Chapter 99 - Project Resistance II

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Laura gave a small smile, her confidence growing. This time she was calmer; one, two, three more shots—each more consistent than the last. Allen stood beside her, giving small corrections to her hand position and aim angle.

After a few rounds, Allen grabbed a clipboard and pointed to the pattern of bullet holes. "See—you're starting to group your shots. Keep practicing, and you'll get even more accurate."

Laura lowered the gun and looked at Allen, her eyes glimmering slightly. "Thank you. I didn't think I'd pick it up this fast."

Allen handed her a bottle of water. "Shooting isn't about strength—it's about stability. You're doing great for a beginner."

Their eyes met briefly—there was a faint warmth between them—then Laura looked away, a little flustered. "Allen… why are you going through all this trouble to teach me? You don't have to."

Allen shrugged casually. "Because I don't want you just sitting around the apartment. And… I like knowing you can protect yourself. In this world, it's better to be able to defend yourself."

Laura nodded. "Alright then. So, when do we train again?"

"Whenever you want," Allen replied with a grin. "Now, let's grab a few more targets and work on reload drills—that's important too."

They returned to the table, ready to spend the rest of the afternoon practicing together.

Laura actually seemed to enjoy it, and Allen even turned it into a little game to make the atmosphere more relaxed between them.

Later that evening, they returned home after their time at the shooting range. On the way back, Allen took the chance to stop by a restaurant with Laura, where they chatted about her campus life and all sorts of things—like how he ended up marrying the women in his life and how he first met her mother.

"Hmm, my mom sure seems lucky," Laura said, though she still couldn't quite believe their relationship had started from a silly bet about who was stronger in bed—especially since she had no idea her mother was daring enough to take that kind of challenge.

"So, how's campus life? Do you have a date or a boyfriend? You're a beautiful girl, I'm sure there are plenty of guys chasing after you," Allen asked with a teasing tone.

Laura blushed at the compliment, though she couldn't deny she was happy to hear it. "No, I've never dated anyone. I'm still single, okay? And don't laugh about it—it's embarrassing," she said, taking a sip of her drink.

"Oh? Can I ask why you haven't dated anyone?" Allen asked curiously.

"I'm just… scared, and not ready for that kind of thing," Laura replied quietly. She still carried the trauma of how her father used to treat her mother—and of the moment she saw her mother kill him right before her eyes. Her hands trembled slightly at the memory, though she tried her best to hide it from Allen.

Of course, Allen noticed it clearly. He moved closer, sitting beside her and gently taking her hand. "Don't be afraid. I know what you've been through—your mother told me everything. And I've already promised her that I'll take care of both of you," he said softly, holding her smooth hand.

Laura's trembling stopped. For some reason, just his touch made her feel safe. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Allen and hugged him tightly, as if she didn't want to let go. They didn't speak—just stayed like that in silence for a long while.

When they finally got back to the apartment, Laura smiled softly. "Thank you, Allen," she said before suddenly leaning in to kiss his cheek and then quickly running off to her room.

The other girls who witnessed it were left a bit speechless.

"Where exactly did you two go?" Ada asked, her tone full of suspicion.

"We just went to the shooting range, and after that, grabbed something to eat," Allen said casually, sitting down on the couch next to Ada and Rebecca.

"Are you sure that's all you did?" Ada teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, why? Did something seem off?" Allen replied, completely calm.

"Oh, nothing strange," Svetlana chimed in as she entered the room. "It's just… surprising you didn't try to flirt with her. I figured you'd be interested in that girl," she added while sitting beside Rebecca, who had been quiet the whole time—mainly because she was feeling a bit of déjà vu. After all, Laura's situation wasn't that different from how she had first met Allen.

"Well, who said I wasn't interested?" Allen said with a grin. "Laura's a beautiful and kind girl, after all."

It was a good thing Laura didn't hear that—if she had, her feelings would've been even more confused than they already were.

After chatting for a bit with his girls, Allen returned to his workspace. He glanced over the list Yoko had sent him—she'd asked for help upgrading his supercomputer to expand Wednesday's processing range and improve efficiency. Allen started browsing through the components she needed, planning which ones to order.

But in the middle of that, his phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, is this Dr. Winter?" came a man's voice on the other end—someone Allen didn't recognize.

"Yes, this is me. And who's calling?" Allen replied, a bit confused. From the man's accent, he sounded French.

"My name is Daniel Fabron. The chairman has instructed me to invite you to join the Resistance Project. Would you be available to participate in some of the upcoming trials we'll be conducting?" Daniel said politely.

Allen's eyes narrowed slightly. Daniel Fabron… one of Umbrella's men assigned to keep tabs on William. That caught his interest.

'Could this guy also be working under Alex's orders?' he wondered silently.

He wasn't entirely sure yet—but it definitely felt like something Alex had arranged to help him infiltrate this project more easily.

"Sorry, but I'm busy—and honestly too lazy to participate in your little experiment," Allen said flatly, rejecting the offer. He wanted to see how Daniel would react.

"Dr. Winter, this is a direct order from my chairman. I really hope you'll cooperate with us," Daniel replied, his tone tightening. It was clear he'd be in serious trouble if Allen refused to show up. After all, this request came directly from Spencer himself—who had made it very clear that failure would result in Daniel becoming the next test subject.

Daniel couldn't help but feel that Umbrella had been descending into chaos lately.

"Well, if you want me to come," Allen said, leaning back comfortably in his chair, "then I want compensation. I don't work for free."

