Power and Authority

Meng Yi called his two teammates and headed for the main conference room beneath The Hive in Raccoon City.

Luo Ji was in poor mental condition. The heavy dark circles under his eyes proved that he had not slept all night.

After a night of careful thought, how could a top student like Luo Ji fail to understand that Young Master Bai's true purpose was far more than simply finding a safe zone and hiding out for a month?

Interfering with human thought and perception, fabricating false memories that did not exist—such heretical methods were practically demonic and could not gain the approval of Luo Ji, whose values were still normal.

"Young Master Bai..."

Luo Ji gritted his teeth and raised a hand to call out to Meng Yi, who was leading the way, wanting to persuade him not to be so extreme.

"Hmm? What is it?"

Meng Yi stopped, but did not turn around.

That simple gesture made Luo Ji understand that Meng Yi's resolve could not be shaken. Forget any pointless persuasion.

"Ah."

The words of persuasion he had spent all night composing ultimately became a long, quiet sigh.

"Young Master Bai, you two go ahead. I'm a little tired, so I'll head back to my room and catch up on some sleep."

Luo Ji shook his head listlessly, turned around, and left with heavy steps.

One pressed onward by any means necessary, while the other stopped at the line of his principles. From this point on, their fates would develop along entirely different paths.

Just as Luo Ji understood Meng Yi, Meng Yi also understood that Luo Ji had made his choice.

"All these troubles are merely the mediocre tormenting themselves."

His inscrutable sneer seemed to mock Luo Ji for clinging to his bottom line, yet also seemed to lament what he was about to do.

His will, hard as steel, cut away his worries. Putting the matter aside, Meng Yi strode resolutely toward the conference room.

After thinking it over, the weapon girl with immense physical destructive power followed the "Commander" she had newly acknowledged.

"Little girl, you're not stupid. Brother Luo could see it, so I don't believe you couldn't."

"You clearly know that what I'm going to do crosses the line, so why are you still following me down this road of no return?"

The alloy-and-glass corridor reflected the figures walking one before and one behind.

Meng Yi glanced slightly sideways, looking at the Silver-Haired Girl behind him to the left from the corner of his eye.

"Because Commander isn't truly a bad person?"

As she spoke, the girl, whose life had been pale but whose mind was sensitive, ended up laughing at herself.

The "Path" she practiced gave her feedback: Meng Yi was not an annihilationist who would drag civilization into its end.

"Bad person? Hahaha! Only children divide people into good and bad."

"The world isn't simply black and white. It's gray."

"Humanity is complex. How can anyone be judged as a whole?"

Meng Yi smiled and said earnestly, "Your former life is already in the past. From now on, think more, observe more, and reflect more."

"The three of us got along fairly well in the Selection Dungeon, but who can say what various demons and monsters we'll encounter in the next world?"

The Silver-Haired Girl looked thoughtful. She pondered it all the way there, yet could not think of an answer.

In the end, she could only clench her fist and mutter softly, "I'll blow up all the bad guys!"

The conference room's blast door opened, and the projection of Artificial Intelligence · Red Queen dispersed.

In the massive tiered conference room capable of holding thousands, the well-dressed "elites," all either rich or noble, stood perfectly straight and in neat formation. With fanatical expressions, they declared in unison, "Greetings, Chairman Bai!"

Meng Yi's mischievous side emerged. He waved with a beaming smile and said, "Hello, everyone. You've worked hard."

"Not at all!"

The thunderous reply was like a landslide and tsunami, seemingly ready to shatter the conference room ceiling.

Walking down the aisle, Meng Yi adjusted the collar of his lab coat and arrived at the central area.

Meng Yi lightly tapped the table with a bent finger. The microphone carried the crisp sound through the entire conference room.

In an instant, the noisy conference room became quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Not even the slightest stray sound remained.

The thousands of capitalist "elites" present gazed fanatically and loyally at the somewhat slender Meng Yi, awaiting Chairman Bai's instructions.

"I'll keep this short. I called you here today for only one purpose."

