Hive Level 1, Community Center.
Wu Fan stood behind a temporary desk with a thick stack of documents in front of him.
Each cover had a striking red logo—the umbrella of the Umbrella Corporation.
Twelve researchers sat around him with mixed expressions: anticipation, curiosity, and doubt.
"Sign this..."
Wu Fan pushed the documents forward. "And you will be official employees of the Umbrella Corporation."
Dr. Edwin Jenner picked up a contract and flipped to the first page.
His brow slowly furrowed.
The contract was very thick.
The terms were very detailed.
And—
"Salaries are exchanged for points earned through work or contributions?"
He read aloud: "Lifelong service to the Umbrella Corporation? No arbitrary job-hopping or betrayal of company interests?"
He flipped to the back, and his expression changed.
"Violators will be treated as biochemical experimental subjects?"
He looked up at Wu Fan: "This... this is simply inhumane."
"Edwin?"
His wife, Candice, leaned in. "What's wrong?"
Edwin handed her the contract and lowered his voice to explain his dissatisfaction.
After reading the contract, Candice fell silent for a few seconds.
Then she smiled.
It wasn't a mocking smile, but a gentle, helpless one.
"Honey..."
She held her husband's hand. "Look around."
Edwin looked up.
They were sitting in the spacious hall of the Community Center. Through the glass windows, they could see the artificial sky and neat villas outside.
The air was fresh, the temperature comfortable—everything was so... normal.
But what about outside?
"This world..."
Candice said softly, "Humanity is nearly extinct. Where else is there a company for you to jump to?"
Edwin opened his mouth to argue but found he had nothing to say.
"Even if there were..."
Candice continued, "Is there any with higher technology or better treatment than this Umbrella Corporation? Look at this underground base—we worked above it for twenty years without ever knowing of its existence.
They could build an eleven-story underground city right under our noses. This kind of strength..."
She paused, smiling as she patted her husband's hand. "Besides, do you think the concept of 'job-hopping' still exists? It's full of Walkers out there. Our only way out is to survive here, research a vaccine, and save humanity—isn't that what you've always wanted to do?"
Edwin looked at her and remained silent for a long time.
Then he sighed and picked up a pen.
"You're right."
He signed his name and handed the contract to Wu Fan. "I'm in."
Wu Fan took the contract and smiled slightly.
Next, one after another.
Dr. Green signed.
Several other Old Professors signed.
The young researchers all signed as well.
Twelve contracts, all signed.
Wu Fan put away the contracts and opened the system panel in his mind.
[Detected twelve researchers have completed their employment contracts]
[Employee files updated]
[Name: Edwin Jenner]
[Position: Senior Virologist]
[Loyalty: 72% (Foundational Trust)]
[Family Members: Candice Jenner (Wife)]
[Name: Candice Jenner]
[Position: Biochemistry Researcher]
[Loyalty: 81% (High Identification)]
[Family Members: Edwin Jenner (Husband)]
[Name: Abraham Green]
[Position: Director of Virology Department]
[Loyalty: 68% (Wait-and-see State)]
[Family Members: None (Widowed, children out of town)]
...
Wu Fan looked through them one by one, silently noting each person's loyalty value.
Most were between 65-75, in a state of "basic trust but still with doubts." Candice was the highest at 81%; Dr. Green was the lowest at 68%.
Not bad.
At least no one was below the 60% "danger line."
Wu Fan closed the panel and stood up.
"Alright, everyone. From now on, you are members of the Umbrella Corporation."
He pointed to the area behind the Community Center. "The dormitory area is over there. One villa per person, take your pick. The labs are on the third basement level, but you can't enter for now. We'll wait until my permissions are upgraded. For now, everyone rest."
The twelve people stood up and walked toward the villa area.
Wu Fan watched their retreating backs, a slight smile playing on his lips.
System-produced, must be high quality.
These researchers were his first batch of capital to establish himself in this world.
After handling the researchers' affairs, Wu Fan took the elevator back to the first floor.
