Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

Chapter 075: The New Era of Military Science & Ghouls (4.5K words)

"resident Evil"

2001/9/11.

evening.

Woo buzz——

The urgent and loud air raid sirens blared, echoing throughout the entire city of San Francisco.

"...Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, and our freedoms have been subjected to a series of premeditated and inhumane terrorist attacks, the victims of which were on airplanes or..."

Radio broadcasts, television programs, and online media—almost simultaneously—all scheduled entertainment programs were suspended, replaced by a middle-aged white man—the president—sitting in the Oval Office of the White House.

The president recounted the recent disaster in New York in a dry and heavy voice.

The 9/11 attacks.

"...God bless America."

In the Military Science Building, on the floor where the CEO's office is located, after having dinner, Vera sat on a sofa in the atrium lounge area near the direct elevator, sipping coffee and reading the news.

On the multi-screen video wall, the president's speech ended quickly.

The split-screen feed was automatically switched by AI, with footage of the collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon being hit by a passenger plane in Washington being replayed and compared with the live footage of the ongoing on-site rescue operations.

Shattered building ruins, burning flames, billowing smoke...

"call..."

The timing was similar to what Vera knew, except that it was half a day later, the flight serial number was different, and the target of the attack seemed to be slightly different as well—

"Damn it, why did it have to crash into San Francisco..."

Whoosh! Vera stood up from the sofa, frowned, and stepped to the edge of the courtyard, which was decorated with lush green plants.

Through the transparent, bulletproof, floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall, she could see Oakland, connected by the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, to the southeast of San Francisco's downtown financial district.

In the city, hundreds of SFPD (San Francisco Police Department) police cars with sirens blaring swept through the streets. At major traffic arteries and the Bay Bridge interchange, armed personnel from SWAT teams, marshals, state troopers, county sheriffs, the FBI, K9, and the National Guard were on high alert.

Including military technology, private security, fire, and ambulance personnel throughout the city were mobilized.

The entire San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metropolitan area is on high alert for the possibility of another terrorist attack.

Just now, at Auckland Airport, five suspected terrorists involved in the 9/11 attacks were arrested on a flight that made an emergency landing!

It was the fourth plane hijacked during the 9/11 attacks.

In the original timeline, it should have deviated from its course and crashed in Pennsylvania due to passenger resistance, but it ended up in California!

Vera was indeed very surprised when she first heard the news.

Is it because of her?

Did Spencer, or a remnant of Umbrella, bribe a certain al-Qaeda organization in the Middle East?

Or, to be more precise, it's the butterfly effect brought about by her military technology...

Why are they going to California instead of Washington or New York? Are they going to crash into San Francisco or that iconic Golden Gate Bridge?

But after learning the whole story in detail, Vera couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Oh, what a coincidence!

There is no doubt that the passenger plane was hijacked. Those five dark-skinned, menacing Middle Eastern men did indeed intend to hijack the plane and fly to Washington to crash it into the White House. Unfortunately for them, they chose the wrong flight, because the plane's original route was to San Francisco.

Among the passengers were a considerable number of military science employees who had just finished their leave.

Among them are MSF operators, a significant portion of whom are retired and disabled veterans of the USA military who were fitted with a new generation of prosthetic implants after joining the military science team.

When the hijackers began their operation, the cockpit was breached, and the plane experienced noticeable turbulence, the MSF soldiers returning from leave almost immediately realized what was happening. They also noticed the unusual behavior of the passengers with Middle Eastern features.

Then there is no more then.

Faced with the MSF soldiers' fierce and precise movements, the two suspected terrorists guarding the gate were knocked to the ground before they could react. The remaining three suspected terrorists who intended to seize the cockpit were dragged back and brutally beaten after their shoulder joints were dislocated.

At this point, the resisting flight attendants were still terrified, and the captain and first officer kept shouting, "Mayday!" (the plane's distress signal).

These scenes were captured on film by some curious passengers.

Searching online reveals that many poorly shot or blurry photos and short videos have already been circulated.

Compared to the other three locations filled with horrific scenes of explosions, burning, groans, and crying, Auckland Airport saw passengers returning safely. Apart from a few flight attendants who sustained minor injuries during the resistance and the co-pilot who was stabbed, most landed unharmed.

The five hijackers, however, were all left with dislocated shoulder joints, bruised faces, and heads swollen like pigs' heads. They were escorted out and handed over to FBI agents who had been waiting at the airport for a long time.

That evening, Vera received thank-you calls from the mayor of San Francisco, the governor of California, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Simmons, and other political figures and officials.

We thank Vera's capable and efficient MSF security team for their contributions to protecting citizens and defending the cause of freedom and democracy, and we say we will award her and the team involved in the hijacking incident a medal.

Later, airline giants such as American Airlines and United Airlines, realizing the impact of 9/11 on air travel, contacted Vera.

They want to subscribe to military technology's corporate security services so that military technology can send dedicated aviation security personnel to their company's flights.

Sure enough, for a large-scale military-industrial complex like hers, profits from national disasters and wars are quick to come, even if there is no preparation or it is done passively.

Vera couldn't help but sigh.

Orders came knocking as soon as the first blast of the war on terror was fired.

