Not until dusk had fully swallowed the city—when dazzling neon lights replaced the last of the warm sunlight—did Vela finally lift her head in the lab codenamed "Umbrella." Tired, she rubbed her temples and stopped writing the synthesis program at her workstation.
In the cyberpunk world of 2074, nearly every piece of electronic equipment had a hacker interface.
Programmable, connectable, controllable...
With neural-computer synchronization, even technical research was now mostly performed on segmented cyber networks. Virtual screen grids generated on implants, connected to real-world terminals, weak AIs assisted in calculations, data was transmitted, refined, tested, and continuously adjusted…
[Regenerate (3rd Iteration, 1st Improvement Test)]
Type: Recovery and Wellness Care Product
Product Development Unit: Umbrella Personal Laboratory (Arasaka)
Notes: Based on data collected and feedback from Danger Gal's recovery and wellness division, this latest version incorporates real-time adjustments and program improvements. Preliminary tests show that compared to the currently available Regenerate-B4, the C1 prototype improves results for natural and synthetic skin care by approximately 6%–9%.
2074/5/27, 22:14.
After nearly half a day of calculations, Vela had successfully controlled the drug's upgrade within a rational margin.
Backed by Umbrella from another world, Vela had invested considerable effort in mastering biotechnology.
She might not yet rival the likes of Dr. Marcus or Dr. William Birkin, but her knowledge wasn't shallow. At the very least, she could understand, reproduce, and reconstruct formulas—so long as they weren't T-virus-dependent and the reference materials were complete.
Especially now, with the manpower and technical archives from Birkin's Raccoon City base, she had full access to everything under her executive authority. And she wasn't asking for B.O.W., T, or G-level classified materials—just the commercially available medical products Umbrella once sold. The kind that actually made money in the civilian Asia-Pacific market.
With Arasaka's financial power behind her—while not a biotech giant, its research division was flush with funds—any raw materials not tied to the T-virus were easy enough to source. That made Vela's replication efforts much more feasible.
"This should do for now..."
Production data from the workbench scrolled across her ocular implant. A single command from her cerebral cortex was all it took to access the results.
6%–9%.
A soft red glow flickered in Vela's indigo eyes.
That was enough.
She couldn't afford to leap straight to the cutting edge. Gradual improvement was key—to show she hadn't abandoned her "hobby."
After sending the complete Regenerate-C1 documentation, improvement data, and elemental transference chemistry model to Danger Gal's business division, Vela stretched contentedly.
Her lab was small, but fully equipped.
It was here that she could reasonably and plausibly recreate Umbrella's biotech using methods that made sense in this world.
She used her status to its fullest. Enrolling in biotech courses at Arasaka Academy had been step one. Then came her post-employment interest in Old Net recovery and her extremely cautious excavation practices…
With time, the persona she'd built was nearly complete—only a few minor gaps remained.
Plausible, with just enough irrational brilliance to hint at genius.
Beep.
Work complete.
After disinfecting and shedding the bulky hazmat suit, Vela exited the inner chamber and pressed the shutdown switch. Identity verified, the lab powered down slowly, in full compliance with safety protocols.
Now that the data was sent, the matter was out of her hands—for now.
Further fine-tuning and clinical trials? That was Danger Gal's problem. She just wanted the money.
As for the hemostatic agent Adravil and trauma ointment Aqua Cure, there was no rush. Improving one product a day made her look like a genius—and could be explained away with preparation. But upgrading three in a single day?
That would raise flags.
Vela had no intention of being fully transferred to the Biotech Division just because her talents were too glaring. Not even for a triple promotion.
...
Later that evening, Vela made her rounds at the Security Division's soldier barracks.
She exchanged a few words with her Special Assault Unit subordinates, announced the new bonuses for Unit 6, offered some encouragement to the other squads, and was then ushered to the firing range for routine firearms training.
JKE-X2 Kenshin, HJKE-11 Yukimura, Senkoh LX, Shigure, TKI-20 Shingen, HJSH-18 Masamune, Nowaki… Tsunami Nekomata, Militech assault rifles, Kang Tao smart weapons—Vela fired several magazines from nearly every popular weapon currently on the market.
Sparks flew from the targets.
Better to be prepared—there might come a time when these skills were needed.
"Seven seconds faster. Commander, if anyone assumes you're just a desk officer on a field mission, I think they'll regret it... You're practically a polymath. Uh, do you still run CQB[1] drills?"
Vela's trusted lieutenant, Unit 6's vice-captain Jimmy—a 1.95-meter-tall, fully geared white man with no helmet—stared at the timer in awe. Having followed Vela closely for years, he'd personally witnessed her progress.
Sure, she rarely engaged enemies on the frontlines—but that didn't mean she was some frail, powerless commander.
"If someone gets close enough to touch me, it means you're either dead—or slacking."
Vela didn't acknowledge the flattery. She merely glanced sideways at her second-in-command.
At that moment, she held a Satara electromagnetic shotgun one-handed.
Her slender, pale fingers—barely showing signs of cybernetic enhancement—clashed starkly with the hulking, heavy weapon. It looked as if the recoil might shatter her arm.
She pulled the trigger.
A hidden processor beneath the skin of her palm synchronized with the gun, feeding the target coordinates and magnified image directly into her ocular implant. It compensated for ballistic drift and fired automatically.
Boom!
With a crackle of electricity, a steel nail accelerated by electromagnetism exploded against the target 50 meters away, generating a bright spark and even a minor melting reaction.
Once the shot landed, Vela casually tossed the shotgun toward Jimmy.
"That's enough training for today. I've spent too much time in the Biotech Division."
With a confident turn and a lazy wave of her fingers, she left the barracks.
...
2074/5/27, 22:44
Internal Cybersecurity Division, under the Security Bureau.
Beep.
The automatic door opened. "Chief Vela." The Arasaka netrunner bowed respectfully.
"Mm. Secure relay." Vela nodded and smoothly took her usual seat, gesturing.
One of the administrative techs—without a black suit and currently resting in a data pod—smiled wryly. "Chief, you... well, just take it easy." He handed her a relay device shaped like a tablet.
This served as a buffer—a layer of protection. Unlike a direct neural connection, if a hacker traced the signal and uploaded malware or a daemon virus, only the relay would fry, not the user's brain.
Arasaka had top-tier protections like this, of course.
Vela wasn't reckless enough to connect her neural interface directly.
White lines traced across her fair skin as she drew her personal connector from the base of her palm and plugged it into the secure relay. She reclined on the couch and closed her eyes.
"Connect me to the Old Net. Wake me at midnight sharp."
"Yes, ma'am."
In Vela's vision, after a moment of creeping darkness, dim light emerged. Blue and white data streams floated in a murky space, densely packed, aligned in neat matrices, subtly opening a straight path ahead.
At the endless horizon—a flickering haze of dazzling light.
That was—
Cyberspace.
"Now then... let's begin the training."
[1] Close-Quarters Battle