In the CDC hall, eight survivors were huddled together, discussing something in low voices. Seeing Wu Fan come out, they immediately fell silent.
Wu Fan walked up to them and scanned them.
A bald, burly man.
A middle-aged woman.
Two young men in their early twenties.
A taciturn middle-aged man.
And three women—two young, one in her thirties.
Eight in total.
"I'll give you two choices."
Wu Fan got straight to the point. "First, join my company. Second, get out."
The eight people looked at each other.
"What does 'joining the company' mean?"
The bald man asked.
"Work," Wu Fan said.
"I need security personnel and supermarket staff. You work, and I'll pay you—not in money, but in points. Points can be exchanged for supplies: food, water, medicine, daily necessities—everything."
"Is there pension insurance?" a young girl asked softly.
"What about health insurance?" another added.
"Social security?"
"Annual leave?"
"How is overtime pay calculated?"
Wu Fan was silent for two seconds.
He looked at these eight people; they were still thinking about post-apocalyptic life with pre-apocalyptic mindsets.
"Listen."
His voice turned cold. "In the world outside, there are no laws anymore. No pension insurance, no health insurance, no bullshit social security. There are only two types of people—the living and the dead."
He pointed to the main door.
Outside the rolling shutter door, the low growls of Walkers could faintly be heard.
"You want to go out and live a free life? I won't stop you. I'll open the door, and you can walk out yourselves."
No one moved.
"But if you want to stay here..."
Wu Fan continued, "You have to work. No work, no food. It's that simple."
The bald man was the first to step forward. "I'll do security."
He walked to Wu Fan's side and stood still.
The other three young people—two men and one woman—also stepped forward.
"We'll do security too."
The two young girls looked at each other and said softly, "We... we can work in the supermarket."
"Good." Wu Fan nodded.
There was one person left.
That woman, in her thirties, wearing glasses, looking like a white-collar worker.
She crossed her arms, a condescending expression on her face.
"This contract is unfair," she said.
"There are no human rights protections; it's practically an indenture. I won't sign such an unfair contract."
She turned to the few who had already stepped forward. "Don't sign either! Let's protest together! What can he do to us alone? This place isn't his! Why should we listen to him?"
The few who had just stepped forward hesitated, looking at each other.
Wu Fan sighed.
He pulled out Truth.
Bang.
The gunshot echoed in the hall.
The woman's eyes widened, a bloody hole in the center of her forehead.
Before she could even realize what had happened, her body went limp and collapsed, hitting the floor with a few twitches before going still.
Blood slowly spread, staining the white ceramic tiles red.
The seven people froze in place like statues.
Wu Fan turned the muzzle toward them and asked calmly, "Anyone else want to protest?"
Silence.
Dead silence.
"I'll say it one more time."
Wu Fan's voice had no fluctuation. "Those who don't want to sign can leave. The door is over there."
He pointed to the rolling shutter door.
"But inciting my employees in front of me is a provocation against me."
He put the gun away and looked at the remaining seven people. "In the world outside, there are no laws or goddamn human rights anymore. There are only two rules—the rules I set, or the rule of talking about human rights face-to-face with the Walkers outside. Which do you choose?"
The bald man was the first to react.
He stepped forward and quickly lowered his head. "I swear, I will never betray the company."
The others snapped out of it and stepped forward one after another.
"I... I swear too..."
"Never betray..."
Wu Fan looked at them and nodded slightly.
"Go on then!"
He said, "Go to the second floor, find an empty room to stay in, and start working tomorrow."
The seven people didn't dare look back as they hurried toward the stairs.
Wu Fan stood where he was, looking down at the corpse on the ground.
Blood was still flowing.
He crouched down and pulled an ID card from the woman's pocket—Linda Parker, 34 years old, from Atlanta.
He put the ID in his pocket and then dragged the corpse toward the rolling shutter door.
He opened the small door next to it and pushed the body out.
Outside, the growls of the Walkers immediately became excited.
Wu Fan closed the door and wiped the blood off his hands.
Once the vaccine is researched and the base is stable, then we can talk about other things.
Now—
Survival was the most important thing.