Chapter 11

Page 1 of 3

Twenty people with hair dyed in every imaginable color, each wearing a mask, swaggered out of the bank. Bags of coins hung from their waists, and every one of them carried a gun.

The robbers entered the restaurant across the street and shouted, “Come here! Take our orders!”

None of the waiters dared approach. The trembling owner came over to write down their orders. When he tried to close the restaurant door, bullets sprayed across it. Too frightened to try again, he could only serve them.

Ten minutes later, the automatic welcome chime sounded at the entrance. The robbers turned to look, and a chorus of lewd whistles broke out.

“Sweetheart, you’re really living the good life.”

A blonde woman entered with seven handsome men. The robbers assumed she was a madam from some erotic establishment who had brought her men out to eat after finishing a uniform-themed performance.

Perrin was the last to enter. Reaching behind him, he struck the alarm and shattered it. A piercing alarm began to wail as the security doors and windows slowly descended.

Gasti’s boots struck the floor with sharp, echoing steps. In a cold voice, she ordered, “Kill them all. Leave no one alive.”

“Yes, Commander!”

The seven men behind Gasti rushed forward. Before the robbers could fire a shot, they seized their weapons, aimed at their heads, and pulled the triggers.

Everyone else in the restaurant hid in the storeroom, too afraid to come out.

The robbers had never imagined that anyone would dare ignore their guns and kill them outright.

Someone shouted, “Murder is against the law!”

No one stopped. The sounds of bullets punching through skulls and necks snapping filled the room, terrifying the robbers still desperately searching for an escape.

The leader fell to his knees and begged for mercy. “You can have all the money! Just let me go! Let me go!”

Sander shot him. The bullet passed straight through the center of his forehead.

Howls of despair rang out. These criminals had only dared to run wild because they were counting on the townspeople not resisting.

Gasti fired at the storeroom door, then called to the people inside, “Call the police.”

Half an hour later, Gasti held a thick stack of large-denomination bills—the spoils from twenty robbers, enough to earn the entire town’s police force a commendation.

She confiscated all the robbers’ guns and claimed them as her own.

She handed one large bill to each of the seven men, rolled up the rest, and stuffed them into her pocket.

“Keep this confidential.”

“Yes, Commander.”

The seven men beamed with delight, completely unconcerned by the fact that they had just killed people.

If Ax knew what they had done, he would have been terrified of them. They disregarded the law entirely and obeyed only Gasti’s commands.

When they returned to the property they were purchasing, Ax had already completed the paperwork with the homeowner. He shouted, “Commander, where did you go?”

He had taken so long because he had been buying cigarettes in bulk for his friends at the base. Then he had heard the alarm and disappeared, assuming it was merely a fire drill.

“We went to inspect the surroundings for you. They’re excellent,” Gasti said.

Kaharr said nothing. He did not know Ax.

The homeowner certainly did not mention the robbers either, afraid that the sale would fall through.

When he saw Gasti and the others return, the elderly couple hurried away with the contract and the money.

Clutching the contract, Ax said mournfully, “We’ll have to start economizing now. Commander, you should treat us to dinner.”

Gasti was in a good mood. “All right. I’ll take you all out for a feast.”

Ax cheered. “Long live the Commander!”

Before entering the building, the men who had done the killing rubbed the blood from their boot soles against the lawn. Not a trace of anything unusual remained.

They treated Ax almost indulgently. He held the menu, and none of them fought over it; they let him order whatever he liked.

Ax laughed happily and raised his glass to celebrate finally having a home.

The clean, brightly lit restaurant was packed with customers, all celebrating the execution of the robbers as well.

Amid the din, a news broadcast began. Gasti stared at the screen without blinking.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

The news anchor excitedly announced the youngest major general in history. On the screen, Hayes stood in the assembly hall, saluting the king. His military uniform fit him perfectly, emphasizing his tall, straight figure. The two silver stars on his shoulders stabbed painfully at Gasti’s eyes.

She looked away and tightened her grip on her glass.

Back at the base, Gasti sat in her office, deep in thought for a long time.

At ten that night, she contacted her former instructor, Raton.

Five minutes later, the call ended. Gasti spun a pen between her fingers, sitting motionless with a gaze that had grown deep and somber.

