75: Power and genetic self-locking
Jarvis' system had already notified Jill and the others early on.
When Lyon and Tony flew to Raccoon City, the familiar faces from before had already gathered outside the city.
The Raccoon City of today was vastly different from when Lyon had left.
The entire city was surrounded by layers of steel walls, wrapped in electrical wires and iron spikes.
Thick coal smoke hovered in the air above the city, its scent harsh and pungent.
As soon as Lyon landed, Sherry rushed out from the crowd.
"Big Brother Lyon!" The young girl, with tears streaming down her face, leaped into Lyon's arms and hugged him tightly. "I was so worried you wouldn't come back, but Sister Ada said you wouldn't abandon us. You... you finally came back!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Lyon patted Sherry's head gently. "I've been gone too long. I promise, next time I leave, I'll take you with me."
"Really!?"
On the other side, Jill, Ada Wong, and a few others also approached.
"Just got back and already talking about leaving?" Ada teased. "Boss, how about this time, before you leave, you take care of that world consciousness you mentioned?"
Ada Wong, dressed in a trench coat with a band-aid on her face, still looked as hot, sharp and composed as ever, despite her slightly battered appearance.
"Lyon, welcome back. I never imagined that the world consciousness would cause such chaos—it's really hard to explain," Jill said with a complex expression.
She was wearing her combat uniform, and the aura around her was different from before, now carrying a sharper and more decisive edge.
The experiences over this time had turned her into a qualified leader.
"Do you also think our world is beyond saving? Isn't there any way..." Jill bit her lip, wanting to ask for help but not knowing how to put it into words.
"Sigh... let's not talk about that now. Mr. Lyon, I never thought we'd meet again under such circumstances. But seeing that you're still full of energy is really uplifting," Chief Bard greeted with a smile.
Jarvis had already shared all the truths with them.
Everyone present felt that the future was bleak and hopeless.
However, it didn't change their gratitude towards the man who stood before them, radiating like the sun.
Lyon's gaze swept over the familiar faces in front of him.
Marvin, Bard, Elliot... not a single familiar face was missing.
It was clear that over the past month, the world consciousness had been silently lending its help.
Otherwise, how could these characters, who were mere cannon fodder in the original story, possibly survive a more severe global crisis?
"Saving a world is no big deal," Lyon said as he opened his arms to embrace everyone. "Stop looking so worried. I promise, the children will still have quiet desks to study at, and the world will still have bright, sunny days."
"The virus I created, do you think I can't solve it?"
Of course, Lyon was going to save the world.
Not just because of the people standing before him, but also because the world consciousness had just returned for a brief moment, offering him a deal he couldn't refuse.
Heh~ It was.
—Half of the world's control, along with a gene self-locking ability.
The first offer, the control of the world, was something Lyon hadn't encountered before; it sounded lofty and grand.
The second, the gene self-locking ability, was a power tailor-made for him by the world consciousness, allowing him to control the stability of his own genes.
With this ability, Lyon's research into Kryptonian blood would become far more manageable.
Furthermore, in the future, Lyon would be able to actively lock his genes, preventing any potential leakage. Specifically, once his blood or hair left his body, all the genetic information he didn't want to be leaked would automatically be lost.
For Lyon, this ability was just as important as any power increase.
To be honest, Lyon wasn't exactly thrilled to clean up after such a radical world consciousness. But there was no choice—the rewards it offered were too tempting.
More importantly, these rewards would only be granted if Lyon successfully saved the world and advanced biological evolution.
Otherwise, even if the world consciousness wanted to give him the rewards, it couldn't.
The rewards it offered weren't based on what Lyon wanted but on what the world consciousness had to offer after the tasks were done.
"What do you mean?" In the eyes of everyone present, a glimmer of hope appeared.
"We can discuss this inside. Oh, and by the way, let me introduce my brother, Tony Stark. He's just tagging along for a look around this time," Lyon said, pointing to the metal-clad figure beside him.
Only then did everyone realize that inside the gold and red armor was an actual person, not just another JARVIS.
"So, you're Mr. Lyon's brother! A pleasure to finally meet you!"
"Your brother is truly amazing, so you must also be an exceptional person," a group of people immediately surrounded Tony, praising Lyon.
'I should be exceptional 'coz I'm this rascal's brother...'
Tony's face twitched in exasperation. He couldn't stand hearing this kind of flattery!
Moreover, they got one thing wrong!
They should have been saying, "Oh, so Lyon is your brother! No wonder he's so outstanding!"
Tony made up his mind: he needed to show these alternate world natives a demonstration of true genius.
...
The Raccoon City Police Department had now become the headquarters of the Republic of Colorado.
As the leader, Jill now handled daily matters here or set out from this base to eliminate zombies.
Inside the police station's conference room, Bard, now the director of the National Virus Research Center, and Marvin, the head of the National Security Bureau, sat quietly.
Standing at the head of the table, Lyon couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
To him, it had only been a few hours since he had last seen them.
The once ordinary police officers and small-time directors had now risen to become national figures.
Although this newly formed country had a population of only a few hundred thousand, most of whom were huddled in the small town of Raccoon City, it still felt somewhat surreal.
"The biggest challenge right now is the incoming nuclear missile from the Soviet Union. We have no means of intercepting it!" Jill said as she began her analysis from her seat. "In addition to that, the number of zombies from other countries being transported into our territory continues to rise, putting constant pressure on our defenses."
"Especially the super zombies. Aside from me and Mr. Lyon's suit, no one in Raccoon City can resist them."
Currently, there were over forty different nations on what used to be American soil, with nearly every former state hosting a new government. What used to be interstate communication had now become international negotiations — a truly bizarre situation.
Jill turned to Lyon. "What do we do next? It's up to you to decide."
Lyon thought for a moment. "The solution is simple. I'll deal with the nuclear missile and then deal with the super zombies."
After understanding the situation, Lyon made a firm decision. "Strength is the key to miracles. By tonight, both problems will be resolved."
"But if we want to save the world, ordinary zombies are the biggest problem," Lyon said.
"Even if we manage to develop an anti-virus serum, dealing with them will still be a long-term challenge."
Take, for example, India. Almost 80% of the general population there had either died or turned into zombies.
Nearly a billion zombies — if they had intelligence, they would have already taken over the entire globe.
What could ordinary people do to fight against them?
And that's not even mentioning the zombie birds, zombie rats, and zombie insects that now swarm across the world.
"There's only one way to turn the tide," Lyon said, placing his hands on the table."Study a newer S virus and turn every ordinary person into a superhuman! Let's make this world like a martial art cultivation world where we the Stark family sit at the top!"
"Like those cultivation novels!?"
"Exactly!"
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