☆ Meeting, I want to die
Bright, glaring lights illuminated the pale metal corridor, the mirror-smooth marble floor reflecting the ceiling. Light, hurried footsteps grew closer, tinged with forced composure. A white-robed man's robe billowed, revealing a slightly gaunt figure, looking somewhat disheveled. He stopped before a silver electronic door, pulled out a card from his chest, and swiped it at the scanner. The sturdy door opened silently, and the scene behind it made him tighten his tie with unease.
Behind the door was just a small room, furnished only with an oval table. Several young men and women in suits sat around the table. A man stood against the wall on the left, glanced at the newcomer whose expression immediately turned serious, and said slowly, with a slight smirk, "It seems you didn't set an alarm, Dr. Isaac."
The so-called Dr. Isaac completely ignored the mockery of the man in the sharp suit, and instead looked directly at the blond man in sunglasses sitting at the head of the round table. Seeing that he didn't say anything, he seemed to secretly breathe a sigh of relief and offered an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry, because there has been new progress in the experiment, so..."
"New developments?" The middle-aged man sitting closest to the door interrupted Dr. Isaac. His protruding belly and high hairline were very common for someone his age. "Are you saying that besides the ever-increasing number of cloned corpses of Subject 02, something else has finally emerged?"
The obvious sarcasm in his words made Isaac's expression stiffen for a moment: "Yes, I mean, in addition to the special magnetic field appearing in Subject 01, Subject 02 has also appeared now. According to the positioning, they should be heading towards Las Vegas."
“That’s good news.” The woman sitting next to the middle-aged man adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, glancing at the stiff, expressionless man at the head of the table. She couldn’t decipher his meaning, and since the others clearly didn’t want to get involved and risk trouble, she cautiously brought up another matter: “So… how’s the research on zombies going?”
Dr. Isaac was a smart man. Subjects 01 and 02 had always been a sensitive but very important topic. Unless that person brought it up, it was best not to discuss it too much. So he immediately took the opportunity to back down: "To be precise, they are just wild beasts. Once we tame them and remove their instinctive bloodlust, they will become efficient working machines. Therefore, I am currently trying to modify their brain nerve centers. It is in the final stage, and I believe that we can start zombie experiments soon."
"When will we be able to achieve large-scale application and success? We need to understand that our food supply won't last long." Although Dr. Isaac's words sounded idealistic, the reality forced these Umbrella executives to consider the situation carefully. "And what about secrecy? Although governments have long since ceased operations, don't forget the trouble those underground organizations preparing for a comeback have caused us."
Knowing the concerns of these high-ranking officials, Dr. Isaac said confidently, "Regarding the timing... while I can't guarantee it, please rest assured about the secrecy. This plan is known only to the participants, a total of only five people including myself. The Red Queen program is constantly running and upgrading, and the 16-bit program password changes automatically every 100 seconds. It won't be easy for intelligence agencies to infiltrate, and..."
"And what else?" The cold, deep voice from the chief interrupted Dr. Isaac's long-winded speech. Isaac froze, and the others at the round table held their breath. The discussion instantly ceased, and the room became so quiet that it was as if even breathing had stopped.
“Perhaps you’re overconfident, Dr. Isaac. The administrators of other divisions don’t understand the signal diagrams, so you’re deceiving yourself into thinking I don’t?” The man at the head of the table spoke slowly, his beautiful blond hair meticulously combed back. Opaque sunglasses concealed his eyes, but Dr. Isaac could clearly feel the danger and sharpness in his gaze, and the pervasive aura of death made him extremely uneasy.
Dr. Isaac was cunning enough that, seeing he could no longer conceal the truth, he immediately spoke, his cautious tone now tinged with respect: "Commander Wesker, actually, I haven't had a chance to explain the current situation yet... Gentlemen, the fact is, while all the test subjects have shown a special magnetic field, the special magnetic field of the most recent test subject, number 02, appeared within a horde of zombies. We all know that it's impossible for a horde of zombies to appear in a remote town, so someone must have done it deliberately..."
"You were just saying so confidently that you would never be disturbed by anything else, but the zombie horde you mentioned is definitely the work of other organizations that covet the experimental subjects—most likely the government."
“Yes, sir, but please rest assured, everyone, Subject 02 will not fall into the hands of others, and Subject 01, the main body of the Eve Project cultivated by headquarters, will certainly not be taken by others! I guarantee it with my life!” Dr. Isaac said firmly and confidently. Although he was trying to dispel the doubts of the man who had spoken earlier, he kept his eyes fixed on the man in the chief seat.
No one's words matter now, except Wesker. Although Dr. Isaac is the main person in charge of the research on Subject 02 and a key participant in the zombie transformation project, given that both experiments are nearing their end, Dr. Isaac's presence is becoming increasingly dispensable. Therefore, as long as the man in the chief seat remains silent, the man standing by the wall will definitely pull out his pistol without hesitation and end his life.
This is no exaggeration. Experiment subjects are absolutely not allowed to be coveted by others, especially Experiment 01. Personally, for Wesker himself, Ye Xi, as a special virus host, is extremely important. She represents his ambition, and she is an indispensable item in realizing his ambition; she will make him more perfect. Publicly… actually, there has never been such a thing as "publicly." Wesker has never considered himself a part of Umbrella—although this statement is too harsh, it was at least the case after he killed Oswell E. Spencer, the founder of the Umbrella Corporation—to Wesker, Umbrella was nothing more than a tool.
