Infinite, Progressing from Arasaka

Chris forced a smile, caught the bottle of mineral water, and looked out at Raccoon City.

Above, rescue helicopters circled as they evacuated, their searchlights and signal lights flashing. Below lay the city's buildings, swallowed by complete darkness. To ensure safety, the city's power supply had been cut off.

"I wanted to take one last good look at it. The city I poured the first half of my life's work into..." she said.

Rumble!

The rain-enhancing rocket catalyst began to take effect. The clouds, already heavy with recent rain, started to churn. After a deafening clap of thunder, lightning turned the pitch-black night sky a ghastly white.

Drip, drip. Rain struck the vehicle's awning in a growing patter, splashing across the asphalt in sheets and producing a rapid, dense clatter as it washed over the road.

Letting the icy rain strike his face, Chris sniffed. He did not know whether it was merely psychological, or whether he was simply too exhausted, but he seemed to genuinely smell the T-Virus inhibitor.

An M.S.F squad commander informed him, "Chris Redfield, Executive Russell wishes to speak with you."

Chris turned, nodded, and followed him deeper into the evacuation point.

Claire and Jill exchanged a look. "Chris, was that true? He risked his life just to see her and nearly got beaten to death by Umbrella's guards..." The evacuation point had internet, electricity, and equipment, so Claire had already learned just how famous her brother had become.

"Probably."

Chris said bitterly. He did not want to be famous at all.

Those reporters were too annoying. That was also why he was still wearing M.S.F gear: to hide from reporters.

"Long time no see, Mr. Redfield."

When Chris entered the M.S.F command room at the evacuation point, he saw Vera Adelheid's tall, imposing, dazzling figure on the massive LCD screen in the center. She had already turned her face and shifted her gaze to him.

That was right—tall and imposing. That was the impression Vera Adelheid gave Chris.

She was always impeccably dressed, proper and stern, elegant in speech, meticulous about etiquette, without the slightest trace of coquettishness or seduction.

"Executive Russell..."

"Just call me Vera. I believe this friendship is enough for us to become friends."

Vera rested her elbows on the desk and leaned forward, her fingers interlaced before her. Her eyes shifted slightly as she smiled. "I will honor my promise. Militech's doors will always be open to you, including properties in San Francisco, Washington, New York, and Los Angeles, equivalent to twenty-five years of your salary at S.T.A.R.S..."

"Enough."

Chris cut Vera off. "I told you, I do not need any reward from you. All I want is for Umbrella to pay the price it deserves for its actions."

Vera was not angered. "That is you, and this is me. I am willing to give it to you. Do not rush to refuse. This is not pity, much less charity. It is equivalent to twenty-five years of your salary at S.T.A.R.S. Your sister is still in college, and I will cover her student loans. Also, have you considered furthering your education?"

Vera did not direct that last question at Chris, but at Claire, who had just walked in.

"Me?"

She pointed at herself in surprise.

"Yes. Which school would you like to attend? I can write you a letter of recommendation."

As she said this, Vera looked at Chris again. Sure enough, he was struggling. It was fine if he suffered himself, but he could not let his sister suffer with him.

Their parents had both died, and the siblings had relied on each other growing up. They had both attended college, yet Chris had not even finished repaying his own student loans. Their financial pressure was immense. Letting Claire attend a better university had also once been his hope.

Without giving Chris time to think, Vera directly announced the next matter. "Before October 1, I will send someone to bring you to Washington. The President will receive you at the White House and present you with a medal. You have earned it."

"Claire, take your brother downstairs to rest."

Not knowing the full story and having no time to process such an overwhelming amount of information, Claire looked at the M.S.F soldiers in the room, who were all looking over at them. Then she looked at Vera on the screen, wearing an elegant faint smile and clearly wishing to discuss other matters, signaling for her to take her brother away to rest. Claire chose to support her brother and lead him away.

"Rest well, Chris."

Vera watched the siblings disappear through the doorway. "Now then, let us discuss your contract terms, U.S.S." Her gaze turned cold as it fell on the eight people standing in the corner of the room.

The six members of U.S.S Delta Squad, who had already torn off their Umbrella shoulder patches.

And two Alpha Squad members in pure black Combat Suits, Kevlar ballistic helmets, and red-eyed fly-head gas masks.

Vera's gaze stopped on Alpha, standing at the front.

"I have heard much about you, Mr. Hunk."

"Chris, that was Vera Adelheid? The woman you convinced to expose Umbrella's crimes with you?"