Daniel clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay composed. "Alright… what do you want?" he asked, suppressing his irritation.

Spencer had ordered him to keep Allen under surveillance and find a way to control him. Meanwhile, Alex had explicitly warned Daniel not to harm the man—she still needed him for her own research.

In other words, Allen Winter couldn't simply be eliminated… no matter how much Daniel wanted to.

"I need two test subjects for my personal research, and if I find any suitable ones in your lab, I might take them directly," Allen said.

"Okay, anything else?" Daniel asked, letting out a sigh.

"If possible, I want to enter through a hidden route. You know I don't want too much contact with Umbrella right now — with all the bad rumors lately, I'm worried that if I'm seen too close to you guys, my company's reputation might get dragged down too," Allen said, clearly wanting to end the call as soon as possible.

"All right. Tomorrow, I'll send someone to pick you up near the Stadium," Daniel replied before quickly ending the call.

"Stadium, huh," Allen muttered with a shrug. He didn't think much of it and went back to what he was doing earlier.

...

The next day, Laura woke up earlier than usual, and when she was in the bathroom, she stayed there longer while staring at the mirror more intently than before.

For some reason, today she wanted to look different from the previous day.

And when Laura checked her body and looked down, she just bit her lip.

"I guess it's time for you to be shaved," Laura said, speaking to the fine hairs on her pubic area, even though they hadn't grown much and were still thin, but at least she wanted to look clean.

"Where is that thing?" Laura muttered, seemingly searching through the pile of makeup, skincare, and other items in her bag.

"Ah, here you are," Laura said, as if she had found the razor, which she now held as if it were the most precious item among her belongings.

And after she carefully shaved all the hair, she quickly looked for some clothes that might suit her, but she was a bit disappointed because most of her clothes were masculine, and she didn't even have a simple dress like the ones Ada or Rebecca usually wore.

"I guess I really need to buy some new clothes," she said, then stepped out of the bathroom after taking a shower and putting on some light makeup.

However, when Laura stepped out of her room, she couldn't find Allen anywhere in the apartment. Confused, she turned to Rebecca.

"Do you know where Allen went?" she asked.

"Allen already left for a seminar invitation hosted by Umbrella," Rebecca replied calmly, deliberately leaving out the details of Allen's real reason for going. "He said he'll probably be back tonight."

Moments later, Ada walked in, eyeing Laura with a teasing grin. "Hey, Laura, you look different today. Did you put on makeup to impress Allen?" she said playfully.

Laura's face instantly turned red, though she didn't deny it.

"Okay, Ada, stop teasing her," Rebecca said, stepping in to defend the girl. "And really, what's wrong if she wants to wear a little makeup?"

Hearing Rebecca defend her, Laura could only smile softly, feeling thankful—but also a bit guilty, since Ada had clearly guessed the real reason she'd decided to put effort into her look that morning.

"Alright, alright," Ada said with a shrug before heading off to the kitchen, where Alyssa was already preparing breakfast.

"Becca," Laura said after a moment, "could you come with me later to buy some new clothes?"

"Of course," Rebecca replied with a warm smile. "I've got nothing else to do today anyway."

...

Meanwhile, Allen was on his way with Svetlana to a stadium located in Raccoon City. The place was unusually crowded today—apparently, there was a soccer match being hosted, featuring one of the teams funded by the city's mayor. The atmosphere was lively, filled with cheers and flashing lights from the stands.

As Allen and Svetlana casually walked around and watched the game for a bit, a man in a neat suit approached them.

"Dr. Winter, please follow me. I was instructed by Dr. Fabron to escort you," the man said politely before leading them toward one of the stadium's VIP areas.

Soon after, they entered a series of restricted rooms, and then—unexpectedly—a section of the wall shifted open, revealing a hidden doorway.

"Well, that's quite an interesting secret passage," Svetlana remarked with a faint smirk.

The man stepped through first, guiding them inside. Behind the wall was an elevator leading down into an underground tunnel system connected to a covert transit network.

When Allen entered the lift, he subtly activated a small hacking device Yoko had prepared for him earlier—allowing him to access this hidden route whenever he wished in the future.

After a few minutes of descent and a quiet ride through the tunnel, they finally arrived at a secret subway terminal—its train tracks leading directly toward a classified research facility deep within the Arklay Mountains.

In the lab, Allen finally saw two people who seemed to have been waiting for him.

"Hello, Dr. Winter. I'm Daniel Fabron — you can just call me Daniel. And this is Dr. William Birkin," Daniel said, introducing Allen to William while offering a handshake.

"Yeah, hello. Nice to meet you both. You can call me by my first name if you'd like," Allen replied, shaking Daniel's hand.

"And Dr. Birkin, it's great to finally meet you. I'm also sorry for your loss — your wife and daughter. Truly a tragedy," Allen added, sounding genuinely interested to meet Annette's husband.

"Just call me William, and thank you for your condolences," William replied, shaking Allen's hand. Yet, for some reason, he felt an odd sense of unease — as if this man had somehow taken something important from him.

"Alright, since everyone's here, let's begin the Project Resistance briefing," Daniel said, opening a folder and spreading several documents across the table.

"We've developed a new strain of serum for this project. Its reaction is directly influenced by the subject's mental state—especially fear. The stronger the psychological stress, the more aggressive the mutation becomes. To properly evaluate the effects, we'll need to conduct a series of psychological and physiological tests designed to push the subjects into panic and despair."

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