Chapter 98: Changes in the Shadows

A high-level meeting of the Umbrella Corporation.

It had only just been convened a short time ago, yet now, the figures who had dispersed were gathered once again on a large scale.

It was still the same high-level person in charge of capturing Alice and Zhang Xuan, standing at the very front of the group with excitement on his face.

"The relevant data has been simply tested; we integrated a small portion of the blood into the clone embryos we are cultivating."

"Those clone embryos matured in a very short time, and their cellular activity and telomeres were greatly extended, which indicates that their constitution, recovery ability, and lifespan have all been greatly enhanced—currently, the testing shows over one hundred and fifty years—and the genes we specifically added that could easily cause disease have been screened out..."

This middle-aged person in charge had very bright eyes, and his entire being was in a state of excited frenzy.

His words also made the eyes of the many Umbrella top management personnel on the virtual projections light up.

"Have you conducted more experiments?"

One of the men, whose head was full of white hair and whose face was covered in age spots, asked, his tone slightly excited.

From his facial structure, one could tell that he must have had a distinguished appearance in his youth, and he still carried an air of majesty on his face.

But time and age spare no one; now, age spots and wrinkles had climbed onto his cheeks, making him appear very frail, his eyes turbid and dim, and the sparse hair on his head lay listlessly against his scalp, making him seem very weak.

The middle-aged person in charge explained in detail again, but halfway through, feeling his own language was somewhat lacking, he called over a researcher who was still wearing a white lab coat and was nervously and intensely conducting experiments on the other side.

"You explain it!"

That researcher did not show much excitement when facing the many top Umbrella personnel; there was even a hint of dissatisfaction on his face. He was in the middle of the most intense and critical research, studying that mass of blood, which was more exciting than reporting to the highest-level personnel.

"First, it can be confirmed that it is not a mass of blood, but a peculiar substance, different from any substance recorded in our experimental data, but its properties are extremely powerful."

"Integrating it into the corresponding cell embryos causes the embryos to develop to be extremely strong; various redundant gene segments that we can sense are actively deleted, far exceeding our ability to pick them out bit by bit."

"The large-scale increase in cellular activity leads to an extreme enhancement of the individual's recovery ability. In terms of gene expression, we compared it to some top athletes; the cell potential and the expression of various gene segments in the cells modified by it are stronger than those of the most elite athletes..."

"What about intelligence?"

Someone above asked nervously.

His words interrupted the researcher, causing the researcher to frown in dissatisfaction, but he continued quickly nonetheless.

"In terms of intelligence, we have compared it; in terms of normal cellular growth and development, their intelligence will be greatly developed, not inferior to some of the savant patients we have witnessed. At the same time, their extremely powerful bodies can theoretically support this brain to further grow and develop."

"In other words, this mass of what you call peculiar blood, or peculiar substance, can allow organisms to undergo super-evolution, which aligns with our research goals for so many years?"

Someone above asked this question excitedly.

The research lead in the white lab coat shook his head and then nodded upon hearing this: "From the information seen so far, this mass of substance has a very high probability of being the substance we are looking for, but there are still many related experiments that have not been completed. We cannot guarantee that this substance is harmless, and at the same time, we have no way to further judge whether the related genetic material is stable; more and more perfect experiments are needed."

"Moreover, we still have no clue as to how this peculiar substance was extracted. Merely obtaining this one result does not mean that this project has been completed; there are still too many problems within it..."

"Among them, the modification for adults whose genes have already stabilized has not been done, and it is not certain whether this unique substance can change adult genes..."

The researcher said a great deal, yet the many top management personnel of the Umbrella Corporation above all showed expressions of joy on their faces.

As the highest-level management personnel, or rather, the highest-authority holders of the Umbrella Corporation, they looked at the various research projects of the Umbrella Corporation all year round—not because they loved learning, but because the fear of death had always accompanied them.

Thus, they had a very deep understanding of this kind of immortality and related biological evolution theories, and they had a very profound awareness of the corresponding research reports. Therefore, the words spoken by this person did not make them depressed; instead, it made them excited.

The Umbrella middle-aged person in charge had the researcher step down, and within the virtual projections, the group of elderly men and women of the Umbrella Corporation, the figures who held the highest authority, began to speak with excitement.

