On a certain island in the South Pacific, what was originally a small island was transformed by local residents hired by William to continue his experiments there.
Wesker used the Greyhound Organization to turn it into a shared base.
Morgan had contacted Norman, the leader of the Greyhound Organization, long ago, with the target being the maritime city of Terragrigia, which had already begun operations.
The Grey Hound, an extremist organization, believed this city polluted the ocean and had to be eradicated. They had previously organized protests, but these were all suppressed with arrests. Anyone with a clear mind knew that a city maintained by solar energy could not possibly pollute the ocean.
General Morgan contacted Norman, planning a raid on this maritime city. The two sides were still in negotiations and had not decided whether to proceed with the plan.
Norman felt that Wesker, who came from Umbrella and then betrayed Tricell, was not a good person and could be deeply cooperated with.
So he found an island to use as a base and continued to research the so-called virus.
Wesker had put in countless efforts but still hadn't found Spencer. He had a suspicion that his appearance was certainly not a coincidence.
For this, Wesker tried to contact his sister, Alex, who shared his surname and with whom he had a relatively good relationship.
Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to reach her. Wesker wanted to contact Alex because he had heard that Alex had absconded with a large amount of Spencer's assets!
This surprised Wesker; the actions of his so-called sister opened a door for him.
At this time, Wesker had to find a way to raise funds; he was almost crazy from poverty. To maintain the island's operations, he had to make money. The money he had conned from Tricell could only last a few months, and before then, he had to find a way to earn money.
Chapter 402: Spencer Surrenders
It was difficult to earn money legitimately, and to earn a large sum in a short time, besides winning the lottery, only trickery and deception remained.
Wesker's gaze clearly focused on Spencer. Since he couldn't earn it, he would trick him. Not many people could be tricked. Originally, he planned to sell the T-Virus and Veronica Virus he possessed.
However, the T-Virus was already widespread, and not many people wanted it. What was needed were fully developed bioweapons like Hunters and Tyrants; a mere virus was useless.
The sales of the Veronica Virus were also poor; it was unknown how long its freezing period needed to be, roughly fifteen years. Such a long time deterred most employers.
What annoyed Wesker the most was that he had clearly arranged with Javier, a major drug lord in the Amazon rainforest, to sell the Veronica Virus.
However, Spencer intervened, directly completing the transaction with Javier and even chasing Wesker down. This made Wesker extremely displeased. It almost made him explode with anger; he didn't make any money and ended up covered in filth, utterly disgusted.
Half a month later, Wesker was about to depart for Europe to board Umbrella's secret cruise ship to investigate what Spencer was up to.
A message arrived that silenced Wesker for a moment, then he immediately turned and flew to the Western Federation.
Spencer, Umbrella's CEO, had actually surrendered himself. The ones who received Spencer were Security Advisor Simmons and the incumbent President.
This was quite surprising. What reason would make this old fox voluntarily surrender?
No one knew what agreement Spencer had reached with the Western Federation. After this, the media would tout the Federation's capabilities, proclaiming that the long-wanted Spencer had been apprehended.
Given Spencer's advanced age, he would not appear in court but would be confined in a secret prison, awaiting lifelong imprisonment.
Spencer did not mention anything about the Caucasus Branch, only stating that he was abandoned by all and didn't have many years left to live. So he told Simmons Umbrella's last secret, allowing the Western Federation, which sought to take over Umbrella's assets, to deal with his enemies.
The news made Simmons feel very tricky, even prompting a special family meeting.
"Everyone, Umbrella's assets are currently very unevenly distributed. The South Pacific Branch, the Africa Branch, and the French Branch are the most important. Currently, the assets of the North American Branch have been accepted by us, and the assets in the South Pacific have been taken by a woman named Alex Wesker."
"The French Branch was divided by the European Union, and we don't care about their claims of heavy losses from fire and explosion. The most useful place now is the Africa Branch, which holds the most core secret, the Stairway to the Sun. For our family, it is very valuable," Simmons spoke eloquently in the conference room.
"What can we gain?" asked Canard, the real estate magnate.
"Good question, what can we gain. Everyone can look at this video clip and some selections from the book 'Natural History Investigations'," Simmons clapped his hands, and the bodyguard began playing the content.
