Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

In fact, I already knew through [Foresight] that Sherry and Jill would be infected. If it had been a normal attack, I would have blocked it, but this time I deliberately didn't.

In the Resident Evil universe, viruses based on the Progenitor Virus can, if the host survives, cause physical mutations that greatly enhance physical abilities. Moreover, even if the virus is removed with a vaccine, the physical changes that have already occurred do not revert.

In fact, in the original, Sherry gained rapid regenerative abilities after being infected with the G-virus and receiving treatment, and Jill is also described as having slowed aging and enhanced physical abilities after recovering from T-virus infection.

So this time, I deliberately didn't prevent the infection. I already knew where the vaccine was, and even if the vaccine didn't work, I could just treat them myself.

'I feel a little bad about it.'

I was confident I could cure them, but since I knew they would be infected and let it happen anyway, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.

Leon and I couldn't use the lift that had moved the train, but there was another cargo lift next to it used to transport supplies to the lab, so we took that up.

Ironically, the lift we took was the very same one where Leon fought the Tyrant in the original.

'I died so many times here because of the Tyrant's wide attack range... but for some reason, staying here feels like a pretty noona is going to drop an anti-tank rocket on me from above.'

Come to think of it, I wondered what Ada was doing right now. If she had taken the virus, the self-destruct system would have activated, so she definitely hadn't secured it yet.

We passed through the control room again, took the elevator, and arrived at the lab. At the entrance to the west wing lab, we saw Ada lying unconscious on the floor.

"Ada!"

Leon spotted her and rushed over, shaking her awake.

"Ada, wake up!"

"I'm not dead. And stop shaking me! My leg is broken, it hurts."

"Ah... s, sorry."

As Ada said, her right calf was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly broken. I frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"I was confronting Annette when suddenly William Birkin burst through the ceiling. He took Annette out in an instant and came after me. I barely managed to escape, but... as you can see, my leg is broken."

From what Ada said, it seemed William had gone after Ada and Annette before coming for us. It was no surprise they couldn't handle him in that mutated state.

"Don't worry, we took care of William Birkin. But two of our people got infected, so we came back to find a vaccine."

Ada looked incredulous at Leon's words. "You took him down?! Honestly, I'm not sure whether to believe that."

I nodded and said, "Leon's telling the truth. We took him down ourselves."

Ada was speechless for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "You guys are really something. I thought it would take a military force with heavy weapons to take down a William like that."

"We got lucky. Anyway, let's get you treated first."

While Leon tended to Ada, I found something to use as a splint and firmly secured her leg.

"Ugh... be gentle..."

"Just bear with it for a moment."

After checking the splint, I said, "This won't do. Leon, take Ada down to the train and wait for me. I'll find the vaccine and catch up."

Leon nodded in agreement. The vaccine was important, but he couldn't leave Ada like this.

"Got it."

Leon carried Ada in his arms, princess-style, and took the elevator down first. After confirming they were gone, I entered the lab.

The west wing lab where William had appeared was in complete shambles. Furniture and desks were shattered beyond recognition, and deep claw marks gouged the walls where William had raked them. Seeing this, it was a miracle Ada had survived.

Going further in, I found Annette's body. Her waist had been torn open, a fatal wound—she must have died instantly from William's first strike. If she had been alive, I would have tried to treat her and bring her along, but she was already gone, so I left her there.

I headed to the lab where Leon and Claire had recovered the G-virus and vaccine in the original. Inside, grotesque organisms that appeared to be G-virus test subjects were stored in glass tubes, and at the far end was a medicine cabinet protected by a lock. This lock could only be opened with the small pendant on Sherry's necklace.

Annette must have entrusted the key to Sherry to prevent the G-virus from falling into the wrong hands. But if I were her, I would never have done that. Just having that key would make Sherry a target. In fact, in the original, Sherry was put in danger precisely because of that key.

Anyway, I took out Sherry's necklace, which I had prepared in advance, and unlocked the cabinet. After recovering the G-virus and the vaccine, I transferred them to pre-prepared containers, thoroughly sterilized them, and stored them in my inventory.

There were two vaccines total, so even after I put one in my inventory, one remained. I used [Matter Copy] to duplicate the remaining vaccine, giving me a total of two—exactly the number needed for Jill and Sherry.

Wee-oo! Wee-oo! Wee-oo!

—"Warning: Unauthorized removal of a [Level 4] virus detected. Facility self-destruct sequence initiated. All research personnel are to evacuate immediately via the central elevator to the lower platform."

Just then, a shrill siren blared throughout the lab, and a mechanical warning announcement echoed through the facility. The lab's self-destruct system had finally been activated.

But I had somewhere else to go. I needed to retrieve the tanks. I couldn't just leave behind the tanks I had worked so hard to build. So I teleported to Kendo's Gun Shop and started grabbing all the guns and ammunition there. Since they were going to be destroyed anyway, it didn't matter if I took them.

'It's cheap, considering it's a payment for a life.'

Then I went outside to retrieve the tanks, but someone was loitering around them.

"Huh? Who's there?"

"Jin! Are these tanks yours? Please, take me with you! This place is about to become a pile of rubble!"

It was none other than Chief Brian Irons.

"Why? Can't you just use another car?"

"No! The virus-infected monsters are bad enough, but the roads are completely blocked by abandoned cars! And I've heard rumors that the military is even sealing off the roads! There's no way I can escape in a regular car! There's no time! The bombing of Raccoon City starts in a day!"

