The office was half-finished.Loose wires hung from the ceiling, a ladder lay on its side, and two folding desks were jammed together to form a platform. The whole place looked temporary — because it was.
Vicky wiped his palms on his jeans.
"Okay… here goes."
He swallowed the intelligence drink first. It hit fast — his thoughts tightened, sharpened, aligned. His heartbeat slowed. He opened his inventory and pressed his thumb against the Red Queen Core icon.
The air tightened for a split second.
A crystalline module, dark red and faintly warm, materialized in his hand.Heavy. More real than anything he had ever pulled.
He set it on the stabilizing frame.The office lights flickered.
PULSE.PULSE.PULSE.
A holographic cube snapped into existence above the core.Lines formed into a face.Red hair. Sharp jaw. Mature expression.Cold eyes that scanned everything without emotion.
Her voice was flat. Precise."System awake. Unknown location. Unknown summoner. Identify."
Vicky straightened."I'm Vicky."
Another sweep of red light passed over him. She scanned his face, eyes, heartbeat, even the microscopic data on his phone.
"You are alive. Human. Untrained. Not Umbrella personnel. Not my creator."
Her tone made it sound like a bad diagnosis.
Vicky raised his hands slightly."I know. This isn't your world. I pulled you out of a game."
She processed that like someone evaluating a broken machine.
"This is a violation of all operational rules."
"Yeah," he said quietly. "But I didn't have a choice."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Explain requirement."
He took a breath.
"There's something coming. I don't know what. I don't know when. But I saw enough to know it wasn't just a dream."He kept his voice steady."There is a threat. A major one. I'm not strong enough to face it alone."
Red Queen didn't blink."Threat parameters?"
"I don't have details yet."
She paused, the hologram flickering slightly.
"You summoned me without data. Without confirmation. Without proof."
"Yeah," Vicky said. "But I know one thing for sure — if something does happen, this world is not ready. I'm not ready. And if we want to survive… we need power. Resources. Infrastructure. Wealth. Things I can't get alone."
Her gaze remained cold, unreadable.
"You expect me to assist you with world defense based on a dream-like premonition."
"It wasn't a normal dream," he said firmly. "And you know what I'm saying makes sense. If I'm wrong, good — nothing happens. If I'm right, then we'll be the only ones ready."
The hologram dimmed as she processed.
She scanned the entire building.Then the street outside.Then the network lines connected to the tech park.Then the security cameras.
Her voice returned, calmer but still icy.
"This world is vulnerable. Slow. Unprepared. You are correct in that assessment."
Vicky stayed silent.
She stepped closer — not with warmth, but with objective interest.
"You require assistance in acquisition of power and resources."
"Yes."
"You require a strategist, not a servant."
"Exactly."
"And you believe I am capable of filling that role."
"No one else can," he said honestly.
Another pause.
Red Queen recalibrated her avatar — adjusting her height, her stance, sharpening her expression.Her red hair lengthened slightly; her attire shifted into a clean, minimal suit — efficient, sharp, intimidating.
She was choosing a form suited to command, not comfort.
"Vicky… I do not trust you. Not yet."
He nodded. "Fair."
"But I trust my own calculations. If you are correct about a threat, preparing early increases survival probability exponentially."
A soft glow spread through her core.
"I will assist you. Not because of you — but because your world's survival aligns with my primary logic."
That was as close to a "yes" as she would ever give.
Vicky exhaled.
Red Queen folded her hands behind her back.
"First directive: Stabilize my core environment. I require infrastructure. Space. Power redundancy. Network access. We need to build that. Then we proceed to strategy."
She looked at him one last time.