Wu Fan stared at the red little girl figure on the computer screen, lost in brief contemplation.
Atlanta.
Build walls, clear out Walkerss, reclaim the entire city—the red queen's analysis lay there coldly: six months to build walls, five years to clear it out. According to current armed forces, it would take five years to reclaim a dead city.
Five years.
Did he have that time? Did he have those resources?
"The second Raccoon City..."
Wu Fan muttered to himself, then shook his head violently: "That's too unlucky. Let's change the name. City of Happiness? City of Hope?"
On the screen, the red queen tilted her head, watching him expressionlessly, seemingly unable to understand why humans felt the need to name a pile of data.
Wu Fan sighed and closed the 3D model.
It was better not to have such thoughts.
Wait until the clone floor was unlocked, wait until there was enough manpower, then consider the matter of reclaiming the city.
Thinking about this now was purely looking for trouble for himself.
He was just about to light a cigarette when the door was suddenly pushed open.
Amy walked in, looking unwell.
It was that kind of expression: "I have something annoying to tell you, but I don't want to seem like I'm being annoying."
Wu Fan put down the cigarette: "What's wrong?"
"The group of people from the mine, you remember them, right?"
Wu Fan paused for a moment: "I remember, what's wrong?"
"Ed Pelletier."
When Amy said this name, her tone was like she was talking about a moldy piece of bread: "That guy is beating his wife Carol again."
Wu Fan frowned.
Ed.
That piece of trash who used to beat his wife at the mine.
Unemployed before the apocalypse, still decadent after the apocalypse.
He didn't work, didn't contribute, and relied entirely on the food his wife Carol earned by helping out at the camp to survive.
How was this kind of person not dead yet?
"Isn't he watching the warehouse?"
Wu Fan asked.
Amy sneered: "Watching the warehouse? He was robbing the warehouse, stealing food and drink from it, thinking no one would notice. Later, we sent him to guard the firearms and ammunition—and this guy tried to steal a gun and sixty rounds of ammunition."
Wu Fan was silent for a few seconds.
Good grief.
He had almost forgotten about this person.
He didn't expect him to jump out on his own.
Stealing food, stealing guns, stealing bullets—what was he planning? Running away after stealing things? Or causing trouble inside the base?
"Where is he?"
He asked.
"He was caught, and he's locked up now."
Amy said: "Carol was beaten pretty badly by him, her lip is swollen. Andrea is furious and says she wants to beat that bastard to death."
Wu Fan leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the desk.
Kill Ed?
That would be letting him off too easily.
But just let him go?
That was even less possible.
He thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
Amy looked at him: "What are you smiling at?"
"Amy..."
Wu Fan said: "Your sister Andrea used to be a lawyer, right?"
Amy nodded.
"Then let her take on a side job."
Wu Fan said: "Helping someone dissolve a marriage, that should work, right?"
Amy blinked, and then her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"You mean—"
"It's the apocalypse, laws are gone, but principles still remain."
Wu Fan spread his hands: "A man who beats his wife every day, steals things, and even tries to steal guns—why should this kind of trash still hold the title of her husband? Have Andrea, in her capacity as a lawyer, help Carol get a divorce, a formal one, with witnesses, documents, and records."
Amy opened her mouth wide.
"After the divorce..."
Wu Fan continued: "Ed will no longer be Carol's husband. He will just be an ordinary base member—an ordinary member who stole weapons and ammunition and violated regulations. We can deal with him however we see fit."
Amy paused for two seconds, then suddenly leaned in and kissed Wu Fan on the cheek.
"You really have the best ideas!"
She turned and ran.
Wu Fan touched his face, looked at the open door, and shook his head helplessly.
She ran off before he could finish speaking.
It seems this guy Ed has already angered everyone.
On the training ground, Andrea was leading a new batch of security personnel in combat training.
She had been training very hard these past few months.
She got fourth in the last assessment; although not bad, the gap between her and the top three was too large.
She wasn't satisfied, so she trained extra every day, and the calluses on her hands were worn through layer after layer.
"Punch fast! Don't hesitate!"
While correcting the movements of a female team member, she was also practicing herself.
"Andrea!"
She turned around and saw Amy running over from the main building, her high heels clicking rapidly on the ground.
"Run slower, don't trip."
Andrea frowned: "What's so urgent?"
Amy gasped for air, leaned into her ear, and explained Wu Fan's idea.
