The Law of True Fragrance Never Goes Out of Style! [Seeking Follow-up Reads!]

The journey of several hours passed quickly amid conversation, and Ren Ze and Alice returned to the settlement.

Seeing a brand-new vehicle bearing the Umbrella Corporation logo approaching, the guards at the checkpoint immediately went on high alert. But when they saw that it was Ren Ze and Alice returning, everyone was overjoyed.

After all, whether it was Ren Ze, who had led them slaughtering their way out of Raccoon City and established this settlement, or Alice, whose strength was mysterious enough to control flying knives out of thin air, both were the pillars everyone relied upon.

After briefly chatting with everyone, Carlos hurried over. Ren Ze patted him on the shoulder. "Notify the brothers who are here. We're holding a meeting in twenty minutes. Besides the heads of each department, call in all our old friends who came out of Raccoon City with us! We've struck it rich this time!"

They were still in Old Morris's home, its large living room packed to the brim as everyone gathered together.

"This is good news! We now fully possess an Umbrella underground base near Las Vegas. We've taken it over intact, and there are countless supplies of every kind inside!"

Just the opening words had everyone buzzing with excitement. The tension that had hung over them beneath the threat of the apocalypse eased considerably. Ren Ze then gave them a detailed account of what he and Alice had experienced over the past few days. Naturally, he did not dwell on their private matters. When they heard that the base contained over a hundred clones with Alice's appearance and memories, everyone was stunned speechless.

"Go ahead. What are your thoughts?"

Ren Ze was not a dictator, nor did he have much management experience. Back in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, he had only become the Carefree Sect's leader because he had been pushed into it, and later he had simply become a hands-off boss.

"I think that base can serve as one of our escape routes. We only need to send the minimum number of people necessary to maintain its basic operations. Our main focus right now should still be building up the settlement. Of course, we can also send over some people with relevant research experience and advanced education to assist Dr. Ashford in developing the Reverse T-Virus and ordinary Anti-toxin Serum. With that base, we can mass-produce Anti-toxin Serum before the doctor successfully develops the Reverse T-Virus. That will give our fighters out on missions another layer of protection."

James was the first to offer his suggestion. Ren Ze had not expected that this big guy was not only skilled in a fight, but had a pretty good head on his shoulders too.

"How many survivors do we have in the settlement now?"

Ren Ze turned to Old Morris.

"Probably close to a thousand. Before you and Alice left, we already had nearly eight hundred. The settlement's population grows every day—sometimes by just a few people, sometimes by dozens. Some heard our broadcasts and came on their own, while others were rescued by the security department. Oh, and yesterday, nearly a hundred people from Claire's convoy arrived. They said you had sent them... I suggest bringing more people over there. We can't build the temporary housing fast enough, and we're running out of tents too. The people who arrived later have to cram several people into a single tent! I'm an old man—I can manage a farm, sure, but asking me to oversee logistics for so many people, all their food, clothing, shelter, and sanitation... I really can't handle it!"

Old Morris became so worked up that he directly tried to dump the responsibility back on Ren Ze.

Ren Ze pondered for a while. "That's true. You've worked hard, Uncle Morris. Let's establish an Internal Affairs Department. Jill, you'll take the lead. Pick your own staff afterward. Internal Affairs will mainly be responsible for registering the population, categorizing survivors' professions, education, skills, and other information in detail, and establishing our own residency system. Carlos, your side will be specifically responsible for internal security, especially inspections at the checkpoint entrances. From now on, conflicts between survivors and other such matters will be handled by Internal Affairs. Once we grow larger, Internal Affairs can have a police department under it. You should be familiar with that, Jill."

"I was SWAT, not a residency officer!"

Jill rolled her eyes, though she did not refuse.

"Oh, right. You should also improve the settlement's internal management system. Refer to the old laws, combine them with the settlement's current situation, and draft a simple public notice. Now that we've established the settlement, we need to restore a proper order. That Claire seems capable enough—she managed such a large survivor convoy. You can assess her. If she checks out, she can serve as your deputy."

Ren Ze did not have a complete plan either. He simply brought things up as they occurred to him.

