As if.
If they were actually to meet, Asa estimated that the old guy wouldn't have the guts, and would at most arrange a clone to get by.
Not to mention he also suffered from some kind of disease. That old codger was scared to death of dying; how could he possibly put himself in uncontrollable danger?
Hopefully, Sergei would bring him a pleasant surprise.
...
Albert Wesker was not having an easy time.
Ever since his pathetic escape from the Arklay Laboratory, although Wesker had successfully joined his next employer, his plan to bring along any B.O.W. combat data had failed, and he'd had no time to collect T-Virus samples. Having fulfilled none of his pre-employment promises, he did not gain the power and influence he desired within the new organization.
What happened to being second only to one and above all others once he joined?
His new boss was a mysterious organization—so mysterious that even Wesker only had a superficial understanding of it. Having joined for so long, he didn't even know the name of the organization.
But this organization indeed possessed immense power.
In any case, he might as well just call it the "Mysterious Organization."
Wesker hadn't been fully absorbed into the Mysterious Organization; he had actually joined its subsidiary unit, H.C.F., the sample retrieval unit.
Originally, the data William had prepared would have been enough for him to secure a certain status in the organization, but everything was disrupted by You-Know-Who, leaving him with no data, no samples, nothing.
The organization's patience was limited, and now Wesker seemed to have no cards left to play.
No matter, he still had the T-Virus perfectly fused within his body.
On this point alone, Wesker believed he could make his bosses ecstatic.
A perfect fusion with the T-Virus—didn't that mean the secret to human immortality was hidden within Wesker's body?
Once they cracked the secret, eternal life and youth would be within their reach!
The organization quickly contacted the best team for Wesker to analyze his physical data, attempting to find a new direction of evolution from the secret of Wesker's fusion with the T-Virus.
But reality soon slapped him in the face.
Despite William's solemn guarantees of a perfect fusion, not long after, Wesker's body began to exhibit severe rejection reactions.
Portions of his skin turned black, resembling condensed blocks of carbon that would flake off with a gentle scrape, and the blackened areas were incredibly itchy.
Pain—it was too painful!
Sometimes, Wesker's body became incredibly sluggish, and at worst, he even wanted to vomit.
The doctors' report stated:
A portion of the two viruses in Wesker's body had fused together, while another portion was entangled and attacking each other, causing various physical discomforts.
As things stood, he had to regularly inject the PG67A/W serum to suppress viral proliferation and maintain physical balance.
The situation was still worsening; if not stopped, Wesker felt he would only grow weaker and weaker.
Only then did Wesker realize that the so-called perfect fusion was nothing more than William's speculation without any clinical trials.
After discovering his body's condition, Wesker was furious, wishing he could go back to Umbrella Corporation and beat William up:
"William, you bastard, you were supposed to research the T-Virus properly for me, fuck!"
Another card he played was gone, and not long ago, the organization had brought him more bad news.
A drug called Zombrex had appeared on the market, which could directly inactivate the T-Virus inside the human body and stop its replication.
Although the efficacy of this drug, Zombrex, against the T-Virus beta strain was still being tested, it was undoubtedly a slap in Wesker's face.
He had gone through immense suffering to fuse with the T-Virus, only for a drug capable of neutralizing its effects at any moment to hit the market right after he left Umbrella. The organization's interest in the T-Wesker inside his body had plummeted.
Left with no other choice by fate, Wesker had to bring out the other virus he knew of: T-Veronica.
To Wesker's knowledge, this was a virus that could truly fuse perfectly with its host, and there was even a living example of it right now.
Alexia Ashford.
The blonde woman William was obsessed with, who had easily defeated him academically, becoming William's inner demon for many years.
What's more, this had happened when she was only ten years old.
It had to be said that Umbrella's upper echelon held a nearly religious superstition regarding the Ashford family lineage.
It was laughable, but there was no denying that the woman's brain structure was different from ordinary people.
While other people's atavism resulted in Down's syndrome, that woman's atavism resulted in a near-divine intelligence.
Fortunately, in her quest to revive her family, she had spun a cocoon around herself.
Otherwise, the world would have belonged to her long ago.
In his report, Wesker submitted all the information he knew about T-Veronica.
Alexia had become the director of the Antarctic Laboratory at the age of ten, only to vanish without a trace fifteen years ago.
