"You… know me?"
Sheva Alomar and Leon exchanged a look of surprise, both seeing astonishment in each other's eyes.
Jill Valentine seemed to have guessed their thoughts and nodded slightly, "Although I couldn't control my body and mind before, I did retain a trace of self-awareness, so… I hope you can forgive my previous actions."
"It's okay, after all, it wasn't your fault… you were a victim too."
Although this wasn't Sheva Alomar's true thought, when a person is about to die, what more could she say?
Moreover, the other party was indeed controlled by the enemy and acted against her will.
"Headquarters? This is Leon…"
While the two were talking, Leon had already contacted the Headquarters using his communicator and reported:
"Sheva and I have successfully rescued Ji'er; she's alive, but she's severely injured and urgently needs medical attention. Please dispatch rescue personnel immediately."
"What? She… she's really still alive?"
The person in charge at the Headquarters was clearly unprepared for this news, but then eagerly pressed, "What about Ricardo Elvin? Did you catch him?"
"He was abducted by a You-Know-Who in a black combat suit, and Ji'er was also injured by this You-Know-Who's accomplice…"
A look of disgust flashed across Leon's face, but he patiently answered the question, then urged:
"Forget about Ricardo Elvin for now. Saving Ji'er is the top priority, so please send medical personnel over quickly!"
However, after hearing the news of Ricardo Elvin's abduction, there was a moment of silence from the other end of the communicator, followed by a somewhat cold reply.
"I'm sorry, Leon, Headquarters is temporarily unable to dispatch medical rescue personnel to that area…"
"We just received news that the ZF forces outside the Kijuju Autonomous Region have entered a state of high alert and strictly prohibit any forces or external personnel from entering that area. The BSAA Organization is no exception."
"Moreover, during this mission, the West Africa Branch suffered continuous losses of several elite special operations teams, resulting in heavy casualties, yet Ricardo Elvin still managed to escape."
"So at a time like this, the high-level will absolutely not agree to risk more lives for the safety of one or two people…"
Actually, there was another thing the high-level didn't say: especially for 'Initial Eleven' like Leon!!
After hearing the other party's unfeeling reply, Leon became completely enraged and yelled into the communicator:
"What do you mean? Just because the mission to capture Ricardo Elvin failed, you're going to just watch Ji'er die here?"
"Don't forget, if it weren't for her full dedication back then, the BSAA Organization wouldn't have developed to this extent. By doing this… aren't you afraid of disheartening others?"
The communicator fell silent again, and after a moment, another somewhat cold but resonant voice spoke up.
"Leon, although we sympathize with your and Ji'er's current predicament, and understand your feelings, however… Headquarters had already issued a retreat order to the West Africa Branch. It was you who disobeyed orders and stubbornly insisted on pursuing, which led to the current situation."
"The only solution right now is for you to find medical facilities nearby. Once the ZF forces outside the Kijuju Autonomous Region lift the lockdown, we will immediately dispatch a search and rescue team to your location. Alright, that's all!!"
Discarding a donkey after it has served its purpose!
Without giving Leon a chance to argue further, Headquarters decisively cut off the call.
After the United Nations officially took over the BSAA Organization, in order to prevent 'Initial Eleven' like Leon and Ji'er, who held extremely high prestige and popularity within the BSAA Organization, from excessively interfering with the agency's decision-making and management, the newly appointed high-level officials, besides their daily suppression and targeting, would often overtly and covertly assign the most arduous, exhausting, and dangerous missions to Leon and others. Their true intentions were long self-evident.
"Cough, cough, cough, Leon, thank you, but don't waste your efforts…"
At this moment, Jill Valentine shakily raised her arm, stopping Leon, who was about to call Headquarters for medical support again, and said weakly:
"Cough, cough, my… my current condition, even if I were in a hospital, it would be useless…"
"Moreover, you still have more important things to do right now…"
"Wesker wants to release the Ouroboros Virus in Africa to test its true infection effects. You must… you must stop him, otherwise, hundreds of millions of innocent civilians will die!!"
"Ji'er, don't say anymore, don't worry, I will definitely stop Wesker, but you… Damn it, ever since Headquarters was incorporated by the United Nations, the new high-level has become increasingly heartless; they even… you…"
Leon's eyes were slightly red, unclear if it was due to sadness over his old friend's fate or anger at the high-level's ruthlessness, but before he could say more, Jill Valentine smiled and interrupted him.
"I'm fine. It's not the high-level's fault… Besides, I've been too tired these past two years. It's time for a good rest."
"Rescuing Chris and stopping Wesker, I'm entrusting it all to you. Only you… can stop Wesker, before… before it's too late…"
Before she could finish speaking, Jill Valentine closed her eyes. Blood was still flowing from the wound in her lower abdomen, but the speed had slowed significantly, as if all the blood from her upper body was almost drained.
Seeing this, Leon was filled with grief and indignation. The You-Know-Who who abducted Ricardo Elvin and severely injured Jill Valentine was indeed hateful, but the cold-blooded, profit-driven BSAA Organization high-level made Leon feel even more chilled and angry.
The current BSAA Organization had long since deviated from the warm 'big family' it was when they first founded the BSAA, where all members were united, cared for and helped each other, only to achieve their common beautiful ideal.
Leon felt a surge of unreleased anger in his heart.
"Leon…"
At this moment, Sheva Alomar pointed to the stern of the yacht, which was mostly submerged in Water, and reminded him weakly:
"This yacht will sink soon. We need to find a lifeboat and leave here immediately."
Leon nodded dejectedly. Today, he not only witnessed his old friend, with whom he had fought side-by-side for many years, die in front of him, but also experienced the betrayal of the BSAA Organization high-level whom he had trusted the most.
