It had to be said—Dr.
Birkin had a truly foul temper.
The moment Eddie arrived, he’d been hit with a show of dominance, a proper “welcome slap” meant to put him in his place.
Yet the notes William left behind displayed an extremely high level of virology expertise, and for Eddie, they were deeply enlightening.
“This William is really smart… no wonder he’s Umbrella’s number-one researcher.
Incredible, incredible—this kind of algorithm, I’m actually seeing it for the first time!” Eddie muttered to himself as he read.
The entire scene was clearly visible to William inside the lab.
“How do you plan to deal with this Eddie?” Annette asked.
“No need to deal with him.
Let him stay,” William replied without even turning his head.
“You go probe him again—give him a little benefit.
Numb Spencer.
My G-serum is at the final critical stage.
I don’t have time to handle him.” As for defecting to the military, he chose not to tell his wife.
Annette sighed.
Ever since that Alexia from the Antarctic research station had appeared, her husband had become unbelievably irritable.
Even though Alexia was already dead, he still couldn’t let it go.
Back then, Alexia’s scholarship truly had surpassed his—her intelligence was beyond question.
No matter what, Annette would protect her family—and her daughter, their adorable little girl, Sherry Birkin!
Lupo remained at Eddie’s side, still as stone, apparently deep in thought.
In truth she was restoring her stamina.
She never would’ve guessed that Eddie—who looked so mild and scholarly—could have such strong “combat stamina.” For her, that was good news.
No one knew how much time passed.
Eddie kept reading William’s experimental notes, and he quickly reached the last page.
This helped him immensely.
With this knowledge, he now knew how to produce a compatible T-serum.
If he could get a serum sample from Sergei… that would be best of all.
Most people had extremely strong resistance to the T-serum.
The result was incompatibility: the skin began to rot, metabolism accelerated, they couldn’t eat anything—and in the end they’d simply starve to death!
Tap-tap-tap—crisp high heels clicked against the floor.
The lab room door opened, and Annette with her blond ponytail appeared again.
This time, she carried a cup of coffee and set it on the table.
“Tired of reading?
Have some coffee and take a break.”
Eddie nodded, still staring at the pages.
Only after finishing did he return the notes.
“Very good.
A lot of unique insights.
It opened up a whole new world for me.”
Annette looked proud—this was the kind of pride that came from being honored by association.
“Of course.
Plenty of researchers want my husband’s notes and can’t get them.
You’re lucky. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
And don’t worry—this coffee isn’t ‘enhanced.’ You can drink it safely.”
“I wasn’t doubting you,” Eddie said, laughing.
“This is your turf—whatever happens depends entirely on what you want.
Haha, I’m joking.” A half-true, half-false joke helped ease the awkwardness.
“Did you come over because something’s up, Doctor?”
“Not really,” Annette said bluntly.
“I’m just wondering what Spencer’s goal is, sending you here.”
“Just to let me learn,” Eddie replied, sounding half-understanding, half-naïve.
“The company still has lots of projects to develop.
The more experience I gain, the more likely I’ll be able to develop a project on my own in the future.
That’s all.
What are you imagining?
Sure, the branches compete, but do we really need to be this guarded?”
Annette frowned.
She didn’t know whether he was telling the truth.
“As long as you don’t have any bad intentions, I can guarantee you’ll get what you want.”
“Relax.
I have zero interest in corporate infighting,” Eddie said.
“What Spencer wants by sending me here, I don’t know either.
He doesn’t really trust me.
Right now I’m interested in the T-serum.
If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going—I still have things to do.”
He stood, picked up the coffee, and took a sip.
“Alright—wait.” Annette took out a disk.
“Take this back with you.
It’s older experimental data.
It’ll help you a lot.
I told you—if you don’t have ulterior motives, I’ll give you what you want.”
“As long as it’s anything except the G-serum?” Eddie suddenly smiled—a sly, foxlike grin.
Annette’s brow tightened.
The man seemed to be up to something, yet it was also reasonable.
“Yes.
Anything.
But you can’t tell anyone else.”
“No problem.” Eddie nodded.
“I only need the things I’m interested in.
The G-serum, to be honest, doesn’t interest me.
Sooner or later I’ll invent a serum that’s even stronger.” With that, he left the lab with Lupo.
She could sense subtext in his words—something cold, something that sent a chill down her spine.
Killing him was impossible.
If Eddie got into trouble, Spencer would absolutely become alert, and might even respond with force.
That would bring danger to their whole family.
They absolutely could not do that.
Back inside, after hearing Annette’s report, William suddenly burst into laughter.
“Looks like he’s got a bit of a grudge against Spencer too.
Give him whatever he wants, since he’s not interested in my G-serum.
Hmph—who knows if he’s telling the truth.
Saying he wants to surpass me?
Dream on.
I’m the smartest, greatest biologist there is!
Umbrella’s strongest!”
“You’re not suspicious of him?” Annette voiced her doubts.
William shook his head.
“Impossible.
Spencer won’t trust him.
Don’t forget—he’s Marcus’s distant relative, and Marcus’s death has a lot to do with me and Wesker.
Anyway, we just need to keep him steady for now—use every method we can.
Don’t let him die.
Spencer will get suspicious.”
“I understand,” Annette said.
“Do you still need my help with the G-serum?”
“No.” William shook his head, rejecting her offer.
“You just help me develop the vaccine.
We’re almost there.” Getting the vaccine done first—that was the lifesaving antidote.
When they returned to the surface, Eddie finally let out a breath.
Lupo asked with confusion, “Are you okay?”
Eddie shook his head.
“No—it’s just… the underground is too oppressive.
The air up here is better.”
“What’s that?” Lupo laughed lightly.
“Back when we trained, we were constantly in sewers.
The stench down there was insane—that was real suffering.” Training days were the most worth remembering.
“You’ll have plenty of chances to shine,” Eddie said, giving an order.
“When you get back, familiarize yourself with the map of Raccoon City.
We’ll need it later.” Having a mobile unit with solid combat power meant he could do a lot of things.
When the bioweapon crisis erupted in Raccoon City—that would be his moment to reap benefits.
Fortune is found in risk.
And there was also that mysterious Ada Wong—that riddle of a woman.
She really made people curious!
It’s not really mandatory—I’ll eventually upload all the chapters here—but it helps a lot in supporting me and allows me to dedicate more time to it.