However, the neurotoxin on the bone needle had already entered Krauser's arm, beginning to damage and paralyze the nerves.
To save Krauser's arm, Rebecca used acupuncture for emergency treatment, temporarily stopping the spread of the neurotoxin and the arm's nerve activity.
But upon returning to the United States, the acupuncture's effectiveness wore off.
Krauser's entire left arm was nearly crippled; no matter the treatment, he couldn't move it even slightly.
The most advanced medical institutions in the United States were helpless, even issuing a report stating that Krauser's left arm was completely Waste, which pushed Krauser to the brink of collapse!
The crippling of an arm, for a soldier, means more than words can say; it proved Krauser could retire and go home.
But that wasn't the most crucial part.
The most crucial part was that after the United States Government learned of Krauser's crippled arm, they ruthlessly dismissed him.
When he tried to return to his original army, Krauser also faced unfair treatment.
No place would take him in; he was like a stray old dog, with seemingly no other path to choose but to return to the rubbish-strewn streets of his old doghouse.
This left Krauser speechless.
As a former special forces soldier king who had served in the Red Berets, Krauser had been on countless battlefields, undertaken countless dangerous missions, and helped the military and the United States Government handle countless dirty jobs.
But now that his arm was crippled, these people simply discarded him as if he were trash, which Krauser found unacceptable.
He began to doubt his once-proud soldier's honor, which now seemed like utter nonsense.
In the eyes of these powerful people, his life was as worthless as grass, used and discarded like a chess piece or a tool, to be thrown away once his usefulness was gone.
Completely enlightened, Krauser, harboring thoughts of revenge, orchestrated his own secret death accident, successfully faking his demise and joining Wesker, who could help him treat his arm.
While seeking revenge on the United States Government, Krauser also became increasingly obsessed with the power of biochemical viruses.
During his trip to the Amazon Rainforest, Krauser successfully witnessed the power of the T-Veronica Virus, and he also desired to obtain such power to change his weak reality.
Therefore, with Wesker's help, through treatment with a small amount of virus, Krauser successfully cleared the neurotoxin and restored his nerve-dead arm.
To repay Wesker for healing his arm, and to obtain even more powerful viral strength, Krauser was successfully infiltrated as a spy into the side of Sadler, the leader of The Illuminados, during Wesker's investigation of The Illuminados.
Sadler was also aware that Krauser, an outsider, harbored ulterior motives, but a tool delivered for free was not to be wasted.
Under the guise of testing his loyalty, Sadler ordered Krauser to go to the United States and abduct President's daughter Ashley back to Spain.
If he could complete this mission, Sadler would believe in Krauser's loyalty and bestow upon him The Illuminados' divine object, a modified Plaga parasite—
And so, Krauser successfully returned to the United States, and with some intelligence, successfully located the current President of the United States, Graham's, precious daughter, the blossoming young woman Ashley Graham.
With few bodyguards, only an old veteran past middle age protecting her, this was too simple for Krauser.
After playing with the venomous snake dagger at his waist and showing off some fancy knife work, Krauser rode a motorcycle in pursuit.
In less than a minute, he could complete this easy task—
Chapter Four: The Noble's Private Stash
Washington White House—
"What did you say?!"
"Your daughter was abducted? Who did it?!"
In the vast Presidential Office, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, with shiny slicked-back hair and graying temples, usually solemn and dignified, was now leaning back in his desk chair, his face full of worry.
This was Ashley's father, the current President of the United States, Graham.
Since the previous President resigned, the United States' most chaotic messes of recent years had piled onto his shoulders: the Raccoon City virus leak incident, the military's unauthorized use of nuclear bombs to destroy a city, Umbrella Corporation's private virus research, the immense public pressure from the American people, and countless large and small trivial matters.
These had caused this middle-aged man, barely in his forties, to grow white hair prematurely, leaving him mentally and physically exhausted, the immense pressure almost suffocating him.
But fortunately, he was not incompetent; rather, he was a good President who wanted to serve the free people of America.