Jill looked rather surprised. "Hey, that woman looks like trouble, but should we go work for Militech? The RPD is gone anyway..." She stepped forward and nudged Chris with her elbow teasingly.

"No, we are not the same kind of people. I... It is not that I dislike her. I just always feel like she puts too much pressure on me."

"Too much pressure? Mm... she really does." Claire chimed in at just the right moment. "She feels even more rigid and old-fashioned than the principal at my school..."

As their voices gradually faded away.

"Ugh..."

Leon sat dejectedly on an ammunition crate emptied of its rounds. "This is nothing like what I imagined my first day on the job would be..." He raised his head and looked up at Raccoon City beneath the rain curtain. Right, the RPD was gone. Where was he supposed to find work after this?

"You are still young. You can apply to other police departments."

It was Marvin, the Black captain. He handed Leon a cup of hot coffee and sat down beside him. "After this crisis, I do not think the federal government will simply sit by. They will surely establish a relevant response agency. People like us with experience handling this may receive preferential treatment."

As he spoke, Marvin looked at Leon's youthful face. "Of course, if you do not want to live like this anymore, you can choose a different kind of job, like..." His gaze drifted toward the fully armed M.S.F soldiers around the evacuation point, carrying all kinds of high-tech equipment not yet on the market.

Late at night, Washington.

The former Umbrella, now Militech branch building.

Having just ended a remote video conference, Vera thought over several matters as she entered her office.

Sleep? The office building had to remain brightly lit. She had to work through the night.

Raccoon City was still suffering from disaster. As one of the people involved, she had to look sorrowful. She had to look anxious.

Leaning back in her executive chair, Vera lazily stretched. "Hm?" Her gaze happened to sweep across the waxed solid-wood desktop, and Vera immediately became alert. She seemed far too energetic—not at all like someone who had stayed up working or was deeply grieved by the plight of Raccoon City's citizens.

If she was putting on an act, she had to commit to it.

"Tsk, I need to call a makeup artist and get some kind of exhausted look... Or should I try teaching myself?"

Vera, Establish a Bioterrorism Defense Organization

Vera raised her head and watched the city meet its end.

September 28, 5:55 a.m.

Rumble—

Firelight, thick smoke, explosions...

After several hours, the carpet bombing with incendiaries meant to clear out old stock finally stopped.

The zombie howls that had echoed through the city in wave after wave had mostly vanished. Raccoon City was already engulfed in towering flames. The scorching heat waves stirred up by the inferno intertwined with the local circulation of the Arklay Mountains, resembling a crimson tide as heaven and earth turned red.

Umbrella's chemical plant, sales office, Raccoon City headquarters building, general hospital, substations, sewage treatment plants, waste disposal plants... Every location suspected of being connected to the viral outbreak had been bombed into ruins and burned to ash.

And this was only the appetizer.

Five minutes later, Whooom—!

A dazzling sphere of light trailing a long tail tore through the sky with a shriek, instantly striking the burning heart of Raccoon City.

Like the simultaneous glare of ten million suns, the entire downtown area was instantly swallowed by an expanding giant fireball, and everything turned to dust. The image shook violently. White static and intermittent dead air filled the screen before the television abruptly went silent. Then, a red-and-black mushroom cloud rose into the sky...

Vera turned her head away.

It was over.

Pushed by the Pentagon's generals, proposed by Simmons, and supplemented by Vera, the plan had first used artificial rainfall carrying the inhibitor to dilute the T-Virus and reduce the activity of T-Virus-infected creatures. Then she had made a deal with Air Force generals to help them clear their inventory of old incendiary bombs. Finally, this was the ending that truly reassured Washington's big shots.

"A vaporization nuclear bomb. Not bad," she murmured.

She had read the materials the Pentagon gave her. It was a newly developed military vaporization nuclear device, possessing power comparable to ordinary nuclear weapons while reducing radioactive contamination to an extremely low level.

Tsk. Aside from electromagnetic cannons that could barely be used by individual soldiers due to their power requirements, the military had quite a few hidden black-tech goodies...

Vera rose from before the massive screen in the Military Science Building's reception hall and headed outside.

Raccoon City had been destroyed. Umbrella's crimes had been exposed in advance thanks to her defection, and the evidence was even more conclusive than in the original timeline. Sanctions and asset freezes against Umbrella swept across the world like falling dominoes. Even African nations dared to seize Umbrella's assets now.

