Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

This is a lie.

In the office, Vera grabbed the microphone, trying to make her voice sound as exasperated as possible.

"Move out immediately! Uncover the secrets of Raccoon City before the board destroys the evidence. I can now announce in advance that Umbrella California and U.S.A. will be detached from the Paris headquarters. In case of emergency, act expediently, prioritize the mission, and do not report."

“Mr. Redfield, do what you think is right.”

------

Chapter 028 Operation Begins

Beep…beep…

Chris set off.

"Tsk, Chris is teaming up with Umbrella to return to Raccoon City and take down Umbrella. Jill will probably join in too. I wonder what the STARS survivors will look like when Chris brings Umbrella's mobile unit to rescue them... How abstract."

Vera walked to the one-way glass floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the industrial park below.

Sunlight streamed down, dancing on countless silver metal surfaces. Rows of modern industrial buildings stood in neat, orderly rows, while trucks bearing the Umbrella logo occasionally crisscrossed the roads, traveling along predetermined tracks like silver ribbons dancing in the park.

A convoy of heavy-duty multi-purpose vans drove out of the underground parking lot of the USF Guard Force training base and sped toward the inland region of Colorado.

With her left arm crossed over her chest and a few fingers supporting her cheek, Vera watched the USF convoy drive away until it disappeared completely from sight.

"It's a carnival."

With a soft remark, Vera turned and stepped onto the projection screen, sat down, leaned back in her chair, and watched as the Umbrella surveillance footage of Raccoon City slowly loaded and connected on the screen. At the same time, she picked up the handset of the integrated service phone and dialed a number.

The Raccoon City incident was undoubtedly a carnival.

A fall of Umbrella, a celebration where everyone feasted.

Despite Umbrella Corporation's seemingly positive international image as a powerful monopoly before the Raccoon City incident, with its world-leading pharmaceuticals, medical hardware, and technological reserves, Vera refused to believe that others wouldn't covet it.

Especially before she joined Umbrella and spearheaded its transformation, Umbrella's true source of profit came from clandestine industries such as advanced military technology, bioengineering, and biological weapons.

Many of these are top-secret plans that cannot withstand scrutiny and cannot be made public.

In the past, everyone was equally bad, no one was cleaner than anyone else, and everyone kept to themselves. But now that Umbrella has planted its own time bomb, can other companies and peers, such as its biggest competitor Tricell, just stand by and watch without kicking it when it's down?

As for believing that Wall Street vampires and Washington politicians will offer help in times of need, you might as well believe in me, Vera, Jehovah, send money!

Now, Vera will also join this feast of division.

Oh, you're saying Vera is also from Umbrella?

Soon it won't be.

From now on, please address me as the Chairman of the Board and CEO of MILITECH!

"Hey, Mr. Simmons, are you interested in investing in military technology?"

......

Just as Vera was working to 'jump ship' and discussing with Washington how to sever ties and rationally divide Umbrella, in the Spencer family's hidden castle on the British Isles...

"Master, the virus leak in Raccoon City is rapidly expanding. The city's water supply and underground pipes have been contaminated by the T-virus, and the situation is out of control. The USS's recovery operation on the 22nd was a complete failure. They have been out of contact for more than 48 hours, and the Alpha team may have been wiped out."

"That traitor William Birkin injected himself with the G-virus, turning him into a bio-monster that roams the underground research facility, wreaking havoc. Unfinished or sealed BOW test subjects keep escaping and entering the city."

"The inhibitors and neutralizing agents we developed are targeted at the T virus, but their effectiveness against the G virus is completely unpredictable. We are under a lot of pressure from the White House and public opinion."

The Spencer family's old butler reported, his voice trembling slightly.

In modern society, a virus leak of this scale and the resulting biohazard crisis is unprecedented and appalling!

Even he, as the butler who had served the Spencer family for many years, couldn't help but feel hesitant.

Although Umbrella is enormous, with its pharmaceutical business alone worth hundreds of billions of dollars, if the charges against Raccoon City are proven, its demise is inevitable. The international community's fierce boycott, along with state-level intervention, sanctions, forced delisting, and eventual dismantling...

Sitting in the technologically advanced wheelchair specially gifted to him by Vera, the director of the 'Black Umbrella' department, Oswell E. Spencer raised his old, thin hand, seemingly oblivious to the old butler's hesitation, and simply asked, "Has the UBCS unit set off yet?"

"We have already set off ahead of schedule."

The old butler's professionalism was impeccable. He immediately adjusted and concealed his emotions, saying, "The first batch of troops is expected to arrive in Raccoon City tonight."

"Since it's already unavoidable, let's make the most of it to advance the experiment. Don't they always say their products lack real-world testing opportunities?"

Spencer raised his face, which was wrinkled and covered with age spots from aging and long periods without sunlight. A fierce glint flashed in his pale blue eyes, a kind of hysterical madness.

If I can't even stand up and am about to die of old age, does Umbrella, which was founded because of my wish for immortality, still have any value?

"Deploy them all to Raccoon City to collect mutation and experimental data. Perhaps a mature BOW project, along with biological weapons and biotechnology, can impress Washington."

Anyway, Raccoon City is already out of control, how much worse can it get?

An outsider's perspective is often clearer. The old steward instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the patriarch's order, because the patriarch's old age and paralysis, coupled with his obsession with immortality, had completely erased the patriarch's youthful wisdom and decisiveness...

"Yes."

He couldn't refuse.

