Chapter 8

Things did not go as Justice had anticipated. Tolan did not want money; he wanted to follow her and become her man. He was willing to do anything and dedicate everything to her.

Justice felt a headache coming on. She put on a stern face to intimidate him, but before she could even finish her opening lecture, Tolan knelt on one knee before her, swearing his eternal loyalty.

Beautiful, obedient, and loyal—it was hard for Justice not to be tempted. Although she already had one such servant, having a second certainly didn't hurt. She convinced herself that they were cheap to keep.

That night, Justice experienced something different. It was hard to tell just by looking, but Tolan’s physique was far from weak. Having grown up doing manual labor since he was a boy, he had plenty of strength.

When Tolan offered himself, his family was shocked. His father wailed, "My good, upstanding son, what will become of you in the future!"

Tolan didn't care. "From now on, I follow the Commander."

His mother asked with concern, "And when she leaves this place, what will you do?"

"If she were capable of leaving, she never would have come here in the first place."

Tolan had made up his mind. By not marrying and focusing on his own development, he had a chance to soar. Besides, he didn't feel aggrieved by dedicating himself to Justice; he considered it climbing higher. He had learned from Fray that Justice was the top graduate of the Empire’s Silver Academy and had been exiled here only because she had offended someone powerful. Otherwise, with her abilities, she would surely have become a prominent figure. She was so young and beautiful that Tolan could not suppress his feelings, and he remained indifferent to his family's heartache.

The two-day holiday ended quickly. Late at night, the soldiers returned, still unsatisfied, having spent all their money on women.

Sand returned with a gift, eagerly heading to find Justice, but he was doused in cold water the moment Tolan opened the door, shirtless.

Tolan closed the door, facing Sand directly. "It’s very late. Don't disturb the Commander’s rest."

Sand stared at him furiously. "Tolan, you actually seduced the Commander while I was away."

"And what if I did? You gave me the opportunity." Tolan admitted it without hesitation, putting on his shirt and tucking it into his waistband casually. "Sand, don't be so confident. The Commander is not yours alone."

Tolan left, not wanting to be the subject of gossip at the base the next morning.

Sand stood at the door, his body frozen and cold. A long time later, he heard a voice behind him. "Sand, what are you doing standing here?"

The gift in his hands dropped to the ground. He turned and hugged Justice, tears falling onto her shoulder as he complained, "I thought—I thought—Tolan just came out of your room, and he wasn't wearing any clothes!"

Justice felt her shoulder burning. For a moment, she felt like a terrible person. "Look, you two should get along."

Sand let go, stepped back two paces, his face full of sorrow. "Why? What did I do wrong? Why did you want Tolan?"

Justice pulled him into the room, not wanting his current state to be seen and mocked by others. Sand’s tears welled up, and he was too choked with emotion to speak. Justice hugged him to soothe him. "It really wasn't intentional. I don't like him."

Sand took a deep, sobbing breath. "If you don't like him, then why did you touch him?"

"It was a moment of weakness. I’ll be careful in the future."

Justice had changed her mind and accepted Tolan for an important reason: she wanted to cultivate a team and achieve results. Hope, after all, had to be pursued by one's own efforts.

Sand suppressed his anger. Tolan had seduced her shamelessly; he could not afford to be careless again. He wasn't the only one who wanted to win Justice’s favor. Sand felt awkward. While Justice was showering, he changed the sheets and pillowcases, vacuumed the room, and found a condom in the trash—there were twelve of them. In an instant, his expression twisted. Tolan certainly knew how to fake an illness well.

Justice emerged from the bathroom, wiping her hair, dressed in silk camisole shorts. Within three minutes, she had dried her hair in front of the mirror. She climbed into bed, yawning, and caught the scent of cleanliness. She fell asleep quickly, leaving an empty space beside her.

In a daze, Justice was awoken. She was too sleepy to open her eyes, and when she pushed, she couldn't budge the man who was now wound up like a spring. She lay there, soft and yielding, her lips being bitten and tasted with possessive hunger.

The next day during the lunch break, Justice called Sand, Tolan, and Aks into her office to announce the formation of a strike team. For now, it consisted only of the three of them. Aks knew there were competitions between bases, and previous commanders had always forfeited. He asked Justice, "Commander, what about the rest of the people?"