Very soon, with Umbrella's collapse, bioterror incidents across the world would only grow more rampant.

Vera had always felt that the Raccoon City incident and the sanctions against Umbrella were essentially a B.O.W. proliferation order.

Once Umbrella fell, more and more strange forces holding Umbrella's legacy or calling themselves Umbrella's successors would spring up like mushrooms after rain.

Today, B.O.W.s would appear on this Black Market. Tomorrow, they would fall into the hands of terrorists or gangsters. The day after, technology related to some virus would end up in the hands of this or that anti-government organization or unstable regime...

Vera could only say that Spencer had done a fine job. He had built virus research facilities all over the world—in one island or another remote corner. As long as someone was willing to search, they would always find something.

Umbrella's bankruptcy and breakup were already unavoidable.

When a wall fell, everyone pushed it. The Global Pharmaceutical Federation had already publicized its decision to expel Umbrella and had begun contacting Vera, intending for her Militech to take Umbrella's place.

The Global Pharmaceutical Federation was an organization made up of numerous pharmaceutical companies from around the world. Umbrella had been a member of its Board of Directors. A former member.

She was not planning to interfere too much.

William Birkin could testify that I, Vera Adelheid, had never liked excessive research into bioweapon virus technology!

She was preparing to sell something else.

Security and military contracting services.

And that security naturally included defense against bioterror incidents and emergency suppression operations.

The rougher the waters, the more valuable the fish.

Splash—

The moment Vera stepped out of the Military Science Building, her appearance immediately stirred up the surrounding reporters, who surged toward her at once.

She naturally walked to the podium. Behind her, the enormous LED wall that had only recently been installed on the Military Science Building continued flashing reports of Raccoon City's "inhibitor rainfall, carpet bombing, nuclear detonation," and other sterilization operations.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I must now deliver some painful news. According to assessment reports from the M.S.F and U.B.C.S personnel fighting on the front lines, the lethal threat of T-Virus infection has been addressed through a joint decision by the President and Congress. At six o'clock this morning, the military conducted a sterilization operation on Raccoon City to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the United States. However, this operation has also resulted in Raccoon City's disappearance from the face of the Earth."

"This is undoubtedly a tragedy. We have no time for excessive mourning, no time for grief. We must firmly remember this painful lesson and never allow such a tragedy to happen again..."

With sincere words and overflowing emotion, Vera, wearing the faintly haggard makeup she had taught herself last night, made a righteous declaration. "Although I am now Militech's Chief Executive Officer, I will never forget that I was once a member of Umbrella. This is a mistake I will spend my entire life making up for."

"I hereby announce that Militech will establish a Bioterrorism Defense and Radioactive Contamination Prevention Research Center. The center will be located in Raccoon City. I will never allow Raccoon City to become Colorado's pain..."

At last, the dagger was revealed.

Heh. Rebuilding a city after a nuclear explosion? Arasaka knew that business all too well.

Vera could proudly declare that no one understood radioactive contamination management better than she did. In a year or so, she could slowly produce some results. Although Militech would take the biggest share and this would demonstrate Vera's willingness to shoulder social responsibility, Colorado and the federal government would have to provide funding too, right?

As long as there were results, with a little cover-up, could Vera not report whatever expenses she wanted?

Pure profit.

One hour later, the White House.

"National Security Advisor Simmons."

"Executive Russell."

Vera and Simmons met in the National Security Advisor's office. After they took their seats, Simmons opened the conversation first. "Miss Vera, I have to admire your ambition and sense of responsibility. I also wish your research every success."

Simmons meant that praise from the bottom of his heart.

Although he had been the first to propose nuking Raccoon City, he was fundamentally a dove—just a little extreme, a little radical. Having a city on American soil reduced to nuclear ruins troubled him as well. This was completely different from nuclear testing in Nevada.

In gaming terms, Vera's speech an hour ago had hit Simmons right in his sweet spot. His favorability toward her had risen again.

"I am merely trying to make myself feel a little better."

Simmons smiled. As they discussed the follow-up handling of Raccoon City, he poured Vera a glass of apple wine. "Vera, tell me, how should we stop another Raccoon City incident from happening? How can we prevent it?" he asked thoughtfully.

After pondering for a moment, Vera took out a metal cigarette case and glanced at Simmons. He gave her a go-ahead expression. With the crisp click of a lighter, a flame rose. Vera held a slim ladies' cigarette between two long fingers, lit it, and took a drag. "Only by understanding them can we prevent them."