A magnificent beam of light suddenly burst forth from the clouds, its bright center a colossal red Fireball. This Fireball blazed in the sky, tearing through endless floating clouds, illuminating the dim night. It was as if time had instantly shifted to day, like the Sun had abruptly risen from below the horizon.
This was the Shadow of destruction, a terrifying spectacle caused by humanity's ultimate weapon, the nuclear bomb. The moment it was unleashed from its tiny shell, it began to rampage, baring its fangs and claws, unleashing its boundless majesty and power upon all life in this World. And that power was enough to make any Mortal tremble and fear.
Those who had only witnessed a nuclear explosion on a screen would never understand the indescribable shock of seeing one firsthand. In its presence, humans would only feel their own insignificance and lowliness, like an ant before a towering giant; even a gentle breath would make you feel as if a storm had engulfed you. Before this great power, humanity would forever feel ashamed of its own inferiority.
Some people stared blankly at the sky until the blinding light made them let out miserable wails. The light from a nuclear explosion is something humans cannot look at directly; its intense brilliance is enough to burn their retinas.
Still others began to tremble, knowing the terror of a nuclear explosion. Thus, they felt a fear of impending disaster and the despair of all hope lost. However, they did not know that this nuclear bomb, which Zhou Yi had already taken to an altitude of over 30,000 meters and detonated, was no longer the World-destroying weapon they imagined.
It could only display its power and grandeur, but it could not inflict any harm on the ants below. Only extremely precise instruments could detect its power, and this was what gave Phil Coulson a headache.
All the camp's facilities experienced problems. The nuclear electromagnetic pulse completely paralyzed most electronic equipment. Only a very small portion of equipment with anti-electromagnetic coating was still barely functioning.
This left Coulson in a frenzy, because he had to maintain the stability of the camp, and the current situation was that it was incredibly chaotic.
Civilians, scared like rabbits, ran around everywhere; some, so terrified they lost their minds, even started charging at the troops. Heaven knows what these pals were thinking; after so much time had passed, they were still alive and kicking. Doesn't that mean it's not a big deal?! A high-altitude nuclear explosion won't kill anyone, so why be so scared?
Coulson quickly dispatched personnel to calm these terrified pals, even resorting to some violent methods. Anyway, they were operating under the names of the CIA and Delta Force, so they weren't afraid of anyone complaining afterward. Moreover, compared to these troublemaking Civilians, Coulson was more concerned about the precise instruments.
In his mind, these damaged instruments were far more useful than those pals. The thought of the instruments completely ruined by the electromagnetic pulse gave him a pang of heartache. Those were things that couldn't be replaced even with money.
With the thought of salvaging whatever he could, he began to urge the professional personnel repairing the equipment to hurry with the emergency repairs.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yi had quietly returned to his side.
"Heavy losses!" He sighed, casually taking off his jacket. The jacket was visibly damaged, with some parts burned to ashes.
"Couldn't you have taken it a little further? Do you know how much we lost from that? I'm going to be chewed out by the higher-ups." Coulson said with a resentful expression. He was already imagining Director Fury's incessant taunts.
"Sorry, there wasn't enough time. I could only take him that far." Zhou Yi shrugged, casually coming up with an excuse. Without some loss, how could S.H.I.E.L.D. wholeheartedly go all out against Umbrella? He understood this very clearly.
Coulson wasn't the kind of person to casually dump all responsibility on others. What he had just said was merely friendly banter, not to be taken seriously. So, he quickly straightened his expression and said,
"Anyway, thank you, pal. If it weren't for you, these people, and I, and my good pals, would all be going to meet God. Praise God, you saved another City!"
"Although it's not appropriate to say this right now, Coulson. I am not a believer! And I don't believe in God!" Zhou Yi stretched casually. At this moment, Coulson, as well as Ada Wong, who had remained silent since Zhou Yi's disappearance, felt a scorching heat emanating from his body.
Coulson instinctively jumped far away, even directly hiding behind a cover, and shouted at him,
"Damn it, why are you so hot? Don't tell me this is that kind of ghost thing!"
"Phil, you're making too much of a fuss. It's just residual heat. What did you think it was?" Zhou Yi mocked Coulson's timidity, but Ada noticed the ground beneath his feet, which had turned into crimson lava. Yet, his shoes were perfectly intact. This miraculous sight made her bite her lip.
"Damn it, how would I know this isn't cursed nuclear radiation?" Coulson continued to complain from afar, but he had already emerged from behind the cover. It seemed he had chosen to believe Zhou Yi's words.
