[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 585 - Ashley's Overflowing Confidence

"I'll go!"

Everyone turned.

Ashley came striding over from the direction of the Administration Building, dressed in a lightweight Tactical Vest.

Her chin was high, eyes carrying an unmistakable air of swelling confidence.

She'd integrated the Solar Stairway too. Her body had already undergone a complete transformation.

Watching Leon's display of power from upstairs just now had ignited her competitive streak on the spot.

The way she figured it, they'd both used the virus. So why did Leon get to be so impressive? She wasn't any worse.

"Has she lost her mind?" Claire Redfield asked Jill Valentine under her breath.

Jill crossed her arms and watched the scene with quiet interest.

"Just enjoy the show."

Ashley walked up to Leon and rolled her shoulders.

"Leon, don't think you're the only one who's evolved." She balled her fist. "Heh. The strength I have now even scares me."

"You sure about that?" Leon looked at her eager, raring-to-go expression and found it mildly amusing.

"Of course." Ashley dropped into a fighting stance. "Come on. Let me show you what I've got."

The words had barely left her mouth.

Ashley's right leg slammed into the ground and she launched herself forward like an arrow off a bowstring.

The speed was something else entirely, no ordinary human could generate a burst like that. The air split with a sharp, cutting shriek in her wake.

She swung her right fist straight at Leon's chest.

A punch like that landing on a normal person would have snapped several ribs outright.

But she wasn't hitting a normal person.

Leon didn't even shift his feet.

At the exact instant Ashley's fist was about to make contact with his skin, Leon turned his body slightly and raised his left hand with complete nonchalance.

SLAP!

One crisp sound.

His palm clamped onto her wrist with pinpoint precision.

Ashley felt as though every ounce of force she'd loaded into that punch had just slammed into an iron mountain poured solid with concrete. Every last bit of momentum vanished in an instant, without so much as rocking Leon's body a fraction.

"A little slow," Leon said. "You need more practice."

He gave her no time to react. His wrist flipped, and he yanked her back along the very line of her charge. His right leg swept in and lightly hooked her ankle.

Ashley lost her balance completely, her vision spinning end over end through the air.

THUD!

Her back hit the dirt hard.

Before she could even struggle up, Leon had already pressed down on top of her. His right knee pinned precisely onto her abdomen. Both hands gripped her wrists and drove her arms flat against the ground on either side of her head.

A dead angle. No leverage, no escape. And a deeply humiliating position to boot.

The crushing weight and absolute force disparity left Ashley completely unable to move.

"Let go of me!"

Her face flushed red. She twisted and writhed, trying to break free from this maddening, humiliating pin as fast as she could.

But she discovered with grim despair that the mutant strength she was so proud of was nothing but an ant trying to topple an oak tree in front of this man.

Leon looked down at her from above.

"What, did you really think eating that stuff meant you could do whatever you wanted?"

"Explosive power is only the baseline."

"Without combat technique and muscle memory to back it up, all that raw strength is just a walking target full of holes in front of anyone who actually knows what they're doing."

Ashley could barely breathe, her chest heaving hard.

They were extremely close. The sheer pressure rolling off him hit her like a wave, and her face went even redder. She swallowed. The last of her arrogance guttered out completely.

"I get it!" She bit her lower lip. "Surrendering isn't enough for you?!"

"Do you actually surrender?"

"I actually surrender! Now get off me — you weigh a ton!"

"Say it louder. I didn't hear you."

"I SURRENDER!"

Ashley stopped fighting entirely.

Only then did Leon release her wrists and stand up, giving her a casual pat as he did.

Ashley climbed to her feet, rubbing her reddened wrists, and slunk off to one side.

She didn't dare make any more trouble.

Playtime was over. Time to get down to real business.

Leon picked his shirt up off the ground and pulled it on.

He turned toward William Birkin.

"Get ready." His eyes went dead serious. "I'm going right now to find that perfect vessel for you."

William pushed his glasses up and gave a firm nod. "As long as you can find her, leave the rest to me."

Leon said nothing more. He turned and walked toward the communications building, all the way up to the room at the top floor.

An entire wall was covered in radio receivers and signal amplification equipment.

He pulled over a chair, sat down, and switched on the main console.

Adjusted the frequency dial.

Picked up the microphone.

"This is the Dog Kennel. Calling Citizen Z."

A burst of sharp electromagnetic interference crackled through the radio.

A few seconds later, the static cleared.

A young voice came through the Loudspeaker, barely keeping its excitement contained.

"Northern Lights receiving!"

Simon's voice was loud, underscored by the rapid clatter of keyboard keys.

"God, Boss. You finally called."

In a sealed listening station somewhere deep in the far north, Simon sat bundled in a thick military coat at a console buried under screens. A Husky named Dog lay sleeping at his feet.

The place was completely cut off from the world. No Walkers to worry about. But the loneliness was the kind that could drive a person mad.

Every time Leon made contact, it was the one thing that reminded Simon he was still connected to the human race.

"I'm fine," Leon said into the mic. "How are things on your end? Satellite access still up?"

"Things are great here — satellites are absolutely still up!" Simon took a bite of his chocolate bar. "Most of the Military's comms satellites are under my control now. Give me coordinates and I can read the date on a coin lying on the ground."

"Good." Leon leaned forward, gaze sharp and focused. "I need you to run a wide-area sweep for me. Full carpet coverage."

Simon's fingers flew across the keyboard. "Tell me what you're looking for — survivor camps or a large-scale horde?" He was already staring at the massive holographic globe spinning to life in front of him.

"Neither."

"I'm looking for a mutant."

Simon paused.

"A Walker? Boss, they're everywhere out there. How am I supposed to pinpoint one for you?"

"She's different."

"The target I'm looking for goes by the codename Lisa Trevor."

Leon began laying out her description.

"An extremely severe mutant. Height around one-eighty, but she's in a constant state of severe hunchback. Both hands are bound with heavy wooden stocks or iron chains." He paused. "Most distinctive feature: several layers of human skin masks have been sewn directly onto her head and face."

"The overall appearance is extremely horrifying."

➤ Next: An Unexpected Discovery