A church. That's right. It was a church, and a good-sized one at that, large enough to hold about a hundred people. The style was famously Gothic. Throughout history, church architecture has generally been categorized into four main styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, and Modernist.
Modernist churches lacked a sense of sacred ritual and were therefore not very common; they were a new thing. How could you expect a bunch of traditionalists to accept new things? It was impossible. Moreover, religion is a matter of faith. For believers to accept a Modernist style was no different from being a heretic. It was like believing in the supernatural while also believing in science—two relative paradoxes.
Therefore, the most popular styles were Romanesque and Gothic. The Romanesque style was classic due to its long history, while Gothic churches featured pointed towers, symbolizing the ascent to heaven. Their overall design was mysterious, beautiful, and sacred, making them one of the most common and popular church styles today.
The most famous example of a Gothic church is Notre Dame in Paris. Its tall, slender, pointed, and mysterious style has earned it widespread praise.
As for the Baroque style, it became popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. The domed style was favored by countries in the Middle East. While they existed in Europe, they were not common and were considered less perfect because they were less focused on exterior ornamentation and had fewer engravings and paintings inside, making them too simple.
The church before them was a perfect example of the Gothic style. Its exterior was magnificent and mysterious, yet it was slender and tall. Its pointed towers reached for the sky, and its windows were colorful, beautiful, mysterious, and sacred. It felt as if they were entering a divine space, a place that could convince praying believers that their prayers could truly reach the heavens.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
"Tap, tap, tap..."
"Tap, tap, tap..."
With the sound of footsteps, Javier and his companions arrived at their destination. They looked up at the church and couldn't help but be impressed by its beauty. But they quickly realized that something was wrong.
Why would a place like this have a church? He didn't know if the Umbrella Corporation was feeling guilty and feared divine retribution, or if it was just a cover.
"Something's not right,"
"The door won't open. Is there some kind of mechanism?"
As they tried to enter, Javier realized the church's main door wouldn't open. The metal door handle wouldn't budge no matter how hard he pushed or pulled, as if it were locked. But strangely, there was no keyhole or chain on the main door. How could it be mysteriously stuck?
Javier's eyes quickly fell on the bell tower next to the church. Churches usually had bell towers to announce prayer times to the faithful. If they couldn't get in anywhere else, the "Open Sesame" mechanism was probably in the bell tower.
It was just a simple bell tower. Like the church, it had a tall, slender spire. A large golden bell hung at the top, and a thick rope dangled down from it. You had to shake the rope to ring the bell. It was the oldest type of bell tower and not one operated by gears.
"Clang—!"
"Clang—Clang—Clang—!!!"
Looking at the large metal bell above, Javier didn't hesitate. He grabbed the thick rope and began to shake it. As he shook the rope, a deafening sound from the bell rang out, buzzing and hurting their eardrums. Javier wondered if the sound could be heard for miles around. It was a true noise machine!
But even after he rang the bell, what they expected didn't happen. No hidden mechanism was activated, and the church's main door didn't open. The trio was confused. Had he been wrong again? Was the bell tower not the unlocking mechanism?
Their guess was quickly proven wrong, as the real mechanism was on the floor below the bell tower. In the corners of the four stone tiles, there were four special patterns that probably corresponded to some kind of mythology.
And, as luck would have it... Rebecca, with her protagonist aura, stepped on one of the correct floor patterns.
"Click!"
A strange sound rang out. The floor tile she was standing on instantly sank, activating a mechanism. The church's main door, which was previously locked, suddenly opened on its own. The unexpected mechanism startled the trio. It turned out the floor was the real key!
"Huh?"
"The church door really opened! Hey, Javier, you were wrong! The floor is the switch to open the church door!"
Feeling the strange sensation beneath her feet, Rebecca looked up and shouted in surprise. She couldn't believe she was so lucky to have found the mechanism's button so quickly.
"The floor?"
Following Rebecca's gaze, Javier looked at the floor beneath her feet. Sure enough, a part of it had sunk. Seeing this, Javier quickly told Billy to check the church's main door. It was wide open and completely unobstructed.
But at that moment, just as the trio was about to enter the church, the door suddenly closed again, as if playing a trick on them. Javier was stunned, not understanding what was going on. It wasn't until he saw the mechanism on the floor rising back up that he realized what was happening. It was a pressure-plate mechanism. Someone had to stand on it to keep the church's main door open.
This design... was clearly meant to separate them. They wanted them to enter the church alone while one person stayed outside. If it had just been Rebecca and Billy, they might have fallen for it. But with Javier here, this mechanism was too simple.
In front of everyone, Javier ran to the lake next to the church, took out his Desert Eagle handgun, and fired a few shots at the stone pillar of the railing by the lake. The moss-covered, wind-and-rain-eroded stone pillar shattered and fell to the ground. Javier picked up a heavy stone block and carried it back to the mechanism on the floor, dropping it with a thud!
"Thump!"
Feeling the weight, the mechanism activated again, and the main door of the church quickly opened. Javier patted the dust off his hands, satisfied. What kind of idiot designer created this mechanism? To try and separate them, it was too childish!
