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Deep underground lay one of Umbrella's branch facilities.
The metal-lined corridors were eerily quiet, and at the far end, the elevator doors were tightly shut.
Thunk!
With a violent crash from inside, the doors were forced open, and Venom stepped out slowly.
He made his way down the corridor until he reached a crossroad. Without a sound, he leapt upward and clung to the ceiling.
Blending seamlessly into his surroundings, he crawled forward, moving like a shadow no one could notice.
Most Umbrella bases shared a similar design, which gave Venom a strange sense of déjà vu.
As he slithered along, he passed groups of mercenaries, none of whom noticed him.
Soon, he reached the White Queen's control room. It was empty. Dropping from the ceiling, he released his camouflage.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."
A flash of white light lit up the room, and a cute, delicate-looking hologram appeared.
"How are things?"
Venom didn't look the least bit surprised at the sudden appearance of the White Queen. His expression stayed calm and collected.
"The base is still operating normally. Dr. Isaacs is continuing his research on zombie controllability," she answered seriously.
"Shut down all smart systems. Switch to offline mode. From here on, I'll be handling everything manually."
His tone was like an order. He clearly had his own plans for the base's systems.
"Understood. Beginning offline mode. Manual control engaged."
She immediately complied.
Why did the White Queen obey him so easily?
Because Venom had already seized control of Umbrella's headquarters from the shadows. Any directive issued under the company's authority was one she had no choice but to follow.
Venom walked over to the main console, summoned a virtual keyboard, and began entering commands, making sure the base would keep running smoothly without the White Queen's supervision.
Then, with a single motion, he detached her motherboard from the console and tucked it casually into his system space.
His goal here was basically complete.
But he wasn't planning to leave just yet. He had one more "gift" he wanted to prepare for Alice.
Activating his camouflage again, Venom slipped out of the control room and headed toward the research labs.
Minutes later, he was crawling across the ceiling when he stopped suddenly, eyes narrowing.
At the next junction stood a girl in red. One glance at her face was enough—she was clearly one of Alice's clones.
But she was in bad shape. Blood was pouring from a bullet wound in her stomach. Judging by the look of her, she didn't have long left.
Venom hesitated briefly, then moved quickly toward her, dropping from the ceiling to stand right in front of her.
"Do you want to live?"
The clone, pale and trembling, stared at the monstrous figure. Fear flashed in her eyes—but her survival instinct won out. She gave the smallest nod.
"As you wish."
Venom's body melted into black liquid, wrapping around her like living tar.
As it coiled over her skin, the wound in her abdomen began to knit closed, the bleeding halting as her body was restored.
His current host was expelled from within, left behind as Venom fully merged with the clone instead.
The black substance swallowed her whole. A moment later, several bloody bullets spat out of the symbiote's form as it reshaped itself around her body.
When the clone opened her eyes again, she found herself clinging to the ceiling upside down. She was dressed head-to-toe in a black suit that seemed to have grown directly out of her skin.
The fabric felt cool, smooth—strangely comfortable, almost tailor-made.
So this is what it feels like… she thought.
Venom's voice rumbled from the suit itself. "Compared to the original Alice, you're still lacking. Just as I expected."
Disappointment edged his tone. Clones, no matter how perfect their appearance, were still just copies.
Sure, this one had Alice's fighting skills, but no supernatural abilities, and her mind wasn't nearly as sharp or mature. Clone to clone, the results varied wildly—and there were no guarantees.
"Who… are you?"
The girl quickly realized it wasn't her mouth speaking—the voice was coming from the suit wrapped around her body.
"You don't need to know who I am. Just remember this—I saved your life. From now on, you'll do as I say."
"…Okay."
The clone nodded, understanding. Whoever this thing was, she owed it everything. There was no way she could refuse.
"Someone! Intruder—!"
Two staff members, who had just come in to clean up the corpses, froze when they saw a black-clad figure hanging upside down from the ceiling. Their cries were cut short as twin strands of webbing pinned them to the wall.
Before they could even scream, another strand shot out, sealing their mouths shut.
They could only watch in horror as the intruder slipped away.
"....."