"Alright, kid, commendable courage."
Captain Enrico Marini said approvingly.
Due to rank, Enrico Marini was the official team leader for this operation.
After Wesker died, Enrico Marini was the highest-ranking officer in the S.T.A.R.S. Team. With the Alpha Team leader position temporarily vacant, the role of operation leader fell to Enrico Marini.
Thus, Leon successfully joined the operation, albeit by "acting without authorization."
Before Leon joined the team, the sturdy man with short brown hair took the initiative to greet him:
"Chris Redfield."
"Leon Scott Kennedy."
The two men shook hands, a brief, firm grip.
They hadn't walked more than 10 meters when the group encountered the first crisis of their sewer infiltration.
A rustling sound echoed, and directly ahead in the sewer, the group witnessed a terrifying sight.
The walls, ceiling, and the sewer floor were covered in giant cockroaches, each the size of a typical teddy dog, their antennae twitching rapidly from side to side like pigtails.
Seeing this, everyone felt their scalps tingle.
If one of those were to pounce on your face, it would give anyone a massive scare.
However, the cockroaches were blocking the path to the underground stadium, making them impossible to avoid.
Enrico Marini looked at Jill Valentine, the implication clear: you initiated this operation, you make the call.
Jill Valentine chambered a round:
"We have no choice but to open fire."
Tongues of fire erupted from the submachine gun muzzles. The black chitinous shells were no match for the bullets, splashing globs of green slime upon impact.
The gunfire disturbed the swarm. The reeking green blood seemed to incite the giant cockroaches' ferocity. These creatures, normally timid scavengers, did not flee upon seeing the S.T.A.R.S. Team members; instead, they scurried rapidly across the walls and flew toward them.
Cockroach pounce!
Fortunately, the team had some expectation of what they might face on this mission.
Of course, that did not include Leon.
"Do the cockroaches in Raccoon City grow up eating rats?" Leon quipped while drawing his pistol to shoot the incoming insects.
In this situation, a pistol lacked sufficient firepower. Chris tossed Leon a submachine gun, a UMP45.
"Thanks, the local wildlife is a bit too enthusiastic."
"Their hospitality toward visitors needs improvement," the burly S.T.A.R.S. Team member Chris remarked.
The spewing fire kept the cockroaches at bay. It wasn't until a pile of their corpses littered the ground that the remaining ones finally snapped out of their frenzy and scattered in retreat.
Only then could the group proceed.
As they continued, the team noticed numerous animal skeletons scattered along the sewer steps. The skull shapes resembled rats, but these were far larger—the size of house cats.
It seemed that after the sewer became infected, both rats and cockroaches had undergone massive changes. Yet, at similar sizes, the rats clearly couldn't compete with the tenacious cockroaches and had ultimately been devoured entirely.
And this virus had already entered Raccoon City's systems over a month ago.
"It really is rats. Does every creature that encounters the T-Virus grow larger?"
Finally, after turning a corner, a faint light appeared from a window overhead.
"We're here."
"The stadium's backstage laundry room is right above us."
Suddenly, a woman's scream came from above.
"Trouble," Jill Valentine reacted first.
The group quickly climbed out of the sewer into the laundry room. They saw a casually dressed woman staggering from the distance, followed by a horde of zombies—about 30 of them—dogging her every step.
"Help me!" Upon seeing the fully armed team ahead, the woman ran toward them in delight.
Now, all the zombies had spotted the fresh meat ahead.
A small pistol's firepower wouldn't be enough to suppress them, but fortunately, the entire elite S.T.A.R.S. Team had arrived.
Rat-tat-tat. The group assumed a formation for alternating fire, and the horde behind the woman fell like wheat before a scythe.
Jill Valentine precisely picked off two zombies following the woman. The corpses lunged forward, falling directly onto the woman in the suit.
"Ahhh!" The woman screamed in terror, struggling to push the corpse off herself, and scrambled backward on all fours.
Leon was quick, rushing forward to pull the woman back behind their line:
"Are you alright?"
However, as the woman screamed, she suddenly began to cough violently, then her head tilted to the side, and she collapsed.
Leon initially thought she had just fainted from fear, but when he placed his fingers on her neck, he discovered she had no pulse.
"What the fuck?" Leon exclaimed in shock, "The wound was on her leg, wasn't it? Is she dead?"
Standing up, he felt a twinge of frustration at failing to save someone.
"Watch out, rookie." A sound suddenly came from behind him. Chris spoke up, firing a shot that blew the head off the woman as she stood up.
"She was already infected. Never leave your back exposed to her."
As a former United States Air Force veteran, Chris's experience was naturally something the newly recruited Leon couldn't match.
"Thanks." Leon took a deep breath and joined the team in clearing out the zombies.
Just then, the Chief's voice came over Enrico Marini's radio:
"The bait is set. The zombies on the field have been lured to one location. Proceed with the search and rescue operation immediately."
"Copy that, Chief!"
After clearing the zombies, Enrico Marini and Jill Valentine conferred. Enrico Marini stayed in the laundry room with a small group to establish a temporary defensive line, while Jill Valentine and the others split into two groups to search the various rooms for survivors.
Since the stadium was circular, the team split into two groups to conduct search and rescue operations simultaneously. Jill Valentine led one group, while Chris led Leon and the others.
Before leaving, Rebecca Chambers gave some medicine to both groups:
"Taking this might help people hold on a little longer."
In any case, the operation began.
At the blockade outside the stadium, Chief Raymond received more bad news: [A riot has broken out at the Raccoon Street Zoo. Numerous carnivorous animals have escaped and are wandering Raccoon Street. The zoo management company has already contacted the police.]
However, witnesses claimed that the escaped animals were significantly more ferocious and aggressive than usual. Many residents had already been attacked, and some had even been swallowed alive.
Raymond sighed. All RPD officers were already engaged in the stadium blockade, but with this incident, he had no choice but to organize a few more to investigate the zoo. It was a turbulent time.