The missed shot, the complete whiff that didn't even graze the target, left Javier feeling embarrassed. He was supposed to be a "shooting genius," so why did he fail at the most crucial moment? Was his predecessor's talent a lie?
"Hey, big brother," Javier pleaded, patting his own hand. "Where's your shooting talent? Don't fail me now! If that girl Rebecca laughs at me, where will I put my face? I'm begging you... If you have any unfulfilled wishes, I'll burn billions of paper money for you, okay?"
Javier thought the body's previous owner was upset and was sabotaging him. He started spewing nonsense, trying to convince the "big brother" to show off his shooting skills and not ruin his reputation.
Meanwhile, Rebecca, seeing the missed shot, struggled to suppress her laughter.
Some shooting genius, she thought. He's way too arrogant. A hundred-meter moving target is a drill for rifles, and even fifty meters with a handgun is difficult. He's just full of hot air.
She had expected him to miss, but she hadn't anticipated how funny it would be when he actually did.
"Hey, Javier, what's wrong?" Rebecca shouted, a sly smile on her face. "Don't tell me you can't do it? Men are all the same, they're all talk until it's time to perform. Looks like your 'shooting genius' is nothing special after all."
Her words seemed to trigger something. Javier's hand twitched, as if Rebecca's mockery had truly wounded his predecessor's fragile ego. He felt a surge of emotion—a feeling of resentment.
Perhaps his predecessor really was a "three-second man," an expert at shooting quickly. Since he was a "shooting genius," maybe he just couldn't help but finish fast, which would explain why he was so sensitive to Rebecca's teasing.
"..."
"How can a man ever say 'no'!" Javier declared, responding to his predecessor's anger. "I was just testing the general bullet drop. This time, it's for real, Rebecca. Throw the disc again. I'm not messing around this time. Don't be scared!"
Perhaps sensing the anger of his predecessor, Javier quickly shouted back at Rebecca, asking her to get ready to throw another disc. This time, it would be different. He truly felt that his innate shooting talent had returned.
"Click—!"
He re-chambered a round.
This time, Javier relaxed and was no longer as tense. He looked at the front with a calm gaze. He had done this kind of training before, so there was no need to be nervous. He just needed to trust his years of high-intensity training.
"Hmph," Rebecca scoffed from afar.
"Here it comes!"
Seeing that Javier was still so stubborn, Rebecca decided to give him another chance. She instantly threw the red disc high into the air. This time, it was faster and more unpredictable.
But...
His predecessor said that he had already analyzed the probability and calculation methods of winning the lottery, so shooting a hundred-meter moving target with a handgun, which was as difficult as winning the lottery, was not a particularly difficult task for him. It could be done with ease!
"Vroom..."
The bright red disc was thrown into the air, creating a beautiful parabola. Javier decisively raised his gun, squinted, and locked onto the target. The black muzzle of the Glock 22 moved slightly, and the solution to a complex equation instantly appeared in his mind. He immediately calculated the correct bullet drop point.
"Bang—!"
"Bang—Bang—Bang—!!!"
He pulled the trigger, and the shot rang out. The bright orange bullet flew out with a fiery trail. Like a flash of white light, the bullet pierced the red disc in midair, shattering it into countless pieces that scattered on the ground with a crisp sound.
It was a hit—no doubt about it!
"This..." Rebecca was stunned.
"How is this possible? Was it luck? Or..."
Seeing the disc completely shattered, Rebecca, who had been ready to keep taunting Javier, froze. An expression of disbelief appeared on her cute, doll-like face.
She couldn't believe it. In all her time on the police force, she had never seen anyone with such amazing marksmanship. To be able to accurately hit a moving target at a hundred meters... No wonder this guy was recruited by S.T.A.R.S with an exception. He was really that good!
"Hey, Javier," she called out.
"Again...!!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Rebecca shouted at Javier again and threw another red disc into the air. This time, it was even faster and the direction was more unpredictable.
But...
"Bang—!"
"Bang—Bang—Bang—Bang—!!!"
As more red discs flew out, one after another, the sounds of gunfire rang out. Even so, each red disc was hit by Javier, as if his "shooting genius" talent had possessed him. They were all shattered into countless pieces that scattered on the ground.
At this moment, the girl Rebecca finally understood. Javier wasn't lying. This shooting talent wasn't just luck; he was truly, incredibly skilled!
After shooting all the hundred-meter discs, Javier slowly relaxed his tense hands. He had worked so well with his predecessor that he was mentally exhausted. His palms were still trembling slightly, as if he had just taken a hit of something powerful.
"Phew!"
