Chapter 6

Team China was strong.

Zheng firmly believed in this. The team’s strength wasn’t merely their cooperation, nor their believes or anything. They had really become strong and that was the fact.

Perhaps this team China was nothing more than a bunch of bugs in the eyes of the saints who created God’s realm, but as they struggled between the line of life and death, as their enhancements increased, their strength had surpassed the concept of powerful in the real world.

Zero’s sniping skills when working with the Eyes of Death Perception and the power of the Gauss sniper rifle could take on even Zheng with the dragonshard in long range. The magic to the Eyes was their ability to locate fatal points. Despite the fact it only had a duration of half a second, Zero could shatter barriers if he could hit a fatal point in that short time.

Zheng realized the problem when he faced the super defense from team South America and the exoskeleton of the bodyguard bugs in the last movie. He remembered a theory Xuan once said that as swords became sharper, shields would become tougher. That was why he wished to obtain a sword technique. Unfortunately, his wallet wasn’t fat enough to exchange the one he wanted. He would have to wait and see if he was lucky enough to get the AA technique in the future.

Zero’s skills were outstanding. There didn’t seem to be anything in this world that could withstand a shot from the Gauss sniper rifle. Even the OverTechnology armor of the Valkyrie wouldn’t be able to take a hit if Zero were to use the Eyes of Death Perception. The end result would be an explosion if he hit a fatal point.

Of course, his excellence was limited to sniping. He couldn’t take on dozens of armed helicopters. Even if he were to shoot down half the helicopters, the enemies just needed a single shot to hit and he would be dead. Taking on a large number of high tech weapons was the task of Gando. The Valkyrie’s effectiveness was maximized at fighting high tech armed vehicles.

WangXia’s detonation and his future enhancement might become a powerful AOE user that could control bio bombs.

Kampa had fire support and the possible tactical nukes they might get.

Yinkong had assassination and close combat.

Heng had his arrow techniques for long range.

ChengXiao had his medical skills and Gu.

Lan had psyche force abilities and mind control.

Team China was strong. Even though they might still be lacking in some ways compared to team Devil and team Celestial, this gap would close in as they grew. They would surpass these two teams at the end!

“That was what I had been thinking about.” Zheng muttered in his mind. “I approximately get the reasons Xuan wanted to come to this world for the prototype T virus in such a hurry. I at least get the gist of it after simulating HongLu. One of the reasons is to improve individual member’s strength. I think you know that the prototype T virus unlocks the first stage of the unlocked mode. Kampa and WangXia still haven’t unlocked the genetic restraint yet. Though this isn’t actually a pressing matter. Zheng’s true intention is rather nefarious.”

Zheng smiled bitterly. “Killing an unlocked member in team battles has a big difference compared to killing a normal member. The difference is almost heaven and earth. He made two mistakes in the last movie during the end. One, he didn’t consider team South America would communicate through Soul Link and hid the fact they had the revival crosses. As a result, everyone in our team lost 4000 points. Two, we didn’t get their storage item and that meant we indirectly lost a lot of points and rewards. That was why he said points and rewards aren’t too useful. I was actually quite happy when I heard it. It means he had begun to understand human nature. He isn’t thinking like a complete machine anymore. So he wished to make up for the team’s lost and the best method he came up with was to make every person we kill in future team battles unlocked members.”

Lan was shocked and replied. “How is that possible? Not even team Devil had a full team of unlocked members when we fought them. Are you saying?”

Zheng confirmed her. “Correct. That’s what I meant. He saw that the next movie is a team battle so he wanted to obtain the prototype T virus first. That would increase our team member’s survivability but the real intention is to inject enemy team members with the virus. So that every person we kill will be an unlocked member. The amount of points and rewards we can get will be unimaginable.”

Lan shivered. Xuan’s mind was frightening when they came to understand it. Every action he took had an underlying reason deep down. He even included people he hadn’t seen in his calculations and furthermore, his calculations were nefarious.

“Ok. Don’t over think it. No matter what his plans are, I believe that he has become a real member of the team after so much we have been through. Team China wouldn’t be the same without him. If I am the heart of the team, he’s the brain, and everyone else are the bones and flesh. As long as we stay united, and only if we stay united, will we be able to defeat team Devil. Because we possess what they don’t have.”

Zheng walked along with a crowd to a building in the center of the city. This was the headquarter of the Umbrella Corporation, a silver and tall building. The silver glass formed the shape of the umbrella logo. It was announcing that this was their headquarter.

