Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

Even if they obtain the formula and manufacturing process of R-618's newborn drug, so what?

Without key raw materials, even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice. Even with advanced bioengineering technology, it would take at least several years to decipher the secrets of the gene map within the drug and then completely clone and promote it.

By then, Vera and Arasaka would probably have already made a comeback and soared to great heights.

Would they care about a mere castrated rehabilitation, recuperation, and beauty treatment technique?

If Vera had the backing of several worlds beyond the heavens, with at least the power of five 'Wei', she still couldn't beat them even with her professional research. She might as well just find a block of tofu and smash it on her head.

Along the way, Vera and Saburo exchanged understandings in this way.

This isn't the first time...

Hanako Arakawa stared blankly at this scene from the left.

She thought of the past.

At that time, his elder brother Arasaka Takashi had not yet passed away, and his own brother Yoriyuki had not yet rebelled.

Her father, Sanlang, was not yet too old to walk. Whenever she came home from school, during family conversations or meals, she and Lai Xuan would kneel on either side of the table.

When Saburo asked them about their day, what they had learned, and what they had realized, he would either nod or give a slight upturn of his lips in affirmation and explanation.

Unaware that Saburo's attempts to win her over, and that her strange chemistry with Saburo had stirred up inexplicable emotions in Princess Hanako of Arasaka, Vera was still discussing the additional achievements of the Stairway to the Sun project with Saburo.

For military purposes.

"The ancestral virus has an extremely low compatibility rate. Those who fail to adapt will either die or lose their humanity and become monsters, just like the two infected individuals in the Johannesburg incident."

"Although their threat level actually decreased after they lost their minds, perhaps a good direction is to adapt giant infected individuals to military prosthetic bodies through special breeding and targeted proliferation, such as the 'Cyborg King Kong' project of the Night City Equipment Research Department? I think it's worth a try."

“A 'tyrant'?” Saburo pondered, thinking of the unfortunate military technician who had been constantly experimented on by Vera and had almost completely lost his human form.

"The infected person who failed to adapt, his early infection behavior reminded me of an old movie, zombies," he then recalled.

Vera was speechless.

The concept of zombies is ancient in the cyberpunk world, but it does exist.

The concept of zombies can be categorized from various sources, including the folk practices of corpse transport in western Hunan; vampires and ghouls from the Balkans; the shamanistic culture that gave rise to Voodoo in Haiti; and various ghosts and monsters from Japanese urban legends…

The earliest popularized zombie concept may only be found in "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) and "Dawn of the Dead" (1978).

However, the concept of "Resident Evil," which thoroughly popularized the zombie genre, never had a chance to be born. Even if Capcom's founder did exist, he would probably have worked in Arasaka's entertainment division.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. The world started to go mad in the 1980s and 90s, and many familiar cultural symbols simply didn't have the fertile ground to be born.

In the 2020s, the massive internet crash orchestrated by "hacker god" Barthes Moss before his death caused a major technological regression. The zombie concept remains a completely niche memory.

As the conversation continued, Vera felt helpless as she watched the old man still clinging to her, seemingly determined to spend the night at the Arasaka family compound again.

'You have time, come over,' she said to herself.

.....

Resident Evil, San Francisco Military Technology Industrial Park.

CEO's Office.

Vera rubbed her temples as she spread out a report on her desk regarding a request for support from the BSAA (Biohazard Defense Agency).

Although her gaze was fixed on the table, her thoughts at that moment had nothing to do with what was on the table. "Atlas," she murmured.

Those were the words she read most frequently in this third, or fifth, 'Wei' memory.

------

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Chapter 066 My path ahead is unobstructed, unobstructed...

"Atlas".

"Atlas, the giant god..."

In the CEO's office of the San Francisco Military Technology Industrial Park headquarters building, Vera sat behind a luxurious, semi-circular desk with a high-tech feel, lost in deep thought.

That's how it appears to outsiders, at least. If there were other people in the office...

She had instantly entered that mysterious state of being both ambiguous and clear, with inexplicable light and shadow slowly focusing in Vera's indigo iris.

She retrieved the most vivid image from her subconscious memory—

Light rain.

cemetery.

Funeral music and gunshots filled the lawn where marble tombstones stood, wheels turned, and the sounds of soldiers' commands and boots striking the ground echoed.

A middle-aged man in a suit stepped out of a black SUV with an extravagant security detail.

He was around fifty years old, wearing a pure white stand-up collar shirt without a tie, and a dark-colored suit jacket. He was of medium build, with brown-gold hair styled in a hazelnut shape. His hairline was somewhat receding, and below that was a stern and imposing face with very obvious forehead wrinkles and nasolabial folds.

Coupled with his perfectly timed politician's smile and extraordinary air of authority, he looks every bit the kind of important figure who frequently appears on serious political channels on television.

“Excuse me, are you Vera Adelheid?” The man dismissed his bodyguards and stepped forward, saying, “I am your parents’ employer.”

“Sir,” I said.

