Author note: Written by Jachin, a 23-year Resident Evil series fan based in Seoul, South Korea. This guide is based on 6 full RE9 playthroughs on PS5 and Steam (Casual → Insanity → NG+ Insanity completions). All strategies, timings, and locations have been personally tested across the v1.02 patch. AI tools were used only for grammar review and note organization; no AI-generated content appears in strategy analysis.
Verified on: v1.02 + DLC patch · Last reviewed: May 30, 2026 · About the author · Editorial policies
Chunk is not a monster. He’s Marcus Halverson, weaponized grief. The Insanity-only audio logs in RE9 reveal one of the most tragic villain backstories in modern gaming. This is the complete decoded story.
| When | Event |
|---|---|
| Marcus background | Marcus Halverson, 30. ARK Facility microbiologist. Specialized in mold-related disease research. Joined ARK in 2020. |
| Lily’s birth | Daughter Lily born 2018. Beloved single father. Photos in his lab show happy family pre-illness. |
| Lily’s leukemia diagnosis (2023) | Lily diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 5. Traditional treatment failing. Marcus desperate for alternatives. |
| The Plant 43 hypothesis | Marcus theorizes Plant 43 mold could be reverse-engineered into treatment. His proposal rejected by ARK leadership as too risky. |
| Lily’s death (May 2024) | Lily dies after 18-month treatment. Marcus enters severe depression. Records show he stops attending team meetings. |
| Self-experimentation (June 2024) | Marcus volunteers for Plant 43 exposure protocol. Officially “research test subject”. Privately: hoping to create what could have saved Lily. |
| 14-month transformation | Plant 43 mold takes over Marcus’s body. Mind becomes fragmented. Identity dissolves. Body grows. Becomes “Chunk” — designated subject by ARK. |
| Insanity-only audio: Marcus reading bedtime stories | Audio log 1: Marcus reading “Where the Wild Things Are” to Lily before bed. 2-minute clip. Heartbreaking. |
| Insanity-only audio: Hospital recording | Audio log 2: Lily on ventilator. Marcus singing “You Are My Sunshine”. Lily’s breathing audible. 4-minute clip. |
| Insanity-only audio: Final voice message | Audio log 3: Marcus to dying Lily, day before her death. “Daddy will find a way. I promise.” This is what Chunk hears every time he fights Grace. |
| In RE9 fight | Chunk doesn’t fight to kill. He fights because he can’t remember who Grace is. The audio plays automatically — a hallucination, a memory, a curse. |
| Director quote | Famitsu interview (May 2026), Director Nakanishi: “Chunk is the most tragic character we’ve ever written. The Insanity audio is mandatory to understand RE9.” |
Understanding this backstory transforms how you experience RE9. Every research note, every audio log, every photograph carries weight when you know the full context.
This lore connects across multiple RE entries — RE7, RE8, and RE9. The franchise rewards attentive players who track these threads.
Was this guide helpful? Let us know — we update tier rankings monthly based on community feedback and balance patches.
If this guide helped, consider supporting more guides like this on Ko-fi. Every little bit means the world.
☕ Support on Ko-fi