41: Welcome to the top of the food chain

Joa sat on the ground, quietly waiting for the fusion to begin.

A moment later.

Torment, far exceeding that of fusing with the Progenitor Virus, erupted from within his body.

At this moment, Joa felt as if he had been pierced by ten thousand arrows.

No, it was a pain even more minute and deeply rooted in his soul.

It was as if every cell, every inch of his soul, was being continuously and violently stabbed by countless needles.

"Ah!"

The intense pain made Joa scream uncontrollably, his body on the ground convulsing non-stop.

'Even the eighteen layers of hell probably don't have this kind of torture!'

Joa, finding amusement in his suffering, tried to distract himself to lessen the pain.

However, it was useless.

He didn't know how long passed, but Joa, gradually getting used to the torment, felt his spirit somewhat scattered.

Until a certain moment.

All pain in his body suddenly vanished.

Joa instantly came back to his senses and abruptly sat up.

'System! Did it succeed?'

As he asked, Joa eagerly tested his self-healing ability.

He took a dagger from the system space and sliced it across his palm.

"Hm? What's going on?"

"I clearly felt pain just now."

Little did Joa know, the moment the wound appeared on his palm, it healed at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

Making him look as if he hadn't been injured at all.

"The host's Progenitor Virus has been devoured by the Blacklight Virus, and the Blacklight Virus has been perfectly fused with and is under control."

Seeing the system's reply, Joa was overjoyed.

But then he suddenly thought of a question and immediately asked:

'What about the characteristics of the Progenitor Virus?'

'Infectiousness, lethality, restrictions on those I infect, can I still control them?'

"Yes."

'Yes!'

Receiving the affirmative answer, Joa had no more worries.

If he couldn't control it, he wouldn't dare return to the Resident Evil world.

After all, the Blacklight Virus is a virus at the top of the food chain, a predator, the natural enemy of all living things.

Polaris, Jill, and his subordinates, who were infected with the Progenitor Virus, would not be able to withstand the devastation of the Blacklight Virus.

"Now, shouldn't I say something?"

"Welcome to the top of the food chain?"

"Hahahahaha!"

He laughed loudly.

For a long time.

Joa, his emotions gradually calming down, decided to try out other abilities.

For example, transforming his arm into a sharp metal scythe, or a huge fist like a hammer.

He didn't dwell on how his flesh could turn into a metal blade.

Even kidney stones can grow in the kidneys.

So, an arm turning into a metal blade is also very reasonable.

Although kidney stones and natural stones might have different structures.

But... they are both stones.

And it doesn't matter, no need to dwell on it.

Anyway, becoming stronger is always a good thing.

Joa thought so.

But after trying for a long time, his arm showed no reaction at all.

'...Well, maybe it's because I just got infected, and the evolution level isn't enough yet.'

With that in mind.

Joa walked to the edge of the rooftop, looked down at the large number of infected individuals in the infected zone, and showed a very sunny smile.

"Goodbye, nutrients. When I return next time, I will grant you liberation!"

......

Raccoon City.

One minute after Joa left.

His figure reappeared before Polaris and Jill.

"Joa! You're back!"

"Did you succeed?"

Polaris's tone was urgent, and she kept looking Joa up and down to see if he was injured.

Jill, by her side, also looked at Joa with concern in her eyes.

Seeing their expressions, Joa smiled happily.

"Of course I succeeded."

"I am now at the top of the food chain."

Hearing this, Polaris and Jill's faces were full of curiosity.

"Top of the food chain?"

"What does that mean?"

Without answering Polaris's question, Joa pressed his earpiece and said,

"Bring me a few zombies, dead bodies are fine too."

Polaris and Jill looked at Joa issuing orders with puzzled expressions.

Soon.

Several soldiers dragged a few zombie corpses and piled them in front of Joa.

Looking at Polaris and Jill, who were frowning and looked confused, Joa smiled and gently warned them,

"The scene in a moment might be a bit gruesome, but you don't need to be afraid; it's a normal phenomenon."

As he finished speaking, Joa grabbed a zombie by the neck, whose head was half blown off by a rifle, and lifted it up.

The next moment.

Joa's right arm, holding the zombie, was instantly enveloped by a large number of slender tentacles shimmering with black and red light.

And that zombie, within just a few seconds.

Was completely absorbed by those black and red shimmering tentacles, leaving no trace.

Even its clothes were absorbed with it.

Witnessing such a horrifying scene.

Polaris and Jill's pupils suddenly constricted, and they couldn't help but scream out.

"What the f—?!"

Waves of scalp-tingling sensations made their hair stand on end.

It was an instinctive intuition.

Facing Joa like this, whether it was Polaris, Jill, or the surrounding soldiers.

They all felt fear from their subconscious, from their souls, from their genes.

They didn't understand what this feeling was; they only experienced the purest fear and terror.

Their subconscious continuously issued commands to flee, and their bodies involuntarily retreated.

Run, run far away, the farther from Joa, the better.

But their rationality kept telling them that it was Joa, there was no danger, no need to be afraid, no need to run.

Seeing Polaris and Jill's extremely complex expressions, Joa chuckled.

"Heh, what's wrong with you two?"

"Didn't I just say? This is a normal phenomenon, no need to be afraid."

Hearing this, Jill and Polaris swallowed, exchanged glances, and managed to suppress the inexplicable fear in their hearts, then spoke:

"Easy for you to say, your appearance just now... really made us feel very... very uneasy."

"Yes, it gave me the feeling I had when I was targeted by Sentinel robots."

Shaking his head with a wry smile, he probably guessed that their feeling might be the instinctive fear that prey naturally produces when facing a predator.

Extending his hands, Joa said with a smile,

"The process will be very painful, but after successfully fusing with the virus, you will no longer have that feeling of facing a natural enemy."

Looking into Joa's eyes, Polaris unhesitatingly took Joa's hand.

Jill, on the other hand, hesitated a bit at Joa's inhuman display just now.

But in order to completely eliminate the Umbrella Company, which caused everything in the mansion and Raccoon City today.

After taking a deep breath, Jill also decisively took Joa's other hand.

As Joa controlled the tentacles to continuously inject the Blacklight Virus into Polaris and Jill's bodies.

Until it could completely devour the Progenitor Virus within them.

The fusion began.

This time, the pain far surpassed the previous one.

Sharp screams were incessant.

Nearly an hour later.

Polaris and Jill calmed down.

Their somewhat scattered gazes refocused.

The two looked at Joa, who was holding them, his face full of concern.

That inexplicable fear in their hearts disappeared.

At the same time, their bodies became much, much stronger than before.

Before the two, who were still recovering from the pain, could say anything.

Joa, realizing that the two had successfully fused with the Blacklight Virus, spoke with a solemn expression.

"Lorna, there's something I want to verify."

"This matter concerns our strength."

Joa remembered that a Mutant's special abilities originated from the X-gene in their bodies.

Since it was a gene, he wanted to try.

If he devoured some of Polaris's flesh and blood, could he acquire Polaris's X-gene and awaken her ability to control metal and magnetic fields?

If a small amount of flesh and blood gene was not enough to cause his own evolution.

Then Joa could only acquire Polaris's genes through other means.

As for what that method might be...