[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 733 - Direct Transformation!

Dr. Hanson watched Leon approach step by step, the pressure radiating from the top of the food chain nearly choking him.

He'd never imagined this. A national treasure scientist, honored guest of the President himself, backed into a corner by some unknown bastard.

"I... I was wrong..."

The muscle-bound figure closed in. Hanson felt the beating coming.

He grasped what mattered. Dignity could go to hell. He pressed his hands together and begged.

"What do you want? Supplies? Women? Just let me go and I... I can make the President give you anything..."

"We're close. He won't refuse me."

Leon stopped in front of him, looking down.

Then Leon lifted his right foot slightly.

Hanson's gaze followed without thinking.

Something black, about finger-length, was crawling out from Leon's pant leg.

It looked like a leech. Its body glistened under the lights, slick and wet.

Hanson's brain stalled.

What the hell is that?

Why is there a leech in his pants?

Before the thought finished, the black thing arched like a compressed spring and launched.

Fast enough to blur.

Hanson didn't even manage a cry. Just blinding pain stabbing through his nose.

The leech had shot straight into his nostril.

"AHHH!"

The scream finally tore free.

Dr. Hanson clutched his face and thrashed on the floor.

He could feel it. Something alive, wriggling deep in his nasal cavity, chewing, burrowing upward toward his brain.

Worse than any torture.

He clawed at his face with his fingers. Nails raked bloody lines across his skin. Useless.

He started slamming his head against the lab table. THUD. THUD. THUD. Trying to shake the thing loose.

Leon watched from the side, expressionless.

He'd developed two modes for Mutant conversion now.

One could preserve emotion, like Ada.

The other was Hanson.

Hanson's struggle lasted less than 10 seconds.

Then all movement stopped.

A few seconds later, he sat up slowly.

Every human emotion drained from his face.

His gaze went vacant. Pupils lost focus. Like someone had yanked his soul out in one go, leaving only a shell that could be piloted.

He stood, walked to Leon, lowered his head. A robot waiting for commands.

Leon pointed at the half tomato on the floor, the one Hanson had thrown away himself.

"Eat it."

Hanson didn't hesitate.

He bent down, picked up the dust-covered tomato, stuffed it in his mouth, chewed, swallowed.

No expression the entire time.

Good.

Leon walked to the locked metal door and hit the unlock button.

CLICK!

The heavy composite door slid open.

From entry to exit, less than a minute had passed.

...

Outside the lab.

President Arthur paced like a caged lion.

He couldn't hear a thing from inside. That soundproof door blocked everything.

Which only made it worse.

One minute. It felt like a century.

He'd already prepared for the worst. Ready to order the guards to break the door down.

Then it opened.

Leon walked out wearing that same unruffled expression, like he'd just stopped in for tea.

Arthur's gaze shot past Leon's shoulder.

Dr. Hanson followed him out.

His expensive white coat was covered in dust. Fresh blood streaked his face.

But he stood straight. His expression calm. Eerily calm.

Arthur's heart sank.

Had it fallen apart?

No. Looking at Hanson, it didn't seem like it had fallen apart.

"Leon... this..."

Arthur's mouth opened. He didn't know how to ask.

"Let's talk inside, Mr. President."

Leon stepped aside, clearing the doorway.

Arthur hesitated, then walked in.

He looked at Leon. Then at Hanson, standing rooted like a wooden post.

"What happened to him?"

"Nothing." Leon walked to the control console and pulled over a chair. "He just came to his senses."

Arthur clearly didn't believe it.

He walked up to Hanson and spoke carefully. "Dr. Hanson?"

Hanson's eyes shifted. His gaze focused on Arthur's face.

"What are your orders, Mr. President?"

Arthur's skin crawled.

"I just wanted to ask about Atlanta..."

"No problem." The answer came impossibly fast.

"I can leave whenever you need. I'll follow all arrangements."

Arthur stared.

A minute ago this man had been screaming about public apologies and refusing everything. Now this?

Too fast.

"What about your nephew?" Arthur pressed.

Hanson's face stayed blank. "My duty is to serve the rebuilding of civilization. Personal matters should not override national interests."

Lofty words. Righteous words.

Coming from Hanson's mouth, they sent ice through Arthur's veins.

He sensed it keenly. This wasn't as simple as "came to his senses."

This Hanson wasn't the original Hanson anymore.

Leon stood and walked over to Hanson.

"Dr. Hanson, you called me a crude brute earlier, didn't you?"

Hanson's body trembled slightly. He lowered his head.

"Yes, Mr. Leon. I apologize for my rudeness."

"No need." Leon patted his shoulder. "I just want you to understand yourself more clearly."

Leon stepped back.

"Now. Kneel."

Arthur's pupils shrank.

Dr. Hanson didn't hesitate. His knees buckled. He dropped straight down in front of Leon.

THUD!

"Bark twice." Leon's voice stayed level.

"Woof."

"Woof."

Dr. Hanson lifted his head and looked at Leon. Then barked. Like a dog.

Arthur watched the absurd, horrifying scene unfold. The national treasure scientist who'd been arrogant and overbearing one second ago, now kneeling and barking.

His mind went blank.

He finally understood what Leon had meant by "you'll see an obedient dog."

Not a metaphor.

Reality.

What method had he used?

Hypnosis? Drugs? Or something even more incomprehensible?

Arthur didn't dare think about it. Didn't dare ask.

He just looked at Leon. The man who'd orchestrated all of this. His eyes filled with something unprecedented and complex.

Fear. Awe. And a trace of excitement he didn't want to admit even to himself.

A monumental problem, solved.

In a way he couldn't understand at all. But effective. Extremely effective.

He started playing dumb.

The problem was solved. Did the process still matter?

It didn't.

What mattered was whether Leon's method only worked on Hanson.

In the bunker, there was more than one "noble lord" like Hanson who thought too highly of themselves and didn't follow orders.

If each of them could become as obedient as Hanson...

How much faster would the rebuilding plan move?

Arthur's heartbeat picked up.

The way he looked at Leon changed. No longer just a powerful man. Or his son-in-law.

An ultimate weapon.

A weapon that could sweep away every obstacle and rebuild a new order built on absolute obedience.

"Leon." Arthur took a slow breath. He stepped forward, his face settling back into the President's gentle smile.

He didn't help the kneeling Hanson up. Didn't even glance at him.

"I think we need to have a good talk." Arthur looked at Leon. "About the ideological work problem with the other experts."

➤ Next: Arthur Behaving Strangely