Survival in the game world begins with Biochemical 2

Chapter 904 Extra Chapter 2: The Umbrella Legion
—Inside the bedroom of a hotel suite.

"Thump...!!"

Charles Gramont slammed the seemingly exquisite but actually coarse wine glass onto the table, and, fueled by alcohol, cursed angrily:

"Damn the BSAA! Ever since the Global Pharmaceutical Association fell apart, no one has been able to keep them in check. These people want to get their hands on everything; they're completely lawless!"

"If it weren't for them, how could I, an heir of an ancient noble family, have ended up like this, suffering at every turn!"

"BSAA, once I restore my family name to its former glory, I will make you pay the price!"

—Outside the hotel suite door.

Agent 3A7 leaned against the balcony railing, silently watching the quiet town below.

After a moment, he gently lifted the tin canister, took it from under his half-open mask to his lips, took a small sip, and then slowly said:

"...Now the BSAA enjoys unparalleled international prestige, and its crackdown on bioterrorism and the biochemical black market is swift and decisive, turning all the organizations and forces in the underworld into cowards."

"The BSAA has eight bases all over the world, and with renowned ace fighters like Chris and Jill as its hallmarks, even the leading figures of the new generation are beginning to emerge."

"But that's precisely why their actions are so easily detected—which is why you came to me, isn't it?"

A woman's unabashed reply came through the earpiece: "That's roughly right. I didn't expect you, Captain, to be concerned about international affairs now?"

The agent smiled and said, "Since Umbrella's downfall, I've been a mercenary for many years, moving between various underground organizations."

“Unlike before when we had Umbrella’s protection, we soldiers only need to carry out our missions. Of course, I also need to understand the current situation.”

"As for you, although you're not well-known, you must be doing quite well in Tracerfor... Kara?"

—In the bedroom.

Charles finished his glass of wine, then immediately refilled it, took another big gulp, and muttered to himself, fueled by the alcohol.

"And then there's Tracer... what a humanitarian aid organization, it's basically a new pharmaceutical giant!"

"On the surface, they provide aid to various places, but in reality, their main business is biochemical virus research! Whenever a new virus variant emerges, they are always the first to detect it and then prepare targeted vaccine serums."

"Research and development doesn't happen that fast! I'd believe you if you said they researched all these new viruses!"
"It's one thing to conduct virus research on your own, but you won't even share a drop of soup with others. That's a monopoly!"
"Tracer, when I restore the name of my family, I will expose all your crimes to the world and make you pay the price!"

—Outdoor balcony.

Kara's voice continued to come through the headphones:
"Captain, you should know this too, right? All the departments that Tracer has publicly disclosed now have their own leaders. Apart from the old chairman, people like Claire and Curtis are all doing what they can do."

"As for me, I am still in charge of our secret department, which I established and later expanded."

"Today, everything here has become the absolute core of our power."

"Managing this department is certainly stressful and very busy. But only with me in charge can things be considered foolproof."

The agent didn't answer, but considering the size of that secret department and Kara's capabilities, he agreed with her seemingly arrogant statement.

In terms of both management ability and personal strength, this former USS soldier was absolutely qualified to say such a thing.

Or rather, even he, the once-renowned "Grim Reaper," could no longer comprehend her power.

So in the end, Agent 3A7—the former elite soldier "Death" Hank—only said:
"...That's true. That's why I can't understand why you really needed to ask me to help with this mission."

"Although Li You is not here, if you want to, dealing with the 'family' is not a problem at all, right?"

"But even now, the family is almost unifying the underworld, yet you still haven't made a move against them."

"And yet you've asked me for help again this time. I'm curious what your plans are."

Kara on the other end of the communication line seemed to want to say something, but then noise broke out on the other end.

"Squeak—Bang!!"

Suddenly, a piercing metallic scraping sound came from the side, and then something was thrown downstairs, smashing through the roof of a shed and causing chaos.

Immediately following was a drunken outburst of cursing coming from inside the room:
"...And another thing! The BSAA, Tracer, they're not the ones who deserve to die the most, the ones who deserve to die the most are that group of people, that group of Simons who looked down on me—"

Hearing the commotion, Hank's hand trembled. Without thinking of anything else, he kicked the door open and grabbed Charles before he could say anything he shouldn't have.

"Ugh, ugh...!!"

