"Phew—"
William, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, raised his right hand to block the sun above his head and sighed, "My god, it is really hot."
Minos is located only four degrees from the equator and experiences high temperatures year-round.
For a rich young master like William, who was born at a high latitude, this was nothing short of torture.
"I don't think so? This place is great~"
Halsey, standing to the side in a white camisole and denim shorts, was completely unaffected by the scorching sun.
She wore a happy expression, as if full of longing and anticipation for the tropical island.
"You?" William reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead, looking up and down at the 'youthful and energetic' genius woman.
Her wheat-colored skin could indeed effectively resist UV radiation.
Moreover, ever since the Megan scandal, Halsey seemed to have started paying attention to her appearance, and even showed off her proud figure in front of him from time to time.
Having such a beautiful'scenery' by his side was considered a good thing... right?
...
Escorted by Hank and the other Alphas, the two walked to the front of the USS and UBCS units waiting below the tarmac.
The Soldiers on the island were all dressed in summer styles.
For instance, the USS were all in black short sleeves and combat pants. It was very heat-absorbing, but there was no helping it; the overall style of the USS was gray and black.
The UBCS were much better off; they wore white-gray short sleeves and dark green combat pants.
Furthermore, these Soldiers had dark skin, forming a sharp contrast with the Alphas who had just gotten off the plane.
The leading USS, wearing a black beret, came to William, saluted, and said respectfully, "The Commander and person-in-charge of Minos, Alan Kent, reporting to you."
"Hmm." William snuck a glance at the rank pin on Kent's chest, then smiled and said, "Hard work, Major. Don't have any complaints about waiting here for nothing for three months, haha."
"No complaints, Boss." Kent maintained a rigorous attitude and said, "During this period, my men and I have just finished drafting the training plan. We will begin training once those little Spartans have adapted to the environment."
"Not bad." William nodded with satisfaction.
He looked at the Alphas and children gathering around, and gave a calm order to Kent: "Alright, Major, take us to the meeting hall of the Base. It is time to let these children understand their destiny."
"Yes, Boss."
After saluting William, Kent had a group of Soldiers stationed on the island escort William and the others to the meeting hall of the Base facilities.
Although the island's sand could not be directly used for concrete construction, the Umbrella Engineering Team was not just sitting around. Coupled with Umbrella's powerful logistics department, they sourced building materials in minutes. This gave the Minos training Base a clean concrete floor, sparing William, who had mysophobia, from the invasion of sand.
...
Inside the meeting hall of the training Base; it was black and white, and the podium floor tiles were printed with the red and white Umbrella logo, a typical Umbrella decoration style.
William stood directly behind the podium, while Halsey sat on a chair brought to his side.
Kent and several USS stood around the podium, guarding the safety of the two Olympus directors.
As for the fourteen children who had been secretly kidnapped, they were scattered across the tiered seats that could accommodate a hundred people, with no order to speak of.
This was Halsey's suggestion. Instead of having Soldiers order them to sit in order, she let the children choose their own seats.
Of the fourteen children, seven were sitting in the back, six were scattered in the middle, and only one was sitting in the very front. That one was John.
Seeing that someone actually dared to sit in the first row, Halsey was slightly surprised.
Then, she extended her left foot, having taken off her sandal, towards William, lightly tapped his trouser leg with her big toe, and whispered: "Alright, you can start your speech now."
"Hmm." William nodded slightly.
He looked at the group of ignorant children and said calmly: "You don't know why you are here, why Umbrella possesses military power, and many other questions. You are allowed to ask one question now, and I will answer it depending on the situation. Come on, ask."
After speaking, William looked at the group of children with a kind smile.
Halsey, sitting on the side, stared intently at John, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, as if she were certain that John would ask.
"Sir." Sure enough. As soon as William finished speaking, John raised his hand and asked: "I want to know, would you do anything to hurt our parents?"
"Oh?" William asked back with slight interest: "Don't you want to know why you came here?"
"No, sir, because you will tell us." John answered calmly.
"Child, you have a lot of courage." William was not at all surprised by the other's performance. After all, the future John would be Umbrella's unique 'Sergeant Major'.
Immediately after, William did not continue to reply, but turned on the projector. He played a video of the children's clones living happily with their biological parents.
After watching, all the children, including John, were dumbfounded.
William did not give them too much time to react, and said in a deep voice: "You shouldn't be unfamiliar with Dolly the cloned sheep. Those people who look exactly like you are your clones. Theoretically, you are people who shouldn't exist. Do you understand?"
After hearing these words, some children began to sob silently, a very few had glints of hatred in their eyes, and more remained confused and puzzled.
But because of the 'menacing' USS in front of them, the children dared not cry out loud, nor did they dare to try to resist or run away.
The projection continued to play. Next came the combat video of Athabasca, as well as the ugly and terrifying-looking Safe containment objects.
After seeing these videos, the timid children closed their eyes, and some even hid under the tables.
Only John dared to keep his eyes open, his young face revealing curiosity, and even a faint sense of eagerness to fight them.
"Ahem!" William cleared his throat, put on a stern expression, and said loudly: "You have all seen it; these monsters are real. Didn't you want to know why you are here? Fine, I will tell you. From now on, you are conscripted into Umbrella! You will undergo specialized military training! You will be forged into the most powerful warriors to date! You will become the Guardians of Earth and humanity! You... will be humanity's last line of defense. Major!"
"Yes." Having received the signal, Kent quickly ordered the USS: "Soldiers! Take these bastards to see their dorms!"
"Yes, Major." The USS stepped forward quickly, each grabbing a child and leading them out of the meeting hall.
"No! Let me go home! Let me go home!" "Mom... save me..." "Don't touch me! Get away!" The scene was chaotic for a moment.
Before long, only Halsey and William remained in the originally noisy meeting hall.
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