"Terri, you'll be in charge of education and publicity. Claire brought quite a few children with her. We can't just leave them to run wild, and they're too young for physical labor anyway. Later, draft a comprehensive curriculum suited to the current environment and get education going. Start a newspaper for the settlement. If we don't have the equipment, use broadcasts for now. When Alice or I have time, we'll make a trip to the city and bring back a printing press for you. We don't need to print much every day—just put up a bulletin board and post it there. Same as before, recruit your own people."

"Huh?! All right, I'll try..."

Publicity was Terri's old profession, but once she heard that education was included as well, she was at a loss. Still, there was nothing to be done. The settlement had much to rebuild, so she would have to see whether there were any survivors with the relevant talents.

"Uncle Morris, keep handling logistics your old way for now. Once the base is up and running, the complicated matters can be handed over to the artificial intelligence for coordination. You just need to keep an eye on things."

"Ah, fine. Looks like these old bones of mine are yours now..."

"Oh, speaking of artificial intelligence—Kaplan, didn't you say you were very capable before? I have a task for you. Once we get to the base, change the artificial intelligence's designated allegiance to us. Even if we develop to the point of confronting Umbrella Corporation head-on in the future, we can't afford for this chief steward to become a problem. Can you do it?" Ren Ze looked at Kaplan.

"I'll give it a try. Give me some time, but it shouldn't be a major problem. It's not like remotely hacking into the system to alter permissions. We'll be directly modifying the underlying logic on-site, so it should be possible."

Remembering how he had nearly caused a disaster in The Hive, Kaplan's face reddened. He nodded as he answered.

"Good. Once we have complete control over the artificial intelligence's permissions, we can assign permission levels and let it take most of the pressure off everyone's shoulders. Umbrella Corporation may be no good, but its foundations really are formidable—artificial intelligence, cloning technology..."

"Alice, I also have a preliminary idea about how to arrange for your sisters. You'll have to work a little harder later and use the special training I gave you on those sisters of yours. I believe it won't be long before they possess some of your strength. Then we'll establish a Special Operations Department to directly oversee the Security Department, carry out important high-difficulty missions, provide special training for Security, and so on."

"Mhm."

Alice's face first reddened, then she nodded in agreement.

"James, if you have any large-scale, important missions in the future that are truly difficult, report to Alice. She'll decide how to support you."

"Dr. Ashford, Kaplan, James—you three should select your personnel. We leave for the new base in three days."

"That's it. Any other questions?"

Ren Ze looked around the room and asked. Seeing that no one reacted, he said, "Then the meeting's over!"

After everyone left, Ren Ze's expression collapsed. Shaking his head, he thought to himself, Isn't cultivation enjoyable? Isn't fighting enjoyable? Or is Alice's body not attractive enough for me? Why am I torturing myself like this?!

Suddenly, gentle pressure kneaded his temples. Turning around, he saw Alice looking at him with eyes as tender as water, and immediately felt that all this hardship was worth it...

The three days passed in a flash amid Ren Ze and Alice's day-and-night special training.

Other than accompanying James on an operation to Salt Lake City to obtain some large equipment and scarce supplies urgently needed by the settlement, he spent the rest of his time freely pouring sweat and hormones into the training grounds and the bedroom.

Although Ren Ze had been a virgin in this life, the memories carried over from his previous life had given him the instincts of an experienced veteran. To him, that sort of activity was just that—nothing compared to cultivating and growing stronger.

But now he discovered that he could not blindly rely on the memories of his previous life.

For example, was working out in his previous life really the same as working out now?

Now, with Ren Ze and Alice's superhuman physiques, they had unlocked far more than the eighteen traditional arts. They practically never repeated the same routine twice.

During the day, in between cultivation, Ren Ze helped guide Alice as she explored all sorts of strange and ingenious ways to use Psychic Power against enemies.

At night, during their cultivation, Alice used Psychic Power to cooperate with Ren Ze in trying all sorts of strange and ingenious positions.

What happened to restraint?

Huh. This was amazing!

On the day of departure, they set out for the base in a grand convoy: Dr. Ashford and several assistants he had selected, Kaplan, James and some of the team members he had chosen, along with a large number of logistics personnel. More than three hundred people in dozens of vehicles headed out together.