Ling Yi appeared at the entrance to a restaurant.
The people nearby were curious about Ling Yi's sudden appearance. After all, the way he had appeared was far too bizarre.
After a crisp snap of his fingers, the people around him quickly returned to normal and stopped paying attention to him.
Ling Yi walked into the restaurant, picked a seat at random, and sat down.
At that moment, Ling Yi noticed a middle-aged man in a wheelchair behind him, with a girl of about eleven or twelve sitting opposite him.
The two had evidently just ordered and were waiting for their food.
At that moment, Ling Yi had absolutely no idea what to do. This sudden transmigration had caught him somewhat unprepared. That girl Zhiruo would probably curse him to death.
Fortunately, however, Ling Yi had left Zhiruo the floating continent and hundreds of heavenly soldier puppets. With the legacies in the Trial Tower as well, she would have no trouble cultivating to the realm of immortality.
But could Zhiruo really hold on for thousands or tens of thousands of years?
Never mind Zhiruo-even Ling Yi himself felt somewhat afraid.
Then, after traveling through countless worlds and experiencing untold stretches of time, would he grow numb and become like a walking corpse?
Just then, the little girl at the table behind Ling Yi spoke. "Dad, tell me, if someone could live forever, would they become a god after thousands or tens of thousands of years?"
After thinking for a moment, the middle-aged man said, "What makes humans human is that their lives are unpredictable. There are rises and falls, wealth and poverty. The future and the unknown are the true meaning of being alive, so humans can never become gods."
Ling Yi lowered his head in thought. A moment later, he slapped the table and burst out laughing, leaving everyone nearby staring in bewilderment.
At that moment, Ling Yi felt as though he had parted the clouds and mist to see the sun.
It was not that Ling Yi could not think of such things. After all, he had only reached this point by using cheats.
To put it plainly, strength had nothing to do with one's state of mind. Ling Yi might have broader knowledge than this middle-aged man, but his understanding of life fell far short.
"I'm terribly sorry!" Ling Yi collected himself, gradually calmed down, and then apologized to the father and daughter behind him.
"I ran into some things earlier that I just couldn't figure out. Hearing what you said just now made everything suddenly clear."
"It's all right. Everyone encounters all sorts of problems, but not many can truly think them through. Many people would rather deceive themselves. If you aren't waiting for someone, you're welcome to join us."
The middle-aged man was very kindly, but Ling Yi felt that the father and daughter looked somewhat familiar.
"If this little angel doesn't mind," Ling Yi said, smiling at the girl.
"Of course I don't. What problem was troubling you before?" the girl asked, blinking her big eyes as she looked at Ling Yi curiously.
"The problem troubling me was exactly the question you just asked your father."
"My father is a great man," the girl said proudly.
"That he is."
"Haha, Angela, you'll make me blush," the middle-aged man said with a hearty laugh.
Then he extended a hand to Ling Yi. "Hello, I'm Charles Ashford, and this is my daughter, Angela Ashford. We rarely get to go out for a meal together. I'm usually so busy that I hardly have time to look after her. Fortunately, Angela is very sensible."
"She's a lovable little angel." Hearing the father and daughter's names, Ling Yi found them increasingly familiar. Then he suddenly caught sight of the hexagonal umbrella logo on a nearby drink bottle and instantly realized which world he had reached this time.
He opened the system interface. Sure enough, a new entry had appeared under plot progress: Resident Evil (1%).
Sure enough, it was one of the worlds almost every transmigrator inevitably visited... the world of Resident Evil.
However, the system interface did not indicate which installment it was. Presumably, this was a combined world incorporating all of Resident Evil.
Ling Yi had no plans to do anything at present. He would neither actively seek out the plot nor deliberately avoid it. In any case, even if he did nothing, he would still be forcibly removed from this world once the entire plot ended. Whether he acted like a salted fish made no difference.
"My name is Ling Yi. I'm from the ancient nation in the East, and I just arrived in Raccoon City."
Ling Yi did not say what he was here for, because there was no need. He was almost certain he would cross paths with this father and daughter in the future, so whatever reason he gave would be meaningless.
Since this was a compilation of all six Resident Evil films, the current point in time should be the opening of the first film's plot.
It was quite possible that Alice and the others had already entered the Hive and the first film's plot had begun.
As they chatted, Charles soon discovered that Ling Yi's knowledge was remarkably extensive. His understanding of biology, in particular, exceeded anything Charles had imagined.
"Genetic evolution carries tremendous uncertainty. Reckless testing could lead to unimaginable consequences. Although science itself involves taking risks and constantly experimenting, everything has one fundamental prerequisite: it must not harm humanity itself," Ling Yi said.
