Virus, Secured! (Part 1)

Umbrella Corporation, temporary camp.

"Dr. Isaacs, I need an explanation from you!" The supervisor stood before Dr. Isaacs with a gloomy expression, his hands clasped tightly against his abdomen, head bowed as if suppressing a long-simmering rage.

Behind him stood two tall security guards, standing at attention like statues.

Dr. Isaacs straightened his lab coat, a hypocritical yet brilliant smile like a fox's playing on his face. "My dear Mr. Cain, I think you are mistaken; you have no right to demand an explanation from me."

Cain was the name of that supervisor.

However, ever since he became a supervisor, everyone had respectfully addressed him as "Supervisor." Over time, he had grown accustomed to and fond of this honorific, to the point where many had forgotten his original name.

Dr. Isaacs, however, remembered it, and used it quite naturally.

The Raccoon City branch supervisor, Mr. Cain, looked as if his gloomy face might drip water. "Regrettably, Dr. Isaacs, while you are a valuable asset to the company, you are merely an expendable one. I now declare that Dr. Isaacs is under arrest for suspected collusion with rival corporate spies and endangering company interests, in accordance with company regulations! Execute it immediately!"

The corners of Isaacs' mouth curled up. "That is exactly what I was going to say. Only, the one who should be arrested is not me, but you, my dear Dr. Cain."

As he spoke, he pulled an A4 sheet of paper from his coat, densely packed with English text, the red-and-white Umbrella Corporation logo standing out prominently. "This is a personnel change notice just issued by the board of directors at headquarters. From this moment on, I shall replace Mr. Cain and take charge of all affairs at the Raccoon City branch."

Then, he pulled out another sheet, also bearing the Umbrella Corporation logo. "This is an arrest warrant issued by the board. Mr. Cain is to be arrested for suspected abuse of power, embezzlement of company property, and unauthorized research into the G-Virus, an advanced form of the T-Virus, in violation of the company's SSS-level ban. I have the authority to carry out an execution."

Supervisor Cain's face changed drastically. He snatched the two A4 sheets, and by the time he finished reading, all color had drained from his face.

"Now, gentlemen, as loyal employees of the Umbrella Corporation, shouldn't you be carrying out the board's orders?"

The two muscle-bound men behind Cain hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and hoisting the stunned Cain up.

"Let go of me! I can walk myself!" Cain struggled violently, then fixed his snake-like eyes on Isaacs. "Isaacs, you will meet your retribution. You are the one researching the G-Virus, not me!"

Cain seemed to realize his situation was hopeless and stopped trying to defend himself. "The T-Virus isn't even perfected yet, and you madman, you're actually researching the G-Virus—that 'God's Forbidden Zone'—believe me, Isaacs, you will face retribution! Do you think the higher-ups don't know? Hmph! The head office is already investigating you!"

Isaacs shrugged. "Originally, I was worried... but now I have no concerns! God is on my side; He sent me an interesting Chinese boy. With his help, all traces have been wiped clean. The 'investigation team' won't find a thing." (Note: In the original movie, there is a helicopter at the city hall, the one the protagonist takes at the end; I have designated it as the transport for the Umbrella Corporation's "investigation team.")

Gradually, Isaacs' smile faded, and he said softly, "Twenty years from now, when an old man with heart disease is on the verge of death, he will escape the clutches of the Grim Reaper because he took a certain drug. And the inventor of that drug will be me, Isaacs... This is science! This is hope! Someone like you, who only sees money and power, will never understand."

Isaacs had rambled on with nonsense, leaving Cain stunned for a moment before he quietly replied, "I will be waiting for you with Satan!"

With that, he was dragged away by the two muscle-bound men.

"See, Dr. Ashford, can you rest easy now?" Isaacs said to Dr. Ashford nearby. "I am the supervisor now. Your daughter will be by your side very soon. It won't be long."

Surprisingly, Dr. Ashford did not show a look of pleasant surprise, but instead stared coldly at Isaacs. "What he said is true? You are researching the G-Virus?"

Isaacs' expression stiffened, then he said, "Doctor... I think you value your daughter more."

"...Both you and I will go to hell!"

Having said this, Ashford turned his wheelchair and fixed his eyes on the computer screen...

"Look! Yin Kuang is over there!" Zeng Fei whispered, pointing toward the street in the distance. Aided by the faint glow of firelight, Zeng Fei's vision—born for a sniper—easily identified the person lying on the ground as the very Yin Kuang they had been searching for.

Beside Yin Kuang lay another person, their status unknown.

"Shh!" Wang Ning quickly covered Zeng Fei's mouth, signaling for silence, then pointed to another dark corner and whispered, "There are people over there!"

Zeng Fei nodded, and Wang Ning let go.

Li Shuangmu and Qian Qianqian looked at Wang Ning in surprise, but they chose to trust him, figuring Wang Ning wouldn't speak without reason.

Sure enough, under the gaze of four pairs of eyes, two security personnel in Umbrella Corporation uniforms emerged from the shadows, weapons in hand, walking step by step toward Yin Kuang.

Yet Yin Kuang lay on the ground as if dead, seemingly indifferent to the two Umbrella Corporation men who had suddenly appeared.

Zeng Fei hurriedly grabbed his AWM, ready to chamber a round.

"What are you doing?" Wang Ning glared at Zeng Fei, his hand gripping the sniper rifle tightly.

"Saving him," Zeng Fei struggled, but couldn't reclaim the rifle. "Can't you see Yin Kuang is in danger?"

