As Leon's words fell, the atmosphere at the scene cooled down for a while.

Colonel William squinted his eyes and stared at Leon for half a minute, the boy in front of him looked at him without fear, and the middle-aged colonel's expression eased slightly, and said:

"We're all homeless now, and we're not averse to joining other organizations, but we don't know anything about you, and I can't be reckless in making decisions for my soldiers."

"Is Dr. Melfa still there? I hope to talk to her. ”

Leon pondered for a few seconds, then said to Colonel William:

"We've cleared a fancy hotel outside the base, you and your soldiers can stay there for the time being, and when Dr. Melfa and I have settled the situation, you can enter the base alone and talk to her."

Colonel William nodded and said:

"No problem, we'll follow your rules."

He thought for a moment and said:

"There are probably more than 40 survivors with us, and we only helped them out of the principle of being a soldier, and if you can convince them to join your company, we don't mind."

Leon shook his head slightly, a faint confident smile on the corner of his mouth:

"Just let them be like you, observe for a few more days, take a look at more, and then make a decision."

In the evening, Lyon invited Colonel William to dinner, along with Dr. and Mrs. Melfa and the four professors of the Polytechnic Institute, and this time he did not choose to have a banquet in his own reception room, but in the public dining hall on the first floor.

In this canteen, except for the banquet, Leon did not come to eat a few times, he chose eight of the highest set menus, including wine, meat, candy, and staple food, each worth 50 contribution points, which is roughly equivalent to half a day's salary of an ordinary logistics employee.

After the guests were seated, Lyon introduced the guests to each other in turn.

Then, with a smile on his face, Dr. Melfa asked:

"Doctor, how are the students I assigned to you doing, they are all top students in the biology department of the Polytechnic Institute."

Dr. Melfa still had that serious expression on her face, and she said lightly:

"It's okay, I'm barely qualified to be an intern here, and I can act as an assistant for us, but for them to really come in handy, they have to hone for more than 5 years."

Leon nodded with a wry smile and said:

"There's no way around it, there are so few survivors that it's even harder to find people with specialized skills."

The expression on Dr. Melfa's face paused for a moment, and he looked at Leon and said:

"You've worked so hard, Leon, and it's a miracle that I've seen you build such a vibrant organization in three months."

With that, Dr. Melfa turned to Colonel William and spoke:

"Colonel William, I know your intentions, a few months ago, you followed the orders of your superiors, took the soldiers, abandoned us, and caused the entire staff of the research center to die and escape, and Jenner and I almost gave up the last hope."

"It was Mr. Custer who approached us and took all the responsibility to keep our research going."

"He has saved hundreds of people in the past few months, and I can vouch for my credibility that Mr. Custer is a good man to be trusted."

Colonel William and Dr. Melfa looked at each other for a few seconds, then nodded and said:

"Trust your judgment, doctor."

After that, several people at the table began to make small talk, but with the exception of Leon and William, who were all intellectuals with high-end academic qualifications, the topic of small talk quickly came to an area that he did not understand at all.

Leon smiled bitterly at Colonel William, who was also confused, took a box of cigars out of his pocket and threw it to him, while he leaned back in his chair and observed the crowd coming and going.

Most of the people who came to eat now were employees of the logistics department, and Leon could only tell that they were quite familiar, but most of them could not be named.

At the end of the day's work, with a little fatigue on their faces, they brought their families to eat here, and after some small talk, they all showed happy smiles.

Leon didn't know if they had a lot of complaints in their hearts, but he felt like he had a clear conscience anyway.

In one corner of the restaurant, Leon also finds Sean and Rick's family, sitting around a chapter table with a faint smile on their faces, sharing a roast chicken.

I haven't seen this family in the last few days, and I don't know how Rick and Sean discussed, but looking at how happy they are now, it should be on the good side.

We talked until the end of supper, when they took their leave and returned to their rooms, and Colonel William said to Leon before taking his leave:

"After three days, I will ask the soldiers for their opinions, and whether they want to stay or not, I will stay."

The next morning, Leon woke up to find that he did not have much official business, and it was the morning that several students sent by the engineering department to Herschel Farm were about to leave.

After thinking about it, he pinched Amy's little nose that was sleeping on his chest, and when the girl woke up, Leon asked softly:

"Beautiful young lady, you are already bored here, why don't you accompany me to the farm today to play, ride a horse, blow the wind, and enjoy a little pastoral food?"

The girl wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her soft body to him, and snorted, which was considered to be a promise.

Herschel's farm was not too far from the base, about 60 kilometers away, and at about 10 a.m., Lyon arrived at his destination in his modified military jeep, along with five students who had come to learn about agriculture.

When Leon got out of the car with Amy, who was wearing a long white dress, he saw an old man with gray hair and beard leading two young girls waiting there not far from the road.

After more than ten seconds, a car drove quickly, and Glenn hurriedly got out of the car, and said to Leon with an apologetic face:

"Sorry, boss, we went to explore another town yesterday, and it was a little slow to hear from you in the morning."

Leon smiled and patted Glenn on the shoulder and said:

"Don't worry, do you think I'm the kind of person with a small belly?"

"Let's go, we'll talk about it later, don't let the owner here wait too long."

With that, he took Amy's hand and walked towards the Herschel family with a warm smile.

After the two groups approached, the gray-haired old man with a serious expression showed a smile and said:

"Welcome, Mr. Custer, guests from afar, I have prepared a sumptuous lunch, and you are welcome to enjoy it together."

"It is my pleasure, Mr. Herschel, that I happen to have brought my friends with me to your farm to experience the real pastoral life."

Leon reached out and shook Herschel's hand, and the smile on his face became even warmer, he was handsome and had a good temperament, and this sunny and warm smile easily won their favor.

"You're welcome, it's been a long time since we've had so many guests on our farm."