"At any cost, mobilize the capital behind each of you and invite every American dignitary you can contact to view Umbrella Corporation's 'latest achievement.'"

Yesterday, Meng Yi had specifically asked about his teammates' physical conditions and whether they could still participate in low-intensity combat.

After receiving their affirmative answers, Meng Yi ordered Artificial Intelligence · Red Queen to urgently transfer a "B.O.W." from the testing area to the conference room—the famous T-Virus Infected Tyrant.

"Little girl, you'll need to put on an exhibition match next. No matter what, you'll win."

Meng Yi lowered his voice and spoke quietly to the Silver-Haired Girl standing behind him.

The girl nodded slightly and accepted the task. She was no good at using her brain, but fighting was no problem.

In a specially cleared area of the conference room, a container roughly several cubic meters in size opened, and strands of icy cold air spilled out.

The bald Tyrant, over three meters tall, wearing a heavy black restraint suit and possessing iron-blue skin, opened its clouded eyes.

'Thud, thud, thud—'

Controlled both by an implanted chip and Meng Yi's mental manipulation, the Tyrant exerted slight force with both hands, snapped the chains restraining it, and strode steadily out of the container.

Though it was not equipped with weapons such as heavy machine guns, this Tyrant gave off an unstoppable impression at first glance.

The towering, massive Tyrant and the slender Silver-Haired Girl standing before it, barely over 1.6 meters tall, formed a stark visual contrast.

"—Hah!"

With a delicate shout, the girl's frail aura changed completely, becoming sharp and fierce.

Glowing azure patterns began spreading across the skin not covered by clothing—her neck, arms, cheeks, and more. The crimson aura surrounding her body scorched the air, making it distort slightly.

Without any starting signal, the battle erupted instantly.

The two wildly disproportionate fists collided. The girl did not retreat a single step, while the Tyrant staggered back several steps with heavy thuds.

Not killing it in a single move was simply for the sake of the "exhibition match."

After a tense fierce battle, the aura clung like maggots attached to the bone, burning through the Tyrant's heavy restraint suit and setting the Tyrant completely ablaze.

The sounds of flesh bursting under the flames rose one after another. The Tyrant became a humanoid torch. Before long, it had burned down to nothing but dry bones and wreckage.

"Gasp!!"

"She defeated a combat-type B.O.W. with overwhelming superiority—is she even human?!"

"That kind of power! Controlling flames, oh God! Could it be a superpower?"

The audience found it breathtaking. After the uproar came fervent applause as they sincerely praised Umbrella Corporation's "masterpiece."

Once the footage had been recorded, the exhibition match had perfectly fulfilled its purpose. The bait to deceive prey into jumping into the trap was ready.

Meng Yi raised a hand slightly, signaling everyone to calm down. He cleared his throat, activated Mental Interference, and said in the most bewitching tone possible.

"Gentlemen, a new era has arrived. Long lifespans, power beyond the mundane—these authorities that should have belonged to 'God' will eventually be grasped by us, one by one!"

"Go! Invite more 'friends' for the company. Let us raise our glasses and share in this feast! Let us gather great power within ourselves, attain Eternal Longevity, and live freely and unfettered!"

"Yes! Long live Chairman! Long live Umbrella Corporation!"

The fire of desire was completely ignited.

One by one, the "elites" flushed red and praised Meng Yi's "generosity."

They began imagining the "wonderful" future of long lives and command over the extraordinary.

As for Luo Ji's mental state, he had only just separated from his wife and child and fallen into Ice Lake.

He had not yet experienced major events such as the subsequent ETO missile attack, 160 years of sleep, being hunted by ETO six times within a day of awakening, or the total annihilation of the Human Solar Fleet.

Luo Ji's mentality had changed, but not by much.

He was far from the decisiveness and ruthlessness he would possess after deducing the Dark Forest Law, losing his wife and child, losing his emotional anchor, and becoming the Sword Wielder.

As for the protagonist Meng Yi, after more than a decade of "survival in desperate circumstances" at the Hive City Bottom, he had almost completely lost the way normal people thought.