Umbrella Armory

As Eric stood there, lost in thought, a tray came down the conveyor belt and stopped right in front of him.

Unlike in the movies where meals are brought manually, here, all food was delivered through the conveyor belt.

This setup prevented Eric from any direct contact with others, minimizing any chance for unforeseen incidents.

Seeing the food, Eric couldn't help but grumble to himself.

"Potato bread again. Can't they serve anything else?"

Outside, the staff seemed to hear his complaint, and a voice came through the loudspeaker.

"You've been here for two months without paying a dime. You're lucky to get food at all. What more do you want?"

Hearing this, Eric bowed his head and started eating in silence.

He had only been complaining because he'd been eating potato bread for over a week straight.

In reality, he would eat whatever he was given, no matter how poor the quality, as he was determined to maintain his strength, trusting that his allies outside would eventually rescue him.

He had to be in peak condition to be ready when the time came.

After finishing his meal, the tray was taken away by the conveyor belt, which then delivered the day's newspaper.

It was his only way to learn about the outside world.

"Umbrella Corporation announces the establishment of the Umbrella Armory in Raccoon City, aiming to develop the first generation of Sentinels. Soon, all mutants will have nowhere to hide."

Reading the headline, Eric's face immediately darkened.

.....

Three days later~

In the heart of the United States, Kansas, Raccoon City.

Adam and Luna arrived together to inspect the Umbrella Armory site, which was preparing to break ground.

"Mr. Adam, Miss Luna, welcome," the city mayor greeted them as soon as they stepped off the plane, accompanied by an entourage.

Raccoon City's economy wasn't exactly flourishing, with only a population of around 100,000 and being surrounded by mountains. It had no railway or waterways, just a small airport with limited flights.

The investment from Umbrella's armory project was a major boost for the mayor and the people of Raccoon City, so it was no wonder he had brought his officials out to welcome them.

"Haha, Mayor Ester, thank you for the warm welcome. We are honored to have your support as we bring Umbrella here."

Adam kept a friendly tone, speaking as an equal, which was a rare approach and made Mayor Ester appreciate him all the more.

After some pleasantries, the group drove to the Umbrella Armory site.

The armory was located about ten kilometers outside the city, in the flattest area around Raccoon City.

Already, several excavators were working, digging into the land.

After inspecting the site for a while and noticing the sun beginning to set, Adam decided to return to the hotel to rest.

But at that moment, a group of people holding banners and shouting slogans appeared in the distance.

"Protect nature! Save wildlife! Preserve our world!"

"We can't destroy forests for human selfishness, leaving animals homeless!"

"Earth isn't just humanity's Earth; it's the home of all creatures!"

It was clear that this was a group of environmental activists protesting the construction of the Umbrella Armory.

Seeing this, Mayor Ester shot an irritated look at the officials behind him.

The officials exchanged glances, avoiding eye contact.

At that, Mayor Ester approached Adam.

"Mr. Adam, this is… How would you like us to handle it?"

Adam gave Mayor Ester a meaningful look and calmly replied, "If you don't welcome Umbrella, then we'll have no choice but to find somewhere else that does."

He knew very well that these so-called environmentalists couldn't have shown up without some kind of organization behind them. And whoever organized this likely had official support, or they wouldn't have known about his arrival so precisely.

Whether Mayor Ester knew or not, he had to feel the pressure.

Hearing Adam's thinly veiled threat, Mayor Ester immediately looked anxious.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this. Just give me a few days."

"Alright, then we'll head back for now."

Watching as the protesters marched onto the construction site and halted operations, Adam remained unperturbed.

After all, such incidents were commonplace in the U.S.

He had encountered plenty of these environmentalists before and knew that they wouldn't leave easily.

But once their resources were cut off and they saw no benefit in staying, they would eventually retreat on their own.

As night fell Adam and Luna returned to the hotel.

Finally, Luna let down her guard.

Upon arriving, she knocked on Adam's door, giving the excuse that her bathroom was broken and she needed to borrow his for a shower.

The sound of the shower echoed from the bathroom as Adam shook his head and pulled out his phone to get a report from the Red Queen.

As he scanned through the information, a new message caught his eye.

"A group of mutants has appeared in Egypt. They killed the Governer and are forcing people to build pyramids."

The report included photos of the mutants, and standing in the center was none other than Apocalypse.

"Apocalypse? This Marvel world is turning out to be quite interesting. I wonder if the sorcerer at Kamar-Taj can sit by and do nothing."

He had met the Ancient One in the past.

Since she hadn't seen him in the future timeline, she probably assumed he wouldn't live long enough to matter, so she paid him no mind.

And he had no intention of provoking the ancient sorceress, who was backed by Eternity, so he left her alone as well.

After a while, the shower turned off, and Luna emerged wrapped in a bathrobe.

Her long, pale legs, smooth shoulders, and a chest that seemed about to spill from her towel-covered form, made her way to Adam.

"Boss, you've been working all day. You need to freshen up too."

"No rush."

"Well, I'm in a hurry… I mean, it's getting late."

"It's only nine. Plenty of time."

"Fine~I can wait..…"

With that, she climbed onto the bed.

"Alright, I'll go shower."

Shaking his head, Adam headed into the bathroom.

Luna smiled slyly as he did.

.......

At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in New York~

Though the day had officially ended, the building was still brightly lit.

Nick Fury, freshly returned from the Helicarrier, stood at the head of the conference room, surrounded by high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and a few mutants.

After a moment, Fury spoke up.

"The Council has ordered us to head to Egypt. Prepare yourselves; we leave tomorrow."

The agents' faces betrayed their surprise.

They had just returned from a two-month mission in Japan, hoping to spend some time with their families.

But no one dared to defy Fury's orders.

"This time, the enemy is extremely dangerous. According to intel from Sam in Egypt, the target may be an Omega-level mutant.

Additionally, Eric's daughter, Lorna, is in league with them, along with several other powerful mutants."

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