The T-Virus forced the Western Federation to flatten Raccoon City with a nuke; a few hundred kilos of the T-Abyss Virus made the trillion-dollar floating city of Terragrigia undergo forced decontamination.
It's the perfect card that turns a humble pair of threes into an opponent's royal flush.
Great powers care about humanitarianism and disdain its use, but terrorists have no morals—they'll deploy whatever they have.
"How long until the Pupa Virus is ready?" Nikolai asked first.
"Not yet. I'll improve it as fast as I can. Every enhanced strain is here; send someone to collect one, run trials, and transmit the data back to me," Daniel said flatly.
"I'll go. Glenn, keep raising funds; I'm going to give the Feds a show they won't forget." Nikolai ordered.
Glenn nodded. "Settling accounts with the Western Federation? Save a piece for me."
Everyone in the room loathed the Western Federation; Simmons had no idea what kind of monster he'd recruited.
Back in the Kizuzu Region, Eddie and company spent a full day before finally locating suitable volcanic ash in a long-silent mountain scorched black.
Samantha eyed the laptop. "Right here. Let's try digging from below; we'll need to reach three kilometres deep."
Sheva looked puzzled. "Shouldn't we send an engineering crew? There's no way the few of us can dig three kilometres."
Three kilometres? We'd struggle with three metres!
Samantha batted her lashes. "You can't, I can't—but a real man never says he can't."
Eddie chuckled and shook his head. "Fine, leave it to me—stand back." He stretched his right hand toward the distant native scouts and clenched his fist.
Crunch! Five black tribesmen dropped dead without resistance; the Plaga inside them were crushed by magnetism, never knowing why they'd suddenly perished.
Using magnetism he gathered tiny iron shards nearby into a spike and sent it plunging into the earth.
Sheva gaped, rubbed her eyes, wondering if she'd imagined it.
Samantha proudly draped an arm over Sheva's shoulder. "Surprised? My dad's amazing. He's got loads of secrets—all thanks to viral enhancement. Join our big family and you'll get super-strength and crazy regeneration too."
"You grew this tall in just a few years because of that?" Sheva asked in disbelief.
"Of course. The virus gave me rapid growth, cutting childhood short. A bit less innocence, but I don't mind—adult life is where the fun is." Samantha laughed.
Chapter 578: Sheva Joins—At a High Price
Ignoring everything else, Eddie kept driving multiple iron spikes downward until they hit solid bedrock a kilometre deep.
Luckily he could twist the rock apart with magnetic force, though the drain was huge.
Jessica produced a pack of ration biscuits and fed him. "That's enough for now."
Eddie marked the spot. "One kilometre down—still no magma, just rock and soil. We'll need better gear."
Sheva remained stunned. "Eddie, you've shattered my worldview."
"Only because you don't have this power yet. Once you do, it'll feel normal." Eddie smiled. "Ready to sign on?"
Sheva hesitated. "Am I even qualified?"
She seemed insecure—less stunning than Alexia, less brilliant than Alex. But she was honest and free of scheming, a rare virtue.
"Of course you qualify. Joining my team, though, comes with a price." Eddie grinned mischievously.
"Nothing's free. I figure I can pay." Sheva smiled, a flash of beauty—proof a black girl can shine too.
A chopper homed in on their beacon, but this time the pilot reported corpses along the route.
"Captain, I saw many locals brutally killed on the way in," the pilot radioed.
From the cabin Sheva spotted bodies riddled with rapidly decomposing parasites. "I'll file a report."
Meanwhile, in the Western Federation, border towns erupted into riots swarming with Oozes.
T-Virus immunity existed and vaccines stopped zombification, but other viruses still broke through.
Times change, viruses evolve—total immunity is impossible.
Simmons was busy; if T-Abyss spread further the fallout would be catastrophic.
With bioterror attacks keeping the Federation reeling, Simmons delegated the Far East to Daniel—only military command stayed in his own hands.
Next day Sheva learned the price, yet she didn't regret it; she'd waited long enough.
Sore but determined, she joined the return trip to the volcanic zone—Jessica herself at the stick this time, no pilot.
The West Africa branch sent veteran Josh to scout the area; if anything looked wrong, pull out and flatten the village with a missile.
Conventional tactics meant casualties; a single missile was cleaner.
While Eddie kept digging, daughter Samantha held an outdoor barbecue, loaded with supplies—this was her camping holiday.
Even with magnetism it took two days to extract ancient ash now fused into soil. Buried kilometres deep for millennia, it hosted not a single microbe.
Yet it brimmed with potent nutrients—prime farmland.
Eddie bottled the ash, wondering what Carla wanted it for.
Sheva, fed and content, dozed in the helicopter.
Jessica stood like a loyal bodyguard, motionless, scanning the surroundings.
"Job done—let's head home." Eddie clapped; no big deal after all.
True, the hard part had already been solved; without contacts, finding the right African volcano would've been hell.
Without T-Phobos enhancement, magnetic powers were a pipe dream.
Earlier viruses only bolstered physique; T+G Virus was the first real leap—if you could control it.
Botch the procedure and the results were irreversible.
As they prepared to leave, distant gunfire rang out—BSAA troopers racing for their lives.
Rugged SUVs tore over rough track, solid tyres shrugging off sharp stones.
Sheva woke, spotting them. "That's Josh's team—I sent them to check the Plaga-infested village."
Samantha pointed at a pursuing figure. "Daddy, look—Uncle Kenneth!"
Eddie recognised Kenneth, but the man's face was cold, eyes icy—human shell, alien soul.