"From the current information, there is no doubt that the person named Zhang Xuan, and the research institute behind him, have walked ahead of us."

"The blood sample, or unknown substance, that he provided to us is what we are pursuing—something that can make a person's lifespan increase significantly, automatically optimize one's own genes, and eliminate various diseases. This is the new human we are pursuing."

"We should all embrace evolution!"

"Move the target information regarding Zhang Xuan and his corresponding identity data to the highest authority level; only we can view it."

"But there are still quite a few problems at present. The blood sample given by the other party, or what our researchers have identified as X Substance, is not abundant. After several experiments, only a very small portion remains."

On the projection in the conference room, an image was displayed. In a jade bottle, what was originally about half a bottle of red substance now consisted of only a thin layer, clinging tightly to the bottom of the bottle.

"Why wasn't it moved to professional equipment for storage?"

"We tried; using ordinary graduated cylinders or glass to contain this substance, it wouldn't take long for the related substance to dissipate and disappear, making it difficult to capture. We still do not understand the principle."

This topic was discussed briefly and then dropped.

"Since the other party can easily take out such a substance, and given our dealings, their means of extracting such a substance must not be poor; they should have more in their hands."

"I propose raising the priority of the plan regarding the other party to the same level as the T-Virus, or even higher. We need to prioritize contact with the other party and obtain enough information from them."

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

Rarely, the highest-level meeting, which in the past would have had many different thoughts and viewpoints, now passed unanimously and very smoothly.

"But if the other party's level is raised, the relevant nuclear bomb cannot be launched, and the problem in Raccoon City is about to expand."

As the middle-aged person in charge spoke, information suddenly popped up on the computer in front of him. He took a look, his expression changed, and he reported: "A significant problem has occurred. The other party obtained the highest authority of the Red Queen, and with the help of the Red Queen, published the relevant research data of the Hive Base and the corresponding events on the internet. Currently, the relevant technical departments are doing their best to block the corresponding data, but this will take quite some time..."

"I don't want to hear this useless news; you can handle it!"

The middle-aged person in charge wanted to continue speaking, but an aged voice had already sounded from the highest-level board of directors of the Umbrella Corporation; they were completely unconcerned about this.

"Understood, I will have the public relations personnel handle it. According to the previously prepared Plan C, we will push the risk and situation of the T-Virus leak onto another biological company, Ruihui, which is at odds with us. That spy himself was also sent by them."

"Then the company's relevant achievements from previous years will be highlighted and promoted on major websites..."

"You know I don't want to hear this. I only want to know how to cooperate with Zhang Xuan subsequently, and how to obtain more of what you have named X Substance. We don't have much time left, Smith!"

The figure above the highest board of directors spoke.

The middle-aged person in charge, Smith, paused. He felt a little tired; they were clearly the top level of Umbrella, yet they were completely unconcerned about the Umbrella Corporation's relevant business operations and reputation.

However, given the current situation and state of the Umbrella Corporation, indeed, no one could influence their corresponding public relations department, and they could easily handle this virus leak incident.

In any case, the relevant persons in charge and researchers of the Hive Base all died in this round of events, so they could shift the blame quite righteously. With such painful lessons from the deaths, in this round of public relations, the Umbrella Corporation might not even receive a negative impact, and might even have a very strong positive effect.

"Understood, the relevant Nuclear Bomb Project has been cancelled. Regarding the investigation into Zhang Xuan, the White Queen has been working on it, but no relevant information about him has been found in the entire Shi Jie. He is suspected to come from that mysterious Eastern Region ancient country, but we do not have the authority to enter that region and cannot find much data."

"Then set him as the highest-level protected person. Currently, he controls the highest-level research data; he must absolutely not be allowed to suffer any related harm."

"Your will is my direction; I have already ordered the subordinates to do it. The Nuclear Bomb Project and other plans have all been cancelled."

Smith bowed slightly to show his respect for the Umbrella board of directors.

"Relevant psychology experts and the negotiation team have already headed to Raccoon City; we are carefully sketching out the other party's psychological profile. As long as the other party is willing to hand over the corresponding data, we can help him fulfill any dream."

"Fine, even if he wants to become the President of the United States, promise it to him."

(End of this chapter)