packing and began checking her cell phone, police shotgun, and ammunition...

dong dong.

knocking.

Jill abruptly looked up. She hadn't ordered takeout! Most of STARS's companions were probably not in Raccoon City at this time, and her colleagues at the police station were likely working overtime, given the current situation.

Connecting this to what Chris had just said—Umbrella's silencing squad! Jill's eyes narrowed instantly. She gently cocked her shotgun, slung her travel bag over her shoulder, and quietly crept up.

dong dong.

dong dong.

The knocking continued a few more times before stopping, seemingly as if the homeowner was asleep, or perhaps as an attempt to confirm whether anyone was inside. Then, the sound of the lock being pried open rang out.

Click.

The door opened, and Jill, who was hidden to the side, focused intently. Just as a gun barrel was the first to pierce the doorway, Jill moved. "Umbrella's bastard!" She raised her shotgun and fired. Bang!

The gunshot rang out, and she could see a figure in a black combat uniform with a red and white umbrella-shaped logo fall to the ground.

In an instant, tap tap tap—

Gunfire rang out.

...

Meanwhile, in Raccoon City, west of the city.

A convoy of heavy-duty multi-purpose vans broke through the rain and arrived at a gas station.

boom!

With a loud bang, a figure squatting on the ground gnawing on something had its entire upper body smashed to pieces and was sent flying backward.

"Has it spread all the way here?" Chris, fully armed, got out of the car and looked at the mangled corpses at his feet. His face was grim. He then fired a shot into the head.

He exchanged a glance with the USF Mobile Team members behind him, then put on his helmet.

"Attention, we have entered Raccoon City. Operation commence."

------

Chapter 029 Sin, Chaos, Revelry

1998/9/25.

evening.

"Mom, huff...huff...Mom, I can't run anymore!"

In the rain, two figures, one tall and one short, stumbled and struggled to make their way from the completely blocked Raccoon Street into the Arklay Scenic Boulevard in the outer city. They ran forward with difficulty, soaked to the bone and trudging through the muddy sidewalk.

"Not yet, hurry, sweetheart, faster! You can do it, we have to get away from here as soon as possible!"

The short figure staggered and nearly fell several times, but her mother helped her up each time. Her soaked golden hair clung to the woman's cheeks, and rainwater slid down her face. She was panting heavily, completely drenched, and looked back at Raccoon City, a gray expanse with only a few glimmers of light, her face filled with deep fear.

"They've gone mad, everyone's gone mad!"

Over there, under the rain curtain, distorted light and stacked figures swayed, and chilling groans could be heard faintly.

The woman held her daughter's hand tightly and continued running, but her speed inevitably slowed down. In the dark rain, the figures of the mother and daughter appeared so small, as if they could be swallowed up by the storm at any moment.

Finally, a tiny puddle caused the girl to slip and fall. Her mother had to stop to help her up and pick her up, but the hypothermia caused by being soaked and the fact that she had escaped the city had almost exhausted her strength, and her breathing became increasingly rapid.

"Roar." At that moment, that chilling roar came from behind them again.

As they drew nearer, a bloodied and mangled figure came into the mother and daughter's view. It stretched out its pale hand and opened its blood-red maw, lunging at them. "God help us," the mother cried out in despair, but still instinctively shielded her child behind her.

Sudden--

boom!

Gunfire erupted in the rain, and blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

bang.

High-powered flashlight.

Seemingly having seen the mother and daughter clearly, the light quickly adjusted to a gentler tone. Only then did the mother see clearly the tall figure approaching, with arms adorned with blue-purple fluorescent bands, wearing a dark full-coverage combat uniform, combat boots, a heavy bulletproof vest with insert plates, a breathing filter mask, a fully enclosed helmet, and a single-hole three-eye night vision device.

He put down the huge steel gun, half-squatted down, and extended his hand to the mother and daughter.

The little girl stared blankly at the USF fluorescent letters on the figure's chest.

He picked up the girl with one arm and helped the woman, whose face showed relief and gratitude, to a small roadside service shop about fifty meters away.

"I'm sorry, an examination is necessary. Have you been bitten or scratched?"

The USF welcomed the two women under a makeshift rain shelter. After carefully examining their limbs, necks, and torsos with flashlights to confirm there were no wounds, they draped emergency polyester thermal blankets over them.

Only then did the woman realize that the small roadside service shop was surrounded by seven large, heavy-duty multi-purpose vans, some of which had been unfolded, forming a temporary campervan-like location.

Several people, wrapped in thermal blankets like her, sat listlessly in the corner.

