Red Light Virus Progenitor

"Chairman Bai—no, my dear Bai."

"This is an epoch-making technology. If you want, you could receive as many Nobel Prizes in Medicine and Nobel Prizes in Physiology as you like!"

"Friend, yes, we'll be friends forever!"

"I only want to ask one thing: when can this technology be applied to me?"

"That's right! I've had enough of this life of waiting to die in my twilight years!"

The Sterile Lab, which should have remained quiet, had now turned into a noisy, bustling marketplace.

Meng Yi's expression did not change. With a 'kind' smile on his face, he patiently waited for the old and young vampires to calm down.

The Nobel Prize? What a joke.

Did he, Meng, need some award to prove himself? If anything, it was the other way around.

The Nobel Committee would be begging him to accept the prize. Whether he accepted it or not was another matter.

After a long while, when they had finally stopped talking, Meng Yi coughed and said,

"Friends, as you can see, lifespan no longer belongs to God's domain. It is now in my hands!"

"Let's find somewhere quiet and discuss how to conduct this 'business' properly."

The old vampires readily agreed one after another.

Money? To them, it was nothing more than a useless string of numbers!

Power and status? No problem at all!

The banquet table dividing the cake would not mind the addition of an 'enthusiastic,' 'generous,' and 'magnanimous' friend.

Meng Yi instructed the reborn Alicia Marcus to remain in the laboratory and slowly experience the changes in her body. Once she had mostly adapted, she could return to her private residence.

The Young Vampires were not qualified to step into the Staircase Conference Room, which had been used once before. Their family elders ordered them to wait outside the door.

Wonderful!

Meng Yi had anticipated this long ago and muttered inwardly.

"Psionic Power Interference—Cognitive Modification—Thought Seal!"

In an instant, the cognition of all twenty-seven Young Vampires was altered.

Absolute loyalty to Meng Yi became their sole goal in life.

After delaying for two seconds, Meng Yi entered the conference room. Warm greetings between 'friends' came through the many dark screens.

"Bai, my best friend, you don't look too well?"

"Make sure to get more rest. If there's anything you need, have the servants do it. Don't tire yourself out."

Meng Yi nodded with a beaming smile, letting their words go in one ear and out the other. To him, they were talking nonsense—foul-smelling nonsense at that.

"'Friends,' friendship is friendship, and business is business."

"I'm a straightforward person, so I won't beat around the bush."

"I need the latest research data in your possession concerning 'Hope Town: Elizabeth Greene,' as well as every biomedical research institute, including Gentek Corporation."

"!!"

Meng Yi's demand caused the old vampires to erupt. They all began complaining.

"Impossible!"

"Bai, you're too greedy!"

"You're the greediest capitalist I've ever seen!"

"We'll help you rebuild an even more powerful Umbrella Corporation!"

"We'll help you amend the relevant laws of America!"

"We'll help you clean up Umbrella Corporation's negative image!"

"We'll help you mobilize the army and clear the infected in Raccoon City!"

"After doing all that, is it still not enough?"

"Bai, my dearest friend, the great eastern nation has a saying: 'Know when to stop.' 'Hope Town: Elizabeth Greene' is connected to far too many things. It's far beyond our authority to decide!"

"At most, we can hand over the data from Gentek Corporation and the other research institutes within our spheres of influence."

Meng Yi's smile remained unchanged. He leisurely used his little finger to scratch inside his ear.

"Are you finished?"

"Friends, do you know what the sample Alicia Marcus fused with was called? It was called 'Longevity Gene Type 1.'"

"As the name suggests, after 'Type 1,' there will be 'Type 2,' 'Type 3'..."

"You're satisfied with a mere two hundred years of life?"

"Friends, it's fine to fool me, but don't fool yourselves too."

"The Red Light Virus Progenitor and the extended version of the Black Light Virus—I've long yearned for them. They can greatly accelerate my development of the subsequent types of the 'Longevity Gene.'"

"You and I are all beneficiaries."

"If you can't do it, why not invite more 'friends' to join us and enjoy an immortal future together?"

"Besides, I'm currently the only one capable of performing the 'Longevity Gene' modification surgery!"

"Friends, I've said all I have to say. Think it over carefully."

Silence. A long silence.

The old vampires weighed the pros and cons.

They wanted youth and longevity, but they did not want Meng Yi and Umbrella Corporation to slip completely beyond their control.

Regardless of where Chairman Bai had obtained the 'Red Light Virus Progenitor: Elizabeth Greene' and the intelligence on 'Hope Town,' giving him a definite answer was now urgent.

Was this a multiple-choice question?

No. It was a single-choice question with only one option. The answer had long been decided.

The moment they developed a greed for 'extended life and immortality,' they lost the right to choose.

"'Hope Town: Elizabeth Greene' and the Black Light Virus research data. Fine, we can give them to you."

An old man rasped out the words. Then his tone shifted, and the iron-blooded, murderous air of his former military career could be heard clearly.

"But, Bai, once we give you the materials, you must immediately arrange our 'life-extension' surgeries in batches!"

"Otherwise... neither you nor we will like what happens."

He had lived for far too long. He had even participated in the Second War, and knew how important 'lifespan' was to an old man in his twilight years.

To live forever, they did not mind selling their souls to the devils of hell!

"Of course. We're 'friends.' It's simple."

Meng Yi snapped his fingers and smiled in satisfaction.

"How about one month from now? The crude surgeries performed on those test subjects won't do for my 'noble friends.'"

"One month? Very well."

"Bai, you're the smartest human I've ever met!"

The crafty Meng Yi had successfully obtained something for nothing. He grinned like a sly fox that had just stolen a chicken.

"Friends, may our friendship last forever!"

"Indeed, indeed. Then, Bai, get some rest. We'll see you in a month!"

With the basic terms agreed upon, there was no need for Meng Yi and the old vampires to discuss the remaining details. The people beneath them could handle everything themselves.

How could a precious 'Chess Player' possibly attend to every detail personally? Otherwise, what use were subordinates?

Amid laughter and cheer, this 'deal in the darkness' came to a successful end.

Every participant in the deal wore a delighted smile, convinced that they had come out ahead.

One by one, the pitch-black screens shut down. Meng Yi sat in the dark conference room, his body leaning against the back of the chair as he silently stared at the ceiling.

"Red Queen."

"Esteemed Chairman Bai, I'm here."

Meng Yi could not be bothered to look at the holographic projection that had formed beside him. He lightly tapped his fingers against the table and spoke with crisp precision. "Five orders."

"First, print and duplicate the data related to Alicia Marcus's surgery and hand it to those Young Vampires. Have them take the materials back."

"Yes."

"Second, prepare to receive the gifts our 'friends' are sending us. Sort the various research materials into categories, and place the 'Red Light Virus Progenitor: Elizabeth Greene' under the highest level of containment."

"Yes."

"Third, notify Alfred Ashford to make a trip to the Antarctic Research Facility. Have him bring Alexia Ashford to the underground Hive beneath Raccoon City."

"Yes."

"Fourth, notify Alicia Marcus that she may leave the laboratory. Have her clean the laboratory and prepare the Virus Fusion Surgery for me."

"Yes."

"Fifth, have Luo Ji and Firefly—no, cancel the fifth order for now. We'll discuss it later."

"Yes."

Red Queen's projection faded away, and Meng Yi sighed with deep emotion.

"Finally... finally, I can escape this frail body."