Morpheus saw Ada Wong's disbelief but wasn't fazed.
"Alright, Aunt Wong, I'll give you a chance. Answer my questions honestly, and I'll let you go. How's that?"
"You're that generous?" Ada eyed him suspiciously, doubting he'd let her off so easily.
Morpheus said, "As long as you don't lie, I'll spare you. After all, you're one of my childhood idols."
Ada snorted. Childhood idol? She'd never even met him.
And one of? Who was he looking down on?
Morpheus pressed, "First, tell me—is the team behind you Blackwatch?"
Ada glanced at him, surprised. "You even know that?"
The team was highly secretive. She hadn't known of their existence until yesterday when Wesker tasked her with investigating the Tokyo branch and put them under her command.
Only then did she learn Wesker controlled such an elite force.
Unbelievable.
Yet this stranger knew Blackwatch's name. That was odd.
Was there a mole in Umbrella?
Considering Morpheus could disguise himself as the Tokyo branch president, Ada was convinced of her theory.
Despite his youthful appearance, he might be a cunning old fox.
If Morpheus knew her thoughts, he'd probably give her a thumbs-up.
In a way, she wasn't wrong.
He wasn't just an ordinary high schooler. Before his transmigration, he'd been a seasoned corporate drone.
"Second question: when did you arrive in Tokyo yesterday?"
Ada paused. He even knew they'd arrived yesterday.
There had to be a mole in headquarters.
"Five p.m. yesterday."
She didn't lie. She figured he already knew this through his mole and was just verifying the intel.
She'd done similar things herself.
"Third question: what's your purpose here?"
Ada answered, "Wesker suspects there's a traitor in the Tokyo branch, so he sent me to investigate."
"He's suspecting Allen?" Morpheus asked.
"No, not Allen," Ada shook her head. If Wesker suspected Allen, the Tokyo branch president, she wouldn't be meeting Morpheus now.
"Wesker only suspects there's a rat in the Tokyo branch. He sent me a day early to catch them and give President Allen a wake-up call."
But Ada never imagined the traitor would be so high up.
The good news: Wesker's suspicions were correct.
The bad news: the traitor was the branch president himself.
No, not the president.
Someone was impersonating him.
That was beyond comprehension.
How could the entire Tokyo branch not notice their president had been replaced?
"I bet you're thinking the Tokyo branch must be full of idiots for not noticing their president was swapped out," Morpheus said, grinning at Ada's stunned expression. "What if I told you the entire Tokyo branch is under my control?"
"That's impossible," Ada refused to believe it. If the whole branch was his, wouldn't that mean Umbrella's headquarters was incompetent?
Wesker didn't seem like a fool.
Morpheus continued, "Not only the Tokyo branch, but even your team could be mine."
Ada froze.
The Blackwatch soldiers behind her moved in unison, stepping behind Morpheus and shouting, "Boss!"
Ada was dumbfounded.
What the hell?
"What did you do to them?"
When she'd been immobilized, Blackwatch hadn't reacted, so she assumed they were frozen too.
Now, seeing them defect en masse, she almost believed Morpheus.
But she quickly realized Blackwatch was Wesker's elite unit—they couldn't be Morpheus's men.
Their betrayal had to be his doing.
"You're sharp," Morpheus said, nodding approvingly. "Hypnosis, brainwashing, something like that. The moment we met, I used a similar ability to reprogram this team."
"So, from now on, I'm their Boss."
Ada's pupils constricted. Now she understood why no one in the Tokyo branch noticed their president was an imposter.
They'd been brainwashed.
It was unthinkable.
"So, you're going to brainwash me next?" Ada asked bitterly.
For someone like her, losing her free will was the worst fate.
It seemed unavoidable now.
She felt a surge of fear, cursing Wesker internally. You bastard, you've gotten me killed.
Morpheus shook his head. "I won't brainwash you. You're one of my childhood idols, after all."
Ada's heart lifted. She'd scoffed at the "childhood idol" line before, but now she couldn't deny its benefits. She had no idea when she'd met him, but this "idol" status was a lifesaver.
Even being "one of" was fine.
As long as she wasn't brainwashed.
She dreaded losing her sense of self.
"One last question," Morpheus said, narrowing his eyes. "Answer honestly—this one's life or death."
"I won't brainwash you, but I won't hesitate to kill you."
Ada's face stiffened. She couldn't help but snap, "Is this how you treat your childhood idol?"
Morpheus replied, "If my childhood idol falls from grace, I won't mind killing her to preserve the image I hold dear."
Ada muttered, "What kind of nonsense logic is that?"
Morpheus ignored her. "Tell me, Ada Wong, do you know what the Umbrella Tokyo branch is planning?"
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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