Infinite Progress, Starting with Arasaka

In the darkness, that backward-glancing face, that pale, rotten, unbearable human face...

"Hoo..."

Head bowed, leaning forward as he sat, Chris Redfield took a deep breath.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and was met with a huge floor tile, red and white, shaped like an umbrella. It had been silver-plated and glazed, gleaming and spotless.

"Umbrella..."

The sound was almost a growl from his throat. The muscles in the man's face trembled with rage, his bloodshot eyes seeming ready to burst into flames.

Chris would never forget that day—what happened on the night of July 24th.

As a member of the Alpha team of Raccoon City Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Service), he had participated in an operation targeting the "cult organization" incidents that had been occurring in the Arklay Mountains since spring.

He swore it was the nightmare of his life.

Bullshit cult organization!

It was zombies, living dead, bio-weapons, and the sins of the US Military and the Umbrella Corporation!

For the past two months, whenever he closed his eyes, Chris would dream of returning to that damned mansion, facing the bites of rotting, flesh-ripped corpses oozing pus and blood, and the attacks of various mutated bio-experimental monsters.

"...Hmph, an Umbrella executive. Let's hope it's useful."

Chris raised his head. Illuminated by the high-tech, luxurious chandelier, the reception hall of the newly built headquarters building within the Umbrella Industrial Park in San Francisco was as bright as day, causing him to involuntarily squint his eyes, having grown accustomed to fumbling in the dark during this period.

After the ordeal in the mansion, he had been treated and recovered at Raccoon City General Hospital. Along with Jill, Barry, and Rebecca, he, as a S.T.A.R.S. survivor, had repeatedly tried to expose Umbrella's crimes to the authorities.

Unfortunately, his efforts were futile.

Umbrella controlled all the vital arteries of Raccoon City and suppressed the situation.

The report to the FBI was like a stone cast into the sea, receiving no response. Even S.T.A.R.S. was forcibly shut down. Chris could only continuously gather black market information about Umbrella and evidence of their bio-research from various sources.

Due to some of his extreme actions during this period, he had also been suspended. But Chris did not give up and planned to use this as an excuse to go on vacation in Europe and continue his investigation at Umbrella's Paris headquarters.

The process remained arduous.

It was at this time that Rebecca's letter gave Chris another lead.

Rebecca, who was invited to serve at the Exeter branch of Maine S.T.A.R.S., suddenly appeared in California, saying she could try to divide Umbrella from within.

Chris thought the possibility of this was pure nonsense.

Would Umbrella personnel turn on each other and tear their own company apart?

But it was a last resort.

Given the current situation, waiting around was just waiting, so he might as well take a gamble.

Driven by his sense of justice and the mission to avenge his fallen comrades, Chris quietly returned from Europe.

After meeting Rebecca in San Francisco, he first reprimanded her for her recklessness, and then he took over from Rebecca to surveil the situation for a few days.

Learning that there was a major deal between the Pentagon and Umbrella today, Chris crept to the edge of Umbrella's industrial park. After the Department of Defense convoy left, and confirming that Vera was still within the industrial park, he used his identity as a former Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S. member to break in and demand to see Vera, claiming he had important company secrets.

The Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S., reorganized in 1996, had Umbrella as its largest financial sponsor; this was semi-public knowledge.

The Umbrella employees here would definitely know.

"Mr. Redfield, is it? Please follow me. Director Russell wishes to see you."

Soon, a secretary, accompanied by security personnel, came to summon him.

"..." Silent, Chris stood up.

Truly, even knowing that Umbrella had people who were unaware, and had different branches, he felt no goodwill towards these guys with the Umbrella logo pins on their collars.

As the elevator doors opened, Chris, lost in thought, followed the secretary.

Walking down the wide corridor, feeling the obvious gaze of surveillance, he continuously pondered the information he had gathered about the so-called Director Russell after his exchange with Rebecca.

Vera Adelheid Russell.

Born in 1976, currently 22 years old.

German descent. Adelheid, a common middle name or given name in German-speaking cultures, carrying beautiful meanings, sweet or noble.

A genius, Umbrella's youngest executive and chief researcher, and the first director of the Black Umbrella division.

