Chapter 77: Continuation

The mall's outer perimeter.

"Seal all exits and entrances, ensure no anomalous phenomena can escape! Even if MTF is present, we must not drop the ball!"

"Yes! Lieutenant!"

In the spacious parking lot of the outer area, nearly two hundred security personnel clad in dark gray combat uniforms and fully armed were taking instruction from a lieutenant wearing a red beret.

When the lieutenant's words fell, the security forces split into more than ten combat squads and jogged toward the mall's various exits and entrances.

Since the Raccoon City Armory was established, the security forces' weapons are no longer a "hodgepodge" but have been equipped with the standard‑issue MA5B.

Its buttstock‑less design allows the security personnel to adapt to various combat environments, especially since their primary duty is to guard the various departments, research institutes, and bases.

This time the Venice Branch could gather nearly two hundred security staff and even receive support from 141 because Sui Bian had, two days earlier, alerted Pulaise to the situation in Venice.

Now Pulaise is not only the captain of 141 but also has the authority to temporarily redeploy European security forces.

As an A‑rank employee, Pulaise, after reviewing the photos and data sent by Leon and receiving Sui Bian's orders, gathered 141 and the security team yesterday and arrived in Venice.

It is only that Leon, being an intern, lacks sufficient authority to discern the company's movements.

At this moment.

An AS‑355 light helicopter hovered above the mall.

Two security sharpshooters sat on either side of the cabin, watching the mall's roof; if a sudden change occurred, they could provide support.

Further out, the Venice police had already sealed off the area.

No one could enter or exit, including police personnel.

After all, in the eyes of Umbrella employees, the police are also civilians.

In the parking lot south of the mall, technicians had erected four white hazmat tents.

They provide the technicians with a place to disinfect, isolate, and examine survivors and anomalous phenomena immediately.

The outermost tent.

Inside the tent are twenty medical stretchers, transparent partitions for isolation and disinfection, an air‑filtering circulation system, and the "most essential" equipment—

Air conditioning.

Seated or lying on the beds are the survivors of this Human Model incident.

There are six still‑shaken security guards, as well as Leon and Buleiya.

Technicians clad in white one‑piece hazmat suits are sequentially drawing blood samples from the survivors.

Not all security guards fell victim to the Human Model's killings.

The first‑floor security personnel, upon hearing gunfire and seeing the Human Model launch an attack, chose to flee.

The second‑ and third‑floor guards, including the security foreman, were not so fortunate.

After drawing blood, the technicians first disinfect the transparent partition, then leave the isolation tent.

"Jesus. Jesus Christ, bless me; I hope I can still make it home alive."

"Alright, stop saying such… ominous things."

"If this gets on the news, we might even have to do an interview or something."

"On the news? What are you dreaming about?"

As soon as the technicians left, the barely‑surviving guards began to discuss privately.

"Leon, tell me, what kind of organization is Umbrella really?"

The discussion also included Buleiya's questioning.

Just looking at the edge of the tent, Buleiya, sitting opposite Leon, asked solemnly:

"Those soldiers in stealth combat suits call you an agent, yet I am a civilian police officer?"

"What confuses me even more is that when you first saw those Human Models, you didn't feel fear or hesitation, but immediately opened fire in retaliation."

"Did you already anticipate we'd encounter that bunch?"

"Well…" Leon said, looking troubled.

Even if he explained to Buleiya, she would have her memory erased later, so Leon didn't know what to do.

"Also… thank you for that jump earlier," Buleiya said with a slightly distant gratitude.

After all, not long ago she had rebuffed Leon completely, but after the mall battle, Buleiya's thoughts seemed to have shifted.

"Heh, no need to thank me."

Leon smiled kindly, saying the jump was no big deal, then, restraining his smile, told Buleiya:

"It's fine to tell you, actually Umbrella on the surface is…"

Over the next ten‑plus minutes, Leon explained that Umbrella is the first line of defense between anomalous phenomena and humanity, and possibly the last.

After finishing…

"It seems that our stable lives are just a lie you Umbrella fabricated…"

Moreover, your company already has invisibility technology, so doesn't it also have memory‑erasing tools?

The guards and I will forget those Human Models, will forget that Umbrella handled the aftermath, and will forget your existence.

Perhaps tomorrow's headline will be that a serial killer was caught, or that they were already killed, right?

Before Leon could clarify, Buleiya proactively voiced her speculation.

Leon paused silently, then nodded, "Exactly, that's how it is."

At that moment.

A technician reentered the tent, glanced around at everyone, and announced in a mock‑congratulatory tone:

"Congratulations, everyone; your bodies show no abnormalities. Record a statement afterward, sign some documents, and you can go home."

After the technician finished announcing, a group of guards finally could lie down on the beds and rest.

It is Leon, who knows the company's procedures for witnesses and survivors, who understands that the blood tests show their bodies are clean, meaning the next step is memory erasure.

"Leon, I want to join you." Buleiya said without hesitation.

Leon:???

———————

…

Anomaly phenomenon file being written……

Writing completed.

Item number: AP-079.

Reading clearance: B-level, and B-level and above.

Alias: Eerie Human Model.

Level: Nix-class (second level).

Status: Contained.

Description:

The item was confirmed by company informant ■■·■· Kennedy at 21:07 on August 29, 1999, Venice, Italy time, and finally subdued and controlled by the company's Special Task Force 141.

According to preliminary detection by company researchers, the item's body contains a human skeletal structure internally, its blood is some unknown black liquid, and its skin is a ceramic-like substance.

The item possesses an "assimilation" trait, capable of assimilating ordinary male human models into itself; the principle is unknown, possibly a kind of reproduction method.

The item is extremely hostile toward handsome human males.

Based on the serial death case in Venice on August 25 and the informant encounter on the 29th, the company judges that the item may actively attack handsome human males.

If a handsome human male voluntarily enters the item's field of view, the item will attack all humans present until no one can understand its secrets.

In consideration of the item's characteristics, the company classifies it as a Nix-class anomaly.

Follow-up:

Only one specimen of the item is retained, currently contained in a special detention unit on Lockford Island.

The item caused a total of 42 human deaths; among the 7 survivors, 6 have undergone memory alteration.

Survivor ■■· Buleiya, under the recommendation of informant ■■·■· Kennedy, is currently receiving special training from the company's intelligence personnel.

File ends.

(End of chapter)