Investigator: The Young Man with Blond, Separated Hair

"Very good." Hearing the loud response from the trainees, Jack Krauser reined in his deliberate display of anger and ordered, "Leon, return to formation."

"Yes, sir."

Following the blonde trainee's return to the ranks, all the students stood in neat rows, awaiting further instructions.

Krauser turned on his heel and walked straight out of the training hall.

"Everyone, follow me."

"Yes, sir!"

Passing through the main entrance, which was "glowing" under the midday sun, the trainees couldn't help but squint, taking a moment to adjust to the brightness outside before continuing to follow Krauser.

The journey was silent.

Although the trainees were not part of Atlas's "regular" troops, they were still required to strictly adhere to orders and maintain silence until their superior issued a command.

Given the military service background of the founder, Sui Yang, before he crossed over, discipline and obedience were the two qualities Atlas military units valued most, followed by a clear understanding of exactly what they were fighting for.

Within the current Atlas, setting aside the initial desire to provide a better life for their families, there was an indescribable "drive," especially among the employees and soldiers who held the clearance to know their boss was an Immortal and that spatial gates existed.

Even though Sui Yang never officially preached anything—at most issuing simple, clear notices within the company—they still couldn't help but feel that their actions were righteous and that they were fighting for the future.

Furthermore, after the spatial gates opened, Sui Yang frequently used terms like "aliens" and "scum" in internal notices and meetings. Over time, Atlas employees and soldiers were influenced by this, and the concept of "fighting for humanity" gradually became clear in their subconscious.

Moreover, the vast majority of employees and soldiers had passed the company's rigorous screening process.

For instance, their attitudes toward friends and family, past spending habits, and their work or service records were all used to judge whether they possessed a strong sense of responsibility and the spirit to sacrifice themselves for their comrades.

A small portion of the personnel were not just there to repay the kindness of the boss who had provided them with aid and support in life, but also held a deep-seated hatred and hostility toward Vought and superhumans.

It was precisely because of this that Atlas maintained a harmonious atmosphere where everyone was eager and proactive in completing their objectives.

However, as a former U.S. Army officer, Second Lieutenant Jack Krauser initially did not understand why the company had specifically requested Leon by name and arranged for him to be trained under his command.

Since June 5, 1993, when Krauser and his men were "sold" to Atlas by their superiors, he had served as the chief instructor for investigators until July 12, 1994—today.

Having stayed with the new unit for over a year, Krauser actually enjoyed his new job; he no longer had to worry about being implicated in the backstabbing and political infighting of his U.S. military superiors.

Furthermore, the primary duty of an investigator, as he had stated during his earlier reprimand, was to assist Atlas in infiltrating unknown regions to conduct investigations and gather detailed data and intelligence.

For example, the investigators Sui Yang had dispatched to London and Belgium on Earth-01 had brought back the history of that world to the company.

Those investigators later used their respective skills to successfully secure positions within the United Defense Force (UDF) and the armories, obtaining numerous technologies and physical assets for the company; their nature was similar to that of spies and secret agents.

Consequently, an investigator's individual combat capability had to be guaranteed, at least reaching the standard of the ARS First Company.

Krauser, coming from the U.S. Army Special Forces, possessed extensive combat experience and was skilled in independent intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism, infiltration, assassination, and training. Therefore, being an instructor was definitely a "professional match" for him and his men.

In the past, Atlas would select soldiers with the potential for investigative work from all ARS companies, or use orphans who had been personally raised and trained by Sui Yang.

Now, with the addition of Krauser and his team, the recruitment, training, and internship assignments for investigators had truly entered the right track.

However, Krauser remained confused as to why the company had suddenly made an exception to allow a nineteen-year-old student who hadn't even graduated from the police academy to join the six-month training program.

When reviewing the files, Krauser found that Leon had no life pressures and his attitude toward superhumans was standard; there seemed to be no reason for him to be recruited, especially as a "little brat."

Yet, as the training progressed, Krauser discovered that Leon indeed possessed decent potential and intuition, along with incredible luck.

When dropped into the depths of a rainforest or the center of a desert for survival training, the number of times Leon stumbled upon water, food, or managed to turn a crisis into an opportunity far exceeded that of his peers.

Coupled with Leon's strong sense of justice and his refusal to abandon his teammates...

Although the trainees who teamed up with Leon were either eliminated or had points deducted, regardless, Krauser's impression of Leon had shifted to the positive.

The only thing that annoyed Krauser was that Leon often subconsciously performed flashy, "cool-looking" combat moves.

What even this instructor didn't know was that the reason Leon had been arranged for investigator training was "simply" because his full name was—

Leon Scott Kennedy.

To the people of the main universe, this was just an ordinary name, but to Sui Yang, it meant "S-Rank Agent."

The blonde parted hair, a height of about 1.8 meters, handsome features, bizarre luck, and the attribute of "cursing" his teammates all indicated that Leon, like Krauser, was a character from Resident Evil.

The difference was that the Leon of the main universe lacked a cleft chin, appearing more like the original version.

In Resident Evil, Raccoon City was located in Colorado, a city in the American Midwest.

Although the main universe had no Raccoon City, given Atlas's influence in the American Midwest, it was easy to investigate all families with the surname Kennedy living near Colorado and subsequently track Leon down.

They then dispatched an experienced HR manager to approach Leon, who was still in the police academy.

Using rhetoric like "darkness exists in this world" and "we need young people like you to save the world," they successfully "tricked" the young man into coming to Kenya.

As for Leon...

He hadn't considered anything else; he only thought about "upholding justice" and was curious about where his superior would take them.

At this moment.

The scorching heat waves and the brutal sun made Leon and the trainees, who were walking through the streets of the base, drenched in sweat after only a short while, though they had long since adapted to the African climate.

Before long, Krauser led everyone indoors.

To be precise, they entered a tiered conference room capable of holding three hundred people, where several equipment crates marked with the red "Λ" logo were placed.

"Recruits, I will now introduce the standard equipment for investigators at this stage."