What does a person need to become a hero?

A guide. A cause. A villain.

A guide to introduce the person to a new world and give him some protection or aid.

A cause to fight for and to support the person through all the hardship.

A villain to hate, to fight, and eventually to kill.

Jean wanted to make Carl a hero. She was already his guide. For the last day she had already provided him with most of the help he would need to win. He was merged with t-virus on a cellular level, thus giving him a number of power including rapid healing and superhuman reflexes. He had a group of loyal followers around him, like Alice and Rain. He was pretty much adapted to the new world. As far as she knew there wasn’t any extremely overpowered enemy around him. If he still died, well, it’s time to find another voyager. Jean needed someone like Carl, but that person didn’t necessarily have to be Carl.

Now she just needed to leave and let Carl work alone, both to improve his judgment and so Jean could get more profit elsewhere. The attack gave her a perfect chance to get away. Jean casually got taken down by a tranquilizer dart in the neck after placing a small trick on Carl to keep a tab on him.

At the same time, the attack also served as a cause. Carl’s best friend was just captured by Umbrella. Shouldn’t he be pissed off and see taking down Umbrella and saving her as his ultimate goal? This cause should be enough to get him through most obstacles and mental blocks. One shot, two kills. Whoever ordered the hit just did her a great favor.

Now she just needs to thank him or her personally.

Jean felt herself being carried by two soldiers. Even though her eyes were shut and she was technically knocked out, she could still sense everything going on around her. Everything was perfectly under control. She was brought into a tent that seemed like a temporary base. She knew she was still in Racoon City and she was attacked by Umbrella soldiers, so she should be in the Umbrella base outside the city.

“We will leave her restrained in the tent.” Out of nowhere, both guards suddenly whispered. What the hell?

The two guards left laid Jean down next to a metal pole. Two pairs of handcuffs attached her arms to the pole. As it was done, they silently walked away.

This was odd. As far as Jean knew, the tent was empty. Whoever ordered the attack was still not present. The strange words of the guards were also odd. Not having something better to do, Jean laid in where she was and pretended to be knocked out.

“You can stop acting now. We both know you’re awake.” A mocking voice suddenly came from within the tent that should be empty. Jean quickly scanned every inch of the tent again, much more carefully than before. This time she, barely, saw a man. He wore a grey jacket and a cold smirk. Jean could sense a dangerous feeling from the man. This was no pretense. With the full might of her power, she actually felt threatened.

Seeing no response, the man smirked again. “Well, in that case…” Jean suddenly felt a burning pain in her head. She uncontrollably screamed and stood up. The metal cuff was unintentionally ripped apart.

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The man frowned. He had complete confidence in his strength. That attack wasn’t exactly his full power, but it wasn’t a fake one either. As powerful as he was psychically, the hit should’ve maimed, if not killed, the girl. A short scream wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. The fact that the metal handcuffs broke with little difficulty also hinted the girl was not just a random voyager who got lucky and got by her first mission. She certainly had some talents. The man suddenly felt like he kidnapped the wrong person.

Instantly, ignoring the pain in her head, Jean leaped toward the man. Not every psychic was also a warrior. In fact, most psychic were extremely vulnerable physically. Very few upgrades improved both the mind and the body. If she could get on top of him, he would quickly transform from the hunter to the hunted.

The man was certainly experienced in terms of combat. He stepped back quickly, shocked but not frightened, to maintain a relatively safe distance. Using the time he brought by backing up, the man sent psychic power strong enough to make someone mad into Jean’s mind.

The man was clever. This girl that seemed so vulnerable the entire time in the Hive and in Racoon City was certainly putting up an act. From what he just saw in the last several second there was no way she could be wounded by a licker. He didn’t know why she did that, not that it mattered. He also didn’t know if his psychic power could kill Jean instantly. He only had one chance. If he missed or failed the girl would rip him apart, so he tried something smarter. He tried to create a hallucination field in Jean’s mind, trapping her in a world he crafted. The fact that someone was psychically strong didn’t mean they were mentally strong as well. Once he had met a formidable foe who also withstood his psychic power, but the man fell almost instantly when he was placed in a hallucination field. Reliving his worst moment in life over and over again crushed his spirit and made him completely defenseless against outside attacks. A bullet in the head ended his life. The man got quite the looting from that enemy, so he remembered that encounter quite well.

Immediately, Jean stood still. Her gaze turned dull. Xel’naga were powerful in all fronts, but whoever this man was he was good. Really good. Even her celestial power couldn’t completely stop his attack. Jean suspected even the queen of blades would be killed instantly by the man.

Yet the man’s origin and power was the least of Jean’s concern. Immediately, she found herself no longer in the tent but instead in a familiar white room.

She knew this place to well.

Every lurker did.

In the physical world, the man grinned, tired but satisfied. Trapping Jean wasn’t easy, the action costed most of his energy and was still continuously draining his energy to maintain the hallucination, but it was paying off. The girl was completely defenseless.

The man took out a pistol from a holster on his belt. He wanted to capture Jean not only because she was a voyager but also because of another reason, but the recent change of event was enough to make him abandon the previous plan and end the girl right here right now. He knew she couldn’t be controlled or captured. Perhaps the most decisive and experienced voyager Jean has ever met, he acted without hesitation or remorse and did what had to be done.

Pointing the bullet at the girl’s smooth forehead, the man pulled the trigger until he emptied clip. The girl’s carefully crafted face brought no sympathy in the man’s thoughts. The sound of bullets clashing with human flesh brought a satisfied grin to the man’s face.

So what if she kept well hidden and tricked even him? So what if she held against his psychic attack? So what if she almost killed him? In the end, she was the killed and he was the killer. Like always, he ended up victorious.

The biggest difference between a winner and a loser was that winners enjoy the victory after killing his enemy. Losers enjoy their victory before the enemy was truly down. The man considered himself a winner.

And then he realized the girl’s forehead was not even grazed. A mountain of bullets covered the floor. The bronze colored shell mocked his ignorance.

The man’s expression turned very sad.