AN: Please send me your power stones and leave a comment so I'll stay motivated to keep updating.
Oh, as for the bonus chapter, I'll post it around 11 p.m. GMT-7
.....
After Cindy left, Allen enjoyed his time with the women—Jill, Rebecca, Alyssa, and Svetlana—while the other girls preferred to stay quiet in the apartment, just being lazy there while watching TV and doing other things.
While they were enjoying their drinks, not long after Allen's phone rang, and the one calling was Annette.
"Hello Allen, are you busy tomorrow?"
"No, not at all, did you miss me?" Allen said.
"Hmmm, maybe," Annette replied.
"In that case, how about you come over to my apartment tonight, you know…" Allen said in a teasing tone.
Annette only smiled at his words.
"Okay, I actually called because there's something I want to talk about."
"Alright, I'm listening."
"So, Umbrella will be assigning some of its research talents to the Tricell company tomorrow."
"Hmmm, and what does that have to do with me?"
"I want to invite you to accompany me to the seminar tomorrow. Can you do that?" Annette asked, clearly wanting Allen's company more than William's. She was also hoping to steal some alone time with him afterward.
"Of course, I'd be happy to go with you. Besides, I've missed spending time with you, hehe," Allen replied with his mischievous laugh.
Annette bit her red lip, then said, "I'll send you the seminar location. I hope you'll come on time."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely be there on time."
"Okay, I'll talk to you about something tomorrow. See you."
After that, the call ended once Annette said her last few words to Allen.
She then looked over at William's lab and frowned. She really hated having to come here, especially knowing that her role as William's assistant had already been replaced by Daniel Fabron and a woman named Monica.
"Why would he rather have outsiders as his assistants?" Annette couldn't understand her husband anymore—he seemed more paranoid by the day.
"If he doesn't need me anymore, then don't blame me for not needing you either," Annette muttered, resting her hand on her stomach while remembering Allen and all the nights they had spent together.
"Looks like I really do miss him," Annette said quietly.
Meanwhile at the bar, Alyssa, who had been watching Allen's behavior, asked, "You seem close with a lot of women, Allen. Isn't your wife going to get jealous about that?"
"Well, they already know about it. And besides, most of the women I know are geniuses and talented in their fields," Allen said while looking at her.
"Ohhh, so am I included in those women you're talking about?"
"Yeah," Allen replied without hesitation.
Alyssa smiled, feeling quite happy—if that meant Allen acknowledged her.
"Oh, by the way, Allen, I wanted to ask… Is it okay if I stay at your apartment a bit longer? I still haven't managed to book a hotel. For some reason, since yesterday there've been a lot of newcomers in the city, and most of the hotels are full."
Alyssa felt a little awkward saying this, but she had no other choice.
"Of course, I don't mind. Actually, it'll give me a chance to get to know you better while you're staying there," Allen replied in a teasing tone.
Alyssa's face turned slightly red at his words.
Is he interested in me? she thought.
But even if Allen suddenly wanted her, she wouldn't really mind.
After that short exchange, they continued drinking.
Svetlana, who had been observing Allen the whole time, couldn't help but admire this man's skill at winning over women's hearts—not to mention his talent in bed. She could understand why his wives allowed him to have so many lovers, especially after the time she saw Raviel and Tiamat in such an intense, erotic state.
Remembering that scene made Svetlana suddenly notice a dampness between her thighs.
Ohh, this is a bit distracting. Why am I suddenly getting wet just thinking about that? she thought, before excusing herself to the ladies' room to relieve her arousal.
...
The next morning at the R.P.D., Allen saw Chris practicing his shooting alone in the training room. Chris felt he needed to improve his skills because during the last mission, his marksmanship wasn't as good as the other members'. If he had to face monsters like before, he knew he had to sharpen his technique quickly since it would affect the team's safety as well.
Seeing him, Allen approached. He also came here to ask Chief Brian for a day off since he needed to attend a seminar that would run for the next several days.
"Hey Chris, why are you still training here? Isn't our long break coming up? Do you have any plans for vacation?" Allen asked. Their relationship wasn't bad—in fact, they were fairly close since they had gone drinking together at the bar with Barry several times.
"No, I think I'll look for a part-time job. I need to help pay for my younger sister's schooling," Chris replied. Both their parents had already passed away, so Chris had to take responsibility as the head of the family for his sister.
"Ohhh, you mean Claire? Isn't she coming to visit you in Raccoon City this summer break?" Allen asked. Yeah, he remembered Claire. Of course, this was because Claire had also been their schoolmate back in high school, although only for a short time since Allen had decided to skip a grade.
