Dr. Isaacs!

Umbrella Corporation's temporary camp.

Inside an unremarkable tent.

"Computers aren't worth trusting, Dr. Ashford." Dr. Isaacs looked at Dr. Ashford with an amused expression. "Making a deal with one of Umbrella Corporation's enemies carries considerable risks."

Dr. Ashford sat in his wheelchair, his face ashen and cold sweat beading on his forehead. After a long pause, he said, "I only want my daughter."

"Yes, yes, my dear Ashford. God bless you—you really are a loving father." Dr. Isaacs smiled. "But that man doesn't care about your daughter. All he cares about is his status, reputation, and money."

"So I'm relying on myself." Tears glimmered in Dr. Ashford's eyes as he looked at Dr. Isaacs pleadingly. "For God's sake, Isaacs, I only want my daughter. She's a poor child."

Dr. Isaacs smiled and placed a hand on Dr. Ashford's shoulder. "And a very sweet, well-behaved little darling. I like her very much, too... So I'm here to help you, my old friend."

"Help me?"

"Exactly. People are always much more reliable than machines, aren't they?" Dr. Isaacs said. "I have the highest level of clearance, so I can save your daughter through the proper channels. That little Angela of yours, who's just like a princess. I can promise you she'll soon be right in front of you, sweetly calling you 'Daddy.'"

"Can I trust you, Isaacs?"

"But who else can you trust?" Dr. Isaacs smiled. "I'm the only one who can help you."

"Then what do you need me to do?" Dr. Ashford wasn't a fool. He knew Dr. Isaacs all too well: a devil with a smile on his face. But for his daughter, he didn't mind selling his soul to the devil!

After all, he'd studied the T-Virus to cure his daughter! That showed just how much he loved his child. There was no point judging whether he was right or wrong. The real blame lay with Umbrella Corporation, a company so mad that it had set its sights on him and exploited the results of his research.

Dr. Isaacs said, "It's simple. Very simple, as far as you're concerned. All I need is for you to work with me to study the T-Virus and crack this fascinating subject. Then we'll create a new era—you and me. Of course, I'll also need a little of beautiful Angela's blood, but only with your permission."

Dr. Isaacs knew Dr. Ashford well. His daughter was everything to him. If Dr. Isaacs showed even the slightest sign of meaning her harm, he knew Dr. Ashford would fight him to the death without a second thought. At such a critical moment, he didn't want anything to go wrong.

Just as expected, after considering it for a while, Dr. Ashford said, "Fine. I agree. As long as you're willing to save my daughter, I'll do anything for you. Anything!"

"A wise choice." Dr. Isaacs smiled smugly. "You'll be glad you made this decision today. All right, let's get to work."

With that, Dr. Isaacs sat down at the computer and danced across the keyboard. In no time, he'd used his clearance to access Umbrella Corporation's backend system and send out an order under the identity of the "Headquarters Board of Directors"!

"All right. Next, we find that Chinese boy..."

Ignoring Dr. Ashford's puzzled expression, Dr. Isaacs operated the computer with practiced ease. A foxlike smile hung on his face.

Click!

Dr. Isaacs struck the Enter key hard!

"Ring—"

Yin Kuang was setting a trap when he suddenly jumped, nearly crying out.

At that moment, almost every nerve in Yin Kuang's body was taut. He knew the enemy lurking in the shadows could jump out at any moment, spray him with bullets, and end his life.

Right now, Yin Kuang was gambling.

He was betting that Umbrella Corporation would use the escaped mercenaries against him, betting that they'd tampered with the weapons they'd given him, and betting his trap would lure the mercenaries in so the grenades he'd tied together could blow them to pieces!

Everything was a gamble!

It wasn't that Yin Kuang was bold, or that he loved taking risks. He'd simply been forced into a corner.

The "Hidden Mission" had already made deadly enemies of those vicious mercenaries. They certainly wouldn't let him go. With Umbrella Corporation backing them, finding Yin Kuang would be easy. Killing him would take no more effort than brushing away dust.

Death already hung over his head.

On top of that, his relationship with Li Shuangmu and the others had broken down. He'd even have to watch out for their schemes and ambushes in the future. It left Yin Kuang deeply uneasy. Even if he made it through this "Entrance Exam" alive, what then? With no way to protect himself, how could he stand against Li Shuangmu and the others?

So no matter what, Yin Kuang had to take a chance. If he won, he'd get the T-Virus Serum and have a seventy percent chance of gaining T-Virus Enhancement. If he succeeded, he'd finally have the strength to protect himself and a good start. He could expect things to get a little easier from then on. But if he hit that thirty percent chance of failure and lost ten years of his life, well, Yin Kuang would have nothing to say...

