Infinite Progression, Starting with Arasaka

"Cap, any word from upstairs?"

As the squad leader, Jettingham, put down his comms earpiece in the corner, a squad member couldn't help but ask.

Their situation was far from optimistic. Their first encounter with the USS had left them thoroughly suppressed and in a sorry state. To make matters worse, they'd attracted the mutated William Birkin, who was wandering nearby, leading to casualties within the squad.

Due to the earlier firefight, hordes of zombies were now roaming the vicinity.

They were pinned down here by the USS. If they made any more significant noise, they'd definitely be targeted and sniped by the USS.

If it were just a straightforward engagement, they wouldn't be afraid at all. But they were afraid of being ambushed by that monster with the giant eyeball during the fight, which could potentially wipe them out!

"Ma'am, I hope your method works."

As if communicating with his superiors, the squad leader's expression was very strange and conflicted after he closed his comms. If the other party's coordinates hadn't been the White House, he would have cursed them out.

He turned around. "There is word. They want us to head west along Raccoon Avenue."

Upon hearing this, the squad's Black virus disposal expert immediately cursed, "How are we supposed to go? That damned monster with the giant eyeballs growing all over it is blocking the middle school at the Raccoon Avenue fork. Without heavy firepower, we'll be dead if we go there!"

"They gave us a solution that isn't really a solution."

"What solution?"

"Either we wait here, or..."

In silence, the squad leader's struggling gaze flickered towards the radio in the room. Continuing to stall wasn't an option. Gritting his teeth and stomping his foot, he said, "Let's try it! We're Echo Six! How can we let corporate security rescue us?!"

He briefly outlined the plan.

The remaining team members wore expressions that suggested they thought he was joking.

"Lure it with sound? Which idiot came up with that plan? What sound could lure it? Its wife, or its daughter?" the squad's medic, a bald, rough, fat man, immediately questioned.

"Perhaps an old rival would work."

With that, the squad leader picked up the radio and adjusted the frequency. "Execute the order. You guys transfer to the opposite side of the street first. Watch my signal. I'll draw that monster's attention away!" After making a gesture for his team to move immediately, he then crouched down alone and moved along the wall towards the middle school.

Fortunately, the mutated William Birkin attacked everyone indiscriminately. Even zombies.

Along the way, there were splattered bloodstains and torn flesh every few hundred feet.

"Help me..."

As he approached the middle school's main entrance, the monster inside the building was still emitting a viscous, choking sound, as if it had a fishbone stuck in its throat.

"Roar—!"

A moment later, it turned into a non-human howl.

At the entrance of the middle school, damaged and abandoned vehicles were piled up. Almost every car was covered in bloodstains, with gnawed-on bones scattered around—a tragic sight. The squad leader glanced around and chose a vehicle that looked relatively sturdy and had its windows open.

He first turned the radio's volume to maximum. "Hoo..." Then, he took a deep breath, shifted into a running posture that was most convenient, pressed the radio's switch, and hurled it violently into the car.

Thump thump—

He bolted towards his teammates, frantically gesturing for them to find cover and retreat west, along Raccoon Avenue!

At that moment, accompanied by static, a clear, cold female voice came from the radio:

"Dr. William Birkin, long time no see. You seem to have failed again."

The voice was loud.

It was particularly noticeable at the entrance of the quiet middle school, where there was almost no other sound.

In response, boom—!

A creaking, grinding sound of metal was heard, and a steel pipe, accompanied by a piercing shriek, heavily struck the guardrail of the middle school's main entrance. Even the brick walls on both sides vibrated to varying degrees. The once silent street was swept by a tempest of roars.

"Roar—!"

"Vera Adelheid Russell... it's all because of you. I'll kill you, because of you... I'll kill you... I'm going to kill you!"

A severely asymmetrical, deformed figure appeared in front of the car that had emitted the sound.

The tattered white coat was stained with blood, stretched taut by its mutated height of over two meters. The right half of its body was completely torn open, and a giant eyeball had grown on its protruding shoulder. Its massive right arm had completely transcended the human form.

