Survival in the game world starts with Resident Evil 2

Chapter 726 Miranda's Trade Request
When Li You saw the person who called herself Miranda, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Because it is so different from what I imagined.

In her heyday, Miranda had extremely high authority granted by the fungus master and the power to control mold. She had extraordinary strength, an ageless face, and the ability to change into many different forms. She had lived for more than a hundred years.

But Miranda at this moment... Let's put it this way, in order to trick Ethan into falling into a trap, Miranda once transformed into an elderly woman with a hunched back and a slightly fat body in the game, but the person seen at this moment was even older than that disguised posture, and looked like she was half buried in the ground... no, like a living dead who had just been dug out of the grave.

Her body was emaciated, her hair was gray, her flesh was peeling off, and her limbs were broken. She didn't look like a living person at all. But the calcified mold on the other side of her body proved that she was infected.

Her condition was extremely bad, and Li You could tell at a glance that whether she was Miranda or not, her life was about to come to an end.

Rather, it was the fact that the mold power in this person's body had almost been exhausted, and Li You was somewhat surprised that she was still alive.

Moreover, she could still speak with her leaky mouth: "...Are you the...enemy that man mentioned? I...have something to tell you, alone..."

Her voice was extremely unpleasant, but it was still barely recognizable. Li You looked at her, and although he didn't think it was necessary, he still nodded to Carlos who was watching with his arms folded, and Carlos led the others out of the room.

Then, Li You flipped his hand and took out the holy bell. He shook it gently, and a faint but soft light fell on the old woman in front of him, making her feel much better.

Miranda perked up, and her cloudy eyes showed surprise, but she didn't ask any more questions. She obviously knew that she didn't have much time left, so she immediately took this opportunity to speak: "You are here... to find that man, to find Wesker, right? I know about him, and I know what happened!"

Seeing that Li You looked like he had no interest, Miranda became anxious. Without bothering to keep the conversation a secret, she continued, "Wesker, he came to this village for... the Fungus Master! The spirituality of this land! He wanted the power of the Fungus Master, so he took it away from us who have lived here for generations!"

Li You looked at her at this time and said, "Okay, I know the background of you, the fungus master, and Wesker. If you are really Miranda, then I know everything about you, so don't keep me in suspense anymore, just get to the point, otherwise I don't have time to listen to your nonsense."

Miranda was stared at coldly by him, and she paused. A hundred years of experience made her sure that Li You was not joking. The remaining muscles on her face twitched a few times before she spoke again: "...Okay, then I'll be frank."

"Wesker, he came to the village and dealt with my four lords and guards alone, and then... snatched the Fungus Master from me. He said some nonsense to me at the end, and then I tried my best to escape... and then I waited for you."

Li You narrowed his eyes slightly: "Don't you have the highest authority in the Fungus Master? The Fungus Master itself is not completely defenseless. How could Wesker take it away in front of you without leaving any traces of battle?"

Miranda was a little frightened when she heard Li You's question. She didn't know how he knew these secrets, but she was more honest: "Yes...it should have been impossible. But that man got the approval of the mushroom master."

Li You raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"

"... Exactly. In fact, even I don't know how he established contact with the Fungus Master. When he killed the four lords, I just decided to take this intruder seriously. But I didn't expect that he would come to my laboratory and the Fungus Master right after that."

Miranda said, "I originally planned to use my real strength to kill him on the spot, but before I could do anything, I found that the power bestowed on me by the Master of Fungi was disappearing rapidly. Except for a small number of molds that were completely assimilated with my body, the rest had lost their vitality and calcified and shattered!"

"It was only at this time that I realized... After that man appeared, the mushroom master chose him and abandoned me!"

Li You frowned: "The Master chose him? You and the Master have been in a relationship for nearly a hundred years. How could this happen without a special reason? Wait... have your permissions in the Master's consciousness network also been revoked?"

Miranda was really shocked when she heard Li You's words: "How much do you know?"

However, under Li You's gaze, she could only answer honestly: "Yes. The Master of Fungus has taken back the power and authority in my body. Even if I die now, my consciousness may not be able to enter the Master of Fungus's consciousness network."

Li You looked at Miranda and asked thoughtfully, "But shouldn't the mushroom owner have no independent consciousness?"

Miranda said: "The fungus master does not have a complete and unified independent consciousness, but you also know its ability, so you can imagine that in the process of absorbing the consciousness of many lives after death, the fungus master has also formed a vague subjective consciousness. Otherwise, I would not have been chosen by it in the first place."

"The goal of this consciousness, in addition to instinctively expanding itself, is to be born into the world like a real life - this is the truth that I finally understand now.

"So, in fact, to the fungus master, I am just a tool. Now that a more useful tool has appeared, it is only natural that I, the predecessor who has not succeeded in a hundred years, will be abandoned."

Perhaps after talking to this point, Miranda felt that there was no need to hide anything anymore, so she finally opened up and told Li You everything she knew. The fact that she could reveal these secrets also proved that the identity of "Miranda" was true.

"But I really don't know how Wesker established contact with the Fungus Master and how he gained his recognition and made the Fungus Master abandon me and choose him."

Li You also thought for a while before looking at Miranda again: "What you said is indeed valuable, but I still have a small question. You said that after Wesker met the Fungus Master, your power and authority were taken away, so how did you escape from him?"

Miranda was stunned immediately.

Facing Li You's scrutinizing eyes, Miranda hesitated for a moment before saying, "...That's because there is still a small amount of mold left in my body, and my werewolf guards are still under my command for the time being. I asked him to hold Wesker back, and with the help of my remaining abilities, I escaped and hid in the nearby mountains... Wesker didn't chase me, probably because the fungus master is more important to him."

