Chapter 23: Training Facility

The intense impact and roar gradually faded, the overturned train twisted into a heap of scrap metal. From the gaps in the torn iron plating, dust and rain surged in, mixed with the pungent smell of burnt metal and a faint scent of blood.

The interior of the carriage was a mess, with seats and control equipment scattered everywhere, glass shards and metal wreckage strewn about. The emergency lights had long since gone out, leaving only faint daylight filtering through the breaches in the carriage to barely illuminate the ruins.

Billy Coen was the first to struggle up from the chaotic wreckage. A sharp piece of iron had sliced a bloody gash in his arm, but he was completely oblivious to it. Propping himself up against a deformed seat, he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice filled with anxiety: "Rebecca! Where are you? Answer me!"

He stumbled through the collapsed carriage, kicking aside scattered debris and searching every corner with an urgent gaze. The massive impact when the train overturned earlier had instantly knocked them both down.

"I'm here."

A slightly weak but still clear voice came from the other side. Billy Coen immediately ran toward the sound and saw Rebecca Chambers leaning against the deformed wall of the carriage, slowly standing up. Her left pant leg was torn, revealing a patch of bruising, and her steps were a bit shaky as she walked, clearly having suffered some minor scrapes and impact injuries.

She brushed the dust off her clothes, walked toward Billy Coen step by step, and made an effort to straighten her back. She forced a reassuring smile and said in a firm tone, "Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just a small injury, it's nothing."

Seeing that Rebecca Chambers was safe and sound, the weight in Billy Coen's heart finally lifted, and his tense expression softened. He raised a hand to wipe the dust from his face, a hint of relief at having survived the ordeal flickering in his eyes as he spoke, "That's great. We made it. The train has completely stopped; we finally don't have to worry about derailing and crashing anymore."

"Yeah, we did it," Rebecca Chambers nodded in agreement. However, as her gaze swept over the tunnel entrance, which was completely blocked by the train's wreckage, her brow furrowed slightly again.

The collapsed train carriages and the rubble within the tunnel were tightly piled together, sealing the exit without a single gap. Not only was it impossible to leave through there, but not even a sliver of space remained, completely cutting off any possibility of the two returning the way they came.

Billy Coen followed her gaze and instantly understood their predicament. His face darkened, and he said in a steady tone, "The exit here is completely blocked. We can't stay here forever; we need to find another way out quickly. This area is full of mutated creatures; staying too long will only be more dangerous."

The two didn't dare delay. After briefly organizing their remaining ammunition and first-aid supplies, they began to feel their way through the collapsed carriages, searching for a passage to leave.

Passing through the twisted joints of the carriages, they discovered a half-open iron door beneath the rear of the train that had been struck. Behind the door was pitch black, and the faint sound of dripping water could be heard.

"This should be the emergency drainage tunnel for the tunnel system; it should lead outside," Billy Coen said after checking and confirming there was no movement behind the iron door. He turned to Rebecca Chambers and said, "I'll go ahead and scout. Follow me closely."

Rebecca Chambers nodded and gripped her gun tightly, following behind Billy Coen into the gloomy sewer. The narrow passage was filled with a damp, musty smell and a fishy odor. The ground was incredibly slippery, and the walls were covered in moss and water stains. Only the beams from their flashlights illuminated the narrow path ahead.

The sewer system was complex with many branches. The two moved forward alertly, clearing out several Mutated Rats and Small Zombies that had taken up residence there, as they continued to feel their way toward higher ground.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a vertical metal ladder finally appeared ahead. A faint light filtered through the top of the ladder, clearly indicating an exit to the surface.

"Finally, a way out," Rebecca Chambers said softly with a sigh of relief.

Billy Coen was the first to climb up the metal ladder. After pushing open the cover at the top and confirming the outside was safe, he reached down and pulled Rebecca Chambers up.

When the two finally stepped out of the sewer and stood on the ground, they were instantly shocked by the sight before them.

What met their eyes was a massive, yet long-abandoned and dilapidated giant building. The architectural style was ancient and heavy, with walls covered in vines and cracks, showing the ravages of time and the desolation of abandonment everywhere. It had clearly been vacant for many years.

And in the center of the building's floor, a massive Umbrella Corporation logo was clearly engraved, looking exceptionally striking.

"This is... an Umbrella secret facility?" Rebecca Chambers' eyes widened in shock. She had never heard of such a building in the Arklay Mountains.

"It looks like an abandoned research institute or training base," Billy Coen said, his expression turning solemn as he gripped his gun. "Everything here feels eerie. Let's be careful and go inside to see if there's a way to leave the mountains."

The two slowly walked up the steps in front of the building. The hall was spacious but in ruins, covered in dust with shattered chandeliers. The corridors on both sides were pitch black and deep, and on a high platform at the very front of the hall hung a large portrait of a person. Although the portrait was somewhat old, it was still well-preserved.

Rebecca Chambers walked up the steps to the platform and looked at the metal plaque beneath the portrait, reading the words on it one by one, her voice filled with surprise: "First Director, Dr. James Marcus."

