[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 732 - You Know How to Apologize Now? I'm Afraid It's a Little Too Late

But as he laughed, he suddenly noticed the smile on Leon's face slowly fading.

Because that small flame of anger at the bottom of Leon's heart had finally been fanned into full blaze by this pampered, well-fed pig.

All because this insufferable bastard had been playing hard to get, Leon and Ada and the others had been stuck in Washington for this long, with nothing to do but deal with Alexandria's mess just to kill time.

Otherwise, last week Dr. Hanson would have already packed his bags and followed Leon back to the prison in Atlanta, maybe even started figuring out how to make crops grow in that barren soil.

Why did it have to drag on until now?

Dr. Hanson clearly had no idea what kind of devil he'd provoked.

That pitiful scrap of anger in him ignited completely the moment Leon tossed the tomato.

This wasn't just about a ruined experimental specimen.

This was his dignity as a top-tier scientist being publicly trampled underfoot by some unknown savage.

"Mr. President!"

Dr. Hanson spun sharply toward Arthur, not even bothering to look at Leon anymore.

He thrust out a fat finger, pointing in Leon's direction from across the room, his voice shrill.

"I don't care who sent this man or what his identity is!"

"But he doesn't respect science, and he doesn't respect me!"

"I absolutely refuse to serve some crude barbarian who doesn't even understand basic courtesy!"

"I take back every promise I made! I refuse to go to that godforsaken place called Atlanta."

"Now, unless you throw him out and make him publicly apologize to me in front of everyone in this bunker, we have nothing left to discuss!"

Dr. Hanson slapped the ultimatum right in Arthur's face.

Arthur's temples throbbed.

He was genuinely rattled.

He'd imagined a hundred possible scenarios for Leon and Hanson's first meeting, even prepared himself for Leon using heavy-handed tactics.

But he never expected Leon to slam the door on all negotiation right from the start in such a near-insulting way.

How were they supposed to talk now?

The man had been pushed to his breaking point.

"Dr. Hanson, please calm down!"

Leon was Ashley's boyfriend after all, practically one of their own. Arthur quickly stepped forward. Whatever presidential authority he normally carried vanished entirely in that moment. He looked for all the world like a community worker trying to mediate a family dispute.

"Leon, well, he's just like this, a bit blunt, but I guarantee he meant absolutely no harm."

"No harm?" Dr. Hanson looked like he'd just heard the most absurd joke of his life.

"He destroyed the newest cultivar I spent three months developing right in front of my face, then told me 'it tastes average,' and you're calling that no harm?"

Arthur was left completely speechless.

He looked toward Leon with a pleading expression, hoping Leon might say something to smooth things over.

Even if it was just for show, they had to break this deadlock first.

Leon acted as though he hadn't even seen Arthur's look.

He simply walked to the laboratory's control console.

"Mr. President."

Leon didn't turn around. Arthur's half-formed words of reconciliation died in his throat.

"Step outside for a few minutes."

Arthur froze.

Step outside?

Leave the two of them alone in here, two powder kegs?

This entire laboratory would explode.

"Leon, we..."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Please step outside." Leon cut him off.

"Come back in a little while."

The corner of Leon's mouth pulled into a barely visible cold smirk.

"You'll find an obedient dog."

The words were quiet.

But in the silence of the laboratory they landed like a bomb.

A dog?

Arthur looked into Leon's eyes, bottomless, unreadable, and a chill shot straight up his spine.

He didn't doubt for a single second that this Leon was absolutely capable of turning a nationally irreplaceable scientist into a "dog."

Dr. Hanson was shaking with fury.

He obviously knew Leon was referring to him.

"You... you dare..."

"Mr. President?" Leon ignored Hanson's roar and simply looked at Arthur, repeating himself.

Arthur glanced at Hanson, who was about to explode, then at Leon, who was calm in a way that was utterly terrifying.

Reason told him he should stay and stop whatever disaster was about to unfold.

But the instincts honed over decades in the corridors of power were screaming at him to leave.

He should hand this place over to Leon.

Arthur drew a long, heavy breath. In the end he chose to trust his instincts and to trust his daughter's judgment.

"Alright." He nodded once.

"I'll wait for you outside."

With that, Arthur didn't hesitate any longer. He turned and walked out of the laboratory with quick, deliberate steps.

Hanson watched Arthur's silhouette disappear behind the door. The fury on his face was gradually replaced by the smug satisfaction of a man who believed he'd won.

In his mind, the President's departure was a form of surrender.

Why? Because Leon had spoken to the President that way, so the President must be furious.

This arrogant savage who didn't know his place had ultimately provoked everyone against him.

"Now even the President is done with you."

Hanson reassumed the air of a scholar. He straightened his lab coat and looked down at Leon with open condescension.

"You can get out too. Go prepare your written apology."

"But before you leave, make sure you clean up my floor and my trash can."

He pointed at the half-eaten tomato that had been discarded.

Leon said nothing. He simply walked to the laboratory's large metal door.

Reached out and pressed the red emergency lock button on the inside.

Click.

A dull, heavy mechanical clunk.

The composite-material door, 20 centimeters thick, slowly ground shut, sealing the laboratory off from the outside world entirely.

The red glow of emergency lights blinked on along the edges of the door frame, staining this "sky garden" in an ominous, blood-red hue.

The smug satisfaction on Hanson's face froze solid.

"You... what do you think you're doing?"

He stepped back one pace. That sense of dread grew stronger and stronger.

"I'm warning you, every inch of this place has surveillance! If you lay a finger on me, the President will never forgive you! I am a scientist!"

"Surveillance?" Leon looked as though he'd heard something amusing.

He walked to the monitoring console and looked at the dozens of split-screen feeds displayed on it.

Then he reached out his hand.

Not to press any button, but to press his bare palm flat against that solid screen.

CRACKLE—

A blinding burst of electrical sparks exploded outward! Every screen on the entire console went to static all at once, then a curl of black, scorched smoke began to rise.

The acrid smell of burnt circuitry instantly replaced the fresh, clean scent of flowers and fruit that had filled the laboratory.

"There. No cameras now."

Leon withdrew his hand and brushed the ash from his palm.

Hanson froze, utterly dumbfounded.

He stared at the smoking console. Stared at the locked door. Then stared at the man advancing on him one step at a time.

He finally understood what was happening had completely left the bounds of his control.

This man hadn't come to negotiate.

He'd come here specifically to start trouble.

"Wait, you... don't come any closer!" Dr. Hanson's legs gave out beneath him. He gripped the lab bench behind him for support, and his voice took on a trembling, near-tearful pitch.

"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you! Seeds! Technology! I'll give you everything!"

"I'll even let go of your rudeness just now! I... I apologize to you!"

Leon shook his head.

"Where was all this from the start? You could've just done your job without the fuss. It's too late now."

➤ Next: Direct Transformation!