Fortunately, Wesker didn't delve into anything, simply saying "Meeting adjourned," before his life-size image disappeared from Dr. Isaac's tense gaze. For him, Dr. Isaac had other uses; the idea of stripping zombies of their wildness and using them for Umbrella's purposes was too naive. The post-apocalyptic world had no need for such useless individuals. However, the modified and evolved T-virus was what Wesker desired. Dr. Isaac, underestimating the T-virus's potency, was destined for failure. As for being betrayed or forced into live experiments using the virus on himself, all of this was within Wesker's calculations.
This was exactly what Wesker needed. Dr. Isaac was doomed to die, so why bother about whether it came sooner or later? Wesker turned off the projector on his desk, leaned back in his leather chair, turned around, and looked at the screen on the wall. The specially processed and magnified satellite cloud image was very clear even in the dark. Although the person in the overhead view was just a tiny dot, the number "01" on the dot was still clearly visible even among countless tiny dots, indicating the person that the dot represented.
Such realistic images of outer space surveillance are the complete opposite of the advanced and outdated surveillance images possessed by Dr. Isaac! However, this is a surveillance device exclusively for Wesker and has nothing to do with Umbrella, so Dr. Isaac certainly could not possibly possess such equipment.
Watching the small dot moving on the monitor, Wesker suddenly gave a faint, almost imperceptible, cryptic laugh.
Location: A desert in Nevada. Characters: Experiment Subject 01, Ye Xi, and her mischievous friend Nikolai, along with a bunch of zombies, and perhaps Alice, whose exact location is unknown but who is unleashing her inner power, and Carlos, who is being protected by Ye Xi but is just a bystander.
"The last one!" Ye Xi, exhausted and covered in sweat, took a breath and pulled out the sensor that was deeply embedded in the sand. "Nikolai, do you think our group is faster than Alice's group?"
"What, you think you can win a refrigerator, washing machine, TV, or iPhone as a grand prize?" Nikolai chuckled, carrying five sensors in one hand and gripping a field assault knife in the other, stabbing at the head of a zombie that was about to pounce. He had run out of bullets, so he had to switch to a melee weapon, but that didn't hinder Nikolai's fighting.
Ye Xi, who had been trying her best to prevent zombies from getting close to Nikolai, was inevitably injured by the zombies' claws, but those wounds had long since healed. As for Nikolai, who had been protecting her, he was, after all, a professional mercenary, and his skills had greatly improved over the past three years. It was much easier for him to shoot heads without regard for consequences or any scruples than to kill humans directly. So, apart from being sweaty and tired, Ye Xi and Nikolai didn't seem too badly dressed.
"Those things you're talking about are worthless now. Forget iPhones, even if you got a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost as a prize, it wouldn't matter. You'd be better off getting an automatic 12mm shotgun or something similar." Ye Xi rolled her eyes, bluntly criticizing Nikola's unrealistic ideas. However, Ye Xi and Nikola, exhausted from their outburst, couldn't keep joking around in the zombie horde. So, despite their sharp tongues, Ye Xi immediately switched on her flashlight and retraced their steps with Nikola.
After an unknown amount of time, a bright light suddenly appeared in the night sky not far away. Ye Xi and Carlos exchanged a glance and immediately sprinted towards the light. A single sensor doesn't weigh much, and five sensors together weigh only about 20 kilograms. It doesn't seem heavy, but for a normal person to run with 20 kilograms of weight while exhausted would be an absolutely painful experience, let alone on this soft sand.
Fortunately, Ye Xi and Nikolai were much stronger than normal people. Although it was a bit strenuous to carry five long poles weighing 20 kilograms each, they still managed to move towards the light source at a steady pace.
'Naive.' A calm voice echoed in Ye Xi's mind. Although the frequency of O virus outbreaks had been gradually increasing recently, Ye Xi did not find it strange.
Ye Xi glanced at Nikolai beside her and whispered, "What?"
"How can you still be so naive? You think zombie hordes are that common? And flashlight beams are that bright?" Her tone rose three times, then slowed three times, until finally Ye Xi pulled Nikolai to a stop, her brows furrowed, a serious and worried look on her delicate face—"I sensed more than just two people."
"What's wrong, Ye Xi? Although the zombies are less numerous now, it doesn't mean we can keep stopping and resting. Carlos and Alice are just ahead..." Seeing Ye Xi's expression, Nikolai's voice grew softer and softer. He quickly turned back to look at the beam of light, and his expression unconsciously became serious.
"You've noticed something's off too, haven't you..." Ye Xi forced a wry smile, "Plus, the appearance of this group of zombies is so strange. This seems to be the first time in three years that I've encountered such a large horde of zombies..."
Nikolai gritted his teeth. Continuing towards the beam of light was clearly unwise, but staying put wasn't a good solution either. He could only hold Ye Xi's hand and cautiously move forward. "This is an ambush, an ambush by the Broken Umbrella Corporation. Perhaps Carlos and Alice are already..."
"Don't overthink it, trust your comrades." Ye Xi squeezed Nikola's hand, comforting him. "Umbrella is clearly prepared, and they're confident we won't die in this horde of zombies..."
"What, you have a plan?" Hearing Ye Xi's meaningful tone, Nikolai looked into Ye Xi's eyes.
Ye Xi stopped and looked at him seriously: "Nikolai, do you trust me?"
"Tsk, it's no use saying 'distrust' now. Tell me, what do you want me to do?" Nikolai shrugged, but suddenly felt like he had gained another 20 kilograms on his shoulders.
"I'm going to die, you'd better run away..." Ye Xi said with a smile.
Author's Note: Regarding the male lead, I'll just keep quiet and let the plot tell all. (Picking nose) Speaking of which, school is starting soon and I need to buy so many things. Studying away from home is just tough. Keep rolling around begging for comments!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