"Dr. James Marcus..." Billy Coen repeated the name. He felt like he had heard it somewhere before but couldn't recall it at the moment.

The two were completely unaware that the moment they stepped into the building, Wesker and William Birkin, located in a hidden Umbrella stronghold far away, had already locked their full attention onto them.

Inside the dim monitoring room, Wesker, dressed in black tactical gear, stood before the surveillance screens. His fingertips moved quickly over a tracking device, tracing the final crash coordinates of the Ecliptic Express.

Soon, the internal surveillance footage of the Training Facility popped up on the screen. The figures of Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen appeared clearly in the frame.

William Birkin, wearing a white researcher's lab coat, leaned toward the screen. Looking at the two unfamiliar figures, his brow furrowed as he asked, "Who are these two? How did they end up in the Training Facility?"

Wesker's golden eyes stared coldly at the screen. His gaze landed on Rebecca Chambers, and he said in a flat tone, "The female is a rookie, a member of S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team named Rebecca Chambers. Her helicopter crashed in the Arklay Mountains earlier; she must have stumbled her way here."

"What about the man? Judging by his clothes, he doesn't look like he's from S.T.A.R.S., and he doesn't look like Umbrella security personnel either," William Birkin asked again, his eyes full of doubt.

"I'm not sure," Wesker shook his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of subtle scrutiny. "His identity is unknown. Judging by his physique and manner of acting, he seems to have received professional training. He's likely an unrelated individual who got caught up in the biological disaster in the mountains."

Just as the two were staring at the monitors, speculating about their identities, the Training Facility's public address system was suddenly forced open without warning. After a burst of static, a raspy, cold, and eerily solemn voice slowly echoed throughout the building, also transmitting simultaneously to the monitoring room where Wesker and William Birkin were.

"Silence, I am Dr. James Marcus."

"Please reflect on the company motto as follows:"

"Obedience breeds discipline, discipline breeds unity, unity breeds power, power is life!"

The repeating broadcast echoed in the empty Training Facility, its tone eerie and rigid. Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen looked at each other, their faces full of confusion and alertness, completely failing to understand what this sudden broadcast was about, much less the meaning behind the motto.

In the monitoring room, the expressions of Wesker and William Birkin instantly became incredibly solemn.

At that moment, the surveillance screen in front of Wesker flickered violently. A large amount of static instantly covered the image, and the sound of electricity hissed. The original surveillance footage of the Training Facility had actually been forcibly hacked and altered.

A moment later, the static cleared, and a slender, Long-haired Man appeared on the screen. He was shrouded in shadows, his long hair hanging down, and black Leech were faintly seen wriggling around his body. His gaze was cold and dark as he looked straight through the lens at Wesker and William Birkin in the monitoring room.

Wesker's brow furrowed, his expression cold. He was the first to speak, his tone full of questioning and wariness: "Who are you?"

The Long-haired Man's lips curled into an eerie smile. His voice was raspy and cold, carrying the pleasure of revenge as he slowly spoke, "I am the one who leaked the T-Virus into the Spencer Mansion. And of course, the Ecliptic Express was also infected by my hand."

"What?!" William Birkin instantly cried out in shock, his face full of astonishment as he instinctively took a step back. "The T-Virus leak was your doing? What exactly do you want!"

"What do I want?" The man chuckled, his tone becoming increasingly cold and ruthless. "This is revenge against Umbrella!"

As his words fell, he slowly spread his arms. The dark Leech surging around him began to aggregate frantically like a tide, twisting and piecing themselves together behind him. In just a few seconds, they actually condensed into a human form. The face was exactly the same as the portrait in the Training Facility's hall, with eyes full of malice and hatred.

"Dr. James Marcus?!" William Birkin saw the leech-formed figure and completely lost control, crying out in shock. His face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were full of disbelief.

Wesker's brow also furrowed tightly, a hint of shock flashing in his golden eyes, yet he still forced himself to remain calm, staring fixedly at the screen.

The leech-aggregated Dr. James Marcus let out an eerie and cold laugh. The laughter pierced through the screen with a bone-chilling coldness, stabbing straight at Wesker and William Birkin: "Ten years ago, Dr. James Marcus was assassinated by Umbrella. You two were involved in that, weren't you!"

He spoke each word deliberately, every one carrying the weight of a blood feud. After finishing, his laughter became even more eerie and crazed as his gaze locked onto the two in front of the monitors.

Wesker's face darkened completely, his fingertips tightening slightly as a storm of shock surged in his heart.

He knew very well that Dr. James Marcus's death ten years ago was ordered by Oswell E. Spencer and carried out by himself and William Birkin personally. This secret was supposed to be buried forever, yet now, a man who should have been dead for ten years had appeared before them again in such an eerie manner.

And inside the Training Facility, Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen listened to the voice on the broadcast and looked at the portrait in the hall. Connecting it to the strange images on the monitors, although they didn't know the full truth, they vaguely understood that they had been drawn into a dark Umbrella conspiracy spanning ten years. The abandoned Training Facility before them was about to become a new dead end.