Ada

"You all look pretty shocked."

"Wouldn’t any normal person react the way we did?"

Claire was actually the first to recover. Maybe she was just broad-minded? Or maybe she had seen too many incredible things today, and her resistance had gotten stronger?

Leon also quickly came to his senses. The look he gave Yinsen was still strange. He wanted to ask whether Mages and such weren’t supposed to be fictional, but when he thought of the fireball Yinsen had thrown earlier, he simply could not bring himself to ask.

Though he suspected Yinsen had used some special trick to fool their eyes, for the time being, he accepted his claim of being a Mage.

"There’s no need to make such a big deal of it. A Mage isn’t much different from a police officer, a Gun Shop owner, or a college student. It’s just an identity."

That was easy to say, but Leon and the others did not see it that way. Besides, there was something else they cared about.

Yinsen, a man of unknown origin who possessed tremendous strength and mysterious powers, called himself a Mage. Then what about the other person? Selene had appeared alongside Yinsen, and they clearly knew each other. Could this woman also be a Mage?

"I’m not a Mage."

Seeing everyone turn to look at her, Selene shook her head and denied their guess. As for her identity as a vampire, she had no intention of telling them. In human society, being a vampire was far less acceptable than being a Mage. If she said it outright, Leon and the others might see her as the same kind of monster as those zombies.

"Shouldn’t we continue with the plan from before?"

Yinsen nudged the Tyrant’s corpse at his feet. This thing actually had considerable research value, but unfortunately, his Storage Space was not large enough to hold the entire Tyrant. He had taken the opportunity to collect a few samples, and that was enough. After all, it was merely one of the products derived from the T-Virus.

"Oh, right."

Now was not the time to dwell on Yinsen’s identity. They were still trapped in a city full of zombies and all kinds of bio-virus monsters. What they needed to think about was how to escape.

As for Yinsen’s identity? They had plenty of time to slowly pry it out of him. Asking a few casual questions while traveling would not delay anything.

They had already searched the Police Station from top to bottom. All the supplies they could find had been gathered and distributed among the backpacks everyone carried.

Robert Kennedy carried another large pack. The Gun Shop owner felt that his reactions and Combat Power were inferior to those of the younger people, but his strength and stamina were still decent. Helping carry some things was no problem at all.

The large bag he carried mainly contained water, food, and every round of ammunition they had managed to collect.

As for weapons, everyone chose according to their own circumstances. Besides his service pistol at his waist, Leon had also strapped on a .44-caliber Desert Eagle. This powerful handgun had drawbacks such as being too large, firing too slowly, and having excessive recoil. It was mainly used for hunting large animals or collecting, with practically no real combat value.

But after seeing a monster like the Tyrant, Leon felt it was necessary to carry a large-caliber handgun, so he had taken it with him as soon as he found it.

"Too bad it isn’t a .50 caliber."

Yinsen was not entirely sure how much difference there was between the power of those two calibers, but he felt Leon would not have many chances to use that weapon, especially while traveling with him.

"Was that a fireball you used earlier?"

Ever since Yinsen had introduced himself as a Mage, Sherry, who had initially been rather resistant toward him, had become intensely curious. Her eyes kept following him, and the moment she found an opportunity, she asked the question she had been holding in for so long.

"Yes."

"Can you use other magic too?"

"I know a little here and there."

"Are Mages really like they are in stories? Can they do anything?"

Yinsen looked at Sherry, who was still just a child. He had wanted to casually brush her off the way one might placate an ordinary child, but when he saw her eyes, he knew that although she was young, she was very smart. There had to be something she wanted to ask of him.

What could Sherry ask of him? With a little thought, Yinsen knew it was probably something like finding her parents, protecting them, or, if something had happened to them, restoring them completely unharmed.

Finding them would not be difficult, but keeping them completely unharmed would be.

Yinsen did not hesitate for long before directly shattering Sherry’s hopes.

"Mages are not omnipotent. The power of magic may be limitless, but a Mage’s power has an end."

Sherry was still young, but that did not mean she could not understand the true meaning of those words—she was twelve years old, old enough to understand.

"So you can’t help me find my mom and dad?"

Yinsen paused, then ultimately gave the child a promise.

"If possible, I’ll help you find them."

