Seeing Alice appear before him, Vincent felt a flash of surprise.
He hadn't expected to encounter Alice here, of all places.
What a convenient coincidence…
Since Alice was with this group, it was now clear who the familiar-looking muscular white man was: the mercenary Carlos Olivera from Resident Evil 2!
Since Carlos was alive and traveling with Alice, Vincent could confirm that the timeline in Zone 2 was set around Resident Evil 3.
"Hey, pal, who are you? Why'd you stop us?"
Carlos stood facing Vincent, casually asking the question. Perhaps because Vincent was alone, Carlos relaxed his vigilance, not even bothering to flick off the safety of his M416 assault rifle.
Surprisingly, though Carlos spoke English, Vincent understood him perfectly, even able to respond naturally. Vincent had never learned English before, so clearly this was a perk provided by Zone 2 itself.
From the moment he entered this world, it seemed all language barriers had instantly vanished a truly incredible phenomenon.
"I mean no harm. I need your help," Vincent replied.
Hearing this, Carlos lazily shrugged and asked, "Why don't you tell us what's troubling you first? If it's a small issue, we're happy to lend a hand."
In other words, if it's a big problem, forget it.
"I want to go to Raccoon City," Vincent said straightforwardly. "Can you give me a ride?"
The instant Raccoon City was mentioned, both Carlos and Alice's expressions darkened.
They didn't exactly have fond memories of Raccoon City.
A year ago, they barely managed to escape that nightmarish city alive.
Carlos, initially a mercenary working for the Umbrella Corporation, was sent to Raccoon City to rescue survivors. Instead, he encountered an unprecedented viral outbreak, lost most of his comrades, and barely escaped with his own life.
As for Alice, she had even less reason to return: her lover had died there, and she'd had to watch helplessly as the city was turned to ashes by a nuclear strike.
Raccoon City was nothing but pain a place neither of them ever wished to revisit.
"What do you want in Raccoon City?"
This time, it was Alice who questioned him. Her eyes locked firmly onto Vincent, clearly trying to gauge his true intentions.
Vincent inwardly smiled but externally adopted a resolute and heroic demeanor:
"I want to infiltrate Umbrella's real headquarters beneath Raccoon City, retrieve the T-virus antidote, and save this damned world!"
Alice shook her head in disappointment. "You don't need to go there. There's nothing left."
She was clearly referring to the nuclear strike. Indeed, the surface of Raccoon City had been reduced to rubble.
"No," Vincent firmly insisted, "according to the intel I've obtained, Umbrella's true headquarters still exist deep beneath the ruins, in the lowest levels of the Hive. That's where Umbrella's leadership and the T-virus antidote remain hidden."
His voice was filled with certainty.
Naturally, Vincent had revealed this information deliberately.
From the moment he recognized Alice, Vincent had hatched a plan to exploit her protagonist's aura. He intended to lure Alice back into the Hive beneath Raccoon City, using her to help him complete his own mission.
After all, in the world of Resident Evil, Alice was undeniably the chosen protagonist, the one blessed by fate itself!
With her overwhelming plot armor, she was an invaluable ally to have in the perilous Hive. If Alice could lead the way, facing traps and danger first, Vincent's own success rate would skyrocket by at least thirty percent!
Indeed, she was the perfect cannon fodder!