“I’m sorry, Vera, please allow me to address you this way. Your father was one of my best employees, and they have paid too high a price for the peace and stability of this world. This is an unfortunate tragedy that could have been avoided.”

The man spoke slowly and apologetically.

“My child, I will take care of you in place of your father. In Astra, we have technological reserves that are at least twenty years ahead of the military. I guarantee that your talents will be fully displayed here, just as your father expected. Astra will accept and embrace you as if you were family.”

After speaking, the man took out a black business card from the breast pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to her. "Vera, think it over carefully. Just like your father did."

Then he left.

I held up the card in my hand.

With a cool metallic feel, a logo appears on a pure black background, featuring a silver-gray 'Λ'-shaped inverted V symbol with a crimson arrow embedded within.

As the logo rotates, the card displays a dynamic change of black, red, and white colors.

One name appears: Jonathan Irons, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Corporation.

……

Jonathan Irons.

Vera's fingers tapped lightly on the table involuntarily. Her brows furrowed slightly, then quickly relaxed.

That was the beginning of her encounter with Irons.

That really is impressive.

She already knew which world the fifth "Wei" was in.

Atlas Corporation, named after the Greek god Titan, is also known as the Titan Company. It is the world's largest private military contractor and weapons manufacturer, possessing the world's largest military force, immense wealth, and technological reserves that are fifty years ahead of the world average. Various high-tech equipment have been deployed to front-line soldiers.

"High-level warfare, huh?"

Vera smiled mysteriously, as if talking to herself. She got up and went to the huge floor-to-ceiling window behind her. Through the adjustable one-way polarized glass, she looked at the military science and technology industrial park where various high-tech automated factories and research buildings were rising from the ground.

This is her military technology.

While it may not yet be as powerful as Arasaka and the original Military Science in the cyberpunk world, and it is far inferior to the Colossus Corporation in the Call of Duty 11 world, that is only temporary.

Unlike other worlds where she is temporarily hampered, or simply lacks the power or understanding to match the individual development plans of others, in the Resident Evil world, she has leveraged Umbrella as a "chicken" to lay eggs and has already squeezed into the ruling circle. She has connections with all parties and can speak to them. She has power, money, and influence, and all she lacks is time to develop, solidify her foundation, and accumulate resources.

The future is expected!

Vera had a premonition.

Here, for Erwei, her path of military technology development will be unobstructed, with a bright and smooth road ahead, without any hindrance!

In contrast, in the cyberpunk world, the first obstacle that Arasaka faces in his quest for dominance is the New U.S. Army Science.

Numerous large, medium, and small competitors, including Su Petrochemical, Peizhuo Petrochemical, Kangtao, Zeta Technology, and Lazarus, will also try their best to trip us up, regardless of whether an alliance has been signed, not to mention the presence of European banks looming over us.

The road to revival and domination for Arasaka is extremely difficult, and a peaceful ascension to power is almost impossible.

The world where Sanwei lives is a normal, modern, secular world with a normal historical context, so there's not much to say about it.

There she had no status, no position, and no opportunities. When she returned, she had just completed the most difficult and brutal accumulation of her first pot of gold. She was still in the early stages of her career, transitioning from an arms dealer to independent production. At present, it was of little use.

Vera cannot focus her main efforts on that at the current stage. She should use the good interactive points to defend herself and use the appropriate and unobtrusive patented technologies to gain a foothold. That would be a victory.

Four 'Wei' are busy chopping down ghouls.

Her status is neither high nor low; she is a CCG White Dove investigator and a technician in the Quinque R&D department.

He is currently working at the Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau to gain experience, improve his skills, and learn quinque manufacturing technology. His stated ideal upon joining the company is to resolve ghoul-related incidents worldwide.

Unlike her personal vision and plans for starting a company, at least for now, we'll talk about it after she replaces He Xiujia as the CCG's chief executive, then transfers to the German GFG and the American CCG, and retires.

Having already entered the system and taken up public office, instead of climbing the ranks, they're pursuing a "revolving door" approach after retirement to make money, gain seniority, and build connections—it's a complete waste.

As for the five 'Wei' (薇).

The time has not come yet.

"So I have a great responsibility." Vera narrowed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips as she looked ahead, the reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window seeming to ripple in circles...

One, two, three, four—they are all her own.

Some were attending a banquet in the cherry blossom grove of the Arasaka family compound and couldn't leave;

There was a man who, after trading secondhand arms and promoting his company's self-developed products in Africa, had an open-air barbecue with his demobilized mercenaries on the return cargo ship.

Some went out on their daily duty and killed a few ghouls they shared with, carrying quinque briefcases and trophy kagune back to the CCG branch to register their achievements and spoils;

There was a man reporting to Jonathan Irons in a gleaming, spacious R&D center office adorned with the 'Atlas' logo.

Tsk.

In this realm, the development of military technology, reorganized from Umbrella's California branch, USA region, and some other branches, is more time-saving, labor-saving, and worry-free.

Although it is not as good as other places for the time being, the advantage is that there is no one to block its way, Washington has people to help it, and there is no threat of large-scale hot war.