After hearing it, Andrea's eyes slowly narrowed.
"Divorce?"
She repeated.
"Yes!"
Amy nodded: "You're a lawyer, help Carol get a divorce, a formal one. That way Ed won't be her husband anymore, and we can deal with him however we want."
Andrea was silent for two seconds, then a smile slowly appeared at the corner of her mouth.
That smile made the new team members nearby unconsciously step back.
"Fine."
She said: "I'll take this job."
Temporary detention room.
Ed Pelletier sat on the chair, looking defiant.
The door opened, and Andrea walked in, holding a folder and a pen.
"What are you here for?"
Ed looked at her sideways: "This is my home, you aren't welcome here."
Andrea ignored him, sat down opposite him, and opened the folder.
"Ed Pelletier..."
She read: "Effective immediately, your marital relationship with Carol Pelletier is officially dissolved."
Ed was stunned.
"What?"
"Divorce."
Andrea pushed the document over: "Sign it."
Ed's eyes widened, and he jumped up: "Divorce? Who the hell said anything about a divorce? That bitch—"
"Sit down."
Andrea's voice wasn't loud, but it was as cold as ice.
Ed looked at her, saw the gun at her waist, and slowly sat back down.
"This is the BOSS's decision."
Andrea said: "It's also the base's regulation. You stole public food and attempted to steal firearms and ammunition; the evidence is conclusive. The base doesn't support people like you, but it won't let you drag your family down with you."
"So..."
She placed the pen next to the document: "Sign it. From today on, you and Carol are no longer husband and wife; she lives her life, and you live yours."
Ed stared at the document, his face flushing red.
"I won't sign!"
He roared: "By what right—"
"By this."
Andrea patted the gun at her waist: "By the fact that this is Umbrella Corporation, not your home. By the fact that given what you've done, if you were outside, you'd have been thrown out to feed the Walkerss long ago."
She stood up and looked down at him.
"Sign, and you can stay in the base. Although it will be in the lowest-ranking position, at least you won't starve to death. Don't sign—"
She paused.
"The BOSS said that stealing firearms and ammunition, according to base regulations, can be considered a hostile act. Do you know what the outcome of a hostile act is?"
Ed's face turned from red to white.
He opened his mouth, wanting to curse, to roar, to resist.
But looking at Andrea's cold face, looking at the gun at her waist, thinking of those fully armed security personnel, thinking of those guys who were sweating and struggling on the training ground every day—
His hands began to tremble.
Then, he picked up the pen and shakily signed his name.
Andrea collected the document and turned to leave.
Walking to the door, she looked back at the man slumped in the chair.
"Oh, right..."
She said, "From today on, you are moving out of the family residential area to live by the warehouse, and your work will be reassigned."
She closed the door.
In the hallway, Carol was sitting on a chair, holding her daughter Sophia.
Her lip was still bruised, her eyes red and swollen, but at this moment, looking at the document in Andrea's hand, there was something in her eyes that had never been there before.
"He signed."
Andrea handed her the document: "You are free."
Carol took the document, looking at the shaky signature on it, her hands trembling.
Sophia looked up and whispered: "Mommy, will Daddy not hit you anymore?"
Carol's tears finally flowed down.
She hugged her daughter tightly, her voice choked with sobs: "He won't... he will never again..."
Andrea stood nearby, watching the mother and daughter, her own nose feeling a bit sore.
She patted Carol on the shoulder: "Let's go, I'll help you arrange a new place to stay."
Third-floor office.
Wu Fan stood by the window, watching the mother and daughter follow Andrea toward the residential area.
Amy stood behind him and whispered: "Carol wants to see you, she says she wants to thank you in person."
Wu Fan shook his head: "No need, just let her live a good life."
He turned and walked back to his desk, sat down, and lit a cigarette.
"Oh, right..."
He asked Amy: "Where is Ed now?"
"At the warehouse."
"We arranged for him to move the heaviest cargo."
Amy said: "Merle volunteered to watch over him."
Wu Fan smiled.
Merle watching?
Then Ed's days will be worse than a slave's.
He exhaled a puff of smoke and looked out the window.
The sunset was falling, coating the entire base in a layer of gold.
In the distance, the construction crew was still pouring the walls, the roar of the machines faintly audible.
This world is still pretty fucked up.
But at least here, in this small corner, someone has started to live a normal life.
That is enough.