Currently, the only person who knew her whereabouts was the warden of the Umbrella prison on Rockfort Island: Alfred.
After submitting the information, Wesker didn't feel much more at ease.
Looking back at his recent situation, he realized he had been plagued by bad luck ever since May.
Jill, who should have known absolutely nothing, inexplicably arrived at the Training Facility, fused with the T-Virus, and gained superhuman power.
His identity was exposed prematurely, causing the grand opera Wesker had meticulously staged for Chris to end before it could even begin.
It was deeply frustrating.
Later, at the Arklay Laboratory, You-Know-Who appeared once again.
Even though he hadn't seen the actual person, the hijacked surveillance and locked mainframe were all too familiar.
After his pathetic flight, during the stadium incident, Xinghai Pharmaceutical, the creator of Zombrex, stood out and saved the entirety of Raccoon City.
Consequently, Wesker's value to the organization had become practically negligible.
Who on earth was it?
Wesker recalled the scene when he first encountered You-Know-Who at the Training Facility.
Wesker also noticed that the nominal owner of Xinghai Pharmaceutical was an ABC named Asa.
The name sounded familiar. After a moment's thought, Wesker remembered, and his pupils contracted instantly.
A year ago, Wesker had noticed Sherry, who was out of NEST 1, and her temporary guardian.
Out of kindness, he had warned William that the weather was getting cold and he might be wearing a green hat.
That Asian youth—his name was Asa!
Back then, it was Annette who had pushed past all objections to leave Sherry in the care of that Asian kid.
William had mentioned this with annoyance, but he also said that the Asian youth had nothing to do with his wife, didn't even know what the NEST base did, and had a clean background, so the matter was dropped.
Yet now, he was the sole person in charge of both Xinghai Pharmaceutical and Watchdog Security?
And the person in charge of the pharmaceuticals was none other than Annette Birkin, William's wife!
That Zombrex was actually invented by William's wife, Annette—Wesker found it impossible, completely impossible.
Back at NEST 1, William had even complained to Wesker that his wife, Annette, couldn't understand his conjectures about the experiments, yet now she had surpassed William.
How many procedures did a drug have to go through from development to market and mass production? Normally, it took at least three to five years, yet Zombrex had gotten it all done in just one short month.
What was even more terrifying was that Zombrex's effect was to neutralize the T-Virus, and its cost had been reduced to a level that every commoner could afford.
What about in the shadows?
Had Xinghai Pharmaceutical developed other derivative products of the T-Virus?
For instance, regarding the mutated T-Virus strain William had given Wesker, could there be a drug specifically targeting him?
Annette, Asa, Jill, Watchdog Security, Mikhail, Arklay Laboratory, You-Know-Who...
It was connected—everything was connected!
Beneath Wesker's sunglasses, a gleam flashed in his eyes; he had gradually figured everything out.
Whether it was Xinghai Pharmaceutical or Watchdog Security, whether it was Annette or the Easterner named Asa, they were all gloves of You-Know-Who who had broken into the Training Facility.
Hacking skills far beyond this era to steal data on the T-Virus, then turning around to develop Zombrex and whatever made Jill stronger, while putting forward two scapegoats to obscure his identity.
Furthermore, he had sky-high backing and immense power.
The data handed to Jill had nearly ruined the entire North American branch of the Umbrella Corporation, and the drug he invented was even endorsed by the National Security Council.
Just what was the identity of You-Know-Who?
The President's own son?
Doesn't look like it—more like the President's own father.
Even with his own ambitions of changing the world and becoming the "new Kami" of the new world, Wesker was shocked by the mastermind hiding behind the scenes.
The water here was too deep for him to handle; he had better look towards the distant T-Veronica.
...
Just as Asa expected, the people from Umbrella wouldn't politely call first to ask if Annette was willing.
The call was more of a warning. If she cooperated obediently, all well and good; but once she showed any hint of refusal, what happened next would be out of her hands.
"Asa?"
Hanging up the phone, Sergei smiled coldly and looked toward the brightly lit house in the dark night.
According to the judgment of Umbrella's think tank, the person in charge of Zombrex was clearly Annette, and that East Asian man was merely a front.
The reason was simple.
Although the actual owner of the company was the youth named Asa, they had investigated Annette's recent public photos. It was not hard to find that in recent months, Annette's condition had almost reverted to a youthful state, the blemishes on her skin had vanished, and she was glowing with energy and high spirits.