The video recounted the chieftain election of the Ndipaya Tribe in Africa, a tribe that had once been powerful enough to occupy the territory of several countries in East Africa before mysteriously disappearing.
"As you can see, the virus produced by this flower is the Progenitor Virus, which can lead to stronger, longer-lived results. All of you here are elites in various industries of society. If we live long enough, the Federation, under our leadership, will surely be at the forefront of the world!" Simmons tried to boost morale.
"Do you have a basis for what you're saying?" asked the corn magnate of the family. This fellow's farms spanned across North America, and after monopolizing the domestic market, he set his sights on Latin America; otherwise, Javier wouldn't have been involved.
"This is what Spencer, Umbrella's CEO, said. He said someone already possesses this information, and if we continue to treat him, he will tell us who it is and how to do it," Simmons said with a serious expression.
Many family members fell silent. The temptation of eternal life was immense; no one who could live a little longer would want to die.
"What needs to be done?" asked the building materials magnate of the family.
"Take over all of Umbrella's resources and find four individuals: Eddie Cai, William Birkin, Alex, and Albert Wesker. Alex and Albert share the Wesker surname; they are siblings, so finding one will lead to the other," Simmons turned his gaze to his former enemy, Eddie.
"Eddie? We were just about to absorb him into the family. Go ask him if he's interested; it's not too late to be hostile if he's not," another Senator said. He was a standard businessman by origin and was very optimistic about Mysterious Pharmaceutical's prospects.
"Absorb him into the family? Are you joking? I have nothing good to say to him. Impossible, he wouldn't be the kind of person wholeheartedly devoted to the family, he couldn't, he wouldn't like the Western Federation!" Simmons shouted.
"Davis, that guy is indeed not suitable to join the family. Don't let money blind you. Our goal is to maintain the Western Federation's hegemonic position, not to make us more money. Power is the most important thing," said a family member who held military power.
"Alright then, whatever you want, I just made a suggestion. If it's not accepted, then so be it; I have no loss," the Senator didn't care.
After some discussion, the final decision was to find Eddie, clarify if he knew the secret of eternal life, and invite him to cooperate. If he refused to cooperate, then extreme measures would be taken.
As for William Birkin, Wesker, and Alex, arrest warrants were issued to bring the three to justice.
Eddie received this special treatment because his current assets were considerable. Moreover, if someone familiar with bioweapon production were pushed too far and caused another Raccoon City crisis, it would be disastrous.
And when Eddie emerged from Jessica's room, yawning, Simmons's invitation call arrived.
"Eddie, long time no see, your phone finally went through. Umbrella's invitation party, on the Enze cruise ship, I'll be there too. Let's meet up then. I represent the family to discuss something with you; cooperation will benefit both of us," Simmons said in a low voice.
"Is that so? You want to cooperate with me? Haha, my conditions aren't low," Eddie sneered.
"The family will give you whatever you want, as long as our goal can be achieved," Simmons retorted sarcastically. He had plenty of everything but intelligence.
Chapter 403: The Queen's Change of Heart
Eddie shook his head and said, "No, just a call, it won't be that fast. You go rest, I'll go to the lab first."
After taking two steps, he realized Jessica had followed him again. Seemingly noticing Eddie's gaze, Jessica said calmly, "I'm your bodyguard. Wherever you go, I go. The lab can also be a place to rest. It's fine, I can recover quickly just by standing."
Although she said that, Jessica's walking was still a bit awkward and she seemed weak; it would take some time for her to fully recover.
The pupal stage reorganization was truly convenient. It was a mystery why humans couldn't undergo such metamorphosis. When utilized well, this condition could heal most injuries.
Alexia remained asleep in the cryo-chamber. In fact, her mind was conscious, but she still couldn't move. She often heard Eddie's voice, and sometimes other voices she didn't want to hear would come through, which was very irritating.
Another half month later, Alexia awoke from her pupal state. She was still beautiful, still strong; nothing had changed except for the very peculiar look in her eyes as she gazed at Eddie.
"You're awake, eat something, then get familiar with your condition. We're leaving the day after tomorrow, and there might be some things to handle then," Eddie said with a smile.
Alexia nodded, put on her high heels, and spoke gracefully without any reservation, "Thank you, I can feel that you've been in the lab the whole time."
"It's give and take, isn't it? You accompanied me for four months, it's not too much for me to accompany you for one month," Eddie said with a smile.