"How ugly, William Birkin..."

"Die!!"

William Birkin's head, squeezed by the G-cells and having shifted to his left shoulder and chest, let out a scream. Its eyes, which were almost swallowed by the mutated flesh, actually opened. Its eyes were wide with rage, and its bloodshot pupils seemed to flash with a scarlet, bloodthirsty red light. It swung the steel pipe in its hand, boom! The car was smashed flat, its glass shattering into pieces.

Boom! Boom boom!

Once, twice, three times. When the steel pipe was bent or broken, it used its hands. It didn't know how many times it struck, but the car was smashed to pieces. The radio was likely crushed, Vera's voice disappeared, and the entire car's metal structure was twisted into a mess.

"That's a lot of hatred and grudges."

William Birkin was drawn to the car it was continuously smashing. Taking this opportunity, Echo Six passed through the middle school and entered the east entrance of Raccoon Avenue. The squad leader, Jettingham, listening to the 'thump thump' of the smashing and the clear name that could still be shouted even after becoming inhuman, felt his throat go dry.

"This is Echo Six, we've entered Raccoon Avenue. Over."

The White House, Situation Room.

Creak.

Putting down her headset, Vera saw everyone around her wearing expressions of silence, wanting to speak but holding back. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Why are you all looking at me?"

Author's Note

(Chapter Update Notice)

As the title suggests, this book will be put on shelves this Friday, April 26th.

This is Qingjiu's second book, my second book to be put on shelves.

Speaking of which, I guess I'm a typical example of someone who went from being a reader to an author. My last book was written during the pandemic lockdown. I couldn't find anything I liked to read, and with nothing else to do at home while learning to drive, I decided to start writing.

With the experience from my last book, the start of this one is undoubtedly much, much stronger than the previous one (I even forgot to upload the cover when I first published the last book).

Thank you to all my readers and fellow book lovers for your support, especially those who followed me from my old book. Without you, Qingjiu wouldn't be where I am today.

Thank you to my editor, Nanxi, for taking care of me.

As for the content of this book, you all know that Qingjiu wants to write something a little different.

The reason I chose Cyberpunk 2077 as the starting point is because I actually wanted to write about it when 2077 was first released. But at that time, I was more engrossed in Honkai Impact, so I wrote about Honkai.

In this book, I will infiltrate Arasaka and make a name for myself as a Corporate Dog.

This is the established tone.

Let's talk about the content.

The more you understand the world of Cyberpunk, the more despairing it becomes. Legends can't change anything at all.

Even blowing up Arasaka Tower with David, Lucy, and V doesn't change the world. After Arasaka retreats, new major corporations will always fill the void, even becoming stronger by absorbing Arasaka's market share, making the situation even more desperate.

Protagonist Vera's identity is set up specifically for infiltrating corporations. Otherwise, considering the background and logic, it would be impossible for her to hold a high position at such a young age.

The "progress" in the book's title is something I've thought about carefully. Progress includes infiltrating corporations, as well as systems, and rising through any power structure.

This is the path I've chosen.

Resident Evil is similar. First, I infiltrated Umbrella, and then I took the opportunity to break away and become independent. Come to think of it, it's rare for me to write about the Raccoon City incident with the protagonist not in Raccoon City, but in Washington.

But this fits the theme of the book. I don't know if everyone will enjoy it.

Of course, I'm aware of the protagonist's share of the spotlight, and I will pay attention to adjusting the frequency. The protagonist can't always be in the background in every role; naturally, there will be unexpected incidents, and the protagonist will personally get involved. I will also arrange for the later Cyberpunk events, different worlds, and even the subsequent Resident Evil plotlines.

Please point out any errors. If you have any good suggestions or ideas, feel free to share them.

As for the guarantee of completion, any guarantee is empty. I have a record of completing a 3.5 million character novel, but in a word, let time be the judge.

There's no point in saying more.

Finally, regarding the explosive updates tomorrow, I'll do my best!

An explosion is definitely possible.

It's just that the scale of the explosion might not be that big.

