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Chapter 004: The So-Called "Divine Gift"
🕑 Added 2025-09-26 01:19:51 +0000 UTCThe vehicle glided smoothly along as Vera reclined on the plush back seat, gazing quietly out the window with half-closed eyes, appearing to contemplate the contents of the work meeting.
In a dimension unnoticed by either Arasaka bodyguard, Vera's eyes suddenly blazed like brilliant stars.
This wasn't the luminescence of cybernetic implants.
From Vera's perspective, time around her seemed to stand still.
The movement of objects nearby became incredibly slow, her vision sinking as if her soul were plunging into an endless abyss in that instant. Yet there was no suffocation or discomfort—only lightness and joy, as if returning to her true home.
In a fleeting moment, Vera gazed into the depths of her soul:
A hollow cavity formed of black and white ink-like ripples, quietly embedded in the void. Dim spots of light flowed through it like silk threads, organized yet untraceable in their arrangement.
Here, concepts of direction, length, width, and height didn't exist.
It was like the other side of the world that only madmen and the mentally ill could perceive, invisible to ordinary people.
No one had ever told Vera what this was, but she instinctively knew that this was the reason for her death, rebirth, and transmigration.
At the far reaches of the unknown void, luminous pathways like winding galaxies traced distinct patterns before Vera's eyes. Some intersected, interwove, and spiraled together, while others stretched endlessly toward their own horizons, coming to an abrupt halt at unreachable shores.
Hazy and indistinct, they were illusory, yet real.
Vera looked toward the nearest pathway, the only one that had solidified.
Time to milk Umbrella Corporation for all it's worth.
How to milk it?
Just like this.
Her "Divine Gift."
"Umbrella... byproducts of B.O.W. [Biological Organic Weapon] experiments, side effects of T-virus research. They've got quite a lot of good stuff in pharmaceuticals, medical care, and bioengineering."
The pathways constantly shifted, but the intense calling within allowed Vera to calmly focus her thoughts and intentions on the only solidified 'thread':
Resident Evil.
That's how Vera labeled and distinguished it from the others.
...
Resident Evil.
North America, Colorado State, Raccoon City.
Hum...
The engine stopped, and the black official vehicle bearing the red and white umbrella logo came to a steady halt at the building entrance.
With the black-suited bodyguard actively opening the door, Vera stepped out and looked up, her expression oddly complex as she gazed at the Umbrella Raccoon City headquarters before her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... got it. The boss wants intel on the 'dangerous girl' business. Got it... Umbrella Corporation's rehabilitation and therapy technology should keep 'us' fed for a while. I'll get my hands on it."
It was Vera—the same Vera—except without any cybernetic implant marks on her body or face. Her gray-blue business suit was more corporate, lacking the dark, oppressive, high-tech feel of the Arasaka uniform, but otherwise identical.
'Us' meaning me.
After communicating with her other self in ways others couldn't fathom, Vera shifted her attention to the approaching Umbrella colleagues—some in business suits, others wearing researcher ID badges over white lab coats.
Her face bloomed with the characteristic polite, fake smile of hosts, politicians, and businessmen as she courteously responded to each greeting.
"Where's Dr. William Birkin? His loud objections and protests against my [Flesh is Weak] proposal at the board meeting—I could hear them all the way from the West Coast."
"Well..."
"I'm here now. Have him come see me. If he has opinions, let him voice them face to face. Friendly communication—we are colleagues, after all. Hmm? Where is Dr. Birkin?" Vera made a show of looking around.
The administrative head of Raccoon City's Umbrella division immediately stiffened.
Trouble's brewing...
They'd long heard that Dr. Vera Adelheid Russell's intelligence was exceptional, her genius rivaling that of Umbrella's late rising star, Alexia Ashford.
Most importantly, Dr. Vera's research field was completely different from the virology and biological research that currently dominated within Umbrella Corporation.
Since Dr. Vera's rise within the company, her talents and achievements in materials science, intelligent control technology, human bionics, and cybernetic engineering were well known.
[The flesh is weak, but the Machine is pure.]
Dr. Vera had emphasized this phrase repeatedly in Umbrella's internal meetings and even board meetings.
One could imagine her attitude toward William Birkin and Umbrella's old 'virology school.'
Medical school is expensive.
Medical and biological research burns even more money—especially when much of it goes toward unsavory projects that can't be publicly promoted or receive market funding.
And Umbrella's budget was limited.
Dr. Vera needed research funding to expand her cybernetics research base and drone factories; Dr. William needed funding too—for the G-Project and improvements to Raccoon City's underground research facility. The two sides' competition for funding had grown quite unpleasant.
