On the outskirts of Raccoon City, in the Arklay Mountains, a man in a white robe walked slowly through the dark forest with bare feet. His skin was pale and bloodless. His robe, which looked like a sleep tunic, had a few stitched corners on his chest and was embroidered with green patterns on the sleeves and shoulders. He wore a necklace with a blue gemstone pendant. With long, flaxen hair and blue eyes, his youthful appearance made it hard to tell if he was a man or a woman. At times, he looked feminine, and at others, ferocious. His cold face was filled with the suppressed fire of revenge. This man was James Marcus, one of Umbrella's founders, who should have died ten years ago.
Before his death, the Queen Leech T-virus sample accidentally entered his body. After he was brutally killed and thrown into the sewers, the virus's powerful vitality brought him back to life. After a decade of lurking and recovering, Marcus had finally evolved into a powerful life form.
He was rejuvenated, had a long lifespan, and was difficult to kill. His body had an extremely strong healing ability; even a barrage of gunfire would not cause any fatal damage. He had also gained the ability to control leeches. This power was exactly what Marcus had envisioned. He had successfully evolved into a new human using the T-virus Queen Leech.
Unfortunately...
Because he had merged with the Queen Leech, the man who stood there was not the true Marcus. The real Marcus had died ten years ago. The one who was still alive was just the Queen Leech that had inherited Marcus's memories. Because of the hermaphroditic nature of leeches, the living Marcus was neither male nor female.
Regardless, whether he was Marcus or the Queen Leech, the long-simmering fire of revenge had to be unleashed. No matter whose body it was now, Marcus would carry out his furious revenge on the Umbrella Corporation.
The first step was to release the Queen Leech's T-virus to attract the attention of the Umbrella Corporation and that old coot Spencer. Marcus planned to set up an ambush in the executive training facility to eliminate everyone from Umbrella and pin the blame for the viral outbreak on them, taking them down with him.
And as it turned out, although Marcus eventually failed, his actions did indeed create a butterfly effect that caused a real viral crisis and ushered in an era of global biological weapon containment.
"Hehe..." Marcus sneered.
"Spencer, you old bastard, you want to steal the research I poured my heart into? I'll show you how severe the consequences of theft are. Oh... and my two good students, William and Wesker, you shameless scoundrels!"
"You betrayed me and sided with that useless old bastard Spencer. Now... I'll take back everything I've lost," he hissed.
"Alright, my good children, it's your turn. Feast on the beasts of the Arklay Mountains and let them spread the virus into the city. Now, the real revenge plan begins!"
Marcus let out a wild laugh. In the dark forest, he spread his hands, and a swarm of black objects poured out from the sleeves of his white robe, leaping quickly into the dense woods, too fast to be seen.
These were Marcus's "good children," a swarm of mutated leeches. Controlled by the Queen Leech in his body, they were leeches from the Arklay Mountains' lakes and streams that had mutated. They were the size of a fist, with incredibly sharp mouthparts that could drain an adult's blood in an instant. They also had flea-like leaping abilities, allowing them to quickly surround and eliminate their prey.
Each mutated leech contained a certain amount of the virus, which could infect beasts and turn them into terrifying, disgusting creatures. These beasts would then attack people, successfully spreading the virus into the city and attracting Umbrella personnel from Raccoon City to investigate.
It was a win-win situation!
Now, Marcus only needed to release the leeches to attack the beasts and then let the beasts attack people.
"Hehe... hahaha... what a wonderful feeling," Marcus laughed uncontrollably, thinking of how Spencer and his two "rotten" students, William and Wesker, would soon die at his hands and how the Umbrella Corporation would collapse. The pleasure of his impending revenge filled him with bliss.
Raccoon City, May 25, 1998
"Doo-doo-doo..."
"Doo-doo-doo..."
"Good afternoon, citizens. This is Milena with today's news broadcast. The Umbrella Corporation has developed a new drug that can treat common illnesses like the cold more effectively and at a cheaper price than regular medicine," a voice said on a TV.
"According to data, tens of thousands of people have taken this medicine and their bodies feel much healthier than before. Now for some feedback from our wonderful citizens. Sir, how did you feel after taking the new medicine?"
"Whoa, Ms. Milena," a man on the screen said, "You're even prettier than you are on TV. Could I get your number? I have a huge swimming pool at home, and I was thinking... ahem, my apologies... the new medicine is great. After taking it, I feel fantastic, especially in that area. My performance is much better, and the time has extended by almost two hours. I think you understand what I mean. Oh, shit! Damn it, you rude security guards, I'll walk myself. Don't touch me!"
In front of a vintage cafe, an old TV was showing the daily news broadcast. Unlike China, American news generally only reported on state-level affairs unless something major happened, and Raccoon City was no exception. Watching the flirtatious exchange between the host and the man on the TV, Javier felt bored.
Even Rebecca, who was busy skipping work, was bored. She was just slurping her coffee with a straw, slumped on the table, ignoring the news. She stared blankly at the flowerpots outside the cafe, having completely turned into a "couch potato."
"My apologies," the host said.
"That was just an accident. We have a breaking news story. We've received reports that missing person and murder cases have become more frequent in the Arklay Mountains on the outskirts of Raccoon City. The victims' bodies show clear signs of being gnawed and torn, as if by a large animal, but they are also suspected to be the work of a cult. The police have not found any useful clues and everything is still under investigation," she continued.
