Infinite Progress, Starting with Arasaka

Chris managed a weak smile, caught the bottle of mineral water, and just stared at Raccoon City.

Above, rescue helicopters circled as they withdrew, their lights and indicators flashing. Below, the city buildings were plunged into complete darkness; the power supply had been cut for safety.

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

Boom!

The catalyst in the rain-making rockets began to take effect. The clouds, already overcast from the recent rain, started to churn. After a deafening thunderclap, lightning flashed, turning the pitch-black night sky a ghastly white.

Drip, drip. Raindrops pattered against the vehicle's tarpaulin, creating a crackling sound that grew louder. Water splashed up from the asphalt, making a rapid, dense noise as it washed over the road.

Letting the cold rain fall on his face, Chris sniffed the air. He wasn't sure if it was psychosomatic or just his exhaustion, but he thought he could actually smell the T-Virus inhibitor.

An M.S.F. squad commander's voice came over the comms: "Chris Redfield, Executive Russell wishes to speak with you."

Chris turned, nodded, and walked towards the evacuation point.

Claire and Jill exchanged glances. "Brother, is that true? He risked his life to see her, almost got shot by Umbrella guards..." The evacuation point had internet, power, and equipment. Claire already knew how famous her brother had become.

"Probably."

Chris said bitterly. He didn't want to be famous at all.

Those reporters were so annoying. That's why he was still wearing M.S.F. gear – to avoid them.

"Long time no see, Mr. Redfield."

When Chris entered the M.S.F. command center at the evacuation point, he saw Vera Adelheid's tall, majestic, and dazzling figure on the large central LCD screen, her face turned to the side, her gaze shifting to him.

Yes, tall and majestic. That was the impression Vera Adelheid gave Chris.

She was always impeccably dressed, serious, spoke elegantly, and observed all courtesies, possessing not a trace of flirtatiousness or allure.

"Executive Russell... Executive."

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

Vera leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, her fingers interlaced into a fist. Her eyes flickered, a smile playing on her lips as she said, "I will keep my promise. Militech's doors are always open to you, including properties in San Francisco, Washington, New York, and Los Angeles, equivalent to your 25 years of salary working for S.T.A.R.S..."

"Enough."

Chris interrupted Vera. "I told you, I don't need any compensation from you. All I want is for Umbrella to pay for its actions."

Vera wasn't annoyed. "That's you. And this is me. I'm willing to give it to you. Don't rush to refuse; this isn't pity, nor is it charity. It's equivalent to your 25 years of salary working for S.T.A.R.S. Your sister is still in college; I'll take care of her student loans. Also, do you have any thoughts about further education?"

Vera didn't say the last sentence to Chris, but to Claire, who was walking in.

"Ah, me?"

She pointed to herself in surprise.

"Yes, which school do you want to go to? I can help you write a letter of recommendation."

As she said this, Vera looked back at Chris. He was indeed struggling. It was one thing for him to suffer, but he couldn't let his sister suffer with him.

Orphaned and raised by each other, both had gone to college. Chris still had student loans to repay, and the financial pressure was immense. Sending Claire to a better university was something he had once hoped for.

Without giving Chris time to think, Vera directly announced the next matter. "Before October 1st, I will send a specialist to pick you up and take you to Washington. The President will receive you at the White House and award you a medal. You deserve it."

"Claire, take your brother down to rest."

Not knowing the full picture and without time to process the overwhelming amount of information, Claire looked at the M.S.F. soldiers inside who were also looking at her, then at Vera on the screen, who, with an elegant smile, clearly indicated she wanted her to take her brother to rest. Claire chose to support her brother and lead him away.

"Rest well, Chris."

Vera watched the siblings' backs disappear through the doorway. "Now, let's discuss your contract terms, U.S.S." She turned her now cold gaze to the eight people standing in the corner of the room.

Six members of the U.S.S. Delta Squad, their Umbrella insignia already torn off.

And two members of Alpha Squad, clad in all-black combat suits, wearing Kevlar helmets and red-eyed gas masks.

Vera's gaze lingered on Alpha, who stood at the front.

"It's an honor, Mr. Hunk."

"Chris, is that Vera Adelheid? The one you convinced to expose Umbrella's crimes?"

