Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

Several figures emerged from under the deciduous trees along the path, and pairs of cold-weather military boots crunched on the soft snow.

A group of special travelers, dressed in snow camouflage jackets, equipped with Kevlar bulletproof vests and combination carrying gear, carrying large and small bags, and holding firearms with silencers, cautiously walked through the ankle-deep snow to the carcasses of three Siberian gray wolves.

The BSAA logo badges on their chests silently proclaimed their identity.

The Bioterrorism Defense and Assessment Alliance.

It was founded in late 1998 after a major biohazard incident in Raccoon City, spearheaded by Chris Redfield, a hero who received the USA Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor.

From its inception, it received special approval and support from Washington, as well as substantial financial sponsorship from a high-tech, virtual network and physical industrial conglomerate that is highly sought after by the stock market and has already ranked among the top 500 companies in the world.

"...The familiar stench of corpses. Fuck, dealing with corpses every day, I'm going crazy."

She tightened her mask and, compared to the muscular men in the group, squatted down.

"It is a systemic inflammation and sepsis caused by T-virus infection. The blood clots are brown. The two gray wolves were infected for several weeks to more than a month."

She examined the gray wolf's extensively rotting and sloughed-off muscle and fur, its head, and the blood clots and dark brown brain matter splattered nearby from where the bullet had pierced it.

"Infected animals deep in the mountains..."

The woman seemed to realize something, her spirited brows furrowed, and she immediately burst into a tirade of curses.

"This is the fifth batch already, and the infection is getting progressively worse. It's not an accidental leak from the BOW weapons black market, Fuck! Chris, it seems we were right, there really are Umbrella bastards hiding here. Do they want to cause a second Raccoon City incident?"

Upon hearing this, the muscular man, wearing tactical goggles, a Russian-style insulated beanie covering half his ears, a built-in communication headset, and a thick windproof coat, deftly changed his magazine. "Jill, calm down," he said, nodding seriously to his teammate.

"So this time, we will stop them."

"Rely on us?"

As they talked, Jill pulled out a T-virus inhibitor spray with a black background, yellow stripes, a V-shaped pattern inside a square frame, and the MILITECH logo, and waved it around.

The high-latitude cold-proof and frost-proof design, according to the Director of Supply Relations at the BSAA North American headquarters, is professional.

Spraying bloodstains splattered on the snow, she asked, "What's the headquarters' explanation?"

After piling the three wolf carcasses alongside his teammates to clear a path, they threw in thermite incendiary grenades and set them on fire. Chris's increasingly rugged and masculine face reflected the flames as he said in a deep voice, "We can't call on the Middle Eastern troops to search directly. Let's have a small team infiltrate and collect evidence first."

"This is the Caucasus region. The geopolitics is too complex. Washington has concerns."

The Caucasus region, including Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Chechnya, and Russia, were all former members of the CCP. They were brothers before, but after the split, they fought each other without hesitation. The Second Chechen War broke out here less than a year ago.

At this point in time, it's really not a good time for the USA to get involved here.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; what will happen if the Russians react negatively?

Being incorporated into the official system beforehand has the advantages of formalization, but it also has the disadvantages of officialdom.

The BSAA in this timeline was established ahead of schedule under the guidance of someone named Wei.

Compared to the original work's setup of a pharmaceutical consortium and UN takeover, this world's BSAA was initially established by the Washington authorities, with the pharmaceutical consortium providing funding and an advisory team. It then expanded to other regions as the defense operations progressed, and only later was a dedicated joint command and coordination committee established within the United Nations.

Undoubtedly, the USA has a stronger military presence and is more influenced by Washington.

It is highly unlikely that Russia will allow a rebranded US armed force to enter the Caucasus region in a high-profile manner.

Even if it's anti-biochemical, it should be their BSAA that's in charge.

This involves a dispute over international discourse power.

"Damn it! Those Umbrella swarm of sewer crawlers, they really know how to find a place!"

After figuring it out, Jill vented her frustration: "Looking at it this way, I'm now certain that Umbrella definitely has a secret research facility here. But we only have so many people. What if we can't wipe them out in one go, and we alert them so that Umbrella's criminals can escape again?"

“There is still a way. I requested support from military technology.”

Chris said, “I used the personal business card that Vera Adelhead gave me. Only once, top priority, and Military Technology will respond immediately. With their military strength and their gradually expanding military contracting business globally, there’s enough time.” He added, looking at Jill.

"That CEO of the military science department?"

Gil frowned slightly.

"You still used it?" Then, she curled her lip and sighed, "Phew... I remember she really admired you and wanted to recruit you into the military contracting business department of the Military Science Department... You owe her such a big favor, are you planning to retire and go to the Military Science Department after you finish hunting down the remnants of Umbrella?"

Chris didn't want to owe Vera any more favors, and Jill knew this very well. Chris had made it clear many times within the BSAA, when faced with teasing from his teammates, that he wouldn't go to military science.

After the White House medal ceremony on October 1, 1998, he never contacted Vera again, except for occasional emails on necessary holidays as a matter of courtesy.

"Keeping it in your hands all the time isn't a solution."

Chris's strong facial features were starting to crack, and he could see the amusement in Jill's eyes and the teammates who had gathered around after hearing the conversation. He couldn't help but sigh, "We'll have to use it eventually."

In his view, Vera owed him no favors at all.

He simply told Vera the truth and the past facts about Raccoon City and Umbrella.