She skipped grades to complete her studies early, graduating from the University of California, Berkeley's College of Engineering.

Her parents died unexpectedly during her student years. After graduation, she joined the Umbrella California branch and quickly rose to prominence, known for her expertise in mechanical engineering, bionics, human engineering, intelligent control, and electronic information, among other fields.

A typical genius in successful cases.

It is suspected that due to the accidental death of her parents, she focused intensely on the fields of prosthetics, cybernetics, and bionics.

An opponent of Umbrella's old route, she had publicly criticized Umbrella's excessive investment in medical and biological research multiple times and was the biggest promoter and organizer of Umbrella's transformation from a single medical industry in recent years.

That damned mansion likely existed long before this Director Russell was born.

Compared to the fragmented information about the G-Virus that Chris had painstakingly gathered in Raccoon City, and the chief researcher there, William Birkin, this Director Russell's tenure at Umbrella was undoubtedly too late.

The T-Virus, G-Virus, B.O.W.s, and so on, all existed before Russell graduated.

And the discord between this woman and William Birkin, her belittling and criticism of his research achievements and investment being disproportionate, was something even low-level Umbrella employees in Raccoon City had heard about.

Considering her performance at Umbrella's press conferences and seminars, she was truly the breakthrough with the highest probability of success.

With that thought, Chris felt a bit more hopeful about the success rate of this trip.

"Rebecca, I hope you're right."

Dada—

The footsteps suddenly stopped. Seeing the fully armed company security guards slowly gathering, Chris turned to the secretary leading him. "What does this mean?"

The secretary replied, "Mr. Redfield, please forgive us, this is standard procedure. Please stand inside the security gate for a body search. Please cooperate."

Chris's expression was blank, but since he was already here, giving up halfway wasn't his style. "Alright."

Standing between two poles, two tall and strong security guards stepped forward to search Chris. They were very thorough and held long objects with displays that he couldn't quite identify. Were they metal detectors?

It was only then that Chris began to carefully examine these Umbrella security guards.

First, their appearance was very intimidating; they were all tall, strong men.

In terms of equipment, it was definitely far superior to his S.T.A.R.S. They were completely covered from head to toe. Black anti-stab uniforms, black combat boots and tactical gloves, black jumpsuits, knee pads, elbow pads, a heavy-duty bulletproof vest with aramid armor plates, and...

What model of gun was that? He had never seen it before.

As a former Air Force pilot, police officer, SWAT officer, and even a skilled shooter who frequently participated in and won shooting competitions, Chris wouldn't claim to recognize every model of gun in the world, but he had basically handled and operated the famous and highly-rated ones on the market.

In Chris's opinion, the guns in the hands of these security guards were no less in craftsmanship than the first, second, and third place prizes he had seen at shooting competitions. The only thing missing was personalization.

"We will keep your belongings for you, Mr. Redfield."

After completing the search, a Beretta M92F pistol, a combat knife, a spare magazine, a wallet, a set of keys, a Nokia phone, and a waist bag containing film, optical discs, and CAM flash memory were placed on a long table.

The secretary's brow twitched, but he still didn't say much. "Please," he gestured for Chris to follow.

After advancing several dozen steps, they reached a very heavy and incredibly expensive-looking door.

Knock, knock.

"Director, Mr. Redfield has arrived."

"Please let him in," a clear, cold female voice came from inside.

The secretary stepped aside.

Chris straightened his body. There was nothing to be afraid of.

At worst, he would die. He had backed up all the information he had to Rebecca and even recorded a video specifically before entering the Umbrella industrial park. If something happened to him, it could be used as leverage against Umbrella.

Screech.

He pushed the door open and entered.

Chris looked at the interior decoration, quickly and carefully observing every detail.

It was a completely different style from that damned Mansion and the Umbrella building in Raccoon City.

It was spacious, simple, and bright, about three hundred square meters. One entire wall was made of dark-toned floor-to-ceiling glass. There was a semi-circular large table, elegant and exquisite, appearing to be made of wood or metal. On it was placed a 27-inch computer monitor without a host, and a large black leather executive chair.

The ceiling was very high, with a recessed ceiling that hid some kind of cutting-edge communication equipment and precision electronic devices directly above the desk.