A group of fully armed personnel were moving, assembling, and debugging monitors, mainframes, medical kits, ammunition boxes, heavy firepower such as M2 heavy machine guns, M134 Gatling guns, autocannons, and multiple rocket launchers, as well as various other items she couldn't name.

The crisp sound of gunfire rang out from time to time.

Crawling on the roof of the vehicle, a USF guard with a silenced high-precision sniper rifle already mounted pulled the trigger, systematically eliminating the wandering zombies in his line of sight.

"Umbrella's guards, but what's this insignia?"

As a Raccoon City resident, it was impossible for her not to come into contact with Umbrella.

This group is undoubtedly from Umbrella, all bearing a red and white umbrella-shaped logo on their chests, but what are those black and yellow striped squares on their shoulder armor? MILITECH…

"Military technology?"

She whispered this.

But she quickly put these unnecessary thoughts aside and hugged her child tightly. She had lost her husband, who had chosen to stay behind to protect them and was attacked by those 'cannibalistic' patients. Now she only wanted to protect her child's safety.

"The National Guard is expected to arrive within 12 to 24 hours, at which point you will be able to evacuate safely."

A USF soldier guarding the survivors handed them bottled water and food.

"Thank you."

Standing at the entrance to Raccoon Avenue, Chris took in everything. Under his helmet, he turned his head with a complicated expression. "Those at Umbrella who really need to admit their guilt are not the lower-ups, but the higher-ups like William Birkin."

"He should admit his guilt, but his arrogance and stubbornness ruined everything."

Vera's voice came through the headset.

"..." Without taking up the topic, Chris looked at the closed monitor embedded in the side of the transport vehicle beside him. On the screen, Vera's hands were naturally placed on the table, and her clean and beautiful figure appeared.

"Things have gotten this serious, you should believe me by now, right?"

Chris said.

“I believe you. The promise will take effect. When you take the evidence out of Raccoon City, I will publicly announce my withdrawal from Umbrella and lead the California branch and the USA region of Umbrella out of the control of the Paris headquarters.”

“I will also publicly denounce Spencer and William Birkin’s crimes in Congress. They concealed the company’s history and deceived me. I will make them pay. Well then, good luck.”

"I hope."

Chris moved out of the camera's range. The evacuation point was set up. He went to the front of the vehicle, waved to the USF driver in the cockpit, and then began to accelerate, walking onto Raccoon Avenue, which was completely blocked by abandoned vehicles.

Nearby, USF soldiers clearing out scattered zombies moved closer to Chris, using him as a spearhead, and worked closely together to quickly advance into Raccoon City.

As the team responsible for the pick-up, the USF driver simply parked the vehicle sideways at the intersection and deployed the stabilizing support.

hum...bum...

Under the control of the drone operators, small, waterproof reconnaissance drones were launched by USF soldiers. Inside the vehicle, firing ports were opened, and several M2 heavy machine gunners loaded their weapons. Support teams then proceeded to the high ground and began setting up firing positions in an orderly manner.

...

Director's office, Umbrella Industrial Park, San Francisco.

A huge split-screen display unfolded in front of Vera, with an aerial view of Raccoon City occupying the center of the screen. Moving green dots and miniature vehicle outlines represented the USF Mobile Squadron she had dispatched.

Although it's a several-generation-old, outdated version, and the supporting technologies still need time to be implemented and the timing isn't right, the personal tactical terminal system is at least equipped to individuals, which is enough for Vera to sit back and monitor and command from thousands of kilometers away in real time.

This also allowed her to experience Arasaka-style surveillance operations in Umbrella.

After all, she wouldn't, and couldn't, go to Raccoon City herself.

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.

She's a supervisor, not a regular soldier. A whole bunch of people are counting on her for their livelihood. Take those USF soldiers, for example. They died, and their pensions and families all need Vera's care. They probably don't want Vera to go to that hellish Raccoon City and risk her life.

Most importantly, Vera was afraid of dying.

William Birkin, now a G-monster, is still wandering Raccoon City, and Vera fears he might go insane if he suddenly sees her.

Vera is very self-aware; over the years she has indeed made a habit of teasing William and provoking him whenever she has a spare moment.

William probably hates her to death.

So it seems that, after the investigation in Washington, they might try to pin some blame on me for William Birkin's descent into darkness...

With a wry smile, Vera shook her head and turned her gaze back to the USF she had built.

"Unfortunately, the feedback speed is too slow, the marking is inaccurate, and there's no clear first-person perspective for individual soldiers... It would be great if the vehicle factory were in operation. Without flying vehicles and mech units, and with the weapons lacking, this 'Terrorist Mobile Squad' isn't terrorist at all..."