Chapter 87: Virus Spread

"F*ck!"

In the distance, the mercenary squad leader, who was observing this area via drone, looked at that ghost-like figure and the men who replaced those who had fallen, and let out a curse.

The rocket projectile that exploded in mid-air caused his pupils to constrict even further.

He cursed at the computer in front of him, which was currently opening a video call: "You all saw the situation just now; shattering a rocket in mid-air—and you still want him taken alive under these conditions? F*ck!"

"If this continues, this mission is impossible to take; all of my men will die!"

"I request to deploy armed helicopters, and furthermore, to deploy large-scale weaponry; tanks are also needed!"

The mercenary leader roared.

And on the other side of him, clearly a research institute, countless figures were flickering on the screen above; they were all scenes of Zhang Xuan's actions just now, and one after another, figures dressed in white lab coats watched with faces full of excitement.

The high-ranking official of the Umbrella Corporation responsible for this incident stood at the very front, dressed impeccably, and responded calmly: "All of your requests have been approved; the corresponding armed helicopters and tanks can be deployed, but we still have one requirement: he must be taken alive!"

"That's impossible!"

The mercenary squad leader refused directly.

"The relevant commission is increased to three million US dollars!"

"This matter is too difficult; it is very hard for us to accomplish."

The mercenary squad leader's words of refusal were somewhat weak.

"As long as you can bring him before us alive, your commission will be increased to eight million US dollars!"

"I can try, but there is no guarantee of victory; this matter..."

The mercenary squad leader's tone had already softened completely.

"Ten million US dollars, this is my final offer. If you still do not agree, then I will consider changing to another group of people to execute this mission."

"I agree; I will definitely bring him before you alive."

"Captain, the target has disappeared; all traces can no longer be found!"

Having just finished a tense and intense negotiation with the employer, the mercenary squad leader's face was full of excitement.

Just as he was preparing to roll up his sleeves and make great achievements, he was stunned upon hearing his subordinate's report.

"Disappeared?"

"Hmm, I don't seem to have seen you before... you..."

Before the last sentence was finished, a wisp of invisible True Qi had already pierced his heart meridian, causing his eyes to widen and his body to collapse powerlessly to the ground.

Zhang Xuan watched this scene calmly; his hands were once again stained with blood, and these were living people he had killed, yet he felt no sense of unease.

Alice, who was following him, also had a serious expression and felt no discomfort; the look she gave Zhang Xuan was more one of disbelief.

Zhang Xuan had just brought her along like this, walking openly in front of the others, and killed this mercenary squad one by one.

From beginning to end, the other side did not put up much resistance, and they didn't even have much awareness before they died.

"Is this Tier 4?"

Alice was deeply shocked; being surrounded and suppressed by a whole squad of mercenaries equipped with all kinds of top-tier weapons—sniper rifles, rockets, RPGs...

She had thought that death was certain under such circumstances, but she did not expect that after Zhang Xuan reacted, he could easily lock onto every attacking person and then sweep them away directly.

Zhang Xuan, however, did not have much excitement; the Great Dao Treasure Bottle Seal above his head was still spinning, extracting the Origin from within each person.

Nowadays, he was mired in a happy trouble; the previous round of Origin had not been fully digested, and new Origin was already coming in.

Even Hua Yunfei and Yaoguang Shengzi, who practiced the Indestructible Heavenly Art and the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art in the Zhetian World, were not as arrogant as he was.

After all, exposing the practice of such arts would lead to being shouted at and beaten by everyone; if one's strength and realm were insufficient, one would not dare to act, and every time they did, it was done sneakily. Hua Yunfei was even forced to go grave robbing, yet Zhang Xuan could do it openly.

"This is not the reason for Tier 4; it is simply the difference between a cultivation world and a technological world."

Zhang Xuan glanced at the computer screen. On the other side of the computer screen, that middle-aged man from Umbrella in a suit and leather shoes did not show a look of frustration or unease because the mercenary squad leader had fallen; instead, his face revealed an excited expression as he stared at Zhang Xuan on the camera side.

The researchers beside him were also calmly analyzing various situations.

"The target has displayed an unprecedented ability; the magnetic field around him, or perhaps some other situation, has undergone an anomaly..."

On the big screen, they displayed the scene of Zhang Xuan acting just now. After escaping from the room, Zhang Xuan did not find a hidden location to avoid gunfire, but walked out openly. Yet, the many mercenary squad members seemed not to see him, just watching Zhang Xuan walk to their side, and then a wisp of True Qi shredded their heart meridians, causing them to fall to the ground directly.

"Similar to hypnosis, or perhaps an invisibility ability that distorts light..."