Today, Dr. Vera would launch an attack, and tomorrow, Dr. William would have to respond and counterattack.
This was the conflict within Umbrella Corporation between the new 'cybernetics school' led by Dr. Vera and the old 'virology school' headed by William Birkin.
Initially, relying on his seniority, Dr. William could suppress Dr. Vera for a while. But as Dr. Vera's achievements kept emerging—creating markets for prosthetic limbs for the disabled, drone markets, electronic devices—bringing increasingly greater profits, more and more people within the company began supporting Dr. Vera.
After all, compared to projects that could be publicly funded and legitimately financed, things like the T-Project and G-Project, no matter how grand their future prospects sounded, couldn't be made public.
These past two years, Dr. William's days had become increasingly difficult.
The more talented Dr. Vera proved at making money, the more pressure and anger William Birkin—who had always prided himself as a child prodigy with high self-regard and ambition—felt.
Many times, Raccoon City Umbrella staff had even heard Dr. William's roars and angry curses as he threw things in his office.
Walking into the building's conference room, everyone chattered about various topics, introducing Vera to their Raccoon City Umbrella division's glorious history: the Umbrella Executive Training School, Arklay Research Facility, the dormitory facility (the mansion)...
Vera didn't recognize most people, but she spotted a familiar face: Annette Birkin.
Her nameplate clearly displayed her name.
William Birkin's wife.
A casually dressed woman in a white lab coat—blonde, blue-eyed, with long hair tied in a ponytail draped over her shoulder. A Caucasian biological female.
Annette Birkin.
Noticing Vera's gaze, the distracted woman forced herself to smile politely. "Dr. Vera."
"And this doctor is?"
Vera stopped walking, accepting a glass of ice water from a conference room attendant while asking the obvious.
"Dr. William's partner, Dr. Annette, one of our excellent researchers and co-developer of Dr. William's leading projects," an Umbrella executive explained.
"Oh? Ms. Annette, may I call you that?" Vera approached, speaking thoughtfully. "Your husb—"
Before she could finish, "Adelheid!"
BANG! The voice arrived before the person, as the conference room door was forcefully thrown open.
"Stay away from my family, Vera!"
William Birkin.
A thin, middle-aged man with a grim expression. His skin was pale from long periods without sunlight, his features gaunt, with flowing but somewhat sparse center-parted blonde hair.
William Birkin—a genius researcher who had made his mark at Umbrella ten years ago, now the absolute authority in the company's viral research.
"You won't succeed. You can't bring me down."
Shielding his wife behind him, William Birkin, clearly under significant work stress recently, spoke with obvious signs of mental strain:
"I'm the chief. I'll prove that I'm stronger than you, you money-grubbing woman. Once the G-Project succeeds, all your technically worthless toys will be swept off the table!"
Vera shook her head gently. "How pitiful... trapped by your own obsessions."
"Shut up, I don't need your pity. Short-sighted, focused on petty gains, you're not cut out for scientific research!"
William Birkin's gaunt face gradually twisted with malice. "Projects to 'extend human lifespan and enhance human physique'—what do you understand?"
Vera's polished appearance—more like a listed company's CEO or PR spokesperson than a researcher—disgusted William.
Especially since Vera had dismissed many of his research projects as worthless and had consistently pushed back against the company’s heavy investment in viral research—arguing they were getting ahead of themselves.
"We're just not on the same wavelength."
How to put it...
Since joining Umbrella and her "Divine Gift" awakening, revealing her talents in bionics and other fields, Vera and William Birkin's relationship had never been good—they were naturally incompatible.
Partly due to competition for limited funding, partly because Vera was annoyed by having such a neurotic chief giving orders above her. This wasn't Arasaka, where superiors held absolute authority and could determine your life and death with a word.
Small conflicts accumulated over time into this situation.
"Chief Director? You can keep that title." Vera casually pulled out the chair across from William, sat down, and placed her hands crossed on the table. "By next summer at the latest, my comprehensive research base at the California branch will be fully operational."
"You—"
"Of course, you still have some use."
Vera rudely interrupted William Birkin. "After I establish the new Black Umbrella Corporation, you'll still nominally be chief Director of White Umbrella's biological research division."
Umbrella Corporation mainly consisted of three divisions:
Red Umbrella Company—the paramilitary division, also responsible for computer-related R&D and management; Blue Umbrella Company—the B.O.W. development division, primarily handling B.O.W.-related pharmaceuticals and reagents; White Umbrella Company—the research division, including biological research and bioweapons development.
This meant Vera's strength and achievements had gained considerable support from the board and company factions. Her operations would be spun off from White Umbrella to become the new Black Umbrella Corporation.
