Chapter 127: Prisoners
Chapter 127: Captive
The three immediately hurried back to the showroom, their leather shoes crunching crisply over the scattered glass shards.
The entrance to the secret room, which had been open just moments ago, was now tightly sealed, blending seamlessly with the wall. If not for the drag marks left on the floor, one wouldn't even be able to tell a passage had existed there.
"Damn it, the door's closed." Claire stepped forward and pushed hard against the wall, but it didn't budge. "Steve must be inside. We have to find a way to open it."
Jill walked around the showroom, her gaze finally landing on the slowly rising projector screen.
After the white screen retracted, it revealed a metal console embedded in the wall behind it. The screen was still flickering with a faint green light, displaying a surveillance feed pointed directly at that small secret chamber.
In the footage, Steve Burnside was pounding on the iron door in front of him, creating a loud "clanging" noise.
"It's Steve!" Claire stood before the console, her fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard. "It'll take time to crack."
Jill leaned in as well, frowning at the jumping password interface on the screen. "Another strange puzzle? Are Umbrella Corporation people all master riddlers?"
While the two were at their wits' end, Chloe had already walked over to the wall next to the secret room's entrance. She raised her hand and knocked on the wall, producing a dull "thud." She confirmed it was just an ordinary concrete load-bearing wall, not a reinforced alloy structure.
"Move aside."
Chloe's voice was calm but left no room for doubt. Jill and Claire exchanged a glance and immediately stepped back to either side.
Chloe took a deep breath, her right fist slowly gathering several tons of force. Her knuckles cracked as she suddenly slammed it into the wall.
"BOOM—"
With a deafening roar, a large hole over a meter in diameter was smashed directly into the concrete wall, sending rubble and dust flying everywhere. Chloe brushed the dust off her hands and bent down to crawl through the hole.
Inside the secret room, Steve shuddered at the sudden explosion. Looking up, he saw a beautiful young girl crawling out of the hole, exuding a cold killing intent. Instinctively thinking it was a new type of B.O.W., he struggled to back away, only to be blocked by the door behind him.
Chloe didn't say a word; she walked straight up to him and reached out to pull him out.
"Th... thank you." Steve gasped, still shaken. Just as he was about to express his gratitude, he saw a fully armed woman outside. Jill's M4A1 assault rifle was pointed in his direction, while Claire looked at him with concern.
Steve's expression shifted. He lunged back a step and drew two gleaming gold pistols from his waist, holding them up to his chest. The muzzles were aimed at Jill and Chloe respectively.
"Don't come any closer!" His voice trembled, yet he feigned composure. "What have you done to Claire? If you dare touch a hair on her head, I'll never let you get away with it!"
Claire was both annoyed and amused by his behavior. Stepping forward, she said, "Steve, it's me! They're here to rescue me; they're not with Umbrella Corporation!"
"I don't believe you!" Steve shook his head, his guns never wavering. "You must have captured her and forced her to act to trick me! Who would come all this way to this godforsaken place to save a complete stranger? You must have some sort of scheme!"
With that, without waiting for Claire to explain further, he turned and ran out the door, quickly disappearing at the end of the hallway.
Jill watched his retreating figure and rolled her eyes in annoyance, lowering her gun. "What is this? We save him and get no thanks for it? If I'd known, I would've just let him stay in there."
"Don't be angry." Chloe patted her shoulder, her tone uncharacteristically soothing. "He's just a kid. I probably scared him. It's normal to be highly alert."
"You have the nerve to say that?" Jill reached up and flicked Chloe's forehead with moderate force. "Who told you to just smash through a wall without a word? What did Barry tell you during training? Don't over-rely on your abilities. And look at you, punching through a half-meter-thick wall—are you that eager to let everyone know you have superpowers?"
Chloe clutched her head with a hiss and looked at Claire pleadingly. Claire whistled and turned her head away, pretending not to see the look for help, though the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.
"Alright, alright, stop it," Claire said, stifling a laugh. "Steve won't get far. Let's find him first. This island is crawling with zombies; it's too dangerous for him to be alone."
Jill huffed, dropping the matter of Chloe's wall-smashing, and turned to lead the way out of the showroom. "Let's go. Let's find that brat quickly and get out of this hellhole."
The three had just returned to the mansion's main hall. Before they could push open the front door, Chloe's eyes suddenly sharpened, and she fired a shot toward the second floor.
"Bang!"
The bullet whizzed past Alfred's ear and struck the portrait behind him, the frame shattering instantly. Alfred nearly fell over the railing in fright. He stumbled to a steady stance and looked down at the three below, his face contorted with humiliated rage.
