"Pitter-patter..."
"How are you? Are you okay?"
Having successfully dealt with the Hunter, Rebecca walked up to Javier and offered him a hand, her voice filled with concern.
In response, Javier shook his head to indicate he was fine, while once again praising the young girl's heroic actions in cleanly taking down the Hunter.
"That was amazing, Rebecca."
"You just saved my life. I'd say you're ready to stand on your own now, huh?"
Forcing his near-broken body to stand, Javier put on a strained smile and gave Rebecca a thumbs-up. The young girl, in turn, accepted the praise without an ounce of humility, proudly wiping her nose.
"Hmph! Of course. You should know who I am. I'm a member of the S.T.A.R.S. team! Taking care of that kind of monster is an easy task. On the other hand, my partner, you're falling a little behind! I'll be waiting for you to catch up!"
There was no modesty at all. Javier rolled his eyes. He praised her a little, and now she was getting carried away!
But in a way, he understood. Rebecca was incredibly excited. As a medic and pharmacy expert, she usually only practiced her shooting on targets. She had never personally hunted or killed a zombie, let alone a wild boar. So, after single-handedly taking down a Hunter that Javier couldn't easily defeat, it was only natural for her to be proud.
It was like a bookworm who never left the house suddenly becoming as good as a master hunter on a whim. Who wouldn't be excited? If Javier, a poor student, were to suddenly publish a groundbreaking paper on pharmacy, transforming from an academic failure into a celebrated Ph.D., he would also be getting ahead of himself!
"Fine..."
"Be as smug as you want. But, Rebecca, you and Billy will have to handle the rest of the training ground. Let me rest for a while. That monster's last attack feels like it's torn my body apart. You two go and explore. Just give me some time to recover!"
Finally, feeling the soreness all over his body, Javier couldn't be bothered to argue with the young girl. He leaned back against the wall and sank to the floor, taking off his gas mask, helmet, and heavy bulletproof vest.
Sweat was pouring down Javier's face, soaking his ash-gray hair. He pulled up his shirt, revealing his muscular torso. This wasn't him showing off; he was checking his injuries.
"Hiss..."
As expected, when he lifted his sweat-soaked shirt, his pale, muscular body was covered in red skin and a developing bruise. The Hunter's attack had hit him like a hammer. Although there were no broken bones, the muscle pain was severe. A slight touch sent a jolt of pain through him.
"..."
"The muscle is swollen and red, and there's an accumulation of bruising. The internal muscles have been hurt, but fortunately, it's not a major issue. You'll be fine with some rest. You're very lucky. A broken rib would have been real trouble. We're in the middle of nowhere, and while the facility has medical equipment, I don't have any surgical experience. I can only give you some painkillers to help you hold on."
After a careful look at Javier's injuries, Rebecca calmly explained the situation. He was very lucky. The internal muscles were hurt, but not completely. He would recover after a while. If a bone had been broken, it would have been a real problem.
"Here, take some painkillers first. Then I'll spray some antiseptic alcohol on it to reduce the heat and stinging."
With that, Rebecca quickly took a bottle of military painkillers from her medical kit and gave Javier a few tablets to swallow. They didn't have any water with them, so he had to dry-swallow them. She then pulled out an alcohol spray and applied it evenly to Javier's chest and abdomen, gently massaging the area.
This series of actions made Javier turn his head away. As a grown man, he felt embarrassed to be shy. Although Rebecca was a short-haired tomboy who was only 18 years old and felt more like a younger sister, she was still a woman. Javier felt uncomfortable with the physical contact.
After all, he was a classic pervert with a dirty mouth but a virgin in practice, making the situation incredibly awkward.
Rebecca, on the other hand, didn't feel a thing. As a pharmacy expert and a medic, she had treated countless patients. She was completely unfazed. She only noticed that her scoundrel partner's abs were quite hard. It seemed he worked out a lot and was very disciplined!
Soon, the cool feeling of the alcohol made the heat and stinging in Javier's swollen muscles fade away. His complexion also improved. Alcohol doesn't actually reduce swelling, and a medic wouldn't carry things like medicated oil. Rebecca's kit was filled with essential medical supplies: antidotes, anti-venom, various antibiotics, analgesics (including some controlled substances), adrenaline, hemostatic agents, bandages, and other such items.
There was no space for medicated oils. After all, medicated oils are for sprains and bruises. Do you get sprains and bruises during a mission?
Therefore, Rebecca could only spray alcohol. The alcohol provided a cooling sensation that temporarily relieved the heat from the muscle swelling, and once the painkillers kicked in, he would feel much better.
"Pitter-patter..."
"Pitter-patter..."
"Pitter-patter..."
After treating Javier's injuries, Rebecca left him to rest for a while. She and Billy began to search the vicinity of the training ground. After going through several rooms, Billy Coen successfully found a new research facility key in one of them. It was exactly like the previous one, except this one was blue.