The walls on both sides were divided into three areas. One side had bookshelves, and also featured a small bar area with a wine cabinet and refrigerator, and a rest area. The guest area on the other side consisted of a large sofa and a coffee table.

A special material resembling a minimalist ripple pattern adorned the center of the long, empty room. A beautiful woman, leaning back at the desk, picked up a teacup, took a sip, and nodded at him.

"Welcome, Mr. Redfield."

Looking at the man with great interest, Vera spoke first.

Tsk tsk, look who it is.

A height of over 1.82 meters, with dark brown hair slicked back. Although not as explosive as future muscles, he had a very strong physique. His youthful face already showed a resolute and fierce aura, like a close-combat tyrant.

Chris.

Honestly, Vera hadn't expected one of the destined protagonists of Resident Evil to come looking for her.

"Director Russell, you should know about what happened in Raccoon City, right?"

Although Vera's elegance and tranquility gave a very comfortable impression, Chris, a straightforward man who had even set aside his stunningly beautiful female partner, had no intention of chatting idly with Vera. He got straight to the point.

"What? Is William Birkin, that outdated, stubborn middle-aged man, unable to manage his own territory? You, a Raccoon City SWAT officer, are coming to me for help. Ah, although I'd love to kick Birkin out of charge of the American region, he's still a veteran and has some influence on the board."

Raising an eyebrow, Vera put down her teacup.

Fine, you're in a hurry, so I won't offer you tea. Let's skip the pleasantries and get straight to it.

"You... no, they are researching virus weapons!"

"The research of virus weapons is also a part of national defense. Are you a child who sees things in black and white? As a former Army soldier."

Vera spoke with officialese. "It's normal for the company to have business in this area and cooperate with the Pentagon. This is the business line handled by 'White Umbrella' and Birkin. Bring it up at the board meeting. I don't interfere with their work, and they can't interfere with mine. These are the established rules."

"Rules... Your rules have caused deaths! Fuck you! So many people have died! And you're sitting in your luxurious, safe office saying..."

Still a young man of twenty-five, his composure had its limits. Provoked by Vera's dismissive attitude, Chris, who was already angry and suppressing negative emotions due to the suppression he faced while investigating Umbrella, exploded.

Bang bang.

"I remind you to use civilized language."

Vera glanced at Chris's gritted teeth and clenched jaw, tapped the table, and said sternly, "Otherwise, I can ask you to leave."

"Hoo... hoo..." Taking a deep breath, Chris looked deeply at Vera. "You really don't know?"

"I know, but as a professional businesswoman, I won't delve into it, nor do I want to find out."

Vera replied instantly, walking up to Chris without a hint of fear, meeting his gaze, staring into his eyes, and enunciating each word, "So, tell me about the inside story of your company's Raccoon City operations. That's why I'm here.

Saying that, Vera turned and walked to the large sofa in the reception area, gesturing for Chris to sit down.

"Did Raccoon City's S.T.A.R.S. come to me because William Birkin's stubbornness has devolved into uselessness? Researching it only led to a leak, and they couldn't defend against it. Did it escalate into a zombie outbreak? Then he's really going to..."

"It is a zombie outbreak. The corpses are moving, the living dead."

Chris didn't sit down. He walked straight to Vera, his expression more solemn than ever. "This is your Umbrella's sin. If you have even a shred of conscience, make the truth public. Your people have detained me. Inside is the evidence I collected!"

Vera paused, leaning back against the sofa, appearing to fall into thought at Chris's words, then she smiled.

"As an Umbrella executive, aren't you afraid I'll destroy the evidence and silence you?"

"Go ahead and try. When I came to your snake pit, I never expected to leave peacefully."

"Then why not try to abduct and kidnap me, to threaten me into submission?"

"No, I won't do such a thing. I won't displace my anger onto others without reason."

Chris said stiffly, his face stern, "You are neither good nor bad, you are a genius. My friends in the army all say so. The cybernetics technology you spearheaded has helped my comrades embrace again. This society needs you... Umbrella has criminals who aid and abet evil, but also innocent people."

"Ha." Vera gave a light laugh.

Did this young Chris teammate really become so eloquent?

"So, if I don't side with you, I'm aiding and abetting evil?"