Although very tired, with his decisive ability, he ultimately managed to handle these large and small incidents despite the pressure.
With the Raccoon City incident and Umbrella Corporation's declaration of bankruptcy and collapse, everything would eventually come to an end.
But he never expected that things wouldn't improve for long before his daughter, Ashley, was abducted.
President Graham strongly suspected that this was likely done by Umbrella Corporation, as they were dissatisfied with the United States Government's suspension of all their operations, which led to their stock plummeting and their company going bankrupt.
Therefore, to threaten him and the government, they abducted his daughter, Ashley.
Thinking of this, President Graham felt a headache.
He should have thought of this earlier.
Umbrella Corporation was not a force to be trifled with; after all, it was once one of the top ten global corporations, and the power it controlled was something he, as a newly appointed President, could not fully comprehend.
He should have known better than to let his daughter, Ashley, go to school; she should have stayed home and hidden for a while.
After all, it was just academics, just for a graduation certificate.
President Graham could achieve that with a flick of his pen.
Compared to Ashley's safety, breaking the rules was completely insignificant.
And the young man standing before him, asking questions, was President Graham's personal bodyguard, Leon Scott Kennedy—
A brilliant agent from a special unit of the United States Federal Government, a survivor of the Raccoon City incident, with extremely strong adaptability and danger perception, who had completed many difficult missions.
He was also the only agent President Graham kept by his side after the biochemical virus investigation team was disbanded, and his most trusted subordinate.
Because Graham and Leon had similar temperaments, both wanting to do practical things for the United States and its people, not to play with power, Graham trusted Leon as an agent, and Leon was very willing to serve this wise President.
It was just that, at this critical juncture, President Graham's daughter, Ashley, was abducted, which also caught Leon off guard.
And… as President Graham suspected, it seemed the only ones daring to abduct the President's daughter at this time were Umbrella Corporation, which had just collapsed a while ago.
It was highly likely that Umbrella Corporation did these things out of revenge, intending to use the President's daughter to threaten the President himself, forcing the United States Government to withdraw its suspension order on Umbrella Corporation and allow Umbrella Corporation to resume operations… After all, how could such a large Umbrella Corporation be given up so easily?
However, in reality, Leon and President Graham were indeed mistaken.
Umbrella Corporation was not to blame for this; Spencer did not want to stand against the people and had long considered disbanding Umbrella Corporation.
Anyway, the money Umbrella Corporation earned in recent years, to be honest, would allow him to continue operating for decades without any problem.
Therefore, whether Umbrella Corporation existed or not was completely meaningless.
His research behind the scenes was still Umbrella Corporation; the effect was the same, just one was legitimate and the other was not.
And initially, President Graham thought the same way.
Unfortunately, after a thorough and careful investigation, it was discovered that this was not at all Umbrella Corporation's doing.
Because his daughter, Ashley, was abducted to Spain, and to a secluded, impoverished small village, this was the only clue he had recently discovered.
Therefore, President Graham wanted to ask Leon to personally investigate.
If there truly were traces of Ashley in that village, President Graham would notify the local government to send a large number of police to assist.
However, if there was no absolute evidence, President Graham would not be able to do so.
After all, he was the leader of a nation; privately dispatching troops or commanding the local government's forces just to search for a daughter who might or might not exist was too absurd… and could likely cause greater controversy.
So, this was also why President Graham would first send Leon to investigate—
"…"
"Spain…?"
Listening to President Graham's words, Leon slightly frowned, picked up the photo of the President's daughter, Ashley, from the table, and murmured.
To be honest… he still couldn't believe that Umbrella Corporation wasn't involved in this matter, but rather a Spanish force.
This was a bit too bizarre; what did they intend to do by abducting the President's daughter?!
"…"
"I understand, and please write a secret order to the local Spanish government, asking their police to assist me in the investigation."
"As for that so-called village, I will try to investigate it.
I cannot guarantee if there will be any clues, but I will do my best to find your daughter."
