"This place doesn't look good."
The group didn't spread out too much, circling around the hall and noting that most of the bloodstains had already dried, suggesting the place had been abandoned for some time.
"Let's check around and see if there are any survivors."
In this situation, no one expected the police station to still be a solid line of defense. All they could hope for was that a few survivors were still holding out somewhere.
They circled the area and found that two of the three doors were locked. Only one could be opened.
Leon didn't rush in recklessly. Ever since Ethan had lectured him once, he had been much more cautious. He made sure everyone was behind him, then cracked the door open. After confirming there were no zombies or other monsters inside, he opened it fully.
It was an office. As soon as they entered, they saw a police officer sitting on the floor, leaning against a cabinet. Their footsteps startled the officer, who immediately raised his weapon.
"Don't shoot."
Leon was wearing the standard Raccoon City Police Department uniform, with the large letters "RPD" clearly visible, identifying him as one of them. The officer lowered his weapon, clutching his injured side and gasping for breath.
"Are you alright?"
"I can still hold on..." The officer looked at Leon and recognized the rookie who was supposed to have reported for duty long ago. "You're the new guy, right? Sorry we couldn't throw you a welcome party."
"What exactly happened here?"
As Leon asked, the officer briefly explained what he knew. Leon and Claire finally understood what had occurred in Raccoon City.
Two months ago, there had been reports of monster attacks on the outskirts of Raccoon City. STARS, the elite unit of the Raccoon City Police Department, was sent to investigate.
During that operation, Bravo Team, one of the two STARS teams, was nearly wiped out, with only the newly recruited Rebecca Chambers surviving.
From Alpha Team, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, and Brad Vickers survived and managed to rescue Rebecca, who had lost contact earlier. They also brought back the truth about the monster attack: the Umbrella Corporation had established a biological research lab in Raccoon City to develop bioweapons.
The leakage of the biological virus led to the appearance of these monsters, causing the subsequent outbreak. However, Chris's report was ignored by police department management, and Chris and the others were even suspended because of it.
Many officers in the station didn't believe what Chris had said about zombies, until monsters began appearing and attacking civilians in Raccoon City. Only then did everyone realize that what Chris had said was true.
But by then, the situation had rapidly worsened. More and more monsters began appearing across the city. Eventually, Raccoon City descended into hell. At first, the police tried to establish defensive positions on the streets, but over time, they were forced to retreat, falling back step by step until they were holed up in the police station. Now, even the station had fallen. It was truly unknown if there was any safe place left.
"Where is my brother now?"
Claire had held back until now. After Officer Marvin Branagh finished explaining the situation, she finally asked about Chris's whereabouts.
"You are…?"
"I'm Claire Redfield."
"You're Chris's sister… I'm sorry, I don't know where your brother is now. But he's definitely not in the station. In fact, no one's seen him for a while. Maybe he's already left the city." Marvin gave a bitter smile, but this pulled at his wound, contorting his expression. "Even if he's still in the city, I believe he has the ability to escape. After all, he knows more about these monsters than any of us."
The Raccoon City Police Department made many mistakes in fighting the zombies. Leon and the others didn't know the full details yet, but Ethan understood part of it through the memories from his previous life.
At first, they had treated the zombies as rioting civilians or crazed individuals. So, when the police station set up its defenses, they didn't issue 'shoot to kill' orders. In the beginning, they even aimed at non-vital parts of the body, trying to suppress them like ordinary criminals.
By the time they realized something was wrong, officers were still following their standard shooting protocol and aiming at the torso. This led to massive ammo waste and did nothing to stop the zombies. Countless elite officers were overwhelmed by the onslaught of the zombie horde.
After retreating to the police station, they faced another blow from within. The police chief, long bought out by Umbrella, issued one bizarre order after another, including the relocation of firearms and ammunition, which crippled the station's last bit of combat power. This ultimately led to the total collapse of the Raccoon City Police Department in its fight against the undead.
