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Chapter 011: Black Market Boss... or Queenpin?
🕑 Added 2025-09-27 03:00:24 +0000 UTC"Commitment, integrity, and honesty—these three principles form the foundation of Umbrella Corporation."
"Just like our three main divisions—Red Umbrella, Blue Umbrella, and White Umbrella—each carries distinct responsibilities while maintaining interconnection. All three are indispensable and work together to better serve the public."
"We are now formally announcing the establishment of the Black Umbrella division. Based on our company's development strategy and this year’s operational needs, the Board of Directors has decided to create this new branch."
"The Black Umbrella division will be led by the brilliant scientist Dr. Vera Adelaide Russell, who will oversee research and development in materials science, intelligent control technology, and human bionics..."
Click.
West Coast, San Francisco. Umbrella Tower.
An elegant figure leaned against a large office desk, remote in hand, and switched off the TV.
She tapped the remote thoughtfully, brushed back her pale golden hair, and let her slender fingers sway with satisfaction.
"Remote controls... they suddenly feel so outdated, don’t they?"
Just a minor side effect of cross-dimensional consciousness transfer.
She had thought she could change channels with a glance—or turn the TV on and off—but nothing happened.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
"Director, your tea."
A professional Umbrella hospitality attendant entered, bowing slightly as she placed a tray of delicate pastries, a teapot, and bone china cups on Vera’s desk.
"Thank you."
After the attendant left, Vera lifted the cup and took a small sip. The rich fragrance of the tea immediately filled her mouth.
She made a show of savoring it.
As for who the performance was for...
Ring ring ring—
Right on cue.
Vera pressed a button next to the integrated service phone on her desk.
Whoosh.
The curtains slid shut, the LCD projector whirred to life, and the projection screen descended.
Soon, bzzt bzzt—
"Dr. Russell."
An aged yet steady, commanding voice came through what Vera considered embarrassingly outdated speakers.
On the projection screen, through static and pixelation, the image of an elderly man slowly came into focus.
Caucasian, thin build, completely white hair, and that distinctly old-London receding hairline—a shiny dome.
Oswell E. Spencer.
One of Umbrella Corporation’s three founders, the mastermind-to-be of the Resident Evil series, and Vera’s direct superior—Chairman and CEO of Umbrella.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Spencer."
Vera gave an elegant curtsy, teacup in hand, as her greeting.
This wasn’t Arasaka, with its absurdly rigid hierarchies where meeting a superior felt like bowing before an imperial envoy. And quitting wasn’t an option anyway.
At Umbrella? Vera’s behavior was perfectly ordinary for late 20th-century America.
If Spencer ever dared pressure her over etiquette, she’d expose him for workplace harassment and sic the unions on him.
Besides, couldn’t he see she was having afternoon tea? She was already humoring this Brit.
"Dr. Russell, the Board has high expectations for your work in human bionics and cybernetic implants. We trust you won’t disappoint us." Spencer’s voice was almost friendly.
"I won’t."
Vera radiated confidence, naturally.
Satisfied, Spencer nodded.
Genius always came with arrogance—that was expected.
Still, it was remarkable to see someone within Umbrella who excelled across semiconductors, engineering physics, bionics, intelligent control, and mechanical engineering—especially in a company historically focused on virology and bio-research under his leadership.
A true windfall.
Even though she wasn’t a product of his cherished eugenics “Wesker Project,” Spencer quickly embraced her.
Wasn’t Vera’s brilliance proof of his theories? Just like his late friend’s ancestor, Veronica Ashford—beautiful, intelligent, rational.
As for corporate espionage? He dismissed the thought. Who would waste such extraordinary talent on spying? That would be a gift to the enemy.
Umbrella’s stock price had soared thanks to Vera’s research. Since her arrival, the company’s scope had steadily expanded.
His only regret: Vera had zero interest in virology—and even held it in contempt.
Spencer had confirmed this through several discreet inquiries.
"The flesh is weak, but the machine is eternal..."
At his family castle in the British Isles, surrounded by modern electronic equipment, Oswell E. Spencer watched Vera calmly sip tea on the LCD screen. Inevitably, her words echoed in his mind.
"This is indeed another path. William Birkin has grown complacent. Perhaps his talents ultimately fall short of his teacher’s—and Alexia’s. The T and G projects are still stuck at critical bottlenecks."
"I hope Dr. Russell’s arrival reignites your sense of urgency."
He picked up the cybernetics prospect report Vera had submitted. He skimmed most of it, stopping only at one word: life extension.
"Immortality."
What an intoxicating promise.
---
Vera, meanwhile, had no interest in Spencer’s fantasies. Seeing the old man drifting into thought again, she pulled out her newly prepared PPT.
"Weapons?" Spencer blinked, startled as he glanced at the freshly printed documents. Firearms.
"Why would you want to research and manufacture guns?"
"There’s a market for it. And honestly, the company’s security forces—the UBCS—are equipped terribly." Vera spoke casually. "I couldn’t stand watching it, so I studied the field in my spare time."
Her tone was exactly what Spencer liked—arrogant, genius-like.
"Excellent. Refine your designs and submit them immediately."
He asked no further questions. After all, with Alexia Ashford graduating as valedictorian from a prestigious university at ten, Spencer’s tolerance for “eccentric genius” was high.
Vera nodded.
The call ended.
Whoosh.
The curtains slid open again. Back at her desk, Vera opened a drawer, revealing blueprints:
WWA Bullpup Assault Weapon
WMA Minami 10 SMG
WSA Automatic Pistol Tamayura
WCAA Rapid-Fire Assault Shotgun
WXA Computer-Assisted Targeting System
All weapons Arasaka had discontinued long ago.
With her clearance at Arasaka, Vera could access data and blueprints for countless weapons developed and produced before the Fourth Corporate War.
Obsolete for Arasaka in 2074 and rarely seen on the market, but in Umbrella’s era, these designs were advanced, powerful, and highly marketable.
"Basic drone factories, cybernetics, electronics, vehicles, weapons... that should be enough for now."
Half a step ahead of your time makes you a genius; a full step makes you a madman.
You had to take things one bite at a time.
Neither Vera nor Umbrella could safeguard technology that was too advanced. But by gradually releasing improvements and iterations on existing products—the bionic limb market alone offered hundreds of millions of customers in need.
"Mmm."
Her mood brightened instantly. Vera leaned back in her executive chair, twirling a pen in her left hand while dialing a number with her right. The arms business would need Washington contacts to smooth over regulations.
The encrypted call connected quickly.
Display: Derek C. Simmons.