The Chief spoke desperately, but from my perspective, it was absurd. I was already short on time, and now I was wasting it on this. Besides, I already knew Raccoon City would be bombed to ashes, so this wasn't news.

"I can pay you, whatever you want..."

"One hundred million dollars, and I'll think about it. You've been taking a lot from Umbrella, right? And that includes the hush money for the mayor's daughter."

At that, the Chief was shocked. "H, how do you know about that..."

Chief Brian Irons enjoyed taxidermy and had twisted tendencies. He harbored a horrific desire to turn Katherine Warren, the daughter of the Raccoon City mayor, whom he considered beautiful, into a "perfect taxidermy specimen."

Interestingly, the mayor was completely unaware of the Chief's madness and abandoned his daughter to flee alone when the Raccoon outbreak occurred. Irons seized the opportunity to put his long-planned scheme into action.

I wondered what expression the mayor would make when he later learned what fate had befallen his daughter, left alone in his city.

"I've known for a long time that you were planning to stuff the mayor's daughter at the orphanage. So, are you going to pay or not?"

The Chief's eyes darted as he considered, and then he suddenly reached for his gun.

Bang! Thump!

"Aaaargh!!!"

I naturally wasn't about to just watch. I immediately drew the Mallorian Arms 3516 and shot the Chief's hand first. Since I had heavily modified it, his hand was blown clean off.

"Negotiations are over."

I put the gun to the Chief's forehead. He trembled, tears and snot streaming down his face, desperately trying to bear the pain and fear, and hastily made an offer.

"W, wait!!! There's a bag with 20 million dollars in cash in my car in the parking lot, plus gold bars—total about 50 million! That's all I have right now. If I get out of here, I can get you the rest, so please, just take me with you!"

I thought for a moment and said, "Hmm... that's only half. Fine, I'll get half of you out of Raccoon City."

"What do you mean by that..."

Swoosh!

Before the Chief could finish, I showed him with action instead of words.

I drew my backpack and in one swift motion, split the Chief's body cleanly in half lengthwise. Then, using [Telekinesis], I sent one half of the severed body flying out of Raccoon City.

"A promise is a promise."

After saying that, I thoroughly sterilized the backpack and the tanks with [Life Magic] and stored them in my inventory. Then I went to check the Chief's car.

Inside were three large sports bags, just as he had said, stuffed with 100-dollar bills. With the gold bars, it was clearly well over 50 million dollars.

In truth, I had never intended to let him live, which is why I set the price so high. But I was a bit surprised he even offered 100 million. I wondered just how much he had been skimming in Raccoon City to accumulate that kind of money. He must have been taking bribes not just from Umbrella but from other sources too, and embezzling criminal profits.

'He really did amass quite a fortune in Raccoon City.'

After sterilizing the money and gold bars the same way and storing them in my inventory, I teleported to near the train. I acted as if I had just arrived.

"There was a vaccine in the lab, so I grabbed it right away."

"That's a relief. I was worried there wouldn't be one. Let's leave right away; there's not much time before the self-destruct goes off."

Claire said that and headed to the engine room. I immediately took out the vaccine and administered it to Jill and Sherry. Soon, color returned to their pale faces, and the others visibly relaxed.

As the train departed, I went to check on Ada and Leon.

"Are you okay?"

"I can manage. More importantly, you didn't bring the virus, did you?"

"I destroyed it on sight, so don't even dream about it."

"Hah... I figured as much."

Ada sighed, pretending to be disappointed, but this woman was no ordinary person. My [Naked Eye] clearly showed a single fang from William—the one that had infected Jill and Sherry—hidden in a small bag at her side. The way she played innocent without batting an eye was chilling.

'Well, she took the G-virus in the original too, so I'll just pretend I didn't see it.'

Just then, a massive explosion echoed from the tunnel behind the train, and flames shot up. The lab must have been destroyed by the self-destruct system.

"It's really over now, right? I've been on edge, wondering if something else would jump out."

Claire asked, and Leon chuckled in response.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing. But I think it's really over this time."

"Still, I feel bad about my bike. I just bought it."

"Come to think of it, I left my car in Raccoon City too. It was a car I really liked..."

Claire and Leon said that, so I chimed in, "I left behind the tanks I've been building as a hobby for years. Both of them."

"...That's a shame."

"But don't worry. I brought something fun."

I opened my backpack and showed the others what was inside. It was stuffed with bundles of 100-dollar bills.

"Wow... what is all this?"

"Actually, I spotted the Chief's car at the police station and opened it up. This was inside. Probably money he was stashing to use after escaping Raccoon City. So I took it."

Marvin let out a satisfied laugh. "That's a great hit on the Chief! Too bad we won't get to see his face when he finds out the money's gone."

I handed two bundles of 100-dollar bills to each of the group members. I had put the money in my backpack on purpose, since most of them didn't have much.

Leon was a fresh rookie cop, Claire was a college student, and Marvin wasn't well-off either. From what I knew, he had been saving up to buy a house in Raccoon City and bring his family from another city to live with him.

Two bundles of 100-dollar bills were worth about 30 million Korean won. It wasn't a life-changing amount, but it would be a helpful start for those starting new lives.

"What about me?"

Ada asked casually. "You... hmm... take one."

"That's stingy. You gave everyone else two."

"Think about your hidden agenda."

"Come on... I helped you out a lot too, you know. Isn't this unfair?"

Ada grumbled, and Leon covered his mouth, chuckling at the sight.