Chapter 24: Parting Ways

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August 17, 1993, 8:40 a.m.
7,328 meters southwest of the rendezvous point, Sass Avenue, roadside motel

That kid overthinks everything.

After listening to Wang Luo’s “persuasion” of Zhou Yingxiong, Zhu Cunjia, bare-chested, sat up and removed the card from his ear.

Yesterday, after the two of them had finished with the bank’s secret stash, they didn’t return to old Duerte, but instead picked a random motel to celebrate and indulge themselves.

Behind Zhu Cunjia, Tang Xiaoxiao, exhausted from yesterday’s madness, was still soundly asleep, wrapped up in the covers.

He walked over to the table, picked up a glass of water, and drained it in one gulp.

Wang Luo’s thinking is too chaotic, too scattered. On the surface, it seems meticulous, but when it comes to execution, eight or nine times out of ten, he’ll become hesitant and timid.

In the end, he’s simply too weak. His plan relies on human nature, fixates on it, but it isn’t something he can accomplish alone. He’s too honest, too fragile; when all is said and done, what will he be left with? Nothing.

So that’s how it is... so that’s why, that night, this woman ended up coming back to me. She’s a clever one, she saw through it too.

As for myself, all these fourteen scenes—what I’ve endured, the hard work, the humiliations, the swallowing of pride. But in the end, I gritted my teeth and made it through. At last, the moment of reward has arrived!

He fumbled in his pocket for his cards: traitor, detection, substitution, plunder, and four others that might come in handy. These are where his strength lies—years of experience and accumulated power, all reflected in these cards.

Ha! You’re a genius, aren’t you? You play to your heart’s content, spinning everyone around in circles—wonderful!

At harvest time, everything will be mine.

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August 17, 1993, 9:28 a.m.
7,328 meters southwest of the rendezvous point, Sass Avenue, roadside motel

“Are we going to the lab for the last stash tomorrow?”

Tang Xiaoxiao sat at the table, lazily and contentedly doing her makeup as she asked. Behind her, Zhu Cunjia was cleaning his gun.

“Yes. Wang Luo asked the mayor to contact the company, to open the Hive for public tours tomorrow at eight. That’s when we’ll slip in.”

“You trust him that much? Are you sure the company will agree?”

“When has he ever failed at anything?” Zhu Cunjia put down his pistol. “I bet he’s already given the mayor a stack of gold bars and dollars.”

Page 2 of 3

“But he didn’t contact the TV station.”

Zhu Cunjia said nothing. Seeing his indifference, Tang Xiaoxiao turned around. “What if we reach out to the TV station ourselves?”

As she spoke, she pulled a clown mask out of her handbag—identical to the one Wang Luo wore.

“If the tour is decided, the mayor will only bring trusted people, a few dozen at most—just for show.”

“If there are too few, security inside won’t be any less tight. But if the whole city knows, everyone will want to get in. The mayor won’t be able to pick people at his leisure—we’ll blend in, and he’ll have to fend for himself.”

Tang Xiaoxiao’s reasoning was solid. Zhu Cunjia considered for a moment.

Since entering the scenario, Wang Luo’s plan had gone smoothly. Yet in Zhu Cunjia’s eyes, Wang Luo only had a rough outline, not a meticulously detailed scheme.

The mayor’s involvement must be the final segment of Wang Luo’s plan. At this stage, it was possible to see the general shape of Wang Luo’s intentions.

Essentially: use the bank to secure funds, use the TV station and that money to stir up public unrest, tie up Umbrella’s attention and manpower around the city, and finally use the public tour as leverage to force Umbrella to move their key files out of the Hive.

Then, the new storage location for those files would require even more guards, thinning out the Hive’s security and making the final battle easier. They’d be able to pass through with little resistance. By that logic, the difficulty of retrieving the last secret from the Hive would be reduced. Wait a second...

It was possible the company would move the secret stash as well. It was hidden inside a high-end piece of equipment. Given the level of secrecy, relocating it wouldn’t be surprising at all...

That would be awkward. If the news went public, many would blockade the Hive, preventing the transfer. In that case, the secret would remain safe.

Trying out the woman’s suggestion wouldn’t hurt.

Though they’d worked together, by now it was time to part ways.

“Get dressed. I’ll help you with a disguise.” With his mind made up, Zhu Cunjia drew a card.

Special Effect Card: Disguise (Demon Card, Level Seven Clearance)

Usage: Consumes 3 points of mental energy, 50 credits, 10 health points; using it reduces your max HP by 1% for the next three scenarios.

Effect: When interacting with scenario characters, they will mistake you for another person of your choosing.

Effect: With your teammate’s consent, you may let a teammate use this card at their own cost.

Warning: Against certain characters, the card is likely to fail.

The effect ends immediately if attacked.

August 17, 1993, 2:18 p.m.

Page 3 of 3

145 Gaulerde Avenue, home of Philip Dubois

“Well, do you have another new idea?”

Because of an agreement reached at noon, and the pressure he’d felt in previous dealings with this person, this visit made Mr. Philip quite uneasy, fearing he’d been found out.

But this time, the clown across from him was direct—no beating around the bush.

“Tonight, announce that ‘Umbrella has promised to open the underground lab for visits at eight tomorrow morning, so all those misled by rumors can come see for themselves.’”

Along with the request was a crate of cash.

“Is this what that supposed employee wants? To draw the security away?”

This was a different matter entirely. If he did this without Umbrella’s approval, there’d be no way to cover it up afterward. Was he supposed to take on Umbrella head-on? Was this an invitation to suicide?

“Is the money not enough?” The clown pulled out another crate of cash.

Is money really my concern? Wait...

Same clothes, same accent, same height... but is it always the same person behind the mask? “Did you enjoy working with Monty? I know a few others like him—I could introduce you.”

“No need.” The clown waved a hand. “Already used up.”

“Oh, alright. By the way!” The station director suddenly stood up and hurried off. He soon returned with two plates of pie.

“My wife just made these for lunch—different from last time.”

No need for much, a single moment is enough.

Even with the mask on, hesitation and confusion shone as plainly as the sun in the sky.

Ah, interesting, truly interesting. “Still won’t eat? What a pity.” With that, Mr. Philip stabbed a piece of pie with his fork, ate it, and casually accepted the crate of cash.

“Tonight at eight, the announcement for the tour. Just like before—no problem.”