Chapter 58 - Joining The S.T.A.R.S Team

Author's Note:

I feel like this fanfic is a bit too quiet, and honestly, it makes me a little sad 🥲. Not many people seem interested in reading it, and when I look at other people's works, they seem to get way more lively reactions than mine.

What makes me wonder even more is that a lot of what gets posted out there are just translations from Chinese to English. It makes me think—should I maybe try posting a translated story too? Haha.

Oh, by the way, have you guys seen the Resident Evil 9 trailer yet? I seriously can't wait for next year—I'm dying to play it!

********

"Everyone, I have an announcement. Starting today, we'll be welcoming a new member to our team—a doctor who will officially be joining us. Some of you may already know him, but allow me to introduce him once again. This is Allen Winters," Albert Wesker said, nodding toward the man standing beside him.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you all," Allen greeted the S.T.A.R.S. members with a friendly smile.

"Allen will be joining Bravo Team as a medical officer," Wesker continued, before introducing him to Ericho, the team's captain.

"Well then, since training is over, you're all dismissed." With that, Wesker left the room. As always, he kept his distance from his subordinates—getting too close would only make it harder for him if the time came to sacrifice them.

Not long after, Barry walked up to Allen with a broad grin.

"Hey Allen, so you're really part of the Tactical Rescue team now, huh?"

Allen replied warmly, "Hey Barry, how's your wife and your daughters?"

Barry's face suddenly turned pale. His expression shifted to suspicion, as if something unpleasant had crossed his mind.

"Hey… my daughter's only seven years old. Don't tell me—you're some kind of pedophile?"

Allen froze for a moment, his brows furrowing. He could feel something off in Barry's words.

"Barry… what the hell are you thinking, accusing me like that? Sure, I might be a womanizer, but that doesn't mean I'd ever be interested in children," Allen said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Alright, that's enough joking around, you two! Since we're going to be teammates from now on, I want to celebrate Allen's arrival. Drinks are on me tonight!" Ericho suddenly shouted with cheerful enthusiasm. "Anyone who wants to join, come along!"

Allen gladly accepted. After all, it was his captain extending the invitation—and turning it down would only leave a bad impression.

Later that night at the bar, Allen arrived together with Jill and Rebecca. As he stepped inside, his eyes caught sight of Chris, who had come with a girl sporting a hairstyle strikingly similar to Jill's. It felt a little odd. The woman Chris brought along was fairly attractive, but to Allen, she didn't hold a candle to Jill's beauty.

"Hey Chris, is she your date?" Allen asked casually.

"Ah… yeah. Let me introduce her—this is Emma Wilson," Chris replied, presenting the woman to Allen, Jill, and Rebecca.

After the introductions, Allen took a seat among the crowd of Tactical Rescue members. Soon, the drinks they had ordered arrived, and with that, the party officially began.

As Allen was drinking with the rest of the S.T.A.R.S., a blonde waitress approached their table. It was Cindy. She seemed like she had something important to say to him—after all, she knew Allen well, since he was a regular at the bar.

"Oh, hi Cindy. You look troubled. Do you need something?" Allen asked.

The other members shook their heads silently, thinking the same thing: There goes another pretty girl in town, falling for Allen.

"Allen, I need your help," Cindy said, her voice tinged with worry. "I know you used to live near the Arklay Mountains, and you probably know more about that place than anyone. A friend of mine recently went missing after heading up there. Could you try to find her for me? I'm really worried."

"Of course. I'll do what I can. Can you give me her name and description? I'll probably bring this up to Chief Brian later," Allen answered without hesitation.

"Thank you, Allen. You're such a good friend." Cindy gave him a small, grateful smile before explaining. Her name is Becca Woolvett. She's twenty-two years old, blonde, about five-foot-nine—176 centimeters—and works as a park ranger.

"Alright. I'll do my best to find her, Cindy," Allen reassured her.