Justice propped her feet on the desk. "Do you know any people like this? Good stamina, strong endurance, and most importantly, obedient and capable of enduring hardship?"

Aks knew everyone at the base; no one met Justice’s requirements. He looked at the other two. Sand and Tolan both had reservations. Their friends met the criteria, but they were all good-looking, and if—

Justice pressed a remote control. The large screen in the office displayed the contents of a file: the Base Silver Cup, held every three years, with generous rewards for the top ten teams. Sand and Tolan both stared intently at one of the rewards: for personnel in the individual top ten, one family member could attend a boarding school, with all basic education costs covered.

Both men set their concerns aside; they had people to recommend.

Five awkward young men stood in a row: Willian, Raven, Lucy, Lakra, and Perrin. Justice inspected them back and forth; they had no illnesses, merely malnutrition.

"Two hundred push-ups in three minutes. Those who can't do it, go back."

Aks demonstrated the movement. The five nodded and dropped to the floor. Justice timed them with a stopwatch. "Start."

The five men looked thin, but their arms were surprisingly tough and powerful. By the time the clock stopped, they had all exceeded two hundred. Next came the sprint to test explosive power—a thirty-second dash. Their slight frames held unexpected energy; they charged like wild horses. Aks remarked, "Commander, I suddenly feel the pressure on the Captain is quite high."

Justice was satisfied with their speed. "Aks, you better not lose face for me. If you get outperformed, I’ll kick you."

"Yes, Commander!"

After the sprint came the long-distance endurance run. Before running, all five ate their fill. The route was long, starting from the base and following the road into the village, where a flag was planted at the finish line. Sand and Tolan waited at the finish for their friends, while Justice and Aks followed the five in a vehicle.

It was shortly past noon, and the sun was scorching, easily melting away one’s willpower. Aks drove while Justice flipped through channels on the radio. Music played, and the two in the car sang along loudly, holding iced drinks. The five men running felt as though the water in their bodies was evaporating; the hot air they exhaled could have cooked an egg, and their throats burned with thirst. They all persisted, desperate to enter the base and change their fates.

As the sun moved to the west, their bodies reached their limits, but no one stopped. None of them allowed themselves to fall. Their eyes were fixed firmly ahead until they saw silhouettes in the distance.

Perrin arrived at the finish line first, followed by Willian, and then the other three. The five men collapsed onto the scorching road, chests heaving, their faces soaked in sweat and flushed red. Sand and Tolan brought them water.

Justice stepped out of the car. The five struggled to sit up, then wobbled to their feet, their legs trembling uncontrollably. Five pairs of eyes looked at her eagerly. Justice revealed a smile in the sunset. "Everyone passed. Report tomorrow."

The five men collapsed onto the ground again, lacking even the strength to celebrate, but as they looked at the setting sun, they smiled.

Sand drove them back. The atmosphere in the car was joyful; they had all entered the base. It was a village-sized area, and they were familiar with each other. Sand and Tolan put their personal grievances aside. There were nearly two hundred people at the base, and only seven of them were locals; unity was only natural.

Sand had arrived first and was well-liked; he taught his friends how to survive. At the base, the person not to be defied was Justice, followed by Aks. Others were to be tolerated for now, and if they couldn't be tolerated, one had to have hard fists.

Willian asked him, "Sand, are you really not going to get married?"

"Yeah, not getting married."

Perrin also asked Tolan, "Tolan, you aren't either?"

"Yeah, not getting married."

Lucy muttered, "If you don't get married, what will you do when you’re old?"

Sand laughed out loud. "You guys have plenty of kids; I’ll let you raise one for me."

Tolan looked at the car in front of them. "Not getting married is no big deal. More money, more time. Who knows how long we’ll live anyway?"

Raven said to them, "You two, you're young now. What if the Commander gets sick of you when you're old?"

Sand and Tolan shared the same thought: "We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it."

For now, they were hooked on the pleasures of the flesh and gave no thought to the future. The other five couldn't understand this rebellious mindset. They were beautiful, but their thinking was still stuck in the traditional upbringing they had been fed—that being alone was a sin.

The car pulled into the base. A soldier reported to Justice, "Commander, there was a phone call for you earlier."

"Who?"

"It was routed from the South Lafla region. They didn't say who it was."

