Floating Island Incident (Part 2)

Within BSAA's research institute, Shen Fei finally had the chance to get his hands on the T-Virus. While using machines to analyze it, he was simultaneously dissecting the virus with his Op-Op Fruit's abilities.

"A plant virus... I'd really like to see the source of the T-Virus, the Stairway of the Sun." Though Shen Fei didn't know much about the T-Virus, he did know its origin, which was one of the reasons he had come to the BSAA.

To some extent, the Stairway of the Sun and the Heart-Shaped Herb were very similar—both were plants, both could strengthen the human body. The reason Shen Fei had never touched the Heart-Shaped Herb wasn't just because he feared Wakanda's technological level; there was another reason: was the Heart-Shaped Herb effective for everyone?

He only remembered that it seemed only the Wakandan Royal Family could consume it. No one else had ever eaten it. If the Heart-Shaped Herb truly worked for everyone, it made no sense that only the Royal Family took it. They could have used it to cultivate a special forces unit.

And more importantly, if it really worked for everyone, why didn't people from other tribes eat it? Something so powerful—no one being tempted by it was simply unscientific.

Wakanda had a simple and honest culture, but that didn't mean its people lacked ambition. There had to be some reason why no one stole the Heart-Shaped Herb.

As for the Stairway of the Sun, Shen Fei didn't know the specifics, but judging from some characteristics of the T-Virus, before a suitable serum was developed, relying on the virus for enhancement was pure luck. Wesker succeeded because he was already one of the survivors of Spencer's viral enhancement experiments.

Shen Fei had managed to survive a T-Virus infection back then and gained enhanced abilities, not because he was lucky, but because of the Op-Op Fruit's power.

The Op-Op Fruit had the ability to extract the essence and discard the dregs. That was why, when Shen Fei escaped Raccoon City and underwent S.H.I.E.L.D.'s inspection, his body didn't reveal that it still contained the T-Virus.

Viruses could alter the structure of the human body, and so could Devil Fruits. To some extent, a Devil Fruit could even be considered a kind of virus.

Shen Fei, who had been studying the Op-Op Fruit's abilities, had also noticed this. But even so, he wouldn't just inject any virus into his body.

He wasn't Wesker, someone who didn't care about the risk of turning into a monster for the sake of power.

"As I thought, movies like Resident Evil are completely illogical." Through his research on the T-Virus, Shen Fei understood one thing: zombies couldn't exist long-term. Without feeding—meaning energy replenishment—they couldn't survive for extended periods.

Zombies rotted because they lacked internal energy and had to draw from their own cells. Over time, they would decay more and more until they completely rotted away and died. How long that took depended on the individual.

For a Tyrant-level creature, it might last a very long time.

"Analyzing the T-Virus? Wasn't this thing already fully analyzed?" As Shen Fei worked, another researcher, Chad, walked over and said.

"Just getting familiar with it," Shen Fei replied.

To others, the T-Virus really had nothing left to analyze. The T-Virus vaccine was already out, and they were analyzing other viruses. Even Umbrella Corporation had abandoned research on the T-Virus, moving on to other viruses evolved from it. But for Shen Fei, the T-Virus was the most important.

Up to now, aside from the parasite series, all biological weapons were essentially derivatives of the T-Virus. The reason for this was that only the T-Virus could alter the structure of the human body.

The human body had its own immune system, which allowed it to resist most bacteria and viruses. That was why humans could eat all kinds of organisms without being affected by them.

But the T-Virus changed that. Marcus's Leech Virus was created by combining the T-Virus with leech genes. Although it never spread, Marcus was resurrected because of it—or perhaps not resurrected, but rather a Leech Queen with Marcus's memories was created.

Other viruses like the G-Virus, T-G Virus, T-Veronica Virus, and T-Abyss Virus were all produced by combining the T-Virus with other genes.

In other words, if used well, it was entirely possible to combine the G-Virus with certain organisms to give humans the abilities of those organisms without other side effects.

This was extremely difficult for ordinary scientists. Just look at Umbrella Corporation—from its founding to the present, it had been researching biochemical viruses and still hadn't achieved a completely successful one.

The only successful viral enhancement so far was the T-Veronica Virus. Poor Spencer had always wanted to achieve immortality through viruses, even scouring the world for children to use as test subjects, never realizing that right under his nose, Alexia had succeeded.

And even with the T-Veronica Virus, it took about fifteen years for the body to fully adapt.