Claire had been holding Sherry’s hand the entire time, so she had heard their whole conversation. She was a little surprised that Yinsen had agreed to help Sherry find her parents. She had not expected him to be such a warmhearted person.

"You’re surprised?"

"A little."

Claire thought for a moment. Seeing how quiet the surroundings were and that there seemed to be no immediate danger, she began chatting with Yinsen as well.

"You said you were a Mage passing through?"

"Yes."

"Where are you headed?"

Yinsen shook his head. Claire thought he did not want to answer, but then she heard a shocking reply.

"What I mean by passing through is a little different from what you understand."

Yinsen had never been the sort to keep his identity hidden. It was one thing not to mention it before, but now that he had already revealed he was a Mage, he had no reason to deliberately hide the fact that he came from another world.

When he explained that he had actually come here from another world, not only Claire but even Leon walking ahead of them froze for a moment.

"You understand concepts like parallel universes, right?"

"For some reason, hearing that you aren’t from our world actually makes me feel relieved."

That proved this world was still the familiar world they knew. It simply had some monsters created by bio-virus outbreaks. It had not suddenly turned into some strange place. If a Mage had appeared today, would angels and demons start appearing tomorrow? Apparently, that would not happen.

Since they had already swept through the Police Station while searching for survivors earlier, there were no longer many zombies inside. After killing the Tyrant, they made their way smoothly to the underground parking garage.

Yinsen could not understand what kind of design Raccoon City’s Police Station had. Why did they have to pass through the parking garage to reach facilities like the Prison Cell? Yet that was simply how it had been designed. Complaining about it internally could not change anything.

What had not changed was that Leon, walking in front, was nearly hit by a bullet again. Once everyone raised their weapons, they saw an Asian woman in a short red dress step out.

"I’m sorry. I thought those monsters had come."

Everyone was surprised. They had not expected to encounter another survivor. Only Yinsen had known this woman would appear. Considering Sherry was with him, Ada was bound to show herself eventually. It was only a matter of sooner or later.

"We’re not those monsters. We’re survivors, and we’re planning to escape this city together. You should join us." Leon did not mind the shot. In an environment like this, such a misunderstanding was not unusual.

He only saw that she was alone. Judging by her clothes, she appeared to be an ordinary civilian, and a woman at that. His sense of duty rose again, and he felt that, as a police officer, he needed to protect her.

"I’m Leon. This is Claire, Yinsen, Selene, and Robert."

"My name is Ada Wong. I can’t leave with you right now. I’m looking for someone." Ada did not accept Leon’s offer. She still had something she needed to do.

"Looking for someone?" If she was looking for someone, that meant there might still be survivors. Leon immediately became concerned. "Who are you looking for?"

"A reporter named Ben. He should be locked up in the Police Station’s Prison Cell." Ada did not hide her objective and stated it directly.

Perhaps she had sensed that Leon wanted to help, so she simply said it outright? Yinsen could not be sure. The thoughts of people like agents were far too complicated.

Hearing that the man was inside the Police Station, and likely in the underground facilities they were about to enter—the Prison Cell was there as well—Leon became even more determined to help.

"You can come with us. If this Ben is still alive, he can join us in finding a way out of the city."

"Not a bad suggestion." Ada pointed at a medium-sized truck ahead. "But first, we need to move that vehicle. It’s blocking the door."

Moving a vehicle was not difficult. None of the women showed any intention of helping, so Leon and Yinsen, the two young men, were responsible for pushing it aside. In truth, Leon had wanted Yinsen to move the truck alone. He believed that with Yinsen’s terrifying strength, this would be nothing.

But with a group of women watching, he was too embarrassed to stand by, so he stepped forward to make a show of helping. It really was only for show. He had not even exerted any force before the truck had already been pushed aside.

The blocked door was revealed. After everyone opened it and entered, they found themselves in a dark, narrow corridor. Fortunately, no zombies or anything else came to cause trouble in that hallway. They quickly found the Prison Cell and met the reporter named Ben.

Leon and Ada spoke with the man in the cell for a while and confirmed that he was Ben Bertolucci, a reporter who possessed a great deal of information. Ada had come to ask about her boyfriend, who had been missing for six months, but Ben gave her no answers.

As for Leon’s suggestion that they leave together, Ben grandly ignored it. He believed hiding in the Prison Cell was safer.

"You have no idea what’s out there. This city has more than just zombies."