The Holy See's standing

In the global business landscape, the Umbrella Corporation was unquestionably one of the giants at the very top of the pyramid.

A multinational enterprise with operations spanning all seven continents, it publicly flew the twin banners of "cutting-edge research" and "global environmental protection."

Its pharmaceutical division alone controlled more than thirty percent of the global market for specialty drugs. From targeted cancer therapies to treatments for rare diseases, Umbrella's logo appeared on the pharmacy shelves of almost every top hospital.

Only a handful of people knew the truth.

Umbrella's core business had never been medical research aimed at saving lives, but biological weapons capable of overturning the world order.

In that respect, it bore a striking resemblance to the "super-soldier" program that the North American military had long been pursuing in secret.

The latter sought to enhance soldiers' strength, speed, and ability to heal themselves. Umbrella's ambitions were greater: it wanted to create armies of biological weapons that could be mass-produced.

Li Dan had heard about this long ago. But Umbrella's madness extended far beyond biological weapons.

According to the Holy See's intelligence archives, the company had even conducted "research" into ghosts, evil spirits, and various unusual creatures.

Of course, calling it research was practically an insult to science. At best, it amounted to futile probing and crude attempts at capture.

Even a behemoth like Umbrella, with hundreds of billions in capital and the world's finest researchers at its disposal, had never progressed beyond the most rudimentary level in its exploration of the supernatural.

It had tried using electrical currents, chemical agents, and even powerful magnetic fields to capture ordinary ghosts, hoping to unravel the principles behind their existence and weaponize their intangible power.

The results, however, usually involved evil spirits turning on the laboratories and researchers dying inexplicably, leaving