"Exactly as you're thinking."
Facing William Birkin's increasingly ugly expression, Vera lightly tapped the table. "From now on, Umbrella will stand as Red, Blue, White, and Black."
Playtime's over. I'm leaving you behind.
His face constantly shifting like storm clouds, William Birkin barely restrained himself from exploding, snorted coldly, and stormed out.
"Wait," Vera called out.
"If you wanted to show off, you succeeded..." William Birkin turned his head, his voice almost emerging from his throat.
"No, I don't do such tasteless things. The higher-ups have already approved building a new pharmaceutical factory on the West Coast to expand into Asian-Pacific markets. I'll be managing it on the side. Your Racoon City division needs to provide some personnel and technical data from biological research... I don't need your projects, this should be your strong suit. No problem, right?"
"No... prob... lem."
What could William Birkin say?
He was just a high-level employee. If the higher-ups approved it, could he forcibly object?
Vera's compliment was reminding him not to cause trouble. The new factory was operating under his name—if problems arose, his reputation would take the hit. He'd be responsible; Vera was just managing it on the side.
Could barely be called a pleasant meeting for all parties.
Casually picking up a copy of the Raccoon City Daily, surrounded by her bodyguards, Vera left the Umbrella Raccoon City headquarters, got in the car, and started toward Raccoon City Airport.
In the back seat of the official car, Vera sat on the soft cushion flipping through today's Raccoon City news:
Washington Time, February 12, 1997
Still-active recruitment information for the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.), open to all citizens.
The Raccoon City Police Department has decided to officially relocate to an empty art museum in the city center by this summer.
Comprehensive cooperation plan between Raccoon City government and Umbrella Corporation.
...
"Storm clouds are gathering."
Vera smiled softly and closed the Raccoon City Daily.
One more year. But none of it concerned her.
Time to find new sponsors, and she absolutely couldn't get too involved with the B.O.W. business mess. This was one reason she'd repeatedly opposed excessive investment in 'virology' within the company.
Hmm, relationships with Washington required more effort too.
Closing her eyes, Vera reclined.
'This batch of technology should be enough to keep you going for a while.'
...
A person's first time is always awkward and unfamiliar. After multiple times, it becomes quite smooth.
Inside the Arasaka official car, Vera didn't experience that soul-returning-to-body shudder—just natural flow, as if she'd merely glanced somewhere and shifted her consciousness. Her vision naturally cleared, and then all strange phenomena disappeared.
As if nothing had happened.
'The data from Umbrella's Raccoon City research division is sufficient.'
Vera stretched her neck.
This was how she'd managed to secure a position as an Arasaka biotechnology researcher on the side.
Umbrella's biotechnology and medical products did have some real substance.
For instance, zombies were one product of T-virus research, while the remarkably effective Umbrella emergency spray, claimed to be 50 years ahead of its time, was also a T-virus research product.
She didn't need anything particularly high-tech. In the cyberpunk world where the old Net had crashed once, causing massive technological loss and regression, many corporations, including Arasaka, lacked exactly these kinds of mid-to-low-end innovations.
Companies basically all had old Net recovery departments internally, aimed at salvaging, completing, and retrieving once-lost, interrupted tech trees and supply chains.
Unfortunately, her "Divine Gift" was more like communicating with herself across myriad worlds—like her own chat group or tarot society, allowing countless parallel versions of herself to share thoughts and consciousness. Two selves and one self felt no different. Hmm, somewhat similar to how a cultivator achieves self-unity, where all things are fundamentally the self.
Except Vera's was a super monkey version of a monkey version.
Currently only connected to one.
And it hadn't shown any supernatural aspects. The mutual exchange could only share thoughts and knowledge—as for exchanging physical objects, at least not yet.
Vera wasn't in a hurry. Haste makes waste.
She had a vague, fuzzy premonition—very distant but definitely there, a strong calling from her soul—that she should be able to achieve unity and affect physical reality...
'Is it because of transmigration, where my soul was split into N parts by spacetime scarring, or was it assimilated by quantum and spacetime properties?' Vera didn't dwell on it. Focus on the present—since there's a problem, slowly overcome it.
Whether luck or something else.
When heaven offers and you don't take it, you'll suffer the consequences.
Nothing to nitpick or worry about gaining and losing. Focus on the present, maximize its potential, develop your talents to the fullest—that's showing it respect.
This was her "Divine Gift."
Beep beep...
The arrival broadcast sounded as they reached the company plaza. The Arasaka bodyguard announced, "Ms. Vera, we've arrived at Arasaka Tower."
"Mm."
