"Ignorance is the mother of all evil," Cortana repeated, appearing to only half-understand.
Then she wore a sad expression, clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and sighed in a prayer-like manner:
"Boss, the Marine Corps doesn't have Umbrella's AAES, but they are still the ones charging at the very front, and their casualty rate... no, their mortality rate is also the highest.
As the first smart artificial intelligence developed by Dr. Halsey, I can easily understand human... emotions.
I feel it's not worth it for those dead Soldiers; wasn't their fearless sacrifice meant to save Manhattan? Yet they are still being smeared by netizens and the government."
Hearing this, William stood up, left the railing, walked towards Cortana, and smiled: "It is indeed a pity, but their efforts will be rewarded."
"Rewarded?"
William just smiled and said nothing.
If the containment operation is successfully completed, the nearly 20,000 Marine Corps Soldiers under Mike's command will all become Umbrella's 'favored sons'.
They can be equipped with epoch-making individual weapons and enjoy the high-welfare policies of Umbrella employees; it's definitely more comfortable than working under the U.S.
It's just that the enemies the Marine Corps have to face will have to change; they will no longer be those Terrorists, but terrifying creatures.
Thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem that comfortable after all...
Whatever, it makes no difference.
Immediately after, William walked straight through Cortana's 'body', sat down on the sofa prepared for him by the Technicians, and said calmly: "What about the comprehensive disinfection plan?"
Cortana's projection flickered, then she turned and walked in front of William, her eyes glowing faintly as she replied:
"1.7 million doses of vaccine will arrive at the Long Island fortress by noon tomorrow, enough for all Soldiers and Manhattan citizens to be vaccinated.
Dr. Halsey has also stepped up the research and development of disinfectants and steam spray devices; by utilizing local resources in Hiroshima, the comprehensive disinfection plan can be implemented simultaneously tomorrow."
William drank the coffee in the paper cup in one gulp, leaned back on the sofa cushions, looked at the ceiling of the terminal, and said in a deep voice: "Predict the results."
"It is expected that by tomorrow evening, except for the red mist zone at the Plaza Hotel, all yellow and red zones will be cleared."
"Very good, then launch the bombing while the disinfection is underway; blow them up before those eggs hatch, and don't give the anomaly codenamed Elizabeth Green any chance to react."
"I have already contacted the Troy bomber squadron."
"Very good."
William placed the empty paper cup on the low table in front of his knees, picked up the suit jacket left on the sofa, and while standing up and walking down, ordered with a teasing tone:
"Cortana, collect the specific addresses where the rumors are being spread, and draft large-scale memory erasure measures for after the containment operation ends in advance. Although we at Umbrella can brainwash, we can't 'wash' the hydrocephalus out of certain idiots."
Listening to her boss's undisguised mockery, Cortana raised her hand to cover her mouth, trying to hold back a smile, and said: "Yes, boss."
Walking down the high platform, William, who had already put on his suit, was escorted by a group of Alpha and left the sixth terminal, heading towards a hangar not far away.
The Security Personnel outside saw that it was William, so they didn't say much, just stood at attention and saluted him, and opened the security door they were guarding. Entering.
The huge hangar had also been renovated by the Engineering Team; bright incandescent lights and reflective floors highlighted Umbrella's unique style. Looking inside.
One could see bio-armor set up in order, and even a few Technicians were busy assembling a prototype of a herundin.
In charge of this place was the supervisor, a man over forty with a receding hairline, wearing a white lab coat.
Seeing William walk into the hangar, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him: "Boss."
"Hmm." William smiled at him and asked: "The Colonel said he brought the weapons mass-produced by the Hive as well; please introduce them to me."
"Yes." The supervisor walked side-by-side with William, then respectfully said: "Boss, as you can see, after the Hive received sufficient funds, a total of 57 sets of bio-armor have been produced from mid-October to now. Our expected goal is to put their mass production on the schedule and replace them as the main combat equipment for the USS."
"Hmm." William nodded with satisfaction. Just then, under the supervisor's guidance, he came to the herundin that was being assembled and asked with confusion: "Did the Hive only manage to build this one in a year?"
"This..." The supervisor explained with some embarrassment: "Yes, boss. The final cost of the herundin was 8.5 billion, far exceeding our expected cost, so the Hive shifted his work focus to Thor's Hammer."
William narrowed his eyes, inwardly agreeing with the supervisor's words. 8.5 billion... The only advantage of the herundin is that ordinary people can drive it, but this cost... it's more expensive than 'God's', it's not worth the loss.
At this moment, after the supervisor led William and the others to the weapon rack, he showed unconcealable pride and said excitedly: "Boss, you will definitely like the next two things!"
"Oh?" William looked at his demeanor, which made him slightly interested: "What is it?"
"Boss, although the herundin cannot be mass-produced, but...!" As he said this, several Technicians pushed two weapon racks with wheels and placed them in front of William and the supervisor.
On the left hung a silver-gray sniper rifle with a high-tech feel, and the supervisor gestured with his left hand to introduce it: "Our Hive research team, using Dr. Halsey's Electromagnetic Accelerator Cannon concept, successfully miniaturized it! A sniper rifle that can fire a warhead over 40,000 meters away by consuming just one hydrogen battery has been born: the gauss sniper rifle. The entire process was independent research by the scientific team, without Dr. Halsey's participation!"
The supervisor deliberately emphasized the words "without" and "participation" when speaking. After all, Halsey stood like a great deity over every researcher's head, and it was too difficult to surpass her. It's not easy...
"Oh." William looked at the sniper rifle, also unable to hide his joy, and praised: "Not bad."
The supervisor did not stop his introduction; he gestured to the right side, pointing to the roughly shaped rifle that looked like an enlarged version of an ACR rifle, and said: "Boss, this 8mm caliber gauss rifle is a standard weapon developed for the USS equipped with bio-armor. Of course, it is also the first choice for the more powerful Spartan units. Each caseless warhead can easily tear through and penetrate the armor of light vehicles, and if it hits a body directly, then..."
Even though the supervisor didn't continue, everyone knew what would happen if the warhead hit a person... it would be a blessing to even have a complete corpse left.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"