"That's some serious shooting talent, kid! Here! Take the Magnum handguns you wanted. When I was in World War II, I wasn't as good as you. Bullseye every time... one gun could take out several enemies. That's impressive," said the old man Hawke, who had been watching for a while. He had been there the whole time, but Javier had been so focused that he hadn't noticed him.
Hawke placed the Desert Eagle and M500 revolver that Javier had purchased on the table. But fearing that Javier would get carried away, he praised him while also giving him a warning.
After all...
There was a clear difference between shooting targets and killing people.
The S.T.A.R.S team's mission was to deal with the most vicious criminals in Raccoon City. When facing those damned guys, he couldn't show any mercy. He had to shoot them in the head every time, just like today.
Otherwise, being merciful to the enemy would be cruel to himself!
Javier, who had just recovered, was slightly startled by Hawke's warning. He nodded, understanding. He knew he would pull the trigger without hesitation, not only when facing people but also when facing those terrifying zombies.
He shifted his gaze from Hawke to the two handguns on the table and smiled with satisfaction. The thick grip, the all-alloy body, the exquisite design, and the powerful feeling, plus the incredibly reassuring .50-caliber Magnum rounds—this was the "Magnum Eagle." With this, Javier felt much more secure, even when facing mutated zombies.
After all, this gun could take down a moose from two hundred meters away. Killing a black bear or a rhino up close would be easy. It might even be able to instantly kill an elephant.
The other weapon, the M500 revolver, was also incredibly massive and sturdy. It had a silver and black color scheme, a barrel alone that was 26cm long, and a total length of 45.7cm. If he put it in his pocket, people might think he had something huge and strange in there. It also used .50-caliber rounds, but its cylinder could only hold five. Its power was significantly greater than the Desert Eagle's.
If the Desert Eagle might not be able to take down an elephant, the M500 revolver definitely could. Its immense power lived up to its reputation as a "hand cannon."
"..."
"Nice guns... very much to my liking," Javier said, nodding with satisfaction as he looked at the Magnum handguns Hawke had given him. He no longer had to worry. As for his cherished Glock 22, he would just toss it somewhere. It was great for fighting criminals, but it was useless against zombies.
"Hey, hey!"
"That was amazing, Javier. Where did you learn those skills? You're so good. Can you teach me? I want to learn how to hit a moving target at a hundred meters too!"
While Javier and Hawke were talking, the girl Rebecca ran back and started massaging Javier's shoulders with her small hands, asking with a sly, eager smile.
That girl...
Her mood changed faster than anyone's.
Just a moment ago, she was mocking Javier's shooting skills, and now she was trying to butter him up. Javier could only say that Rebecca was just a kid. Her emotions came and went quickly. Seeing a cool shooting technique, she couldn't help but want to learn and ask for guidance.
However, Javier couldn't really teach her.
Although he wanted to, the shooting skills were a result of his predecessor's years of training. He himself had no experience, so he couldn't teach her anything. His talent was his to use alone; he couldn't pass it on to others.
But, even if he couldn't teach, he could still deceive. Javier wasn't good at anything else, but he was great at talking his way out of things. With his silver tongue, he could easily trick Rebecca into being his obedient little fan girl.
"I can..."
"But the training will be tough. Can you handle it, Rebecca?"
"And lessons aren't free, ahem... you should know that!"
Enjoying the little girl's massage, Javier slowly opened one eye and spoke calmly.
"Huh?"
"What do you want? Money... or a gun? I don't have that much money on me, and I don't have any valuable collectible guns. I only joined S.T.A.R.S because they were interested in my medical and pharmaceutical skills," Rebecca said, her expression a little confused. She hadn't expected Javier to ask for payment for teaching her. She lamented that she didn't have much money or valuable things, and the only reason she was in S.T.A.R.S was for her medical skills. That's why she wanted to get better at shooting—she didn't want to be called a "useless vase."
And upon hearing that,
Javier shot her a look of disdain.
A vase? Rebecca's cute, doll-like face looked like a tomboy's. At most, she was a mascot, not a vase. The beautiful Jill Valentine from next door could barely be called a vase if she were useless.
And...
No wonder all the Bravo Team members died in the plot of Resident Evil 0. It was because the little girl Rebecca was their medic. But with her "little milk bottle jelly" chest, she couldn't heal anyone. With a little girl like her as a medic, it would be strange if the Bravo Team didn't all die. They needed a medic with a more substantial "headlight" to be effective.
"Ahem, I mean you have to listen to me! Not money. Just give me a good shoulder massage and don't interrupt me when I'm showing off during a mission. Then maybe I can teach you my shooting skills for free," Javier explained. He just wanted her to be more obedient and not act like a traitor or a "leaky padded jacket." After all, they were partners. What if she got him killed during a mission?
