Capturing Mercer Alive

Raymond didn't know Chen Changsheng's intentions, but Chen Changsheng's request also made Raymond interested in tomorrow's dissection.

After finding Alex Mercer's information on the computer, Raymond didn't discover anything unusual. After all, Mercer wasn't the first person to try and sell out Gentek Corporation's interests. However, he still decided to take a look at Mercer's dissection tomorrow.

In the original game plot, only two researchers were involved in Mercer's dissection. But due to Chen Changsheng's participation, this dissection work became more formal.

A group of senior researchers from Gentek first surrounded Alex Mercer, who was lying on the operating table, pointing and discussing. Finally, a highly respected doctor picked up the scalpel and began the dissection.

When the scalpel was still a short distance from Mercer's chest, Alex Mercer, who had been lying still, suddenly opened his eyes and reached out to block the scalpel that was coming towards him.

This scene of resurrection truly terrified the experts present. Even Raymond, in front of the computer, was startled. He had personally witnessed the crisis that had occurred in Hope Town, so the word "zombie" quickly flashed through Raymond's mind.

Watching the numerous researchers frantically crowding and running out from the cameras, Raymond, with a grim expression, issued an order to the Black Watch forces at Gentek Corporation's headquarters: eliminate anyone attempting to leave the company.

If the virus were to spread, he would be in serious trouble. It was better to be cautious for now. Raymond was still considering how to handle the aftermath, as killing so many people without reason was no small matter.

As a result, the researchers who ran out first had terrible luck. As soon as they stepped out, they were riddled with bullet holes by Black Watch soldiers with rifles. Mercer, who followed them out, was also startled.

Although he was still groggy after just waking up, seeing someone killed made him understand what was happening, no matter how foolish he was. He then took long strides and began to flee.

With a tiger chasing him from behind, Mercer didn't hesitate when faced with a four-meter-high protective net. He leaped up and jumped right over it.

After watching the video from his company headquarters, Raymond, with a grim expression, called Chen Changsheng and sternly questioned him about what he knew and why such a thing had happened.

"As if!" Chen Changsheng didn't care about Raymond's questions and just gave a few perfunctory replies.

Raymond angrily hung up on Chen Changsheng and simultaneously called the leader of the Black Watch for help. A zombie crisis was not something Raymond could control.

At this time, the virus was no longer the Original Virus from decades ago. Under Chen Changsheng's guidance, it had evolved into the Blacklight Virus.

The Blacklight Virus was extremely contagious when left uncontrolled and could infect the entire population of New York within ten days.

However, Chen Changsheng could accept a delay of a day or two. He called the Umbrella Corporation, mobilized a group of super-soldiers to New York, and boarded a plane to New York City.

When he flew to New York, Chen Changsheng could already feel the virus floating in the air. The virus couldn't survive in the air for long. It was clear that many people in New York City must have already been infected by the Blacklight Virus, otherwise, there wouldn't be such a strong concentration of it in the air.

Under the guise of Umbrella Corporation maintaining New York Park, Chen Changsheng cordoned off a large area within the park.

And within the area heavily surrounded by Umbrella mercenaries, Chen Changsheng was leisurely planting willow trees one by one.

Chen Changsheng didn't care about the population or economic losses caused by the outbreak of the biological crisis. When the entire Manhattan was filled with zombies, it would be time for the willow trees to harvest. Although these wild Blacklight Viruses were related to the Original Virus, they were still valuable materials worth collecting.

In a short time, Central Park in New York was filled with willow trees. If this were normal times, citizens would have fiercely criticized the government, but at this moment, no one cared about such things.

The zombie crisis in densely populated Manhattan made everyone nervous, automatically ignoring everything else.

As soon as the first zombies were discovered on Manhattan Island, the military immediately sealed it off. The island was only connected by a few bridges, and a blockade was easily established by deploying heavy weapons near the bridges.

While large-scale weapons were inconvenient to use in New York City, the military had no such reservations over the wide river. Various missiles were deployed in a circle along the river, creating a defense that not even a bird could escape.

In the Black Watch base, General Randall angrily cursed his subordinates. It wasn't that General Randall was overly angry; it was just that his subordinates were too incompetent. Three days had passed, and they still hadn't captured Mercer.