"The target's method of killing still cannot be analyzed, but the moment they fell, their hearts were not beating; it was the heart that first began to have problems. It is speculated that there is a possibility that some strange substance attacked the heart..."

One piece of information after another was summarized and collected, and this information was not hidden. That high-ranking official at Umbrella listened to the various reports and smiled at Zhang Xuan: "I wonder if you can answer these doubts for me one by one?"

There was absolutely no frustration or unease on his face regarding the death of the mercenary squad; instead, he stared at Zhang Xuan with great interest, as if looking at a treasure.

The more outstanding Zhang Xuan performed, the more interested he became.

This mercenary squad just now was one he had specifically sent over to test Zhang Xuan's corresponding strength. After all, the Red Queen had already uploaded quite a bit of information regarding Zhang Xuan, and he knew clearly that Zhang Xuan was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

Therefore, he specifically sent a team of people to conduct a test.

Zhang Xuan did not answer, while the other party continued to speak with great interest: "I have checked your relevant files; whether civilian or official, there is no identity background for you in any of the many files."

"Which biological research institute's supreme creation are you?"

"Did you come to the Hive to obtain data related to the T-Virus?"

"Your physical fitness far exceeds that of ordinary people; did you undergo physical enhancement? Was it the research institute over in the Bear Country?"

A series of questions were asked, and the other party stared at Zhang Xuan's expression in great detail, only to find that Zhang Xuan was not looking at him at all.

"Is this all you care about?"

Alice could not stand it anymore and stood directly in front to speak.

"Don't you want to give a relevant explanation for what happened in The Hive?"

"Conducting illegal human experiments directly, researching such a dangerous virus directly—why do you refuse to admit your mistakes, and still use such methods to keep the news from circulating?"

Alice was very angry, so angry that her chest was heaving up and down. Zhang Xuan, however, did not have much of a feeling, because separated by the computer screen, he could not understand the other party's speech.

As for the normal exchange and communication with Alice, that was because his Ancestral Aperture of the Brow had already been opened, and he could communicate directly with Alice using spiritual power.

Zhang Xuan could sense everything Alice said, and he could hear her corresponding responses very clearly.

However, separated by the computer screen, Zhang Xuan could not do this.

His English was not very good to begin with, and after so many years had passed, he had long since returned it to his former English teacher.

"Oh."

The middle-aged man on the other side of the screen glanced over, while the smile on Alice's face remained unchanged.

He did not even have much intention to conceal it, laughing: "Our goal is something your mortal mind cannot understand; what we pursue is a world of Great Harmony, what we pursue is a world without any disease, without any pain. As for some small twists and turns appearing in this process, that is very reasonable."

"Paying a small price, I think, is something many people can accept."

"A small price?"

Alice widened her eyes; she had seen quite a few records related to the experiments in The Hive, and many documents indicated that Umbrella Corporation had used many people for testing.

They had even carried out many operations that violated ethics and morality, including large-scale human cloning, and then had different clones test the relevant viruses.

She could not accept this point at all, and therefore said angrily: "The lives of those people were taken away alive; is this what you call a small price?"

"Science has always required bold exploration and a spirit of sacrifice, hasn't it?"

The middle-aged man did not care about Alice's accusations; instead, he tilted his head to look at Zhang Xuan and said: "A major crisis has occurred in Raccoon City. Before long, we will use corresponding measures to handle it. In about five hours, a tactical nuclear missile will fall from the sky. This is a mistake, and the relevant personnel will be held accountable."

"But I think you do not have time to consider what kind of responsibility that personnel will be held to; you should be considering how to leave Raccoon City."

Alice's expression changed drastically, and she blurted out: "Are you crazy? Launching a nuclear missile directly at this place, do you still have any humanity?"

Zhang Xuan's brow twitched; he did not understand what the person on the other side said, but he instantly understood the meaning of Alice's words through his Divine Sense.

His expression also changed slightly.

"Is Umbrella Corporation ultimately going to use a nuclear missile to destroy all of this?"

He had already actively suppressed the virus outbreak related to Raccoon City for a period of time, but he had not expected that there would still be no way to contain it.

He had guessed as much before, but he had not expected it to happen so quickly, so the moment he learned the news, he spread his Divine Sense out.

Immediately, in the distance, he saw the somewhat panicked crowds and saw lines of cars driving outward.

And further away, related riots had already begun to occur.

There were also zombies that had lost their reason beginning to chase people and bite them indiscriminately.

Above in the sky, there were also birds with eyes full of red light.

The virus had ultimately begun to spread uncontrollably; even though it had been suppressed to a certain extent, there was still no way to stop the final spread.

(End of this chapter)