In that instant, Sanchez truly felt the urge to kill.
Before being polluted by the Dark Sky Zone, the five of them had little personal interaction.
Sanchez and Bo Yin were active-duty soldiers.
Meanwhile, Eli, Cook, and Garnet were mercenaries.
They didn’t usually spend time together but would carry out missions jointly.
After being polluted, they became Squad 191, comrades who shared life and death, yet they weren’t truly as close as brothers.
Instead, conflicts existed among them.
Sarcastic remarks, taunts, and veiled mockery came naturally in their daily conversations.
Coupled with the mental issues of the Polluted, it was common for them to unleash their violent tendencies on each other in the training grounds, fighting to the death.
Their formidable self-healing abilities made it difficult for them to die from such brawls, but it was far from pleasant.
Now, Sanchez’s killing intent had been stirred.
He narrowed his eyes, pulled out the dagger from his abdomen, and locked eyes with Eli—the tension between them palpable.
Wuning was a bit frightened, whispering to Cook in confusion, “Are they really going to fight?”
They couldn’t be, right?!
Aren’t they in the same squad?!
Even her colleagues had to win over five people at once!
That’s a group bond forged with just one salary but five times the workload!!
Such low value.
Cook didn’t answer.
In fact, he was about to hide the girl in his arms to shield her from the bloody scene.
But Garnet, who had rushed over, clearly had the same idea, so they sandwiched Wuning between them like two walls.
Eli continued to provoke recklessly, his dark red hair flying in the wind.
“What’s wrong? Done pretending? I thought Garnet was the only fool in the base, but I never expected Sanchez—the one best at interrogation and seeing through people—to fall so quickly too.”
“Even without getting any Mental Power Soothing, he couldn’t wait to flaunt his body for sympathy and act like a dog.”
To this day, Eli refused to believe anyone would voluntarily apply to join Squad 191.
Meanwhile, Garnet, who had been unfairly targeted, protested indignantly, his hair practically standing on end as he shouted, “Hey! Stop talking about me!”
Especially in front of the girl!
Wuning comfortingly hugged him. “Don’t mind it.”
Garnet immediately let out a low, pleased hum.
Sanchez flicked the blood off his blade and slowly approached, then suddenly lunged forward!
Almost at the same moment, Cook and Garnet scrambled to hold Wuning.
The girl was nearly pulled in half at the waist. “Wait, wait, wait!”
Thankfully, both let go immediately.
Rubbing her waist, Wuning realized that in such situations, she had to designate someone to stay with her.
“Shouldn’t we call Bo Yin to stop them?”
Cook shook his head. “If needed, he’ll call it off.”
This was Wuning’s first direct experience of the combat prowess of the Polluted.
It was terrifying.
Like the collision of two planets.
They exchanged blows at lightning speed, ruthless and without holding back.
The sound of weapons slicing through flesh was so clear it made one’s teeth ache.
Garnet covered the girl’s ears.
Wuning had overestimated herself—she truly couldn’t bear to watch this. Without another thought, she buried her face in Cook’s chest.
Bo Yin appeared silently, walked over, scooped Wuning up in his arms, and carried her onto the fighter jet.
“Where are we going?” Wuning spotted her suitcase beside her and felt a pang of anxiety.
He wasn’t going to send her away, was he?
“To the new base.” Bo Yin started the fighter jet.
“What about them?” Wuning sat in the co-pilot’s seat and looked down.
“They’ll catch up.” Bo Yin motioned for her to sit properly.
The view suddenly soared upward, rushing straight into the clouds. Wuning pressed tightly against the back of the driver’s seat, her mood instantly easing considerably.
After flying for a little over an hour, night fell, and they arrived at an unmarked location on the map, descending slowly.
Surrounding them were scenic cliffs and ocean waves, with a small castle occupying the prime spot.
But it didn’t quite look like a castle.
It resembled more of a military fortification.
“What is this place?” Wuning stood still, taking a breath of the sea breeze as she tucked her long hair behind her neck.
“A secret military base,” Bo Yin explained casually.
Wuning still didn’t understand. “Are we here on a secret mission?”
Bo Yin glanced down at her.
Wuning felt as though he was smiling ever so faintly.
Those gray eyes softened for a moment, shedding their faint mechanical quality.
Wuning couldn’t help but lose herself in that gray starry night. “I’m just a newly graduated Medic. Aside from school, I’ve never participated in any operations.”
“We’ll live here from now on,” Bo Yin said, taking a step forward.
After passing through the outer defenses, the interior revealed a familiar, fully equipped base layout.
“Is there no one else here?” Wuning asked curiously, looking around.
She seemed to catch a faint, lingering scent of blood.
Looking closely at the floor tiles and door frames, traces of uncleaned bloodstains were still caked in some crevices.
“There used to be,” Bo Yin replied, checking his companions’ work with a dissatisfied frown.
They hadn’t cleaned thoroughly enough, and the girl had noticed.
Wuning pondered the meaning of “used to be,” combining it with the empty yet slightly chaotic state of the base, and came to a conclusion.
“…Did you drive the people here out?”
To be precise, they might have been eliminated.
Bo Yin looked at her. “Is that not allowed? This wasn’t our military’s base. I simply took it over during this mission.”
Wuning shrugged. “You’re the commanding officer. I follow orders.”
They returned to the courtyard, where thick silver-blue moonlight poured down like seawater cascading from the sky.
The man knelt on one knee before her, his gaze calm and profound. “Perhaps you must follow my orders, but you hold the key to controlling us.”
Bo Yin removed one glove and gently took the girl’s hand.
“Medics often give gifts to the Polluted they’ve treated—something personal. May I know what you’ll give us?”
Wuning was completely unprepared. “This… I, I didn’t know there was such a custom.”
“It’s alright,” Bo Yin said softly. “You can take your time to prepare.”
“Are you willing to perform Mental Power Therapy for Eli tomorrow? He has a mission coming up and needs to adjust his condition.”
Wuning was, of course, willing. “But Eli really dislikes me. He thinks I’m a deceitful person here to tame you all, waiting for me to reveal my true colors.”
The man genuinely smiled this time.
Wuning could see the muscles shifting beneath the skin-tight mask.
And the faint laugh lines around his gray eyes.
Along with his low, magnetic chuckle.
At first, Bo Yin had struck Wuning as sharp, unyielding ice.
But that was only on the battlefield.
Away from the battlefield, Bo Yin was more like cool, gentle snow.
He was tolerant, silent, quiet, and at times, even tender.
Now, even that coolness felt warm.
Even without seeing his entire face, Wuning was captivated, unconsciously leaning closer.
Bo Yin opened his arms, welcoming the girl into his embrace.
“He doesn’t dislike you,” the man’s voice sounded beside her ear. “He’s just very afraid, and jealous.”
“So tomorrow, all you need to do is give him a good beating.”
Wuning raised an eyebrow. “Yes, sir.”
Bo Yin stood up and led her to a private dormitory. “There might be uninvited guests tonight. This door probably won’t stop them.”
“But they won’t do anything, don’t worry.”
At most, they would act like they were sick, desperately absorbing the faint traces of Mental Power that spill over during sleep.
But Wuning didn’t like being disturbed while sleeping.
Really, really didn’t like it.
So she extended an invitation, “If you were here, they wouldn’t dare come, right?”