After relaying secret instructions to Umbrella's Paris headquarters, the old butler returned, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Master, Director Russell of the California USA region raised some serious questions at the board meeting regarding the Raccoon City issue. Are we really just going to drag this out like this? Director Russell's dissatisfaction could even lead to a split within Umbrella..."

"drag."

Spencer had a love-hate relationship with Vera.

If Vera were an ordinary corporate executive, and dared to question him like that at a board meeting, Spencer would have dared to send the USS to have Vera shot eight times in the back and commit suicide.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work...

At least not now.

Vera's mastery of cybernetic prosthetics, combined with her natural talent, made it a path that Spencer could not possibly abandon after William Birkin's troubles.

Moreover, Vera is not easy to kill. Her bodyguard team and the USF guard force also include elite veterans who were laid off due to the economic collapse after the upheaval in Eastern Europe in 91 and could not survive, as well as former KGB and NKVD personnel. They are no less capable than the USS.

In addition, her numerous patents bring massive profits to the company. She is good at making money, young, and has a large following within Umbrella.

"Just now, our informant in the California branch reported back that Director Russell seems to know about our secret in Raccoon City..."

After a pause, the old butler continued, "At the same time, she began to specifically dig into our company's hidden secrets from the past..."

"who is it?!"

This made Spencer uneasy.

In the past, he trusted Vera and entrusted her with important responsibilities partly because she was indeed capable of doing so.

On the other hand, she was young, too young. She joined the company relatively late and was an outsider from a new faction. The other party could not possibly know the details of many of the company's past dirty deeds. Moreover, she herself had no interest in virology and focused on leading Umbrella's transformation in her own field.

Spencer never considered the possibility that Vera knew the company's past secrets, secrets that were older than her. So, what made Vera investigate in this direction, and what did she find out?

"He's Chris Redfield, a survivor of the mansion incident and a former member of STARS in Raccoon City. He infiltrated the industrial park, posing as a company employee, which aroused Director Russell's suspicion that William Birkin was behind it all, leading him to meet with him..."

"Just because of such a minor character?! This is Wesker's job, isn't it? He's useless...cough cough cough..."

William Birkin was flirting with high-ranking U.S. military officials and had defected. Spencer was so angry he coughed.

"Where is he? Kill him, get rid of all the STARS survivors, and eliminate everyone involved!"

Butler: "Director Russell didn't completely believe their side of the story. She dispatched a team to infiltrate Raccoon City and gather evidence..."

"Then let our people clean up the evidence in Raccoon City! Shift the blame to William Birkin, and drag it out for as long as possible, cough cough..."

The butler quickly handed over cough medicine and water, then took his leave.

"..."

After taking the medicine, Spencer felt much better. In silence, the news about the highly contagious cannibalistic disease in Raccoon City was still being broadcast on television. After a long while, he maneuvered his wheelchair and slowly moved to the window of the castle. His cloudy old eyes looked through the antique crystal window at the dense forest swaying in the wind beside the castle.

"...Why do you look down on virology? If it were you, with your talent, you could definitely... Yes, there's still a chance..."

......

1998/9/25

Raccoon City.

Under a gloomy sky and amidst the incessant wailing of sirens, the brightly lit city was in chaos: collapsed and burning buildings, traffic arteries completely blocked by vehicles, the cacophony of broadcasts, fleeing crowds, and inhuman screams...

Perhaps even the heavens couldn't bear to see the tragedy unfolding in the city. After a deafening clap of thunder, lightning flashed, turning the dark night sky a ghastly white, and a light, continuous drizzle began.

The room was small, and the walls were covered with a bunch of strange documents, maps and photos.

Jill Valentine was awakened by a faint, chilling creaking sound of bones.

She suddenly opened her eyes, rolled out of bed, instinctively grabbed the gun from the bedside table, aimed, and warily observed everything around her.

A few seconds later, Jill breathed a sigh of relief as she looked around with the help of the dim glow of the desk lamp.

This is her rented apartment in Raccoon City.

On the wall were the evidence she had collected over the past two months in Raccoon City regarding Umbrella's illegal biological research, as well as some information about the culprit that turned people into zombies—the T-virus.

The radio was constantly interrupted with news broadcasts: Umbrella telling citizens that everything was under control, the municipal government advising citizens to stay home, programs insisting it was Umbrella's fault, and others relentlessly whitewashing Umbrella...

Jill put on her boots, got out of bed, went to her wall covered with documents and photos, and casually tore off a piece of paper.

"Damn it... The disaster caused by Umbrella is being borne by all the citizens of Raccoon City, and it's getting worse every night... In a few days, as agreed with Chris, I can leave Raccoon City with this evidence and information."

She picked up the note, which contained her insights gained from observing the biohazard situation in Raccoon City.

"Damn T-virus."

I thought the nightmare of the Western-style mansion was over, but I never expected it to last so long.

Raccoon City had been turned into a hellish city by this damned T-virus. When she went out to purchase supplies the day before, the entire city had already fallen into complete chaos. As soon as Jill heard the description of the 'cannibalism,' she knew it was the T-virus.

Just then, ring ring—

A phone call? "Who could be calling?" Following the sound, Jill picked up the Motorola cell phone from the landline. "Hello? This is Jill..."

"Jill, are you alright?"

“Chris? It’s you.” Jill’s face lit up with joy. “Didn’t you go to Europe? Did you gather conclusive evidence of Umbrella’s illegal research?”