But just as they were about to leave the R.P.D., Allen noticed Kevin hurrying down the hall, looking like he was in quite a rush.
"Hey, Kevin! What's got you running around like that?" Allen asked with a relaxed grin.
"Oh—hey, Allen! Long time no see," Kevin replied with a brief smile, though he still looked tense. "I just got a report about an incident up north. I'm heading there to check it out personally."
"Ohhh… is that so? Well then, how about the four of us tag along as backup? We don't really have anything lined up for today anyway," Allen suggested, grabbing Leon by the arm and pulling him closer.
"Sorry, Leon. Looks like we'll have to postpone that drink," Allen said with a chuckle.
"That's fine, sir. Honestly, I'd be glad to help anyone in trouble," Leon replied, the earnest rookie attitude written all over his face.
"Hey, I told you—just call me Allen," Allen said, shaking his head slightly at Leon's formality.
Kevin smiled at that, clearly relieved. "Of course, I'd be more than happy to have you guys along. The more hands, the better."
He didn't seem bothered by the offer—in fact, he looked pleased that the four of them were joining him as backup, especially with Svetlana and the other woman who seemed to be accompanying her. Kevin didn't recognize her, but since she appeared close to Svetlana, he decided not to question it.
After wrapping up their discussion, the group immediately headed north. When they arrived, they were met with a disturbing scene — several civilians were injured, their clothes torn and bloodied, as if something had bitten them. Two of the men were using their bodies to hold a door shut, panic and exhaustion written all over their faces.
"Hey! Are you guys alright?" Kevin shouted as he ran toward them. Without wasting time, he grabbed his radio and spoke quickly.
"This is Kevin! I'm at the northern incident site — we've got two injured civilians here. Requesting immediate medical support, send an ambulance now!"
"I'll take a look at their wounds," Allen said, stepping out of the vehicle with a first aid kit in hand. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do for now. "Leon, help Kevin and make sure you don't get yourself hurt," Allen added firmly.
"Got it," Leon replied, nodding before moving to assist.
Allen crouched beside the injured civilians and examined their wounds closely. His expression hardened — the bite marks weren't from any normal human. Zombie bites… he thought grimly.
"Just stay still and let me treat you," Allen said as he began disinfecting and dressing their wounds. Then, from his pack, he took out two small vials — his own prepared antivirus — and injected them into each of the wounded.
"Thank you… sir," one of the men stammered weakly as Allen finished patching them up.
Allen stood and looked toward another worker Svetlana and Michaela had secured. "How many people are still inside the building?" he asked.
"Just the boss and his secretary. Two in total," the worker replied nervously.
"Alright. You two stay here and wait for the ambulance," Allen instructed. He then turned to Michaela and Svetlana. "Let's move."
As they entered the building, chaos erupted. Leon and Kevin were already struggling to restrain two figures that were thrashing wildly — their skin pale, their eyes lifeless and clouded over.
Allen immediately raised his pistol, but Kevin shouted, "Don't shoot, Allen! We need them alive!" He grunted as one of the creatures lunged at him.
Allen rushed in and tackled one of the attackers to the ground, pinning it with force. "Sorry, Lieutenant, but they're too far gone. I'd recommend putting them down before they bite someone," Allen said coldly as he restrained the creature's arms with a cord.
Kevin froze, clearly shaken by Allen's words. "You serious? If I shoot them, I'll be the one under investigation. We bring them in alive, understood?"
Allen sighed. There was no convincing him. Not yet.
Meanwhile, Svetlana and Bertha moved in to help Leon, managing to subdue and tie down the other infected woman after a tough struggle.
"Thanks," Leon said, panting as he caught his breath.
"No problem," Svetlana replied curtly.
Allen looked around. "Any of you hurt? Bitten?"
"We're fine," Leon said, glancing at Kevin, who nodded in agreement.
"Good." Allen found a chair nearby and sat down beside Svetlana and Bertha while Kevin radioed for Umbrella's medical unit to take the restrained subjects into custody.
