LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 48: Chapter 48
"Your experiment... was it successful?"
Arthur's curiosity was evident, though neither he nor the others truly understood what Ethan had been working on for the past month. They only had a vague idea that it involved the T-virus, but the details—what exactly Ethan was trying to achieve remained a mystery.
Even Arthur, who had spent the most time with Ethan, couldn't decipher his ultimate goal. Magic? Science? Ethan had never openly displayed any magical abilities in front of them, so they had all simply assumed he was researching the virus like any other scientist would.
"It can't really be called a success," Ethan admitted, his tone pragmatic as always.
After a month of grueling work, he had managed to isolate the T-virus's ability to enhance mental power while using a magic circle to remove its various harmful side effects. However, there was a major drawback: once the side effects were eliminated, the virus's potency was greatly diminished.
The T-virus worked by overstimulating human cells, pushing them into an unnaturally hyperactive state. This cellular overdrive, while harmful, also triggered the enhancement of mental power. But when the dangerous side effects were stripped away, the virus's primary functions were essentially neutralized.
To address this, Ethan had shifted his focus, trying to suppress the virus's effects to a manageable level, enough to enhance mental power without causing harm. Even so, he had to remain cautious. One misstep, and the enhanced mental power could end up corrupting his own psyche.
After a month of tireless effort, the result wasn't quite what he had originally envisioned, though it wasn't a complete failure either.
"I did manage to come up with... this," Ethan said, pulling out a small iron box.
He flipped it open, revealing several neatly arranged cigarettes inside.
Arthur leaned in, curious, while the others stared in confusion. Alice, being the most familiar with Ethan's eccentricities, reached out and grabbed one. She inspected it for a long time, even sniffing it suspiciously.
"Don't tell me you spent an entire month locked in that lab... just to make a pack of cigarettes?" Alice said, her voice dripping with disbelief.
But Ethan wasn't joking. "Yes, that's exactly what I've been working on. Would you like to try one? The tobacco leaves were soaked in pure T-virus solution," he said, completely serious.
Alice froze, her hand trembling slightly as she nearly hurled the cigarette back at Ethan's face. "Are you insane? Do you seriously expect us to smoke that? Are you trying to kill people?"
Ethan casually caught the cigarette mid-air and carefully placed it back in the box. "Relax. I've removed all the harmful side effects. This stuff is actually good for you."
"Oh, really?" Alice's skepticism was clear, but her curiosity was piqued. Even the others, who had initially dismissed the cigarettes as some kind of joke, began to pay attention.
"What exactly does this cigarette do that's 'good for you'?" Alice asked, crossing her arms.
"It clears your mind. Refreshes you. Helps you recover from mental fatigue," Ethan replied simply.
"..."
Alice gave him an exaggerated roll of her eyes, exasperation evident on her face. If it weren't for the fact that she'd seen Ethan in action and knew she stood no chance in a fight she might've tried to smack him.
"What, like all cigarettes?" she retorted sarcastically.
"No, no, no!" Ethan waved a finger, correcting her. "Normal cigarettes just trick your body into feeling awake. They forcibly drain whatever scraps of energy you have left. But this? This actually restores you. Genuine recovery."
That caught everyone's attention. They weren't fools, and they quickly understood the implication.
"You're saying... if I'm completely exhausted and mentally drained, smoking this would bring me back?" one of the group asked.
Ethan nodded. "It only works on mental fatigue, though. Physical exhaustion still needs time to heal naturally." He paused, then pulled out a cigar from his coat. "This, however, has some restorative effects on the body as well. But the results are unstable, so I'm still working on improving it."
Even in its current state, these creations were impressive. Alicia, with her scientific background and intimate knowledge of the T-virus, was especially intrigued. She understood better than most how uncontrollable the virus was. That a single person, working alone in a makeshift lab for a month, had managed to achieve this was nothing short of astonishing.
Was Ethan an unparalleled genius, or had Umbrella simply been staffed with incompetents all along?
Ethan began explaining his results in greater detail.
The iron box of cigarettes, as he had said, could refresh the mind and restore mental clarity. What he hadn't mentioned was that, when used by him specifically, these cigarettes could very slowly increase the overall capacity of his mental power without any risk of contamination or corruption.
The downside? The improvement was minuscule. If Ethan's mental power were measured at 100, smoking these wouldn't even raise it by 0.01. Still, it was a start.
The real advantage was that he could now produce these in bulk. By reusing the purified virus solution to soak more batches of specially treated tobacco, he had ensured a steady supply. It was this scalability that had led him to choose cigarettes as the medium—they were practical and efficient for mass production.