Although I haven't set up a bounty, I owe three Silver Chests, as well as monthly passes, rewards, and "blades" (a form of currency/appreciation). I will definitely repay them. Even discounted repayments must be made.

9K—10K characters

Qingjiu is not a full-time author. This is roughly my daily limit.

I'll see if I can maintain explosive updates for a few consecutive days.

Qingjiu knows that my production efficiency isn't high, but I still ask you to come and support me.

I'm rolling on the floor begging o(￣ε￣*)

Chapter 035: Vera at the White House

The meeting continued.

On the table lay a map of Raccoon City and a compiled folder of intelligence on Raccoon City, collected by survivors of the former S.T.A.R.S. like Chris and Jill, and the U.S.F. forces.

Rustle.

While feigning a perusal, Vera sensed the gazes around her and looked up. It was Simmons. Noticing his thoughtful, questioning expression, she smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "Ahem, Mr. Simmons, is there something you need?"

"I've heard about your conflict with Dr. William Birkin for a long time. Seeing is believing."

"Not at all, Mr. Simmons."

Vera gently shook her head and glanced at the President, White House staff, and Joint Chiefs of Staff who were passing by, clearly showing interest.

Hmph! They all want to gossip about William and me, huh?

Slowly setting down her coffee cup, Vera propped her head on her left hand, her fingers supporting her cheek. Her eyes shifted as if recalling. "William Birkin. Personally, I'm not very familiar with him. It was just a simple difference of opinion at the board meeting. I admire his talent in biology, but I don't agree with his personality, nor do I approve of his strategy. It's that simple."

William Birkin.

How should I put it? Vera didn't like him, but she didn't harbor any pure malice.

It's just that she happened to need a target and an opponent.

William Birkin came along, so he became the one.

Vera knew William strongly disliked and detested her, but she hadn't expected it to be so exaggerated.

He was about to enter the second stage of the G-Virus, and the G-creature had already grown the rudimentary shape of its head. His consciousness and thinking ability should have disappeared, yet he became so agitated after hearing her formulaic criticism. His eyes tore open the flesh membrane, and he was able to clearly utter her full name. It's truly a feat.

However, when I recalled William's past deeds, it wasn't strange at all.

His personality was proud, extreme, sensitive, and competitive, prone to extreme highs and lows.

He was the world's top virus researcher, but not the top.

To claim the research results and sole authorship of the T-Virus, he killed his mentor, Dr. James Marcus;

Then, due to the existence of Alexia Ashford, who graduated from a prestigious university at the age of ten, he felt immense pressure and nearly had a mental breakdown, even though Alexia had never targeted him.

Only after Alexia disappeared did he recover. Then, as the chief researcher for Umbrella's viral agents and the creator of the G-Virus, he lived a good life, and finally, Vera Adelheid Russell joined Umbrella.

Even though Vera only countered him verbally and maintained proper boundaries, never actually hindering him in official matters.

Because of Vera's presence, Umbrella's revenue surged. Compared to the original timeline, even if the funding allocated to her remained the same or decreased as a proportion of Umbrella's annual investment, he received more funding, and the hardware conditions of the Raccoon City underground research facility were also better, but William couldn't see it.

He only saw his status within the company diminish, believing Vera had taken a larger share of the funding that should have been his.

Just as he had felt pressure from Alexia before, facing even greater pressure from Vera, he spiraled into self-destructive mental exhaustion, becoming pathologically insane.

Perhaps from William's perspective, his eventual cooperation with the US Military and his betrayal of Umbrella were all forced upon him, driven by that bitch Vera.

After being infected with the G-Virus, his chaotic thoughts only intensified this aversion and hatred.

"Let's not mention him, a fool who brought about his own destruction. As the former head of Umbrella's USA region, Umbrella Paris Headquarters may not care about Raccoon City's fate, but I, who bear the responsibility of maintaining the stability of the United States, cannot ignore it."

After subtly flattering everyone and elevating himself, Vera shifted the topic back to the assessment work for saving Raccoon City.