Wang Ning said, "The situation is unclear. If you fire blindly, you might end up hurting him instead. Look, if those two Umbrella men really wanted to harm Yin Kuang, they would have shot him directly; why would they bother walking up to check on him?"

Li Shuangmu also turned his head and said, "That's right, it's best we wait and see. Besides, if we act rashly, we might attract even more Umbrella Corporation personnel. Let's not end up getting ourselves killed while trying to save someone else."

In the end, human nature is to seek advantages and avoid harm.

Even Zeng Fei, after his initial impulse, reconsidered. Looking back at Yin Kuang, he felt that Wang Ning and Li Shuangmu were right, though he still silently prayed for Yin Kuang, I just hope he's alright.

At this moment, Yin Kuang was completely paralyzed.

Beyond enduring the desperate sensation of losing control over his limbs, he had to withstand a pain so intense it defied description!

If not for his stubborn, persistent nature—a wildness born from the mountains—he would have surely lost consciousness by now.

At this moment, he had neither the mood nor the strength to care about any Umbrella Corporation security guards!

He listened to the "clack-clack" of hard boots on the asphalt, the heavy, rhythmic footsteps indicating that the two guards were fully armed.

He didn't move, just lay there.

Until a tall, dark shadow loomed over him. The other person crouched down and roughly hoisted Yin Kuang up.

The intense pain seemed to have numbed Yin Kuang; he struggled to open his eyes, only to be met by two pitch-black, rounded helmets.

"This guy is tenacious; he's still not dead after all this," a voice came from within a helmet, sounding very muffled.

"Hurry up and give him an injection." Another equally silent voice spoke up. "If he dies, we'll have a hard time answering for it. I don't want to be dragged off for experiments by that madman."

Following this, Yin Kuang felt a sharp, needle-like pain in his neck, and then, a stream of cool liquid flowed into his body.

System Prompt: You have been injected with T88 Cell Repair Serum, specially formulated by Umbrella Corporation.

System Prompt: Your HP will increase continuously, recovering 1 point every minute until your HP is full.

System Prompt: Due to your paralyzed state, the Cell Repair Serum cannot fully heal you; you have entered a weakened state.

System Prompt: All your base attributes are currently set to 1 point for a duration of 30 minutes.

Regardless, after receiving the "System Prompts," Yin Kuang finally let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, It seems Dr. Isaacs won't do anything to me for the time being... 30 minutes, 1 point in attributes... sigh...

At this moment, the muffled voice from the helmet sounded again, "Hey, Chinese kid, where is that dog?"

Yin Kuang forced his eyes open. Although his mind was still a bit hazy, his reason had fully returned. "Give me the T-Virus... once I leave, I will tell... Dr. Isaacs!"

The two round, black helmets turned, clearly exchanging glances. After a long while, one of them took out a palm-sized, silver-gray metal box and slapped it onto Yin Kuang's chest. "I know you Chinese people value integrity the most... If you break your word, I will represent God and give you a bullet!"

"I don't believe in Jesus..." Yin Kuang chuckled, "Because I am Chinese... so you can absolutely trust me!"

"Are you sure you're in a normal state right now?"

"I'm fine!" Yin Kuang said. "You can go now. Notify Dr. Isaacs to call me in 5 minutes... Also, leave me a gun for self-defense..."

"May God protect you from being eaten by zombies!" One of the black helmets pulled out a pistol, attached a silencer, slapped it onto Yin Kuang, and then said to the other, "Let's go!"

As the heavy footsteps faded into the distance, the heart that had been hanging in Yin Kuang's throat finally settled back into place.

At this moment, he had recovered 3 HP and could barely stand up.

When he saw the corpse of Nicholas not far away, his once bright eyes gradually dimmed...

"Why... what's wrong with living!? You could leave this place... go far away, what's wrong with living?"

"For those who carry sins, living is a crime. Death is the only true release... We are all sinners abandoned by God..."

"Bullshit God... as long as you're alive, anything is possible!"

"You don't understand... perhaps one day, when you are tired of living, you will understand... death is actually the best antidote... They are waiting for me..."

"Chinese... kid... live... on!!"

The powerful hand that had been gripping Yin Kuang finally loosened...

The military knife was plunged into his heart!

"Nicholas... you were a man worthy of respect, a true warrior! But... you were also a coward...!"

Yin Kuang muttered to himself.

Gradually, his gaze locked onto the palm-sized metal box in his hand. In the center of the silver-gray box, the conspicuous logo of Umbrella Corporation was engraved—a red and white regular octagon!

Opening it, Yin Kuang received the following prompt—

Item: 100% Pure T-Virus Serum.

Description: This is a T-Virus serum personally formulated by Dr. Isaacs, the chief researcher of Umbrella Corporation's North American branch. It is Dr. Isaacs' proudest work. This may be Dr. Isaacs' final creation, making it priceless.

Rating: One of a kind in the world!

Effect: If used by a "Freshman Student," there is a 45% chance to obtain a Mutant T-Virus enhancement, a 30% chance to obtain a Perfect T-Virus enhancement, and a 25% chance to mutate into an unknown creature! If used by a "Senior Student," there is a 70% chance to obtain a Mutant T-Virus enhancement and a 50% chance to obtain a Perfect T-Virus enhancement, with no side effects! Find a place to smash it, and you will pay the price for the deaths of countless people!! (This part is marked in blood-dripping text).

Note: The enhancement effect is only useful for "University Students"!

Evaluation: Even the craziest gambler would not choose to use this thing...