Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 447: 447 Resident Evil 7

But there was something interesting on Brad’s helicopter: a 4-tube anti-tank rocket launcher (M202A1).

It was the very same weapon Brad throws down to take down the Tyrant at the end of the original.

I was a bit dumbfounded.

In any other world, unless it was the military, it would be practically impossible for a police officer to possess such a weapon.

Yet in the Resident Evil universe, the police casually had even this.

’Well, it’s a world where not just zombies but all kinds of creatures appear, so maybe it makes sense?’

It was absurd, but the world was lenient enough with guns to allow Barry’s custom modifications, so I decided to let it slide.

Of course, I planned to secretly duplicate this anti-tank rocket launcher with [Matter Copy] for my collection.

"Chris, Jill, Joseph. I’m going to leave the police station first with Anna, so I’ll leave the rest to you."

"Got it. We’ll handle the cleanup."

The others understood my situation, knowing about Anna’s identity.

When the helicopter arrived at the police station, Chris, Jill, Joseph, and Brad headed to the Chief’s office to report.

Taking the opportunity, I used [Matter Copy] to duplicate the anti-tank rocket launcher (M202A1) and the flamethrower Chris had brought, storing them in my inventory.

After that, I put Anna in the Rezvani Vengeance, bought some clothes and daily necessities for her, and headed home.

Since the aftermath of the mansion incident was still being handled, I couldn’t take Anna straight to the Chicago house.

So I decided to stay with her at the temporary house for a while.

The temporary house had three rooms, so giving Anna one was no problem.

"We’ll live here for now and then go to Chicago. You can go to school there."

"Okay."

Anna, tired from all the moving around, fell asleep as soon as she washed up.

After washing up myself, I had a beer and contacted Jill to see how things were going at the police station.

"How did it go?"

—"The members who arrived earlier must have shown the evidence to the Chief and explained the seriousness of the situation. So we didn’t have much to do. Captain Enrico was hospitalized because of his injury, and the other members also went home to rest after finishing the cleanup. I just got home, washed up, and was about to go to bed. How’s Anna?"

"She was tired too, so she’s sleeping in her room."

—"I see."

"You’re probably tired too, so get some rest. See you at the station tomorrow."

—"Okay. See you tomorrow."

But things didn’t go smoothly.

The next day, after having breakfast with Anna, I went to the police station.

The Chief called all S.T.A.R.S. members together and started saying ridiculous things.

"I think it’s best to drop this matter."

"Wha, what did you say!!!??? What did you just say!!!???"

Chris, thinking he’d misheard, asked the Chief again.

"I said it’s best to drop it. Listen well, this city is practically kept alive by Umbrella. If Umbrella takes a serious hit, this city will fall. And Umbrella won’t just sit still either."

Jill also started arguing with the Chief.

"Do you really think that makes sense??? You saw the evidence we brought!!! Umbrella was making bioweapons with some kind of virus!!!"

"Who would believe such a ridiculous story? And the opponent is tough. Umbrella is a massive corporation, and we’re just a small police station. Do you really think you can bring them down with those scraps of paper and files you call evidence?"

At that, the S.T.A.R.S. members who had gone through the mansion ordeal together started arguing with the Chief one by one.

Brian Irons, the Chief of the Raccoon City Police Department, was truly human scum.

He had been accused of rape twice during his university years, but because he was an excellent student and received a diagnosis of mental issues, he wasn’t properly punished.

It’s unclear how such a person rose to the position of police chief, but personally, I suspected Umbrella had deliberately pushed him forward.

The more weaknesses a person has, the easier they are to threaten or bribe, and they’d be easier to use when needed.

The Chief listened to the members’ arguments for a while and then spoke.

"Listen, everyone. It’s not just about dropping it. Umbrella has agreed to compensate each S.T.A.R.S. member with 1 million dollars. That includes the deceased members, of course."

This was different from the original, where they were met with dismissal and surveillance.

But with so many surviving members, it seemed they had included a bribe as well.

The members, incredulous, started arguing again.

"Are you telling us to take hush money from Umbrella?"

"Hush money! That’s a dangerous thing to say. It’s compensation. But we need to show some goodwill."

"That’s the same thing!"

At that point, I stepped in and said to the Chief.

"We’ll take it. The compensation."

The members looked at me in surprise.

"Jin, what are you doing!?"

"Everyone, come outside. I have something to say. Chief, I’ll try to persuade them."

After saying that, I took the members out of the Chief’s office.

Jill asked me with an incredulous look.

"Jin, are you serious? Taking Umbrella’s hush money?"

"Don’t misunderstand, and listen carefully. From the look of things, the Chief is already in cahoots with Umbrella. The evidence we brought has probably already been handed over to Umbrella. So confronting them here won’t get us anything. The media is probably controlled too, so even if we report it, it’ll likely be buried."

I paused for a moment to catch my breath and continued.

"So I think it’s best to take the money and pretend to go along with it. That way, they’ll let their guard down."

"You mean... take the money and pretend to let it go?"

