Taming Alice

More than half a month had passed since Raccoon City was nuked. The group had also been at Morris Farm—Terri's uncle's home—for half a month.

That day, they had not flown directly near Morris Farm. Instead, they chose to land in the northeastern outskirts of Salt Lake City, then split into inconspicuous groups and arrived in batches at Morris Farm, roughly a hundred kilometers southwest of Salt Lake City.

At the time, Terri's uncle Morris and his family were grieving over the false news that Raccoon City had been utterly destroyed by a nuclear leak. Seeing that Terri was safe filled them with joy.

After learning the truth of the entire matter, they had wanted nothing more than to immediately sue Umbrella Corporation through the state government, but Ren Ze and the others talked them out of it.

Once Old Morris calmed down, he understood that Umbrella Corporation was a colossal entity no small farmer like him could contend with. He warmly welcomed the group's arrival.

Over the past half month, while the crisis had yet to fully erupt, everyone except Ren Ze and Alice had either contacted relatives and friends or gone out to stockpile supplies, firearms, and ammunition in preparation for the coming disaster.

Terri had also tried contacting friends she knew in the media industry, providing them with the footage she had in hopes of exposing Umbrella Corporation's crimes and warning everyone to beware of the T-Virus spreading from Raccoon City.

Just as Ren Ze had expected, the news Terri released had not even remained popular for a full day before it was classified as a prank, and she herself was put on the wanted list.

Fortunately, following Ren Ze's reminder, Terri had not exposed herself and had only provided the footage to her friends.

For a time, Umbrella Corporation also lost all clues to Ren Ze, Alice, and the others' whereabouts.

And so, the first fairly sizable small settlement in Resident Evil was born.

Inside a training ground converted from a spacious warehouse at Morris Farm.

Ren Ze and Alice were drenched in sweat, having just finished a sparring match.

"Even when I don't hold back, I'm still no match for you now. Having protagonist plot armor is really nice."

Ren Ze murmured with feeling.

"What plot armor? Ren, you're too strong. Even after I awakened Psychic Power, I still can't beat you."

Alice looked utterly aggrieved.

After arriving at Morris Farm, everyone else had been busy beyond measure.

Some had lured relatives and friends here for refuge under the pretense of inviting them on vacation.

Others had thrown themselves into building the settlement's defenses.

With nothing much to do, Ren Ze had a sudden idea: every day, he taught Alice the Yijin Jing, Lingbo Micro-steps, and Tianshan Zhemei Hand. With Ren Ze's careful instruction, coupled with the T-Virus in her body further integrating with her cells—

Over the past half month, Alice's strength had changed by the day. Three days ago, she had even awakened the ultimate weapon known as Psychic Power.

Ren Ze thought, Now this is the right way to unlock things. This world doesn't really improve my strength anyway. Struggling to lead a group of people through an apocalypse? Way too exhausting. Clinging to a powerful thigh is much more comfortable. Mm, I don't have much of an appetite, so soft food suits me best. Go, Alice! I don't want to work hard anymore!

"Mr. Ren, I picked up the titanium alloy throwing knives you ordered. I like playing with throwing knives too, but I'm definitely nowhere near as good as you."

At that moment, Carlos entered the training ground, carrying a box of throwing knives that he handed to Ren Ze, interrupting Ren Ze's daydreaming.

"These aren't for me."

Ren Ze shook his head, took out a throwing knife, and said to Alice, "Try attaching your Psychic Power to it and controlling it."

Feeling an invisible force wrap around the throwing knife, Ren Ze released his hand and watched it float into the air.

Carlos stared wide-eyed at this scene that defied all common sense, too shocked to say a word.

Alice excitedly hugged Ren Ze's arm. "Ren, this is incredible! I can feel like this throwing knife is an extension of my arm!"

"Attack the iron target ahead with all your strength!"

Seeing Alice's excited expression, Ren Ze smiled helplessly. I'm jealous too, okay?

The throwing knife shot like lightning toward an iron target in the corner of the training ground. At that astonishing speed, it instantly pierced through the distant target. After penetrating it, the knife turned around and pierced through it again.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The throwing knife became countless afterimages, weaving back and forth in a mad frenzy. Before long, the entire iron target had been riddled into a sieve.

Carlos was completely dumbfounded. His skill with throwing knives paled into insignificance before Alice.

Ren Ze also looked at Alice with considerable envy. "Understand now? This is the proper way to use Psychic Power. The way you used it before, just pushing me away with it, was way too dumb."

During their spar three days ago, Alice had been outmatched and was about to lose, about to be suppressed by Ren Ze, when she suddenly burst out with power. Ren Ze had been shoved several meters away, and only then did he realize that Alice had awakened Psychic Power.

Though Ren Ze did not know what having Psychic Power felt like, countless movies and novels in his memories had shown him plenty. Sure enough, this attempt had drastically raised Alice's combat threat level.

"Ah! Ren Ze! You're amazing! So Psychic Power can be used like this!"

Like a little girl who had received a new toy, Alice cried out excitedly, then tried controlling more throwing knives at once. Two, three, four... By the ninth, they had already begun wobbling crookedly.

"No, if I go all out, I can probably control six throwing knives perfectly. Any more than that gives me a headache."

Six throwing knives danced up and down around Alice like sprites. Only Ren Ze knew just how terrifying the destructive power they contained was.

"Alright, that's enough training for today. Practice slowly from now on. But let's make this clear: don't use this move on me when we spar in the future. I can't defend against it."

After saying that, Ren Ze turned toward the still stunned Carlos and gave him a pat. "How are things outside now? Any news?"

"Huh? Oh, violent incidents have already started appearing around Raccoon City. You were right, sir. We need to make preparations early too."

Carlos answered after coming back to his senses.

"Send out the notice. Meeting in the conference room in twenty minutes."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Carlos cast a worshipful glance at Ren Ze and Alice, then hurried out of the training grounds.

Morris Farm covered roughly eight hundred mu. Mountains bordered it on two sides, and aside from the entrance, it was surrounded by other farms. The terrain was excellent. Ren Ze had originally only intended to find a temporary place to settle, but after arriving, he began considering developing it into a long-term base.

Old Morris, the farm's owner, was not only deeply grateful to Ren Ze for saving his niece, but after learning the truth, he also strongly supported Ren Ze's decision to convert the farm into a settlement.

On top of that, everyone who had escaped from Raccoon City trusted Ren Ze completely. They spared no expense in renovating the farm. Half a month later, while it could not be called impregnable, small groups of Zombies no longer posed a threat to the farm.

"Unfortunately, we don't have enough time or the right conditions to set up a laboratory and have Dr. Ashford produce antiviral serum. Otherwise, we could save even people who've been bitten by Zombies..."

Ren Ze shook his head.

"You've already done incredibly well. Without you, all of us would have turned to ash along with Raccoon City."

Alice hugged Ren Ze from behind and comforted him.