"Until the culprit is caught, Milena reminds all citizens watching to please lock your doors and windows at night, and do not walk around alone. Do not go to the Arklay Mountains on your own to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for the police. Thank you for your cooperation..."
This final news report broke Javier's thoughts. He clearly remembered that this was when the Resident Evil plot began. The murder cases in the Arklay Mountains meant that the plot was starting. Marcus, who had been dead for a long time, was about to resurrect and begin his revenge plan.
The infamous Ecliptic Express incident, the most famous event in Resident Evil history, was also about to unfold. This made Javier a little nervous.
Javier wasn't the only one. Rebecca was also captivated by the news. Murder cases had been happening frequently for the past few days, but the police hadn't found the killer. This frustrated Rebecca, who had a strong sense of justice. Were the Raccoon City police really that useless?
If this went on, how many more people would die?
Suddenly, an idea came to her. Since the Raccoon City police were so incompetent, why not let her, an elite S.T.A.R.S officer, investigate? If she successfully found the culprit, the residents of Raccoon City would be so impressed!
After all, this was a major case that the police had been stumped by for almost half a month! Thinking of this, Rebecca smiled, stood up, and patted Javier's butt, smiling as if she had come up with a brilliant plan.
"I've decided!" she exclaimed.
"We can't keep being so lazy, Javier. What do you say we go to the Arklay Mountains to investigate the cases from the news? If we solve it... the police department will praise us, and we might even get a promotion and a raise!"
Rebecca's words were convincing, but Javier immediately shot her a look of disdain and refused. Was she kidding? Going to the Arklay Mountains at this point was like an old person eating arsenic—it was a death wish!
At this time, besides the mansion and the training facility, there were only infected zombie beasts in the Arklay Mountains. They weren't a big deal, but if they ran into Marcus, who was busy poisoning the mountains, they'd be dead. The Queen Leech was very powerful at night, and the two of them were just rookies. They would die quickly!
So, Javier flat-out refused Rebecca's ridiculous idea. If they were going to investigate, he'd at least wait a few months and bring the other S.T.A.R.S members along as cannon fodder. The beginning of the game was crucial, and Javier didn't want to change the plot due to a butterfly effect.
"No!" Javier said firmly.
"Let the police handle police matters. It's enough for us to do our part. If you steal their thunder, what if the police resent you? S.T.A.R.S is responsible for our duties. If the police can't handle it, the chief will order us to investigate. So don't rush. Just focus on patrolling the city!"
"And Rebecca, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. As your partner... if I find you secretly sneaking into the Arklay Mountains to die... I mean, to investigate, I'll tell Captain Enrico what you did, and he'll ground you for a month!" he threatened.
Javier had to sternly rebuke her and refuse. He knew Rebecca's habits. She was in her rebellious phase, bold and reckless. A simple verbal warning wouldn't work. Even if he refused, she would still try to investigate in secret. So, Javier had to threaten her.
The threat of being grounded for a month seemed to be enough for Rebecca. After all, this lively and bold girl would never be able to endure a punishment where she couldn't go anywhere for a month!
"..."
"Javier, I hate you!"
As expected, when Javier refused her and exposed her little plan, Rebecca frowned, puffed out her cheeks, and exclaimed with great displeasure. At the same time, her small, pale hands began to twist his arm, causing him real pain!
The two of them continued to bicker in the cafe.
Time passed quickly.
Just two months later, it was July. During those two months, a lot happened in Raccoon City. The most notable were the continuous murder cases that kept people on edge. In just two months, several cruel murders were discovered on the outskirts of Raccoon City and in the Arklay Mountains.
The victims' bodies were gnawed and dismembered, leaving behind only a pile of internal organs and blood. The horrific nature of the crimes led police to believe they were the work of large dogs and a cult killer.
In addition, the lakes and streams in the Arklay Mountains were becoming polluted, and a lot of the virus had leaked into Raccoon City's sewers. The executive training facility and the mansion's research lab were also destroyed by the vengeful Marcus. Many researchers turned into zombies, and an air of terror began to shroud Raccoon City.
However, since Umbrella was the first to know about the virus leak, they had something to hide. They dispatched many soldiers and bribed the police to keep the secret. They continued to falsely label the frequent murders in the Arklay Mountains as a terrorist attack and secretly dealt with the cases to prevent the virus leak from being exposed. The residents of Raccoon City naively believed that these horrific events would soon pass.
But unfortunately...
The resurrected Marcus did not think this revenge was enough. He decided to escalate things further.
At this moment, the Ecliptic Express, a special train sponsored by Umbrella, was traveling from Raccoon City to the Arklay Mountains. Umbrella had sent this train to retrieve the virus and research data from the executive training facility. With the virus leaking, Umbrella naturally couldn't let the blame fall on them. So, while recovering the leaked virus, they also had to destroy any evidence left in their lab.
But Spencer, Umbrella's CEO, didn't know that this was a death train. After learning that the "Ecliptic Express" was a train specially sponsored by Umbrella, Marcus had been waiting for a long time on top of a mountain in the Arklay Mountains. He wanted to completely destroy the train and everyone on it, and publicly expose Umbrella's virus leak, just as Spencer had exposed his T-virus human experiments with the help of those two "filial" students, William and Wesker. Marcus also wanted to expose Spencer and Umbrella's scandal to the world.
And this was the beginning of the most famous event in Resident Evil history: the Ecliptic Express incident...