But this was actually an act of retaliation; after all, once Chris and Jake learned the mystery of his birth, their jaws would surely drop in shock!
"Who is it...?"
"What do you know, Javier?"
As expected, hearing Javier's mysterious words, Chris immediately furrowed his brows. He did find Jake's facial features very familiar, but he couldn't quite place who they reminded him of for a moment.
He had only heard Jake talk about his background: he was an orphan without a father. His father had abandoned his mother, and Jake had been raised by her since birth.
Because the pressure of raising a child alone was too great, his mother fell ill from overwork and died not long after. Growing up, Jake became a fierce street thug due to his unfortunate childhood.
This was the method he had learned to protect himself.
But Chris was certain that while Jake had the personality of a thug, his heart was definitely kind, as he never bullied the weak.
*Cough, cough*... What?!
"You know who my father is?! Tell me, tell me what that bastard's name is! Where is he now?!!"
Meanwhile,
The person whose reaction was even more intense than Chris's was Jake.
Upon hearing that Javier knew his father's name, Jake's emotions instantly became agitated. After a bout of violent dry coughing,
Jake quickly looked up with his fierce eyes and asked urgently. If one were to ask what Jake wanted most right now,
Besides money,
It was undoubtedly the identity of his biological father. Having been abandoned along with his mother since childhood, Jake was desperate to know why his father had left them.
What exactly had he done wrong? Jake had so many questions he wanted to ask that man; it was his only obsession.
And it wasn't just Jake;
Even many people around them turned their curious gazes over, including Piers, a teammate who didn't get along with Jake at all.
Although he disliked Jake's personality and style,
He actually felt pity for an orphan like Jake. It was because of an unfortunate childhood that such a thuggish personality was forged.
"Don't be so angry. Although your father abandoned you and your mother—which was very irresponsible, and I understand why you're so resentful—unfortunately, your father is already dead. Even if you want to hate him, there's nowhere left for that hate to go."
"Furthermore, your father never knew of your or your mother's existence from beginning to end. Twenty years ago, your mother moved from the Edonia Republic to the United States to seek better opportunities."
"At that time, she fell madly in love with your father, and the two developed feelings for each other. Later, your mother became pregnant with you, but she didn't tell your father the news; instead, she left on her own."
"Because your mother knew she was beneath your father's social standing, she planned to take the fruit of their love back to the Edonia Republic to raise you alone. So in a sense, Jake, you are actually an illegitimate child. It's not that your father abandoned you and your mother, but that your father never knew you existed."
With a faint smile,
Javier slowly explained. He suddenly felt he was being quite wicked; exposing someone's melodramatic background like this was truly shameless and a bit of a twisted hobby.
"..."
"This... this is impossible!!"
While Javier was enjoying himself, Jake, standing before him, couldn't accept it.
Because according to what Javier said, the reason his mother was 'abandoned' by his father was entirely her own doing.
Not only did she hide the fact that she was pregnant,
But she also secretly fled back to the Edonia Republic to give birth to him. This was a completely selfish act.
Therefore, Jake had no right to hate his father at all.
Because his father never knew. This caused the resentment Jake had held for over a decade to dissipate instantly; he couldn't accept this reality.
Could it be that his mother's death had nothing to do with his father?
It was entirely her own fault, and as an illegitimate child, he had even less right to blame anyone. If he had to blame someone, it could only be the mother who loved him most.
At this moment, Jake's worldview was collapsing. He couldn't bring himself to blame the mother who had adored him most for secretly giving birth to him.
"The facts are indeed as such. It's melodramatic, but it's the truth. Your father was once a Research Director at the top global pharmaceutical giant, the Umbrella Corporation. Your mother was likely just an ordinary assistant employee there."
"By chance, she met your father and they developed feelings. But the gap in status was too large; an ordinary secret affair was permitted, but it was impossible for your mother to marry him. Perhaps realizing this,"
"Your mother took you, while she was newly pregnant, and left the United States to return to her hometown in the Edonia Republic. And because your father was so exceptional, your mother was so infatuated that she would rather give birth to you in secret than abort you."
"And your father was indeed exceptional. He was not only an executive Research Director at Umbrella, but he also jumped ship to Tricell to serve as a high-ranking official."
"Subsequently, he was involved in multiple bio-virus incidents and privately developed the terrifying ouroboros virus, attempting to use it to destroy the world and become the god of a new world."
"His name was Albert Wesker. If you aren't familiar with his deeds, you can look them up online... and the people who killed your father were me and the BSAA Squad leader next to you, Chris Redfield."
With a mischievous smile on his face,
Javier finally revealed the real name.
To be honest... wasn't this a bit too cruel?
Because not just Jake, but even Chris and the others nearby widened their eyes in disbelief. They never expected that Jake would actually be Wesker's illegitimate son. No wonder his face looked so familiar...!
Volume 9 Resident Evil 6: Chapter 38 Missile Falling
"..."
