Boom! A flash-bang detonated, blinding everyone.
A blond man in a slick-back burst in and quickly spirited Irving away.
Eddie glanced at Jill beside him; she was staring at him in curiosity. "What's wrong, hubby? Is there something on my face?"
Eddie shook his head. "Nothing—you're beautiful. I like looking at my wife."
"Stop it, so many people are watching." Jill rolled her eyes, secretly delighted. Marrying this younger man really was lucky; May–December romances are always exciting.
The masked intruder who rescued Irving must have been Jill in disguise. Now Jill was with him from start to finish; history had shifted, so she never fell off that cliff or vanished.
So the one appearing here could only be Wesker himself.
Chris caught a glimpse of someone. "Wesker! After him!"
They reached the village outskirts just as a helicopter lifted into the distance—out of range. All they could do was watch Irving's manic laughter and obscene gestures of contempt.
"Damn it!" Leon kicked the car in frustration.
Sheva arrived from nearby. "Chris, Eddie! You're here too. We searched a small lab nearby and found a file—take a look."
Chris took the memory card and began analyzing it, while Eddie lit a cigarette, lost in thought.
Chapter 537: Aunt Wang's Intel
Sheva shook her head, beaming. "I'm fine, thanks. Conditions are rough here, but you'll get used to it."
Looking at the youthful Sheva, Eddie thought of Aunt Anlra—the black beauty who had borne him a daughter. Black women aren't unattractive; most just don't look great.
"Feels good here. When we're free, how about you show us around?" Eddie invited.
Sheva nodded happily. "Of course—after this mission I'd love to."
Moments later Chris located a lab sixty kilometers away at an oil field: a Tricell branch that might have intel.
Chris came over. "HQ has sent Josh's team ahead to grab Irving; we're heading for the Uriwado Oilfield."
"What kind of weird name is that?" Eddie muttered.
"Local names can run dozens of syllables—you'll get lost fast," Sheva said with a grin.
"Still, yours sounds great," Eddie chuckled.
Sheva batted her lashes. "Thanks—you're quite the charmer."
"Right back at you." Eddie and Sheva smiled at each other.
Sophia asked softly, "Jill, aren't you jealous?"
Jill rolled her eyes. With her Goddess Island sisters in mind, she retorted, "You get used to it. Don't tell me you're the petty type."
Sophia shook her head. "Just curious."
Piers looked surprised—his usually fierce older sister was so docile; the brother-in-law must have tamed her thoroughly.
If Sophia knew what Piers was thinking, she'd punish him—mocking your sister was suicidal.
They found vehicles and headed for the strangely named oilfield—Eddie and the others with Sheva.
Leon rode with Chris—one a team-killer, the other a vehicle-jinx; Eddie wanted no part of that duo.
Before long motorcycle Majini appeared, gunners riding pillion, eyes crimson—still infected.
"Looks like the fun's starting," Eddie said, watching the bikers.
"Rear truck-mount the MG—deal with these guys," Sheva ordered the squad.
A modified pickup, truck-bed outfitted with twin fixed machine-guns, could lay down heavy fire on the move—prime support weapon.
The guns chattered, powered by the vehicle battery for sustained spin-up.
The truck-mount could blow a car apart—no assault rifle could match that.
Eddie used the lull to check his phone: a message from Caroline.
Caroline and Michaela Schneider, exploring Africa together, learned Umbrella's old Africa Branch had been shut down. Even under Western Federation control it hadn't reopened and was still raided by Ndipaya splinter groups.
The related Stairway of the Sun had been relocated to a Ndipaya settlement in the Macaroon Wetlands.
That tribe, once a branch of the ancient Dubaiya Kingdom, was now under Brandon's control; he had transplanted the Stairway to an underground lab within their territory—and succeeded.
Brandon, far away in Africa, was no fool. He secretly allied with Tricell and Glory Pharmaceutical—Umbrella's rivals—and developed a transplantation method for the Stairway.
Edward and Marcus had tried and failed; the Stairway had lost its vital Progenitor Virus, yet Brandon's graft kept it intact.
The ruins of the Dubaiya Kingdom held dangers: huge, insane giants, tentacled yet still human-shaped, were imprisoned there.
They were former Dubaiya rulers who, in old age, invariably went mad; locked deep underground, hence the murals of giants fighting.
Brandon has now left Africa for an unknown South Pacific island, continuing virus research.
Ada's intel suggests Brandon, though looking aged, is as robust as a middle-aged man, clear-minded, side-effect-free—apparently having merged with an unknown virus to greatly extend physical longevity.
That intrigued Eddie: the Progenitor Virus erodes the host's brain; avoiding that requires other means.
Even Alexia had relied on cryo-stasis—so what method did Brandon use?
Ada and Sienna are still investigating; the agent beauty has already left the island.
Not because she was compromised—shift ended. They had to attend their daughter's master's graduation; being a mother and wife comes first, espionage is just a side hobby.
Eddie pocketed his phone. Things were getting interesting; the reclusive Brandon had surfaced—fun ahead.
Outside, the battle raged; infected locals drove trucks straight into close-quarters combat.
But against the machine-gun fire their charge was suicidal. BSAA's firepower easily suppressed the creatures.
Even if parasites burst, keeping distance and avoiding acid spray kept things safe.
Leon and Chris conferred in secret—Leon had used leave to track Morpheus, who once saved him; now Morpheus was in trouble, and Leon came to repay the favor. Yet for some reason the air seemed to grow… heated.
Chapter 537: The Unkillable Type-II Giant
Jill flicked out her Samurai Edge, plugging a black biker who roared past on a motorcycle.