More than ten hours later, on the Sanctuary's flight deck, Marcus stood at the edge, gazing out at the serene azure planet below. Beside him, the heavy Sunflare Sword performed intricate chopping motions, effortlessly guided by his Mind Power. After his recent enhancements, Marcus could now manipulate the Sunflare Sword as easily as moving his own arm, while simultaneously controlling over ten psychic flying knives. Coupled with his powerful long-range weapons and equipment, Marcus was now fully capable of single-handedly traversing the entire Resident Evil world.
"Are we departing now?" Behind Marcus, Isaac, radiating excitement, jogged over. It was impossible to tell that this man had recently suffered the devastating loss of his girlfriend. Having just acquired Mind Power, Isaac had rested for only a few hours, spending the rest of the time vigorously experimenting with his new abilities.
Marcus nodded, looking at Isaac. "How's your ability training coming along?"
"It hasn't reached the intensity of the power module yet," Isaac replied, "but it's not far off." Beside him, two slender, prismatic blades, which he had personally machined, floated steadily in the air, a testament to his burgeoning powers.
Just as Marcus was imparting techniques and insights for using Mind Power to Isaac, Jill, Carlos, and others hurried over from behind them.
"Oh, Miss Jill, Mr. Carlos, how have you felt on board for the past ten-plus hours?" Marcus inquired.
Jill ran, slightly breathless, to Marcus. "You really aren't humans from this world!?"
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "It seems you already know. How could the human technological level of your world create such a spaceship? It's still several centuries too early." Over the past ten-plus hours, Jill and the others had learned everything from the other crew members: an advanced human civilization centuries ahead of their own, the disaster caused by the Marker, and the fanatical Unified Church bent on "Convergence." All of this information relentlessly assaulted their established worldview. In the past twenty-odd hours, they had already experienced countless things that shattered their perception of reality. Yet, upon learning that the Sanctuary was a spaceship from another universe, the shock in their hearts remained immense.
"Why did you bring us on board?" Jill asked, her gaze unwavering as she addressed the enigmatic man before her. "Aren't you afraid we'll reveal all of this?"
Marcus's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression as he looked at Jill, Carlos, Tyrell, and Annette. "I don't want to say any grand, empty words. Now, I sincerely hope that you will join the Sanctuary and become one of us." Jill and the others seemed to have anticipated this, their expressions remaining largely unchanged. Marcus glanced at Isaac beside him, knowing that it was probably Isaac who had revealed his intentions to them in advance. However, this was also a good thing. With a buffer of more than ten hours, Jill and the others had time to consider the matter more thoroughly.
Carlos, a mercenary with a surprisingly righteous heart, spoke up. "What's in it for us?"
Marcus pointed to the Sanctuary beneath their feet. "Isn't this enough? And from now on, the Sanctuary will travel to even more worlds."
"What if we don't want to join?" Tyrell, also a mercenary, now wearing glasses, looked at Marcus.
"I will erase your memories of this period, then send you back to the surface, and help cover up your experiences in Raccoon City. Your lives will return to normal," Marcus stated plainly. He didn't hide anything. The Red Marker's mental pulse, combined with the Shield Bee Intelligent System, could indeed achieve this.
Before Jill, Carlos, and Tyrell could answer, Annette, holding a sleeping Sherry, spoke first. "I'm staying." Jill and the others turned to look at the Umbrella Corporation researcher who had been silent for some time. "Because of that video, Sherry and I can no longer live normal lives on Earth. So, I'm staying," Annette said firmly, her gaze tenderly fixed on Sherry in her arms. Marcus looked at Annette with a slight apology. After all, it was he who had used the image of the deceased William to create and disseminate the video exposing the Umbrella Corporation.
"What about you three? Have you thought it over?" Marcus asked the others. After Jill and the other two exchanged glances, they all made their choice. They would stay. Marcus was not surprised by this. Indeed, choosing to stay was more in line with the personalities of these individuals.
Seeing that they had made their choice, Marcus waved his hand and patted Isaac's shoulder. "You take them to get the RIG System implanted. That will make communication easier. The mission will be delayed by a few hours." Isaac didn't waste any words and immediately led them off the flight deck to the medical area for the RIG System implantation surgery. With the help of high-tech medical assistance equipment and several medical crew members who had survived on the Sanctuary, they successfully had the RIG System implanted. After the surgery, they once again marveled at the high technological level of the Sanctuary.
In the context of the Resident Evil world, still in the late 20th century, where even personal computers had not yet become widespread and most people were still using basic cell phones, the RIG System, which integrated dozens of practical functions, felt like ancient people witnessing modern technology.
After a brief period of adaptation, they donned their specialized gear that could display health status, as well as wrist projectors that could display holographic pages. Then they returned to the flight deck.
"Annette, you and Sherry can stay on the Sanctuary for now. This child still needs someone to take care of her," Marcus said, looking at Annette, who had no combat ability. He then turned to the others. "As for you three, I have a new mission for you now."
"Oh?" Jill and the other two immediately perked up. "What mission?"
"It's related to a biochemical virus, but it has nothing to do with the Umbrella Corporation," Marcus stated, then transmitted the data on the Abyss Virus to the three of them. "At the bottom of the Kermadec Trench north of New Zealand, a portion of fish contain the 'Abyss Virus'. I need you to recover some virus samples and bring them back to the Sanctuary."
Jill looked at Marcus, and he instantly understood her unspoken question. "I'm not going to conduct biochemical virus research. This is just a necessary containment measure. And you can also destroy any Umbrella Corporation facilities in that area while you're at it. If there's no human intervention, this virus will soon be discovered and used for biochemical terrorist attacks." Marcus explained casually. Compared to the Cadou Mold, he was indeed not particularly interested in ordinary viruses like the Abyss Virus.
"You all can take the Sanctuary down. I will descend with the Blood Moon."