Kevin exhaled deeply. "This is getting out of hand… That's the fifth crazy case I've seen like this. I don't know what the hell's going on anymore."
"The fifth?" Leon asked, frowning.
"Yeah," Kevin said, running a hand through his hair. "It's been happening up north — near the Arklay Mountains. Locals out there have started going nuts… attacking each other like wild animals. Some even eating people. It's insane."
Allen frowned slightly, his gaze distant. Looks like the infection's spreading faster than I thought. Might be time to plan an evacuation route before this city falls apart.
"Something on your mind, Allen?" Kevin asked, noticing his expression.
Allen glanced at him. "Just thinking this isn't so different from what S.T.A.R.S. faced up in Arklay. But of course, the city still refuses to believe any of it."
Kevin's shoulders slumped. He knew Allen was right. "Yeah… I know. Sorry, Allen. There's nothing I can do about it."
Allen gave a faint smile. "Forget it. Anyway, I'm heading out. Oh, and you two—" he pointed at Leon and Kevin, "how about we grab some drinks at the bar tonight? Consider it a little welcome party for Leon."
Kevin chuckled. "Heh, sure. I'm in."
"Same here," Leon added with a small grin.
Allen nodded and turned to leave with his two companions — Svetlana and Bertha following close behind — as the distant sound of sirens echoed through the cold Raccoon City night.
Meanwhile, Allen, who had just arrived back at his apartment with Svetlana and Michaela, saw the rest of the girls gathered in the living room watching the news.
"Hey, what are you all watching?" Allen asked as he walked closer.
"Oh… we're watching Alyssa's live report," Rebecca replied, gesturing for him to sit with them.
"Ohh, I see…" Allen muttered as he took a seat beside them, turning his attention to the TV.
On screen, Alyssa was reporting live from the scene, her tone calm but serious. "Today, an attack occurred in a warehouse storage area located on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Fortunately, the suspects were apprehended by the police who arrived just in time. For now, it's believed that the attackers were suffering from a combination of epilepsy and rabies. They've been transported to a hospital for examination," she reported, standing near the cordoned-off area.
Alyssa then tried to get a comment from one of the officers escorting the suspects into a police transport van. The officer briefly stopped and said, "I just want to tell the citizens that there's no need to panic. However, we advise everyone living near the outskirts of the city to stay alert and immediately report any similar incidents. That's all from me—thank you."
With that, the officer stepped away, leaving Alyssa to wrap up her report as the camera slowly zoomed out from the chaotic scene.
.....
Meanwhile, it seemed the people in downtown Raccoon City weren't paying much attention to the news. They treated the incidents as routine. After all, it was summer break — most people were thinking about how to relax and enjoy themselves.
At Spencer Mansion, Patrick was reading a briefing about the virus's spread. "If this virus has already reached the outskirts, it won't be long before it spreads out of control and causes an unprecedented disaster in Raccoon City," he told Spencer.
"And what about the disaster-response teams we recruited to handle this? Is the federal government getting involved?" Spencer asked, tapping his fingers on the desk.
"They just arrived in Raccoon City. We've positioned them at the posts we planned. As for the feds, they haven't made a move yet — they're keeping quiet," Patrick replied.
"Hmph. That's actually good news — if the feds stay out of it, let Sergei manage the biohazard response, and start recruiting as many people as we can," Spencer said. "Also prepare equipment to record everything in advance. We can't miss this opportunity." Spencer was already thinking about monetizing the data on the black market. He wanted control — everything in his hands.
He also thought about the Ashford family, the corporate circle that still had a voice in company decisions. Even if Alexander had a high IQ, he couldn't compete with Spencer. To the public, Umbrella still looked strong; in reality Spencer had quietly moved more than half the company's assets and secured them with his daughter Alex. He saw clearly that the company couldn't be saved.
