The reason Krauser was recruited by Mordred also had something to do with Ethan.
Back then, when Ethan was bored, he had planted a seed of power in Leon. After successfully escaping Raccoon City and uncovering the truth behind the incident, Leon was immediately recruited by the authorities and became an elite agent after receiving specialized training.
Leon performed exceptionally well after completing his training. His status gradually rose, and he became increasingly important. It was during a mission alongside Krauser that the experienced soldier learned of the existence of such miraculous power in the world.
According to the original plot, Krauser was supposed to be injured during that mission with Leon, nearly losing the use of his left arm. After the mission, he would leave the military due to his injury. This experience would expose him to the power of the bio-virus, prompting him to seek strength and eventually join Wesker.
But this time, things were different. The seed of power Leon received from Ethan allowed him to wield Holy Light. Krauser's injury was alleviated on the spot and never reached the point of rendering his arm useless.
Afterward, the ever-enthusiastic Leon would frequently visit Krauser and even generously tried to teach him how to sense Holy Light.
Leon had done this countless times over the past few years, sometimes at the request of his superiors and sometimes of his own accord, but no one had ever succeeded in sensing Holy Light.
This was normal. Leon's power entirely stemmed from the seed Ethan had given him. Without that, he would never have been able to grasp such power. After all, no one in this world could break through the layers of planar barriers and draw energy from another world into this one.
So, it was normal for no one to succeed. It would have been unusual if someone did. If that had happened, Ethan would have gone to personally examine how talented that individual was.
In short, Krauser could not sense Holy Light. When he realized he couldn't acquire the miraculous power Leon possessed, he once again considered turning to bio-viruses to enhance himself.
At that moment, Annette returned to the Resident Evil world (in theory, she had been gone a long time, but the time flow in the Resident Evil world was not synchronized with Ethan's side. So Annette could have returned to the time she left, but she chose to come back a few years later) and then used various channels to open a pharmaceutical company.
Most people didn't know Annette's background, but Leon, being in the loop, did. He found it odd that he had received no orders to investigate or arrest Annette, yet he still used his connections to look into her situation.
Leon then personally contacted Annette and learned she had traveled with Ethan through many different worlds, witnessed countless extraordinary things, acquired many special forms of knowledge, and created truly beneficial medicines for humanity.
Of course, Leon didn't immediately believe her. But Annette showed him some results.
Ordinary people would never have received such treatment, but Leon was someone favored by Ethan, and Annette understood how to treat this young man properly.
After seeing the evidence, what caught Leon's attention most was that Annette had developed an antidote for the T-virus—the virus that had wreaked havoc across the world—and it was available in large quantities. She was even working on a vaccine.
The T-virus did not infect everyone. Based on experiments and observations, approximately one in ten people were naturally immune and would not become zombies.
This was also why so many survivors remained in Raccoon City despite the large-scale outbreak.
Now that Annette had developed a vaccine, if everyone could be vaccinated, the T-virus would no longer be as terrifying as it once was.
Leon knew new strains of bio-viruses would continue to appear. But for now, the T-virus was the most widely spread on the black market and the source of most global outbreaks. Eliminating it was already enough to be considered a massive achievement.
At the same time, Leon also learned that many of the medicines Annette had developed had excellent therapeutic effects. Many wealthy elites were offering protection for her pharmaceutical company from various angles because of this.
The richer a person was, the more they desired to live comfortably and longer. As long as Annette's products could guarantee health and longevity, they would naturally protect her.
After learning all this, Leon also suggested Krauser go to Annette for treatment. Shortly after, Mordred arrived, looking to see if she could recruit some skilled individuals.
From the information she gathered through Annette, she targeted the siblings Chris and Claire, along with former STARS members Jill, Rebecca, Barry, and others.
Unfortunately, none of them were interested in her offer. Chris was focused solely on taking down Wesker and eliminating bioweapons from the world.
Jill, his comrade and close friend, fully supported Chris.
