The Journey of Resident Evil - Chapter 18 - Chaos Symphony (Part 1)

In the Shen Family reception room.

After a lovely maid served us tea, the reception room fell into a heavy silence, creating a very oppressive atmosphere. At that moment, the only people in the room were Xueqi, Shen Fei, and me. But after calling us here, Shen Fei remained silent, simply sipping the tea brought by the maid.

Clearly, I wasn’t used to such an atmosphere, so I shot a glance at Xueqi, only to find that she, too, was silently sipping her tea like Shen Fei. This left me at a loss for words, and I had no choice but to pick up my teacup and sip as well, pretending I knew how to savor it.

After about five minutes, Shen Fei finally put down his teacup and chuckled, “Not bad, young people with such composure are rare nowadays.”

Xueqi smiled and said, “Uncle Shen, you didn’t call us here just to test our composure, did you?” Hearing this, Shen Fei laughed heartily and took a sword, about one and a half meters long, from the rack beside him, handing it to Xueqi. “Take a look at this.”

Xueqi extended her sleeves, and, using them to shield her hands, accepted the sword with both hands. As Shen Fei handed over the sword, he remarked, “I’ve heard Teacher Xue’s daughter is a swordsman not inferior to him. In that case, no, as a woman, acting righteously in swordsmanship would not desecrate this sword even if you touched it directly.” Xueqi simply nodded lightly and drew the sword from its sheath.

As the sword was unsheathed, Xueqi’s pupils noticeably contracted, clearly shocked by this sword. “Could this sword be…”

Shen Fei said, “Oh? You recognize this sword?”

Xueqi completely unsheathed it, closely examining it, nodded, and said, “This is a katana, 1.5 meters in length, with a shallow back and the tip of the blade casts a strange blue glow. Most importantly, it carries a very heavy scent of blood, indicating it has claimed the lives of at least a hundred people. It should be the legendary demonic sword-Celestial Wolf, but I wonder how this famed sword came to be…”

Shen Fei laughed heartily, “You truly are Teacher Xue’s daughter. Though I saw you only once as a child, I never imagined that now, whether in knowledge or beauty, you’d be so outstanding! To be able to recognize this sword!”

Noticing that Shen Fei didn’t intend to explain its origins, Xueqi didn’t press him further. She respectfully presented the sword back to Shen Fei, saying, “Thank you, Uncle Shen, for your compliments and for allowing me to witness this masterpiece!” However, Shen Fei didn’t take the sword back but instead smiled, “This sword hasn’t claimed a hundred lives but a thousand. The man who wielded it centuries ago was a legendary swordsman known for cutting down a thousand men. And now, it belongs to you.”

Xueqi frowned and placed the sword beside Shen Fei, saying, “Please forgive my rudeness, but I cannot accept this without a proper reason.” Shen Fei smiled and said, “I once received guidance in swordsmanship from Teacher Xue, so I thought of using this sword as a return gift. However, I suppose you wouldn’t accept that reason.”

With a serious expression, Xueqi said, “In that case, this sword should be given to my father.”

Hearing Xueqi’s words, Shen Fei slapped his thigh and laughed heartily, “Hahaha! You truly are Teacher Xue’s daughter. I have to confess the truth.”

“I apologize.”

“No need to apologize. You might have guessed it concerns my wayward daughter.”

“Indeed, I once saved your daughter, but it was her fortune that allowed me to escape death. If it’s about protecting her, wouldn’t it be better to keep her by your side?”

Shen Fei looked at Xueqi approvingly and said, “Like father, like daughter.”

“If she isn’t to stay by your side, why not entrust her to Tiankuang here? He is universally acknowledged as our captain.”

“Ahahaha…” Initially, it seemed like Shen Fei and Xueqi were leading the conversation without involving me. Just as I picked up my teacup, taking a sip, I was startled when Xueqi mentioned me, suggesting entrusting Shen Wei to me. That sounded so odd! If Liu Yonglin heard this, it’s a wonder if he wouldn’t shoot me on sight! And since when did I become the captain?!

Shen Fei gave Tiankuang a deep look and shook his head, saying, “No, this child still harbors confusion in his heart.” Xueqi shook her head and said, “I don’t understand.”

Then Shen Fei directed his sharp gaze at me and said, “Regarding your parents and other matters, you remain confused.”

My parents? And other matters?

I immediately stood up in urgency and said, “Do you know my parents?!” Shen Fei nodded solemnly and said, “I will explain it to you in private, young man, don’t be so impulsive. Sit down for now.”

My parents, how could he know? Why did my parents abandon me? And what are these other matters he mentioned? Could it be about my steel claw form? Countless questions flashed through my mind, and I didn’t even pay attention to what Shen Fei and Xueqi discussed afterward. I just knew that in the end, Xueqi left with the demonic sword Celestial Wolf.

Seeing that Xueqi had left, Shen Fei smiled at me and said, “You really look like your father did when he was young.”