Many core Umbrella researchers were dead — like Dr. Anette — or missing, like Dr. Muller, who had been working on T.A.L.O.S. Project.
And also the news about the death of his son Albert Wesker, which he had already heard.. The only key researcher left was Dr. William, and Spencer believed the man would soon be useless if he continued refusing to cooperate and deliver results.
Spencer could no longer support Umbrella as it was. Better to destroy it and turn its research into a true bioweapon "battle dataset." With that data, he was confident he could build a new company from scratch.
....
Allen glanced at Karena. "I think it's time we start planning an evacuation route — for us and any civilians who might be trapped and want to get out of the city," he said.
Karena nodded. "Leave it to me," she replied, then went to gather the Black Rose members on the lower floor and ordered them to find emergency escape routes.
Not long after, Allen's phone suddenly rang. Ring… Ring… Ring… It was Sienna calling — which surprised him; he hadn't expected her to call back so soon.
["Hey, handsome — want to grab drinks with me tonight?"] her voice came through teasingly.
"Sorry — who is this?" Allen replied, jokingly.
He could hear quiet hurt in Sienna's voice. ["Are you joking? Have you really forgotten me?"] she asked, a little sad.
"No, I'm just kidding. Where do you want to drink?" Allen asked.
["How about Rose Bar? I want to explain something about… us, if that's okay."] Sienna sounded apologetic — still feeling guilty about getting close to Allen as part of her mission and being discovered while tailing S.T.A.R.S. up in the Arklay Mountains.
"Sure. Funny enough, I've already got plans to meet some cops there tonight. We can find a private spot and talk," Allen said.
["Okay… that's fine. See you at the bar,"] Sienna replied.
"Alright — see you there. Bye," Allen said, then hung up.
Svetlana, who had been listening, asked, "Who was that?"
"That was Sienna," Allen answered. "Want to come to the bar later?" he added.
"Not this time. I'm heading to the gun shop to stock up on ammo for the road. Hope that's okay," Svetlana replied.
"Of course. I can look after myself," Allen said, sliding a hand toward Svetlana's thigh.
"Stop it," she snapped, swatting his hand away. "If we do that now, you won't be leaving until tomorrow," she added, a little annoyed but blushing.
"Okay, okay." Allen laughed and went to get ready before heading out to the bar.
At Rose Bar, Allen was sitting with Leon and Kevin, enjoying a few drinks together. They'd arrived early and were chatting casually about the recent situation in the city.
"Allen," Leon leaned in and whispered, keeping his voice low so no one else could hear, "I've been hearing rumors about what's been going on around town… and about the mission S.T.A.R.S. ran. People say you guys ran into some kind of cannibalistic monsters. Is that true?"
Allen took a slow sip of his drink before nodding. "Yeah, that's true," he said quietly. Then, leaning closer, he added, "Listen, Leon — you're still a rookie. If you ever run into something like that… aim for the head. That's the only way to put them down. And whatever you do, don't get bitten. One bite is all it takes to turn you into one of them — and then you'll start eating people too."
Leon froze, his face turning pale as the seriousness in Allen's tone sank in. "W-wait, are you serious?" he muttered, almost trembling.
Kevin burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Allen, cut it out — you're scaring the poor rookie! Look at him, he's already turning white!" he said between laughs, clearly tipsy.
Allen just smirked and shrugged, swirling the whiskey in his glass. "What? I'm just giving him advice," he said playfully.
Then the bar's door swung open. A stunning blonde woman in an elegant dress and high heels walked in, immediately drawing everyone's attention. Conversations slowed; heads turned. The sound of her heels clicked softly across the floor as she made her way straight toward Allen.
Kevin's jaw dropped. "Oh, you lucky bastard," he muttered under his breath, taking another swig of his drink.
Leon sighed and shook his head, half amused. He'd already heard the rumors — about Allen Winter, the man who somehow managed to charm half the beautiful women in Raccoon City and beyond. But seeing it in person was… something else.