Chapter 31: I want you. Now!

Gunfire continued to echo across the campus. A total of eight reincarnations had invaded—four of them had died underground, leaving only four still fighting above ground.

Rushing toward the source of the gunfight, Tristan encountered two more reincarnators' watches along the way, which he didn't forget to put away to get more points.

At this moment, on the rooftop, Wesker had a gun pointed at his head by one of the reincarnators. Jill stood in front of him, drawing her own weapon and pointing at the reincarnator.

"Let him go. I can guarantee your safety." Jill demanded in a steady voice.

"Cut the crap!"

The crazed man yelled and pressed the gun harder against Wesker's temple, his other hand gripping a remote controller.

"Give us Dr. Mueller, and we'll leave. Otherwise, I'll blow up this place!"

The rest of the tactical team had spread out and were focused on defusing the bomb and evacuating the remaining students.

For the moment, no backup was in sight, so Jill held her stance, unwavering as she faced down the reincarnator.

But in the heat of the moment, she forgot that there were not one, but two reincarnators here—the second one had already crept behind her with his gun raised and aimed at her.

Unfortunately, by the time Jill barely sensed the presence behind her and turned to confront the reincarnator—

Bang!

The situation had gone from bad to worse—and the shot was fired.

In that instant, as she realized the danger, the world slowed down, and she almost felt her life flash past her eyes. But just when she thought it was over, Tristan suddenly appeared, diving toward her.

He pulled her into his arms, rolling them both across the ground, narrowly dodging the bullet. With inhuman agility, he aimed with his own gun and fired, landing a shot directly in the reincarnator's heart.

Bang!

"Tristan!" Jill gasped, still in shock.

She thought for sure she was dead, but she never expected Tristan to appear so suddenly and pull her back from the mouth of death, putting his life on the line.

At least, that's how it seemed to her.

For Tristan though, with his senses far beyond human limits, everything was moving in slow motion, and there was no real danger for him.

Of course, he wasn't about to tell Jill that, or else, how would he take advantage of this tsundere woman?

Meanwhile, as Tristan and Jill were having their own moment, Wesker took advantage of the distraction and successfully twisted out of the way of the gun pointed at him. Then he used his superior combat skills to snap the reincarnator's neck.

Thud!

As the body fell, Wesker couldn't shake a creeping sense of unease. What unnerved him more was the way the bodies of these culprits disintegrated into ash upon death, and they seemed capable of using the kind of magic he'd only heard about in legends.

Nothing made sense, and he felt like he had entered a different world.

"Tristan, are you okay?"

On the other side, Jill asked as she helped Tristan to his feet. The concern in her eyes made it clear how deeply his actions had affected her.

"I'm fine, just need a moment to rest. There were four more underground, and they're dead too," Tristan replied, feigning exhaustion.

He stood up, wobbling slightly to add depth to his acting, and casually walked over to where the reincarnators' bodies had disappeared. Squatting down as if to inspect the area, he discreetly pocketed their watches, ensuring Jill and Wesker—who were busy searching for clues themselves—didn't notice.

While his actions went unnoticed, Tristan couldn't suppress a lingering doubt. He quickly questioned the system in his mind.

'Hey, System, wouldn't these disappearing corpses cause problems for me? Also, wouldn't the Land of Death want to avoid exposing itself?'

[The host does not need to worry.]

[The issue wouldn't have arisen if their watches had remained behind. Those would have been used by the Land of Death as anchors to gradually erode this world from within.]

[However, due to the host's actions in collecting the watches, when the Land of Death detects a significant loss of points and achors, it will cease the disappearing phenomenon of the reincarnators' corpses.]

[The system cannot fully predict the Land of Death's plans but makes conclusions based on the available data and real-time analysis.]

[More detailed information is restricted until the host grows stronger and completes more missions.]

'So that's how it is... But won't it become harder for me to collect watches once their bodies stop disappearing?'

[Soon, the host will be able to earn points directly by killing reincarnators.]

Before Tristan could savor that information, Jill's sudden question snapped him back to reality.

"What are you thinking about? You looked so lost."

"Nothing... By the way, can you help me to the side to rest?" Tristan asked, pretending to be weak. Jill nodded and helped him move.

Seeing this, Wesker spoke up suddenly. "Jill, help him rest and call an ambulance."

With that, Wesker left, heading off to investigate the matter concerning Dr. Mueller. Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to switch jobs and finally leave Umbrella behind.

Neither Tristan nor Jill commented on Wesker's departure. After helping Tristan to the corridor, Jill turned her back to him, pulling out a bandage to tend to her own wounds while notifying others to call for an ambulance.

Seeing her busy, Tristan didn't disturb her and instead focused on the system messages flashing before his eyes.

[Points collected from reincarnators' watches: 12,000][Mission Completed]

[Mission Reward: System Storage Space (Unlocked)]

[Total Points: 15,000]

[Ding! You have eliminated all reincarnators.]

[Special Reward: One-purchase Normal Shop.]

Notification panels flashed one after the other, but Tristan barely glanced at them since they were all expected. Even the [System Storage Space] was something he'd used before—though back then, it only allowed him to store items from the system. Now he could store anything in it.

At the very least, it could hold T-virus samples with no problem.

Speaking of which, Tristan immediately turned his attention to the T-virus and asked the system to modify it.

[This sample is the third model of the T-virus. Modification will cost 1,000 points, and you can use it immediately after transformation. Proceed?]

'Yeah!'

A flash of light enveloped the sample, transforming it into a purer blue. His points decreased by another thousand, dropping to 14,000. But he didn't care—the remaining points were more than sufficient.

Without hesitation, Tristan used the modified T-virus. Instantly, a cold sensation spread through his body as the liquid coursed through his veins.

[Ding! You have used the modified T-virus sample.]

[Ding! A conflict with current techniques is detected.]

[Readjusting...]

[Adjustment successful. Host's abilities have been enhanced.]

"Haaa~"

Tristan let out a long breath as a sudden rush of strength flowed through him. His body felt light, filled with a powerful, hot energy that demanded an outlet to vent urgently.

And fortunately for him, an outlet stood right in front of him.

Without hesitation, Tristan sneaked up behind Jill and wrapped his arms around her.

"Jill, I can't stand it anymore, I've been away from you for so long... I can't hold back any longer. I want you. Now."

Before she could respond, Tristan spun her around and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her with an intensity that left no room for refusal.

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