Umbrella Pharmaceutical participated in the research and development of the Victory Lake virus vaccine, unexpectedly discovering that a newly developed drug had the effect of delaying and curbing the spread of the virus.
The Raccoon City Morning Post featured a full-page report on the front about this matter, while the secondary section below read:
"A New Football Tournament Will Be Held in Raccoon City!"
Asa put down the newspaper. Raccoon City's water source had already been contaminated; was it really necessary to hold this tournament?
However, looking at it another way, this could also quickly build the reputation of Zombrex among the public.
It was another weekend. The effectiveness of Zombrex had been fully proven in clinical applications over the past few days. Patients who had consumed contaminated water showed significant improvement after taking Zombrex; their high fevers subsided, and their brains were no longer burning up.
After taking one pill every eight hours for a total of twelve pills, the virus in the patients' bodies was completely cleared.
The results were outrageously good, and the price for a box of such life-saving medicine wasn't even as high as a doctor's consultation fee!
It was worth it, truly worth it.
In an instant, Zombrex's reputation soared, and it had now entered the Phase III clinical validation stage.
Every day, hundreds of people relied on Zombrex to continue living.
If not for Asa Zombrex saving lives, the virus would have certainly erupted in full force by now. Yet, at such a time, the city government still insisted on pushing forward with the football tournament. Were they trying to signal to the outside world that everything was fine?
The newspaper reported that Warren Stadium would host a state-level football tournament in a week, and all tickets had already been sold out in pre-sales.
Warren Stadium could accommodate up to forty thousand spectators at once. Asa could imagine what would happen in such a confined space if even a single zombie infection occurred.
Asa looked across the table. The sun was shining brightly; Lisa was quietly checking records, and Sherry was reading. At this moment, there was a sense of peaceful serenity.
"Ding-ling-ling."
The door was pushed open, and a Slavic man and a woman with long brown hair walked in.
"Shen, long time no see."
Asa stood up with a smile. The visitors were Mikhail and Karen, members of the UBCS Delta Team.
The last time they met was... well, the last time. After Asa founded Watchdog Security, he naturally needed to recruit talent, and the former members of the UBCS Delta Team were obvious targets.
The two were dressed in casual clothes, but their firm and powerful muscle lines still made them look strong and capable.
"Is it just the two of you left now?"
Asa asked.
Sherry led Lisa to sit at a table behind Asa, while Mikhail sat opposite Asa and shrugged helplessly.
"No, the others went to work odd jobs."
Mikhail stated a frustrating fact.
The members recruited for the UBCS Delta Team came from all over the world, but they lacked locals.
Mikhail was Soviet, Carlos was from South America, Karen and Lawrence were from Australia, and the remaining few were not Americans either.
After leaving U.B.C.S., the group was shocked to find their bank cards frozen and their official visas no longer in their possession, turning them into illegal residents with no money and no identity.
Let alone reporting the actions of the Umbrella Corporation, they first had to prove the legality of their own identities.
"I see."
As Asa listened, he thought to himself how perfectly this worked out.
"As it happens, I've established a security company locally, and our main business aligns perfectly with your expertise. Interested?"
When speaking with a Soviet, Asa didn't bother beating around the bush and issued a direct invitation.
The middle-aged man across from him hesitated, his face showing a troubled expression.
"Shen, I know you're a good person, but the one we've provoked is a giant in the global pharmaceutical industry. This will involve you."
"It seems you don't yet understand my company's primary business."
Asa smiled and pushed the front page of the Raccoon City Morning Post toward him.
"Umbrella Pharmaceutical... is your company?"
Mikhail was filled with doubt and surprise.
"Yes. Our current production capacity is enough to handle a small-scale outbreak, but if the production lines are destroyed..."
Asa shook his head as he spoke.
"Whether it's Umbrella or some other force, they absolutely won't remain indifferent when they see a drug that can treat the virus."
Asa scanned Mikhail and Karen with a firm gaze. "The purpose of Watchdog Security is to become the final line of defense for humanity, to foil the plans of all those ambitious men, conspirators, and madmen. Even if we must burn, we will be the last line of defense for mankind."
"Perhaps you think I'm exaggerating right now, but the Umbrella Corporation has opened a rift, and in the future, countless demons and monsters will emerge."
"So, will you join me?"
Why did the tone suddenly become so grand?
Mikhail looked at the young man before him with emotion. The Eastern face gave him a sense of kinship, and the actions of the Umbrella Corporation made him feel disgust from the bottom of his heart. This young man had saved his teammates' lives before and certainly didn't seem to be faking his sense of justice. Having developed a drug that could treat the infection himself, perhaps he really could achieve it.
Just as Mikhail was about to speak, Karen beside him beat him to it and asked:
"What's the salary like, Boss?"
"Top industry standard, ma'am."
Asa looked at Mikhail, and the former Soviet Captain no longer hesitated.
"I will persuade my teammates to join together."
"Excellent. I guarantee you will never regret today's decision."
Setting everything else aside, just using the weapons and equipment from the 2077 World would be a dimensional strike against ordinary soldiers.
Smart equipment, autonomous robots, standardized gear, and even Cyberware.
Asa was already prepared to learn how to perform cybernetic modifications himself so that he could perform them on his company's employees in the future.
Using the technology of the 2077 World in the resident evil world, and using the viruses of the resident evil world in the 2077 World—he would make the most of the advantages of both worlds.
"OK, now let's talk about the contract."
...
The security company didn't have a physical site yet, so Asa outsourced part of the Capsule Factory's employee dormitories to Watchdog Security. The two companies operated in a partnership mode, so the first order Watchdog Security received was a security agreement from Umbrella Pharmaceutical.
It was just moving money from the left hand to the right.
Having harvested a large group of talent, time accelerated, and Zombrex officially entered the large-scale validation period.
Daily production was at two thousand boxes, with most of the medicine stored in the finished goods warehouse.
Before obtaining FDA approval, these were still considered black-market drugs, circulating at most on the black market.
During the virus spread, Mayor Warren, considering the livelihood and grand plans of Raccoon City, wrote a report on the effectiveness of Zombrex and the dangers of the virus and submitted it to the State Legislature, explaining the pros and cons with great urgency.
If the virus really broke out, what would happen to the football tournament? What would happen to the city's tourism? What about next year's economic reports? What about the shares for the Governor and the State Legislators?
Once the report went up, it quickly caught the attention of the state-level legislators. Raccoon City was the rising high-tech industrial star and the crown jewel of Colorado State. For the city's development, certain procedures could be set aside for now.
As the old saying goes, the cat that catches mice is a good cat. Right now,Umbrella Pharmaceutical was that very good cat.