It seems he was an old acquaintance of my father. He must know about my parents! I couldn’t let this chance slip by. I took a deep breath to calm myself and then asked, “You and my father were…?” Shen Fei looked up at the ceiling, reminiscing slowly, “Yes, your father, your mother, and I were once the best of friends. We worked together at a research institute, but eighteen years ago, your mother passed away giving birth to you. After that, your father completely changed. He became obsessed with his experiments, but I never knew what he was researching. It seems his research eventually succeeded, but for some reason, he took you and the research results and tried to escape from the institute. However, he failed, and your father was secretly executed!”

Hearing this left me utterly shocked. My parents were already… But what kind of place was this research institute that could execute people so easily? However, no matter what, those who killed my father won’t get away! I will seek revenge on them, for sure!!

I was about to ask more questions, but Shen Fei stopped me. He sighed deeply and said, “And you were taken back to the institute until three years ago when you were finally released. I don’t know the reason why. After your father’s incident, I applied for a transfer and was eventually assigned here, but had to start from scratch. It took eighteen years of effort to get where I am today. When you were brought out of the institute, you were sent to me, and I arranged for you to attend TP High School. The house you live in at FZ City was purchased by me for you.”

“What?! I was only released from the institute three years ago?!”

If his earlier words filled me with anger, Shen Fei’s recent revelations left me utterly shocked! How is that possible? If I was released from the institute just three years ago, then what about all those memories from my childhood? And what about Qimeng? She was my secret crush since junior high school! This is unbelievable! Although I’d had some strange dreams before… along with other odd occurrences, but I never connected them to this!

Seeing my expression of surprise, Shen Fei couldn’t help but sigh, “I never imagined that the research I was once involved in was actually successful…” “The research you were involved in?” “Yes, it was a project with the code name ‘Dream,’ concerning memory modification. Memory modification, as the name suggests, I think you understand its implications.”

Memory modification! So all those so-called memories in my mind are entirely-false!! What about my real memories? What exactly happened to me in that mysterious research institute? I have no idea. Could those bizarre dreams just be fragments of memories? And my horrifying steel claws form, it must be related to that research!

I believe that Shen Fei isn’t lying to me because he has no reason to deceive me!

Just as I was about to ask Shen Fei more about the mysterious research institute, he stopped me again, “I know you have many questions, but I can only tell you this much. As an official in Tian Chao, I must adhere to my principles. Since you’re the son of my dearest friend, I’ll give you one more hint: Blood Soul. In the capital of Tian Chao, you might uncover something. Of course, that’s only if you make it there alive.”

Blood Soul?! Just as I was feeling anxious and bewildered, the door to the reception room burst open. Ye Ling, Qimeng, Ye Xiang, Liu Yonglin, Xueyang, Shen Wei, and even Xueqi all tumbled in, with Shen Wei’s mother standing behind them. It seemed they had all been eavesdropping at the door, and when it suddenly opened, they fell in. Of course, I couldn’t blame them for listening in because I understood-they were worried about me.

Shen Fei was visibly annoyed, but before he could say anything, Shen Wei’s mother stepped forward and said, “Darling, those survivors seem a bit restless. Do you think you could…?” Shen Fei’s anger momentarily subsided, and after some thought, he said to Shen Wei, “Wei Er, you handle this situation.”

Huh? Everyone was puzzled by Shen Fei’s decision, except Shen Wei’s mother, who agreed, “Wei Er, please, darling. The survivors are really too wary.” Shen Wei, however, protested, “Why do I have to do this?”

To Shen Wei’s protest, Shen Fei calmly responded, “Because I believe my daughter isn’t someone who can’t be reasoned with.” We were worried Shen Wei might argue back, but she instead nodded quietly and said, “I understand. I’ll go.”

As soon as Liu Yonglin heard Shen Wei was going to persuade the survivors, he immediately grabbed his gun and said, “In that case, I’m going too!” Despite my many questions, I also said, “I’m going as well.” I figured Shen Fei wouldn’t say much more about it, but Blood Soul-I would remember it.

Seeing that I was going, Qimeng also started to say, “I’ll…” but Ye Ling, quickly cut her off, “You can’t. You still need to continue your massage treatment.” With that, Ye Ling cracked her knuckles, making a series of snapping sounds. Seeing Ye Ling’s stance, Qimeng immediately turned and ran, while Ye Ling giggled and chased after her. Meanwhile, Xueyang was taken to play by Shen Wei’s mother, who seemed to really adore the little girl.

…

Small Square.

In the small square, Shen Wei was struggling to persuade the group of survivors with her words. The man with the small mustache and the middle-aged woman were particularly hard to deal with.

Shen Wei was on the verge of losing her patience. “How many times do I have to tell you for you to understand? The so-called ‘rage virus’ is nonsense! There’s no scientific data about zombies at all! It’s obviously a lie from Tian Chao to prevent chaos from spreading!”

But the man with the mustache retorted, “How else do you explain corpses running around in the streets and eating people? Isn’t that ridiculous?!” The middle-aged woman chimed in, “Exactly! It must be something like a contagious disease!”

