Employee Ranks

The files on the Leech Queen, anomalous phenomena, and the rank system had all been put together by Sui Bian alone, then filed and stored by Red Queen.

Birkin, Wang Zhaofeng, and the other Hive employees didn't know about any of this yet. Even if he told them, they might not believe him.

In another two months, once everything was ready, he would be able to sharpen his knives and seize control of Umbrella.

Alpha, Omicron, Epsilon, and Zeta—all four USS units obeyed the company, or rather, him as its representative, without question.

As for informing STARS in advance...

There was no need to overthink it. He had personally formed the first MTF, a force built around STARS.

To put it simply, the USS had their 'loyalty' maxed out because of their status, making them the equivalent of his personal guard. The MTF, meanwhile, was Sui Bian's first direct-line unit.

'His own flesh and blood.'

There was one other point: the sooner they learned anomalous phenomena existed, the more time they'd have to prepare mentally and undergo specialized training.

Since he'd brought up the employees, Sui Bian had also revamped the employee ranking system. There were four ranks in total.

A, B, C, and D.

D-Class: Expendable.

Just as Sui Bian had planned from the beginning, he intended to use Umbrella's influence and financial resources to establish long-term, stable underground deals with prisons, taking in death-row inmates, serious offenders, and rapists.

These employees' main duties were to be studied, tested, and sent to their deaths.

It wouldn't be long before D-boys were born.

C-Class: The foundation.

These employees had to sign confidentiality agreements and formal contracts. They were responsible for the daily operation and construction of Umbrella's biological, chemical, and weapons facilities.

For example, Hive's cleaners, maintenance workers, engineers, and armed security personnel.

B-Class: Indispensable.

These employees would form an important part of Umbrella. They were essential to the company's various research departments and represented the pinnacle of human achievement in their respective fields.

William Birkin and Wang Zhaofeng were examples of B-Class personnel.

A-Class: Armed forces.

The USS, MTF, and exclusive units that had yet to be formally organized all belonged to this rank.

During combat, their authority completely overrode that of D-, C-, and B-Class personnel, ensuring that A-Class employees' judgment would not be compromised.

If a situation was deemed irrecoverable, A-Class personnel had the authority to 'physically' eliminate all evidence, including D-, C-, and B-Class personnel.

However, as long as there was still hope, A-Class personnel would spare no effort to save B-Class personnel.

Note:

Employees in Umbrella's legitimate industries—such as film, digital technology, real estate, and consumer goods—were not included in the 'employee rankings.' They were instead categorized as 'civilians.'

The last group was Umbrella's board of directors, but there wouldn't be a board after next month, since Sui Bian would be the only 'director' left.

He paused for a moment.

"Mr. Sui," Marini asked again. "You only played some files. There weren't any actual photos or videos. How am I supposed to believe that these so-called anomalous phenomena exist in this world?"

"You're right. It's hard to convince you without evidence." Sui Bian didn't deny it, and explained, "Actually, anomalous phenomena cover a very broad range. Some people might even be anomalous phenomena. For example, someone might be lucky because they're actually draining the luck of others. Those whose luck gets stolen might even die because of it."

As he spoke, Sui Bian's gaze happened to pass over Chris, who was listening intently, before he turned back to Marini and continued:

"The James Marcus we dealt with earlier was also an anomalous phenomenon. He was the only one who could become the Leech Queen after being infected with the virus. Ordinary humans could only become mindless zombies."

"Then..." Barry Burton, who wore a red vest and had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up. "What kinds of anomalous phenomena aren't human?"

"Vampires from legend, werewolves, angels who serve God, and Satan the Fallen Angel—any of them could be real. After all, these things don't come from nothing." Sui Bian smiled.

"What?! Satan?! If there really are vampires and werewolves, we might have a way to deal with them, but... Satan? How are we supposed to handle him? He's the lord of Hell..."

Hearing Sui Bian say this, Brad Vickers, the most timid member of STARS, let out a long sigh. He wore a distinctive yellow vest.

Normally, Brad's teammates might have looked down on him, but now the members of STARS wore the same worried expressions.

How could they deal with Satan?

He was someone even God couldn't handle.

And this was America, where many people believed that God and Jesus were real, and that Satan was real too.

Although the STARS members weren't devout believers and didn't pay much attention to God or Jesus, learning about anomalous phenomena still made them want to retreat.

There was one exception.

Chris.

Chris's expression was firm as he told his teammates, "Even if Satan really exists, we'll send him back to Hell. We're not just human beings—we're police officers!"

"Mm, Chris is right. If we don't step up, are we going to make our wives and children do it?" Marini chimed in.

"The captain's right."

"Exactly. We became cops to fight crime and protect the innocent!"

"This time, we're taking down demons. Ha!"

With Chris and Marini leading the way, the atmosphere in the room immediately grew lively. There was even a hint of fearlessness in the air, as if they were ready to face death.

"Heh." Sui Bian chuckled at the right moment. "Everyone, we still don't know whether angels and demons really exist. Besides, Umbrella isn't going to make you fight them with your old weapons."

"Old weapons?" Jill asked curiously.

A frequent face in countless 3D videos, Jill had short, dark-brown hair and wore a light-blue short-sleeved shirt and black jeans. She looked like her remake-version counterpart, though not as masculine.

Sui Bian, who had watched plenty of Jill's 'work' before he crossed over, averted his gaze, seeming unwilling to meet her eyes.

He felt a little guilty...

Then he looked at the two Alpha agents standing behind STARS and said, "Show the officers our latest weapons."

"." (x2)

The two Alpha agents silently nodded, then turned and left the warehouse.

A moment later, the two Alpha agents returned to the warehouse, pushing two carts under the curious gazes of STARS.

On the carts were two large equipment cases.

The two Alpha agents pushed the carts to either side of Sui Bian. Then...

"Click."

With the crisp sound of the cases' latches unlocking, the items inside were revealed to the members of STARS.