Employee Ranks

June 5th.

The day of the cleanup operation.

16:14.

Raccoon City Police Department, second floor, inside the Chief's office.

Irons sat in his office chair, his right fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest while his left hand lightly pinched his round chin, as if deep in thought.

Sitting opposite this perverted Chief was Sui Bian, who sat with his legs crossed, hands clasped over his abdomen, a faint smile on his face.

The office was decorated in a very classical style, with specimens like deer and bear heads hanging on the walls on both sides.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window behind Irons, casting a glow directly onto Sui Bian.

It was somewhat blinding.

Sui Bian then spoke up, asking, "Chief Irons, have you considered it?"

"Mr. Sui, as a mere small-town chief, I certainly wouldn't dare refuse your request, it's just..."

Irons paused, wearing a troubled expression as he continued, "It's just, how am I supposed to explain this to the team? And... this isn't just a matter of signing a piece of paper."

His tone and expression made it seem as though transferring STARS was an incredibly difficult task.

"Heh."

Sui Bian merely smiled and did not reply.

Just moments ago, he had proposed taking over the jurisdiction of STARS, though he hadn't told Irons the real reason why.

After all, the fact that Umbrella was going to secretly combat anomalous phenomena was something only Sui Bian knew for now, and he had no intention of explaining too much to Irons.

However, Irons' words just now had instantly annoyed Sui Bian.

Who doesn't know that you, Irons, rule Raccoon City with an iron fist? And now you're telling me it's difficult?

Sui Bian mocked him inwardly, but his face remained smiling. He twisted his neck, the joints emitting a crisp "crack."

He said, "Don't worry, Chief Irons. The company will cover all administrative costs. You only need to have all the members of STARS waiting for me at the warehouse in the southwest district at 10:00 AM on the 15th of this month."

"Mr. Sui is certainly easy to talk to, haha! Many thanks... many thanks for your understanding."

Once he heard that Umbrella was willing to pay, Irons' attitude shifted instantly, and he became all smiles.

"You're welcome. I still need to handle some matters at the Hive, so I'll be going."

After saying this, Sui Bian waved his right hand, stood up, and walked out of the office.

"Let me see you out, Mr. Sui."

Irons hurriedly stood up, immediately fawning over Sui Bian.

Sui Bian did not refuse, continuing to chat and laugh with him; he knew it wasn't the best time to deal with Irons just yet.

Since most of the police force was out on duty, Irons accompanied Sui Bian directly to the entrance of the secret passage beneath the police station, where the four Alpha members had been waiting for some time.

At this point, Irons finally ceased his flattery and took his leave quite tactfully.

Immediately after, Sui Bian and the four Alpha members entered the passage, arriving at the rail station built beneath the police station.

They stepped inside.

The train started.

The train carried the group toward the first level of the Hive.

Sui Bian, sitting in the back of the carriage, stared blankly at the tunnel outside the window.

He was thinking about how, after fully taking control of Umbrella, he would change the company's existing employee system by establishing four tiers: A, B, C, and D.

The higher the tier, the more access one had to the company's core technology, secrets, and the anomalous phenomena that could not be disclosed to the public.

Of course, there was no place for D-tier personnel in the aforementioned tiers, or rather, they had no say in the matter.

D-tier personnel were defined as expendable. They were drawn from the ranks of violent criminals in prisons around the world, especially the scum sentenced to death.

D-tier personnel were responsible for "being" experimented upon, working in extremely dangerous environments, or coming into contact with various containment objects so that researchers could better analyze their properties.

Umbrella had to have D-tier personnel!

In truth, Sui Bian did not oppose human experimentation, but he did oppose kidnapping innocent citizens or homeless people for biological experiments.

If one wanted to create more perfect B.O.W.s and super soldiers, human experimentation was essential.

He planned to use Umbrella's influence to first contact the wardens across Colorado State, where Raccoon City was located, and secretly sign confidential agreements to bring violent criminals and death-row inmates to the Hive.

Especially those convicted of child molestation; they had to be brought to the Hive to serve as D-tier personnel.

Since they were scum who would die sooner or later, why not make a great contribution to the progress of humanity?

Having cleared his thoughts, Sui Bian also prepared to trick Irons into seeking a promotion, get that perverted Chief to provide D-tier personnel, and have Birkin use him for the first human experiment with the G-Virus.

"Hive, arriving."

The train's female automated voice interrupted Sui Bian, who had been lost in thought.

The moving train slowly came to a halt, and the door on the right opened automatically.

"Let's go, sir."

"Very well."

With that, Sui Bian and the four members of Alpha departed the train.

Returning to the Hive.

Sui Bian dismissed the four Alpha members to rest and await further orders, while he returned alone to his bedroom on the second level of the Hive.

17:24.

The second level of the Hive, staff living quarters.

In the bedroom at the far end of the corridor on the southeast corner.

This room now belonged to Sui Bian; it featured a living room and a bedroom, with a layout similar to his previous bachelor apartment.

However, the walls were no longer the poorly soundproofed "cardboard" of American construction, but had been replaced with cold metal.

The kitchen bar lacked an electric stove or oven, containing only a sink, a refrigerator, and a microwave.

As for the open-air balcony he once had, that was impossible to find dozens of meters underground.

Having just taken a hot shower and changed into black pajamas, Sui Bian sat at his computer desk, conversing with the Red Queen.

"Red Queen, notify the technicians to ensure your mainframe remains intact, then inform the Hive's transport department to relocate your mainframe to the Hive."

"Understood. Do you have any other orders?"

"Hmm... Red Queen, arrange an optimal, secure route for the final two USS squads to secretly head to Raccoon City. I will need sufficient manpower to carry out the upcoming operations."

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Sui Bian gave a soft acknowledgment and ended the conversation with the Red Queen.

He then opened the System Store, which appeared like a holographic screen, by focusing his thoughts, and spoke to the system in his mind:

"System, I want to redeem an MA5B Assault Rifle."

[Received. Deducting 300 points for the redemption.

Redeeming...

Redemption complete. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained an MA5B ICWS Assault Rifle.]

As the system's voice faded, an MA5B with an empty magazine, along with a USB drive identical to the one for the mechanical exoskeleton, appeared "out of thin air" on the computer desk.