Hank held down Charles, a nobleman he had always looked down upon, forcing Charles's face into intimate contact with the cushions on the bed. However, he was drunk and didn't care about Hank holding him down. Instead, he kept muttering curses.

"The Simmons family... these nouveau riche dare to look down on me! The history of our Gramon family is much longer than theirs!"

"They actually dared to make me wait in this garbage dump for three whole days! Three days! And not a single response during that time!"

"Once I've revitalized my family, the first thing I'll deal with is you! Simmons! I'll make you pay!"

Putting aside his repeating a grade, the content of his rant was truly earth-shattering, at least in this small town.

Fortunately, he's currently pinned to the bed, so no one else will hear these words except Hank and Kara.

Otherwise, if this guy were to go crazy in public, Hank would really have to consider killing him and replacing him with a new head of the Gramon family.

Seeing that he was still cursing, Hank simply used force to knock him unconscious, then threw him onto the bed and left him there.

After he finished doing all that, Kara's voice came through the earpiece:

"...You have to take care of these good-for-nothing noble children. It must be hard on you, Captain."

Hank was also somewhat helpless. He had been a mercenary for many years and had met all sorts of people, including this kind of person.

The problem is, in the past, he would only have a brief interaction with the other side, usually receiving a small task from them. But this time, it's different. He has to protect this Xia Er closely, which is really going to be tough for him.

So after leaving the bedroom, he adjusted his headphones and said:
"Perfect timing, I have another question I'd like to ask, which can be combined with the one I just asked."

"This time, the Gramon family of this guy has joined forces with the 'Umbrella Legion' in an attempt to establish connections with the 'family.' Was all of this part of your plan?"

Upon hearing this question, Kara chuckled on the other end of the communication line:
"As expected of the captain, your intuition is still so sharp. Since you've already guessed it, why ask any more questions?"

Hank's expression remained unchanged; he simply shook his head slightly—of course, Kara on the other side couldn't see this.

"...You contacted me more than half a year ago, asking me to join the Umbrella Legion as a free mercenary, and then it took you a full six months to contact me again and ask me to accept this escort mission."

"Now it seems, I guess your target isn't the family, but the Umbrella Corporation, right? Are you and the BSAA planning to close the net this time?" Kara smiled without answering, but Hank had already made his judgment, so he continued:
“I don’t usually pry into things when I’m on a mission, let alone try to find out information about my employer.”

"But this time I want to ask you, who exactly are your people in this plan, and to what extent do I need to do things?"
"Without knowing these things, it's difficult for me to judge what course of action to take at that time."

Since Hank had asked, Kara naturally wouldn't hide it any longer and, after thinking for a moment, decided to tell him the truth:
"Captain, you guessed correctly. As you know, in today's biohazard black market, apart from the powerful families who control everything, everyone else is just a small fry."

"The only one worth paying close attention to is the Umbrella Corps, which rose to prominence a little over a year ago."

"The appearance of this mysterious organization is suspicious. As soon as they showed up, they recruited all the local bigwigs in the biochemical black market, and even seemed to be trying to challenge the 'family' that now controls the underworld."

"Moreover, this group is technically quite capable, and they have been behind many small-scale biochemical incidents over the past year."

"Although they haven't developed to the point of being out of control, their adherence to mysticism means they rarely leave any clues."

"Both I and BSAA Commander O'Brien believed that this organization must be eradicated as soon as possible, and we must not allow them to grow stronger."

"In fact, the BSAA has been hunting them for a long time and has indeed made some progress. That's why they planned this meeting with the family."

Hank understood: "Because their actions are too secretive, that's why you sought out me, someone who has been famous in the bio-mercenary world for a long time and who, theoretically, has absolutely no connection with either of you."

"Only with my identity can I blend in with them without being suspected."

Kara agreed, "That's exactly right. No one else could become a mercenary trusted by the Umbrella Legion in such a short time."

"Although there was actually another candidate, that person had cooperated with the family quite a bit in the past, so he wasn't quite suitable."

"Besides, she's been on vacation in the US lately, and I didn't want to disturb her time with her and make her go on such a long business trip, so I ended up coming to the captain instead."

Hank ignored the vague and ambiguous part of Kara's statement in the latter half, and simply said:

"That's true, but you know my situation. This organization doesn't trust me; they just see me as a very capable henchman."