"He told me about you when he first showed up. It was also because of waiting for you that I was able to hold on until now..."

Li You frowned again.

He couldn't understand Wesker's thoughts any more. Obviously, Miranda was able to escape because of Wesker's indulgence, but why did Wesker keep Miranda?
However, although Miranda, who had been deprived of all her rights by the Master, was no longer a threat to Wesker, and her life was about to end, wasn't Wesker afraid that he still had other ways to save Miranda? Miranda was the highest authority under the Master in the past, so wasn't he afraid that Miranda knew some secrets that could threaten him?

But obviously, Miranda would not know the answer to this question.

So Li You looked at Miranda again and said, "Okay, I understand. Then the last question, you said you have waited until now, what do you want? Do you want to live?"

Miranda looked at his expressionless face, and the corners of her incomplete mouth twitched: "If possible, of course I would like to. For a hundred years... I have been trying to resurrect my daughter Eva. I have tried almost every method, but in the end I failed."

"But I won't give up. For Eva, no matter how long it takes me to try, I'm willing..."

"So for the sake of your daughter, so many people on this land will become your experimental subjects for generations?" Li You interrupted, "Do you think I will spare your life if you play the victim?"

"Yeah, you won't, I can see that." Miranda forced a self-deprecating smile, "I haven't lived these hundred years in vain. After talking to you, I don't have any more hope. Maybe you have the ability to save me, but you won't do it. You have your own ideas."

"That's not important anymore. At this point, I no longer care about my own survival... But I do have one last condition.

"...That man, Wesker, I can see that he is wary of you. I don't know what abilities you have, but to make him so wary, you must have amazing powers. And you can command the BSAA, so your position is self-evident."

At this point, Miranda straightened her back suddenly, and her almost completely blind eyes flashed with unprecedented light: "So this is my condition: I will tell you everything I know about the world of the Fungus Master's consciousness, as well as the intelligence about the 'Alliance' that your BSAA has been searching for, as long as you promise me that after dealing with Wesker, you will extract my daughter Eva's consciousness from the Fungus Master's sea of ​​consciousness and let her return to this world... This is my only request!"

Li You did not explain that he was not from BSAA, but just looked at Miranda who suddenly became energetic. He knew very well that this was a standard last gasp, and the remaining mold in her body was about to run out of power, and her life would come to an end.

Even though he disliked Miranda in his heart, the deal she proposed at the end still moved Li You.

Just as he said, Miranda's crimes of killing villagers and outsiders need no further explanation, and her death is not a pity, but her love or obsession for her daughter is also real.

"I know you think I'm guilty... I won't refute it. From the perspective of the world, I do think so." Miranda continued, "But my daughter, you must also know that she knows nothing about this. From your perspective, you shouldn't impose my sins on her. I give you the information, and you help me bring my daughter back. It's that simple. Do you... agree or not?"

Li You looked at her one last time and said, "You spent a hundred years and failed to revive Eva. I can't guarantee that I can do it."

Miranda smiled upon hearing this, although that smile was so scary that it seemed to come from the world of the dead: "So you agree... Very good, that's enough. I said, I haven't lived a hundred years in vain, I can see what kind of person you are."

"Of course, I don't know what abilities you have, nor do I know if you can defeat Wesker, and I don't know if Eva can wake up again... But this is my last hope. Since you agree, I don't need anything else."

Her body withered again, and she barely raised her hand, pointing in a certain direction: "In the corner of the cave where your people found me, there is the last record I wrote. The information I promised to give you is all in it..."

"If you really bring Eva back, please tell her that her mother...really loves her..."

Li You did not speak, because he knew Miranda could no longer hear him. After she finished her last sentence, the remaining body began to calcify and disintegrate rapidly. In a moment, the whole body had turned into a gray-white crystal block, and then shattered into ash in front of Li You's eyes.

Because the fungus master had been deprived of her authority, she would not even have her spiritual consciousness left. The Mother Goddess Miranda no longer existed in this world.

Li You also shook his head.

He doesn't like Resident Evil 7 and 8 very much, but that doesn't affect his liking for Ethan Winters' character and story, so he also dislikes Miranda, the mother goddess who caused the tragedy of Winters' family.

But at the same time, this aversion will not affect his recognition of Miranda's love for his daughter Eva. Characters like Miranda are obviously complex.

When he first entered the room, Li You had already prepared the Immortal Slash, intending to send Miranda away completely, but now it is no longer necessary.

He finally stood up, looked at the ashes left on the ground by Miranda, and walked out of the temporary room built here.

He had also guessed that Miranda asked to talk to him alone, not for anything else, but so that when things had come to this point, her final "entrustment" would not be known to others, and so that if her daughter Eva could really return to this world one day, she would not be discriminated against by others because of her background.

In fact, Miranda also knew that this was just a little thought that didn't mean much, but even if it was such a small thing, she would still persist in caring about it.

When they arrived outside the small room, Li You called Carlos and asked him to take people to the place where Miranda was found before, dig out the things she left behind, and then prepare to pack up.

We have acquired everything that can be obtained in the village. Now, it is time to return to the headquarters and think carefully about how to respond to Wesker's declaration of war.

Li You always had a premonition that this confrontation with Wesker might be the finale of this series of dramas in the living world.

If that's the case, then he still has a lot to prepare...

The first thing to be solved is Wesker’s threat of world destruction!
(End of this chapter)