For safety's sake, the first thing Ethan had done was develop the super antidote. He also refined the re-created virus solution to remove its terrible infectiousness at this point, it was more of a concoction than a virus. However, the concoction wasn't suitable for direct use on himself. Although it was more potent, it still carried the risk of contaminating his spiritual power.
Ethan had also thought about creating a higher-grade cigarette one that could restore magical energy by mixing herbs with restorative properties. If successful, the cigarettes would function like portable "mana potions," easier to carry and use than traditional liquid vials. However, since he couldn't make use of it in his current state, he set the idea aside for later.
Similarly, he had considered improving the cigar that restored physical strength, but the risks were far greater. Stimulating rapid physical recovery wasn't without consequences. Though it wouldn't turn someone into a zombie, excessive stimulation of the body's metabolism could drastically reduce a person's lifespan. Human cells could only divide a limited number of times, and overclocking that process could accelerate aging to an absurd degree, aging ten years in an instant wasn't out of the question.
The differences between the T-virus in the movie version and the game version had concerned Ethan initially. The inconsistencies in its depiction made him worry that its effects might deviate significantly from his expectations. Fortunately, the core functionality remained as he remembered, allowing him to achieve his goals.
With his work complete, Ethan began asking about everyone else's situation.
The mercenaries had apparently reached an agreement with Umbrella's upper management and returned to their normal lives. Except for Dr. Isaacs, who had been killed by Ethan before he entered the lab, most of Umbrella's executives had resumed their original positions.
Even those who hadn't prepared contingency plans to deal with their clones had been helped by "allies" among the other executives. Once again, Umbrella's leadership had quietly reshuffled itself, leaving the world none the wiser.
"They're busy consolidating their power and won't bother us for the time being," someone explained. "But once they've stabilized, they'll likely come after us for revenge."
Ethan shook his head. "No, they'll only come after you. They won't find me or Arthur."
He and Arthur were leaving this world soon, and that simple fact rendered Umbrella's retaliation irrelevant to them.
As for Alice and Alicia...
"As long as Alicia stays healthy, Umbrella won't be able to touch you," Ethan said matter-of-factly. "At least not openly. Besides, you could always invite those mercenaries back. You share some common interests, and having them as bodyguards would be a significant advantage."
It was practical advice, but Alicia's physical condition was far from ideal. Her father had developed the T-virus to treat her progeria, but the experiment had backfired, creating one of the most horrifying bioweapons in human history.
Alicia had tried to improve the virus over the years, but her efforts were in vain. Resigned to her fate, she had given up entirely, choosing to wait out her remaining days in quiet solitude.
Ethan, however, wasn't so pessimistic. "Oh, this problem? It's actually not that hard to fix."
What technology couldn't solve, Ethan could address through the mysterious side. After all, he'd already managed to remove the T-virus's harmful side effects and create tools to enhance his mental power.
Over the next few days, Ethan refined a solution tailored to Alicia. While it wouldn't restore her youth or turn her into a superhuman like Alice, it would allow her to live as a healthy person for another ten or twenty years.
Alicia was stunned when Ethan presented her with the potion. Overwhelmed, she offered him her shares in Umbrella, a fortune that would make him a super-rich tycoon.
Ethan declined without hesitation. To someone about to leave this world, such wealth was meaningless.
Instead, Ethan focused on packing his belongings. He scavenged the base for weapons, ammunition, and supplies, taking as much as he could carry. Alice and Alicia initially watched in confusion, but their expressions quickly turned to shock as Ethan and Arthur vanished, leaving the world of Resident Evil behind.
In the quiet of their new surroundings, Ethan glanced around the room, now unfamiliar after his harrowing journey. He sighed, a rare moment of reflection crossing his face. "What a trip... I don't even know how to describe it."
Arthur, setting down a bundle of supplies, gave him a small smile. "For me, it was a great journey. I saw so much and learned more than I could have imagined. And I found something interesting."
Reaching into his pack, Arthur pulled out a book titled The Death of King Arthur.
"I didn't expect to find a book about my life in such a world," Arthur said, flipping through the pages. "Although... there are many deviations in it."
Ethan wasn't surprised. He knew Arthur would come across such a thing. The King Arthur in that book wasn't the same as the one standing before him; they were entirely different figures from different planes. Arthur himself had already learned the concept of parallel worlds from Merlin.
"The King Arthur in that book belongs to its own world," Ethan said calmly. "What kind of king you will become depends entirely on you."
Arthur nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. Still, reading this gave me a lot to think about. It made me realize how easily I could fall into the same mistakes if I'm not careful. If I hadn't agreed to travel with you, I'm not sure my future would have turned out any better than the one in this book."
Ethan shrugged, spreading his hands. "Who knows? All I can say is that your story will end differently." He paused, a glimmer of curiosity in his expression. "Honestly, I'm interested to see what kind of king you'll become."
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