After that kissing incident, things went back to normal — or as normal as they ever got for them.
They met up with Alice near the main corridor. She looked irritated — the kind of mood that said she'd just finished dealing with something unpleasant.
When her eyes landed on Luke and Jill walking side-by-side, she paused for a second.
There was something… off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the air between them felt different.
"Did anything strange happen?" Alice asked, her tone calm but edged with suspicion.
"Nothing," Luke said casually, "except one strange creature with my face that made me doubt my own face."
Alice raised an eyebrow. "They made clones of you?"
"Yeah," Luke replied with a sigh. "But they made it more disgusting."
Jill smirked faintly. "That's putting it nicely."
Alice smiled faintly, a hint of satisfaction tugging at her lips. So, it wasn't just my clones after all, she thought.
At least her clones looked human — normal, even. Whatever Luke had gotten tangled up with now… it clearly wasn't.
"So the business here is finished?" Jill asked.
"Yep I did the thing I came here for. We should leave."
He glanced down the corridor toward the server wing. He had planned to destroy the facility after he was done — wipe Umbrella's name off the map for good. But now, with the White Queen under his control, that wasn't an option.
He couldn't blow it up. Doing so would cut off his connection to her — and the vast Umbrella network she controlled.
***
They boarded the helicopter and lifted off, the blades thundering overhead as the ruins of the desert stretched endlessly below.
Luke sank into the co-pilot seat, staring down at what was left of the world. In his head, he started counting. Five, maybe six months to hunt down and destroy every remaining Umbrella base — assuming everything went smoothly.
But then came a far more dangerous calculation.
Selene.
That was a problem he couldn't solve with a fire spell.
How exactly was he supposed to convince Selene he hadn't lost his mind — or his loyalty — after Jill's sudden, no-warning kiss?
Jill hadn't even tried to hide it. She kissed him right after a battle, calm as ever, and then walked beside him like it was just another Tuesday.
Luke wasn't surprised that she had feelings, though. He'd saved her more times than he could count — Raccoon City, Detroit, the last year on the road. And he'd done plenty of things that might have earned a few points along the way.
Until now, he thought her heart was made of stone. Turns out, it just took a little longer to crack it.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Would Selene allow it?
He thought about her face — that cold, calm look she got when she was two seconds from shooting someone.
He rated his odds fifty–fifty.
Fifty percent she'd understand. Fifty percent she'd rearrange his face and call it a discussion.
He couldn't help the grin tugging at his lips. "Eh. Worth the risk."
He leaned back, watching the horizon fade into orange dusk as the helicopter hummed steadily onward.
It's all worth it, he thought with a faint smirk. For the dream… a peaceful life, surrounded by beautiful wives.
***
After some time, the helicopter crossed the coastline. The endless wastelands finally gave way to the sea — calm, blue, and strangely untouched by the apocalypse.
And there, resting in the middle of the waves, was an island.
Not a natural one, exactly — more like something half-built, half-summoned into existence by pure stubborn will.
Luke's new home.
When the T-Virus spread out of control and the world went to hell, he knew there was no stopping it. Humanity was already too far gone. So he did the next best thing — he made a safe place for what was left.
An island sanctuary.
Of course, he didn't build it the normal way.
He just… relocated things.
One by one, with the precision of a god rearranging a toy box, Luke uprooted entire buildings from abandoned cities across the world — houses, shops, hospitals, even a power plant — and dropped them neatly on this island.
A week later, the island had everything — clean water, working electricity, roads, a small harbor, and even a school.
Now about ten thousand people live here. Survivors. Refugees. People from all corners of the ruined world who'd somehow found their way to his little piece of safety.
The island wasn't huge, but it was peaceful. Green hills rolled across its center, the coastline sparkled, and the air didn't reek of death or smoke.
Selene didn't come with them because she was taking care of things in his absence. Someone had to manage the island while he was away.
And then, the helicopter touched down on the sandy beach, kicking up a wave of dust and salt spray as its rotors slowed.
Selene was already there — standing a short distance away, her long black coat fluttering slightly in the ocean wind. Her cold blue eyes locked on the aircraft the instant it landed.
The moment the side door opened, Luke, Alice, and Jill stepped out — looking a little worn after the flight.
But before Luke could even stretch his legs, Selene was suddenly in front of him, moving faster than the human eye could follow. Her expression was calm… but her eyes — sharp, focused — told another story.
"I smell something from your mouth," she said quietly, her voice laced with suspicion. Her vampire senses didn't miss even the faintest traces of another's scent.
Luke froze. Oh crap.
"Umm… my dear Selene," Luke started, slowly raising both hands as if surrendering. "Can you please listen to my perfectly logical explanation? Which I'm sure will completely convince you."
Selene tilted her head slightly, her expression softening — just a little. "I will listen, as long as it's anything else besides you… fooling around."
Luke scratched his cheek, laughing awkwardly. "Hehehehe… right, of course not…"
"Can we maybe take this discussion somewhere a little less public?" Luke asked carefully.
"Okay"
Luke sighed in relief. "Good… because I feel like this might take a while."
*****
A/N: For those who want to read ahead of the Webnovel schedule, you can read up to Chapter 126 on my Patreon.
👉 patreon.com/cw/Universal_Peace