"Yeah… but I told Claire not to come this year. You know why. With all the cases we have to deal with, I'm worried about her safety here. With her curious and persistent nature, I'm afraid she might go to the Arklay Mountains to investigate something," Chris said while shaking his head. He stopped training and sat down to rest.
Allen tossed him a water bottle, and Chris caught it. "Thanks."
"Well, good for you then. Oh yeah, you said you're looking for a job—if you need part-time work, you can reach out to me."
"What kind of work?"
"Well, I've got a company in New York. You probably already know about it. You might be interested since I'm developing new weapon technology to sell to the military. I may need people for transport security and so on."
"Hmm, I'll have to think about it," Chris replied.
"Alright then, I'll be off," Allen said before leaving Chris.
Then Allen went to Brian's office to talk about his temporary leave because he had business with a seminar that would be held by Umbrella, while handing over an envelope filled with money. Brian, of course, simply nodded and said, "Leave everything to me."
Outside, he ran into Rebecca and Jill, who seemed to be waiting.
"All done?" Jill asked.
"Yeah, I already talked about our vacation leave for the next few weeks. How about you two? Got any plans today?"
"Yeah, we're going shopping with Rebecca and some of the other women," Jill said, while Rebecca nodded.
"Want me to come along?" Allen offered.
"No need, I know you're busy. Besides, Lupo and her team will be guarding us," Jill replied.
"Alright then, have fun," Allen said before heading to his car.
Inside, Svetlana was in the driver's seat.
"Looks like you've been left alone by your women," she remarked.
"Who said I'm alone? I've still got you with me, don't I?" Allen replied in a teasing tone.
"Please, Allen. I'm just your guard. Forget it if you're thinking of getting closer to me—you know the reason why," Svetlana said firmly.
Allen only shook his head. He knew Svetlana was still obsessed with freeing her country from civil war and rebuilding her homeland.
Their car then drove off toward the seminar location. Along the way, Allen noticed several helicopters flying overhead. Since Raccoon City didn't have an airport—being surrounded by mountains—air travel was usually only done by helicopter.
Inside one of those helicopters sat a woman with an elegant posture. She was about 5'8" tall, with the appearance of a model. Her hair was tied in a very classic style that made her look like a MILF, even though she was still quite young. The woman's name was Excella Gionne.
The helicopter she was on had the cloverleaf logo on its door—the symbol of the Tricell corporation.
"So this is Raccoon City? What a remote place… is a backwater like this really suitable to be used as a research base?" the woman said arrogantly while looking down below.
"You're wrong. This city isn't remote at all. In fact, it's quite advanced compared to other cities," replied a middle-aged man who wanted to correct her words. He then looked out the window. "There are many geniuses here in Raccoon City, Excella. I hope you'll exchange ideas with them. And once you can develop an even greater discovery, I'm sure it won't take long for our company to surpass Umbrella."
"Ohh…" Excella answered flatly, clearly uninterested. This woman was incredibly proud of herself. After all, she was a genius who had earned a master's degree in pharmaceuticals. On top of her stunning looks, she also had a very high IQ.
Soon, their helicopter landed at a building in Raccoon City.
When Excella stepped out, she was greeted by four people—one of them being Annette, who looked stunning at that moment. Allen was also there, and he was no less eye-catching, especially because of his striking good looks.
Not long after, a man stepped forward to welcome them.
"Hello, my name is Curtis, commercial director of Umbrella," he said, shaking hands with several people. But when he reached out to Excella, she arrogantly refused to take his hand.
Still, Curtis didn't seem too bothered by it.
"Alright, welcome to Umbrella. Let me take you to the room we've prepared," Curtis said as he began to escort his guests.
At that moment, Renaldo Gionne, Excella's father, stepped in to apologize for his daughter's behavior.
"Forgive my daughter's manners—she can be rather arrogant. I hope you'll understand."
"No problem, sir. I'm used to it," Curtis replied calmly. In fact, he thought to himself, several Umbrella researchers often acted the same way.
"Let me introduce our people first. This is Annette Birkin, one of our most talented researchers here. And this is Allen Winter—he's a member of S.T.A.R.S., a scientist as well, and I'm sure you're already familiar with his private company in New York," Curtis said, introducing the two standing beside him.
"Winter…" Excella's eyes widened slightly, surprised to see him at Umbrella. "Why are you working here?"
"I don't have time to discuss that," Allen replied curtly, walking on without bothering to acknowledge her question.
"Come on, we don't have much time," Annette said quickly, tugging Allen along. She had no intention of letting some arrogant stranger like Excella try to flirt with her man. If this woman was only here to waste their time with idle chatter, then she might as well leave—and besides, Annette was looking forward to having Allen all to herself once this was over.