Shen Wei felt like she was about to explode but managed to hold her anger in. “Zombies and humans are completely different. Didn’t my father, Chairman Shen Fei, already explain this to you? Didn’t you see those horrifying things on the streets? Besides, why would we bother lying to you with some silly excuse?” Shen Wei’s sharp tongue was starting to break down even these stubborn individuals.

“Even if you say that, the facts are right in front of us. There has to be some explanation we can accept, right?”

“Yeah, this couldn’t have happened for no reason, could it?”

Now Shen Wei was genuinely furious, nearly on the verge of swearing. “If you want to believe that, suit yourselves! Even if there’s a reason, it’s not something amateurs like us can figure out! It needs experts in a setting where they can study it calmly! As for us, sorry, we can’t do it! Do you think you can?”

“Uh… well…”

“You can’t, can you?! Then just focus on not getting bitten and staying alive! There’s nothing more important than that right now! My father has already taught you how to survive…”

The middle-aged woman then sneered and struck back, “Heh, so this is what it comes down to, huh? Hanging around with those people carrying guns, despite being just a high school student! Listen up, everyone, this is how it is! They only use violence and threats! This girl is the daughter of that murderous man! And she wants to convince us to kill people!”

It’s truly baffling that this middle-aged woman could come up with such a ridiculous reason, but the problem is a whole bunch of idiots were actually buying it!!

“You…” I began to speak, but the middle-aged woman glared at me viciously, “Kids should stay out of grown-up matters!”

I couldn’t hold back my anger any longer and shouted, “Kids or not, we’ve survived crawling over corpses to get here, which is more than you self-righteous adults can say!”

The man with the mustache also shouted at me, “Shut up! This is something for adults to decide! Not for you youngsters, who are no better than beasts, reveling in violence! This is for us peace-loving adults!”

The middle-aged woman then turned to the other survivors and shouted, “Everyone, let’s come together and choose a representative! So we can provide humanitarian aid to those poor people…”

Mustache nodded in agreement, “Exactly! We must strive to resolve this issue without violence!” The middle-aged woman grew more passionate, “Volunteers! Let’s gather volunteers! We can cure those affected by the rage virus and seize this opportunity to create a truly free society!”

…

Looking at this bunch of fools, I was left speechless. Shaking my head, I said to Shen Wei and the others, “Let’s go. Reasoning with these idiots is pointless.” Liu Yonglin, holding his gun, sighed, “Didn’t expect to run into someone else just like Feng Hai…” Ye Xiang joked, “Maybe she’s Feng Hai’s mom!”

“Ha ha ha,” Ye Xiang’s comment lightened the mood a bit and quelled some of the anger.

However, the situation was quite dire. There were threats from within and without, and the once-calm waters of Shen Wei’s family were becoming turbulent. Plus, there was still Feng Hai lurking somewhere, an unpredictable wildcard we couldn’t ignore.

Looking at the group of dreamers indulging in their fantasies, I sighed, “I mean, do those people really not understand anything?”

Shen Wei snorted, “I think they’re all blind!”

But Xueqi said, “I kind of understand how they feel…”

Ye Xiang was puzzled, “What do you mean?”

“People tend not to look at things they don’t want to see.”

Liu Yonglin, holding his gun and with his head down, agreed, “Nobody wants to admit they’re wrong, so even when they understand what’s happening, they just stand by and do nothing.”

Shen Wei pursed her lips, “Yet even now, they refuse to admit what they’ve seen.”

Liu Yonglin turned his head to the side and continued, “Yeah, but at times like these, the first reaction in people’s minds is to wish everything would go back to how it was, even though they know from the start that it’s unlikely.”

Shen Wei agreed, “Because they don’t want to admit the changes in front of them, they won’t acknowledge their ignorance and mistakes.”

“Yeah, I realized that after going through so much at school,” Liu Yonglin added.

Shen Wei squinted at Liu Yonglin, making him nervous, but then she broke into a laugh, “Haha, Liu Yonglin, I see you in a slightly different light now.”

I stood there with my arms crossed, nodding along to their sensible conversation. After Shen Wei finished praising Liu Yonglin, she noticed my continuous nodding and asked curiously, “Tiankuang, what’s up with you? Are you on something?”

“You’re the one who’s on something! I’m just gaining some valuable insights.”

“Hehe,” Shen Wei chuckled slyly, “But now might not be the best time to reflect on that.”

Her comment made me blush, “What are you talking about? Although it’s a bit embarrassing, I admit it openly, don’t I?”

Shen Wei looked at Liu Yonglin and laughed, “That’s why everyone thinks that way.”

Liu Yonglin also laughed, “Yeah, maybe that’s how it is.”

But they were confusing me, “So, what exactly are you guys talking about?”

Xueqi laughed and patted my shoulder, “Did you forget? I mentioned in the reception room that you’re our captain!”

“Huh?”

“Hahahaha.”

Captain, huh… I won’t let down your trust. Chaos might be approaching, but I’ll take on the responsibility of being the captain. I will protect you all, my comrades, I promise!