...
A little over ten minutes later, after eating, drinking, and receiving treatment, Alice and the others finally began to believe that this man truly had no hostile intent.
With food, water, and fruit replenishing their strength, the survivors—who had just barely crawled back from the edge of death—finally managed to relax, if only a little.
"Ryan… how's Carlos?" Alice asked anxiously as she saw him step out of the truck's medical bay.
Ryan carefully tossed the bloodstained gloves into a sealed disposal bin. As he washed his hands, his expression remained grim.
"Alice… his condition is very bad. If we can't get antiviral serum soon, then I'm afraid—"
"Then what do we do?" Alice asked urgently, looking through the medical bay door at her friend, who was being guarded by two heavily armed combat robots.
"The simplest solution is a bullet," Ryan said bluntly, before she could speak."But I'm guessing that's not an option you're willing to accept."
He continued calmly:
"That leaves only one other option—finding a way into an Umbrella laboratory and getting the antiviral serum."
"You mean…" Alice said, quickly understanding.
"Exactly. Since Umbrella personnel were just here, there has to be a lab nearby."
"I had my systems analyze the computers they left behind. We've already found the coordinates."
As Ryan spoke, a display panel on the truck's interior wall lit up, showing the location of a nearby Umbrella facility.
"You're saying this place is Umbrella's base?" Alice asked, staring at the image of a seemingly abandoned building.
"Yes. More accurately, it's buried deep underground," Ryan replied with a nod.
"And Carlos?" Alice asked. After everything she'd experienced in the Hive, she had no reason to doubt him.
Right now, her biggest concern wasn't just obtaining the serum—but keeping Carlos Oliveira alive long enough to use it.
"Relax," Ryan said. "I can't cure the virus, but delaying its progression won't be a problem."
With that, he led her into the medical bay.
"Alice… I heard there's food. Think you could spare some?"Carlos said with a forced smile, his shoulder already tightly bandaged.
"You're going to be okay," Alice said, her eyes reddening as she heard the despair beneath his words.
Standing off to the side, Ryan shook his head and reminded her:
"Alice, the longer we wait, the worse it is for Carlos. Whatever you need to say can wait until after this is done."
"…Alright. I'll listen to you," Alice said, forcibly suppressing her emotions.
"Good. And Carlos—I know what you're about to say," Ryan cut in before he could speak.
He walked over and pressed a control on the wall.
"Don't waste time. Lie down. Now."
The smooth wall split apart, revealing a transparent, semi-cylindrical pod sliding out.
"Lie… in there?" Carlos asked hesitantly, staring at it.
"Yes," Ryan said flatly. "Unless you want to turn into one of those things outside before we get the serum."
"Alice?" Carlos looked to her.
She nodded. "Do it."
"…Okay."
Knowing he had no real choice, Carlos lay down inside the pod.
Once it sealed shut, frost rapidly spread across the transparent surface as Ryan activated the system.
"Ryan… what is this?" Alice asked, watching her friend lose consciousness and become encased in ice.
"A cryogenic suspension pod," Ryan replied without hiding anything."Extreme low temperatures push the body into near-total metabolic stasis."
"The tech isn't perfect yet—but it's the best option we have."
"Not perfect?" Alice asked anxiously. "Then what about side effects?"
Ryan chuckled. "Compared to the T-virus, non-lethal side effects hardly matter."
Alice stared at the seamless wall where the pod had been retracted, falling silent for a moment before steering the conversation back to the real issue.
"What's your plan?" she asked outside the medical bay, looking at the screen.
Ryan enlarged the image and pointed to the abandoned structure.
"The plan's simple. We drive the truck near the target and use my onboard systems to jam all electronic signals in the area."
"Then my units breach through the main entrance, seize base authorization, and eliminate as much Umbrella personnel as possible."
"But before that, we need to get past the outer zombie swarm—and avoid alerting anyone inside."
"And how do you plan to deal with that?" Alice asked after thinking it over.
"Come with me."
He led her outside the truck.
Up close, the sheer size and presence of the Peterbilt 'Optimus Prime' was even more overwhelming—especially this oversized, heavily modified version.
Their movement quickly drew K-Mart's attention.
"What's going on?" she asked, stepping up beside Alice.
"Just watch," Alice replied, shaking her head.
Ryan tapped a few commands into the micro-computer on his left forearm and pressed confirm.
With a hiss of escaping air, a sealed compartment on top of the trailer slowly opened.
A massive, imposing object floated out from within.
"What is that?" Alice asked, even though she could tell it was some kind of aircraft.
"A Bugatti Veyron luxury transport," Ryan said with a smile."Modified."
"…A transport?" Alice said incredulously, unable to connect that name with what she was seeing.
The other survivors wore identical expressions.
"It's just a label. Don't get hung up on it," Ryan said seriously.
"When the time comes, you'll ride this straight into the base. I'll send five units in with you."
"I'll handle the base's systems remotely from the truck."
"Even with support, this operation is extremely dangerous. Think carefully."
"I'm going," Alice said instantly, without hesitation.
She didn't care that Ryan himself wasn't charging in—he'd be busy cracking Umbrella's control systems, which was just as critical.
As for whether this mysterious man might betray them… Alice wasn't naïve enough to go in unprepared.
"Alice, where are you going?" K-Mart asked worriedly.
"I'll take care of things here," Ryan cut in. "I'll make sure nothing goes wrong."
With that, he turned and headed back into the truck.
Originally, Ryan hadn't planned to enter Resident Evil: Extinction this early.
The world was already near total extinction.
But the research on Divine Blood had reached a critical stage—and Umbrella's biotechnology was far too valuable to ignore.
Cloning.Memory transplantation.Bio-weapons.Even artificial intelligence.
All of it held enormous value—even for someone who had already been to Elysium.
But above all else, Divine Blood was the key.
If its effects met expectations, Ryan would finally escape the miserable cycle of clinging to survival in every new world.
A few minutes later, after finishing her arrangements, Alice returned to the truck.
"Made your decision?" Ryan asked without turning away from the screen as he worked on hacking Umbrella's satellite systems.
"Yes," Alice said, nodding.
"What about K-Mart and the others?" Ryan asked, handing control over to the AI."I can keep them safe for now—but not forever."
"If this mission fails," Alice said quietly, "I want you to take them to Alaska."
Ryan didn't answer immediately. He studied her for a long moment before nodding.
"I can't promise anything," he said."But I'll do my best to keep them alive."
"That's enough," Alice said, understanding she couldn't ask for more.
Surprised by her trust, Ryan suddenly laughed.
"Alice… you're not afraid I might be just like Umbrella? That I have my own agenda?"
"I am," Alice replied immediately.
Then she tapped her temple with a bitter smile.
"But we don't have a choice. And this tells me—you really don't have hostile intent."