There was a knock at the door. A moment later, someone entered, locked it, and switched off all the lights.

The metallic buckle of a belt struck the floor with a crisp sound in the darkness. Kneeling on the ground, the man licked and kissed the woman’s calf.

Perrin was like a wild beast, his desire threatening to tear him apart.

Like a beast tamer, Gasti seized the back of his neck and forced his head up. Her moist tongue traced his throat, making his breathing grow heavier as his body hardened.

“Commander… I want you, Commander. Give yourself to me.”

Perrin held her up against the wall, burying his face against her neck and shoulder. His long, powerful legs stood firmly planted while his hips moved relentlessly.

He had betrayed his faith and surrendered to desire, and Perrin had no intention of regretting it. His naturally flamboyant red hair, pale skin, and even paler body made him impossible to overlook.

The next morning, during their run, Perrin refused to remove his outer clothes no matter how hot it became. His body was covered in love marks, and he did not want anyone to see them.

His unusual behavior only aroused more suspicion.

When he deliberately delayed his return, waiting until the others had finished showering and gone back to the dormitory, a group of them restrained him and stripped off his jacket.

His pale skin was covered with marks.

Ax drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Perrin, even you have surrendered yourself to the Commander?”

“I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about the Commander all night.”

The men restraining him let go. He was so honest that they did not know what to say.

Ax collapsed backward with a groan. “You’re all making me nervous. What if the Commander decides she wants to try me too? I’m a man who intends to get married.”

Several pillows flew at him.

“Impossible.”

Ax laughed and cursed at them, then threw the pillows back.

Five days later, Gasti received a package containing an entire box of recordings from the previous five Silver Wing competitions.

She watched them day and night. Hayes had participated in the earliest competition, taking first place individually and leading his team to first place as well.

After coming of age, Hayes enlisted in the military. Only later did he pass the examinations and gain admission to the Imperial Gold Badge Academy.

He had risen from the ranks of ordinary soldiers and enjoyed an excellent reputation among the lower ranks. His family background also ensured that no one obstructed his advancement.

His entire family had traditionally been involved in politics. After Hayes emerged, the relatives who entered the military also began to rise.

Gasti wanted to defeat Hayes, but it would be difficult. The entire family stood behind him.

By the time she finished watching all the recordings, a month had passed. She organized the important information and played it during class. Everyone sat in silence, completely focused on the footage.

The ability of the top ten contestants in each competition differed very little, but the gap between them and those ranked afterward was enormous.

The number of bases participating in previous years had always hovered around fifty, with fifteen members on each team.

Winning would be no simple matter.

Gasti played footage of the top ten from every competition separately, making the eight men memorize their standards.

When the recordings ended, she informed them, “The new academic year has begun. The base will recruit from secondary academies throughout the empire. We still need three special team members.

“We’ll be recruiting in five cities. I need you to find people with the following abilities: wireless countertracking, chemical toxin preparation, and codebreaking.

“It doesn’t matter whether they are students. What matters is finding them.”

“Yes, Commander!”

Gasti then dispatched a transport aircraft to recruit personnel. Each academy they visited had already received notice under the base’s name.

The pilot took off, leaving the base behind. The eight men were both nervous and excited.

Their first stop was Danyes City, at Mondigo Academy.

The eight men stepped off the aircraft in uniform and gazed at the academy’s beautiful buildings. They could not help thinking how fortunate the students were.

Suddenly, screams rang out. A group of female students surrounded them, all staring at the man handsome enough to take one’s breath away.

The uniforms added another layer of charm.

The academy’s reception teacher hurried over upon hearing the commotion, drove the students away, and explained that the military was recruiting. Anyone interested should go to the designated recruitment area.

Inside a large lecture hall, the adult students filled the seats. Sander used his magnetic voice to introduce the general situation at Meris Base.

Torlan studied the list of students who had already registered. Their specialties were listed beside their names. He marked the entries with his pen, wearing rimless glasses and exuding an icy, restrained air.

The other six sat in a row below, accepting on-site registrations.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

After the introduction, the students asked questions, and Sander answered them one by one.

One bold female student asked him a personal question. Sander immediately called on the next person, refusing to answer.

After that, he called only on male students who raised their hands, ignoring the bored and frivolous girls to avoid wasting time.