Of course, Captain America's successful case wasn't counted, because to this day, aside from a few people like Spencer, no one knew the relationship between the Super Soldier Serum and the T-Virus.

But while this was difficult for others, it wasn't that hard for Shen Fei, who had the Op-Op Fruit.

Nature was full of creatures with amazing abilities. Look at Spider-Man—just bitten by a spider, and he gained a spider's powers.

If other organisms were combined with humans, what wonderful abilities might appear? For example, a chameleon—humans might gain the ability to turn invisible.

Research life was very tedious. Every day was about recording various data. Jill and Chris rarely appeared on the island; they were usually on the front lines. Shen Fei especially admired that.

The members of BSAA's Strike Team also greatly admired them. So even though Chris's team had the highest casualties, there were still plenty of people who wanted to team up with him. To these people, Chris was a legend.

After that meeting, Shen Fei never saw Sherry again. S.H.I.E.L.D. work was very busy. But he did meet Rebecca often. On the same island, both experts in biochemistry, they had plenty to talk about.

"Looks like something's happened." One day during routine research, Shen Fei heard commotion outside. Curious, he went out and learned that a new type of biological weapon had been discovered—a monster completely white in color.

Every time a new biological weapon was discovered, it was when the BSAA suffered the heaviest casualties, because there was no vaccine.

"It seems to be fish DNA." While others were putting on protective suits to approach the white monster, Shen Fei had already used the Op-Op Fruit to roughly analyze the characteristics of this new biochemical virus. A T-Virus combined with marine life—this was the T-Abyss Virus.

"A lot of people are injured. We need to develop a vaccine quickly." Under the chief researcher's assignment, all researchers received related tasks, including Shen Fei.

The T-Virus vaccine had long been successfully developed. Strike Team members would be vaccinated before missions. Under the vaccine's effect, the T-Virus was no longer lethal.

However, because the T-Virus was a plant virus, the vaccine could only delay the onset of its variants, not provide immunity.

"Chris is infected." Besides the new biochemical virus, Shen Fei also heard another piece of news: Chris was in trouble. Team members kept getting hurt, putting immense pressure on Chris. The reason Chris had survived this long wasn't because he was that skilled or had plot armor, but because his teammates kept saving him when he was in danger.

It was also because Jill was always there supporting him, and Wesker, his great enemy, hadn't died yet. Otherwise, Chris might have broken down long ago. In the Original Work, Chris had once collapsed for a considerable period.

"It looks like it's up to me." Developing a vaccine, especially for a new virus, was impossible in a short time. So many researchers at the institute sympathized with Chris.

"Shen Fei, what are you doing? Hurry up and bring the analysis results." Generally, overseas Chinese would adopt a foreign name, like Melinda or Ada Wong. The name Shen Fei was actually quite awkward to pronounce abroad—Fei Shen, following foreign conventions.

But thanks to the world's internationalization, with Celestial Dynasty culture and cuisine being exported, Chinese names were no longer pronounced strictly according to standard rules.

"I'm busy. Don't bother me." With that, Shen Fei pushed aside a few nearby researchers and monopolized several instruments.

The Op-Op Fruit was powerful, but combined with instruments, the results would be much faster.

"Prepare the reagents for me. Hurry up, do you want Chris and the others to die?" Under Shen Fei's scolding, the nearby researchers quickly brought him all the reagents he needed.

"Done." Soon, Shen Fei had the vaccine ready. Ignoring everyone else, he took the vaccine and left the institute for the nearby hospital.

At the hospital, in Chris's ward, Chris lay on the bed without a trace of fear. There was even a hint of relief on his face. Beside him, Jill's eyes looked red from crying.

"This is the vaccine for the new virus. I just made it. It hasn't been tested." Time was tight. Shen Fei went straight to Chris's side and pulled out a metal syringe.

"This..." Jill immediately hesitated.

"Come on," Chris said without a hint of hesitation.

"Captain, this is too dangerous. Let someone else try it first," said one of Chris's other squad members who had followed Shen Fei in.

"Is my life more important than theirs?" Under Chris's rebuke, all the squad members fell silent at once.

"Relax, I'm very confident about this." Nonsense—how could he not be confident? This was concocted using the Op-Op Fruit. Chris contracting the virus was also a chance for Shen Fei to show his worth. Otherwise, who knew how long he'd be stuck in the position of an ordinary researcher? After all, he was still too young.