The Selection Dungeon was a veritable hodgepodge, and the Umbrella Corporation was not the only organization researching viruses.
Gentek Corporation, a research organization under America's Blackwatch Troops.
They had secretly controlled the "Red Light Virus mother strain" in Hope Town for years, researched a more controllable Black Light Virus, and even created super soldiers through human modification. None of this was a secret among America's true upper class.
There were also secret biochemical research institutes that had risen by devouring Umbrella Corporation's legacy. They, too, had achieved impressive results.
For example: the special infected Boomer, Hunter, Smoker, Charger, Spitter, Jocker, Witch, and Tank.
(For specific images, search for: the eight special infected from the Left 4 Dead series.)
Another example was a research institute in the Middle East, which had developed a biochemical virus that granted physical capabilities surpassing the Human Body Limit (from the Zombieland Saga series).
Unfortunately, none of these "research achievements" had the slightest effect on extending one's lifespan.
The powerful "old vampires" naturally looked down on their "achievements."
As long as one remained within the category of carbon-based lifeforms, one could not make much of a splash under the coverage of information-based firepower.
Thus, Meng Yi's "invitation to immortality" received widespread support.
The "old vampires" who had been despairing as they waited for death saw a sliver of dawn before the darkness and rushed to throw themselves into Meng Yi's arms.
The Blackwatch Troops possessed both biochemical modification technology and large-scale modern fire support. They wiped out every last one of the low-grade infected creatures on Raccoon City's surface. Even earthworms had to be cut lengthwise, and eggs had to be shaken until their yolks broke apart.
Ordinary zombies?
Precise headshots. Get crawling!
Special infected?
Machine-gun fire. Get crawling!
"B.O.W. Tyrants"? Lickers? Tanks?
Tank main guns laid down covering fire, while missiles and rocket launchers swept the ground. Keep crawling!
With their exceptional mobility, Blackwatch cleared a safe passage to the entrance of The Hive beneath Raccoon City. The Underground Train Track was also restored to service.
Disregarding the consequences and sparing no expense, they airlifted train components at great cost and assembled them with astonishing efficiency. This demonstrated Blackwatch's formidable execution—and just how impatient those "old vampires" were.
Meng Yi slept for a full day and night, yet the mental energy he had exhausted still had not recovered.
Time waited for no one. A group of "young vampires" came calling, leaving Meng Yi no chance to continue recuperating.
"Chairman Bai, representatives from twenty-seven consortiums, led by the Morgan Consortium, are waiting for you in the reception room."
The Artificial Intelligence · Red Queen spoke in a gentle tone.
She had just been about to wake Meng Yi when the "biological clock" Meng Yi had set for himself rang first.
"Hmm. Let them keep waiting. They're the ones begging us now."
"I'll wash up first. I'll meet them in the reception room in half an hour."
Meng Yi's unfocused pupils steadied. He raised a hand and vigorously rubbed his dull, lifeless cheeks before speaking blandly.
"Yes."
"Oh, right. Notify Alicia Marcus to go to the laboratory."
"Yes."
He got up, showered, shaved, and dressed in one smooth motion.
Apart from the bloodshot eyes and the fatigue that refused to fade, Meng Yi had recovered the appearance he had possessed a week earlier. Wearing a white lab coat, he entered the reception room.
The young vampires had been left waiting for most of the morning, yet they were neither anxious nor angry.
Instead, every one of them wore a smile and greeted Chairman Bai warmly. Their ability to remain composed was truly remarkable.
The genuine heirs of powerful financial clans, educated as elites, might speed, chase celebrities, and indulge in wild living.
But they knew perfectly well whom they could offend and whom they could not.
Moreover, before they left, their elders had repeatedly warned them and given them strict instructions. As a result, these young vampires did not dare act recklessly in front of Meng Yi.
Meng Yi gave a slight nod in greeting, then looked toward the dark computer screens one after another and met the gazes of the "old vampires" hidden in the darkness.
"I don't like pointless formalities. We can dispense with the pleasantries whenever possible."
"I know why all of you came here, and you know it even better."
At Meng Yi's words, the young capitalist jackals decisively fell silent. From a speaker in front of one of the dark screens came an aged voice.
"Chairman Bai, you certainly are direct. Excellent!"
"Everyone is busy, and we have paid a considerable price to get this far."
"How do you intend to prove that you possess the 'life-extension technology'?"
As soon as he said this, heavy and hurried breathing came from many of the dark screens.
The old vampires suppressed their impatience and waited calmly for Meng Yi's answer.
Another Exhibition Match between Firefly and Tyrant? Or a clone of Wesker against Tyrant?
That was out of the question.
The old vampires would not move until they saw the rabbit. If they could not witness "life extension and immortality" with their own eyes, then the more humble and polite the young vampires were before Meng Yi now, the more violently and decisively the old vampires would strike later.
Meng Yi shook his head with a laugh and said indifferently, "Let's go to the laboratory. How about I perform an operation right there and let you witness it with your own eyes?"
"Good!"
"Chairman Bai, how generous!"
"Straightforward!"
"Let's do that!"
After the twenty-seven young vampires finished disinfecting themselves and put on biochemical protective suits, they followed Meng Yi into the laboratory he had used a few days earlier.
The live-broadcast equipment transmitted the footage without delay via military satellites to the old vampires scattered across the country.
Meng Yi pointed at the Old Woman lying on the operating table and explained calmly, "Her name is Alicia Marcus. Most of you should know her father, one of the three founders of Umbrella Corporation, James Marcus."
"That fellow? I know a little about him," someone replied.
"I heard Marcus's daughter suffered from Progeria. I thought she had already died. I never expected her to still be alive," someone revealed more of the inside story.
Meng Yi raised a hand and accepted the tools Dr. Isaacs handed him. Then he leisurely walked to the operating table.
"Alicia Marcus suffers from Progeria. Though she is only in her twenties, her physical condition is almost equivalent to that of someone in their seventies or eighties."
"Today, I will cure this so-called Progeria and show you how an old woman can return to youth."
The Gene Modification surgery began.
The young vampires stood in a neat row, silent as scarecrows in a wheat field. Not one of them complained about hardship or exhaustion.
The old vampires abandoned their health regimens and watched Meng Yi's every movement without blinking.
Once familiar, twice skilled.
Having gained proficiency, Meng Yi completed the surgery on his second attempt in just seventeen hours.
After being fused with the castrated version of "Longevity Gene Type 1," the loose skin of Alicia Marcus on the operating table became smooth and delicate, restoring her to the prime of her youth.
She looked even younger than her actual age of twenty-seven—more like seventeen or eighteen.
"Me? This! Oh my God!"
"Uncle Bai, you! You..."
After the anesthesia wore off, the awakened Alicia cried out in shock, breaking the silence that had lasted for seventeen hours.
Meng Yi nodded, picked up a laser pointer, and indicated Alicia's physical condition as displayed by the medical equipment in real time.
"Everyone, I know you can't understand the data, and you don't have the patience to listen to me explain it slowly."
"To summarize briefly, each of your juniors will receive a copy of the relevant physical data later. Take it home and find someone to study it at leisure."
"Alicia Marcus has returned to youth. Her cellular telomeres have lengthened to a certain extent, raising her theoretical maximum lifespan to two hundred years."
"!"
"Two hundred years!!"
"My God!"
After staying awake for seventeen hours straight, the old vampires should have been exhausted to the limit. Instead, they were all wildly excited.
Having witnessed a miracle descend with their own eyes, they went completely mad!
Before you continue