Chapter 114: The Final Reunion

September 30, 1998, 8:00 PM, Spencer Memorial Hospital.

The pungent smell of disinfectant had long since been completely overwhelmed by the heavy stench of blood and decay. In the distance, the occasional raspy low growls of zombies and the crisp sound of shattering glass echoed through the empty, deathly silent hospital, sounding exceptionally eerie.

Carlos moved slowly along the wall, his tactical boots making faint crunching sounds on the scattered glass shards. He gripped his rifle tightly, the muzzle always pointed toward the dark corners ahead, taking every step with extreme caution.

The alloy door at the end of the corridor was tightly shut, a cold red light flickering on the electronic lock screen. Carlos pulled out the tape recorder he had found earlier from his waist pouch and played Dr. Bard's voice. The voiceprint lock responded immediately, and with a soft "beep," the heavy alloy door slowly slid open to both sides.

The laboratory was a mess, with documents scattered everywhere and experimental equipment overturned. A few centrifuges were still humming, though they had long been left unattended.

A faint smell of gunpowder permeated the air, mixed with formalin and the scent of blood, causing Carlos's nerves to tighten instantly.

He walked slowly into the lab with his gun raised, his gaze scanning the surroundings. Behind the desk, a high-backed swivel chair was turned away from him, with a white lab coat draped over the back, making it look as if someone were sitting there working.

"Dr. Bard?" Carlos called out in a low voice, but received no response.

He stepped forward slowly, reached out to grab the back of the chair, and gave it a sudden spin.

The chair spun around.

Nathaniel Bard leaned against the back of the chair with his head tilted to the side. A charred bullet hole sat right in the center of his forehead, and blood trickled down his cheek, blossoming into a large, dark stain on his white lab coat.

His eyes were still wide open, his face etched with the terror and resentment he felt before death; he had clearly been shot at close range.

Carlos sucked in a cold breath and immediately pulled out his walkie-talkie, pressing the talk button: "Tyrone, Bard is dead. He was shot!"

Tyrone's rapid breathing came through the other end of the walkie-talkie, mixed with the sound of distant gunfire: "Dammit! What about the vaccine? Did you find it?"

"I'm looking for it!" Carlos hung up the walkie-talkie and knelt down to quickly check Bard's body, but found no vaccine samples. He stood up, his eyes scanning the lab rapidly, finally landing on the computer in the corner whose screen was still lit.

"You have to move fast!" Tyrone's voice came through the walkie-talkie again. "There should be a computer there, right? See if there are any records of the vaccine's storage!"

"Got it." Carlos walked over to the computer, his fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard. The computer didn't have a startup password. Once it opened, a folder named "Final Truth" sat prominently on the desktop.

Carlos double-clicked to open the folder, which contained only one video file. He clicked play, and Dr. Bard's haggard face appeared on the screen.

"I am Nathaniel Bard, Director of the Virus Research Center. It is currently September 20th, 11:00 PM." In the video, Bard's eyes were weary with heavy dark circles under them, and his voice was raspy and trembling. "I know in my heart that my time may be short. I hope this recording can be discovered by someone outside so the truth can be made public, and perhaps I can... reclaim some of my reputation."

He took a deep breath, a look of pain and guilt appearing on his face. "This disaster in Raccoon City... was caused by a leak of a biological weapon called the T-Virus. My employer, the Umbrella Corporation, created this virus, and under their instructions, my team developed a vaccine. Currently, I have placed a sample of the vaccine in my office, while the rest are in the basement."

At this point, Bard's emotions suddenly became agitated, and he slammed his fist heavily onto the desk. "But those bastards in the company's upper management actually want to destroy these vaccines! They want to cover up their deeds! They plan to destroy all evidence of the virus! They don't care at all about the lives of the people in the city, but I won't be that stupid. I won't let them—"

Suddenly, Bard's expression became extremely tense. He jerked his head up to look in a direction off-camera, the color draining from his face. He frantically reached for the mouse, and the video screen suddenly went black, cutting off completely.

The laboratory fell into silence, with only the whirring of the computer's cooling fan.

Carlos stared blankly at the dark screen, his blood seemingly freezing in his veins at that moment.

Everything Jill said was true. Umbrella Corporation really was manufacturing biological weapons, they really did treat all of Raccoon City as an experimental field, and they really intended to destroy all the evidence, letting a hundred thousand people die for nothing.

He remembered Jill's suspicion of him at the subway station, how he had always thought the UBCS was there to rescue civilians, his dead teammates, and the innocent citizens on the streets who had turned into zombies.

An uncontrollable rage surged from the depths of his heart, and he slammed his fist into the computer screen.

With a sharp "crack," the screen shattered, glass shards flying everywhere.

"To hell with Umbrella!" Carlos growled, his chest heaving violently.

He forced himself to calm down. Now was not the time for anger; finding the vaccine to save Jill was what mattered most.

He turned and rushed into the adjacent medicine storage room, his eyes scanning rows of freezers. Finally, in a low-temperature freezer at the very back, he saw a metal box with a red label.

Carlos opened the box. Inside lay a pale blue vaccine syringe, the label clearly stating: T-Virus Prototype Vaccine, single dose only.

He let out a long sigh of relief, took the vaccine and tucked it into the inner pocket of his tactical vest, then pressed his walkie-talkie again: "Tyrone! I've got the vaccine!"

"Great!" Tyrone's voice held obvious joy. "I'm heading over now. Wait for me at the hospital."

