— — — — — —
One month later—
On what used to be called South Island, now officially renamed RNZ Island.
In just half a month, Red Queen had already earned Renzo enough credit points to successfully acquire the struggling Aeshid Group.
The following two weeks, Renzo began large-scale renovations of the island—the factories, the corporate headquarters, everything.
Of course, the stuff on the surface wasn't the real focus.
The real work was happening underground, where he was building a sprawling, multi-level research facility and weapons factory—over a hundred levels deep.
Calling it "digging" would be selling it short. He hadn't used excavators or drills—he simply carved out the underground base using his powers.
To ensure stability, every inch of space outside the actual facility was reinforced—turned into ultra-dense bedrock with steel and rebar woven throughout the structure.
The result? The entire island was now fortified like a military fortress.
"Master! I've cracked the Federation's central database. All the technical data has been downloaded—including the artificial wormhole technology. Would you like to view it now?"
That day, Red Queen's projection suddenly flickered into view in front of Renzo.
"Oh? You're done already? Pull it up—let me see!"
Renzo's eyes lit up, urging her on.
"Yes, Master!"
A large holographic screen appeared, filled with rows upon rows of dense technical data.
Renzo skimmed through it for a while before waving it away and rubbing his temples.
"Man, that's a lot to go through. It'll take forever to study it all properly. Guess I'll leave it to my clones."
He'd left several clones back at the island's main headquarters. His real body was currently on the frontlines, stationed at one of the advance bases. No time to play scientist.
"As you wish, Master," Red Queen said obediently.
"Damn it! The real body's way too sneaky!"
"There's so much to study—how are we supposed to finish this?"
"We're nothing but glorified workhorses!"
"Weren't we always?!"
Back at the island, Renzo's clones groaned and complained while diving headfirst into the sea of data.
A few were also handling day-to-day company operations.
At the moment, the corporation was just starting to gain traction.
In a few days, they'd be participating in the next round of military contract bids—an important opportunity.
Renzo didn't care too much about the profits. What he wanted was to boost Earth's military tech and more importantly, to elevate his public status so he wouldn't have to rely entirely on manipulating high-ranking officials behind the scenes.
That approach was too fragile.
Besides, owning a legit military-industrial company meant he'd have a legal way to test any future weapons or mecha he designed.
Now that he had his cheat system in full swing, the future of the Federation was his to rewrite.
The Federation was rotten anyway—corrupt to the core, riddled with backstabbing and bureaucracy.
Honestly, in the early days, humanity could have wiped out the bug species. Back then, the enemy hadn't yet adapted to human tactics.
But greed and political infighting got in the way. Infantry units were treated like disposable pawns. Opportunities were wasted. Battles dragged on—and the bugs grew stronger.
According to the original timeline, Renzo had a bad feeling the Federation would eventually self-destruct.
But not this time.
Not with him here.
---
"Renzo! I'm here! Long time no see~!"
Tia's cheerful voice rang out as she arrived with a group of new recruits, officially assigned to Renzo's special forces unit. Even she was surprised by the coincidence.
"What are the odds?" she thought.
"Well, look who finally showed up. Welcome to the Renzo Special Task Force!"
Renzo stood and gave her a friendly hug.
"Eh?" Tia blinked, caught off guard. "Wait… you knew I was coming? And what do you mean 'finally'? Don't tell me this was all your doing?!"
"What else did you think?"
Renzo gave her a helpless shrug. "You really are reckless, you know that? Just up and enlisted without saying a word. What—did you think this was some kind of game?"
"You realize how dangerous this is, right? And don't forget—most military units are co-ed. That means everything is shared, including showers."
"I-I didn't think that far ahead…" Tia stammered, suddenly awkward. "I just… I just wanted to join up and find you."
Now that she thought about it, things really had gone too smoothly. She'd been placed in a special all-female recruit unit for training, then got reassigned directly to Renzo's command.
At the time, she thought it was luck. Or fate.
But now… it all made sense.
Renzo had been working behind the scenes for her all along.
Tia couldn't help but feel touched.
But more than that, she realized something else—this man clearly had way more influence in the military than her father's so-called background check had suggested.
He wasn't just powerful—he was mysterious.
And that only made her even more curious.
"Whatever. You're here now, that's what matters."
Renzo waved it off and smiled. "Let me get your accommodations sorted, and then I'll start training you personally."
With that, he led her out of the office.
"Heeey, boss!"
As soon as they stepped outside, they ran into Otis, who gave Renzo a big wink and an exaggerated grin.
Clearly, he was the one who'd brought Tia over just now.
"You little punk. Go round up the squad—new recruits just landed. Time for introductions."
Renzo kicked him lightly in the rear as he barked the order.
"Yes sir, boss!" Otis said with a goofy smile before jogging off.
"Wait, Otis and the others… they're all under your command now?" Tia asked curiously. "Weren't you just a regular soldier three months ago? You climbed the ranks that fast?"
There was definitely a hidden meaning in her tone.
Renzo chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Stop snooping. Yeah, I'm not exactly ordinary, but that promotion? I earned it."
"In just a few months, I've taken out more than ten thousand bugs myself. Earning the rank of field colonel was just a matter of time—especially with no one holding me back."
And he wasn't exaggerating.
"Ten thousand?! No wonder… That must've been brutal! Why push yourself so hard?"
Tia looked at him with genuine worry, clearly moved.
"It wasn't that bad. I am pretty amazing, you know," Renzo grinned. "Besides, if I didn't climb the ranks fast, how else was I gonna pull strings and get you transferred to my unit?"
"Oh…" Tia's cheeks flushed pink at his words. "So… you did all that… for me?"
She glanced around quickly. Seeing no one nearby, she suddenly grabbed his head and kissed him full on the lips.
Pssst—
Just then, Oris and a few others came strolling around the corner—only to walk in on the tail end of that steamy moment.
They froze for a second, then immediately broke into whistles and jeers.
"Well damn, boss!"
"Wait… isn't that the chick you saved last time? What was her name again?"
"Tia! That's it! Damn, she actually joined the military just to chase after you? Mad respect!"
Most of them were from Renzo's original squad, and it didn't take long for them to remember who she was.
Cue the teasing.
.
.
.