Chapter 28: Signal Restored! Is Contact with the Outside World Finally Possible?

Raccoon City.
Umbrella Corporation Building.
Top floor.

As the final screen flickered into darkness, Cain’s mood plummeted to the abyss.

Crash!

He swept everything on his desk to the floor in one violent motion.

"Die! Die! Die!"
"I want them all to die!"

Cain roared in a feral, twisted rage. A dozen tactical teams and four armed helicopters—the losses were simply catastrophic! They had far exceeded his capacity to bear. He didn't even dare to imagine what fate awaited him once these "results" reached his superiors.

And as if summoned by his dread, the worst happened. Before Cain could even finish venting his fury, an Umbrella operative in a black suit approached him.

"Director Cain, a call from Director Isaacs."

"What?"

Cain’s expression shifted; the rage in his heart was instantly eclipsed by encroaching terror. He knew all too well what that name represented. There was no need to question why the man was calling at such a time—Isaacs undoubtedly already knew what had transpired here.

Cain shot a chilling glare at the operative, then took the phone. His posture, previously rigid with defiance, slumped instantly.

"Director Isaacs."

"I have heard about the situation on your end!"

Isaacs was blunt, cutting straight to the point. Hearing this, sweat began to bead on Cain’s forehead.

"Director Isaacs, please, let me explain..."

"Enough! Now is not the time for excuses. I ask you, how do you intend to resolve this?!"

"I... this... Director Isaacs, I am preparing to contact the local military and police authorities. I will issue a warrant for their arrest and have them all eliminated!"

Cain’s mind raced, scrambling for a solution, finally settling on this idea. It was one of their most reliable tactics. Having operated in Raccoon City for years, they had thoroughly infiltrated every level of the system, from the mayor and the police chief down to the rank-and-file officers—nearly all of them were on their payroll.

Even a nearby military base had been compromised, filled with their people from the inside out. If the tactical teams were Umbrella’s primary muscle, these official forces were their auxiliary assets. Now that their own armed units had suffered heavy losses, they could still leverage official channels—the police and even the military—to surround and annihilate Yu Fei and his group.

"Foolish!"

Isaacs snapped.

"The most important thing you should be doing right now is cutting off all of Raccoon City’s external communications! Prohibit any unfavorable news from leaking out!"

"Ah? Yes, yes, yes, yes, I understand! I will see to it immediately!"

Cain wiped the sweat from his brow, responding hastily.

"Good. Regarding James, I will send Wesker to assist you... Remember! If this matter is not resolved properly, you can prepare to be sent to the laboratory!"

With that, Isaacs hung up. Cain stood frozen, his face pale with horror. "The laboratory" was no simple destination; the thought of those treated as "disposable materials" chilled him to the core.

"Someone! Go to the signal towers immediately! Destroy them all!"
"And as for the Hive, contact the remaining three tactical teams. Tell them to stop James and his group at any cost!"

...

"Ding!"
"Host has acted with benevolence; the merit is boundless!"
"Merit points +35!"
Current Merit Points: 185.

"Are they all insane? Even the armed helicopters were blown out of the sky, yet they still dare to come?"

Watching the dozen or so tactical team members who had all perished at Yu Fei’s hands, Matt couldn't help but speak up. He truly couldn't fathom why these teams were so stubbornly suicidal. Leaving aside the five teams previously annihilated by explosives, those four burning wrecks of helicopters should have been enough to make anyone retreat. Surely they didn't believe they were more powerful than four attack helicopters!

"Sometimes, it isn't a matter of whether they want to retreat or not," James sighed.

These tactical teams had received extensive funding from Umbrella and had become an inseparable part of the company. His own team was different—they weren't as deeply entangled—but the other teams clearly knew about the T-virus and the zombies. It went without saying how deep their ties to Umbrella went. Under these circumstances, even knowing that Umbrella was sending them to their deaths, they had no choice but to obey. Otherwise, they would face an even more unbearable fate.

Matt opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He, too, was a man of stubborn conviction. For the sake of his sister, even knowing the Hive laboratory was fraught with peril, he had chosen to risk his life and force his way in. To him, some things were more important than life itself.

"It’s all Umbrella’s fault!" Alice said in a low, heavy voice.

Her statement was met with widespread agreement.

"That's right! It’s all that damn Umbrella’s fault!"
"We must make this cursed company pay the price!"

The group vented their shared hatred toward Umbrella. If not for the company, they wouldn't have been reduced to such a plight.

"Alright, I want to take down Umbrella as much as anyone, but the company is far too powerful. We cannot do it alone; we need to leverage more external forces!"

Yu Fei comforted the group before turning his gaze to Kaplan.

"Kaplan, has the signal been restored?"

"Not yet," Kaplan replied, shaking his head. "We are still within the signal-jamming radius of the Hive. We’ll likely need to travel a bit further before we can pick up a signal."

"Then let’s get moving!"

The group secured a second vehicle and headed toward the southern part of the city. This time, they no longer needed to worry about interception. Of the fifteen tactical teams, excluding the "defector" James’s squad, all others had been eliminated. The four armed helicopters that served as the primary defense had been shot down one by one by Yu Fei’s sniper rifle.

The force guarding the Hive had been truly and utterly wiped out. If Umbrella wanted to target them further, they would have to dispatch personnel from their Raccoon City headquarters. But setting aside how many armed personnel were even left there, given the distance, they wouldn't be able to reach them for quite some time.

And so, naturally, they drove on in peace for several kilometers.

"I have a signal!"

Kaplan’s voice rang out with joy.