Panacea! This wasn't merely an antibiotic or similar pharmaceutical; it was a genuine universal cure, capable of eradicating all diseases! Almost instantly, Marcus envisioned the most monumental application for this small red pill: using it to heal the incapacitated, immortal living corpse on the Golden Throne.
"If this gets out," Marcus mused, forcefully suppressing the audacious thought, "everyone in the entire galaxy will be hunting me down." He truly had no intention of directly restoring the Emperor to full health. Firstly, it was uncertain whether the Panacea could even cure the Emperor; if it failed, a valuable artifact would be wasted.
Secondly, if the ancient Emperor were indeed healed, the consequences would be beyond his control. Based on Marcus's understanding, the Emperor would likely thank him, then immediately bind him and use him as a tool to aid the Imperium of Man's expansion into other worlds. Marcus's own desires would become insignificant at that point, as the Emperor prioritized humanity as a whole above any single individual.
Not to mention, Marcus wasn't even from that world. He didn't even entertain the thought of removing the Panacea from storage; doing so was simply too risky. Instead, he directly tossed it into his system warehouse and sealed it away. This item was a true divine artifact, but as of yet, Marcus hadn't found its optimal use.
Shaking his head and dismissing the matter of the Panacea, Marcus shifted his focus to the progress of the Tyranid Genestealer cleanup on the four ships in orbit. According to the battle report, the operation was largely proceeding smoothly, with the estimated number of Tyranid Genestealers on each ship ranging from thirty to forty thousand.
"It's a bit more than previously expected," he acknowledged. However, this was not a critical issue; the Tyranid Genestealer numbers had not exceeded the manageable threshold and remained within the operational capacity of the PDF Soldiers who had boarded the vessels. If no unforeseen complications arose, the cleanup would conclude in a few more hours, allowing Marcus to resume trade with the surrounding star systems.
After attending to some other administrative matters, Marcus opened his system panel and initiated a personal shuttle jump, returning to the Ishimura in the Resident Evil world. Looking around, Marcus breathed a slight sigh of relief. The dreaded worst-case scenario—where the ship's hull was covered in disgusting pustules and filth, and its corridors filled with turbid eyeballs and foul-smelling objects—had not materialized. The Ishimura remained entirely unchanged.
He walked towards the Captain's quarters with practiced ease. Along the way, Marcus encountered many crew members diligently performing their duties. Some were the original surviving crew members of the Ishimura, while others were new recruits who had recently come aboard and had not yet fully integrated.
The former, already familiar with Marcus, greeted him naturally. Most of the latter, however, held a sense of awe for Marcus, the mysterious captain who frequently disappeared and was as elusive as a phantom. After learning from the older crew members that Marcus possessed the ability to traverse dimensions, their apprehension only grew. However, they had managed to piece together some information: the so-called Blood Moon and Tyranid civilization were merely fabrications generated by an object called the God Seal. This revelation alone had shocked billions of people on Earth in the Resident Evil world, even leading to the unification of human civilization. Unfortunately, due to having signed the Spiritual Energy Contract, these individuals were no longer able to disclose this sensitive information to those on the ground.
Passing by the bridge, Marcus also encountered Annette and Sherry, whom he hadn't seen in some time. With a testing mindset, Marcus greeted Annette and then explained Wesker's controversial plan to mass-produce Tyrants using the suffering inhabitants of the Hive City. Annette, having once been a researcher at the Umbrella Corporation, was naturally very familiar with the Tyrant project.
"Theoretically, it is indeed feasible," Annette finally offered her professional opinion.
"Theoretically?" Marcus noted a hint of uncertainty in her words.
"The Umbrella Corporation controlled the T103 Tyrant through a dual effect of genetic manipulation and an internal controller," Annette explained. "According to your description, given the danger level of that world, the Tyrant could very likely suffer excessive damage, leading to a rampage and loss of control."
"Will rampaging Tyrants attack each other?" Marcus didn't answer Annette's explanation but instead asked a question in return.
"Yes, and they will fight until one of them dies," Annette immediately replied, confirming that the Umbrella Corporation had indeed conducted experiments in this area.
"What is the intelligence level of the T103 model? Do they have the ability to learn and grow?" Marcus continued to inquire.
After a moment of contemplation, Annette provided her answer. "According to large-scale tests, the 103 model's intelligence is sufficient to distinguish friend from foe and understand tactics like infiltration and encirclement. As for learning ability, it can only accumulate muscle memory through experience; it cannot learn complex behaviors like designing traps."
"That's fine then; they should be able to sign a contract," Marcus stated casually.
Annette's eyes widened, evidently not having anticipated such an approach. "The one you signed with us?"
Marcus nodded. Although he hadn't attempted it yet, if the Tyrant's intelligence truly reached a certain level, it might indeed be able to sign a Psychic Contract. In such a scenario, at least there wouldn't be a situation where a rampaging Tyrant accidentally harmed friendly forces; the psychic backlash would directly kill it.
"Moreover," Marcus added, "the Nemesis-Alpha can be implanted into them to further enhance their intelligence. Isn't the Nemesis the best example? They can even use thermal weapons; it's just that they look a bit chilling." Marcus recalled the Nemesis that had relentlessly pursued Jill in Raccoon City, only to be torn apart by a Tyrant Xenomorph midway. Anyway, biological weapons didn't need to consider their appearance; if they looked chilling, so be it, as long as they were strong.
Just as Marcus was about to hand over the mass production of Tyrants to Annette, she refused. "When I boarded the ship," she reminded him, "I said that I would no longer participate in biological weapon research." Marcus paused, remembering that Annette had indeed stated this; such a clause was even included in their Psychic Contract.
"Alright, I'll find someone else," Marcus conceded. "Do you know any other Umbrella Corporation employees with this capability?" Unlike William, who was solely focused on G Virus research, Annette had some connections within the Umbrella Corporation. However, all these connections had now been arrested by the United Government.
"Alexia Wesker, and Alexia Ashford," Annette said uncertainly. "Their research capabilities are even stronger than William's, but I don't know their whereabouts." Marcus naturally knew these two as well; they were formidable villains from Resident Evil: Revelations 2 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica, respectively. To be honest, Marcus felt no psychological burden about recruiting villains; after all, he had already taken Wesker under his command, so what did a few more matter?