Otherwise, if they had enough ammunition and combat personnel, they might have had a chance, even in a desperate battle. This tragic outcome was the result of multiple compounding factors.
Officer Marvin Branagh no longer had the strength to share his analysis with the rookie in front of him. He could only pass on some basic information, then handed Leon a key card.
"Use this… card… You can… unlock the doors… through the computer… in the hall."
Marvin's condition was critical. He had spoken too much and used too much energy. Ethan could tell that the T-virus infection in him had entered its final stage. Technically, he was already more than half a zombie. The only reason he hadn't lost control yet was due to his astonishing willpower, forcefully holding on.
If Ethan remembered correctly, in the Resident Evil 3 storyline, since the timeline started earlier than Resident Evil 2, Jill had arrived at the police station before Leon. At that time, Marvin had already been in a coma or a pseudo-death state, and the virus had begun spreading rapidly through his body.
If Ethan had entered during the early stages of the Resident Evil 3 timeline, this officer might still have been saved. But now, the optimal treatment window had passed.
Marvin could feel it himself. He was on the verge of losing control. So, after explaining everything, he told everyone to leave.
Just as Leon was about to say something, Ethan reached out and stopped him. Then he stood in front of Marvin. "You're about to lose control, aren't you?"
Marvin's breathing grew heavier, and a hint of madness flickered in his eyes, but he was still forcibly suppressing his primal urges, trying his best to remain sane.
"Yes, so hurry up and leave. Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't pounce on you the next second."
Marvin didn't try to hide it. He only hoped that he wouldn't hurt them.
"My suggestion is, rather than becoming a zombie and being killed by us, shoot yourself while you're still human. If you can't do it, I can help you."
"Ethan!"
Leon couldn't believe what Ethan had just said. He absolutely couldn't accept such a decision and wanted to stop him.
"Leon, your friend is right."
Marvin dropped the weapon he was holding.
"Rather than turning into one of those monsters, I'd rather die now."
He lay on the ground, a bit of calm returning to his expression, quietly waiting for Ethan to act.
"There won't be any pain."
Ethan pushed Leon aside. Before he could get up, Selene pressed down on his shoulder.
Leon was shocked to discover he couldn't break free from Selene's grip. This seemingly frail woman possessed astonishing strength.
"No!"
"Hurry up and do it."
Marvin's face turned dark purple, and terrifying blue veins bulged on his neck. He was about to lose control of his urge to bite. A terrifying strength surged from his weak body. He felt like he could tear the young man in front of him to pieces in an instant.
His remaining rationality told him he was already dead. He had become a monster. He nearly used his last strength to shout this sentence. In everyone's ears, it already sounded like the roar of a zombie.
Even Leon, who wanted to stop Ethan, gave up struggling when he saw this. He knew the first colleague he had met since joining the force had become a man-eating monster. At this point, did he still have a reason to stop Ethan? On their way here, they had killed so many of these monsters already and hadn't thought of them as human.
The only difference now was that he had witnessed a living person transform into a monster with his own eyes.
"May the Holy Light be with you."
Ethan didn't believe in the Holy Light, but at this moment, he felt he should say something. Marvin Branagh was just an ordinary officer, but his willpower commanded respect. If possible, Ethan hoped that the Holy Light in his hand could purify the evil taint on Marvin's soul and send him to where he belonged.
"If there is a heaven in this world…"
Bang!
The sharp crack of the Beretta echoed through the office. Marvin, who had been about to lunge at Ethan, collapsed backward.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Ethan felt like there was a faint smile on Marvin's face.
Even more surprising was that the Holy Light cross under his clothes, held in his left hand, which had almost been depleted, seemed to glow faintly again.
"Ethan."
"Hmm?"
Selene's voice pulled Ethan out of his thoughts. She pointed behind him.
Ethan turned around and saw the corpses that had been lying silently on the ground slowly rising and shambling toward them.
"What should we do?"
"Clear them all out."
Ethan suddenly wanted to try—if saving these suffering souls could restore his Holy Light.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)