"Albert Wesker—?!!"
Without a doubt,
The moment they heard that name, the eyes of everyone present were filled with shock. They had never imagined,
That Jake would be Wesker's illegitimate son. Three people present knew Wesker: Javier, Ada, and Chris.
As an ally who had collaborated with Wesker for a long time, Ada was also exceptionally surprised. She sized up Jake's appearance,
And it was indeed as Javier said.
The expression between his brows was very similar to that fellow Wesker. However, she never expected,
That a guy like Wesker would actually have offspring, and an illegitimate son at that. It felt strange, almost absurd.
Of course,
The most surprised person should be Chris.
Because Wesker was Chris's arch-nemesis, and during the Resident Evil incident in West Africa, it was Chris who personally finished off and killed Wesker on the deck of a freighter.
Therefore, when facing Jake, he was the killer of Jake's father. This was true, and that was exactly why this was so awkward!
"Albert Wesker..."
On the other side,
Jake, hearing Wesker's name, stood there dazed, muttering to himself. So his father was named Albert Wesker.
But what Jake couldn't accept was,
That he was a complete illegitimate child, and his father was a bona fide bastard—not for abandoning them,
But because he was an evil villain who planned to destroy the world and was an enemy of the BSAA. And Captain Chris was his father's killer...
"How absurd..."
For a moment,
Jake felt the world was unreal. This melodramatic plot was very hard for Jake's worldview to process, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself.
Everything he had pursued was so absurd and empty. He had thought he was a good kid,
Who had been forced into his current state by his family circumstances. Jake had once pursued a mindset of light,
But now the cruel reality made him realize that his whole family were complete bad seeds. Like father, like son—it was too ironic!
Although his mother had given birth to him and loved him dearly, trying her best to give him a normal life like other children,
The truth of the matter was,
Out of selfishness and infatuation, his mother didn't tell his father about the pregnancy, but instead secretly fled and gave birth to him.
This was actually a selfish act.
While Jake was grateful to his mother for giving birth to him—it was a form of love—he also had to admit that his status as an orphan and illegitimate child was caused by his mother's selfishness!
And the father Jake hated, Wesker, was actually one of the most uninformed parties. Jake used to think his father was a bastard,
A bastard who abandoned his wife and child, but now it seemed...
Even if Wesker was a thorough bastard, Jake, as an illegitimate son, had no right to hate Wesker as a father,
Because he didn't know about any of this. His only obsession and hatred had dissipated so inexplicably, leaving Jake feeling helpless.
And combining the two,
It further proved that Jake himself was a bad seed: a selfish mother, a villainous father, and a bad seed of an illegitimate son.
Thinking through all this, Jake felt extremely helpless. He never expected his life could be so rotten!
"Jake..."
"I'm sorry, I was the one who killed your father. If you have resentment, you can take your revenge on me; after all, you have that right. But I hope you won't become a person like your father."
At this time,
Seeing Jake's expression of immense pain, Chris thought the young man was caught in some agonizing emotional conflict.
Thus, Chris, who was always one to take responsibility for his actions, did not hesitate.
He immediately walked to Jake's side, explained seriously, and handed his sidearm to Jake.
Chris just stood there quietly waiting. If Jake wanted to, he could shoot and kill Chris at any time.
Because Chris would not dodge.
Even if Wesker was a complete scoundrel and bastard, the person who killed him was ultimately Chris himself. He had killed Jake's father and destroyed this family.
Chris understood that feeling very well.
Even if a righteous police officer shoots and kills a heinous drug dealer—a righteous act—
He has indeed destroyed a family.
Therefore, if Jake, as the son, wanted revenge, Chris felt it was only right!
But unfortunately,
Chris was mistaken.
Jake didn't have any thoughts about Chris being his father's killer at all. After learning the whole truth from Javier,
He no longer had any feelings about these matters.
In Jake's view, his mother was selfish and his father was a bastard; it seemed meaningless regardless of who died. Thus, he felt nothing.
After all,
This was different from the original plot.
If Jake didn't know about his mother's selfish actions and didn't know what Wesker had done as a father,
Then Jake might still hate Chris for killing his father and taking away his last relative in this world.
But now...
Jake had none of those feelings anymore!
"Whew..."
"Forget it, Captain Chris. Put the gun back. I don't hate you. In a sense, you did a good thing. After all, my father was a total villain. If I had known about his crazy ideas to destroy the world, I would have killed him myself even if you hadn't."
"It's just that I didn't expect all of this to be my own wishful thinking. My father didn't even know I existed. I'm very tired. Please let me have some peace and quiet to think. Sorry..."
In the end, Jake still chose to forgive Chris and handed the sidearm back. Just as Jake said,
Given his current status as an orphan and illegitimate child, he no longer knew who to blame. Therefore, Jake just wanted to rest quietly for a while,
To think about his life,
And how to continue in the future. After all, his only obsession had dissipated, and it had ended in the most laughably ironic way possible.