"What?"
"What could be in there?!" Rebecca exclaimed, a little angry that Javier was holding her collar again. Still, she quickly pulled out her pistol. Her words were tough, but her body was honest. The sight of the dead soldiers had made her a little more cautious.
"..."
"You can try to see for yourself..." Javier said with a playful tone, letting go of her collar. He figured he might as well let her experience it firsthand. He would just follow behind and be ready if something happened.
"Hmph..."
"I'll try it!"
Rebecca was not one to be intimidated. At Javier's challenge, she puffed up her cheeks and twisted the door handle of the Ecliptic Express.
"Clang—!"
With a crisp sound of metal gears, the heavy train car door opened.
"Bang..."
"Ah!!"
The moment the door opened, a bloody, tattered, and terrifying-looking corpse fell out, straight into Rebecca's arms. She screamed and jumped back in shock. The corpse, now without support, fell to the ground.
It was not a mutated zombie, just a regular corpse. It was covered in bite marks and holes, as if from long, sharp teeth. The clothing was also gone, and what was more terrifying was the corpse's appearance. It was pale and shriveled, like a bloodless mummy.
There was no doubt this was the work of the mutated leeches. As bloodsuckers, their favorite food was blood, and they didn't have much interest in the flesh.
"#$%^`&*"
"What... what... what is this thing?!"
Rebecca was so scared she was stuttering. She looked at the corpse that had fallen into her arms and then onto the ground, her face pale. She couldn't understand why a corpse would be waiting at the door to scare someone. It was like a cruel prank.
But that wasn't the case. Javier looked at the blood on the floor of the train car and the struggle marks on the corpse's arms. He figured this person must have seen the mutated leeches killing people and tried to jump off the train to escape. Unfortunately, he struggled at the door and couldn't open it. He was then drained of blood by the mutated leeches and died kneeling at the doorway. When Rebecca opened the door, she was met with a "surprise" attack.
But more than the corpse, Javier was more interested in what was inside the train car. He kicked the corpse away and prepared to get on. Rebecca, who was still in shock, grabbed onto his backpack and timidly followed him. Her hand was sweating from gripping her pistol so tightly, a feeling she had never experienced in training.
"Step, step, step..."
"Step, step, step..."
As they entered the train car, a terrifying scene from hell greeted them.
The seats were covered in blood splatters. Several bodies were on the floor, all covered in bite marks and holes just like the one at the door. Their blood had been drained, and their eyes were wide open in a terrifying stare.
The sight made Rebecca cover her mouth and sob softly. She still couldn't fathom what kind of creature could have been so brutal.
Even Javier was silent. He had mentally prepared himself, but seeing this horrific scene still rattled him. In just one night, he had seen so many different types of gruesome corpses. No one's psyche could handle that.
"What... who did this?"
"A person? A beast? Or what? What horrible thing happened here?"
After silently praying for the souls of the people in the train car, Rebecca quickly collected herself. She straightened her back, gripped her pistol tightly, and asked Javier in a serious tone. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but Javier seemed much calmer than her. He didn't seem surprised by the corpses or the mission, as if he had known about it all along.
Rebecca thought Javier must know something.
"Well..."
Just as Javier was about to tell Rebecca the truth about the zombie virus, a sudden noise interrupted them. They both immediately tensed up. It seemed the sound was coming from the corpses on the seats!
"Creak... creak..."
"Ugh... uh... uh... uh..."
The sound of bones and joints moving slowly filled the air, like an old diesel engine starting up. The corpses on the floor suddenly pushed themselves up with their arms and stood up, swaying back and forth. They opened their mouths and let out a low growl. A mix of hot air and drool came from their rotting throats.
Their eyes were empty, no... they didn't have pupils. Their eye sockets were filled with only the whites of their eyes. They staggered and limped toward Javier and Rebecca.
"..."
"What the heck is that?!"
The sight of the corpses coming back to life shattered Rebecca's worldview. As a materialist, she believed that the dead could not be resurrected. But what was happening in front of her was short-circuiting her brain. The composure she had just regained completely fell apart.
Rebecca's legs trembled, and she fell backward, landing hard on the train car floor. Her pistol clanged as it fell from her hand. She stared at the horrifying scene in front of her.
It wasn't a comical action; it was a human's natural reaction when faced with extreme fear. Her brain had instantly shut down, and her body couldn't react. The fact that she didn't lose control of her bladder showed how resilient she was.
But a second later, "Click..."
"Ugh... uh... uh... uh...!!!"
Rebecca didn't notice the mutated corpse lying behind her. It slowly stood up, letting out a low growl. A hand covered in bite marks reached out toward her back!
"..."
"Ah!!"
When Rebecca heard the sound behind her and felt a cold touch on her neck, her hair stood on end. A shiver ran down her spine to her head. She quickly turned around and saw a zombie train attendant with an ugly face and an outstretched arm. The sight made her scream at the top of her lungs!
"Die... die! Get away from me!"
It must have been an instinctive reaction. Rebecca looked at the ugly zombie and immediately kicked it. Her fiery temper was like a wild horse's, and the kick sent the zombie flying back into the train seat.
Rebecca then fumbled for her pistol on the floor. She pointed it at the zombie and, with her eyes closed, quickly pulled the trigger!
"Bang—!!!"
"Bang—bang—!!!"
Sparks flew from the gun's muzzle. The yellow 9mm bullets flew out and hit the zombie, creating many holes. One of the bullets coincidentally hit the zombie's head, killing it instantly. She emptied the magazine and only stopped when the trigger wouldn't fire anymore. Rebecca slowly opened her eyes.
