Claire and Moira had been traveling with their daughter lately, keeping an eye on her growth, and had no time to bother with matters here.
Inside the harbor, eight of William's clones still remained—two had been taken away. Each copy inherited ninety percent of the original's power.
That explained why William had suddenly become disabled and now lived in a wheelchair. Extracting large amounts of his own bone marrow and cells for cloning had damaged the original body.
Cloning tech means cutting away half of yourself, then copying and restoring it. This kind of cloning has limits; do it too many times and you drop dead on the spot—no, you just die.
All eight clones were injected with the G-Virus William had modified over the years. The mutations were stronger, and the virus's reproductive ability was removed, making it controllable. William's physique happened to mesh well with G-Virus changes.
This compatibility only meant mutating into a more powerful bio-weapon—not adapting to the G-Virus itself.
Annette looked down on William because, after all these years, he kept improving the virus but never thought of using a vaccine to weaken and adapt it. That method had long been essential for success, yet William still hadn't caught on.
No one imagined that this seemingly simple yet pointless idea would occur to Eddie alone. No wonder even the proud queen Alexia fell for him—an exceptionally capable man shines wherever he goes.
Two William clones were released; they began devouring the corpses of failed experiments in the lab while receiving carefully measured doses of Uroboros Virus.
Keeping electronically controlled command consciousness, two G3-form monsters emerged.
Under the influence of the Uroboros Virus, the large hand-like wings on their backs were now covered in zhajiangmian. Thanks to the G-Virus, this was confined locally, letting the two viruses coexist for the moment.
These two monsters were there to keep an eye on Wesker, making sure the traitor wouldn't switch sides at the last minute.
As long as Wesker didn't try to escape, they wouldn't attack. Once he left the harbor, though, endless pursuit awaited—unless the monsters gave up hope.
Inside the harbor, the Majini were all in hiding; outside wandered zombies and Uroboros monsters—mere cannon fodder.
When Eddie arrived outside the garrison with Jill and the two women Carla, the Joint Fleet had already begun a massive bombardment of the harbor.
Battleship shells of nearly a ton slammed into the harbor; even the toughest Uroboros monsters couldn't survive that blistering artillery.
The perimeter was quickly sealed off with steel plates and soil to keep the Uroboros Virus from spreading into the sea. Without that work, the assault would have started three hours earlier.
Chris and the others waited for the shelling to end—then it would be their turn to attack.
Through binoculars, they saw countless monsters hurled skyward by the blasts, only to be bombed again before they hit the ground.
A squadron of bombers streaked overhead, dropping endless bombs.
Boom—boom! The entire harbor erupted in violent secondary explosions; no place was safe.
Bombs from the planes, shells from the battleships, and on the landward side tanks also opened fire—an all-round barrage leaving no blind spots.
Eddie lit a cigarette. "Quite a sight. With this many shells, a single battle could cost tens of billions of dollars!"
"Not everyone's as poor as you. A few tens of billions? That wouldn't even fill a tooth-gap," Carla said, wrapping her arm around his.
"What kind of gap costs tens of billions to fill?" Eddie rolled his eyes, but whatever his wife said was right.
Chapter 543: Wesker's Cry for Help
"Ground assault can begin. This time we're not after samples. The moment an unstoppable monster appears, switch to naval-gun bombardment!" The Joint Fleet commander—German, strict and meticulous—gave the order.
Chris quickly led his squad forward, Piers and the others in tow. Sheva's team circled around, coordinating with the Marine Corps as they advanced step by step.
After sweeping with infrared reconnaissance gear they spotted Majini rioters hiding beneath the bunker, so the Marines promptly planted buried mines and entombed the whole lot alive.
The steady, camp-by-camp advance was painfully slow, but it won on safety.
Eddie too began edging closer to the dock; when O'Brien went looking for him to discuss something, he found the man absent from the lounge.
He slipped into the dock from the side. The place was rubble, flames burning without end. Some Majini stuck their heads out to keep the enemy from entering; Eddie merely beckoned and the mercenaries' skulls were crushed by magnetic fields, parasites and all.
Carla's beautiful eyes flashed. "Hubby, you've grown a lot stronger—but it's still not enough. Add my Pupa Virus and you'll become the one and only god of this world!"
"Forget it. I've got zero wish to be a god. I just want to be an ordinary guy with a few drop-dead gorgeous wives and some pretty, adorable, filial daughters—mortals have it best!" Eddie refused.
Jill just chuckled. "Our goal isn't godhood, Carla—you're a little off track there. Heh-heh, hubby, tonight you'd better spend some time helping little sister Carla correct her views."
Beside the lively Jill and Carla, Hilda followed in silence, doing everything a bodyguard should—fists out when muscle was needed, slipping into warm sheets when comfort was called for.
Entering from the side put them very close to the lab; no need to pass the corridor teeming with ambush monsters.
Wesker had already stationed six William clones up ahead; two were blown to pieces by repeated shelling—tough luck.
The remaining four had rushed onto the battlefield, devoured hordes of Majini mercenaries and mutated into hulking beasts, then clashed with the Marines.
While Chris and the others fought the William-clone abominations up front, Leon had stealthily slipped into the inner lab.
Halfway in he unexpectedly met Eddie. "Eddie, why are you with Ada?"
Carla and Ada were outwardly indistinguishable—like twins—and sometimes that stirred a spark of excitement in Eddie.
"This is Carla, not Ada; she ended up like this because of someone's scheme," Eddie explained.
What kind of scheme could make someone this drop-dead gorgeous? If possible, please sign them up too.
"What are you sneaking in here for?" Eddie asked, puzzled.
"I'm looking for Morpheus—he has to be alive. He saved me once; I have to return the favor. I don't want to owe him." Leon was resolute.
"Your friendship's really rock-solid, huh?" Carla smiled meaningfully.
Inside the inner lab, twisted noodle-monsters writhed everywhere, some even devouring each other. Majini mercenaries were also sweeping the place with gunfire, for Las Plagas parasites and viruses are two very different beasts.
Sweeping past these guards, they found Wesker waiting in the deepest chamber.
The group arrived before an experimental apparatus; Wesker stood behind the transparent glass.
Strapped to a chair in front of the device, the mutated Morpheus was unrecognizable—only a balding head with a terrifyingly high hairline remained, his body turned into jet-black tentacular noodles.
"Morpheus! Wesker, let him go—now!" Leon roared, assault rifle raised.
Wesker opened the glass, sunglasses on. "You think I did this? Heh, not my style. William's handiwork—none of my business. I'm just the muscle."
It was hard to believe someone like Wesker would back down; he didn't even bother explaining. Don't ask—ask and the answer is cowardice.
Eddie studied the scene for a moment. "William's using Morpheus to enhance the Uroboros Virus?"
Wesker shook his head. "No idea—I wasn't in charge of that part. But Morpheus does have solid genes; he held out a long time before mutating. This is William's gift to you—two more Williams left. Actually, I have a question for you."
"Ask away—I might not answer." Eddie wrapped an arm each around Carla and Jill, looking smug.
"You got Annette out, didn't you?" Wesker frowned.
"Yep, I saved Annette and she's working for me now. Where's William?" Eddie gloated.