Even at his most arrogant, he was kept under Alexia's thumb; only after she faked her death could he strut around again—classic case of the monkey proclaiming itself king once the tiger's gone from the mountain.
The entire city of Vinaer had been split in two by the Guard's overwhelming firepower: one half a safe zone, the other an infected sector.
BSAA's European branch rushed personnel to the rescue; several United Nations Senators were still trapped inside and in urgent need of extraction.
Once the civilians were evacuated, it would be time to strike at William Birkin.
Chris arrived in the city, sized up the situation on the ground, and immediately set off again at full speed for the rescue operation.
Eddie also reached the scene to produce vaccines; every batch required harvesting local samples to isolate the unique variables.
Only then could the existing vaccine be re-engineered into a new, improved version.
A short-haired woman in a suit walked in. Soft wavy curls framed a face that was pretty rather than stunning—yet the more you looked, the more comfortable and distinctive she became.
"Hello, Dr. Eddie. I'm BSAA agent Kathy White. These are the samples I collected—hope they help." The suited beauty handed over a vial.
Eddie slipped the sample into the analyzer and glanced at her; she really was rather attractive. "Are you local?"
Kathy shook her head. "I'm from France, recently relocated to the Western Federation. Anything else I can do for you, Dr. Eddie?"
"Could you pour me a coffee? Thanks." Eddie kept his eye on the microscope.
Kathy smiled. "Of course." She stepped out of the lab to fetch the coffee.
Jill twirled her combat dagger. "Hubby, you're looking awfully shady to me."
Carla chimed in, "That woman's a well-known recon specialist. We could expand the team, right, you bastard husband?"
Eddie didn't deny it. "You're both right, but I'm leaning another way. Kathy's a crack hand at intel, yet nobody knows she holds a master's in energy science."
Carla flicked her wrist-com and skimmed satellite files. "You want to recruit her for new-energy R&D? She's engaged, by the way—matchmaker setup. Lucky for you, she doesn't believe in pre-marital 'testing'."
Eddie rolled his eyes. "Do I look like the type who cares about that? I only care about talent."
Jill's expression turned odd. "And you expect me to buy that line?"
"Engaged? Easy. What does the fiancé do?" Eddie had no qualms about wielding a wrecking ball—swing the pickaxe right and walls come down.
Carla gave a sinister smile. "Leave it to me; I'll handle everything perfectly." She clicked away on her heels, looking every inch the femme fatale.
Chapter 547: Truth Revealed, Dying with Eyes Wide Open
With Carla on the job, things were bound to get messy. She had Ada-level beauty; few men could resist. Add Oriana's talent for wrapping men around her finger…
It was hard to imagine how badly Kathy's fiancé would end up. If he had a criminal record, his misery would only deepen.
But that's reality—money lets you do whatever you want. Break up a couple and step right in. Do it once, it feels great; keep doing it, it keeps feeling great.
Kathy still had no idea what was coming. A chance appearance had just derailed her entire life.
She re-entered carrying several coffees, intending to serve everyone in the lab.
Eddie took a cup without looking up from the microscope, tapped at the computer, and started crunching data.
"Miss Kathy, have you ever been to Latin America?" He sipped the coffee.
Kathy nodded. "Of course. Is there something specific you'd like to know, Dr. Eddie?"
"I was wondering, after the drug lord Javier fell, who stepped in to fill the vacuum?"
"A young entrepreneur has taken over Javier's network, running a beverage business on the surface while secretly trafficking narcotics. He's also bankrolling local insurgents. His ambition is enormous—he wants to monopolize all of Latin America." Kathy's face was grave as she laid out her findings.
"This young entrepreneur? You're sure he's young? Kids these days have that kind of nerve?"
Kathy stared at Eddie, puzzled. She herself was pushing thirty, and Eddie couldn't be more than twenty-five—hardly old. Where did he get off calling anyone 'kid'?
"Dr. Eddie, always the comedian. No wonder you stole the heart of tactical prodigy Jill Valentine." Kathy smiled, warm and genuine.
"You think I'm joking? If he really is young, then he's got guts—or your intel is wrong." Eddie lifted his coffee.
Kathy's eyes narrowed. "My intel is solid. The man's name is Glenn Arias, and he's extremely dangerous. Rumor says he's shopping signs and channels for bioweapons. Ordinary narcos wouldn't even register; that's narcotics territory, not ours."
"All right, bad news. Stay clear of him."
BSAA agents arrived later to test the vaccine; once certified, they could mass-produce it from the formula.
When Kathy realized she was no longer needed, she turned and left.
Eddie was handsome and charming, but Kathy was traditional: no impropriety before marriage. She already had a fiancé and no interest in other men.
North Sector of Vena City was now an inferno.
Rampaging William sprinted through the streets, flattening cars or hurling them aside; nothing seemed able to stop him.
Even tanks were useless. William charged head-on into tank shells, flipping the fifty-ton vehicles like toys.
His massive fists pounded the armor again and again, hammering the tank to near-collapse.
Echoes thundered through the crew compartment, the reverberations killing the soldiers inside.
In the lab, Eddie watched the feed and felt a stab of pity.
William was now immensely strong and still lucid, but only by burning through his own lifespan—and that of the Uroboros Virus.
If you subtract the marrow he'd harvested for cloning, his remaining potential and life expectancy were halved.
By that calculation, he had twelve hours left—then instant death.
Could anyone be more pitiful? As a child, he was bullied by Alexia; as an adult, his wife was stolen and his daughter taken.
He'd barely escaped execution by Spencer for hoarding the G-Virus, only to be brainwashed by Brandon and discovering he was just a pawn.
William's helpless roar was, in its own way, heartbreaking.
'Rest easy, William. I'll take care of your wife and daughter.' Eddie raised his coffee and muttered the noble sentiment—so why did it feel so malicious?
A helicopter-fired missile struck the rampaging William, blowing off one arm.
Specialized bombers screamed overhead while ground units deployed barbed-net charges.
The nets burst mid-air, releasing layers of razor wire that ensnared William like a fish.
No matter how powerful, restraint saps strength.
William roared, struggling against the mesh—then a high-yield bomb severed his other arm.
Flesh, however mighty, cannot outfight high-tech weaponry. Whether the ultimate Uroboros creature or William's G5-exceeding, lucid form, they were merely the pinnacle of flesh-based defense.