"Thank you, Allen," she said again, a bit shy this time, before hurrying off to deliver other orders.

"Oh man, you really are a natural at charming women," Kevin teased with a grin.

"Shut up, Kevin. Hey Allen, I want to learn from you—hope you'll take me as your apprentice," Joseph, another Tactical Rescue member, chimed in.

Allen raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh? And what exactly do you want to learn from me?"

"I want to learn how to win over women. Could you teach me?" Joseph asked earnestly.

Allen shook his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Sorry, pal. That's something I can't really teach."

"Why not?" Joseph asked, confused.

"Isn't it obvious? Just look at him," Barry cut in, pointing at Allen. "The guy's too damn handsome."

"Damn it… that's so unfair," Joseph groaned, finally realizing the truth.

Jill and Rebecca exchanged glances, then looked at Allen. They couldn't help but nod—out of all the men they had ever met, Allen's looks were in a league of their own. Compared to him, every other guy seemed to fade into the background.

The group burst into laughter, and the party carried on with even more energy.

.....

That night Allen, Jill, and Rebecca returned to their apartment and Allen saw a woman who seemed to be waiting there—in fact, there were two of them. The first was Svetlana Belikova, and the second was Alyssa Ashcroft. Allen could understand why Svetlana might be at his apartment, but as for Alyssa, he wondered why this woman was here. Yes, he did have her contact information, but he hadn't had the chance to reach out to her yet.

"Hello, good evening Mr. Winters, do you remember me? I am Alyssa Ashcroft, a news reporter from Raccoon City," said Alyssa, who seemed eager to speak to Allen first.

Allen, of course, greeted his guest politely. But he was still confused about this woman's purpose. It would be troublesome if she reported about me having many lovers and wives, he thought, almost forgetting for a moment about Umbrella, the T-Virus, and the G-Virus—he seemed more concerned about his image than anything else.

"Alright, may I call you Alyssa? You can also call me Allen."

Alyssa nodded. "Yes, I guess that won't be a problem."

"So Alyssa, what is your purpose for coming here?" Allen asked, while thinking he could discuss Svetlana's contract as his bodyguard later.

"I want to interview you about the missing persons cases in the Arklay Mountains. I have already gathered some data on every incident from the residents of Raccoon City."

"Ohh, I thought you wanted to interview me about something else," Allen said, a little relieved.

"And what did you think I came to interview you about?" Alyssa asked, slightly confused.

"Ahhh, forget it. I was just worrying about unnecessary things. So, you want to ask me about this case," Allen said, shifting the conversation.

Jill and Rebecca, who were watching this reporter bravely digging into the case, gave Alyssa a thumbs-up.

"Yes, alright… I've gathered data from interviews with local residents, especially witnesses who said they saw monsters that looked like humans with terrifying appearances, and vicious dogs attacking hikers in the Arklay Mountain area," Alyssa explained while showing the data to Allen and the other women in the room.

Allen was quite impressed by how much information this woman had managed to gather in such a short time—she was remarkably effective at collecting intel. Alyssa then continued explaining her findings.

"And I also heard about a man living in the Arklay Mountains who carries an axe everywhere he goes. Reports say he has been chasing people around the abandoned hospital near the mountains," she explained.

"So you're saying this man is the one responsible for the disappearances in the Arklay Mountains?" Rebecca asked, sounding a bit shocked. Jill, on the other hand, remained silent. She already knew the true culprit was Umbrella, but she couldn't tell her sister. She didn't want Rebecca dragged into this mess—better that only she and her husband bore that burden.

"This is still just a theory, but I want to check it out. However, I don't dare go alone, since I know the place is extremely dangerous. That's why I'm asking for your help with this matter," Alyssa continued.

Allen considered her words carefully, studying the woman before him. He realized that if he didn't help her, Alyssa would likely rush off on her own into that dangerous place.

