The Orphanage wasn't actually that far from the Police Station, just a ten-minute drive away; for Lear, this route was already very familiar.
The conversation in the car had just wound down when the silhouette of the Police Station came into view.
"We're here. Every time we've tried to leave the city these past few days, all sorts of accidents keep popping up, and we end up circling back here," Lear said as he parked the car, grumbling casually.
Jill glanced at him upon hearing this. "Yeah, and it seems like every time, you end up getting a little banged up."
Lear pretended not to hear her and led the way toward the main gate. The four of them stepped into the Police Station Lobby one by one. The others who had been here before had already evacuated, leaving the usually bustling Police Station eerily quiet.
"It's so quiet, I'm really not used to it." Jill walked over to the half-collapsed sofa and stretched lazily, her movements inadvertently tracing her graceful figure.
Hearing her words, Lear turned to look over, and then his gaze froze. He followed her movements unconsciously, staring at Jill without blinking.
Sherry, standing beside him, saw this and gently tugged on his hand, whispering, "Um... Brother Lear, do you like Sister Jill?"
"Huh? ...No!" Lear froze for a moment before hurriedly retracting. "I was just... uh, checking to see if she was injured."
The little girl looked up at his wavering eyes and curled her lips in understanding, smiling like a little fox that had successfully stolen a fish.
Jill seemed completely oblivious to Lear's gaze, leaning nonchalantly against the sofa while organizing her gear. But at an angle Lear couldn't see, the corners of her mouth quietly curved upward.
After settling Sherry down to rest beside Jill, Lear turned and walked toward Katherine.
"Miss Warren, you should go rest for a bit too. We definitely won't be able to leave tonight; we'll have to wait until dawn to try again."
Katherine nodded gently and sat down against the wall without saying another word, simply watching Lear's busy figure in silence.
Lear began to carefully inspect every corner of the Main Hall. After the successive destruction caused by the Licker and the Tyrant, the door on the second floor of the West Wing had been broken and could no longer be closed; he had to first ensure that the area was safe enough.
Just as he was about to set off, a sudden pang of hunger hit his stomach. After a moment's thought, he walked to the front desk, swept aside the clutter on top of it, and pulled a bag of donuts out of a drawer.
"Good thing I didn't eat these earlier."
Lear munched on a donut as he headed toward the second floor.
Previously, after his body underwent an intense burst of physical exertion against the Tyrant, he would sink into a state of extreme emptiness that required a massive amount of energy to replenish.
But now, he could clearly feel a gentle warmth flowing slowly through him, constantly nourishing his limbs and helping him extract every ounce of energy from the food to the maximum extent.
Ordinarily, a few donuts wouldn't be nearly enough to compensate for the exhaustion. Yet, under the influence of that warm current, he could distinctly feel his physical strength returning at a rapid pace. Lear couldn't quite grasp this sudden physical change himself. He only vaguely sensed that the T-Virus in his body and his original strength were reaching a strange and delicate balance.
After completing a patrol circuit, Lear returned to the Main Hall. He had finished clearing the West Wing; the remaining zombies and the few scattered Lickers had all been dealt with.
He glanced at his watch—
September 27th, 2:42 AM.
"It's already the 27th... Logically, Leon and the others should be arriving the day after tomorrow. I wonder what the situation is like outside right now."
Lear knew well that at this point in time, the U.S. military was likely reaching its breaking point due to heavy casualties and was preparing to withdraw from Raccoon City.
As he pondered, he walked toward Jill and the others, intending to discuss a plan with her to evacuate Raccoon City as soon as possible.
Just then, the police station main gate was slammed open.
A man wearing a yellow vest stumbled inside.
"Brad?"
Jill was drawn by the noise and immediately stood up to approach him.
Hearing someone call his name, the man jerked his head up.
Upon seeing it was Jill, he instantly breathed a sigh of relief, his face a mix of shock and joy:
"Jill! Thank God you're alive! I went to your place earlier, but no one was home. I've been searching nearby for so long, I thought you were..."
Seeing her old friend alive, Jill was visibly relieved and said with a smile, "If you're okay, there's no way I wouldn't be."
She pulled Lear over and introduced him: "This is Lear. He was originally with the patrol team, and now he's my partner."
She then pointed to the little girl walking toward them: "This cute little one is Sherry."
Finally, she looked toward Katherine to the side. "I don't need to introduce that lady, Miss Katherine."
After the introductions, Jill turned back to the group: "This is Brad, the S.T.A.R.S. pilot. He's incredibly skilled."
Hearing this, Brad's face only held a bitter smile.
"Jill, don't flatter me. What kind of bullshit pilot am I? I'm just a coward who didn't dare go back for his teammates and fled the scene."
Hearing Brad's self-deprecation, Jill fell silent for a moment. She then stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault. In those circumstances, no one could have stayed calm. Joseph and the others wouldn't blame you."
Brad simply shook his head bitterly and said no more.
The atmosphere turned heavy for a moment.
At that point, Katherine stepped forward and spoke: "Regardless of what happened before, the priority now is to find a way out of here. Everything else can wait."
Lear nodded in agreement and looked at Brad. "Save the talk for after we get out. At the very least, your teammates wouldn't want you running off to confess to God just yet."
"Right, let's get out first." Brad pulled himself together and nodded. "I came here to find the key—the helicopter key from our office. The chopper is parked at the hospital; we used it to transport patients from the area earlier. As long as we get that key, we can leave by helicopter."
The hospital?
Lear's heart stirred. If he remembered correctly, according to the original plot, someone in the hospital already possessed the cure for the T-Virus. After Jill was later infected by Nemesis, she had to go there to find it.
Hearing Jill's concerns, Brad spoke up immediately. "We don't need to cross the City Center; we'll take the subway! I went down there earlier, and there aren't many zombies. Once we reach the hospital entrance, we can head up the exterior ladder to avoid most of the monsters."
The subway...
Lear's mouth twitched slightly. That place was hardly a safe zone.
He remembered clearly that there were still a few U.B.C.S. members with traces of conscience in the subway who had rescued many civilians. In the end, however, they were completely destroyed along with the subway train by Nemesis while it was hunting Jill.
Then Lear had another thought. Nemesis was currently pinned down by him at the Orphanage. Even if it didn't die, it wouldn't be able to escape anytime soon. Even if it mutated into its third stage, it wasn't that terrifying.
A third-stage Nemesis was essentially immobile. It was possible that taking the subway might actually work.
"Then we'll take the subway to the hospital and leave this place."
Lear made up his mind and spoke to the group.
Sherry and Katherine nodded in agreement. Jill responded with a smile, "Alright, we'll do it your way. Just don't turn back into Sleeping Beauty again." With that, she turned to organize her gear.
Brad, standing to the side, was stunned by Jill's demeanor. He leaned in toward Lear and lowered his voice. "Bro, be honest... is there something going on between you and Jill?"
Lear glanced at him. "What do you mean? What could be going on?"
Brad wore an "I know you're lying" expression. "Stop acting. Back when we were on the team, she didn't even necessarily listen to Wesker."
Lear gave the gossiping man a speechless look, not bothering to explain, and turned to make his own preparations.
(Translated by yourtl.app)