"What did they want?"

"They said it was your birthday and sent you a gift."

"Reject it. Send it back."

Justice walked away, and the soldier followed, saying awkwardly, "Commander, the item arrived before the call. It has already been accepted."

Justice glared at him viciously, and the man lowered his head.

"Where is it?"

"In your office, Commander."

Justice stormed to her office and pushed open the door to find a package on the desk. Opening it, she found a sculpture: Justice was naked, held in the arms of Rossi, trying to escape. The musculature was vivid and lifelike. Her eyes reddened with rage, and she smashed the art piece onto the floor, shattering it into fragments.

There was a knock at the door—it was the same operator. "Commander, a call for you, South Lafla region."

The operator routed the signal into the office and quickly retreated. Once the office door was sealed, Justice exploded. "Rossi, you’re asking for death! How dare you send something like this!"

The person on the other end laughed pleasantly. "It’s a work of art."

"Art your mother! You piece of trash!" Justice cursed repeatedly. The other party pressed the mute button, and ten seconds later, unmuted. "You signed Merris up for the competition. Can you even scrape together enough people?"

"None of your damn business!"

"I’m just concerned about you. If you can't fill the ranks, I can send you some people."

"Ha, I don't need it. Just wait to be crushed."

"That is something I truly look forward to—our meeting."

"I’m going to kill you!"

"Great. I’ll be waiting for you to kill me."

"Damn it, shut up!"

Justice was furious, and Rossi laughed joyfully. The dangerous military life had transformed a once-shy man into a rogue.

Aks stood guard outside the office door, letting no one approach. The sound of smashing coming from inside was too loud, and the others waiting for Justice’s dismissal orders heard it all. Aks told them to wait, so they could only wait.

Sand frowned. Justice was not a hot-tempered person; on the contrary, she was calm and restrained. Who was this person who could make her so angry?

She emerged with a dark face. Seeing everyone still there, she said in a chilling voice, "What are you still standing there for? Do you want me to treat you to dinner? Go back!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Justice took long strides, and her figure quickly disappeared. The newcomers clutched their chests; she had been terrifying.

That night, Tolan was pinned down, unable to move. He endured Justice’s violent lovemaking. When he heard her ask, "Why are you crying?" Tolan touched his face and realized he was indeed crying.

Justice wiped his tears away quite roughly, though her movements softened slightly afterward. Tolan tried to kiss her, but his mouth was pressed down. He heard a low growl in the darkness: "Don't you dare kiss me!"

Tolan lay under Justice, his mouth covered, his eyes filled with grievance. She was using him to vent. He hated himself, but even so, his body still wanted her.

Past midnight, Tolan grew rebellious. He took advantage of a moment when Justice was distracted to grip her waist. His palms covered most of her waist, squeezing tight as if to snap it, but her abdominal muscles were tough and wouldn't easily bend. Justice moved to leave, but Tolan restrained her, refusing to let her get up. He slammed into her with a savage intensity.

The bedroom was filled with ambiguous sounds. Tolan’s resistance was fierce; he would kiss her where she forbade it, leaving marks all over her body, biting like a wild wolf. When Justice tried to dodge, he pounced, pinning her down to kiss her lips, his tongue tangled with hers.

This blank, pure man had been initiated into love through violence, and he would only know this one way from then on. His immense strength was completely at odds with his appearance. But Justice could not be controlled by him; he only held the upper hand for a few seconds before she pinned him down and punched him twice.

Yet he was addicted. His beautiful face became bewitching, his voice raspy as he called her name over and over, begging her humbly. Tolan’s eyes were unfocused, his cheeks flushed; he was lost in the intense passion, his body conquered by her. Even at the break of dawn, he still wanted more, and Justice, with her robust physique, was able to satisfy him.

Tolan cried out loudly, pleasure having muddled his mind; he didn't care at all what he looked like right then. His violet eyes were deep with desire.

His legs weak, he climbed out of bed to rinse off, his face full of satisfaction. Justice put on a shirt and stood on the balcony, feeling as though she had been worked like a beast of burden. Even after a night of passion, her body felt no burden; the irritation had vanished, leaving only calm.

Tolan followed Justice downstairs. He was docile, obedient, and would never defy any of her orders. When Justice told him to kill, he would do so without hesitation.