And now, with his nerves stretched taut, he'd suddenly heard an unexpected ring. How could he not jump?

A cell phone not far away suddenly began ringing for no apparent reason, shattering the silence of the narrow alley. The "ring-ring-ring" echoed through the confined space, eerie and ominous.

Cold sweat beaded on Yin Kuang's forehead.

He certainly didn't think there was a Sadako in this Resident Evil world. So the only explanation was that someone from Umbrella Corporation... had found him!

"What the hell do they want now?" A surge of anger rose in Yin Kuang for no reason. He walked over, picked up the Nokia, and hit the answer button hard. "Damn it, what is it this time?!"

"..."

The person on the other end fell silent for a moment. Then a low, hoarse, gentle voice came through. "Chinese boy, please speak English. This is America, not China."

At the sound of that voice, Yin Kuang frowned. "That's not the same person as before..."

"Hello. What do you want?" Yin Kuang took a deep breath to calm himself, then spoke.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Isaacs, chief researcher at Umbrella Corporation's North American branch."

"...Sorry, I..."

Wait. Isaacs? Dr. Isaacs!?

Yin Kuang sucked in a sharp breath. "Could this be that mad doctor from Resident Evil 3, the one who ran the Alice Project and eventually became a Tyrant?! How did he end up here... Wait, I remember Isaacs showed up at the end of Resident Evil 2... But he never appeared in Raccoon City. How could... Why's he looking for me? Unless..."

Dr. Isaacs paid no attention to Yin Kuang's wild thoughts and continued, "Hello, boy from China. I'm curious how you ended up in Raccoon City, since the Raccoon City police station has no record of you. Of course, that doesn't matter. What matters is that, from this moment on, the Raccoon City branch's management authority has been transferred to me. In other words, I'll be taking over the negotiations with you from the previous supervisor."

Yin Kuang thought to himself, Just as I thought...

Yin Kuang had no interest in Umbrella Corporation's internal personnel changes, but he couldn't help asking, "What happened to the person I spoke with before?"

"Unfortunately, he was fired for suspected embezzlement, abuse of authority, and disregard for the company's interests... Of course, the company is also in the process of arresting him. It may take some time, but he'll eventually receive the punishment he deserves. Now, why don't we talk about that adorable little dog?"

Yin Kuang asked, "Can I trust you?"

"Heh. Naive Chinese boy, at least you can't trust the previous supervisor." Dr. Isaacs laughed. "You may not know this, but he tampered with the weapons he supplied you. For example, there's a surveillance satellite in space watching you right now... He has every move you make under his control. The headquarters may be arresting him, but before that happens, you'll already have returned to your Lord's embrace."

"I don't believe in Jesus," Yin Kuang said. "So why should I trust you? I have almost no faith left in Umbrella Corporation..."

"No, no, young man from China." Dr. Isaacs said, "You only distrust the previous supervisor, not Umbrella Corporation. Now, I'm the only one you can trust. I can tamper with the satellite surveillance and give you accurate intelligence. What's more, I've already had my people bring you a sample of the purest T-Virus Serum, prepared by my own hand. It could fetch two hundred million dollars on the black market. All you have to do is hand over your dog to my people after killing those mercenaries. Of course, I can promise to get you out of Raccoon City safely..."

"I'm not playing any tricks. I don't need to. I have plenty of T-Virus here. As long as you promise not to release it all over the place, I can give you as much as you want. To be honest, your dog is extremely appealing to me. I'd pay any price for it."

There was no denying that Dr. Isaacs's offer was tempting. He sounded sincere, too—not like the previous man, who'd been so hypocritical and affected. It was very convincing.

"The mercenaries are close by. You'd better make a decision soon, Chinese boy," Dr. Isaacs said leisurely.

What's this supposed to mean? When you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head? Yin Kuang gave a bitter laugh, then said, "Fine. I agree to work with you. Send your people to pick me up after I kill the mercenaries. I hope you keep your word."

"A pleasure doing business with you, my charming young friend from China. Oh, don't hang up. My assistant will give you real-time information about the mercenaries and help you ambush them. Leave the rest to me."

"All right. I hope this goes smoothly."

Yin Kuang sighed and gave a bitter laugh. "What else can I do but cooperate with you?"

His original plan had been to use the tracking device in the metal case as bait, draw the mercenaries in, and then ambush them. That plan had obviously fallen apart. Yin Kuang hadn't expected the "previous supervisor" to use even Umbrella Corporation's satellites against him. The man sure thought highly of him. What could Yin Kuang possibly say?