Charles strongly agreed with Ling Yi. His research into the T-virus was, in fact, an extremely risky undertaking. More helplessly still, Umbrella had long since seized his T-virus research materials. He had now been forced to join the Umbrella Corporation and was still conducting dangerous experiments.
"Many people don't care about that. For profit, certain ambitious individuals will ignore the dangerous side. They'll keep trying and keep failing, and every failure will bring tremendous risks. Sadly, some people deliberately ignore those risks."
"In fact, there are more reliable and safer ways to achieve genetic evolution. I've been researching this field, and recently I've made considerable progress."
Charles's eyes lit up. "There are other methods?"
"Yes. Mr. Charles, you've heard of the Qi refiners from our ancient nation in the East, haven't you?"
"But aren't those just legends?"
"No, Qi refiners really exist. For example..." Ling Yi reached out and tapped the drinking glass, punching a hole straight through it. Crucially, the rest of the glass remained completely intact, as though the hole had been cut by a machine. Charles and his daughter watched in amazement.
"This is the power of Qi. By concentrating Qi at a single point, I can do this."
"Oh my God, this is nothing short of a miracle."
Ling Yi shook his head. "Unfortunately, the requirements for cultivating Qi are extremely demanding. First, it takes a great deal of time. Second, it requires talent. Not everyone can cultivate it."
"Once someone cultivates Qi, their body becomes extremely powerful, and it encourages their cells and genes to gradually undergo a slow process of evolution. When cultivation reaches its pinnacle, human genes achieve perfect sublimation."
"So I wondered: since Qi is an inexhaustible force between heaven and earth, could we put it to effective use and introduce it into the body through scientific methods?"
Charles listened quietly, his eyes shining.
"I discovered that Qi is a form of energy that is almost inexhaustible and endlessly renewing. Every Qi refiner's body contains a type of cell capable of holding Qi, but each person's Qi Absorption rate is different."
"By cultivating these cells, I created a cell capable of absorbing Qi with one hundred percent efficiency."
"These cells can maintain tremendous vitality, possess extremely powerful regenerative abilities, and evolve independently under the influence of Qi."
"I call these cells Infinite Energy Cells." Ling Yi introduced the body of knowledge concerning the clones' infinite bioenergy cores from Dragon Balls.
"You succeeded?" Charles asked excitedly.
"Yes, I succeeded. These Infinite Energy Cells only need to be implanted in a person's body to make them evolve-evolution without any flaws."
Charles nodded. "Exactly. Only our bodies' own autonomous evolution is the safest and most correct form of evolution. What is induced at the genetic level is more often mutation, not evolution."
At this point, Charles looked at Ling Yi very seriously. "Ling, you must not casually tell anyone else about your research results. In particular, don't let anyone from the Umbrella Corporation find out, or you'll be surrounded by endless trouble."
"The Umbrella Corporation?" Ling Yi picked up the drink bottle and looked at its red-and-white umbrella logo as he spoke with a frown.
"Yes. To tell you the truth, I'm a virologist. To treat Angela's illness, I developed the T-virus, a virus capable of inducing mutations at the genetic level and thereby altering physiological structures."
"I succeeded. Angela could stand up and live like a normal child. But honestly, that success was an accident. The T-virus's unpredictability is terrifying. It's completely uncontrollable. Just as I was hesitating over whether to destroy it..."
"My research was ultimately discovered by the Umbrella Corporation. They forcibly seized my materials and demanded that I join them."
"For Angela's sake, I had no choice but to compromise. The Umbrella Corporation is too powerful. Its influence reaches almost every aspect of the entire world. There was nothing I could do."
"I know something will go wrong for them sooner or later. I'm very worried about that," Charles said helplessly.
"Dad, bad people all go to hell," Angela comforted him.
"I'm afraid something already has." As Ling Yi spoke, he tapped his wristwatch, and a virtual 3D projection appeared above the dining table.
The image showed Alice and the others battling zombies inside the Hive.
"Is that... the Hive?"
"Yes. I hacked into the Umbrella Corporation's database." Ling Yi dragged a finger across the image. The next moment, it changed into a virtual projection of Earth, densely covered in blinking red dots.
"These are all Umbrella Corporation bases where incidents have already occurred. The T-virus you mentioned has already mutated and broken out. The end of the world is here."
Just then, a pleasant female voice sounded beside Ling Yi's ear.
"What do you mean by the end of the world?"
Ling Yi turned to look and saw a tall policewoman wearing a PD uniform. This policewoman was none other than one of the original story's protagonists, Jill Valentine.