Aside from a few publicity-obsessed buffoons, anyone who could become a national leader generally possessed a certain degree of wisdom and foresight.
The fish-man captured in 1963 might have been just a coincidence, but this fish-man killed in Baja California now demanded serious attention.
Various national governments contributed funds and technology. S.H.I.E.L.D. took direct responsibility for establishing a shell company called Ten Rings Industries. They would build drilling platforms at several of the world's deepest ocean trenches, working at a pressure of eight tons per square inch in the pitch-black deep sea to conduct excavation operations.
The leadership wanted to see what lay beneath the ocean—whether it was an entirely new subterranean world, a prehistoric civilization, or just a bunch of primitive monsters.
Ten Rings Industries was projected to complete basic construction within two years and begin excavation work in the third year.
All this information came from little spy Natasha. How could an intern agent obtain such classified intelligence? Bella strongly suspected Nick Fury had deliberately leaked this information to her. What was his intention? Did he want her to work at some undersea station? She was very busy—she wasn't going!
In mid-June, Bella traveled to Clone Island to personally observe Dr. Harlow performing bone marrow transplant surgery on Anna Miller.
Bone marrow transplantation didn't mean extracting the entire bone marrow and replacing it with new marrow—the workload wasn't that extensive.
Bone marrow transplantation was hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, rebuilding the body's normal hematopoietic and immune systems by infusing hematopoietic stem cells.
For ordinary families, this disease was nothing short of catastrophic. For wealthy people, it was equally agonizing.
Anna Miller controlled such a massive enterprise as Crawford Group. She knew friends, legislators, and famous doctors around the world. But without suitable bone marrow, there was simply no way to proceed with treatment. She could only endure with medication.
Her drug resistance grew stronger and stronger. She'd spent countless sums of money, yet her health deteriorated day by day.
She'd tried both theology and medicine. Nothing seemed able to save her anymore.
Weyland's cloning technology gave her a glimmer of hope.
The money demands were brutal—ten million deposit, then two subsequent treatments at thirty million each, bringing total treatment costs to over seventy million!
Crawford Group was indeed wealthy. Seventy million was less than a drop in the bucket. But that money didn't belong to her—she was just a manager.
This century-old group had an extremely complex ownership structure. The royal family, military, and various conglomerates held cross-shareholdings. Add in the church, various social groups, civil organizations, and individuals, and the shares involved countless parties.
Anna Miller didn't dare go too far. At most, she could skim a little off the top—she couldn't possibly take everything for herself. She didn't have that kind of nerve.
After working hard for many years, her personal savings amounted to just over two hundred million. Now she had to fork out a third of that at once. Saying it didn't hurt would be a lie, but for the sake of her life, this money had to be paid.
Extracting her genes and cultivating some hematopoietic stem cells was ridiculously easy.
The human gestation period was longest, organs next, and cells fastest.
Anna Miller wasn't ignorant about genetics. Having lived with chronic illness, she had sufficient understanding of human cloning. Of course she knew how long it took for a normal clone to develop from embryo to full growth.
Weyland Company could wait, but she couldn't. Ultimately, both parties worked out a temporary contract—first clone a "defective body" to restore her hematopoietic function, then upgrade to the "complete version" later.
In reality, what defective or complete versions? There weren't any!
In the laboratory, with the Progenitor Virus's growth rate, hematopoietic stem cells could be cultivated in a single day. That was with Miles Warren adding large amounts of inhibitors at the cell's birth to suppress the virus, or it would instantly become a giant tentacle monster!
You say you want a defective version? Weyland Company upheld the principle that the customer is always right. Whatever you say goes. "Mm-hmm, yes yes yes." "Exactly, exactly. You're absolutely right."
You want to come back for another surgery later? We welcome that too!
For Dr. Harlow, a hematopoietic stem cell transplant was a minor procedure. He finished it in no time flat.
Thirty million easily deposited into their account. They reminded Anna Miller to have regular check-ups—whether at Clone Island or other hospitals, whatever she preferred.
Even whether she came back in two years was up to her.
That's how confident they were!
One day after the surgery, Anna Miller regained consciousness. The first thing she noticed was that her body felt different—the heavy burden had completely vanished. Her body seemed to have returned to normal.
But how long could this state last? She didn't know.
She paid for life with money. She didn't dare skip that so-called "complete version" second-phase treatment. Though she'd already paid the deposit, worried that Weyland might not prioritize her case, she paid an additional five million in treatment fees.
Weyland performed three similar surgeries in total, bringing in ninety million. Bella and 006 didn't touch this money at all, investing it entirely into the next round of scientific research.
Time entered late June 2002.
Thanks to the continuous income from organ cloning, Weyland Company's experimental base in Texas grew increasingly massive.
When three people knew a secret, it stopped being a secret. In elite circles, Weyland Company had gained a certain level of fame. Everyone just tacitly pretended not to know.
Government leaders and wealthy individuals from various countries had all investigated Weyland. None of them connected it to Bella.
One sold lucky rabbit's feet, the other sold clones—how could they be the same?
In the eyes of the elite, this company was run by 006. 006's background was no secret. Professor Miles and Dr. Harlow weren't nobodies either. Weyland Company consisted of a rogue agent plus a mad professor plus a mad doctor.
After several patients recovered their health through "organ replacement," Weyland attracted even more attention.
Troublesome matters were all handled by 006—that was the value of his twenty-five percent stake.
Bella kept her sights on Chanel. Recently, the company's development remained mediocre—no highlights, but no critical strategic errors either.
The advertisements she'd filmed for Chanel had been momentarily stunning. The ads were good, she was beautiful, but the products were terrible. They'd tricked customers into buying once, but after using them, everyone felt they were just average—and the prices were outrageous. Plenty of fans turned into haters.
Some people suggested lowering prices for products like perfume, but the boss disagreed. He insisted on the high-end route.
Others suggested implementing some incentive mechanisms. The stingy old owner still disagreed. Finally, frustrated, three senior executives directly resigned.
Bella watched coldly from the sidelines, studying various acquisition cases. She had plenty of plans in mind but couldn't implement a single one. Since Chanel couldn't be acquired in the short term, she couldn't just let her twenty-something million sit idle. She'd invest it.