Zheng casually walked into the building. Lan’s psyche scan showed him the distribution of the security guards and cameras in the building and also the special locations inside.

“No biological weapons like zombies and lickers. The securities in the first thirty floors are normal. But the number of security guards increased above that. There are no elevators to floor between thirty-nine and forty. That in between floor is a bullet proof glass corridor. There are heavy firearms at both ends of the hall. Forty and above are various weapon laboratories. There are also human size robots.”

Zheng headed toward the elevator as he looked over the map in his mind and listened to Lan. “Send these images to Xuan and connect our minds.”

Lan complied. Ten seconds later, Zheng entered the elevator and pressed 29.

Xuan’s voice also came through. “I have seen the scan. What are you thinking?”

Zheng replied. “You can see that the building is heavily guarded at floor thirty and beyond. The security cameras are going to capture me if I go in without an identity. I might even get into conflict with the guards. Can I intercept the passwords you wanted in the lower floors?”

Xuan thought for a moment then said. “Probably not. You have to know that I need the passwords to their internal network. I used the device to capture a section of their firewall when I invaded them. You can start below floor thirty. If the interception is successful, the lights will turn green. If it fails, they will turn yellow. If you are discovered, they will turn red. I suggest you try a floor below thirty, then between thirty and thirty-nine, and if that fails, go above floor forty.”

Zheng said. “Floor forty? Please. You see the scan? Do you think I can get through that transparent corridor without triggering the guards? I can if I force my way through.”

“There’s a way.” Xuan replied with certainty.

“I have confirmed it. It doesn’t work.” Zheng stood by the window and looked down. The twenty-nine stories height made him feel a little dizzy. Fortunately, he didn’t have acrophobia and didn’t just faint.

Xuan’s plan was as simple and efficient as always, cross the corridor and get to floor forty-one and above from outside. The outside of the building was bullet proof glass. That might present a problem for normal people but Zheng could easily break through it.

The problem though wasn’t the glass. It was how to get up several floors? Flying?

“Don’t bother with the Sky Stick. It causes too much noise which would expose you easily. I need you to secretly sneak in then obtain the internal password of the Corporation. Otherwise, you would be better off killing yourself up the floors.” Xuan sneered.

Zheng shook his head. He knew what Xuan wanted him to do, use Geppo with instant Destruction to get up. People on the ground wouldn’t notice a person up thirty stories high. However, the problem was the glass panes were placed next to each other. Where would he land afterward? How would he get back into the building?

“That isn’t my problem. I still have some things to do. Intercept the passwords and return before the evening. Over.” The apathetic voice finally disappeared from Zheng’s mind.

Zheng couldn’t help but look out the window again. He received a rather weird task. Not that it was dangerous but crossing the floors from outside felt weird to him.

“Anyway, let’s see if I can get the passwords from the lower floors.” He murmured. This was a task for the team after all. He had no choice but to accept it.

The psyche scan provided him with the locations of all the security cameras. There were several offices without cameras. Perhaps these offices weren’t important. Zheng randomly chose an empty office and went in. he installed the intercepting device on the network then lay on the sofa. Afterward, he waited for the device to work.

Unfortunately, the lights all turned yellow after ten minutes. Zheng knew it failed. His only choice left was to go up to floor thirty and above. Of course, the most straightforward way was to head out through the window in this room with Geppo.

“The question is what identity should I use?” He murmured to himself.

The results from the psyche scan showed that there were identity verifications in floors above thirty. He would be found out if he failed a verification and end his task right there.

“Lan, does your mind control work on the normal people in this building?” Zheng worked out to the hallway and said to Lan through his mind.

Lan paused for a while before she replied. “Some. There are also some people with a strong will. The normal office workers are okay. Do you want me to use it? I don’t have much experience with this skill so I can only control them for about an hour.”

Zheng nodded in content. “That’s good enough. If things go smoothly, I can obtain the passwords in thirty minutes. Now here’s a critical question, can you probe the memories of those you control? I won’t know what reason I can use to get to floor thirty without their memory.”

Another long pause for Lan. Then she suddenly said. “There’s a man holding a cup of coffee to your left. I have controlled him. I can probe his memory. However, I can’t see memory within the deeper part of his consciousness and those that he had forgotten. This is a regular office worker. He can’t go up to floor thirty but his memory show that his supervisor can. It seems like he can go up to get signatures from people higher up.”