Allen vaguely recalled Curtis. 'If I'm not mistaken, this guy's supposed to be the villain in the Resident Evil: Degeneration movie.' But Allen didn't really care—he never bothered to fully understand the background or the reasons why Curtis became a villain in the first place. 'But doesn't this guy have a really beautiful sister? Hmmm… maybe I'll use Wednesday to dig up some info about her later,' he thought.
While Allen was busy daydreaming about another beautiful woman, he wasn't paying attention to the rather serious discussion about the cooperation between Umbrella and Tricell.
Meanwhile, Excella, who noticed his indifferent attitude, felt slightly disgusted. Especially since he had ignored her questions outright.
'A man like this? What could he even do? Just wait, I'll make sure he learns his place soon enough,' she sneered inwardly.
After a brief introduction from Curtis about the various departments within Umbrella to the Tricell representatives, he led them to the room where the seminar would be held the following day.
When the discussion concluded, the Tricell delegation headed off to the hotel they had booked in the city.
Once they were gone, Allen and Annette slipped into a quiet hallway to talk.
"Annette, by the way, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Allen asked.
However, Annette didn't answer Allen's question. Instead, she suddenly hugged him and kissed him passionately.
They kissed for several minutes in the hallway before finally breaking apart—it wouldn't look good if they lingered there too long. Annette's heart felt lighter now, her mood far brighter than before.
"Sorry, Allen, I couldn't hold it in anymore and just wanted to do that," Annette said, a little embarrassed by her behavior. Then she continued, "It's about the plan for me to escape Umbrella—have you found a solution yet?"
Allen, hearing that, simply smiled when he saw the behavior of this MILF and answered her question.
"Yes. On July 23rd, I want you to take Sherry with you onto the train heading to Umbrella's Arklay Mountain facility. There, you'll be picked up by Lupo and the others, who will give you further instructions."
Annette was a little confused but nodded.
"Okay, I'll try to bring Sherry with me then."
"Oh, by the way, isn't it a problem that she's been listening to us this whole time?" Annette asked, pointing to Svetlana.
"Don't worry. She's my bodyguard. Of course our secret is safe."
Allen had almost forgotten that Svetlana had been present the whole time, hearing every word of their conversation.
Meanwhile, Svetlana—who had indeed listened from start to finish—was left a little speechless. She blinked a few times. This man didn't even care that he was discussing such personal matters right in front of her.
"Isn't he afraid I might leak this information to someone else? Or is he just that confident I won't?" she wondered. But Allen's trust in her warmed her heart, making her feel quietly pleased.
After that, Annette went to her lab since she had to finish her personal research data on the G-Virus she stole from her husband. She also promised to meet Allen at the apartment tonight to give him a "gift"—and of course, that gift was sex.
Meanwhile, Allen was outside chatting with Curtis at a café.
"Allen, what do you want to talk about with me?"
"I want to know about the background of the people coming from Tricell. You know, just to gather information about them before our seminar starts tomorrow," Allen said while sipping his coffee.
"Ohh, I thought it was something else. Well, the ones coming are the leaders of the Gionne family and their daughter. The Gionne family could be considered successful merchants who managed to marry into the Travis family. So basically, the ones Tricell sent are just a branch of the Tricell company," Curtis explained about the family and the company's origins.
"Yeah, but as you can see, Allen, their daughter Exella is very arrogant. I'm already used to dealing with people like that, but her background is quite extraordinary since she's a master graduate in biology and pharmaceuticals," Curtis said, sounding a bit annoyed and clearly not fond of her character.
"Hahaha, well, usually geniuses with high IQ tend to have very low EQ."
"But you don't seem like that, Allen. You could also be considered no less of a genius compared to her."
"Thanks for the compliment. With this info, I think I know how I should handle things at tomorrow's seminar." Then Allen added, "By the way, why is Tricell sending their branch family instead of sending a member of their main family here?"
Curtis, who looked like he was about to spill some juicy gossip, leaned closer. "That's because they're not direct descendants of the Travis family."
"Huh?" Allen looked a bit confused. "Why does this sound like some TV drama or a novel I've read before? Hahaha." Allen laughed.
Curtis also laughed at Allen's joke. "But that's really how it is. The Travis family simply doesn't want their company controlled by outsiders, only by their own bloodline."
Hearing this, Allen seemed to come up with another plan—to make Exella his target. Well, rather than letting Albert Wesker use her and toss her aside, I'd be better off making use of her myself—especially since her talent is extraordinary.
Moreover, Exella's family situation seemed to fully support this, which would make it easy for Allen to influence her.