"Be careful," Carlos warned.

"Be careful?" Tyrone let out a soft chuckle, his tone tinged with dark humor. "You know the state the city is in, right? I'd need superpowers to get there safely."

The walkie-talkie cut off. Carlos checked the lab, and after confirming nothing was missed, he turned and walked out, heading toward the ward where Jill was.

Half an hour ago, 7:28 PM, first floor of Spencer Memorial Hospital.

Chloe pushed open the heavy glass doors of the hospital, and a blast of hot air mixed with the smells of blood, disinfectant, and decay hit her. She frowned, her virus perception instantly spreading out, taking in the life signals of the entire hospital.

There were over a dozen wandering zombies in the atrium, and one human life signal was fighting the horde—likely Carlos. Most areas were empty, except for a ward inside where a weak but familiar life signal was pulsing slowly.

It was Jill.

Chloe's heart constricted, and her pace quickened involuntarily.

She reached the ward door and stopped.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe gently pushed open the door.

The room was quiet, save for the beeping of the monitors and Jill's heavy, rapid breathing.

Jill lay on the hospital bed, her face as pale as paper, her lips parched and cracked. Her brow was furrowed tightly, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat; she was clearly in immense pain.

Thick gauze was wrapped around her shoulder, and the blood seeping through had already stained the bandages a deep red. That was the wound from Nemesis's claws; the T-Virus was spreading rapidly through her body.

Chloe walked to the bedside. Looking at the unconscious and suffering Jill, her nose prickled, and her eyes instantly reddened. She covered her mouth, trying hard not to cry out, but her body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

She had thought she would never see Jill again.

When the NEST was torn apart by G1, the last thing she had seen was Jill's face, broken and weeping. In that moment, her mind had been filled with nothing but worry for Jill's safety.

Chloe reached out and gently placed her hand on the wound on Jill's shoulder. She closed her eyes, channeling the virus within her and releasing soft virus pheromones.

As the pheromones were injected, Jill's furrowed brow slowly smoothed out, and her rapid breathing became much steadier. The look of pain on her face gradually faded, her body no longer tense, completely relaxing.

Chloe withdrew her hand and sat on the chair by the bed, watching Jill quietly. The warm light from the lamp shone on Jill's face, casting a warm golden glow over her pale cheeks.

Chloe reached out, wanting to gently stroke Jill's hair, but she was afraid of waking her. Her fingers hovered in mid-air for a long time before she finally pulled them back.

Right then, Jill suddenly snapped her eyes open and let out a shrill scream: "No!"

Startled, Chloe quickly stood up.

Jill gasped for air, her eyes unfocused and her face covered in tears of terror. She looked around blankly, and after a long while, her vision slowly focused, landing on Chloe standing by the bed.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Jill stared blankly at the silver-haired girl before her, unable to believe her eyes. She thought this was another part of a nightmare. She reached out, trembling as she tried to touch Chloe's face, yet afraid that she would vanish the moment she made contact.

"Is this... real?" Jill's voice was incredibly raspy, thick with tears. "Chloe... is it you?"

Chloe could no longer hold it back, and tears burst from her eyes. She grabbed Jill's hand, placed it against her own face, and sobbed, "It's real, Sister Jill, it's me. I'm back!"

Jill bolted upright and pulled Chloe into a tight embrace, using all her strength as if she wanted to meld the girl into her own body.

The fear, longing, despair, and joy accumulated over many days all erupted at once. She held Chloe and wept loudly, her tears soaking Chloe's shoulder.

"I thought you were dead..." Jill cried. "I thought I'd never see you again... I'm sorry, Chloe, I'm sorry, I failed to protect you..."

"It's not your fault, Sister Jill, it's not your fault." Chloe also held Jill, shaking as she cried. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have left you. I missed you so much, I really missed you."

The two held each other and cried for a long time until their emotions slowly settled. Jill released Chloe and reached out to wipe the tears from her face, looking at her carefully.

"You've lost so much weight," Jill said heart-wrenchingly, stroking Chloe's cheek. "These past few days... where have you been? Are you hurt?"

Chloe shook her head. She didn't mention being imprisoned by Umbrella again, fearing it would worry Jill.

Jill looked at Chloe and slowly recounted everything that had happened after the NEST mission, telling her about Nemesis's ambush, how she was heavily wounded and infected, how Nicholai had taken advantage of the situation to kidnap the mutated and out-of-control Chloe, and how Chloe, even after losing her reason, had still fought with all her might to protect her, not hesitating to slay Nemesis to keep her safe even while transforming herself.

Chloe listened quietly. When she heard how Nicholai had reaped the benefits at the Clock Tower and kidnapped her, her fists clenched tightly, and a flash of cold murderous intent crossed her eyes.

"Damn Nicholai," Chloe said through gritted teeth. "I definitely won't let him get away with this." It was all because of that damn bastard; otherwise, she would have reunited with Jill long ago, and Jill wouldn't have suffered so much.

Just then, the ward door was suddenly pushed open.

Carlos walked in excitedly with the vaccine, shouting, "Jill! I found the vaccine! You're saved!"

When he saw the unfamiliar silver-haired girl standing in the room, the smile on his face instantly froze. He whipped out the handgun at his waist, aimed it at Chloe, and barked, "Don't move! Who are you?!"

Almost instinctively, Jill stood up immediately, spreading her arms to shield Chloe, and shouted at Carlos, "Put the gun down, Carlos!"