Chapter 221: Make a Choice

Through the Stalker's halting speech, the ever‑silent D-1999 guessed that the equipment box in front of him contained items related to him and his family.

He first retracted the spear in his left hand, shrinking it back into a short rod hanging at his side, then half‑crouched on the ground.

Clack~! Clack!

With the two crisp clicks, two securing buttons popped open, allowing D-1999 to open the equipment box without force.

Lifting the lid, he saw several electronic devices of unknown purpose inside, as well as a small tablet whose screen glowed on its own.

As D-1999 reached out with his left hand to take the tablet, the screen unlocked automatically, and without him having to figure out how to operate it, the tablet began playing a file on its own.

At the top of the first page of the playback was a family photo of a mother and her two daughters.

A middle‑aged woman with a faint smile and lingering charm stood in the middle.

Two similarly beautiful young women, close in appearance, held the woman's left and right hands, smiled happily toward the camera, and captured this photo.

!

!!

Seeing the photo, D-1999 finally changed his usual anger.

He strained to keep his left hand from crushing the tablet in his excitement, and with his trembling right hand reached to his right waist, peeled open the Velcro of his tactical pack, and retrieved another yellowed, creased photo of the mother and daughters.

Compared with the screen, D-1999 confirmed that the photo on the first page of the file was of his wife and daughters he had not seen for over ten years.

His blood‑shot eyes grew even redder, his eye sockets moist but shedding no tear, and the upward turn of his mouth revealed a fleeting look of satisfaction.

But soon, plagued by various auditory hallucinations, D-1999 once again suppressed his anger and patiently continued to peruse the file.

According to the file, D-1999 learned that after he and the original group of "death‑bound" D‑class personnel were listed as casualties and missing, Umbrella dispatched intelligence agents disguised in various identities to contact their families.

The two agents who went to his home presented themselves as Umbrella employees and as a U. S. Army captain, telling his wife that he had voluntarily joined an Umbrella‑military joint project before his execution.

Later, an agent handed his wife a contract smeared with numerous black bars and blocks marked "■■".

It claimed Umbrella would fulfill the contract, granting their family a substantial sum and providing various benefits from Umbrella General Hospital.

Even after the two agents left, Umbrella continued to covertly assist his wife and daughters.

As for his wife, upon learning that he had volunteered for the experiment to secure a life free of financial worry for the three of them, she chose never to remarry and devoted herself to raising the two daughters.

The elder daughter gradually emerged from the gloom and, together with her high‑school boyfriend, was admitted to the University of Pennsylvania.

After graduating, they were both hired by a Los Angeles financial firm; they married in 2008 and have since raised a daughter and two sons together.

The file included photos and videos of the elder daughter at various stages, from graduation to marriage, and then becoming mother of three.

At this point, D-1999 felt rather conflicted.

For some reason, he felt an urge to slash the elder daughter's husband to death, yet feared that his grandchildren would lose their father's protection.

He was torn.

Meanwhile, the second daughter, who had escaped abuse, no longer resented their long‑absent father, worked hard, excelled academically, and was proudly admitted to Umbrella University in Raccoon City.

At a young age, she became the director of the emergency department at the Ambrella General Hospital in Los Angeles and a titular professor at Umbrella University.

Even if it was clear the daughters' smooth lives were inseparable from Umbrella, he still felt proud of them.

After spending a few minutes reviewing his wife and daughters' current status, the last lingering doubt in D-1999's heart vanished completely.

At that moment, the file on the screen switched on its own.

The file indicated that not far from his area lay a Hell Gate that could return to the real universe, and in the palace before him was a "Matrix Stone" capable of sealing the Hell Gate.

The file also briefly described his unique physiology.

In fact, without Umbrella needing to point it out, D-1999, who had been fighting for over a decade, knew he was no longer a normal human, having become a "person" that Hell and demons greatly feared.

Now, Umbrella gave him a chance: use the Hell Gate to return to the real universe, then have the Tyrant carry plasma bombs to blast the palace, thereby sealing the Hell Gate and temporarily halting Hell's assault on the human world.

Or perhaps…

Without hesitation, D-1999 stood, placed the photos and tablet into his tactical pack, and finally shifted the pack to his front waist.

"Hoo…" Seeing D-1999's actions, the Stalker gestured with a rotating machine gun toward the stone forest and stammered:

"The forest has many… equipment, also… the computer you just used to look at things… there will be more weapons, delivered through the Hell Gate…"

D-1999 silently glanced toward the stone forest, and using his superhuman eyesight, saw the various pieces of equipment scattered on the ground.

However, aside from matters concerning his wife and daughters, D-1999's patience ran out, so he turned and sprinted toward the palace at the far end of the plaza, intending to destroy the "Matrix Stone".

Rather than return to the human world, D-1999 preferred to stay in Hell, for as long as Hell persisted, the world his wife, daughters, and family lived in would never find peace.

He harbored no lofty "for humanity" ideals; he was simply a man unable to control his rage, seeking to slay demons and pierce Hell as a silent guardian of his wife, daughters, and family—as husband, father, and grandfather.

"Hoo!"

The Stalker, who had assisted D-1999's command, along with six Tyrants trailing behind, approached the magnificent palace built by Hell's inhabitants.

Eight "people" smoothly passed the palace's outer perimeter, traversed the spacious corridor, and finally reached the broad hall whose architecture resembled Gothic style.

In the center of the hall floated a Matrix Stone about 10 meters long and roughly 5 meters wide and tall, emitting a crimson glow.

Standing before the Matrix Stone was a massive yet slender demon with obvious feminine traits.

"Human, I have heard of your deeds, admire your bravery, but…"

The demon, as D-1999 and the Tyrants surged into the hall and drew nearer, uttered the above words in an alluring tone, then switched to a terrifying, angry voice:

"I am Asmothai, one of Hell's seventy‑two gods! Not a scum like Ibrius! You will pay for your recklessness! Die! Die!"

The demon named Asmothai roared, brandishing bone‑like scythes that grew from the outer sides of his arms, intent on cutting down D-1999, the Stalker, and the Tyrants completely.

(End of Chapter)