Rebecca had already retired from the front lines and was now working in a university research lab, specializing in treatments for bio-viruses—making her a target of poaching by Annette.
Barry felt he was too old and wanted to spend more time with his family. Claire had no interest in Mordred's offer either. She preferred contributing to her world by working with civilian groups that fought against bio-viruses.
After searching all over, no one agreed. But then she encountered Krauser, who had taken the initiative to show up at Annette's place.
Krauser didn't care about making the world a better place or defeating evil masterminds. He just wanted to become stronger. As he was considering how to join Annette's company, he saw an opportunity in Mordred.
After demonstrating that he was an experienced and capable soldier, Mordred didn't nitpick. She simply brought him back with her.
By that point, Krauser's arm had already been healed. After completing the treatment, he felt his body was healthier than ever. Years of combat had left all sorts of lingering issues in his body. These minor injuries would sometimes cause him discomfort.
But now... he didn't feel any of it.
Although his strength and speed hadn't increased, and he hadn't gotten younger, Krauser was very satisfied. His instincts, honed from years of combat experience, told him that the other side possessed advanced technology that could make him even better.
Then something miraculous happened.
There was no contract. This girl named Mordred simply took him and a few others to a strange place.
Was it some sort of base? While he was wondering if he should start gathering intelligence, Mordred was already showing them around.
That was when he realized they were on a ship.
Up to that point, he had only been surprised by how they arrived and how advanced the ship was. But when he looked through the front window and saw the vast starry sky outside, he finally realized this was actually a spaceship.
For a moment, he felt he had hit the jackpot.
In the days that followed, he began learning new knowledge and adapting to life in this environment. He still didn't know what he had been recruited for.
However, he was issued a complete set of gear, including full protective gear, armor plates, various external devices, a personal terminal (the same model used in the Starship Troopers world for civilian use, not the version used on the Artemis), and advanced weaponry.
According to Mordred's requirements, in addition to learning how to use these weapons, they also had to learn to operate some aircraft, including fighter jets—especially a type of variable fighter called the VF.
This gave Krauser a headache. He had no talent in this area and didn't understand why they needed to learn how to fly these things.
Still, he didn't complain. He worked hard to learn. After several months, when no new recruits joined their team, Mordred finally reappeared.
By that time, some complaints had started to surface among the group. After being recruited, they had no missions or pay, only constant training. Some people even suspected they had been tricked.
If it weren't for the advanced gear in their hands, which made them feel that no one would spend so much just to fool them, they might have already tried to seize the ship. They were unaware of Luna's presence on the Artemis, and many of their actions and conversations had been monitored.
So when Mordred appeared, some of them were ready to have a proper "talk" with their boss.
"I know many of you are dissatisfied. Until today, I haven't explained anything."
Mordred looked around at the group.
"It's not that I couldn't explain, but I found it annoying to repeat myself over and over. So I decided to settle everything in one go."
She briefly explained the purpose of the recruitment and revealed her true identity.
Everyone's reaction was the same: it's over! We've run into a lunatic! Is this some kind of cult?
Their first reaction was resistance.
Then something happened that shattered their worldview. Even though they used the gear they had trained with, unleashing combat power far greater than what they had at their peak, they were still easily defeated by Mordred, who was only wearing hot pants and a tank top.
More importantly, Mordred used many miraculous techniques that proved everything she had said earlier wasn't nonsense.
As she stood among the group she had just beaten, Mordred straightened her back, raised her chin, and pointed at herself with her thumb.
"Remember this. I, Mordred, am the king you are to serve."
Krauser hadn't moved the entire time. He had observed everything from beginning to end. And when Mordred displayed her inhuman combat power, his eyes were filled with fanaticism.
"If we serve you, what do we get in return?"
Krauser kept his eyes locked on Mordred. Her slender frame, lacking in obvious muscle, looked fragile compared to most people here, yet she had unleashed terrifying power. He felt that what he sought was standing right before him.
"Can we become as strong as you?"
(To be continued.)