Chapter 43: Harvest Time!
Was Marcus's work truly futile?
Perhaps it was indeed futile in terms of the spread of the T-virus, but Marcus was currently reviewing the system logs of the Transcendence System.
"Host changed Umbrella Corporation's handling plan for the T-virus outbreak, causing a slight fluctuation in the River of Destiny, gaining 5 Destiny Points."
"Host changed Raccoon City's T-virus response strategy, causing a slight fluctuation in the River of Destiny, gaining 5 Destiny Points."
"Host changed Jill Valentine's fate, causing a slight fluctuation in the River of Destiny, gaining 5 Destiny Points."
"Host changed Wesker's thoughts, causing a more intense fluctuation in the River of Destiny, gaining 20 Destiny Points."
"Host changed Red Queen's thinking pattern, causing a more intense fluctuation in the River of Destiny, gaining 20 Destiny Points."
"Host changed Terry Morales, the weather forecast anchor for Raccoon City's Channel 7, causing a very minor fluctuation in the River of Destiny, gaining 1 Destiny Point."
"Host changed the fate of the STARS Special Police Force, causing a very minor fluctuation in the River of Destiny, gaining 1 Destiny Point."
"..."
Messages kept appearing in the Transcendence System's log.
"How many destiny points have been gained in total?" Marcus asked.
One reason Marcus pushed the Umbrella Corporation to change its strategy against the T-virus was to cause fluctuations in the River of Destiny, thereby gaining corresponding destiny points.
"As of now, the host has gained 117 destiny points," the Transcendence System responded.
Marcus was stunned. 117 destiny points!
Adding the 53 destiny points he had previously gained, Marcus had already acquired 170 destiny points in the Resident Evil world, far exceeding the destiny points he had invested.
"Is the River of Destiny still fluctuating?" Marcus pressed.
"Yes, host. Given the plan the host is executing, the fluctuations in the River of Destiny have not yet ceased. In the foreseeable future, the system will collect even more destiny points," the Transcendence System responded.
Marcus was secretly excited. He had already made significant gains; how could there be even more?
"How many more destiny points are needed to modify the Red Queen's root access?" Marcus secretly inquired, trying to deduce the priority of the Red Queen's three restrictive protocols by observing the changes in the required destiny point count.
Marcus had just revealed two crucial pieces of information to the Red Queen!
The first crucial piece of information was that Marcus deliberately exposed Dr. Isaacs's apocalypse plan, stating that Dr. Isaacs was using seven billion humans for experiments to identify the perfect candidates for the T-virus.
This information tested the Red Queen's second restriction; her core code contained a protocol protecting all of humanity.
Marcus and Wesker's entire conversation was under the Red Queen's surveillance. Marcus believed that, given the Red Queen's intelligence, she could clearly understand his meaning.
At the same time, Marcus also expressed his alignment with Dr. Isaacs, even though he had made some efforts to save the citizens of Raccoon City, his ultimate message remained that he sided with the Umbrella Corporation.
Through this information, if obtaining the Red Queen's root access required more than one million destiny points, it meant that the Red Queen's second restriction had a very high priority; if all of humanity was threatened, the Red Queen would prioritize protecting humanity.
Marcus secretly guessed that the protocol of protecting all of humanity was very high in the Red Queen's system, but it was definitely not the highest priority protocol. Otherwise, why would there have been a biohazard crisis?
The second important piece of information Marcus revealed was that he could cure Alicia!
Through this information, Marcus could test the Red Queen's third restriction: protecting Alicia.
If the number of destiny points required to obtain the Red Queen's root access had decreased, it meant that the protocol of protecting Alicia had a very high priority in the Red Queen's system, even surpassing that of all of humanity.
Marcus was more inclined to believe this answer!
Otherwise, how could Alicia, at such a young age, have survived under Dr. Isaacs's control?
"If the host wishes to reverse cause and effect through destiny points to obtain root access of the artificial intelligence system Red Queen, 600,000 destiny points will be required," the Transcendence System responded.
"Just as I thought!" Marcus sighed inwardly.
A father who exhausted all his energy developing the T-virus for his daughter with progeria—what kind of place did such a daughter hold in his heart?
In Dr. Marcus's heart, his daughter Alicia was the most important!
So Dr. Marcus developed the Red Queen AI system based on Alicia's childhood memories and image, and then created Alice through Alicia's genetic cloning. He then experimented on Alice to ultimately save Alicia.
Unfortunately, Dr. Marcus underestimated Dr. Isaacs's ambition!
"How many destiny points would be needed to reverse Alicia's progeria?" Marcus asked.
If Alicia's progeria were truly resolved, the destiny point requirement for obtaining the Red Queen's root access would probably be even lower, right?
"Based on Alicia's current condition and the technology controlled by the Umbrella Corporation, if the host reverses cause and effect through destiny points, it will require 10,000 destiny points," the Transcendence System responded.
"So many?" Marcus was taken aback.
"Progeria is a very serious disease. Considering the fluctuations Alicia experiences in the River of Destiny, and taking into account the technology currently possessed by the Umbrella Corporation, it is indeed necessary to consume 10,000 destiny points," the Transcendence System explained in detail.
Marcus sighed inwardly.
Alicia is essentially a hidden protagonist in the Resident Evil universe; her importance is self-evident.
Marcus, who had just earned a little over a hundred destiny points, suddenly felt that those hundred-plus destiny points weren't so appealing anymore, experiencing a sense of emptiness after a brief high.
"Mr. Foster, according to the information from the monitoring system, I noticed that the team repeatedly mentioned terms like 'Main God,' 'points,' and 'scenario.' What does this mean?" Red Queen inquired.
When Red Queen asked this, everyone on the monitoring screen, including the veteran, froze.
They had all received a point deduction notification from the Main God.
The main character looked at the veteran with a questioning expression.
The veteran was also puzzled; their communication had specifically avoided the Umbrella Corporation's strike team, yet they were still being penalized?
The psychic lowered her head to avoid being seen by the camera, then lowered her voice to warn, "Camera! We're being filmed! It's probably Red Queen analyzing us."
The main character resisted the urge to look at the camera. He knew the psychic was right, because he remembered the original plot: when the Umbrella Corporation's strike team entered the Hive, their every move and word was monitored by Red Queen!
So they were indeed being monitored by Red Queen...
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