A significant increase in his Mental attribute allowed Asa to discover that his compatibility with cyberware modifications had greatly improved.
Without hesitation, Asa proceeded to replace his Operating System, Frontal Cortex, Nervous System, Circulatory System, Subdermal Armor, and Leg System.
Operating System: Tetratronic Rippler, costing 22,800 Eurodollars, capable of synchronizing and uploading three quickhacks simultaneously, with reduced processing power consumption during mass hacking. Price: 22,800 Eurodollars.
Frontal Cortex: Self-ICE, from NetWatch, automatically counters reverse hacking attempts by enemy hackers and security systems. The technology in the resident evil world is not yet advanced enough to breach this firewall; Asa bought it to guard against hacking intrusions from the 2077 World. Price: 6,200 Eurodollars.
Nervous System: Synaptic Accelerator, produced by Zetatech, providing an additional point to the Mental attribute. It allows the user to actively enter a state where time is slowed by 30% for 5 seconds (subjective time), with a one-minute cooldown. 5,500 Eurodollars.
Subdermal Armor: Optical Camo, from Militech, which allows the user to enter a state of complete invisibility upon activation, lasting 10 seconds, with a one-minute cooldown. 4,200 Eurodollars.
Leg System: Reinforced Tendons, from Zetatech, allowing for a double jump in mid-air and significantly enhancing jumping ability. 1,500 Eurodollars.
The total for the entire set was 40,200 Eurodollars, plus 15,000 Eurodollars for installation and calibration fees. Asa had spent nearly half of the 150,000 Eurodollars he had worked so hard to earn.
Well, it wasn't exactly hard work; it was no different than picking money up off the street.
Asa also wanted to install Gorilla Arms or Mantis Blades, but unfortunately, Arasaka had not yet expanded its market into the NUSA.
There were low-quality versions of Mantis Blades on the black market, but who knew if they contained Militech backdoor programs?
With the cyberware replacements complete, he set aside the firearms and ammunition for the moment, focusing instead on heavy explosives.
4kg of military-grade plastic explosives, 8,000 Eurodollars. Napalm bombs, 5,000 Eurodollars. Buy, buy, buy!
After the shopping spree, Asa system storage space was almost completely filled with his body tissues. Even so, Asa purchased a large batch of weapons and medical supplies until the space was packed to the brim, and only then did he stop.
One cubic meter of space was simply not enough. As it stood, level progression didn't seem related to storage capacity, so he hoped that his bonds with the goddesses would reward him with some extra storage space.
He returned to the resident evil world.
He skillfully switched to his resident evil equipment system. The mental load brought on by his full set of cyberware was almost non-existent. This was one of the positive effects brought about by the Mental attribute.
Asa looked at the meager resident evil equipment system. Compared to the dazzling array of items in the 2077 World system, the resident evil system suddenly looked shabby.
He still had to work hard, classmate William.
He left a personal backdoor on William's work computer; once William's research reached the 99% bottleneck, Asa would receive a notification.
"Asa!" A shout pulled Asa out of his trance-like state of staring at the screen.
He turned around to see Sherry Birkin, who had long been prepared to go out. The blonde girl stood with her hands on her hips, her small mouth pouted, looking at him with dissatisfaction.
"Did you forget that today is the day for us to go out and have fun!"
Asa, the "salary thief," suddenly remembered that it was the weekend!
Furthermore, the Arklay Laboratory in the Arklay Mountains hadn't been farmed yet. If he didn't go clear it, Asa felt he would be missing out on a huge opportunity. That was living, breathing experience points!
It was also time to go out and get some fresh air.
In the span of a month, the streets of Raccoon City had become much more desolate. Perhaps it was the change in temperature, or perhaps...
Asa bought a newspaper; it was still an era where print media thrived. The "Raccoon City Weekly" was filled with sensationalist headlines.
"The 17th Dismemberment Murder Case This Month: Is It a Loss of Humanity or a Moral Collapse?"
"Umbrella Corporation Denies Allegations from Police Detective, Points Out Subject's History of Genetic Disease."
"Former Police Chief Brian Released on Bail, Commits Suicide at Home by Shooting Himself Eight Times in the Back."
"Umbrella Corporation European Headquarters Announces Asset Split with Umbrella Corporation American Branch."
"Monsters Spotted in Arklay Mountains; University Travel Group Goes Missing After Expedition."
The residents of Raccoon City were living in misery.
In an old-fashioned hand-ground coffee shop on Enndale Street, Asa sipped his coffee while reading the newspaper in his hands.
Sherry Birkin sat opposite Asa, enthusiastically tackling the caramel pudding in front of her. Her baby-fat face was much rounder than when Asa had first met her.
When it came to babysitting, Asa considered himself quite a professional.
Judging by the looks of it, the T-Virus had already begun to spread. There had been 17 reported homicides in residential areas, with extremely severe consequences and impacts, and who knew how many more were happening in the shadows.
Regarding this, Asa was powerless. According to the original game plot, the resident evil incident in Raccoon City was not caused by the T-Virus leak from the Arklay Laboratory or the Training Facility.
The culprit was William's betrayal. After developing the G-Virus, he contacted the U.S. military, but the matter was exposed. Umbrella Corporation dispatched the U.S.S. unit to the NEST research base to kill William.
On the verge of death, William injected himself with the last sample of the G-Virus and evolved as a result. He accidentally crushed a T-Virus sample, thereby contaminating the entire water supply of Raccoon City.
The resident evil incident in Raccoon City thus erupted.
However, Asa had also discovered some suspicious points.
The T-Virus stored in the NEST underground base possessed extremely high infectivity; after contaminating the water supply for only seven days, the entire city had fallen.
However, the intervals between the homicides reported in the newspaper were quite long, with the earliest dating back a month. The infectivity was simply not on the same level as the T-Virus in the underground research base.
Asa concluded that these viruses were very likely caused by an early version of the T-Virus from the Training Facility.
… A video recording was played over and over again by Wesker, rewinding from the end to the beginning, and playing from the beginning to the end, for a long time.
A few days ago, the S.T.A.R.S. team, which included Jill Valentine and others, was ordered to suppress a cannibalistic maniac in a residential complex.
In close-quarters combat, Jill Valentine had completed the action of drawing her knife, stabbing, and then drawing her gun and firing in less than a second. This sequence of movements was fluid and seamless; even a well-trained elite soldier could not achieve it, let alone... after their falling out, Wesker knew Jill Valentine's strength clearly, and she simply wasn't capable of that.
A thought suddenly flashed through Wesker's mind. A month ago, when Jill Valentine and Barry went to the Training Facility, the UBCS Delta Team discovered in subsequent operations that the T-Virus sample stock solution and the original stock solution in the underground laboratory had all been stolen.
And after returning, Jill Valentine's physical fitness had become much stronger.
Could it be that after being infected with the T-Virus, Jill Valentine not only didn't turn into a zombie but instead perfectly fused with the T-Virus, becoming one in a million—a perfect fusion?
Fusing with the T-Virus without suffering from intellectual decline or physical collapse, while retaining full intelligence and appearance, having physical functions enhanced, and eliminating infectivity... Wasn't this exactly what Wesker had been seeking?
"Hmph!" Albert Wesker slammed his hand onto the table, his eyes filled with gloom.