New Leeks

The surgery lasted three hours. When Leon walked out of the operating room, the only thing he saw was Shane, his eyes bloodshot, gently patting Cal on the head and whispering comfort to the child.

Seeing Leon emerge, Shane immediately strode over and asked in a low voice:

"Dr. Castor, how is Lori? Is she alright?"

Leon nodded at him and also patted Cal, who had come closer with a tear-streaked face, saying:

"The situation went fairly smoothly. She's out of danger now. She'll probably remain unconscious for about one to two days, but when she actually wakes up will depend on Ms. Lori's own will."

He gave a detailed rundown of Lori's condition, added a few instructions for future recovery care, then put on a very tired expression and said:

"That's it for now. You can go into the operating room to be with her and rest by her bedside. As for other matters, I'll find time to talk with you."

With that, without paying them any more attention, he turned and went upstairs back to his bedroom, where he continued catching up on sleep with the pretty young woman in his arms.

He had been busy all night, and had just fallen asleep when he was called back to work for several more hours. The fact that he could speak to them politely instead of cursing them out was already a sign of his kindness as the Big Boss.

Leon slept until 9 a.m., when Amy gently woke him. Watching the girl, full of energy as she helped him wash up and dress, acting as if nothing had happened, he couldn't help but marvel—Westerners really did have tough physiques.

"Boss, do you have any special plans for today?"

Leon took a few bites of the large breakfast Amy had prepared, shook his head lightly, and said:

"Nothing special. Just follow the normal routine and arrange things for me."

"Alright, Boss."

The girl didn't seem to treat what had happened last night as some kind of leverage. Instead, she remained as respectful and obedient to him as ever. She had woken up early this morning, worked diligently and proactively, and didn't act spoiled because of favor. This made Leon think a little more highly of Amy.

The girl pulled out her usual notebook, flipped a page, and said:

"You have four pre-scheduled tasks today. First, interview the remaining personnel from Quarry Camp. Second, meet with Professor Amrin and have lunch together. Third, Mr. Shane in the operating room is waiting to see you. Fourth, the office on the second floor of the office building has been cleared out and is being renovated—your input is needed."

Leon nodded, swallowed a large bite of pan-fried fish, drank a glass of yogurt, and said:

"Arrange it that way. Oh, and keep an eye out—see if anyone in the base knows how to grow vegetables or crops."

"In a few days, I'll also go out to look for experts in farming."

"In the first two or three years of this disaster, we won't lack food. But after four or five years, most of the food left over from peacetime will either be consumed or spoiled and inedible."

"Without those stockpiles."

"Every survivor in the world will have to rely on growing food to survive. We need to prepare early."

Amy listened to Leon's words, lost in thought for a few seconds before speaking again:

"Boss, you really have foresight. You always think of things others can't."

"I'll keep an eye out for people with farming skills. But our base is in the middle of Atlanta—it's hard to find land that can be cultivated."

Leon finished his breakfast, slid his hand onto Amy's slender waist and groped a little, then pulled the girl into his arms. Inhaling the faint scent of her perfume, he said with certainty:

"We'll slowly clear out all the zombies around us and build a massive shelter. Everything you want, we'll have."

"As long as we overcome the difficulties step by step, we'll grow stronger step by step too."

Around 10 a.m., while Leon was instructing the renovation workers on modifying the second-floor office, Amy brought Daryl over and told him that the people from Quarry Camp had arrived and were waiting in the Reception Hall on the first floor for his interview.

Facing the soon-to-be recruits, Leon showed considerable enthusiasm. He immediately put down his work and called Amy to join him as they entered the reception room.

That's how it is when you're the boss—you can't waste time. Every minute you delay, your employees earn you one less dollar.

As soon as he stepped into the Reception Hall, Leon spotted several familiar faces: the good-natured old man Dale, Carol—the female warrior who hadn't yet awakened—her husband, the domestic abuser Ed, and their daughter Sophia.

Besides them, there were seven characters Leon hadn't seen in the storyline: a black family of three and a white family of four.

Adding Shane, Lori, and Cal, who were still resting in the ward, that made fourteen people in total this time.

If he also counted the ten people he had recruited earlier, like Glenn and Merle, then this protagonist camp had provided him with twenty-four members in total. It really was a protagonist gift pack.

A smile on his lips, Leon looked at the crowd in the Reception Hall with a gentle expression.

The person in charge of this interview was Andrea. She was a recruiter for Umbrella Corporation. Although she had basically been used as a regular administrative worker so far, as a big-shot lawyer, Andrea still possessed considerable talent.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Andrea, and I'm in charge of this interview."

"Before we proceed with this recruitment, you need to look over these documents and fill out the final form."

"I know you have many questions, but after reading this document, many of them will be answered."

Andrea took out a dozen bound documents and distributed them to every adult present. Leon also took one, opened it, and glanced through it.

The first page of the document began with a solemn and serious style, describing in detail what kind of organization Umbrella Corporation was, what kind of power it possessed, what ideals it believed in, and what goals it aimed to achieve.

The second page detailed the functions and benefits of Umbrella Corporation's three major departments, as well as the recruitment conditions for each.

The third page explained the relationship between employee rank and Contribution Points, as well as what kind of supplies could be exchanged for Contribution Points within Umbrella Corporation.

The fourth page was a detailed form that needed to be filled out, including age, gender, professional experience, and all kinds of information—quite thorough.

Leon looked at the document and felt quite satisfied. Andrea really lived up to her reputation as a big lawyer. This recruitment document was an upgraded version of his original recruitment letter. It looked much more formal and high-end than the verbal recruitment used by other camps.

It both showcased his strength and gave the recruits more confidence.

The recruitment session lasted for two hours. As a boss who trusted his subordinates, Leon simply watched everyone's performance quietly, mentally scoring them and calculating how much salary he would offer them later.

The results of this recruitment were somewhat disappointing. Out of the eleven people, not counting the two children, not a single one was willing to join the Security Department and become a combatant.

There were barely two technical personnel: an auto mechanic, old Dale, and a building engineer, Bram—the black man who was the head of that family.

In the white family of four, the husband, David, was the head chef of a restaurant, and the wife was a kindergarten teacher. Though they had professional skills, in the current world, they didn't qualify as technical personnel and could only barely count as higher-level support staff.

Still, Leon was in a fairly good mood. These were all healthy adults, and no matter what, they made for decent labor.

Right now, the base was undergoing renovations and manpower was in short supply. No matter how many came, it wouldn't be too many.

After the recruitment ended, Leon instructed Andrea to help these people integrate into the Umbrella Corporation collective, and also assigned the lawyer some miscellaneous tasks.

Under Andrea's eye roll, he took Amy to join Professor Amrin for lunch.