The "Non-Arbitrary" Door

The meeting chaired by Dr. Isaac continued in an orderly fashion. The woman in the wheelchair expressed her firm opposition, but she was the only one in the board of directors to do so.

Duncan could tell that not one of the dozen or so beasts in human clothing present considered the lives of ordinary people to be worth anything.

As someone who had grown up under the red flag, he felt ashamed to be associated with this group of people!

It was just a pity that the situation was pressing; raising an objection without any certainty would only turn him into a low-value test subject on an operating table.

Although the shares inherited from Rex Arems were highly valuable, they couldn't be exchanged for anything of substance.

The shareholders all sneered at Duncan's predecessor, viewing him as nothing more than a playboy who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun—a rich man fundamentally different from veterans like them who had navigated the business world for years.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, the shareholders never included Duncan in their dealings; in fact, since inheriting the shares, Duncan had never once attended a board meeting.

Seeing the meeting drawing to a close and Dr. Isaac about to arrange cryo-pods for the shareholders, Duncan finally raised his hand.

Seeing Duncan raise his hand, Isaac asked with some surprise, "Mr. Duncan, do you have any other questions?"

Leaning back in his chair, Duncan mimicked the appearance of his predecessor from his memories, putting on an intrigued expression as he said, "This plan sounds quite good, very interesting. It's just too interesting—if I don't get to see the process, I'm afraid I'll be disappointed for the rest of my life!"

"Oh? So you want to..."

Dr. Isaac became interested, and the other shareholders also looked at this young man who seemed so out of place.

Snap!

Duncan snapped his fingers and voiced a bold idea, "I want to stay behind and watch the process of humanity heading toward extinction."

The people present looked quite civilized, but in reality, they were a group of beasts in human clothing. If this proposal displeased them, he would be taken out by a gunman the moment he stepped out of the company.

They wouldn't even need a crazed gunman; after disposing of his physical body, they could simply use Duncan's current DNA to cultivate a clone to cover their tracks, and no one would ever know he had died.

So, if his proposal failed, he would grab the fountain pen on the table and kill the old man next to him; at least he would be taking out one menace.

Duncan was just that reckless of a person, and he was also petty and vengeful. If someone provoked him and he found an opportunity, he would definitely torment them to death.

The shareholders looked at each other in dismay, and Dr. Isaac couldn't help but freeze before breaking into a kindly smile.

"Of course you can! The premise is that Mr. Duncan must give up cryo-preservation and remain in the outside world until the day you die. With that in mind, do you still choose to stay?"

Duncan felt a little more at ease. The fact that he hadn't been rejected immediately meant it was negotiable, provided he gave a reasonable explanation.

After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly looked up and smiled, "Isn't a world heading toward collapse and devoid of order just a giant playground?"

He played the role of the villain so well that the other shareholders believed it to be true.

After hearing these words, the shareholders all regarded Duncan as a little madman. Giving up the chance to enter cryo-sleep and welcome a new world just to stay outside and watch the grand spectacle of the world rotting—what a foolish and insane decision!

Faced with Duncan's choice, Dr. Isaac was not angry; instead, he looked at him with an expression of great interest.

"Haha, Mr. Duncan, you may stay, but I will revoke a portion of your authority within the company. After you die, your shares will be reclaimed rather than inherited."

In the internal system of Umbrella Corporation, shares represented more than just money and power. The Red Queen, the artificial intelligence responsible for controlling the company's internal systems, granted corresponding authority based on each shareholder's equity.

The Red Queen herself was a miracle, an artificial intelligence created by combining the hard work of all of Umbrella's computer engineers.

Within Umbrella, the Red Queen was the supervisor recognized by everyone. Even Dr. Isaac, who had created her, could not modify her underlying core and could only accept the rules once set, making only minor adjustments.

After all, without rules to constrain them, no one would dare to make deals with madmen.

If Duncan could voluntarily give up his equity, Isaac, having reclaimed those shares, would be able to surpass everyone else in the company. Although he still wouldn't have absolute control, it would be enough to make some tyrannical decisions, and he would have more resources at his disposal.

Duncan didn't want the hot potato of equity anyway, so he agreed without hesitation.

