10 Days

June 15th.

10:06.

Southwest district of Raccoon City.

The warehouse where Alpha and Omicron originally assembled.

When the USS gathered here, it was in the dead of night, and the guard in the security room was an Omicron. Now, however, it was early morning, and the guards were armed security personnel transferred from the Hive.

Inside the warehouse.

The setup remained the same: a soft screen and a projector, with eleven white folding tables and chairs neatly arranged in front of the screen.

Sitting in those folding chairs were the original members of STARS Alpha and Bravo teams, including Chris, Jill, and Barry.

The STARS were not wearing their police uniforms, but were instead dressed in well-fitted casual clothes.

The eleven of them were reading the non-disclosure agreements and contracts on the tables, pens in their left or right hands, contemplating whether to sign their names.

Sui Bian, dressed in a black suit, stood to the left of the soft screen with his arms crossed, watching this group of STARS with an expressionless face.

From the 5th to the 15th.

During this period, Sui Bian had the White Queen give Irons some "pocket money" to handle the reassignment of the STARS.

Sui Bian didn't ask for the details of how Irons had deceived or maneuvered the situation, but regardless, the emotions of the elite police officers had been perfectly managed, leading them to sit in this warehouse.

Furthermore, under the arrangement of the Red Queen, the remaining two USS teams arrived in Raccoon City one after another on the 8th.

This plunged Spencer and the upper echelons of Umbrella into complete panic.

The fact that four teams of USS, bought with money, had all gone missing wasn't the main issue—after all, money was no object—but what truly panicked Umbrella was that they had effectively been "blinded."

The technical department couldn't track them, and the finance department found no transfer records; it was as if the USS units scattered across the globe had suddenly vanished into thin air in a fantastical manner.

If it had been a rival company or faction poaching them, Umbrella could have accepted it, but what the hell was this collective disappearance without any intersection?

No one could have imagined that the Red and White Queens, the core of the company, would defect and erase all relevant traces, leaving the company's various departments with no way to investigate.

Currently, the Red Queen's main body had been moved to the third level of the Hive to ensure her own safety while more effectively assisting Sui Bian and the researchers within the Hive in analyzing and recording various data.

However, the White Queen's main body remained at the Paris Headquarters, and Sui Bian and his Hive forces were temporarily unable to "rescue" her.

Finally, according to reports from the Red and White Queens, Sui Bian learned that Spencer seemed to be suffering from extreme insecurity and had immediately recalled Sergei, who was still conducting investigative missions, to ensure his own safety.

At the same time, Spencer no longer trusted the heads of research facilities and bases in various regions, even preparing to dispatch a large number of sycophants with little prestige to replace the existing heads.

This move immediately caused an uproar throughout the company, leaving all employees in a state of anxiety.

No one knew what kind of trouble this dying old man would stir up before he "departed."

June 9th.

After Sergei returned to the Spencer family's ancient castle, Spencer began sending his sycophants to carry out the replacement operations, not even sparing some members of the board of directors.

This reckless move immediately caused the heads, who already had ulterior motives, to use various excuses to shirk the orders.

Some ruthless heads even caused "minor accidents" that led to the deaths of Spencer's sycophants.

But those with ulterior motives were still in the minority; the vast majority of heads were replaced against their will.

Of course, the aforementioned events all occurred within Umbrella's military, chemical, and biological research facilities and bases; the legitimate film, entertainment, and digital electronics industries on the surface were not affected in any way.

Thus, Umbrella once again fell into a storm of power struggles and turmoil.

On the 10th, the sycophants and their guards dispatched by Spencer arrived at the Hive, only to be secretly killed by the Omicron units under Sui Bian's orders.

Anyone loyal to Spencer was an absolute enemy of Sui Bian, so there was no need for him to show mercy.

The voice of this sycophant was copied by the Red Queen, who then simulated contact with Spencer.

The "sycophant" reported to the old man that he had taken control of the Hive, that William Birkin's G-Virus was nearing completion, and that the resurrected James Marcus was being handled by Albert Wesker.

Hearing the "sycophant's" report regarding the G-Virus, Spencer was very satisfied.

In June, Spencer did not yet know that Birkin and Wesker had intentions to defect, especially since Spencer held Wesker and Birkin's G-Virus in such high regard.

Therefore, Spencer did not harbor any suspicion toward this report for the time being.

12th.

Good news came from Wang Zhaofeng: the first mechanical exoskeleton and the first MA5B rifle had been built and assembled several days ahead of schedule.

Subsequently, Hunk personally tested the mechanical exoskeleton and the MA5B.

As for the 7.62 x 51mm AP-FMJ rounds used by the MA5B, there was sufficient stock within the Hive, but Sui Bian still had the White Queen arrange a large-scale procurement.

Mainly, whether he was doing business or playing games, he believed in being prepared for any eventuality—the more, the better.

After testing, the mechanical exoskeleton could provide Hunk with load-bearing capacity, endurance, and strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person.

Wang Zhaofeng also adjusted the electronic components of the MA5B, allowing it to coordinate with the mechanical exoskeleton for more precise shooting assistance.

This gave Hunk a 99% accuracy rate within 50 meters, 92% from 50 to 100 meters, and 77% from 100 to 300 meters.

It should be noted that the MA5B's aiming components did not have magnification functions; if a dedicated sniper rifle were used, the hit rate from 100 to 300 meters would increase significantly.

Finally, there was the test of continuous operating time.

A single hydrogen battery allows the mechanical exoskeleton to operate at full power for eight hours, which is sufficient to sustain a small-to-medium-scale conflict.

Regarding production;

Given that the Hive possesses complete equipment and machinery but is not a professional arsenal, efficiency is not particularly high.

At the current scale, the monthly production of mechanical exoskeletons is 40 units, MA5Bs are 70 rifles, and the final hydrogen batteries total only 20.

Regarding cost;

The production cost of a mechanical exoskeleton is 40,000 USD, an MA5B is 1,700 USD, and the most expensive component is the hydrogen battery, which costs 70,000 USD per unit.

Including various accessories, the cost of a single set is at least 140,000 USD.

It may seem expensive, but the equipment for an elite member of the U.S. military ranges from 100,000 to 300,000 USD, and for some black-ops teams officially recorded as "deceased," the cost is even higher.

By comparison, it is clear that the mechanical exoskeletons and MA5Bs that Sui Bian exchanged for are absolutely worth the price.

The 14th.

The Hive's production line started.

The 15th.

Which is now.

Watching the STARS members who were still contemplating whether to sign their names, Sui Bian did not rush them; after all, the non-disclosure agreement stated clearly that signing it was equivalent to signing a "deed of indenture."

The salary and benefits offered by the contract were also very tempting, which left most of the STARS members in a dilemma.

They became police officers to maintain public order, pursue their so-called sense of justice, and also for the high remuneration.

But Umbrella was offering simply too much...

Ultimately, spurred by the previous cajoling from Irons, Chris, one of the protagonists of Biohazard, was the first to uncap his pen and sign his name on the agreement and contract.