As for Rebecca, she found a special stone tablet hidden under a fireplace. It was similar to the previous Black and White Statues. Her intuition told her this tablet must be another puzzle item, or it wouldn't have been hidden in a fireplace. So she brought it back.
The stone tablet was named the Unity Stone.
This was directly related to the words spoken by Queen Leech Marcus at the beginning of the story: "Obedience begets discipline, discipline begets unity, unity begets power, and power is life!"
Based on this quote, since the tablet was the Unity Stone, it meant they still needed to find the "Obedience" and "Discipline" tablets. By collecting all three, they could probably find a new path forward in the facility, just like with the Black and White Statues.
After resting for nearly a dozen minutes, Javier recovered some of his strength. The painkillers took effect, and the soreness had mostly faded. He quickly rejoined Rebecca and Billy to search for a new exit from the training ground.
Unfortunately... the remaining passages were blocked, preventing the trio from moving forward. Stuck, Javier remembered the key Billy had found. The key they took from the giant mutated centipede was red-gold and opened a red door.
The key Billy had just found was blue-gold. This meant it corresponded to a blue door. Perhaps if they went back and explored the blue door first, they might find a new clue.
Thinking quickly, Javier frantically recalled his memories, looking for a room with a blue door. He also told Rebecca and Billy, asking them to help him remember. After all, two heads were better than one.
"A blue door?" +2
Hearing Javier's words, Rebecca and Billy both looked puzzled. They couldn't believe this was a clue they needed.
"Yes."
"A blue door. The key we took from the giant mutated centipede was red, and while it opened most of the facility's doors, it also specifically opened a red door. This new key is blue, so I'm guessing it can open a blue door. Instead of agonizing over how to find a new path here, it might be faster to go look for clues in that blue door!"
Javier quickly and clearly explained his logic to Rebecca and Billy.
Hearing this, Billy suddenly remembered something. He clapped his hands, recalling a crucial piece of information. He had seen a light blue stone door in an art room earlier. That's where he had found the pointer item.
This was not the library or the painting room. The three of them had been searching separately back then. Javier and Rebecca had explored the library and painting room, so they had no memory of the light blue stone door. Only Billy had that memory.
"We need to go back the way we came!"
"I remember where that blue door is. It's next to the art room. I saw it when I got the pointer item. That key probably opens it."
Without hesitation, Billy explained everything to Javier and Rebecca. They exchanged glances and nodded. They trusted Billy's judgment. Without further delay, the three of them quickly headed back the way they came.
"Pitter-patter..."
"Pitter-patter..."
"Pitter-patter..."
A few minutes later, the three returned to the facility's main hall and successfully reached the art room. Billy was right; there was indeed a light blue door tucked away in a corner. Seeing it, Javier quickly pulled out the key and inserted it into the door. The key fit perfectly with a slight turn.
"Click!"
It was a perfect fit. The door opened.
Just as Javier and the others were on alert for whatever might be inside, they were met with a pitch-black film storage room. It was dark and dusty, with rows of shelves on both sides. The shelves were filled with old film reels piled high. They must have contained records of the facility's various experiments.
They might have been able to find all sorts of experimental logs and data, or even records of inhuman virus injections and infections. These would be crucial pieces of evidence. Any one of them could prove the Umbrella Corporation's malicious activities.
Unfortunately, after decades without maintenance, all the film reels were damaged. They were either broken and torn or the images had become blurred and faded. Even if they could be played, they wouldn't be useful.
With no other choice, they had to give up on the valuable film reels.
However, as Javier and the others entered the storage room, they failed to notice a figure slowly rising in the corner.
Shaking, the dark figure slowly got to its feet. Its entire body was writhing, as if it were a mummy bound so tightly it couldn't breathe.
Was it a zombie?
No.
It was something far more terrifying than a zombie, a new product born from the Queen Leech's infection.
A Leech Man (Mimicry Marcus).
A humanoid monster created when mutated leeches mimic a person's body and memories. In short, it was an enhanced version of a zombie. A zombie that ate Luffy... no! A zombie that ate the Rubber-Rubber Fruit.
The size of a Leech Man was roughly the same as a regular zombie.
However, its attack range and defense were incredibly strong. Its skin was no longer rotting flesh but was instead made of twisted muscles, like wildly dried beef jerky. These muscles were twisted together like hemp rope, and its entire body had no facial features. But this twisted muscle gave the Leech Man a very strong defense.
Think about it: which is tougher, a loose rope or a twisted hemp rope? The twisted hemp rope is undoubtedly tougher, and the Leech Man was the same. Its twisted muscles could withstand most firearm damage. Regular handgun bullets could hardly cause any harm. Only fire could do additional damage, making fire its weakness.
In addition, the Leech Man's attack range was also ridiculous. It could attack enemies from seven to eight meters away, its arms stretching like rubber to pull people back to bite them. In short, it was a very troublesome foe.