Three days of quarantine ended. Amy and Andrea stood at the entrance of the quarantine room, looking at the "new world" outside, speechless for a long time.
Hot showers.
Clean clothes.
Soft but safe beds.
Three meals a day delivered to the door on time; although not delicacies, they were at least filling.
Most importantly—no need to stay in a half-awake, half-asleep state, no need to prick up ears to listen for movement outside, no need to fear that if they closed their eyes, they would never open them again.
"Sister?"
Amy whispered: "Did we bet right?"
Andrea took a deep breath and nodded: "At least for now, it seems so."
The two walked out of the quarantine area and ran into Wu Fan.
"How is it?"
Wu Fan leaned against the corridor wall: "Rest well?"
Amy nodded hurriedly: "Very well! Especially well! I haven't slept this soundly in a long time!"
Andrea was more reserved but also showed a grateful smile: "Thank you."
Wu Fan waved his hand: "Don't thank me, thank yourselves for choosing correctly. Now tell me, what kind of work do you want to do?"
Amy rushed to say: "I want to be your personal assistant!"
Andrea glared at her sister: "Amy!"
"What's wrong?"
Amy was righteous: "I was just a handyman at the mine, doing all sorts of work, exhausted and no one appreciated it. Now that there's finally a stable place, I just want to do something easy, is that not allowed?"
Wu Fan looked at her, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Personal assistant? Do you know what a personal assistant has to do?"
Amy blinked: "Isn't it just serving tea and water, answering phones, arranging schedules, and so on? I took an elective secretarial course at the Atlanta Community College!"
Wu Fan thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, one-week probationary period. If you're not qualified, we'll change your post."
"Guaranteed to be qualified!"
Amy agreed happily.
Andrea stood to the side, hesitating to speak.
Wu Fan looked at her: "What about you? Lawyer?"
Andrea was stunned: "How did you know?"
"Guessed it."
Wu Fan smiled: "The way you speak, that kind of professional habit—it doesn't look like an ordinary person."
Andrea was silent for a few seconds, then gave a bitter smile: "What's the use of a lawyer? In this world, are we supposed to sue the Walkers?"
She raised her head, her gaze firm: "I want to join the security department."
Wu Fan sized her up.
Thirty-something, well-proportioned figure, a sense of unyielding spirit in her eyes.
But those slender hands had clearly never done manual labor.
"Are you sure? Security is very tiring."
"I know."
Andrea said: "But I don't want to live by relying on others. My sister can, but I can't."
Wu Fan nodded: "Alright, go find Sandra to report."
The first day, Andrea put on that full gear and stood in front of the mirror, checking again and again.
Black tactical gear, bulletproof vest, knee pads, elbow pads, helmet, and that MP5 submachine gun—although it was just a dummy gun for training, it couldn't help but look cool.
She took a selfie—though she didn't know who to send it to—and then walked out of the dormitory with her head held high.
The second day, she began to regret it.
Just recognizing the equipment on her body made her dizzy—what model of bulletproof plate is this? How do you open that buckle? How do you adjust the tightness of the helmet? Which pocket on the tactical vest holds the magazine and which one holds the walkie-talkie?
Sandra was like a strict instructor, teaching item by item, correcting movement by movement.
The third day, the real torture came.
Running in full gear.
One lap, two laps, three laps.
The bulletproof vest rubbed against her shoulders, causing pain.
The helmet pressed down until her neck was sore.
The boots rubbed blisters on her heels.
Shooting training.
Lying on the ground for half an hour at a time, aiming, firing, aiming again, firing again.
Knees grazed, elbows bruised.
Close combat training.
Sandra said: "Come, I'll teach you a few self-defense moves", and then knocked her down five times in three seconds.
Andrea lay on the training ground, staring at the artificial sky above, and for the first time, began to doubt life.
And just when she was suffering, her dear sister—
At the entrance of the CDC.
Amy stepped in high heels, wearing that professional suit, walking elegantly out of the building.
The black pencil skirt outlined a good figure, a silk scarf tied at the collar of the white shirt, her hair meticulously coiled, and exquisite light makeup on her face.
She stood in the parking lot at the entrance and shouted loudly at the group of people training:
"Sister! BOSS is looking for you!"
Andrea crawled up from the shooting position, covered in dust and sweat, looking at her glamorous sister, her mouth twitching.
"Got it."
She said sullenly.
Amy smiled like a cat that had stolen a fish: "Good luck, sis~"
Andrea took a deep breath, telling herself: This is my own sister, can't hit her.
These past few days, there had been quite a few changes around the CDC.
Wire mesh fences had been put up.
Although not very sturdy, it was enough to deal with sporadic Walkers.
As long as there were fewer than a dozen "visitors", the fence could block them, and the guards inside could pick them off one by one.
The cleanup team went out every day to sweep up the wandering Walkers nearby. Points were rising, and the safe zone was expanding.
More importantly, one after another, survivors saw the defense here and took the initiative to approach.
Wu Fan personally received every batch of people, repeating his set of "for the future of humanity", "saving the world", and "uniting against disasters" rhetoric over and over again.
