The Red Light Virus Mother

"Chairman Bai, no, my dear Bai."

"This is a groundbreaking technology. If you want, the 'Nobel Prize in Medicine' or the 'Nobel Prize in Physiology'—you can have as many as you like!"

"Friend, yes, we're friends forever!"

"I just want to ask one thing: when will this technology be applied to me?"

"That's right, I'm sick of this life of waiting for death in old age!"

The sterile lab that should have remained quiet had turned into a noisy, chaotic marketplace.

Meng Yi's expression didn't change. A 'friendly' smile hung on his face as he patiently waited for the Elder Vampires and Young Vampires to calm down.

The Nobel Prize? Hilarious.

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

The Nobel committee would beg and plead to give him the award, and whether he accepted it was another matter entirely.

After a long time, seeing they had fallen silent, Meng Yi cleared his throat and spoke.

"Friends, as you can see, lifespan no longer belongs to God's authority—it's in my hands!"

"Let's find a quiet place to properly discuss how this 'deal' will work."

The Elder Vampires responded with unrestrained enthusiasm.

Money? To them, it was just a string of useless numbers!

Power, status? No problem at all!

The table divvying up the spoils wouldn't mind a 'passionate,' 'generous,' 'liberal' friend joining in.

Meng Yi instructed the reborn Alicia Marcus to stay in the lab, slowly experiencing the changes in her body, and return to her personal quarters once she had adapted enough.

The Staircase Conference Room, used once before, was a door the Young Vampires weren't worthy of stepping through. They were ordered by their family elders to wait outside.

Perfect!

Having anticipated this, Meng Yi muttered to himself.

'"Psionic Interference · Cognitive Tampering · Thought Seal!"'

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

Absolute loyalty to Meng Yi became the sole purpose of their lives.

After a two-second delay, Meng Yi entered the conference room, where numerous dark screens buzzed with warm concern from 'friends.'

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

"Make sure to rest more. Delegate tasks to your servants—don't overwork yourself."

Meng Yi nodded with a smile, letting it go in one ear and out the other, treating it all as flatulence—the foul-smelling kind.

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

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

"I need 'Hope Town: Elizabeth Greene' under your control, as well as the latest R&D data from all biomedical research institutes, including Gentek Corporation."

"!!"

Meng Yi's request set the Elder Vampires ablaze, and they began to complain.

"Impossible!"

"Bai, you're too greedy!"

"You're the most insatiable capitalist I've ever seen!"

"We'll help you rebuild a stronger 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 military to clear out the Infected in Raccoon City!"

"Isn't all that enough?"

"Bai, my dearest, dearest friend, there's a phrase in the great Eastern nation—'know when to stop.' 'Hope Town: Elizabeth Greene' is tied to far too many things, far beyond what we can decide!"

"At most, we'll hand over Gentek Corporation and the data from the research institutes within our sphere of influence."

Meng Yi's smile remained. He leisurely picked at his ear with his pinky finger.

"Are you done?"

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

"As the name implies, after 'Type 1' comes 'Type 2,' 'Type 3'..."

"Are you satisfied with just two hundred years of life?"

"Friends, you can fool me if you want, but don't fool yourselves."

"The Red Light Virus Progenitor, an extended version of the Black Light Virus—I've longed for this for ages. It will vastly accelerate my progress on the next generation of the 'Longevity Gene.'"

"I, and all of you, are stakeholders in this."

"If you can't achieve it, why not invite more 'friends' to join in? Let's all enjoy a future of immortality together."

"Besides, I'm the only one who can currently perform the 'Longevity Gene' modification surgery!"

"My friends, I've said my piece. Think it over."

Silence. A long, drawn-out silence.

The Elder Vampires weighed the pros and cons.

They craved youth and extended life, yet they didn't want Meng Yi and the Umbrella Corporation to slip entirely out of their control.

No matter where 'Chairman Bai' had obtained the intel on the "Red Light Virus Progenitor: Elizabeth Greene" and "Hope Town," a definitive answer was now unavoidable.

Was this a multiple-choice question?

No. It was a single-answer question with only one option, and the answer was already set in stone.

The moment they gave in to greed for 'extended life and immortality,' they forfeited their right to choose.

"'Hope Town: Elizabeth Greene,' and the Black Light Virus research data—fine, we can give them to you," an elder rasped, his tone shifting. The iron-blooded, murderous edge of a former military career was unmistakable in his voice.

"But, Bai, once we hand over the goods, you'll arrange our 'longevity' surgeries in batches immediately!"

"If not... neither you nor we want to see what happens."

He had lived far too long, even having participated in the Second War. He knew exactly how vital 'lifespan' was to a man on the brink of old age.

To live forever, they would not hesitate to sell their souls to the demons of hell!

"Of course. We're 'friends.' This is simple."

Meng Yi snapped his fingers and smiled with satisfaction.

"How about we set the date for a month from now? The crude surgeries performed on those test subjects won't be used on my 'esteemed friends.'"

"A month? Very well."

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

The cunning Meng Yi had pulled off a masterful con, grinning like a sly fox that had successfully stolen a chicken.

"My friends, I wish our friendship a long and everlasting life!"

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

With the basic consensus reached, there was no need for Meng Yi and the Elder Vampires to haggle over the finer details. Those could be left to their underlings to handle.

Why would a time-precious 'chess player' bother with every trivial matter? Otherwise, what use were subordinates?

Laughter and pleasantries filled the air as this 'deal made in the shadows' came to a successful close.

Every participant in the transaction left with a smile, convinced they had come out ahead.

One by one, the dark screens went dark. Meng Yi sat in the shadowed conference room, letting his body sink into the chair's backrest, his gaze fixed thoughtfully on the ceiling.

"Red Queen."

"Esteemed Chairman Bai, I am here."

Meng Yi couldn't be bothered to look at the holographic projection materializing beside him. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table and spoke with clear logic: "Five directives."

"One: Print and copy Alicia Marcus's surgery-related data. Give it to those young people and have them take the materials back."

"Yes."

"Two: Prepare to receive the 'gifts' from our 'friends.' Organize all research data by category. The 'Red Light Virus Progenitor: Elizabeth Greene' is to be held at the highest security level."

"Yes."

"Three: Notify Alfred Ashford to make a trip to the Antarctic Research Facility. Have him bring Alexia Ashford to the underground Hive in Raccoon City."

"Yes."

"Four: Notify Alicia Marcus to leave the lab. Clean the laboratory and prepare for the Virus Fusion Surgery."

"Yes."

"Five: Have Luo Ji and Firefly—no. Cancel the fifth directive for now. We'll discuss it later."

"Yes."

The Red Queen's projection faded. Meng Yi was filled with a surge of emotion.

"Finally... finally, I can shed this frail, weak body."