Replacement

After the territory tour ended, the android temporarily handed control over to the AI. Duncan finished his workout and received a meeting request from the heads of Umbrella Corporation's other divisions.

He got up and left the bedroom serving as his office. Then he made his way to the conference room and took the head seat at the long table.

Everyone was present. The meeting began.

The division heads' images appeared in the seats along both sides of the table via holographic projection. They all greeted Duncan in unison.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. Start by giving me an update on your progress." Duncan looked at the division heads, his gaze distant and his expression blank, yet somehow he made them all feel the pressure.

His gaze shifted automatically to the head of the London division, seated at the far right—a man with slicked-back hair.

Under Duncan's gaze, the London division head sat up straight. "The first phase of the London division's mission is complete. Clone Soldiers have replaced employees at several companies, and our people have infiltrated their ranks. We've also procured some supplies. The first shipment will be delivered to Manhattan Island by cargo ship."

Duncan turned his attention to the head of the Paris division.

"We've been in contact with the Dassault Family," the Paris division head said, "but they want to meet with you in person."

"Then don't bother with them!"

Duncan turned down the invitation outright. The Dassault Family was a family of businessmen in France with a fair amount of influence. When a host of capitalists had ganged up on Umbrella Corporation, they had chosen to sit on the sidelines, so they were worth trying to win over.

Their family owned quite a few overseas islands in French territory. Those islands could serve as Umbrella's overseas bases, providing sites for special laboratories and facilities.

Umbrella Corporation's rapid expansion had already put many people on edge. To establish laboratories and military bases overseas under its own name, it would have to operate under someone else's banner.

The Dassault Family was a good option, but not the only one.

The other division heads continued their reports. The heads of the African division and the São Paulo division in Brazil updated Duncan on the development of their Clone Soldiers.

The combat capability of rapidly grown Clones was poor, so Duncan had taken the advice of a scientist in the Siberian division. They would extend the cultivation period to three months, then put the Clone Soldiers through two months of military training before sending them into a war zone for a month of actual combat.

After one round of screening, only the elite would remain!

The head of the Nairobi division in Africa would send the Clones they had produced to battlefields in the Third World, using the Black Stone Clan's name to seize control of parts of war-torn regions.

Most of the Clones produced by the Nairobi division were Black men. Those who lived on the African savanna had better athletic ability than other ethnic groups, and the memory implants had also improved their obedience.

Using Black people as the model would slightly improve the Clone Soldiers' combat ability while also allowing them to move about without attracting suspicion or having their identities questioned.

The São Paulo division in Brazil used the same approach to produce its Clones. The difference was that they trained by fighting the many drug traffickers entrenched in that chaotic country.

The remaining division heads were mostly handling public-facing work, such as setting up factories and acquiring materials.

Once they had finished reporting on their assignments, they moved on to the actual subject of the meeting.

"We cloned the bodies of people who died around the time of the incident, and from the Clones' memories, we identified the mastermind behind the last attack on you... though their identity is somewhat unusual."

It was the head of the Nairobi division who spoke. A hint of nervousness crossed his dark face as he gave the name.

"It was Mossad."

"Mossad?"

Duncan had been sitting there with a stern expression, but at the name, he couldn't keep it up. After a moment's pause, he chuckled softly.

He might not have recognized the name before, but after becoming the owner of Umbrella Corporation, he'd had no choice but to learn about such things.

Mossad was the Jewish intelligence agency, counted alongside the CIA, KGB, and MI6 as one of the world's four major intelligence organizations.

There was plenty of speculation and uncertainty about the details, but this was undeniable proof that Umbrella had drawn the attention of certain regional powers.

What was the Jewish state, after all, but something that had been created out of thin air? And who backed it? Wasn't it America?

If certain people in America wanted to take Umbrella down, then Duncan could set the matter aside for now. After all, they couldn't bring Umbrella Corporation down in the open.

Once the first phase of Umbrella Corporation's project was complete and development of the second world began, the parasites holding back humanity's progress would be utterly defeated.

Time was on Umbrella's side!

Seeing Duncan chuckle, the division heads perked up and watched him expectantly.

When he noticed them looking at him, Duncan's smile faded. "I understand. Leave this alone for now and keep working on your assignments. If that's all this meeting was about, we can adjourn."

The division heads were stunned by his words, then looked flustered. They stammered and hesitated.

"Now that Mossad has its eye on us, shouldn't we do something?" asked the head of the Paris division.

"If our base is discovered, we'll be put at a disadvantage."

"Should we go ahead with the plan we discussed before?"

"I agree..."

The division heads looked like mice scared stiff by a cat, squeaking nonstop.

Duncan could also see that America, currently the most powerful regional power on the planet, might be behind Mossad.

Umbrella Corporation still lagged far behind the developed nations. Since ancient times, America's government and business interests had both opposed and depended on each other.

Businessmen didn't want to be regulated, while those who governed didn't want business interests to grow so powerful that they threatened their authority.

A century or two ago, during a turbulent era when the world was rife with conflict, the British Crown had granted a fifteen-year royal charter. It gave businessmen free rein to commit countless crimes around the world.

The history of the Resident Evil world wasn't very different from that of the original world. History was full of tragedies brought about by the boundless greed of businessmen.

Perhaps in the eyes of certain people in power, Umbrella Corporation was like the East India Company of old: a global monopoly, possessed of immense wealth, and liable to grow ambitious once its riches reached a certain point.

When a monopolistic corporation grew to a certain size, politicians who felt threatened and grew greedy would inevitably step in and bite off a piece of the fat.

Before, it had been businessmen. Now, it was politicians.

The regional heads were like snakes, frightened by the slightest stir outside. They wanted to slither back into their holes or strike down their enemies with their venom.

They had never forgotten the plan to wipe out humanity. They kept squeaking, hoping Duncan would strike first, draw up a new extermination plan, and eliminate every person and faction that threatened Umbrella.

Duncan narrowed his eyes and tapped the conference table twice, summoning the Red Queen.

"Replace them."