Seeing that the mutant alligator had stopped moving, Lear slowly loosened his grip on the iron bar and leaned weakly against the cold, damp sewer wall. The air was thick with a nauseating stench of rot and sewage, but he couldn't care about that now, only gasping for breath. Seeing Lear's state, Leon imdiately ca over and supported him.
"Boss, are you alright?"
Leon helped Lear trudge out of the filthy water to the side. Just then, Friday snapped out of his daze as well, and together with Leon, they pushed Lear onto the dry ground along the sewer wall.
Lear collapsed onto the dusty cent floor and waved his hand at Leon, signaling he was fine.
"I'm fine, just a bit exhausted."
Holding on and not getting thrown off by the alligator earlier had taken a lot out of him. Lying on the ground, now that his body had relaxed, a sharp pain imdiately shot through his hands. He lifted them to see that the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers had split open, with blood mixed with the murky sewage staining his entire palms into a strange, blackish-red.
Seeing this, Leon quickly pulled bandages and a First Aid Spray from the dical pouch at his waist, crouching down to treat his wounds. Just then, the radio on his belt suddenly screeched with harsh static.
"Crackle— Leon! Leon! Are you guys okay?!"
Claire's anxious voice ca through the radio, mixed with the sound of hurried footsteps and heavy breathing.
"We're fine, Claire. Lear and I are okay, but he's a little injured. Where are you now?"
Leon held the radio between his shoulder and ear while quickly cleaning Lear's wounds with his hands, spraying them with the dical spray. When he wiped away the sewage and blood, he saw a large gash split open at the webbing of Lear's hands. The wound looked terrible, but he had no sutures and couldn't properly debride it, so he could only temporarily wrap it with gauze.
"We're taking another route to loop around. We should et up with you ahead!" Ada's calm voice ca through the radio.
"Alright, we'll pack up and head out imdiately. Also, be careful, both of you."
After ending the call, Leon let out a long breath and tightened the last wrap of the bandage. "Boss, this is all I can do for now. There should be a dical kit when we get to the Laboratory, and I'll properly clean the wound then."
Lear pushed himself up with Friday's help, stood slowly, and smiled at Leon. "Take it easy, brother. I've been through way more dangerous things than this. No problem."
Seeing that he was composed, Leon relaxed as well. Then, the two of them and the corgi headed deeper into the sewer. Along the way, Leon walked at the front with his gun drawn, on alert, while Friday brought up the rear, loosely shielding Lear in the middle.
Leon taking the initiative to scout ahead touched Lear quite a bit. Though Leon acted like he was just trying to push forward quickly and not waste ti, Lear knew he was worried about his condition and afraid sothing might go wrong.
But Lear really wanted to say, Comrade Leon, you're overthinking it. If you had bandaged a bit later, the wound would have already healed on its own, let alone affecting .
Even so, Lear didn't refuse his kindness. For one thing, he couldn't explain to Leon the recovery ability far beyond that of an ordinary person that he possessed. Second, from Leon's near-reckless behavior just now, Lear could tell that because of his own early intervention along the way, the Tyrant and Licker had been dealt with early, and too many people had gathered prematurely at the Police Station. In other words, Leon had never truly faced a real threat himself, so he was still a bit green. Lear intentionally wanted to let Leon get so practice.
Leon was unaware of Lear's thoughts. At that mont, he was fully focused, holding his gun and advancing cautiously. Suddenly, a human silhouette flickered through the shadows ahead.
Just as Leon was about to call out to the figure, Lear acted quickly, grabbing him from behind and whispering, "Don't say anything. Let's watch a bit more."
Leon nodded in understanding. The two of them lightened their footsteps and quietly approached the figure, while Friday had already hidden in the shadows the mont it spotted the person.
The figure appeared and vanished in an instant. Even though the two followed imdiately, they only caught a vague glimpse of a female back, wearing a white lab coat, with long blonde hair. Before they could make out her face, the woman noticed them, wavered, and disappeared into the complex sewer.
"Hey! Don't run! We're not bad people—we're police officers from Raccoon City..." In a panic, Leon quickened his pace, trying to call out to her, but as he watched the woman vanish in the blink of an eye, his voice trailed off.
"Don't shout. I know who that is. She won't see us." Lear caught up from behind.
Leon turned around, puzzled. "Boss, you know her?"
Lear nodded slightly, looking in the direction the woman had disappeared. In a low voice, he said, "Her na is Annette Birkin. She's a researcher at Umbrella Corporation. Together with her husband, William Birkin, she's in charge of developing the Umbrella virus."
Hearing the na, Leon paused, and then the look of frustration on his face deepened. He turned and was about to chase after Annette's direction.
Lear grabbed Leon, who struggled, his voice filled with urgency and confusion. "Boss, why are you stopping ? If we don't chase her now, she'll really get away!" He tried to break free.
"Wait!" Lear looked at him with a helpless expression. "This sewer is full of hidden doors and chanisms. Do you know which way she went?" He really hadn't expected Leon to be so reckless.
Leon stopped, looking around blankly. "There are hidden doors here?"
"What else?!" Lear rolled his eyes. "How else do you think she disappeared right under our noses? Let's go, et up with Claire and the others first, then figure things out. Given her identity, she definitely won't leave the core area of the Laboratory." As he spoke, Lear gave a slight smile. "Besides, she can't get away. Friday has already followed her quietly."
Leon was silent for a mont, staring at the direction Annette had vanished. Finally, he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Fine... Damn it. If only I had been a bit faster."
Lear silently complained to himself, Dude, if you had been any faster, you'd have caught a bullet...
With Lear's persuasion, Leon stopped worrying about Annette. The two advanced quickly ahead, and unexpectedly, the path was quite calm. The G-Adult that Lear had speculated about didn't appear, and they soon reached the rendezvous point agreed upon with Ada and the others.
Just as Leon was about to contact Claire, a heated argunt ca from the passage ahead. Lear and Leon exchanged a glance and rushed toward the entrance. As they erged from the passage, they saw Annette Birkin and Ada pointing guns at each other. The argunt had clearly co from here.
Their sudden appearance caused Ada to lose focus for a split second. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Annette fired a shot at Ada, then turned to escape through a hidden door behind her.
"Ada!" Without hesitation, Leon rushed over, wrapped his arms around Ada, and rolled to the side, using his back to block the bullet aid at her. As the bullet sunk into his flesh, Leon let out a muffled groan and collapsed in Ada's arms.
(Translated by yourtl.app)
User Comments
0 comments from readers