This won him the favor of the male students present, and many interested young men went downstairs to collect and fill out the forms.

An hour later, Torlan began announcing the names of those selected, instructing them to report to a designated location the following day for testing.

When registration ended, the eight men politely declined the teachers’ hospitality and strode away.

After finishing recruitment at Mondigo Academy, they went to Jinkamen Academy. Drawing on their first experience, they asked the academy teachers not to allow anyone without genuine interest to come merely for the spectacle.

The teachers in charge dismissed the students who had come only to watch.

With the frivolous spectators gone, the large lecture hall was not very full, but everyone remaining genuinely wished to enlist.

After visiting the two academies, the eight men were deeply disappointed. They had not found a single team member they wanted; everyone’s qualifications were painfully ordinary.

That evening, they ate and chatted at a designated lodging house.

“There were so many people, and we couldn’t choose even one. Now I understand what the Commander meant at the end.”

“I thought academies were full of talented people.”

“I thought so too before I came. Not one of them could run ten kilometers. They’re hopeless.”

“These students can’t even carry a rifle.”

Ax shook his head. Perrin suggested, “Why don’t we create an account and post a recruitment notice listing the requirements? The Commander said it doesn’t matter whether they’re students.”

The other seven agreed. It was a good idea.

The eight pooled their money to buy Universal wrist communicators. Every student at the academy had one. After reading the instruction manual, Sander began searching for photographs of Gasti from Imperial Silver Academy.

A graduation photograph appeared, and the eight men all let out astonished cries.

Gasti wore a black academy uniform, her golden hair falling loose down her back. She was extremely beautiful, but the image was unsuitable as the base’s avatar.

Torlan remembered the military network. He entered his identification number to log in, then searched Gasti’s number. A photograph from her enlistment appeared, prompting another chorus of astonishment.

Gasti’s uniform was immaculate. She wore a military cap, and her short golden hair was tucked behind her ears. Her entire figure was straight and sharp.

“This one.”

They created an account named The Commander Is the Most Handsome. Gasti’s portrait appeared as the avatar, and before long, the new account posted its first message.

That very night, someone left a comment asking whether the recruitment notice was genuine. The eight men were delighted. They had found a new way to recruit.

Amber had just finished showering and was preparing for bed when his Universal wrist communicator chimed. It had automatically detected Gasti’s photograph and suspected that it belonged to her account.

Amber opened the account named The Commander Is the Most Handsome and saw the recruitment notice. A smile spread across his face as he left a comment:

“You need to hide the address, or the military will find you and punish you. Does Senior Gasti know you’re using her photograph?”

After the account’s address was hidden, someone replied to his comment:

“The Commander isn’t close to you. Stop trying to act familiar.”

Amber discovered that he had been blocked. He was so angry that he laughed. These military ruffians had blocked him despite his good intentions in warning them.

He opened the avatar and stared at Gasti’s photograph in uniform. Three seconds later, a notification appeared: the avatar had been removed and replaced with a picture of a transport aircraft.

He used another account to follow The Commander Is the Most Handsome.

From then on, he checked the account several times every day, including its comments.

Ten days later, the recruitment notice was deleted and replaced with the words, “The Commander will prevail,” followed by a string of worshipful emoticons.

Amber laughed aloud. Gasti had acquired herself an adoring fan.

A month later, several photographs had appeared on the account: a side profile of Gasti wearing a shirt, a picture of her from behind, and blurry shots of her training. Every image had clearly been taken in secret.

The captions were childish to the extreme:

“The Commander is so beautiful, so beautiful, so beautiful.”

“The Commander is so handsome, so handsome, so handsome.”

Quite a few people left comments saying that unrequited love would lead nowhere and that anyone who liked someone should confess.

The replies appeared only after long intervals, as though the signal were poor.

“I already belong to the Commander. I’m merely showing off my Commander.”

“I get to kiss the Commander every day. I’m unbelievably happy.”

By the time Amber saw these messages, he had already ordered a large quantity of supplies for Gasti. He immediately canceled the deliveries.

She was still causing trouble at Meris Base. He had actually thought she had been sent to some remote frontier to suffer.

Amber resentfully left a comment:

“Gasti doesn’t like you at all, you lovesick fantasist!”