Chapter 28: Men in Black

06:36.

Technical personnel carrying lavender arrived at Charenton Street to assist Alpha in controlling the Plague Doctor.

07:17.

In Apartment 26, all rooms except Unit 407 have been cleaned, all corpses have been sealed and loaded onto vehicles, and the Paris police assisted in escorting them to the headquarters building.

07:27.

There are thirty‑six surviving tenants, of whom six are wounded with various injuries due to Alpha's indiscriminate firing.

These six injured were given simple medical treatment by the technical staff, then boarded the vehicle together with the other thirty survivors, and were escorted to the headquarters building by Umbrella's follow‑up forces (elite armed security) and the Paris police.

07:35.

After a long wait, the anomalous phenomenon that Sui Bian named the Plague Doctor finally concluded the so‑called "surgery".

Even though the Plague Doctor explicitly stated willingness to cooperate with Alpha, for safety the technical staff still used lavender to sedate him.

At the same time, the corpse that underwent the Plague Doctor's surgery also "revived" under circumstances the technical staff could not explain.

Its revived state matched the Pseudo‑zombies that Alpha had shot, thereby preliminarily confirming that those Pseudo‑zombies originated from the Plague Doctor.

However, this Pseudo‑zombie showed no aggressive tendencies and was very cooperative with the technical staff's control.

07:40.

The Plague Doctor and the only mobile Pseudo‑zombie were transferred to a dedicated vehicle, continuing to be escorted by Alpha led by Hank.

07:42.

After the Umbrella convoy escorting the Plague Doctor left Charenton Street, in accordance with the French government's order, the long‑awaited French National Police Intervention Unit (GIPN) joined the convoy to bolster the escort guard.

07:50.

All Umbrella personnel withdrew from Charenton Street, and the Paris police along with relevant French government officials took over the lockdown.

08:34.

The convoy escorting the Plague Doctor arrived at the headquarters building.

Alpha and the technical staff's convoy smoothly entered the building's underground parking lot, whereas the GIPN convoy, which lacks clearance to enter, still chose to wait in the ground‑level parking lot behind the building.

Immediately thereafter, the Paris government contacted Sui Bian, who was still in the control center.

The gist of the conversation was that, provided they do not act overly out of line, Umbrella has the right to mobilize six teams comprising a total of 30 GIPN officers.

It seemed the Paris government was deliberately trying to curry favor with Umbrella, but Sui Bian, instructed by the Red and White Empresses, recognized it as a subtle warning from the French government.

After all, Umbrella opened fire on French soil without notifying France; even if France loves to raise a white flag, that doesn't mean it can be bullied like this.

Understanding the French side's deeper meaning, Sui Bian immediately pledged to provide "hundreds of millions" of assistance to support local Paris companies, and said he would prepare to sign discounted orders with the French military in the future.

This "step" was offered in such a way that the French government couldn't even think of causing trouble, and moreover France didn't intend to cause trouble in the first place; they only wanted to vent a little via GIPN.

Thus the French government gladly accepted deeper cooperation with Umbrella, and also stated they would not delve into what Umbrella actually did on Charenton Street.

However, the French side also made it clear that if similar situations arise in the future, they hope Umbrella can give prior notice.

To this, Sui Bian also readily agreed.

08:42.

While Sui Bian was negotiating with the French side, Alpha and the technical staff transferred the Plague Doctor to a "cell" in the underground research center.

The mobile Pseudo‑zombie was transferred to the research center's laboratory for live dissection and analysis by the technical staff.

08:49.

Having concluded negotiations with France, Sui Bian prepared to go to the research center beneath the building.

However, before that, the system's voice in his ear compelled Sui Bian to first make a trip to the restroom to listen carefully.

———————

…

"Ri~ clang! clack~!"

The sounds of a single restroom door opening, closing, and locking.

Sui Bian arrived at the restroom on the west side of the control center and chose an unoccupied single stall to be alone.

It's a restroom, but the lighting is soft, the marble floor tiles are polished to a shine by the cleaners, and soothing music is playing.

Sure enough, they have money they can't spend, turning even the restroom into a five‑star facility.

But this environment puts Sui Bian in a good mood; perhaps the upcoming lottery will also yield something nice.

Just now, the system said in his ear: 【Detection indicates the host's forces have successfully controlled this anomalous phenomenon; therefore the system rewards the host with one lottery chance. Does the host wish to use it?】

He hesitated.

Sui Bian thought to the system: 'Draw.'

【Received, conducting the draw now, please wait…

Congratulations, host, you have obtained the memory eraser (Neuralyzer) from the film 'Men in Black', as well as the manufacturing blueprint for the memory eraser.】

As the system's voice finished, a silver rod thicker than a fountain pen by about two rings and a black USB drive materialized in Sui Bian's left and right hands.

"Luck is indeed on my side!" Sui Bian said, looking at the items in his hands, a satisfied smile curling his lips.

Afterwards.

Sui Bian slipped the USB drive into the pocket of his trousers and carefully examined the silver rod, which the system referred to as the memory eraser.

He is not unfamiliar with the memory eraser; in fact, it has always been the item he most wanted from movies and games in his childhood, and this silver rod occupies a definitive place!

Sui Bian recalled that when 'Men in Black' was released in China, his father took him to buy tickets, and they had to present identification to purchase them.

After watching the film, whenever young Sui Bian saw a man in a suit and sunglasses, he imagined that the person might be a Men in Black agent dealing with aliens.

Things like the 'Cricket Gun', 'Super Car', and even the 'Pug' made Sui Bian yearn.

Although he never obtained those gadgets or the dog, the memory eraser is the most fitting reward for Umbrella at present.

For the thirty‑six survivors, if it's confirmed they weren't altered by the Plague Doctor, the memory eraser can be used to directly modify their memories.

Although in the movie Chief J tells K that this thing has side effects, it is still much smaller than the side effects of the Umbrella brainwashing surgery, and the main point is convenience and speed.

Usage is also simple: push open the slide cover, on which there are three round keys representing hour, week, and year time-scale units respectively; adjust the desired time range on the scale, then just get the other person to look at the flashing spot.

Thus, one only needs to have the technicians go 'beep!' at the innocent survivors, and a brainwashing surgery that originally took several hours is completed.

(End of chapter)