Zheng let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Then let’s find his supervisor. If you can’t control him then try another supervisor. We need to obtain the passwords in thirty minutes if possible.”

Lan complied and searched with psyche scan. Ten seconds later, she found that supervisor, a man in his thirties. This man looked strong but his will was unexpectedly weak. He stood there without moving by the time Zheng came over.

“This is the supervisor. He has to bring several documents up for signatures from the superintendent. There are forty minutes until the next time but the documents are ready. Zheng, you can also go up with the documents. His memory shows that the verification isn’t too strict.” Lan said.

Zheng nodded. He had already dressed in a suit since he had to sneak into the inner part of this building. He also worked as a supervisor in the real world, so he was familiar with the attitude and language used. He took over the documents from the middle age man, then patted his own face. His cautious and sharp eyes softened a lot. He still felt something was missing then took the glasses off the man. He finally walked toward the stairs pleased.

“You do look like a regular office worker but don’t you feel that your movements give off a sense of murderous feeling? You subconsciously positioned your arms ready to attack even when you interact with normal people. Your foot is too forward. It’s like you are going to dodge at any second. And your eyes.” Seeing that Zheng was adjusting himself, Lan added through her mind.

Zheng smiled bitterly. The observer had a clearer perspective on things. He thought he wasn’t much different from a normal person but people looking at him would notice that his movements weren’t ones a normal person would have. He was always cautious even when he was walking or talking. That was understandable. He wouldn’t be a veteran player without such qualities, not to mention becoming the leader of team China.

“Changes always happen unconsciously. We are not normal people anymore. It isn’t only me but Lan, you too, and everyone else too.” As he said this, he found himself a little lost.

While he thought to himself, the elevator continued upward. Ding. The door slowly opened.

The security in floor thirty wasn’t as heavy as he imagined. He saw a few office workers walking on the hallway. The security guards were only stationed on some hallways. When Zheng walked pass them, their eyes followed him. He didn’t pay much attention to them and walked openly in front of them. Then the security guards turned their attention elsewhere after he passed.

“Lan, found any place without people? And where the cameras don’t see you.” He seemed to be walking leisurely but he was getting anxious.

Lan felt the same way too. She scanned back and forth several times before replying. “No. Places without security cameras either have a lot of people or some executive offices. There are also people in those offices. Let me find an executive with a weaker willpower and control him. Then you can take the chance to intercept the passwords.”

Zheng replied in agreement. “Okay. Choose the location. Best if it’s near where I am. I felt that someone has already noticed me. However, your scan shows no one near me. Just try to hurry up.”

At the same time in a higher floor of the building. Several men in suits was watching Zheng through the monitors. One person nodded. “That’s him. Can’t be wrong. The G virus carrier from the city, a previous employee of the company, Zheng Zha. Note a merit for the retired mercenary that found him hiding his skills. The bonus will be given out along other bonuses.”

Once Zheng entered an office without cameras with Lan’s assistance, he was finally able to take off the glasses.

“That was a torture wearing these with perfect vision. Completely asking for troubles myself.” He rubbed his eyes.

Lan giggled. A pretty woman in the room stood up. There was a computer at where she was sitting. The office was spacious and neat. It seemed like she was in mid management.

Zheng sat on the chair, still rubbing his eyes. Then he installed the intercepting device and exhaled. His attention shifted toward the door of the office.

Lan laughed. “Don’t be so stressed. I am monitoring the outside with psyche scan. Aren’t the images also sent to you? You don’t have to stare like that.”

Zheng smiled bitterly. “I can’t help it. Not that I want to stay so attentive but this has become a habit. I won’t feel comfortable if I don’t do this and will have the sense that we are missing something, something fatal.”

Time and time again the team fought battles on the line of life and death. Perhaps they couldn’t notice it at the time but once they calmed down or try to assimilate into normal people’s lives, they would feel unaccustomed. Because they had gradually gotten used to battles and dangers.

As Zheng became slightly spaced out, the lights on the device started turning green. However, some yellow lights also came on. At the end, half of them were green and half were yellow.

“Does that mean it intercepted half the passwords?” Zheng smiled bitterly. He had Lan report the result to Xuan.

Xuan’s reply was pretty straightforward. “Then head to floor forty and above.”

Zheng complained to himself but he still walked over to the window and looked out. Pedestrians were merely tiny dots at this height. You wouldn’t simply die but smashed into a puddle if you were to fall.