In these three days, several infected areas had already appeared in New York. If it weren't for the Black Watch army still being considered elite, quickly sealing off those areas, all of Manhattan would have been surrounded by zombies.

Dr. Mike Mullen, the chief scientist of Gentek Corporation, was also reprimanded. General Randall stared fiercely at Mike Mullen and said, "How long will it take your Gentek Corporation to research an antibody to counter Mercer's virus? Do we have to wait until we're all dead?"

Mike Mullen couldn't explain how powerful the Blacklight Virus was, as General Randall only cared about results. Therefore, Mike Mullen could only make a military pledge, guaranteeing that an antibody would be produced within three more days.

Clearly, Mike Mullen didn't grasp the preciousness of time and what changes might occur in three days.

On the sixth day, 25% of Manhattan Island in New York had been infected. The fleshy bacteria had spread like a carpet across the skyscrapers in that area. Satellite images made the buildings look as if they were alive, slowly wriggling, enough to drive anyone to madness with a single glance.

During these six days, Mercer continuously absorbed zombies and humans, and his body grew stronger. From being afraid of rifle bullets at the beginning, he could now only sustain minor injuries from rocket launchers. All of this happened in just six days.

In these six days, Mercer also grew from a clueless novice who remembered nothing into a master tank driver, master aircraft pilot, master marksman, master artilleryman... There was no other way; the military and the Black Watch had mobilized too many elites to deal with the zombie crisis here, which was purely providing experience for Mercer.

During these six days, Mercer had also visited Chen Changsheng's Umbrella base in Central Park. However, the powerful firepower of the base left a deep impression on him. Seeing Mercer limping away, Chen Changsheng was certain that Mercer didn't have time to curse.

After collecting the genetic samples Mercer left at the base, Chen Changsheng evolved some new abilities. After fully adapting to these abilities, Chen Changsheng used his own tendrils to inject these special-ability viruses into the super-soldiers he had brought.

Mercer was truly a treasure. Chen Changsheng believed that he would generously provide more skills the next time they met.

These super-soldiers were already parasitized by the Original Virus and only obeyed Chen Changsheng's commands, so Chen Changsheng didn't mind making the super-soldiers even stronger.

It was just that these enhanced soldiers were a bit dull-witted, only knowing how to fight and unable to handle more complex matters, which Chen Changsheng found regrettable. But then again, who didn't like fearless warriors?

On the seventh day, Mercer rescued Elizabeth from the Gentek Corporation headquarters building. Well, perhaps he didn't rescue her; she actually forced him out.

After leaving Mercer with the words "I am your mother," Elizabeth disappeared, and Mercer was left bewildered in the wind. When did he get a mother?

From this point on, the infected zone began to spread at an even faster rate. These developments completely exceeded the expectations of the Black Watch forces.

Although the Black Watch forces were elite, their drawback was their small numbers. The suddenly expanding infected zone caught the Black Watch off guard, and their actions became stretched thin.

How could those few Black Watch members possibly control such a vast Manhattan Island? It was at this moment that Chen Changsheng received authorization from the military and officially began to participate in the Manhattan Island biological crisis.

Elite mercenaries from Umbrella Corporation, wearing full protective isolation armor, quickly occupied the uninfected areas. As for the original Black Watch soldiers, they were all driven to the front lines of the infected zones to fight zombies.

The Black Watch soldiers were actually quite elite. Even the strongest Hunters of this stage couldn't withstand the siege of numerous Black Watch soldiers.

With their coordinated efforts, the Black Watch soldiers could turn Hunters into meat paste with grenade launchers and rocket launchers, which could be considered salvaging some final dignity for General Randall, who was about to be court-martialed.

The Umbrella mercenaries did not directly destroy the infected zones. Instead, they tirelessly drove armored vehicles to rescue ordinary people still uninfected within the infected zones.

The Umbrella mercenaries did not directly provoke the Hunters, so they mostly faced ordinary zombies, making the rescue mission exceptionally smooth.

Meanwhile, the Black Watch troops faced a much tougher situation. With Elizabeth released, the zombies began a major evolution. The closer they got to the depths of the infected zone, the stronger the zombies became.