Jill looked quite surprised. "Hey, even though that woman looks tough, Militech... want to join her? RPD is gone anyway..." She nudged Chris with her elbow, teasingly.

"No, we're not on the same path as her. I... it's not that I dislike her, I just feel... she puts too much pressure on me."

"Pressure, huh... yeah, it's quite a lot," Claire chimed in at the right moment. "Feels more imposing than my school's rigid, old-fashioned principal..."

As their voices faded.

"Sigh..."

With a dejected look, Leon sat on an empty ammo crate. "This isn't quite how I imagined starting work..." He looked up, gazing at Raccoon City under the rain. Yeah, RPD was gone, where would he find a job after this?

"You're still young, you can apply to other police departments."

It was Chief Marvin, a Black man, who handed Leon a cup of hot coffee and sat beside him. "After this crisis, I don't think the federal government will just sit idly by. They'll definitely establish relevant response agencies. Those of us with experience in dealing with this might be given preferential treatment."

Marvin looked at Leon's youthful face. "Of course, if you don't want to live this kind of life anymore, you can choose a different job, like..." His gaze drifted towards the perimeter of the evacuation point, where M.S.F. soldiers, fully armed with various unreleased high-tech equipment, were stationed.

Late at night, Washington D.C.

The former Umbrella, now Militech's divisional headquarters.

Vera, having just finished a remote video conference, walked into her office while pondering a problem.

Sleep? The building's offices must be brightly lit, working through the night.

Raccoon City was still suffering, and as one of the parties involved, she had to appear distressed and anxious.

Leaning back in her executive chair, Vera stretched lazily. "Hm?" Her gaze accidentally swept across the waxed solid wood desk. Vera immediately became alert. She seemed too energetic, not at all like someone who had been working late into the night or excessively mourning the Raccoon City citizens' plight.

Might as well go all the way.

"Hiss, I need to call a makeup artist to give me a sickly look... or maybe I should teach myself?"

Chapter 039: Vera, Let's Establish a Biohazard Defense Organization

Vera looked up, gazing at the city's end.

September 28th, 5:55 AM.

Rumble—

Flames, thick smoke, explosions...

The carpet-bombing with incendiary rounds, like clearing out inventory, which had lasted for hours, finally ceased.

The cries of zombies, which had echoed through the city like an ebbing tide, had mostly disappeared. Raccoon City was now engulfed in towering infernos. The scorching heatwaves generated by the flames intertwined with the localized air currents of the Arklay Mountains, resembling a crimson tide, painting the sky and earth a deep red.

Umbrella's chemical plant, sales offices, Raccoon City headquarters, general hospital, power substation, sewage treatment plant, waste disposal plant... all areas suspected of viral outbreaks were blasted into ruins, burned to ashes.

And this was merely the appetizer.

Five minutes later, Buzzzzz—!

A dazzling ball of light with a long tail streaked across the sky with a whistling sound, instantly striking the burning heart of Raccoon City.

Like the intense light of millions of suns shining simultaneously, the entire city was instantly swallowed by an expanding fireball, everything reduced to dust. In response, the screen violently shook, with crackling white static and intermittent static noise, before suddenly falling silent. A mushroom cloud of red and black billowed into the sky...

Vera turned her head away.

It was over.

The Pentagon generals pushed for it, Simmons proposed it, and Vera supplemented it: first, dilute the T-Virus with inhibitor-induced artificial rain to lower the activity of T-Virus infected organisms, then do business with the Air Force generals to help them clear out their old stock of incendiary bombs. And then, this was the real finale that would put the big shots in Washington at ease.

"Vaporization nuclear bomb, a good thing," she muttered.

She had looked at the data provided by the Pentagon. This was a newly developed vaporization nuclear device bomb by the military, possessing destructive power comparable to a standard nuclear weapon while also reducing radioactive contamination to an extremely low level.

Tsk, besides the electromagnetic cannon that's difficult to power and barely usable by a single soldier, the military really has a lot of hidden black technology...

Standing up, Vera walked away from the massive screen in Militech's reception hall and headed for the building's exit.

