Opening the Door to a New World

Ren Ze woke from a deep sleep feeling refreshed. Before he could even move, a faint fragrance drifted over. Alice had apparently come in at some point and sat by his bedside, only to doze off herself.

It seemed that in an unsafe environment, I can't drain my mental energy completely. Otherwise, I'd sleep too deeply—even if someone got right beside me, I wouldn't react.

Ren Ze thought to himself. Looking at the drowsy Alice, he suddenly felt playful. He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, quietly releasing his Psychic Power.

After practicing that afternoon, Ren Ze had finally gotten the hang of using Psychic Power. He tried to shape it into the form of a hand, but since he was still unskilled, it instead condensed into an indescribable lump. He controlled it and quietly circled behind Alice.

"Mmm... Don't mess around..."

Alice muttered as she waved a hand, trying to swat away the strange hand teasing her back.

"Hm?"

She could clearly feel a hand on her back, yet her swat struck nothing but air. Alice jolted awake from her nap and eyed the supposedly sleeping Ren Ze suspiciously. His hands were clearly within her sight. At that moment, a chill ran down Alice's spine.

After calming down, she seemed to figure it out. Alice released her own Psychic Power and touched the invisible strange hand on her back.

"Mmm..."

Both of them shuddered at the same time, unable to stop themselves from letting out soft sounds. Their Psychic Powers instantly withdrew in a loss of control.

Ren Ze could no longer keep pretending to sleep. He opened his eyes, and he and Alice stared wide-eyed at each other.

Neither of them spoke. Both were carefully savoring the sensation from that moment.

"That feeling... was truly amazing."

After a long while, Alice spoke.

"Want to try again?"

For Ren Ze, it was no different from opening the door to a whole new world.

"I... I think my Psychic Power has grown a little again..."

Alice murmured.

If Ren Ze's hearing had not improved after fusing with the T-Virus, he almost would not have caught what she said.

Ren Ze also withdrew his Psychic Power, feeling that it had become a little more refined.

"Could this... be the legendary...?"

Ren Ze found it rather unbelievable...

Having tasted the sweetness of it, Ren Ze wanted to continue, but Alice desperately shook her head and firmly refused.

Alice gradually steadied her rapid breathing. Her expression was complicated. Biting her lip, she forced out in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, "I... I'm leaving..."

Then she left with a trace of panic.

"What was that? She just ran away? Did I just... win a complete victory for the first time?"

After going back to sleep for a while, Ren Ze figured Alice should have recovered by now. Only then did he get up, go next door, pull Alice along, and head to the training ground.

"Come on, come on. Help me test my defense. Attack me with everything you've got."

Ren Ze said to Alice.

As Alice threw a whip kick at his head, Ren Ze instinctively raised a hand to block it. Yet he did not feel the impact of a heavy blow. It felt more like being kicked by an ordinary person before being enhanced by the T-Virus. They had been evenly matched when sparring before.

"Again. This time, I won't block with my hand."

"You sure?"

Alice looked doubtful. She had indeed felt as though she had kicked an iron plate just now, though her physique meant she had not suffered any backlash. Still, the head was one of the more vulnerable parts of the human body.

"Yeah, come on. Remember, full strength!"

Ren Ze reminded her.

This time, Alice did not use her leg. Instead, she threw a hook straight at Ren Ze's face.

"Harder!"

Ren Ze felt that Alice was holding back because she was afraid of hurting him.

Alice refused to believe it, either. She knew Ren Ze would become stronger after fusing with the T-Virus, but wasn't this a little too exaggerated?

Three consecutive hooks slammed into Ren Ze's cheek.

"Harder..."

Ren Ze also realized something was off. Was he really this strong?

Alice turned around and threw a high side kick with all the strength in her body. This time, Ren Ze felt something—like a masseuse using slightly too much force.

"Have I turned into Huoyun Cthulhu?"

Ren Ze muttered.

"How about... we try a knife?"

Ren Ze looked innocently at Alice and suggested.

If he had suggested using a knife from the start, Alice definitely would not have agreed. But after those few tests, she had also become curious about Ren Ze's limits. After all, that final kick of hers could easily shatter a wall.

This time, Ren Ze did not dare act tough and take the blade to the face. Instead, he gestured for Alice to slash at his arm.

One slash left a white mark, which quickly faded...

"Uh, that hurt a little. If the force were a bit greater, or the weapon a bit sharper, it could probably break through my physical defenses."

Thinking of Huoyun Cthulhu's domineering scene of catching a bullet between two fingers, Ren Ze felt eager to give it a try. "Alice, go get a handgun and fire at my ear."

"You're so weird..."

Alice found it rather baffling, but she still turned and retrieved an M1911.

Bang!