Perhaps wanting to show his tolerance and benevolence in front of the other shareholders, or perhaps having other motives, Isaac smiled, "Since Mr. Duncan has voluntarily given up entering the Ark, I will grant you more authority within the security department. I hope you have fun in the new world!"

With that, the meeting ended. Dr. Isaac left the conference room first, followed by the other shareholders; they were going to collect some tissue samples for their clones.

Duncan remained lazily in his seat. Sensing a needle-like gaze from the side, he turned his head to look.

It was the old woman in the wheelchair, staring straight at him as if she wanted to see through his disguise.

"We should go." A tall man in a suit and sunglasses walked behind the old woman and pushed her wheelchair out of the conference room.

Only after everyone had left did Duncan stand up and, guided by his memories, walk toward an office on the middle floor of the Umbrella headquarters building.

He entered the silver elevator to go downstairs, walked through a crowd of busy employees, and pushed open the door to his own office.

His mood had started to sour the moment he walked out of that conference room, and after passing through the elevator, he didn't bother to hide it—nor could he.

Some people are just a beat slow to react, like being inexplicably scolded by a stranger; they don't react at the time, but the more they think about it later, the angrier they get, infinitely simulating the scene of scolding back in their heads.

Duncan's foul mood caused the employees near the office area to glance over frequently.

Their department did nothing but light work, and the busyness from just a moment ago was merely for show in front of the new boss. Once he left, they would go back to being salary thieves.

Veteran office workers knew how to read their boss's expression, fearing they might be fired by accident.

Clack!

A subtle sound of something being slammed came from the office, which didn't have great soundproofing, making the employees even more uneasy as they all looked toward someone.

A blonde woman in professional attire, under the gaze of all the staff, had no choice but to walk toward the office and knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Inside the office, Duncan slumped into his leather chair. He had just used the extraordinary desktop cleaning software, leaving the floor in a mess while the desk itself remained spotless.

His previously furrowed features now relaxed. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde beauty cautiously poking her head inside and asked, "What is it?"

"Boss..." The blonde beauty clicked her heels as she walked into the office, closed the opaque door behind her, and slowly approached Duncan, who was sprawled in the boss's chair, her eyelashes fluttering.

Duncan felt a bit puzzled, but he didn't pay it much mind. After clearing his desk, he had discovered a new change following his transmigration to the Resident Evil world.

The process of crossing over had been quite long, lasting a total of two hours from the moment he was in the meeting until now.

It was just like a progress bar; the moment he swept the items off his desk, the progress bar had finished.

He saw a phantom door in his retina that could grow or shrink, lengthen or shorten.

Information about the door appeared automatically in his mind: it was a gateway that could travel back and forth to new worlds, which could be understood as a "Anywhere Door" for parallel universes.

By randomly opening a door to enter a world, the coordinates of that world would be recorded, allowing him to travel between the two worlds at any time in the future, and he could even bring others along.

The door wasn't limited to just one world; the number of doors was indefinite. One could be here, and another could be there.

After obtaining this ability, Duncan's mood finally improved.

He knew that he had spent his life doing good deeds and accumulating merit; it was impossible for him to be reincarnated as a villain. He was definitely destined to enjoy life!

As long as he reached another world, he could temporarily escape the pressure of survival. But for all his kindness, he had one bit of paranoia: he couldn't stand idiots!

Especially idiots like the upper management of Umbrella; he was determined to sabotage their world-ending plan.

Slumping was Duncan's best posture for thinking. He poured his heart and soul into contemplating how to dismantle Umbrella's world-ending plan, only sparing a tiny fraction of his attention for the blonde beauty who had suddenly walked in.

It wasn't until she knelt down and reached out to undo his belt that he suddenly realized what this lackey of capitalism was trying to do!

He slapped her hand away. "If there's nothing else, get out and get to work. Don't come here and annoy me!"

The blonde beauty wore a look of grievance. Duncan found the relevant information in the original owner's memories.

She was the secretary of Rex Arems, and Duncan Aremus, who had inherited the shares, hadn't fired her but kept her on.

This understanding secretary knew her position well; she could not only complete Rex Arems's tasks brilliantly but could also share Duncan Aremus's burdens without any reservations!

After reviewing the office history of the original owner, Duncan felt a mouthful of bile stuck in his throat that he couldn't spit out. He could only wave his hand repeatedly, telling this second-hand secretary to get as far away as possible.