"I understand… I'll try to consult Chief Brian about this case first. In the meantime, I hope you don't go there without protection. I don't want a determined woman like you ending up as another missing person," Allen replied.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Alyssa asked, her tone skeptical. She had already sought help from several Raccoon City police officers, but none of them had responded. If she didn't get help soon, she was prepared to head into the area alone, no matter the risk.

Hearing this, Jill grew emotional and snapped, "Don't say things like that. My husband has never broken his word when he makes a promise."

Alyssa crossed her arms. "Really…? Well then, I guess we'll see."

With that, Alyssa left Allen's apartment. She truly wasn't the type to waste time on small talk when she wanted something.

When Alyssa had left, Allen then looked at Svetlana and told Jill and Rebecca why their instructor was here now.

"So the instructor will be your personal bodyguard for the next three months," said Rebecca, a little surprised.

After that Allen chatted briefly with Svetlana and showed her his private room because she would be staying with them for the next three months.

As for Jill, she didn't say anything and went to her room to take a bath. She wanted to soak in warm water to relax.

...

The next day, Allen decided to meet Sergei at the Umbrella building. As he entered the room, his gaze immediately fell on the man who was casually playing with his knife, even occasionally cutting his own hand as if it meant nothing. Allen held himself back from paying attention to it. He really had no intention of spending too much time talking to someone like Sergei.

In his heart, the thought crossed his mind to use magic to erase or alter his memory. But he quickly dismissed the idea. "It wouldn't be fair if I just turned the tables with magic," he thought.

"I have information from a reporter," Allen said calmly. "They said that in an old abandoned hospital in the Arklay Mountains, there's someone living there. He always carries an axe wherever he goes. I suspect he's one of the biological weapons that escaped from the T-Virus experiments—maybe even the cause of the recent missing person cases."

Sergei looked at him coldly, then drove his knife into the table hard enough to make the wood tremble.

"Then, what is it you want from me?"

Allen's relationship with Sergei could be called neutral. They weren't enemies, but they weren't friends either. What made Sergei hold back was Allen's closeness to Alex Wesker—plus the fact that Spencer himself had already given Allen permission.

"I want to go there with the S.T.A.R.S. unit to collect samples," Allen replied.

Sergei chuckled mockingly.

"Ohh… and do you really think you can make something out of those samples? I remember you never created anything useful in the laboratory."

Allen took a deep breath. It seemed he had no other choice. He then pulled out a flash drive and placed it on the table.

"This is the latest T-Virus data," he said.

Sergei narrowed his eyes. "What is this?"

"With this data, someone could create a serum capable of tripling a person's physical strength. But the effect only lasts temporarily—about twelve hours. After that, another injection is required. Unfortunately, the human body cannot accept repeated injections. After the first use, resistance will occur. Not to mention the side effects… nausea, weakness, even impotence."

Allen shook his head in feigned regret, though in truth he had deliberately designed the serum to render its user useless in the long run. The serum was something he had created as a cruel toy—and his plan was to give it to Simon, the leader of The Family, whom he had dislike for a long time.

"Ohh… so you've been hiding this from Umbrella?" Sergei asked coldly.

Allen shrugged casually. "Hey, I didn't really hide it. It's just that the side effects are too severe. That's why I hesitated to hand it over."

Sergei fell silent for a moment, thinking. He knew Allen was right. The side effects were fatal enough to make anyone think twice before using it—except in a life-or-death situation.

"But if you're interested in that data, of course I'll sell it at the right price."

"Very well, I'll check this data. And don't worry—once this is settled, Spencer himself will pay you the proper amount, of course," Sergei said. He certainly wasn't going to return the data once he had it, and it seemed useful enough for his Boss.

"And regarding your request to use the S.T.A.R.S. team, I'll contact Brian personally to discuss the matter."

After hearing that, Allen immediately left without lingering. He had no reason to worry about not getting paid anyway, since he still had Alex—who, at this very moment, was happily siphoning off Spencer's fortune behind his back.

*****

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