Coupled with the appearance of Zombrex, it was easy to surmise that Annette had already fused with the T-Virus back in NEST 1. After the fusion, the enhancement brought by the T-Virus enabled Annette to invent Zombrex.
Sergei shared this judgment; otherwise, how else could this be explained?
Could the child of an Umbrella employee actually be a super genius who, during his internship at the company over the past few years, secretly cracked the secrets of the T-Virus's evolution, colluded with a family patriarch to establish a pharmaceutical company, and casually made the T-Virus vaccine dirt cheap?
Even Alexia wasn't that ridiculous.
In short, after deducing that Annette had obtained the secret of T-Virus fusion, how could Spencer, that old man in a wheelchair, not be tempted?
Born in 1923, Spencer was already seventy-five years old today. His legs had been completely paralyzed ten years ago, leaving him confined to a wheelchair.
The closer he came to his end, the more he feared death.
He could hardly remember his youthful ideals anymore. Evolution of all mankind? No, he only wanted eternal life!
He was seventy-five this year, having waited since the 1960s; how much longer could he wait?
"Find Annette's secret at all costs."
This was the sole directive Spencer had given to Sergei.
Sergei pulled himself out of his memories. This time, to ensure he could successfully bring Annette back, he had prepared many backup plans.
Raccoon City was no longer the territory of the Umbrella Corporation. The original bases and buildings had been taken over by the US military and other ambitious factions. Coupled with the sensitive nerves of the Raccoon City residents regarding the Umbrella Corporation, this place was no longer Umbrella's promised land.
While leading a USS Team to infiltrate Raccoon City with great difficulty, Sergei had also brought in a big guy.
Calculating the time, it should be arriving soon.
The sound of helicopter rotors echoed from the sky, and the lights inside the small house flickered. Clearly, the people inside had realized something.
Several figures covered a tall woman and a short one as they evacuated the house.
It was too late for regrets now.
A helicopter flew over dragging a massive shipping container. The suspension ropes snapped, and the container instantly slammed onto the ground, throwing up a huge cloud of dirt.
The iron door right in front opened automatically, falling to the ground with a clatter, and a towering black figure slowly stepped out of the container.
Nemesis Type-2.
During the stadium incident, the Umbrella Corporation had deployed the Nemesis to the stadium specifically to test its combat data, deliberately drawing in members of the S.T.A.R.S. Team for the test.
The results, however, were not very good.
The S.T.A.R.S. Team had completely defeated the Nemesis at the cost of only two members' lives.
That was the official report.
Afterward, the undercover staff only found a pile of mangled flesh, unable to even determine if it was left behind by the Nemesis.
The chip hadn't even had time to upload the combat data before the Nemesis died.
Thus, what actually happened inside the stadium was likely only known to the few people involved.
Perhaps the citizens of Raccoon City were so passionate and combative that they could even take down a big guy like this.
Over the course of half a year, the Northern European branch worked day and night, finally succeeding in manufacturing Nemesis Type-2.
To differentiate it from Type I and prevent it from turning into a pile of mangled flesh, Umbrella had enhanced its combat capabilities.
As for the specific enhancements, they would have to see its actual performance.
Emerging from the container, the programmed Nemesis directly locked onto the tall and short figures in the crowd.
Annette and Sherry were to be kept alive as targets; all other unrelated personnel were to be eliminated directly.
The two Watchdog Security members protecting the mother and daughter instantly noticed the uninvited guest.
Without panicking, the two Watchdog Security employees raised their assault rifles and fired in turns, covering the retreat of Sherry and her mother.
Bullets pattered against the Nemesis's body, splashing sprays of blood, but they were jammed tight by its muscles and squeezed out to drop onto the ground as the flesh writhed.
Perhaps slightly annoyed, Nemesis Type-2 raised a hand in front of itself to block the line of fire. The bullets did not hinder its forward steps in the slightest, and it advanced toward its targets step by step.
Before coming, Sergei had already investigated and found that most members of Watchdog Security came from the U.B.C.S. As their former nominal commander, Sergei naturally knew their combat capabilities inside out.
Using these people to fight the enhanced Nemesis Type-2 without heavy weapons was simply impossible!
"Suka blyat? How is this possible?"
Sergei's eyes widened.