Coupled with those fully armed Soldiers, tidy facilities, and laboratories that were indeed operating, most people chose to stay.
"Whoever hinders vaccine research is the enemy of all mankind!"
Wu Fan would say this at the end of every speech, his tone sincere and his eyes firm.
The listeners were impassioned and signed the employment contracts one after another.
Only the few people who followed him earliest knew—the BOSS's PUA rhetoric had already been practiced to perfection.
One week later.
The first batch of old employees—Brock, Sandra, Marcus, Dylan, Kyle—were called to Wu Fan's office.
"Congratulations to you."
Wu Fan pushed five ID cards in front of them: "Official employees of Umbrella Corporation, Security Department, Level 1 clearance. From today on, you can move into the first floor of the Hive to live."
The five looked at each other.
Hive?
What is that?
Half an hour later, they stood at the entrance of the first floor of the Hive, looking at the "Truman Show" in front of them, collectively speechless.
The blue sky—fake, but so realistic that people wanted to reach out and touch it.
Neat villas—real, each with a lawn and garage.
Quiet streets—clean, not like a world after the apocalypse.
"This, this..."
Brock opened his mouth, unable to say a complete sentence for a long time.
Sandra squatted down and touched the lawn under her feet.
Real grass.
Moist, with the scent of soil.
"BOSS..."
She looked up, her voice trembling: "What exactly is this..."
Wu Fan stood behind them, hands in his pockets: "Welcome home."
The five were silent for a long time.
Then Brock was the first to walk in.
He chose a small white villa, pushed the door open, and the furniture inside was complete.
There were even unopened tableware in the kitchen.
He stood in the center of the living room and suddenly turned to say to Wu Fan: "BOSS, even if you told me now that the earth was blown up by aliens, I would believe it."
The others nodded one after another.
Wu Fan smiled and didn't explain.
Third floor of the CDC.
It was originally Abraham's office, now it was Wu Fan's.
The Old Professor had voluntarily given it up.
In his words: "The government is finished, who am I writing work reports for? Focusing on researching my vaccine is the real business. This crappy office is yours."
Wu Fan was also polite, moved in, and redecorated.
At this moment, he sat behind the desk, staring at the system panel in his mind.
[Current Points: 4680]
[Points required to unlock the second floor of the Hive: 5000]
[Remaining: 320]
Still short of more than 300 points.
Another sweep would do.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
Amy pushed the door open, in her professional suit, high heels, with a professional smile on her face: "BOSS, my sister is here."
"Let her in."
Amy stepped aside, and Andrea walked in.
She was wearing tactical gear, still covered in dust from the training ground, in stark contrast to her glamorous sister.
Wu Fan pointed to the chair opposite: "Sit."
Andrea sat down.
"What to drink?"
"Coffee."
Wu Fan said to Amy: "Pour her a glass of water."
Andrea's mouth twitched.
Amy held back a laugh, poured a glass of water and placed it in front of her sister, then retreated and closed the door.
Wu Fan leaned back in his chair and looked at Andrea: "How's the training?"
"It's okay."
Andrea said: "I can persist."
Wu Fan nodded: "I called you here because there is a mission."
Andrea straightened her body.
"At the mine."
Wu Fan said: "The place you stayed, I need you to go there and persuade those people to join us."
Andrea was stunned for a moment: "I'm going?"
"You are familiar with the people there and know how to talk to them."
Wu Fan looked at her: "Moreover, you yourself are the best example—a person who came out of the mine, how you are living now, they can see."
Andrea was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "Okay, I'll go, I guarantee to complete the mission and bring those lambs back."
Wu Fan coughed twice: "Watch your wording, Andrea. We are a formal company, not a human trafficking company."
Andrea shrugged: "It means fooling people into coming back anyway."
Wu Fan was speechless.
"By the way, take this photo for Lori and Carl to see. I believe they will join."
Half an hour later, at the entrance of the CDC.
A military humvee was parked on the open space.
The whole body was painted black, and the eye-catching red and white logo—the Umbrella Corporation umbrella—was sprayed on the car door.
Sandra stood by the car, fully armed, checking the equipment.
Three security team members—Brock, Dylan, Kyle—were also making final preparations.
Wu Fan walked out and said to Sandra: "You are the main person in charge, Andrea is the deputy. Mission goal: persuade the people at the mine to join. If they are willing, bring them back for quarantine. If they are not willing—"
He paused.
"Don't force it."
Sandra nodded: "Understood, BOSS."
Andrea walked over, opened the car door, and looked back at Wu Fan.
"Boss, wait for me to bring people back."
Wu Fan waved his hand: "Go, don't be too cocky."
Andrea rolled her eyes and got into the car.
The humvee started, kicking up a trail of dust, and drove towards the mine.
Wu Fan stood where he was, watching the car disappear, and then opened the system panel.
Still short of more than 300 points.
When this group of people comes back, Shane, Daryl, Merle, Glenn—their combat power should be enough to help him brush enough points.