Raccoon City was destroyed. Under her betrayal, Umbrella's evidence of crimes was exposed earlier and more conclusively than in the original timeline. Sanctions and freezes against Umbrella swept the globe like a domino effect, with even African nations daring to confiscate Umbrella's assets.

Soon, with Umbrella's dissolution, biohazard incidents worldwide would only escalate.

Vera had a feeling that the Raccoon City incident and Umbrella's sanctions were like an order for B.O.W. proliferation.

Once Umbrella fell, more and more strange factions would emerge like mushrooms after a rain, either holding Umbrella's legacy or considering themselves Umbrella's successors.

Today, B.O.W.s appear on the black market; tomorrow, they fall into the hands of terrorists or gangsters; the day after, related virus technology is mastered by some anti-government organization or unstable government...

Vera could only say, Spencer did a great job, building virus research labs all over the world, not just on this island or in some remote corner... As long as someone is determined to search, they can always find something.

Umbrella's bankruptcy and dissolution were inevitable.

When a wall crumbles, everyone pushes. The Global Pharmaceutical Federation had already lobbied to oust Umbrella and was contacting Vera, intending for her Militech to take Umbrella's place.

The Global Pharmaceutical Federation, an organization composed of numerous pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Umbrella was a member of its board. The former member.

She had no intention of interfering too much.

William Birkin can attest that I, Vera Adelheid, have always disliked excessive bio-virus technology research!

Instead, she planned to sell something else.

Security and military contracting services.

This security naturally included defense and emergency suppression against biohazard incidents.

After all, the greater the storm, the more valuable the fish.

Splash—

Stepping out of the Militech building, Vera's appearance immediately caused a stir among the surrounding reporters, who swarmed towards her.

Naturally walking to the podium, Vera stood with her back to the massive LED screen recently installed on the Militech building. On it, footage of Raccoon City's sterilization operations – "inhibitor rain, carpet bombing, nuclear explosion" – continued to flash.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I must now sadly bring you a piece of news. Based on the assessment reports from the M.S.F. and U.B.C.S. fighting on the front lines, after joint deliberation by the President and Congress, the military conducted a sterilization operation on Raccoon City this morning at 6 AM to prevent the virus from spreading across the nation. However, this operation also led to the disappearance of Raccoon City from the face of the Earth."

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

Her words were sincere, her emotions full. Vera, sporting the slightly haggard makeup she had learned the night before, made a righteous declaration: "Although I am now the CEO of Militech, I will never forget that I was once a part of Umbrella. This is a mistake I will spend my life atoning for."

"I announce that Militech is establishing the Bio-Defense and Radioactive Contamination Prevention Research Center. The research center will be located in Raccoon City. I will never let Raccoon City become a pain for Colorado..."

The hidden motive revealed.

Arasaka is no stranger to rebuilding cities after nuclear explosions.

Vera can proudly announce that no one understands radioactive contamination management better than she does. After a year or so, once the results start coming in, even though Militech will be handling the bulk of it and it's a demonstration of Vera's social responsibility, the state of Colorado and the federal government will have to allocate funds when they say so.

As long as there are results, with a little cover-up, the expenditure will be whatever Vera claims.

Pure profit.

An hour later, the White House.

"Simmons, National Security Advisor."

"Russell, Executive Officer."

Vera and Simmons met in the National Security Advisor's office. After taking their seats, Simmons initiated the conversation, "Miss Vera, I must admire your ambition and sense of responsibility, and I wish you success in your research."

Simmons meant this praise sincerely.

Although he was the first to propose the nuclear annihilation of Raccoon City, he was fundamentally a pacifist, just an extreme and radical one. He was also troubled by the ruins of a city destroyed by nuclear bombs within the country. This was entirely different from the nuclear tests in Nevada.

If one were to use game terminology, an hour ago, Vera's statement had hit Simmons's G-spot, and his favorability rating had risen again.

"It's merely to ease my own conscience a little."

Simmons chuckled, and as they discussed the subsequent handling of Raccoon City, he poured Vera a glass of apple cider. "Vera," he said thoughtfully, "how do you think we should prevent an event like Raccoon City from happening again? How do we prevent it?"

After a moment of contemplation, Vera took out her 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 slender fingers, lit it, and took a puff. "To prevent them, you must understand them."