As the gunshot rang out, Ren Ze focused on the muzzle. Under the combined effects of Psychic Power and dynamic vision, he felt that he could clearly see the bullet's trajectory. As the bullet neared him, it was as if someone had pressed pause.

The next moment, Ren Ze gathered all his strength in his fingers and pinched.

"My God! Are you even human? Sorry, I forgot—you stopped being normal a long time ago. You're getting more and more freakish..."

Alice stared at the scene before her and cried out in shock, thoroughly roasting him.

"That one didn't count. I'll try again without using Psychic Power."

Bang!

This time, Ren Ze controlled himself and did not use Psychic Power. With only his dynamic vision, he could barely make out the bullet's trajectory, then pinched at it by instinct.

Clink!

That was the sound of the bullet falling at Ren Ze's feet.

Alice no longer had the strength to complain...

"Again. Empty the magazine!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ren Ze concentrated all his attention and raised a Psychic Power barrier in front of himself.

A string of crisp clinks rang out. The bullets barely penetrated the Psychic Power shield, hung motionless in midair for a moment, then dropped weakly to the floor.

It seemed that a pure Psychic Power barrier really was easily broken through by concentrating force on a single point. The bullets had lost most of their speed after breaking through the shield, and Ren Ze had then focused his mind to halt them with Psychic Power telekinesis.

With the strength of his Psychic Power barrier alone, it probably could not stop a large-caliber rifle. An anti-materiel sniper rifle could definitely break through it with ease. But after being slowed by the barrier, if he promptly interfered with it using Psychic Power telekinesis and added a layer of qi defense to the area under attack, it was hard to say whether it could still injure him.

In other words, the dark cloud of headshot warnings hanging over him had finally been swept away!

Thus, Ren Ze concluded that he could now solo an Umbrella underground base. As long as he was not caught in concentrated fire—and with his speed, it would be difficult for them to focus fire on him—the high-damage anti-materiel sniper rifles might not even be able to aim at him. Even if they could, they would not be able to hurt him through his three layers of defense.

Unfortunately, their bases had self-destruct programs. Otherwise, he could have helped Alice clear an Umbrella base by herself.

"You big freak! You cheated! I could already beat you before!"

The more Alice thought about it, the angrier she became, looking aggrieved.

"Be good. I completely fused with the T-Virus all at once, so I've basically reached my limit! But you're different. Your strength is growing every day. Your physical defenses, speed, and strength may be a little weaker than mine in the future, but your Psychic Power will definitely be on par with mine."

Ren Ze patted her head in comfort.

"Really?"

Alice did not believe him.

"That's what the doctor said. Most of the T-Virus you fused with is dormant. As your constitution keeps improving, it'll gradually fuse completely. Just think about how much stronger you've become since leaving Raccoon City."

"That's true."

After hearing Ren Ze put it that way, Alice finally felt a little more balanced.

"Besides, there's a faster way for you to become stronger."

At that moment, Ren Ze transformed into a creepy uncle, patiently tempting her.

"No way!"

Alice understood immediately.

"Why not? I forgot to ask—why did you run away earlier? It's not like I would force you."

Ren Ze was curious too.

Alice did not want to say at first, but Ren Ze kept pestering her.

"At first, it was fine. But at the end, it felt like I was going to die, like my soul was about to be devoured. That feeling was horrible!"

Unable to take Ren Ze's nagging anymore, Alice told him the truth.

"So that's what those evil cultivation methods and cultivation furnaces are about!"

Ren Ze thought to himself. During their previous Psychic Power fusion, he had indeed felt like he was the active party, as though he could reclaim all of their intertwined Psychic Power if he wished. Of course, Ren Ze would never do that. No wonder some cultivation methods were said to be suitable only for lovers whose hearts and minds were in harmony.

"Boss, I've finished modifying the base AI's permissions. Would you like to come take a look now?"

Kaplan appeared at the entrance to the training grounds, panting heavily.

Following Kaplan to the base's main control room, Ren Ze had Kaplan begin the tests while Alice watched with great interest.

After a round of operations by Kaplan, the base AI's holographic projection appeared before everyone.

"Master, it is a pleasure to serve you!"

The AI's holographic projection was still in the form of a little girl in white. She looked around, then fixed her gaze on Ren Ze and spoke.

"Not bad, it actually looks convincing. She should have a name too. It doesn't feel right to keep calling such a cute girl 'artificial intelligence.'"

Ren Ze studied the projection and thought for a moment.

"The red one is called Red Queen, so should this one be White Queen? That doesn't sound good. White... white dress... Bai Yi?"

"From now on, your name is Bai Yi. Oh, and don't call me Master. That feels weird. Just call me Boss."

"Understood, Boss. Bai Yi is pleased to serve you!"