"Phew..."
She was breathing heavily, and her legs were a little weak. Although she had accidentally killed the zombie, her state wasn't great. She obviously hadn't recovered from the shock.
"Ha... Javier?! Where are you?!"
A few seconds later, Rebecca remembered she had a partner. She quickly stood up and turned around, shouting. But all she saw was Javier giving her a thumbs-up.
"Good job, kid. That was brave!"
"Even though you just luckily killed a zombie, you have to remember to hit them in the head to kill them. Don't forget that next time, Rebecca!"
Even though Rebecca was a young girl and a new member of the S.T.A.R.S. team, her adaptability was very strong. She was scared of zombies but could pick up a weapon and protect herself. That's why Javier couldn't help but praise her.
"Wait..."
"Javier, behind you—!!!"
Rebecca didn't have time to listen to Javier's praise. She had seen three or four corpses in the train car come back to life. They were opening their foul-smelling mouths and staggering toward Javier. Their movements were slow, but their terrifying appearance was enough to cause a mental attack!
But Javier signaled to her that he had it under control.
"Clang—!"
With a crisp sound, Javier quickly turned around and raised his pump-action M1897 shotgun. He chambered a new round and aimed at their heads. He pulled the trigger without hesitation!
"Bang..."
"Boom—!!!"
With a loud bang, the large muzzle was almost in the zombies' faces. As flames shot out, the shotgun blast hit them. The powerful scattered steel pellets instantly blew one of the zombies' heads off. The blood and brains splattered on the seats like a bloody mess. The headless corpse fell back and immediately stopped moving.
[Ding—!]
[Eliminated one normal zombie. Reward: 1 point.]
At the same time, the familiar electronic female voice sounded in Javier's head.
It was no different from playing a game. Thinking this, Javier's mood instantly improved. He quickly pulled the trigger again. With his shooting talent, he emptied the shotgun's magazine, filling the car with blood and gore. For more points, he even blasted the unmutated corpses to smithereens.
After cleaning out this section of the train, Javier sat on a seat and slowly reloaded his shotgun. His helmet and gas mask were covered in dried blood. To an outsider, he would have looked like a deranged killer.
Rebecca was speechless after witnessing the scene. She couldn't speak until she saw Javier calmly reloading his shotgun. She quickly recovered and asked him seriously:
"Javier!"
"What the hell is going on? You know something, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have brought so much gear. You must have foreseen this!"
At this point, Rebecca finally understood the real reason Javier brought so much gear and ammo. He must have known about the events that were about to unfold in the Arklay Mountains, as well as the unexplainable resurrection of the corpses.
"..."
Javier sighed as he looked at the clever Rebecca.
The girl was smart, a little too smart. It was hard to just brush her off. Javier had no choice but to lie.
"This is a viral outbreak..." he said simply.
"What do you mean?" Rebecca didn't quite understand. What kind of virus?
"As you can see," Javier said, "these corpses that have come back to life and are trying to attack us aren't some kind of ghost or magic. They're the result of a viral outbreak. The frequent murder cases in the Raccoon City news were caused by them, not a serial killer, a cult, terrorists, or a resurrected dinosaur."
"The Umbrella Corporation, a global pharmaceutical company, researched this virus to study human life and the secret to immortality. They explored the power of viruses, and this virus that can bring the dead back to life is the most direct proof. This virus is related to immortality!"
"This virus can enhance the host's physical abilities and give them incredible durability. It can also accelerate their metabolism, which allows their wounds to heal faster. But this virus has a fatal flaw."
"The accelerated metabolism causes an immense loss of energy, which makes these ugly things very hungry. They are always looking for food, so eating flesh is the only thing they want to do."
"At the same time, the virus causes their skin to rot, like a skin disease. Their skin is rotten on the outside, but their muscles are incredibly hard on the inside, like dried beef."
"And more importantly, it causes lethargy and a loss of intelligence. The virus damages their cerebral cortex, making them lose their intelligence. They have no other purpose than to eat. When they can't find food, they enter a lethargic state and move slowly. They only become active when they encounter prey."
"This is all Umbrella's work. They researched this virus but accidentally leaked it, which led to all this. I think it's more appropriate to call them zombies. You have to destroy their brains to kill them for good."
"Essentially, they haven't truly come back to life. They were infected with the virus before they died and are now living in a different way. The virus doesn't bring people back from the dead; it just delays and prevents death."
"Also, they will eat anything: meat, vegetables, cucumbers, anything with energy. But they prefer fresh blood and meat because it provides them with more energy, which they need for their fast metabolism. This is all I know!"
Javier shrugged. He calmly explained everything to Rebecca.
Her mind was blown. As a pharmaceutical expert, she knew about the capabilities of viruses, but what Javier was describing was unbelievable.
"Wait..."
"Javier, how do you know all this?" Rebecca asked, catching a flaw in his story. She was confused. How could a new police officer like Javier know so much about this?
"Ahem..."
"My uncle told me. He was a researcher at the Umbrella Corporation in Raccoon City and participated in a small part of the viral research. He was affected by the viral leak and was fired by the higher-ups. My uncle was worried that I would get hurt by the virus, so he told me to pack my bags and leave Raccoon City before he left. But I didn't go..."
Javier coughed and made up a story without a hint of guilt. He had his gas mask on, so Rebecca couldn't tell he was lying.