In an infected area, Mercer snatched a tank he had never seen before from the Black Watch troops. This tank had clearly been modified, with additional barrels on both sides of the turret, making it look exceptionally formidable. It was unclear what they were used for.

Master Mercer, driving the tank, fired a shot that instantly destroyed a building infested by infected, killing a large number of zombies.

The immense power truly startled Mercer. He had been struggling to breach the Mother Nest's walls and rescue his sister, but now he had an idea. He drove the special tank towards the heavily infected zone of Manhattan.

Chen Changsheng, in the command center, realized the thermobaric tank had been hijacked by Mercer after losing contact. After all, only Mercer in the infected zone knew how to operate a tank.

As for why Mercer needed a thermobaric tank, the plot had already explained it: to destroy the walls of Elizabeth's Mother Nest. Although Mercer wasn't in his complete form yet, he was still quite formidable. Chen Changsheng believed they would put on a good show for him.

Since Elizabeth's Mother Nest was about to appear, Chen Changsheng prepared to take a helicopter, leading numerous super soldiers towards the heavily infected zone. Chen Changsheng was confident he could capture both Elizabeth and Mercer this time.

Mercer was alone, which Chen Changsheng didn't care about. While Elizabeth had the Hunters' help, Chen Changsheng wasn't lacking either, with many super soldiers assisting him.

Most of the ordinary people still alive in the infected zone had already been rescued, so the use of heavy weaponry was unrestricted, which was the key.

Arriving above the Mother Nest, Chen Changsheng saw Mercer engaged in a fierce battle with the Hunters, while Elizabeth hid on the roof of the Mother Nest, watching quietly.

What a great opportunity! Chen Changsheng directly ordered the armed helicopter to open its bay doors, unleashing a barrage of powerful weapons onto the Mother Nest in a saturation bombing. Under this intense bombardment, only a handful of powerful, life-force-rich Supreme Hunters survived.

As a chosen one of destiny, Mercer naturally survived as well. Elizabeth, heavily wounded by the blast, looked up at the sky but could do nothing about the helicopter flying so high.

Chen Changsheng worried about prolonged delays and immediately began air-dropping super soldiers, ordering them to engage in close combat and capture Mercer and Elizabeth.

Although the super soldiers possessed combat power exceeding that of the Supreme Hunters, they still lagged behind Mercer, who had grown stronger through battle. One or two of them were no match for Mercer.

However, even the best fighter can't withstand a crowd. A hundred or so super soldiers swarmed him, and with one punch each, they left Mercer on the verge of death.

Seeing the dire situation, Elizabeth tried to burrow underground to escape, but failed. The Manhattan underground was now filled not only with Elizabeth's tumorous tentacles but also with Chen Changsheng's willow roots.

With Chen Changsheng's relentless efforts to strengthen it, the willow tree was no longer what it used to be. Its massive roots were even thicker than Elizabeth's leeches-like tentacles. The roots tightly bound Elizabeth, preventing her from touching the ground and thus absorbing the abundant biomass.

Taking Mercer and Elizabeth back to the military base in Central Park, Chen Changsheng began his absorption under the protection of the willow tree.

Chen Changsheng didn't completely absorb them. Once the Original Virus's intuition sensed that Mercer and Elizabeth were no longer a threat, Chen Changsheng released them.

Sitting on a throne woven from willow branches, Chen Changsheng looked at Elizabeth and Mercer with a smile.

Chen Changsheng had already learned their motives. Arthur, a nascent Blacklight Virus aggregate, still believed he was human and opposed Elizabeth for humanity's sake; he opposed humanity for revenge... a very conflicted individual. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was simpler, living for only one thing: evolution.

As a virus aggregate with 4 billion years of evolutionary memory, Elizabeth was born to evolve and would die for evolution.

In Elizabeth's original plan, she would have sacrificed herself to fulfill Arthur's destiny, eventually continuing to live and evolve as Arthur.

However, unexpectedly, Chen Changsheng had preempted her. This could be considered a new experience in Elizabeth's 4 billion-year evolutionary journey.

If you find this book interesting, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.