On the contrary, Vera's life took a turn for the better because of something as simple as a mail carrier delivering a letter. This led to her receiving a White House medal, her family escaping poverty, her sister Claire being recommended for admission to an Ivy League university, the founding of the BSAA, the Military Science's sponsorship of the BSAA, and occasional preferential treatment in arms procurement contracts…

Chris couldn't bring himself to enjoy all of this without feeling guilty.

Although he was always forced to attend when the BSAA was drafting arms procurement contracts with the Military Science Institute, and the BSAA did indeed benefit from this, being able to better combat bioterrorism activities, ... it must stop now!

Even if BSAA is allowed to spend more money normally, it must be stopped.

Honestly, if he keeps owing favors, he'll start to feel like he's being kept by a sugar daddy.

The information asymmetry meant that someone might have temporarily forgotten about it, but Chris couldn't forget it and was having a headache over the issue. He looked at the well-made military SG submachine gun with a long-barreled silencer in his hand, gritted his teeth, and stomped his foot.

"I will personally thank her! Besides helping her join the military science program, I will help her with anything she needs!"

In any case, he will not join any for-profit private enterprise.

Chris's embarrassed look made Jill cover her mouth and laugh.

"Would you help someone break the law?" she asked jokingly.

Chris looked annoyed.

He chose not to answer that question.

"Alright, alright, you two, we're on a mission."

It's Barry Burton.

"Hopefully we can catch those Umbrella bastards this time."

The seasoned cowboy, also a former STARS member of the Raccoon City Police Department, raised an eyebrow as he swept away traces with the same T-virus suppressant spray as Jill, while putting his well-maintained .44 caliber Magnum revolver into its holster.

In this timeline, the fates of many people have been altered.

"Be careful, yes, we must not let our guard down."

It's Brad Vickers.

Also a former STARS teammate, this man, carrying a fully modified D2 Copperhead assault rifle and a large marching pack, stood at the edge of the column, his eyes wary. "This wretched place reminds me of the Arklay Mountains. Absolutely, absolutely, we can't afford to lose any more men due to carelessness!"

“Hey, Brad… relax, you’re already familiar with the characteristics of zombies, there’s nothing to be nervous about,” Jill said.

She has forgiven Brad for backing out at the last minute in Raccoon City.

Although he was afraid of trouble, he never betrayed his teammates. When Raccoon City was in its most critical situation, he even came back to find her with his weapons. Afterwards, he resolutely chose to join the BSAA. These things were enough for Jill to regard him as a comrade she could entrust her back to.

“I know, but… the Arklay Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains are too similar. I’m afraid Umbrella has another large secret research facility here, and they’ve developed some new BOW…”

Brad's words immediately made Chris's expression turn serious.

He stopped talking to Jill and patted him on the shoulder. "Brad is right. Everyone should be on their guard."

Unlike in other parts of the world where one can directly call in local USA troops to cause trouble for Umbrella remnants or destroy and disrupt illegal BOW biological weapons deals, the Caucasus region is not a place for such intervention.

Umbrella could naturally have considered this; there was a possibility that a large-scale illegal research institute of Umbrella might indeed be hidden in the snow-capped mountains.

It is better to be vigilant than to be careless.

"Let's go. Keep moving forward and meet up with our informant."

With that, Chris waved to his team to start the vehicle, while he walked over to the wolf carcass, which was completely engulfed in flames and covered in fat and fur. When it was almost burned out, he carefully sprayed it with T-virus inhibitor spray, and then sprinkled it with a special bittering agent to ensure that no animals would eat it.

Protection is always harder than destruction.

Especially in the prevention and control of biochemical viruses.

hum...bum...

With the sound of engines starting, a convoy of four snow Hummers arrived. "Chris," Jill called out. "Coming," Chris replied, climbing into the Hummer.

Brad is the driver.

The vehicle continued its journey through the vast snow-covered mountains. After getting in, Chris, as was his habit, checked his personal equipment again. It was all military-grade, fully modified with all the necessary parts: a Tamahyou, a Crusher shotgun, and an Ajax assault rifle.

It is sufficient to handle the vast majority of BOWs.

“Barry, check your ‘big stuff’ inventory.”

He dialed into his headset, "If we encounter high-threat BOWs like the Tyrant, don't waste the military's firearms and ammunition. Do you have enough RPGs?"

"Haha... Don't worry, we have more than enough firepower for you. Except for artillery and armored vehicles, we have enough firepower for a whole company."

Barry's teasing voice came from the other end of the radio, "The weapons produced by the military are good, but they're a bit pricey... Why don't you go and beg that richest unmarried woman in the world?"

"Barry, go to hell!" Before Chris could even respond, Jill's voice came through the team channel.

Chris shook his head helplessly. Just as he pulled out a map of the Caucasus region to examine it for a while, his earpiece crackled to life: "I'm an investigator from the BSAA Middle East Division, from the North American Division. Have you arrived yet? Coordinates... of the village."

The tone wasn't very good, it sounded like it was being interfered with, but the tone was extremely urgent.

“I’m Chris from the North American headquarters. The coordinates are... if there’s no heavy snow or sinkholes, it’s about a 30 to 45 minute drive.” Chris said immediately.

"Huh...huh..."

A heavy breathing sound and a very faint cry of a little girl? And background noise, gunshots...

"You'd better hurry."

The person's voice continued to ring out.