Strength and State of Mind

"Chairman, you haven't rested for seven days and seven nights. Are you sure you don't need a break?"

Alexia Ashford, who had been cultivating for ten days straight, had lost the luster of her once-delicate features. Dark circles hung heavy under her eyes, and her cracked, pale lips trembled as she spoke.

Who in their right mind works nonstop for nearly half a month without sleep?

Looking at Alexia's unfocused gaze and unsteady frame, it felt like this "Ant Queen" might just "sleep forever" at any moment.

Not to be outdone, Dr. Isaacs, who had also been "cultivating," was in even worse shape due to his age and frailty. Though he was a bio-augmented human, his condition was poorer than Alexia's.

The black-hearted Meng Yi, on the other hand, was radiant and full of energy. His newly acquired "Biochemical System Psionics" stimulated his body's hormone secretion, signaling that he could fight on for another month!

Hungry or thirsty? Directly inject glucose drips. Tired or worn out? Regulate internal hormones. If there were difficulties, he'd overcome them—how could he possibly stall?

"Sleep? You're so young—how can you even think about sleeping?"

Carefully storing away the super-virus strain capable of ravaging an entire world, Meng Yi had a change of heart and decided to give them both a break. After all, he still needed their help for over a week.

"Forget it. Young people are just young people—can't compare to an old hand like me. I can understand."

Alexia knocked on her groggy head and exchanged a wide-eyed stare with Meng Yi as she complained.

"0.o? Chairman, you don't look older than me, do you?"

"Besides, Dr. Isaacs, who's over fifty, is about to drop dead. In the last twenty-four hours, he's passed out three times already."

"Nonsense!"

Dr. Isaacs, barely clinging to life, shot up from his seat. He yanked out the IV drip of stimulants and nutrients, fuming with rage.

"How—how dare you! I may be old in years, but not in spirit! I can keep fighting alongside the Chairman for another month without issue!"

The Meng Yi who deserved to be strung up patted Alexia on the shoulder, nearly sending the beautiful scientist stumbling.

"Alright, you and Isaacs take turns resting. Six hours a day each—no problem, right?"

Hearing this, the boastful Dr. Isaacs's tears streamed down instantly. He shouted, "Thank you, Chairman Bai, for your grace! This old man will sleep first and pay respects later!"

Thud—

Isaacs, at the age of knowing his fate, hit the floor, and rhythmic snoring soon followed.

Alexia stood dumbfounded. So this was the weight of an old hand?

Unwilling to let Dr. Isaacs claim all the glory, Alexia's eyes turned fierce. She muttered inwardly, 'Son of a bitch! If you sleep, I sleep too!'

Thud— ×2

The young female scientist abandoned all pretense of dignity, collapsing to sleep on the spot, her snoring no less impressive than Isaacs's.

Meng Yi found them both too noisy and ordered the grunt workers on shift to carry them back to their rooms.

Over ten minutes later, Firefly escorted the Red Light Mother, "Elizabeth Green," into the lab. Alex, wearing a hood, skulked behind her.

Alex took one look—through the high-strength tempered glass of the incineration room, he could faintly see Wesker's remains undergoing a "calcination process." He gasped sharply, his tongue stumbling as he weakly said, "Boss, where's Mr. Wesker?"

"..."

Meng Yi wore an expression of unbearable memories, sighing deeply. "Don't mention it. Little Wes, Little Wes, he..."

"Sigh. Wesker was a good employee. This year's Umbrella 'Employee of the Year' has to be him."

Gulp—

Alex swallowed hard. Urgent, urgent, urgent! Was it too late to run now?!

"B-B-B-Boss, am I going to be carried in there for cremation later?"

"I'm still young! I haven't carried on the family line! I haven't spent my bank salary yet! I don't want to die!"

To scare a "Human-Form Black Light Virus" into this state—in a sense, Meng Yi was already invincible.

"Of course not. Don't be nervous, young man."

Meng Yi smiled with a "nuclear-friendly and hydrogen-ous" warmth, patiently explaining, "At most, I'll draw a few vials of blood for research. Don't worry—nothing major will go wrong!"

The jittery Alex barely calmed down and, half-resisting, half-walking, ended up on the test table.

Black Light Virus inhibitor injected—

Human anesthetic injected—

With its stored energy depleted, the comatose Red Light Mother didn't need such trouble. A larger dose of Black Light Virus inhibitor would suffice.

Holding a syringe in his left hand and a scalpel in his right, an excited Meng Yi was about to personally work on the Red Light Mother and the "Human-Form Black Light Virus." But then he remembered he'd almost forgotten his "teammate." With a "rain-and-dew equally shared" tone, he said, "Firefly, come to the lab in seven days. Three days before I leave, I'll help you research your 'Entropy Loss Syndrome.'"

The silver-haired girl jolted, shaking her little head like a rattle drum, waving her hands frantically. "I-I-I think 'Entropy Loss Syndrome' is fine as it is."

The loyal Wesker's bones were still warm. No, Wesker's bones were hot, with a fragrant char wafting through the air.

Alex and Elizabeth Green, who had just walked in, now lay on the cold test table. No matter how you looked at it, Meng Yi's methods reeked of sinister intent.

Possessing power without a matching mindset, Firefly—capable of matching a nation's army in combat—found her aura faltering by more than a notch in front of Meng Yi.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and the 'battle' was decided when Firefly looked away.

"Fine, fine, at most, at most a little blood drawn. Any more and I really can't!"

Meng Yi knew when to stop, understanding this was Firefly's bottom line.

Long-term gains versus short-term gains—Meng Yi chose the former. He was too eager for the Star Cluster Order computer, the Erudite Supreme.

"Alright, see you in a week."

"Oh, and if Brother Luo Ji changes his mind, let me know."

Firefly nodded like a pecking chicken, only regretting the Empire hadn't given her two more legs as she fled the evil lab like it was the abyss of the Nine Hells.

The girl left, and Meng Yi's face went blank again. He first drew high-concentration viral blood from Alex, then took samples of hair, skin flakes, and blood from the Red Light Mother.

Albert Wesker couldn't be redeemed, but Alex was still a decent guy.

As for that so-called 'villain Brother A' from Prototype 2, Meng Yi considered Prototype 2 a worthless sequel tacked onto a good story—Blacklight could go screw itself.

With a high-precision microscope and Psionic Power's Microcosm Domain probing, the deep structures of the Black Light Virus and Red Light Virus had nowhere to hide.

"An incredible miracle!"

"The high-concentration Infected, the Supreme Hunter, is trash compared to these two!"

"Invasion, assimilation, restructuring cell structure, activating non-coding regions in new cells for massive replication, expanding gene capacity, drastically boosting cell activity, accommodating foreign superior genes to reshape the body..."

"This is a miracle of power crossing time, driving rapid species 'evolution'!"