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Raccoon City, in the Arklay Mountains, was a training facility for Umbrella Corporation executives. This was once the research lab of James Marcus, one of Umbrella's founders, but it had been sealed for many years after a series of events.
The T-virus originated from a flower called "Stairway of the Sun" (Sonnentreppe) found in the ruins of the Ndipaya tribe in West Africa. This flower contained a viral RNA substance that could enhance a person's abilities (including strength and agility) and extend their lifespan.
However, along with these benefits, the substance was also extremely poisonous, and very few people could withstand its toxicity and would eventually die. Because of this substance, the "Stairway of the Sun" was considered a "sacred relic" by the local Ndipaya tribe and was used in ancient times as a test for selecting a king.
After discovering the flower in Africa, Oswell E. Spencer, one of Umbrella's founders, believed he had found the key to life. To research the flower, Spencer invited his aristocratic friend Edward Ashford and his university classmate and biology expert James Marcus to co-found the Umbrella Corporation.
Later on...
The poisonous substance was successfully extracted from the "Stairway of the Sun" and was first named the Progenitor Virus. After a long time, the virus leaked, and one of Umbrella's founders, Edward Ashford, suddenly passed away. Most of the power in Umbrella fell into Spencer's hands.
At first, Marcus didn't care about power. He only wanted to continue his research. To solve the problem of the Progenitor Virus's high compatibility threshold and the fact that it was easily lethal when injected, Marcus continued to study its flaws.
His hard work paid off. Marcus discovered that leech DNA could be combined with the Progenitor Virus, from which he extracted a new substance. Marcus named this new substance the "T-virus" (from the first letter of "Tyrant").
But the T-virus was unstable and still had many flaws. The hosts were uncontrollable, the virus caused skin to rot due to rapid cell growth, and it damaged the nervous system. The infection was also highly contagious. Plagued by these issues, Marcus decided to continue refining the T-virus.
In the following years, as Marcus's obsession with perfecting the "T-virus" grew, his personality began to twist. He was no longer satisfied with experimenting on animals and turned his attention to humans.
Soon, 20 trainee executives died at his hands in the training facility. This incident finally alarmed Spencer. The ambitious Spencer began to have Marcus monitored, wanting to seize the T-virus for himself.
On February 11, 1978, the entrance to the lab was breached. Marcus tried to seek help from his students, William Birkin and Albert Wesker, but he didn't know that these two "filial" apprentices had already been bought off by Spencer.
At a meeting of Umbrella's top brass, Spencer publicly exposed Marcus's crimes. His acts of human experimentation were heinous. Marcus was stripped of his position as the head of the training facility by Umbrella and Spencer, and his two "filial" apprentices, William and Wesker, took over.
After losing his job, Marcus was not discouraged. He didn't even accept the company's reassignment and instead returned to the training facility in the Arklay Mountains to continue his T-virus research.
To solve the T-virus's flaws, Marcus had a flash of inspiration. He thought he could re-inject the T-virus into leeches, and then have the leeches inject the virus, which would greatly reduce its toxicity. He could also use the leeches to control and command the hosts. Thus, the "Queen Leech," a BOW (Bio-Organic Weapon), was born.
But even with this progress,
The Queen Leech still had one fatal flaw: it was weak to light. Its power would weaken when exposed to sunlight. To solve this flaw, Marcus buried himself in research. But unfortunately... news of Marcus's potential breakthrough in fixing the T-virus's flaws reached Spencer at Umbrella's headquarters.
In April 1978, the greedy Umbrella CEO Spencer, wanting to take the T-virus, warned Marcus and ordered him to share all his research data on the improved T-virus. But Marcus resolutely refused. At that point, Spencer decided to kill him.
On June 3, 1978, the "filial" apprentices Wesker and William received a secret order from Spencer. They led a large group of special forces to the training facility to assassinate Marcus and seize his research data. Marcus, who was busy with his experiments, was instantly shot and killed by the special forces who had broken down his door.
Before he died,
Marcus saw his "filial" apprentices, William and Wesker, behind the special forces, and he immediately realized he had been betrayed. In his dying moments, the bullet spray shattered a sample of the Queen Leech, and the T-virus from the Queen Leech entered Marcus's body.
But William and Wesker didn't notice. They threw Marcus's body into the sewer and took all of his research data.
After combining with the Queen Leech, Marcus's faint life signs slowly began to recover. Over ten years, he completely transformed from a near-dead corpse into a powerful life form. He was younger and more powerful than before. With the Queen Leech T-virus, Marcus could control mutated leeches to attack and infect others.
And now—
After a decade, the "Dragon King" has returned... The entire city of Raccoon City and the Umbrella Corporation must tremble, ready to face the vengeance of the "King of Viruses," Marcus!
And this is the beginning of the Resident Evil 0 series—!