Zheng felt the lack of an alternative. A task was a task. He said to Lan. “Scan floor forty-one and send me the images. Also look for an office by the window. See if you can control the people inside. I will enter from there.”

As Lan began the scan, Zheng opened the window and stood on the window sill. The wind blowing at him was strong. Once Lan controlled a person and sent the location to him, he stepped out.

Zheng used instant Destruction. The two additional mithril rings Xuan made allowed him to use this technique in non-emergency situations like this. The only thing he had to worry about was whether his body could handle the strain.

Zheng jumped up six meters with Geppo. The whole wall of this building was made of glasses. So he had to stay cautious to not get seen by the people inside. He moved by the lines where the glass panes met. Several more jumps later, he finally arrived at the forty first floor height. Then after a few more Geppo, he carefully opened a window and headed in. This was luxuriously decorated room. An old man in his mid-fifties stood by the desk.

Zheng took several deep breaths after he got a firm grip on the floor. He looked over to the old man. This seemed like a person in technical role judging by his attire. However, he looked rather tired. Maybe that was why Lan was able to control him.

Zheng installed the intercepting device to the network cable without a word. After he was done, he said to Lan with a smile. “Thank god we have you here. I wouldn’t be able to complete this task without your help unless I killed my way through. Getting here unnoticed was unimaginable. Are the floors above forty all research facilities for weapons? Since the securities are so strict.”

Lan replied lightly. “Not all of them are. Some facilities research special materials and robots. However, the higher you go, the stricter the securities are and the more advanced their researches are. Do you want me to scan up there?”

Zheng thought for a bit. “Just a brief scan. The thing to look for is if they have a facility for bio weapons.”

Bio weapons and especially mutations were the core researches of the Umbrella Corporation. Of course, such researches wouldn’t be displayed to the public so easily and so they basically wouldn’t have the facility in a public building like this one. Unlike the underground facility in the first Resident Evil, if something went wrong with a research in this building, they couldn’t nuke their own headquarter.

About a minute later, Lan replied with hesitation. “I found Carlos on floor fifty-seven.”

Zheng was surprised and asked. “Who’s Carlos?”

“Carlos, that mercenary leader from the Umbrella Corporation in the second movie. He was one of the people who sneaked into the Corporation and saved Alice at the end of the second movie. Don’t you remember?”

Zheng stood up abruptly. He pondered for a moment and sat back down. “Can you probe his mind? I suspect he’s a spy. He approached Alice with intention. Otherwise, why would he be here? Especially on floor fifty-seven? How was he able to bypass the security on floor forty?”

Lan paused for a moment. “I can’t probe. His willpower is strong, almost on par with Zero’s. Are we going to contact him? He seems to be downloading information about the higher ups of the Corporation from the computer.”

Zheng exhaled. “Connect me to Xuan and take notice of the information he’s downloading.” He entered the third stage of the unlocked mode.

Xuan’s voice came through in ten seconds and said. “I got the details. There’s a thirty to forty percent chance he’s a spy. It’s lower than fifty percent but if it turns out to be true, we have a seventy percent chance of getting caught into a difficult battle or maybe even wipe for the mission. So I don’t agree to get in contact with him.”

Zheng twirled his hair. “I get what you mean. Contacting him so abruptly might get us involved in more problems. However, do you still remember the second movie? Alice left the bio weapon research facility with their help. I think a facility that researches bio weapons on the ground floor is much more heavily guarded than one that’s underground, like the Hive. That may be the real headquarter of the Corporation. Furthermore, we don’t actually need their help. We just need to get the location of this facility from them.”

Xuan replied with a hint of sneering at him. “That’s merely your speculation. Putting too much consideration on human nature only complicates the situation. My advice is not to contact them. Of course, you are the leader. If you think a situation full of uncertainties gives you strength, there’s nothing I can say.”

Zheng smiled bitterly. He had been worrying about having two strategists in the team. Starship Troopers and the movies prior showed the unreplaceable role of a strategist in the team. Team China was lucky to have Xuan and HongLu. Yet their methods of thinking contrasted sharply. They were coming to a conflict even when he was just simulating HongLu, not to mention what would happen after he was revived.

Xuan said calmly. “I won’t consider fighting a difficult battle when there’s a simple solution. You are strong but not omnipotent.” His voice disappeared from Zheng’s mind.

Zheng sighed and pondered for some time. He almost picked off all the hair by his forehead. He bit his teeth and said to Lan. “Connect me to Carlos.”

Just then, the lights on the intercepting device which he had completely forgotten about turned green.