"You disgusting ants! How dare you make such a mess of my base!" He raised his sniper rifle and fired repeatedly at the three below. "I'll feed you all to the zombies!"
Bullets struck the marble floor, kicking up shards of stone. Jill immediately pulled Chloe and Claire behind a pillar; the thick solid wood pillar blocked the sniper rounds.
"Damn it, he's a sniper." Jill peeked out and quickly ducked back. "He's at the second-floor railing with a great line of sight. We're pinned down."
Chloe signaled to Jill, pointing toward the second floor and making a "I'll go up and get him" gesture. Jill immediately shook her head. "Don't be reckless. He has a sniper rifle; it's too dangerous."
Claire took a deep breath and shouted toward the second floor, "Who are you? Why are you attacking us for no reason?"
"No reason?" Alfred's voice had a neurotic edge. "You're the ones who trespassed on my territory and shot at me! And now you have the nerve to question me?"
Claire looked at Chloe, who gave an awkward smile and rubbed her nose. "He clearly had ill intentions. Even if I hadn't fired, he would have ambushed us."
"You must have been sent by that person to infiltrate the base, haven't you?" Alfred continued to shout, his tone full of resentment. "Don't think I don't know about your scheme!"
"What are you talking about? I have no idea!" Claire shouted. "We're just here to find someone. We don't know anything about any 'instructions'!"
"Playing dumb won't help!" Alfred snorted. "I am Alfred Ashford, the supreme commander of this base! You lowly commoners dare to run wild on Ashford Family territory!"
"The base commander?" Claire paused for a moment, then scoffed. "So you're just a low-ranking Umbrella Corporation officer. Nothing to be so proud of."
This comment completely enraged Alfred. He slammed the butt of his rifle hard against the railing with a loud thud. "How dare you be so insolent! The Ashford Family is one of the few distinguished noble families in the world! Furthermore, my grandfather was one of the founders of Umbrella Corporation—Edward Ashford! You mere mortals are not even worthy of mentioning his name!"
Alfred grew more agitated as he spoke, rambling incessantly about the glorious history of the Ashford Family—from his grandfather founding Umbrella Corporation to his father inheriting the family business, and then to his sister Alexia being the family's hope. He was completely immersed in his own world, even letting his sniper rifle hang down, forgetting there were three enemies below.
Chloe's brow furrowed as she listened, looking impatiently at Jill with eyes that screamed, "Can we make him shut up?" Jill sighed helplessly and nodded to her.
The moment she received permission, Chloe dashed out from behind the cover. Alfred realized and hurriedly tried to fire, but the bullet only hit the floor behind her.
Chloe's speed was staggering, almost becoming a blur. She stepped onto the reception desk and leaped, tracing a graceful arc through the air to land directly on the second-floor railing.
Before Alfred could react, Chloe kicked his wrist. The sniper rifle flew from his hand and fell to the marble floor below. Chloe drew her pistol in one smooth motion, pressing the cold muzzle against Alfred's head.
Alfred trembled, his face turning pale as paper. He looked at the girl before him, who seemed somewhat familiar. Suddenly, his pupils shrank as if he had remembered something. His voice quivered as he said, "You... you're that... that test subject! William's S01!"
Chloe didn't speak. She just looked at him coldly before turning to ask Jill below, "How should we handle this guy?"
Jill and Claire stepped out from behind the cover and looked up at the second floor. Jill thought for a moment and said, "He's the commander of this base; he must know many of Umbrella Corporation's secrets and the route off this island. Cuff him first and have him lead the way."
Chloe nodded, holstered her pistol, and pulled out handcuffs from her waist. Alfred struggled desperately, screaming, "Let me go! You can't do this to me! I am the heir to the Ashford Family! You will pay for this!"
Chloe mercilessly cuffed his hands behind his back and gave him a hard shove. "Shut up. If you make any more noise, I'll throw you out to feed the zombies."
Alfred immediately shut his mouth, though his face was filled with indignation and resentment. He had lived for over a decade and had never suffered such humiliation. To be held at gunpoint by a lowly test subject and handcuffed was a supreme disgrace to him.
Chloe escorted Alfred down from the second floor. Seeing his pathetic state, a faint, imperceptible smile played on Jill's lips.
"Let's go, Commander Alfred," Jill said with a hint of mockery, patting his shoulder. "Take us to the island's control room and tell us how to leave this island. If you try any tricks, you should know the consequences."
Alfred grit his teeth and glared at Jill, but he didn't dare resist. He knew these three women were no ordinary people—especially that test subject; she would definitely follow through on her threats.
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