"Alright, that was quick and easy,"
"Let's go into the church. I'm curious what kind of secrets are hidden inside. Besides, I have many sins and secrets I want to confess to our great Lord and ask for His forgiveness. Amen!"
Wiping the dirt off his hands with his pants, Javier's expression quickly changed. He put on the face of a devout Christian, speaking with a serious tone that made Rebecca and Billy look at him with disdain. What kind of sins did he have to confess? He was a complete jerk.
Besides, when did a S.T.A.R.S. team member from the Raccoon City Police Department start believing in Christianity? They had never heard of it. Was he a new convert? The Lord probably wouldn't accept a lost sheep with grass growing on his head.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Javier ignored Rebecca and Billy's contempt and calmly walked through the church's main door. Hmph... you boring believers, how could you ever understand the Lord's intentions? The Lord loves taking in lost sheep like me the most.
The interior of the church was as beautiful as he expected. Every arched window had stained glass. When sunlight shone through in the morning, the glass would emit a rainbow of colors. It was beautiful and sacred.
In addition, the interior walls of the church were covered with countless lifelike bas-reliefs. They even included the famous painting of Jesus and his twelve disciples at the Last Supper. The central prayer painting, however, was not of Jesus himself but of the more sacred and great Virgin Mary. As the Mother of God, she held baby Jesus with a gentle and loving expression. The painting fully conveyed a mother's kindness and greatness.
On the whole, this makeshift church was even more beautiful than the churches in Raccoon City. The Umbrella Corporation really didn't spare any expense, and their aesthetic sense was quite good.
Paired with the warm yellow lighting, it made the Virgin Mary inside the church look even more sacred and radiant, filling them with a sense of piety, as if they had an endless list of things they wanted to confess.
However, despite the sacredness, Javier felt a strange sensation. The feeling was in the atmosphere, not the surroundings. The surroundings were sacred, but the atmosphere was very peculiar, giving him a bad premonition. He couldn't put his finger on it, which was frustrating.
But the show had to go on.
"Merciful and great Lord, and loving Virgin Mary, your faithful servant is suffering from the greatest confusion. I am like a lost sheep wandering aimlessly in a vast grassland, running into walls everywhere. I have a sin I wish to beg for your forgiveness."
"I have extraordinary power but do not know how to use it. Therefore, should I simply go with the flow and do as I please, or should I put the people first and save them from suffering, as you once did? This question has troubled me for a long time. Please, Lord, answer my humble plea...!"
With a serious expression, Javier stood beneath the painting of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and prayed earnestly, trying to get a response from the Lord. But unfortunately, the Lord was a fraud and never answered the lost sheep's questions.
He waited for a long time, but no voice rang out in his mind.
This made Javier feel both angry and helpless. He was angry that the Western God was a liar, a mere fraud. But he was also helpless, realizing there was no such thing as a God in this world. This behavior was too funny. Even Rebecca next to him was speechless.
What do you mean you have extraordinary power and don't know how to use it? We've been together this whole time, and I haven't seen you do anything special. You're just talking nonsense, and to the Lord, no less. Aren't you afraid of being struck down by divine punishment?
"Tsk!"
"Jesus is a fake after all. He's completely useless. I don't know why so many people believe in him. Or maybe he has too many followers and can't be bothered to reply to a lost sheep like me. That makes sense. I have plenty of girls who want to hook up with me, and I can't even be bothered to reply to all of them."
"I guess the Son of God is the same way. How pathetic!"
Javier's expression changed, and he shrugged, shifting his mindset as he complained. This made Rebecca put her hand to her forehead in exasperation. This guy was a lost cause.
Too lazy to continue dealing with Javier's theatrics, Rebecca and Billy began to search the church. If they were right, there should be some kind of item or clue here. They had been following this pattern the entire time.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Javier opened the door to a room next to the church hall. It was probably the priest's study, as the room was filled with books neatly arranged on shelves. A desk lamp was still lit, and on the desk lay a very familiar object to Javier: a typewriter!
The typewriter—an item that was present in most of the Resident Evil games. It would always appear just before a boss fight or at the end of an important chapter, as it was the game's save point, a device used to save and load data.
The vintage design, the yellowed paper, the familiar 26 English letters, and a true mechanical keyboard. The mechanical action of modern computer keyboards was nothing compared to this. This was a true mechanical keyboard. On a whim, Javier walked up to the typewriter and skillfully typed out a paragraph.
It said:
"July 23, 1998, 3:30 AM. S.T.A.R.S. team members Javier Li and Rebecca Chambers, along with a surviving Marine, have infiltrated the facility to search for evidence of the Umbrella Corporation's heinous crimes. We have now reached the church and are leaving this record as proof of our presence, just in case..."
A simple save was complete. As Javier was about to wonder if the typewriter really had the game's save effect, Rebecca and Billy suddenly screamed from the church hall as if something had attacked them!
"Ah—!!!!"
"Bats! So many bats! Where did all these bats come from!"
"Be careful, these bats are carrying the virus! Don't let them bite you! Bang—Bang—!!!"
Screams and deafening gunshots echoed through the church. Javier's face paled, and he quickly ran out of the study. Was the boss here?