Even though Leon's heart was usually as hard as iron, at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow for his own impending fate, as if a rabbit had died and the fox lamented.
Sheva Alomar looked at the man immersed in sorrow, said nothing more, and instead went to one side of the yacht to look for a lifeboat, shooting down several infected people who ran out of the cabin along the way.
"Leon, it's time to go…"
After putting the lifeboat into the Water, Sheva Alomar called out to Leon, who was still staring blankly at the corpse on the deck not far away, lost in thought. Then she jumped in first, controlling the small boat to keep it from being carried away by the current.
A few minutes later, Leon's figure finally appeared before her, but what puzzled Sheva Alomar was that Leon was carrying Jill Valentine's corpse with him.
"Leon, are you trying to find a place to properly bury Ji'er?"
Sheva Alomar asked, somewhat puzzled, while steering the lifeboat away from the soon-to-sink yacht.
"No, I want to try one last time to see if I can save Ji'er!!" Leon said with a complex expression.
"Huh?"
Sheva Alomar seemed not to have understood what he was saying. She looked at Jill Valentine's corpse, which was beyond dead, with a puzzled expression, then looked at the thoughtful Leon, and asked somewhat uncertainly:
"Did you just say you want to revive Senior Ji'er? But… but the problem is she's already dead?!"
"Leon, the dead cannot be brought back to life. I know you two had a very good relationship, and you're very sad, but…"
However, before she could finish speaking, Leon shook his head and interrupted, "Sheva, I think I told you before that I have a friend who works at Hyperspace Group, right?"
Faced with such a sudden turn, the bewildered Sheva Alomar could only subconsciously nod.
Leon thought for a moment, then truthfully said, "I remember my friend once inadvertently mentioned to me that Hyperspace Group seems to possess a miraculous medicine that can bring people back from the dead. If… if Hyperspace Group is willing to lend a hand, perhaps Ji'er can still be saved!!"
"Ah?"
Now it was Sheva Alomar's turn to be completely bewildered. She widened her astonished eyes and murmured, repeating Leon's words.
"A medicine that can bring people back from the dead… This… how is this possible? How can such a medicine exist in this World?"
"If it really existed, it would probably have already won the Nobel Prize and become the greatest invention of the twenty-first century, right?"
Leon stared at Jill Valentine's corpse, smiled bitterly, and said with some uncertainty:
"Sheva, to be honest, I didn't believe such a miraculous medicine existed in this World before either, but… for Ji'er and Chris, I'm willing to try. What if it actually works?"
Boom—!!!
Just then, the yacht behind them exploded before completely sinking into the Water, instantly creating a huge circular wave on the surface that spread outwards in all directions.
"Hold on, Leon…"
Sheva Alomar cried out in alarm and quickly steered the lifeboat forward. After successfully escaping to a safe area, she looked at Leon and asked:
"What do we do next?"
Leon first took out his phone and found Rebecca's number, but he didn't dial it immediately. Instead, he looked up at the increasingly clear island in the distance, which was precisely where Ricardo Elvin said the 'answer' was located. He thought for a moment and said:
"We'll go there first. Maybe we can find something that can move Hyperspace Group, or something to trade with them!"
…
Hyperspace Group.
Outside the Chairman's office, Rebecca, who had been waiting in the corridor for over fifty minutes, had a face full of collagen, etched with anxiety and unease. Her lively eyes constantly darted towards the office door guarded by two First Generation Thunder Warriors.
The blonde secretary standing beside her raised her wrist to check the time on her watch and said with a hint of resentment:
"Dr. Rebecca, please don't worry. Judging by the time, Boss's routine meeting with Miss Selena is almost over. Please wait just 5 more minutes…"
"Oh."
Rebecca nodded obediently, completely unaware of the true nature of the 'routine meeting' the secretary referred to, which involved knowing both depth and length.
5 minutes later.
The office door slowly opened from the inside, and a slender figure stepped out.
Selena's exquisite, pale face was flushed with a beautiful crimson, like the afterglow of a sunset. She lightly shook her wet hair, raised a hand to wipe away the fine beads of sweat from her forehead caused by intense exercise, and gave a slight nod to Rebecca, who was waiting at the door. Then, the proud Vampire Queen regained her usual aloof demeanor and walked away with her long legs, feeling 'fully satisfied'.
Full, truly full. This time it can last at least a week… oh no, five days, at most five days!!
Rebecca, who had never experienced such a thing in her life, watched the Vampire Queen's graceful receding figure, instinctively sniffing the lingering scent of hormones in the air, her head full of questions.
"No, is Miss Selena's meeting that intense?"
Rebecca whispered to the blonde secretary standing beside her, "Why do I feel like she just finished a tough battle?"
Naive!
The blonde secretary rolled her eyes beautifully upon hearing this, not bothering to hide the envy on her face, for envy for a person is undisguisable…
"Dr. Rebecca, you need to understand one thing."
The blonde secretary lowered her voice and said, "Not every woman is as lucky as Miss Selena to have the opportunity to have such a meeting with Boss…"
Selena, oh Selena, every time you come back, you monopolize Boss for an hour. You really don't leave any chance for others!
Your actions are simply… too selfish.
Boss belongs to everyone!!
You eat meat every day; at least let me, your little sister, have some soup, alright?
But then again, when will it be my turn for such a good thing?!!!
╥﹏╥.
Boss, please, I've already prepared myself. I also want to be your exclusive cream puff~~
Please fill me up!!!
However, as Karl's secretary, she knew what to say and what not to say, so she naturally wouldn't voice her thoughts in front of Rebecca.
Just then, Karl's magnetic voice came from inside the office, "Let Dr. Rebecca come in."