Max sighed in frustration, an uneasy weight settling in his chest as memories of Resident Evil lore coalesced with his grim reality. The more he thought about it, the more the story turned tragic and vile.
For the next ten years from capture, Lisa Trevor was treated as nothing more than an experimental subject, a lab rat—exploited, mutated, and ultimately discarded.
Her existence would have been erased if not for a few files, her suffering written into the background of Umbrella's history as if it meant nothing.
The cause of the virus outbreak had always felt like karma clawing its way back. But this retribution, as always, made no distinction between the guilty and the innocent. It devoured every one.
The outbreak began with James Marcus—or rather, the creature that thought it was him. The Queen Leech, a grotesque mockery wearing his face and mind.
James Marcus, Oswell E. Spencer, and Edward Ashford—three visionaries who founded the Umbrella Corporation. And yet, even in their prime, cracks had already begun to show.
Edward Ashford died shortly after the Umbrella was formed, supposedly in an accident while studying the Progenitor Virus. His death wasn't just a personal loss; it marked the fall of the Ashford family's influence in Umbrella's growing hierarchy.
Marcus, meanwhile, had thrown himself into the research of the Progenitor Virus. He developed the T-Virus at the Umbrella Training Facility, nestled deep within the Arklay Mountains—not far from the mansion Max now found himself in.
But success had its price.
Spencer had never been one to share the glory and power. He orchestrated Marcus's assassination, sending two of his protégés—Albert Wesker and William Birkin—to do the dirty work.
Ironically, those two were unaware they were laying the foundations for a future apocalypse.
But fate had other plans. Just after Marcus's death, a mutant leech infected with the T-Virus slithered into his corpse.
Over the next decade, it used his DNA to reconstruct his appearance and memories, eventually becoming the sentient monstrosity known as the Queen Leech.
What came next no one could have predicted. The creature convinced it was James Marcus, sought revenge on those who had betrayed it—especially Umbrella.
Its resurrection and thirst for vengeance set off the chain of events that would cascade into the tragedy of Raccoon City. And it all began from this region—from this cursed mansion and its secrets.
Max exhaled, grounding himself. The full story had returned to him. This was the prelude to the nightmare. The quiet before the screams.
Soon, different protagonists would rise—Chris, Jill, Rebecca—each uncovering a fragment of the horror Umbrella had unleashed.
His eyes drifted to the glowing text on the system's interface.
Bonus Mission.
'Looks like bait,' he concluded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. 'But the kind of bait you can't ignore.'
The tutorial mission was obvious—survive. It wasn't flashy, just a test of endurance. Max could already tell the system didn't want him jumping into anything too difficult at the start.
But safe paths usually came with meagre rewards. The real payoffs came from taking risks.
He clicked into the mission details.
As he expected, the extra mission was far from ordinary—it was tied directly to the events of Resident Evil 0.
The target? The Queen Leech.
Max whistled lowly. "Well, that escalated fast."
Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, protagonists of Resident Evil 1, never even saw this creature. It had already been dealt with before they arrived.
The prequel, Resident Evil 0, had a different lead: Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen—an ex-Marine turned fugitive. They fought that monstrosity alone.
"The tutorial mission is just to survive ten hours," Max muttered, mostly to reassure himself. "If I hide, I should be fine. That's what the system must have expected me to do."
His brow furrowed. "But this extra mission... that's a death sentence."
Everything now hinged on the timeline. Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 1 events occurred within hours of each other.
If his arrival timed perfectly, maybe—just maybe—he could find Chris or Jill, and survive under their protection. But the system giving him this mission strongly implied it wouldn't be that simple.
It was more likely that he had arrived just before Resident Evil 0 began. If that were true, Rebecca and Billy would be the central figures soon, and he'd have to navigate the chaos alone until he could find them.
Max picked up the phone from the table, noticing the unfamiliar bulk. It was one of those old models—chunky, with actual buttons—a relic from an era before smartphones.
The time displayed confirmed his suspicion.
July 23rd, 6:30 PM.
Right on the eve of hell.
"At this point, the story of Resident Evil 0 is about to start," he whispered, voice low and steady as he tried to calm the anxious flutter in his chest.
Flipping through the phone, Max scrolled through the sparse contacts list. Most names meant nothing to him.
But one caught his eye: Ada Wong.
His heart skipped.
'According to my current background... she's supposed to be my girlfriend,' he mused. A slight smile played on his lips.
That smile vanished quickly when he pressed the call button and the line went dead. No signal. No connection. Just a flat, useless screen staring back at him.
"Tch. Of course," he muttered. "Only Resident Evil 2 will fulfil my fanboy dreams of meeting Ada."
His eyes wandered to the window. Outside, the moon was rising, casting a cold silver sheen over the Arklay Mountains. The forest below looked serene—too serene. As if hiding something monstrous in its silence.
'This is definitely before Resident Evil 1,' Max reaffirmed in his mind, 'but the extra mission locks me into Resident Evil 0's timeline.'
It was deliberate. The system didn't want him running away from danger—it wanted him neck-deep in it.
His mission limitations confirmed this: he couldn't leave the mansion more than five kilometres in any direction.
A perimeter, likely set to ensure he stayed within the zone of influence for the storyline to unfold properly. That range neatly covered the training facility, the nearby forest, and the Ecliptic Express.
In other words, every cursed location is tied to Resident Evil 0.
Time was ticking.
According to the details, the novice mission would likely end just before Resident Evil 1 began. He had to survive until then—or step up, interfere, and possibly join Rebecca's side.
Max clenched his fists. His instincts told him his theory was sound. But instincts alone wouldn't help him aim a gun or dodge a zombie.
He wasn't a soldier. Not even a fighter. He had no training. If he had to shoot, he'd probably miss even a still target.
And yet, this was Resident Evil. Hiding would only work for so long.
Zombies. Mutants. Leeches. Hunters. So many monstrosities to deal with.
The only silver lining on this road to death was that Max Knight, being a young American, had plenty of practice with firearms at shooting ranges.
….
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