"Wonder if this guy can get his hands on the Veronica Virus," muttered Daniel Davis under his breath as he watched Krauser's departing figure.
From Krauser, Davis had learned that Manuela had been rescued by Leon and him and was now in the hands of the US military. Krauser, being just a special forces soldier, didn't know the exact location. He knew about Daniel thanks to Leon; otherwise, he wouldn't have found a place to treat his arm. Krauser wanted Manuela's blood, but he couldn't get it on his own. He planned to ask Leon for help. Given Leon's friendly nature, he would likely get some of Manuela's blood.
For an average agent, getting the military to release such a valuable asset would be impossible. Even if Krauser died, they wouldn't hand over the blood. It's similar to how SHIELD wouldn't hand over Captain America's blood to save an ordinary agent. But Leon wasn't an ordinary agent; he was directly under the President and a member of the Kennedy family. Leon probably didn't know about his family's secret organization, which was known only to a few family heads.
Daniel could heal Krauser's arm now, but then he wouldn't have an excuse to make Krauser seek out Manuela's blood. As a high-priority military asset, Manuela was hard to access. Daniel couldn't just wander around looking for her; sending Krauser was much more convenient.
Even with his AI, Red Queen, Daniel couldn't just hack into every network in this world. Despite what movies show about hackers breaking into US government networks or the FBI, real critical networks are incredibly secure. No hacker, no matter how skilled, can rob a bank by hacking it.
Even if hacking were possible, the risk of detection was high, and Daniel didn't want to take that chance.
"Leon sure has a lot of luck with women. Too bad he won't get to be Ada's tool this time," thought Daniel. Leon had never met Ada due to Daniel's intervention. But besides Ada, Leon had no shortage of encounters.
Manuela was a beautiful woman, and both Leon and Krauser developed feelings for her. Naturally, Krauser lost to Leon in the end.
Leon had far better luck with women than Chris. Chris always had Jill by his side, while Leon frequently changed partners. Perhaps because he never met Ada, Leon became quite a playboy. This was also why there was no spark between Leon and Claire, even though they had been through a lot together. Claire remained just a friend, possibly because Chris's presence deterred Leon.
Despite Daniel eliminating the root cause, the Sun Ladder, and significantly reducing the virus's presence, biohazard incidents continued. TriCell Corporation continued to meddle in viral research. Recently, there was a near-repeat of the Raccoon City tragedy in Hardwell, a small city similar in size to Raccoon City. The famous Will Pharma was based there, focusing on T-virus vaccine research. They had achieved significant breakthroughs, creating vaccines with the backing of a senator.
The company could have risen to great heights, but a sudden biohazard outbreak destroyed Will Pharma. Strictly speaking, it was the fault of their chief researcher, a former Umbrella employee who had served under William Birkin. During the Raccoon City outbreak, he had stolen T-virus, G-virus, and related research data, escaping with them.
Had Umbrella still been operational, they would have hunted him down. But with Umbrella's collapse, he erased his identity online, fabricated a new one, and joined Will Pharma. With the stolen viruses and research data, he quickly became their chief researcher. Although they weren't the only ones to develop a T-virus vaccine, they still stood to gain immense profits. But greed got the better of him. He planned to use Will Pharma's labs to create vaccines, then sell the viruses and vaccines on the black market.
The profits from selling viruses and vaccines to underground organizations or terrorists were far greater than being a company's chief researcher.
His plan was excellent, and he kept a low profile. He might have succeeded if not for interference from an unexpected source. A survivor from Raccoon City, seeking revenge for his wife and children, launched a bio-terrorist attack. Despite a previous confidentiality agreement, some people wanted the truth about Raccoon City exposed.
But the government wouldn't allow such a disclosure. In his despair, the survivor planned a public bio-terrorist attack, injecting himself with the G-virus.
His intentions were good, but the outcome was far from ideal. With the formation of anti-biohazard organizations, his biohazard incident was quickly contained, failing to achieve its intended effect. The media only briefly mentioned it as a terrorist attack. Even the military capitalized on the situation to gain political support.
The government could acknowledge bio-terrorism but not admit that Raccoon City's disaster was a biohazard incident. They had previously claimed it was a nuclear leak. Changing the story would damage the government's credibility. Admitting to the biohazard would imply a nuclear strike, leading to significant political repercussions.
The collapse of Will Pharma ultimately benefited TriCell.