"After all this time, I don't even know where their headquarters is; I've only figured out the locations of a few branch bases. If you're really planning to close in, I'm afraid I can't be of much help."

"And since this involves the family, you all need to be careful."

"If you intend to sabotage their deal and prevent the family from turning its opposition into an alliance with the Umbrella Legion, then you should prepare accordingly. I think the family's response should arrive in the next couple of days."

But upon hearing Hank's words, Kara smiled and said, "No, Captain, you're mistaken. The reason I specifically asked for your help this time is not to sabotage the deal between the Umbrella Legion and the family."

"On the contrary, I asked you to take on this task because I hope you can ensure that their meeting goes smoothly."

"Although the Gramon family has declined, it does have an ancient history, and some other equally ancient noble families are also pursuing similar ideas, but they don't have the same channels as them."

"At the same time, there are many more bigwigs in the biochemical black market who are also watching this transaction."

"In such a complex situation, only you, Captain, could protect Charles and ensure the smooth progress of this mission."

Hank was surprised when Kara said that he was really going to protect Charles and facilitate contact between the Umbrella Corps and the family.

From his perspective, he couldn't understand why Kara was doing this.

In the past, he would have been surprised but not questioned it. After all, a mercenary's mission is to complete the task. As long as it doesn't affect his work, any scheming behind the scenes is none of his business.

However, this time the situation is different. The seemingly insignificant Ciel is involved with too many behemoths.

So Hank thought for a moment and then tentatively asked, "Could it be... that you've reached an agreement with the family? They want to eliminate their rivals, and you also want to eliminate the threat?"

Kara laughed again. From Hank's perspective, this was probably the most reasonable explanation.

However, she still denied it, saying, "I'm sorry, that's not the case. But don't worry, Captain, just do as I say and carry out the mission. You don't need to worry about the rest."

"Once this mission is over, as we agreed before, I will prepare a retirement status for you to ensure everything goes smoothly."

It's not that Kara wants to be a riddle teller; the key issue is that the fact that the family is now in their hands is something they obviously can't tell anyone else.

Therefore, even when facing Hank, Kara had no choice but to conceal the key points.

The Umbrella Corps is indeed a new threat, and its emergence was unexpected by both her and the BSAA.

Even Li You originally thought that this organization would not appear, but it can only be said that the development of everything has its own inertia.

So this time, Kara and BSAA were indeed planning to take action against them, to the point that they used their family's resources after obtaining Li You's permission.

The BSAA's continued suppression of the Umbrella Corps has created a threat to them. Even though the organization has an extremely tight internal structure, with the BSAA's current strength, a full-scale attack would be enough to give them a severe beating.

Therefore, this emerging force, which originally wanted to challenge the family, had no choice but to cooperate with its biggest rival in the underworld, which is why they sought out the Gramon family.

As for Ciel, he was merely a tool in the eyes of both sides, not worth mentioning.

But the Umbrella Legion naturally didn't expect that if they successfully made contact with the family, or even gained their support, it would play right into the hands of Kara and the BSAA.

Only when their cooperation with the family deepens and their core secrets are finally exposed will this group of people realize just how big a mistake they have made.

By then, one less source of unrest in the world will have been eliminated.

At this moment, Kara, who was at the Tracer headquarters, went through the entire plan in her mind again. After confirming that there were no oversights, she nodded slightly.

Just then, Hank on the other end of the communication line seemed to remember something and asked again:
"Speaking of which, it seems like it's been two years since I've heard anything about Li You. Has he gotten busy with something else this time?"

Kara paused slightly upon hearing this, then, after a moment's thought, replied with an unconscious smile:
"My master did come back once a while ago, but he didn't stay long. He just made up for my apprenticeship ceremony and left me with an interesting little toy."

"As for now, he's probably far away, continuing to do good deeds, right?"

……

Meanwhile, in another world, Li You was sitting on a cloud, looking down at the town below, when he suddenly felt something and looked up at a certain place.

He looked in the direction he saw nothing, but recalling the subtle fluctuations in his emotions earlier, and sensing the situation a little more, Li You realized something, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"This rebellious disciple is talking bad about his master again, isn't he? I'll teach him a lesson when I get back next time."

After muttering a simple sentence to himself, Li You lowered his head and continued to gaze at the girl and boy in the ancient town below, who were respectively dressed in red short robes and animal skin coats.

"...For now, let's keep an eye on the two of them."

(End of this chapter)