"Yes. There’s no reason to refuse free money. After that, we can investigate Umbrella from behind, or look into the Chief’s collusion. If we confront them head-on now, we’ll only get hurt."

Everyone fell silent, deep in thought.

Then Barry spoke.

"I agree with Jin. Honestly, if we keep pushing, they might put us under surveillance. And I think we need to take the money. We survived, so it’s not about us, but some of our deceased colleagues’ families have young children. This money might be essential for them."

When even Barry agreed, Chris sighed and gave in.

"Phew... alright, let’s do it for now."

Just then, Rebecca raised her hand and spoke.

"I’m going to quit the police force. I didn’t realize it was this entangled with a corporation. I learned a lot from this incident. So I’m going to build up my knowledge to prepare for future bioterrorism, and do more research. Umbrella doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop."

Richard also spoke up.

"I’m quitting too. I don’t want to work under such a dirty chief anymore. I’ll continue police work elsewhere."

The members didn’t stop them from leaving.

Through the Chief, they too had realized there was little they could do in Raccoon City, which was practically Umbrella’s kingdom.

I went to the Chief on behalf of the S.T.A.R.S. members and told him we had decided to accept the compensation.

The Chief smiled in satisfaction and said we had made a wise decision.

In fact, this was before the Raccoon City outbreak, and Umbrella was still in its prime.

They could easily afford this amount.

Since it was a company that would eventually fall, I figured it was better to get as much as we could before it went under, and convinced the members to accept the offer.

After that, the Chief, citing the deaths of colleagues and the need to reorganize S.T.A.R.S., ordered the members to remain on standby at home for the time being.

So we attended our colleagues’ funerals, and also visited Enrico, who was hospitalized.

Enrico, after hearing the situation, seemed to understand there was no choice for now and agreed with our decision.

But he didn’t seem like the type to just stand by and watch Umbrella’s atrocities.

During this time, I resolved Anna’s identity issues and also taught her studies so she could adapt to school.

Identity issues were something I had always dealt with in other worlds, so I easily solved them using [Hacking] and financial resources.

Sometimes, I took Anna and went on dates with Jill, watching movies or shopping.

Jill, knowing Anna’s situation, didn’t mind me bringing her along.

About two weeks later, the promised compensation was deposited into our accounts.

It was faster than expected.

Whether it was because the leaked evidence was so substantial, or to prevent us from changing our minds, I wasn’t sure.

Probably a combination of factors.

Once Rebecca’s resignation was accepted and Richard’s transfer request was processed, the S.T.A.R.S. members gathered at a bar to hold a farewell party for them.

Even Enrico, who had been discharged, attended.

"Have you decided where you’re going?"

"Not yet. I’m looking into universities and research institutes through a professor I know."

"Really? What about you, Richard?"

"I’m not sure either, but I’ll probably be assigned to LA. I’m not one for political battles. I just wanted to catch criminals peacefully, so this might be for the best."

Chris then asked Rebecca.

"If another virus issue comes up later, could I ask for your advice? I’m completely in the dark about that stuff."

"Of course. I’m happy to help anytime."

With that, the two naturally exchanged contact information.

"Look at that, smoothly exchanging numbers! I never knew Chris was such a smooth operator! You’ll give me your number too, right?"

"Of course."

"Me too! I definitely need to have our angel’s number!"

"Okay."

As all the members crowded around Rebecca to exchange numbers, Richard, left out, looked sad and muttered quietly.

"I could also exchange numbers... Oh, wait, you all already have my number..."

While Richard was feeling dejected, Jill and I also exchanged numbers with Rebecca.

After a few drinks in the cheerful atmosphere, Chris shared his plans.

"I’ve looked into a few things, and after that incident, security has been tightened, and Umbrella’s influence is too strong. I’ve concluded that there’s no hope in Raccoon City. Neither the citizens nor the police are easy to cooperate with. So Barry, Joseph, and I are going to start by investigating the Umbrella research facility in Europe that we identified while gathering evidence in the lab. The compensation money from Umbrella is more than enough for funding."

Enrico laughed wryly and said.

"Heh, well... using Umbrella’s money to bring down Umbrella. How ironic. Alright, I’ll join you too. It’s not in my nature to just take this lying down."

Chris couldn’t hide his delight.

"Having Captain Enrico with us will be a huge help. Jin, Brad, Jill, what are you three going to do?"

Chris asked Jill and me as well.

I shook my head and answered.

"Sorry, but I need to take care of Anna’s identity and school issues, so I’ll have to stay here for a while."

Jill also stated her intentions.

"I think I need to investigate Umbrella’s facilities in Raccoon City a bit more. So I’ll stay with Jin."

After hearing Jill’s response, Brad spoke up.

"I’m not cut out for intelligence work, and the police station is short on helicopter pilots, so I’m not getting much rest. I’ll just stay and help Jin and Jill."

From what I gathered, the helicopter pilot ’Kevin Dooley’ had died in the mansion incident, and Brad was filling that gap.

Chris was disappointed but understood everyone’s reasons, so he didn’t complain.

