Mechanical Skeleton

"..."

William's throat bobbed uncontrollably, as if startled by what he was seeing.

The room was tidy and clean. The bedding, desk, and clothes rack were free of any foreign objects.

And Halsey?

She was wearing a white camisole and jeans that showcased her perfect butt, her slightly wavy black hair, and…

And her tanned skin.

It was a world of difference from her original appearance.

After all, Halsey had never paid much attention to her appearance. Her usual clothes were hoodies or sweatshirts, making her a typical messy, studious academic.

But Halsey, now free from loose clothing, possessed a stunning figure.

To William, she was more captivating than any celebrity or model at that moment.

"Do… do you think I look good like this?" Halsey asked, a hint of shyness in her voice.

"Ah… um… how could you…"

Hearing her question, William quickly turned to face the wall, placing his right hand on his hip and pinching his temple with his left. After a moment of hesitation, he said:

"You look great, but your usual style is more like the Halsey I know. This… isn't you."

"Yeah…" Halsey murmured, a touch of disappointment in her voice. "Then why do you have dating rumors with supermodels?"

?

"Rumors? What's going on?" William asked urgently.

"Tch."

Halsey rolled her eyes at him. She reached up and pulled off a wig, revealing her original light blonde short hair.

Then, she grabbed a newspaper from the table and shoved it forcefully into William's chest, saying in a huff:

"Look for yourself!"

"This?" William steadied the newspaper before it could slip.

He unfolded it and saw it was the local Halifax City daily.

The most eye-catching headline on the front page featured a photo of him at the Iron Man filming site. Due to his positioning, he appeared 'too intimate' with Megan.

The headline read: The Playboy Finally Starts Looking for Love, Will Umbrella's Young Master or Mistress Be Far Behind?

Damn it…

William finally believed the power of his employees' gossip.

From now on, he'd have to make sure Hunk discreetly cleaned up the 'trash' nearby whenever he went out, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to live a normal life.

Halsey, who had taken off her lab coat beside him, said in a mocking tone, "When are you going to have kids with someone~"

"No! Listen to me…"

William quickly explained everything that had happened on the evening of the sixth, including the misunderstanding about him being gay, to Halsey.

His tone was hurried, as if afraid Halsey would misunderstand anything.

After listening to William's explanation, Halsey couldn't help but laugh:

"Haha~ Was Uncle Andre a bit much? Why was he more anxious than you?"

"How would I know?" William shrugged.

"Alright then~"

Halsey, now changed, walked up to William and gently tapped his nose with her left index finger, saying softly:

"I believe you. Don't forget, who invented that chip, okay?"

"Uh…"

William felt like he had no privacy whatsoever.

But he didn't dwell on it and quickly asked, "So, your skin… can it change back?"

"This?" Halsey said nonchalantly.

"I thought you'd like this skin tone, so I specifically got a tan. If I don't sunbathe… it'll go back to normal in a few months."

"Phew–"

William breathed a sigh of relief. As he turned to walk outside, he said, "Okay, tell me what you've invented recently."

"No problem~"

The Hive, Fourth Floor.

In an observation room on a certain level;

William and Halsey stood alone here, looking down at the spacious trial grounds below through a giant bulletproof glass window.

The area was filled with a large number, a large number of zombies dressed in orange D-class personnel uniforms.

And quite a few severely rotten zombie dogs that seemed to have only skeletons left.

There were also a few Lickers with no skin, their brains exposed, and their fingers turned into claws.

Seeing such a large number of T-Virus byproducts, even someone with William's tolerance couldn't help but feel their scalp tingle.

Imagine...

If I fell down, wouldn't I be dead?

In contrast, Halsey had no such worries. She even gestured downwards and said with a smile:

"What do you think of these little cuties?"

"They're alright..." William tugged at his tie, making it easier for him to breathe.

Halsey then asked, "Boss, if UBCS or USS were to enter this trial ground, how many people would it take to deal with them?"

Upon hearing this, William cupped his chin with his right hand and pondered for a moment.

Then, he said in an estimated tone, "For UBCS, it would take at least a platoon.

But with those zombie dogs and the skinless ones (Lickers), UBCS might suffer heavy losses.

USS... Hunk is outside, do you want him to come in and analyze it?"

"No need, take a look at this first."

Halsey operated the computer and turned on the screen hanging in the center of the observation room. A graphic presentation appeared before them.

AdvanceArmorExoskeletonSystem-UBCSModel;

Advanced Armor Exoskeleton System, UBCS Model.

Black one-piece combat suit.

Paired with reinforced military boots and helmet, it has excellent airtightness.

The suit's temperature and pressure regulation functions, as well as good radiation resistance, allow the wearer to operate in a vacuum environment for fifteen minutes.

In a normal atmospheric environment, the filtration system can protect the wearer from microbial invasion by bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.

Furthermore, the outer layer of the suit is made of titanium fiber developed by Dr. Halsey, capable of withstanding 7.62mm caliber rounds (AK series) at close range.

Note: The suit can only prevent the wearer from being penetrated by bullets, not completely mitigate kinetic energy.

The wearer's limbs, back, and shoulders are equipped with a metal exoskeleton.

The exoskeleton allows the wearer to have functions such as a maximum load capacity of two tons and super jumps.

The wearer's vital areas are equipped with a certain amount of lightweight titanium alloy armor plates, which can effectively resist armor-piercing rounds of caliber (Barrett).

The wearer can customize the titanium alloy armor plate on their chest, such as adding external weapon belts or magazine pouches.

The model is equipped with a hydrogen battery developed by Dr. Halsey, which can sustain operation for thirty-six hours.

"This..."

After reading the series of introductions, William was speechless.

"Hee hee~" Halsey poked William's back again, saying with extreme pride:

"What if those grunts put on this and dealt with the little cuties below?"

"Gulp!"

William swallowed ungracefully and looked at the somewhat smug Halsey, saying expectantly, "How about... we try it?"

"I've been waiting for you to say that~" Halsey tilted her head, then used the microphone next to the computer to calmly command:

"Team B, the Boss is watching, begin your performance."

As her voice fell, the gate to the trial ground opened.

Immediately, six UBCS soldiers clad in AAES exoskeletons swarmed in.

This commotion also attracted the attention of hundreds of zombies, zombie dogs, and Lickers.

The 'trial' was about to begin.