"Ms. Russell, the press conference is about to begin."

Just then, an administrative secretary came to the atrium rest area and quietly reminded her.

Vera nodded upon hearing this, turned around and straightened her military-style suit, then walked towards the elevator surrounded by her administrative secretary and bodyguards.

She couldn't possibly remain silent about something as big as 9/11.

Counter-terrorism is an inevitable trend, and she must condemn it; at the same time, some charitable donations are unavoidable. She wants to demonstrate the social responsibility of military science to the public.

Moreover, this is also a legitimate opportunity to gradually expand the company's power.

"Contact the policy consulting firms and think tanks we work with to submit a proposal to Congress regarding whether military emergency preparedness centers should be established in major cities. If it weren't for our employee being on the plane, would it have crashed into a building in San Francisco? How can we prevent this in the future...?"

"In conjunction with the National Rifle Association and the Veterans Affairs, the security division of Military Technology will expand its workforce dedicated to responding to corporate security needs..."

The reason for choosing a dedicated corporate security service is that Vera didn't want to recruit these newly recruited USA veterans into the MSF force.

She didn't want too many USA veterans to come in at once and pollute the authoritarian tendencies of the MSF force.

It is better to have nothing than to have something of poor quality.

Vera's hidden memories told her that accepting just anyone and reckless mergers and expansions would come at a price.

Take Boeing, for example, which is still thriving today.

In 1997, Boeing's acquisition of McDonnell Douglas, the industry's second-largest player, completed a landmark merger, making it the unique eldest son of the United States. But in the eyes of Vera, who possesses 'future vision,' this event had a kind of aesthetic appeal reminiscent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Paperclip Project, which merged with Hydra.

From then on, Boeing's product quality control began to decline all the way down, from a safe and reliable queen of the skies to a black hole of malfunctions and a prince of air disasters.

This doesn't seem like Boeing merging with McDonnell Douglas; rather, it's the beginning of McDonnell Douglas (the former king of air disasters) taking over...

Therefore, although Vera is reorganizing and merging old Umbrella factories, facilities, and personnel around the world, she will never easily allow them to access the 'Black Umbrella' division that she built from scratch, which is now the military technology business line.

Instead, they were left as is, allowing them to continue producing Umbrella's existing civilian medical products and some military supplies, thus adding an inconspicuous medical division to the military technology business, enabling them to join the activities of the global pharmaceutical alliance.

Boeing's experience taught Vera that mergers and acquisitions should be approached with caution.

She didn't want to turn down the offers from aviation giants, so she had no choice but to expand temporarily.

Let the American soldiers be as carefree as they want; as long as they are capable enough and can pass training to become aviation security officers, they can be offered short-term contracts. They probably won't refuse this opportunity to earn extra money.

"Notify the marketing department to design new job advertisements. I have a feeling this is just the beginning. Our products and our production capacity are far from enough to quell the overwhelming anger of American citizens..."

...

A day later, Vera had already boarded a private jet and flown to Washington.

San Francisco Military Technology Medical Service Center.

"Chris, I think you'll be discharged soon. The military and higher-ups have already prepared a press conference for your return to the public eye."

In the hospital room, Chris, who was feeling sad and angry because of the 9/11 attacks, looked up at the sound and saw Jill and Barry.

Both of them sighed and pulled over folding chairs to sit down.

Well, they were still celebrating at noon yesterday, having eaten and drunk their fill, and then went to sleep and rest in the afternoon. They were woken up in the evening and found out that such a big thing had happened in the United States.

The information coming from the BSAA's North American headquarters in Washington is very clear: the White House and Congress are making big moves, and war is imminent.

Chris, as the BSAA's ace, now that the military hospital says your recovery is excellent and your physical test data has been certified, you should prepare to rejoin the team.

In the war on terror, who knows if those terrorists will resort to desperate measures and buy BOW on the black market to stockpile biological viruses? The military urgently needs elite teams with experience in countering BOW and biological warfare to return and take charge, and to promote their experience.

"How big will it be?" Chris asked.

“See for yourself.” Jill reached out, picked up the remote control from the coffee table, and turned on the TV series.

Beep. Changing the channel, many programs were still repeatedly reporting on the 9/11 attacks. Soon, she found the official news channel for military technology.

Chris recognized them as the MSF agents who rescued the fourth hijacked flight yesterday afternoon. Although he couldn't go out, he kept up with yesterday's news.

Behind the MSF agents, military employees, and USA military recruiters, a curtain was drawn back, revealing a large projection screen—displaying the flags of the United States of America, the California state flag, the San Francisco city flag, and the logo flag of military technology—flags fluttering, giant waves in the wind surging towards the golden sunset.

Ultra HD.

Exciting music played in response.

"America, our home."

Accompanied by the host's melodious voice.

"She prospers. She is free. She is democratic. But someone has destroyed all of that; they are declaring war on us!"

"Terrorist attack."

*Snap!* The scene changes.

It's the collapsed World Trade Center twin towers, the Pentagon shrouded in smoke, and the passengers at Oakland Airport who narrowly escaped death and wept with joy.

"This happens all the time; it happens every day in the world."