Holding the photo, Leon nodded and said to President Graham, indicating that Leon had agreed to accept this mission.
After all, Leon himself wanted to investigate personally; he didn't believe that the abduction of the President's daughter had nothing to do with Umbrella Corporation.
And President Graham, seeing Leon agree, also nodded with relief.
Undoubtedly… Leon was the only subordinate he could trust by his side.
If he sent others, let alone finding his daughter, Ashley, in Spain, the news of his daughter's abduction might spread throughout the United States by the next morning, and everyone would know.
If the news of the President's daughter being abducted were reported by the media, it would cause unnecessary immense panic.
After all, if the President couldn't even protect his own daughter, it showed how poor his ability as a national leader was—
At this moment, Leon was already twenty-five years old.
Compared to his time in the Amazon Rainforest, Leon at this moment had slowly begun to mature, especially after the death of his instructor, Major Krauser, which made Leon's eyes even sharper.
He was no longer the greenhorn he once was.
Now, Leon's face was stern and severe, like a cold killer, unaffected by any emotion in his judgment; he was a truly qualified agent.
…
Washington Airport—
"…"
"The President's daughter was abducted, huh.
Just in time to welcome the next genius researcher in Spain, and by the way, experience a medieval castle, and steal a few valuable antiques for some pocket money."
"Although I have funding from the rich woman Catherine, so I don't have to worry about financial issues, who would complain about having too much spare money, especially private pocket money?"
In the crowded airport, a man wearing sunglasses and a medieval noble costume, holding a newspaper, with a cigar in his mouth and coffee beside him, in a posture mimicking James Bond, observed the surrounding crowd through small holes dug in the newspaper.
However, this posture was exceptionally conspicuous.
Especially that bizarre medieval noble costume, in this modern airport, compared to the passersby wearing down jackets and sweaters, it stood out remarkably.
And the newspaper with holes was also unusually large; passing pedestrians looked at the man with disdain, whispering as if looking at a madman.
If it weren't for the man's relatively clean attire and his temporary lack of outrageous behavior, he might have been taken away by airport security long ago.
After all, no one would accept getting on a plane with a madman.
And this man was Havier Li, a middle-aged man approaching thirty.
Two full years had passed since the Amazon Rainforest trip.
He had completely transformed from a despairing 26-year-old to a 28-year-old.
Undoubtedly… entering middle age was something no man… no, not even women, could accept or admit.
But perhaps it was due to spending so much time with Lisa, Sherry, and Manuela, these virus-infected individuals, Javier felt that his speed of facial aging also seemed to have slowed down considerably.
He was a middle-aged man approaching thirty, and although he had some stubble, it still didn't affect his handsome appearance.
At least… Javier himself thought so.
As for why he was dressed in an old-fashioned medieval noble costume, Javier stated that the reason was simple.
Naturally, it was for a special role-play to fit the dungeon plot.
That was an epic story that had been passed down from the Middle Ages to the present.
Naturally, he had to wear matching clothes.
A castle setting, huh… how could he not satisfy Javier's noble young master's imaginative addiction?
Besides, wasn't Luis also dressed in a medieval noble costume? It wasn't out of place, okay?
And Javier's purpose in going to Spain was not to rescue President's daughter Ashley, although Ashley was quite cute.
But Javier's real purpose was actually to take Luis away.
The Don Quixote of the twenty-first century should not die in his hometown.
As an expert in biology, and the father of Plaga parasite, Javier also wanted to hire Luis to help research biochemical viruses.
His current organization severely lacked such individuals.
Although Alexia was a genius among geniuses, that old woman refused to cooperate.
While Lisa was already learning, it was still very difficult for her to master it, and her research progress alone was very slow.
Rebecca, being a government person, and that little girl often quarreled with Lisa in his rich man's villa, making the harem prone to conflict.
After stabilizing Manuela's condition, Rebecca returned to the government's Institute.
Therefore, Javier was still short-handed.
As a half-wit, he naturally couldn't help much; he wasn't good at thinking, but he was good at fighting and kidnapping people.