"Don't worry about nuclear radiation; I've already cleared it. What you saw was just a fleeting Shadow and pulse. Moreover, these aren't things you should be concerned about. What you should be concerned about is whether there will be more variables! I imagine you wouldn't want another nuclear bomb to fall on your head, right?"
Hearing this, Coulson couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his brow. Although he appeared very calm and composed at the moment, he knew it was because Zhou Yi was there, and there was also a significant element of luck.
If they hadn't discovered that plane in time, everything might have been over by now. Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. dug three feet deep afterward and dragged out all the Umbrella Corporation masterminds for public humiliation, it would be useless. He, Phil Coulson, would have already gone to heaven with tens of thousands of people, and whatever commotion happened below would have nothing to do with him.
"You're right, that's not what we should be concerned about right now." Coulson nodded, grabbing a technician who had just walked by. "How much longer until our communication is restored at the fastest?"
"Officer, the quinjet has an anti-electromagnetic coating; its communication facilities are still usable. If you want to use the camp's internal communication, it will take some time."
"Enough, pal, keep an eye on the situation. I'm going to report this news immediately. I'm sure the higher-ups will seize this opportunity to strike down Umbrella Corporation." Coulson hurried off without waiting for his subordinate to finish speaking, clearly enthusiastic about retaliating against Umbrella Corporation.
Zhou Yi understood Coulson's current mood perfectly; no one would be too pleased after having a nuclear bomb dropped on their head. So, Coulson's retaliatory strike was a certainty. His only concern was whether Umbrella Corporation would be completely wiped out. However, thinking of S.H.I.E.L.D. leading the charge, he couldn't be bothered to worry about it.
Coulson had left, but Ada Wong was still by his side. She meticulously scrutinized Zhou Yi from head to toe, not missing a single corner. She even took the opportunity to adjust his collar to sneak a few peeks inside, until Zhou Yi felt completely uncomfortable with her and pushed away her two restless paws. Only then did she reluctantly rein herself in.
Even so, she still seemed somewhat unsatisfied and began to probe with indirect questions.
"Boss, did you really just emerge from the explosion range of a nuclear bomb?"
"The core zone, or rather, that nuclear bomb exploded in my arms." Zhou Yi shrugged, confessing honestly. He had no need to hide anything from Ada Wong, because she would know his identity eventually anyway, so it was better to give her a heads-up.
Ada Wong's lips twitched. She couldn't quite tell if Zhou Yi was joking with her or telling her the truth. However, at the moment, she was more inclined to believe it was Zhou Yi's joke.
"Boss, seriously, that's not funny at all. If you don't want to say, you don't have to use this method to trick me!"
"I don't need to trick you. You'll naturally know some things later." Zhou Yi smiled, narrowing his eyes. He had already told the truth; whether Ada Wong believed it or not was her problem.
"Boss, don't scare me. I'm really timid!" Ada Wong put on a pitiful expression, trying to coax more information out of Zhou Yi. But Zhou Yi had already clamped his mouth shut, not saying another word.
They began to dawdle, strolling around the camp, awaiting the arrival of a new day. And this day, for Umbrella Corporation, marked the beginning of the end.
Starting from the morning news, every country and every media outlet worldwide was reporting a piece of information. News that was almost completely unbelievable for ordinary people.
The World's top multinational corporation, Umbrella Corporation, had developed a devastating virus. This virus would turn infected individuals into terrifying demons with no consciousness, only a bloodthirsty * *, and even more frightening was that this virus would spread through the infected's harm to others. Even a minor bite or scratch would turn the victim into an equally terrifying monster within a few hours.
As soon as this news broke, the World erupted in an uproar. Some cursed, some questioned, and others stirred up current events amidst the chaos.
And just as the World's attention was focused on Umbrella Corporation, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s prepared offensive measures were unleashed one after another.
First, a series of videos were uploaded to various media and the internet. These showed scenes of zombies rampant in Raccoon City, the endless tide of corpses, and humans brutally dying at the hands of zombies, making everyone who saw these videos tremble and shiver with cold dread. Many people enjoyed horror movies, but no normal person would ever like something happening in reality that was even more terrifying than a horror movie.
And when a nuclear bomb was detonated over Raccoon City, and all fingers pointed at Umbrella Corporation, the entire World erupted in chaos.
Almost every country and every City saw people begin to protest and demonstrate, demanding severe punishment for Umbrella Corporation. Some extreme individuals even set fire to local Umbrella Corporation facilities.
The Government also acted swiftly; they had to give the people an explanation. Therefore, they had to give Umbrella Corporation the most severe judgment.