A few days after the farewell party, Rebecca and Richard left Raccoon City first, and Chris, Enrico, Joseph, and Barry also submitted their resignations as planned.

The Chief, upon hearing this, looked subtly satisfied, as if he had gotten rid of a nuisance.

That made several things clear.

While the deaths of members were a nuisance, with Wesker, who had founded S.T.A.R.S., gone, Umbrella no longer saw a reason to maintain S.T.A.R.S. and had probably cut off support.

After all, S.T.A.R.S. was a special unit made up of top-tier experts in various fields.

Their salaries were high, and without Umbrella’s support, the police department would have struggled to cover their salaries and operating costs.

If the key members voluntarily resigned and left, the Chief would naturally be happy.

Eventually, just like in the original, S.T.A.R.S. was effectively being disbanded.

Of course, I also saw no reason to stay in S.T.A.R.S., so I immediately submitted my resignation.

In the end, the only members left in S.T.A.R.S. were Jill and Brad.

Jill stayed to continue investigating Umbrella while maintaining her police status, and Brad, as mentioned, had a lot of work filling the shortage of helicopter pilots.

Once the aftermath of the mansion incident was settled, I took Anna to the house in Chicago.

After unpacking, I started looking for a housekeeper, nanny, cook, driver, and security personnel.

I also bought a used BMW 7 Series sedan.

It would be used by the driver to take Anna to school or run errands.

Of course, I used [Restoration] to make it look brand new.

Ideally, I would take care of Anna myself, but with so many things to handle, I would be away from home frequently.

So I needed trustworthy people, and after reading the memories of each applicant, I only hired those with verified character and reliability.

At the same time, I looked for a school.

Fortunately, there was a prestigious school near the house with excellent facilities and educational environment, so I decided to enroll Anna there.

Anna was smarter than I expected, and I had changed her appearance to be cute, reminiscent of ’Emily’ from Resident Evil 9, so she would likely be well-liked at school.

Honestly, since this was the Resident Evil universe, Emily was the first person who came to mind.

I referenced her appearance when changing Anna, but I didn’t make her identical.

Since Emily was a clone, there was a chance it could cause problems later.

But there was a side effect to making her cute.

"How can such a cute creature exist!? Hah... hah..."

The thirty-year-old nanny I hired, Linda, adored Anna to an excessive degree.

She was a good person, so she wouldn’t cross the line, but it was a bit concerning.

"How’s school? Making any friends?"

"Yes! The teachers are nice, and I’ve made lots of friends."

"How about your studies? Can you keep up?"

"Your lessons were more than enough, oppa."

"That’s good. I’ll be going to Raccoon City for a while. If anything comes up or you need something, tell Linda or call me. Okay?"

"Okay. Then when will you be back?"

"I’ll come back at least once a week."

"Really? Okay."

With Anna’s issues largely resolved, I headed back to Raccoon City.

My first stop was Kendo’s Gun Shop.

"Ah, perfect timing. The ammo you ordered is in. You can load it up."

During the mansion incident, I had used too many .44 Magnum and shotgun shells and needed to resupply.

Because the zombies and creatures were so tough, the members had used a lot of shotguns and Magnum revolvers.

In terms of sheer tankiness, Resident Evil zombies were probably the best.

"Thanks. Oh, by the way, I happened to get some Disney World travel vouchers, but I’m too busy to use them. Are you interested? They’re for a family trip, and the hotel is already booked, so all you need to do is show up. But the departure is three weeks from now."

"Oh, really? Can I see them?"

I handed the pre-prepared vouchers to Robert.

"Hmm... three weeks from now... if I can finish up the backlog quickly, I might be able to go..."

"You mentioned you have a daughter. I’m sure she’d love it."

"...Ah, I’m conflicted."

Robert stared at the vouchers for a long time, then nodded as if he’d made up his mind.

"Alright! I’ll go. But I’ll definitely treat you later."

"Okay, have a good trip."

With that, Robert’s family problem was easily solved with the travel vouchers.

Honestly, when the Raccoon City outbreak happens, I’ll have a lot to handle myself, so I probably wouldn’t have time to look after them.

Making them leave the city early was the most reliable solution.

Of course, if Robert ever found out the real reason I gave him the vouchers, he’d probably try to treat me to an unforgettable feast, but he’d never know.

"Is Anna doing well at school?"

"Yeah, she’s making friends and adapting well."

"That’s a relief. I was a bit worried too."

I met Jill at a coffee shop for the first time in a while, and she seemed to have been worried about Anna too.

"How’s the investigation going?"

"Chris said he’s been in contact with the FBI. So all the information we gather is being sent there. But the problem is there’s not much important info. The security is too tight."

"I suppose they’d be more thorough after such an incident."

"Sometimes I think I should have gone to Europe with Chris and the others. Even though I’ve been working hard, I haven’t found much."

"Wow, with a lover this busy, I can’t even ask you out on a date."

Jill’s face turned red, and she stammered.

"Wh-who’s your lover... Phew... fine, I am."

Even with Anna in the picture, we had gone on plenty of dates, so she had no choice but to admit it.