Recycling the Umbrella

Steve rolled forward, throwing himself in front of Natasha and Alicia, raising his Vibranium shield to block the flying debris and shrapnel.

"Is he dead?" Alicia nearly stood up from her wheelchair, her eyes filled with agitation.

Compared to whether Isaac was dead or not, Tony was more concerned about whether the vibrations from the explosion would cause the place to collapse.

As it turned out, his worries were unnecessary; the underground construction capabilities of the Umbrella Corporation were commendable. While the fireworks carried by the mechanical prosthetic limbs were powerful, they weren't enough to shake the solid earth.

"Roar!"

The firelight gradually faded, and a staggering figure loomed within the pitch-black dust.

Isaac stumbled out of the smoke, feeling a bit of a headache now.

The others couldn't help but gasp at his appearance, their impression of the horror of the T-virus deepening once more.

Because the entire upper half of Isaac's head was gone, replaced by three terrifying tentacles.

His suit shirt had been completely shredded by the missiles, his exposed chest was charred black, and countless fleshy tentacles were constantly twitching on the scorched skin, looking like a box of tangled mealworms, assaulting everyone's vision.

"Shit, I don't think I'll be able to enjoy dinner tonight!"

Tony said, raising his left hand, and another missile popped out from his forearm.

The missile dragged a tail of flame as it slammed into Isaac's chest, and an explosion erupted once again.

There was nothing in Resident Evil that couldn't be solved with a rocket launcher; if there was, then you just used another one.

Tony's missiles were like a rocket launcher—if one didn't work, he used two. If he wasn't confident with two, he opened the small missile pods on his shoulders and fired all sixty small missiles, each with the power of a hand grenade, directly at Isaac.

The continuous explosions completely swallowed Isaac's body. Isaac never stood up again, his body reduced to a pile of pockmarked, rotting flesh.

Though he was dead, the T-virus was still alive. If the corpse were placed in a regeneration tank and repaired with nutrient solution, he could eventually come back to life.

However, no one would do that.

"Finally, it's over!" Natasha let out a sigh of relief, but then a heavy sound of footsteps came from behind her.

The Nemesis, carrying a Gatling gun and a rocket launcher, had arrived fashionably late!

Less than a minute after appearing, its head was blown to pieces by Tony, who had turned around and fired a few palm blasts.

"It's over, everything is over!" Tears streamed down Alicia's aged face. In the dozen years since her father's death, she had imagined this scene countless times, and finally, her dream had come true.

Suffering from progeria, she was already meant to die. Now that the obsession in her heart had vanished, Alicia no longer had a reason to keep living.

She considered the T-virus the source of all tragedy; even if she could inject it again to become young, she didn't want to.

"By the way, are you people from the White Palace?"

Thinking of the T-virus, Alicia opened her narrowed eyes, her gaze toward Natasha and the others filled with gratitude.

"..."

Natasha looked at Steve, Steve looked at Tony, and Tony looked at Natasha.

They didn't speak simply because the three of them had concerns, worried that a poor answer might have some impact on Duncan.

Tony and Steve had both learned the identity of the woman before them from Natasha: she was the owner of the Umbrella Corporation. Unlike Duncan, who was a shareholder with significant power, she was someone who could influence the company's decisions, making her difficult to handle.

Tony set his armor to silent mode, meaning his voice wouldn't be broadcast externally, and whispered to the other two: "I'll contact Duncan and let him come over to handle it himself."

Not long after, Duncan, who was drinking an iced cola at a suburban warehouse, received Tony's communication and immediately jumped up in excitement.

"Tell her the truth first, I'm coming over right now!"

Twenty minutes later, Duncan arrived at the shelter beneath The Hive with the James Squad and Sam, and successfully saw Isaac's corpse.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

Staring at the charred body, Duncan kept making clicking sounds. His mocking gaze, seen through the gas mask, made him look like a major villain.

Alicia, in her wheelchair, narrowed her eyes when she saw Duncan. She recognized him before he even removed his mask and said with some surprise: "It's you?"

"Long time no see, Ms. Alicia!" Duncan half-knelt in front of Alicia's wheelchair and took off his gas mask, a smile appearing on his face.

In truth, Duncan didn't know Alicia's name; it was only because Tony told him that he knew.

"You are very special, and you have brought me a surprise as well!" A smile also appeared on Alicia's face, looking like the kindness of an elderly person, even though she was actually only in her twenties. "I intended to contact you, but you exposed yourself too quickly, and I thought you were dead."

Duncan had wanted to discuss the transfer of shares with Alicia, but these two sentences raised countless questions, distracting him so much that he couldn't even say anything substantial. "You wanted me to deal with Isaac from the very beginning?"

Alicia nodded slightly and said in a serious tone: "Because the real Duncan Aremus is already dead. You are his clone, a very special one who has broken free from fate!"

?

Duncan was completely stunned. The others, hearing such explosive news, also showed expressions of shock, looking at Duncan in disbelief.

A clone with flesh, blood, and thoughts?

Seeming to mistake Duncan's shock for confusion, Alicia comforted him softly: "You are not a puppet with cut strings. Compared to you, who have gained freedom, I am the puppet being controlled. You are better than me! I have seen anger in your eyes; these emotions should be forgotten with Isaac's death. In the future, your rich memories will be rewoven into a complete life. You are, simply, you!"

Duncan remained silent, pursing his lips. He wanted to say something, but the words died in his throat. In the end, he just nodded up and down, his eyes complex.

It wasn't that he minded that his body was a clone—he already knew what he was, didn't he?

It was just that all the abnormal details had suddenly been strung together, leaving his mind unable to process it all at once. He also felt that being comforted like this was strange, and not knowing how to refute it was why he wore such an expression and look in his eyes.

Everyone witnessed these displays, which led them all to misunderstand Duncan and feel sympathy for him.

This was inevitable.

Steve felt this even more strongly after hearing these words, as he was an old man who had crawled out of an ice coffin, having been meant to sacrifice himself at the end of World War II.

If one day Nick Fury told him that he was actually a clone of the real Steve Rogers, he might fall into a long period of self-doubt.

So, Duncan, he was a clone, perhaps not even ten years old?

"Thank you..." Alicia finally said a heartfelt thank you to Duncan, then wanted to close her eyes and wait for death.

Seeing Alicia wanting to close her eyes and give up, Duncan anxiously called out, "Wait! The truth is indeed cruel, but the crisis hasn't been resolved yet. If you can, could you transfer your shares and position to me?"

Alicia opened her eyes again, puzzled, "What do you want the company for?"

"The virus has already spread through the air. The victims in Raccoon City need compensation from the company, and the control of various bases around the world needs to be taken back from ambitious people. These aren't things that a few individuals can solve alone."

Alicia stared intensely into Duncan's eyes, and Duncan didn't back down, letting her look all she wanted into his sincere eyes.

After a long while, Alicia nodded, "Okay."