Biohazard incidents had increased rapidly over the past few years. Even without Daniel and Wesker's involvement, Daniel learned a lot about these incidents from Rebecca, Chris, and Jill. Large-scale zombie outbreaks were less common, replaced by more controllable creatures like Tyrants and Lickers.
In the East Slav Republic, there was even a battle between Lickers and Tyrants. This small nation, plagued by conflict and lacking government control, never joined the UN. Countries in similar situations, like in the Middle East, struggled with internal strife and lacked credible governments, making them ineligible for UN membership.
UN membership offers significant benefits, such as aid. In the original storyline, Ada would have gone there for Wesker to find parasites. But with Wesker dead and Daniel not needing her to find viruses or parasites, she didn't go.
Despite the chaos in East Slav, the UN paid little attention. Even when biohazards were discovered there, no one intervened without potential gains.
Chris and others did go there but faced severe restrictions due to political control. Ultimately, it was the intervention of two major powers from the Big Five that restored peace in East Slav. After initially withdrawing, they quickly deployed troops under the guise of combating bio-terrorism as per UN protocols.
But the real reason was the discovery of significant oil reserves underground in East Slav.
This discovery prompted immediate military action. In just three days, the decades-long civil strife in East Slav ended, restoring peace.
Lickers and Tyrants stood no chance against concentrated military strikes, revealing the true nature of the Raccoon City incident.
It's ironic but true; that's the power of a strong nation. No one cared about East Slav's internal conflicts until the oil was found. Once it was, peace became essential for safe extraction.
Though ironic, the end of East Slav's turmoil meant children no longer feared random massacres.
Knowing about East Slav, Daniel once again felt fortunate to have been born in a peaceful and powerful country in his previous life.
"If I heal Krauser, maybe I can recruit him to work for me. I might not need him in New York, but elsewhere, he could be invaluable. Perhaps I should establish a security team or hire a mercenary group like Umbrella did."
Krauser, disillusioned with the US military, could be easily swayed if Daniel healed and enhanced him. With Krauser's strength-focused mindset, recruiting him should be straightforward.
Though powerful, Daniel couldn't be everywhere at once. Ada, while skilled, wasn't his subordinate and unsuitable for some tasks. Krauser, however, was perfect for jobs like collecting Blood Orchids or securing resources in volatile regions.
Running operations in such areas without a strong presence was impossible; otherwise, everything could be destroyed overnight.
"Miss Carter, you?" In New York, in a modest apartment, Agent 13, Sharon, froze at the door, staring at the rejuvenated Peggy Carter.
"Sharon, seems you haven't told me everything," Peggy said, pushing past Sharon and entering the apartment. Only then did Sharon close the door in a flurry.
"Who's here?" Captain America, holding a laundry rack, emerged from another room. Seeing Peggy, he dropped the rack in shock.
"Peggy," said Captain America, his face a mix of emotions.
"Seems you're adjusting well," Peggy replied calmly, taking a seat on the sofa. Despite her composed exterior, Peggy was internally excited but didn't want to show it to Captain America.
"I wanted to see you, but..." Captain America started, then fell silent.
"You guys talk." Agent 13, Sharon, noticing the tension, quickly left the apartment. Outside, she took out her phone and made a call.
"How could you make me wait so long?" Once Sharon left, Peggy dropped her façade and embraced Captain America.
"Sorry." Before Captain America could say more, Peggy kissed him. This kiss, spanning nearly seventy years, lasted a long time. Fortunately, Peggy's recent enhancements allowed her to keep up.
"I wonder what world I'll end up in this time," mused Daniel as he opened the second dimension's barrier. After Krauser called to say he needed time to get the blood, Daniel started his next action. Learning from his previous encounter, he upgraded his Ant-Man suit to match the Wasp's flying capabilities, though it wasn't needed this time.
"This time, luck's on my side; I'm on the ground." Unlike the last time he fell from the sky, Daniel had no use for his upgraded suit's flight capabilities.
Boom, boom, boom.
He heard loud thudding behind him. Turning around, Daniel froze, "No way, is this the world I think it is?"
Behind him was a six or seven-meter-tall giant, naked, with bulging eyes and a grotesque face. Daniel immediately recognized this world: Attack on
Titan.
"Room, Slaughterhouse." As the giant reached for him, Daniel swiftly countered.
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