Tony had arranged for the Cross-World Gate connecting the two worlds to be set up at a Stark Industries warehouse on the outskirts of New York City. The industrial park he'd recently built wasn't quite finished, and he hadn't intended to put the Gate there anyway.
That industrial park was meant to house pharmaceutical production lines. Once refurbished, the production machines replaced by Umbrella Corporation could be put back to work.
There was no need to explain how dangerous the T-virus was. Umbrella Corporation's pharmaceutical production lines also differed considerably from those used for ordinary drugs. Some of the machines were specially customized, so even with the formula, they couldn't be used until the necessary machines had been built.
Rather than have Stark Industries manufacture everything according to the production-line blueprints, they could first put Umbrella Corporation's old production lines to use and free up manpower to build a production line for the first-generation industrial robots.
That was Duncan and Tony's plan. The two companies would each focus on a few tasks, so once the Cross-World Gate was operational, they could complement each other's work.
Umbrella Corporation would mainly gather the raw materials needed to build the first-generation industrial robots in the Resident Evil world. It would also expand its operations around the world and increase its influence, clearing obstacles to its growth. While it was at it, the company would dismantle and refurbish several pharmaceutical production lines, which could later be shipped to the Marvel Universe.
Stark Industries, meanwhile, would supply production lines for various products and step up the manufacture of more of them.
Umbrella Corporation had a huge demand for Stark Industries' high-tech products, especially the holographic projectors, robots, and anti-gravity aircraft that amazed ordinary people the most. These products were genuinely expensive to make, and the cost of building an entire production line was even more exorbitant.
Stark Industries had already devoted so much effort to manufacturing all these production lines that it had no capacity to deal with anything else. Tony also had to design a transport ship capable of traveling between Earth and the Moon.
Landing on the Moon and developing it were essential steps in advancing human civilization!
Duncan and Tony walked out of the warehouse side by side. Outside, the suburban sky was a murky gray, and the moon was visible only as a shadow behind the clouds.
A car was parked outside the warehouse. Tony took a cooler from its trunk.
When he set it down and opened it, Duncan saw two upside-down glasses, a bottle of champagne, and a bottle of bourbon.
"I'm not much of a drinker, but I can manage a little champagne." Duncan had never acquired a taste for alcohol. To him, it wasn't as good as a sugar-packed Coke. But today was an exception. He could at least sip some champagne to celebrate the two worlds finally opening a channel of communication.
Tony merely rolled his eyes, roughly popped open the champagne, and filled each glass a quarter full.
Then he sat on the ground with his back against the warehouse wall, gazing up at the gloomy sky as they chatted about this and that.
Tony talked about what it felt like to become a superhero. Duncan offered a few armchair observations and complained about how hard it was to manage a company.
"Ever since I became a superhero, I feel like I can give people confidence. Like Batman watching over potential criminals and keeping them from committing crimes."
Tony struck a rather comical boxing pose and even brought up that old man from another world as an example. Soon, he picked up the glass from the ground and hid half his face behind it as he drank. In a casual tone, he spoke from the heart. "But... I think you've done a better job than I have."
Duncan shook his head with a quiet laugh. "I just don't put profit first. Since taking over Umbrella Corporation, I've been using your inventions to do whatever I want. It's only by chance that I gained the ability to travel between worlds. If I can't use that ability to help an entire civilization progress, then there's no point in having it just to make a profit."
Tony took those words to mean that, after learning he was a Clone, Duncan had reached an extraordinary level of enlightenment. That was why he had no interest in money and never touched it.
After spending several months in a cave in Afghanistan, Tony had developed a similarly broad-minded outlook. But the Battle of New York had left him with severe anxiety. He was constantly on edge, worrying about everything, and had become a nervous wreck.
He had already started building the Iron Legion, intending to protect Earth with a vast army of robots. Just as he was about to put the plan into action, he'd met Duncan.
"Someday, Stark Industries will be able to advance the world with the power of a single company, just like Umbrella Corporation!" Tony took another sip. As if something had just occurred to him, he turned to Duncan. "In a few days, I'm going with Steve and the others to destroy Hydra's last stronghold. Think of it as a vacation. So if anything comes up while I'm gone, you can talk to Pepper or Happy."
Duncan spread his hands. "If you're going into action, I don't have much reason to come around, do I?"
He meant Alice. Unless he had business to discuss or wanted to spend some time getting closer to her, there was no real need to spend time here.
There were still many regional managers he needed to meet and negotiate with. He also had to direct the androids as they traveled to meet those managers. Some of the more important deals couldn't be left to employees who still thought in the usual, profit-driven way.
Umbrella Corporation was about to enter a second period of explosive growth. It couldn't give anyone with malicious intentions the chance to target it.
"Fine, fine. If you can, bring your little girlfriend along next time and leave the Avengers' party. You two are a real party-pooper team!"
Tony finished his drink in one gulp, brushed off his backside, and stood up. He took another cooler from the trunk.
"What's in that? Anything's fine—just don't tell me it's alcohol." Duncan stood as well and waved his hands at the box, which looked just like the other cooler. He really didn't want to drink anymore.
Tony didn't tease him. He set the box down and opened it, revealing several metal containers inside. "Here's what you asked for: Hydra scientists, plus some bodily tissue and blood samples from promising criminals. Twenty-three people in all. Their information is inside the boxes."
When Duncan learned that the box contained samples from highly educated people, his eyes lit up. It was full of talent!
Umbrella Corporation urgently needed people with expertise in scientific fields beyond biology—genius scholars a step ahead of ordinary scientists.
As long as they were instilled with loyalty to Umbrella Corporation from the start of the cloning process, along with the ultimate goal of striving to preserve humanity's glory forever, they would work tirelessly until they died.
They could spend their lives working for humanity until old age as payment for their crimes!
Duncan wasn't a Demon, either. When they were no longer able to work, he would tell them the truth and let them decide for themselves whether they wanted to clone themselves again and continue contributing to humanity.
If they agreed, he'd clone them again. If not, he'd dispose of them.
"Great. You can keep sending people over in the future. Talent is the foundation of development!" Duncan gladly accepted Tony's gift and said that the more, the better.
Even Tony, who supported Clones, couldn't help shuddering when he heard Duncan say that.
Am I trafficking people?
After pushing the box toward Duncan, Tony jerked his hand back as if he'd been burned and shook it a few times. "There'll probably be more once we pull out Hydra's leaders by the roots. That's enough for today. I'm going home to sleep with Pepper!"
Duncan watched Tony drive off, then carried the box back to the Resident Evil world.
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