Chapter 66 Part 1

Horne frowned and turned his head to look.

A man walked over slowly with his hands behind his back. His leg was somewhat injured, causing a slight imbalance in his gait, but his dignity remained undiminished. He stopped beside Horne without even glancing at him, only sweeping his gaze over the front half-circle before speaking indifferently: “I’m Woody, dispatched jointly by the government and the Military District. I officially reported today as the major’s adjutant. Of course, I’ll also hand over some work with the soon-to-depart Deputy Han.” After he finished, he turned to face Horne, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Major Horne, cancel this outing plan for now.”

Horne didn’t spare him a glance and said coldly: “I don’t take orders from an adjutant. Go wait in the command room.”

Woody remained unmoved. He chuckled, his voice thick with a heavy smoky rasp, and said: “The major doesn’t have to listen to an adjutant, but you do have to listen to a general’s orders.”

He took a step forward, positioning himself in front of Horne, and faced the more than a dozen soldiers. He cleared his throat and announced: “By order of the government, from now on, all applications and distributions of Military District supplies will be under my control. Whether you can leave the city or not is up to me. If I say the plan is canceled…”

He lowered his voice: “…then it’s canceled.”

The group exchanged glances, not daring to speak or knowing the situation, so they all looked toward Horne.

Han Ya was still standing in the ranks. As soon as he heard that, he moved to step forward, but Wen Yu tugged at him, signaling him to hold back for now.

He had known this newcomer was no pushover, but Horne hadn’t expected such a bold power play right off the bat.

“By order of the government?” Horne emphasized those words, a chill seeping into his tone. “You mean from now on, whatever I do that requires supplies, I have to report to you?”

“It’s not exactly reporting. I’m just following orders. The major just needs to follow the rules.” Woody looked helpless as he spoke. He tilted his head, revealing a large scar across half his forehead—a remnant from a battle with the Aliens, where an Alien wing bone had pierced through his skull, yet he had survived.

“As for the official notice, the major can check the terminal messages from the past couple of days.” He continued, even stepping a bit closer to Horne to stand more centrally. “Also, the government and the general didn’t send just me as your adjutant this time.”

The long-distance runners on the training field were approaching the command room area—nearly a hundred people with steady, powerful footsteps that thundered deafeningly behind them, drawing ever closer.

“I don’t need that many adjutants.” Horne said icily.

Woody grinned widely, enunciating clearly: “Whether you need them or not, it’s been decided from above, not up to you. There’ve been a lot of rumors in the military these past few months. The general doesn’t want the major getting into trouble and being punished again, so just focus on your daily training duties. Leave the rest to the adjutants. Besides…”

The footsteps and heavy breathing made the ground tremble slightly as the training soldiers reached the nearest position in the blink of an eye.

Woody cleared his throat again, raising his voice as if to drown out the disciplined cadence: “The major is young, and now busy raising a kid, so you probably don’t have much energy left for Military District affairs. I think the general’s considerations are spot on.”

Horne’s expression changed instantly.

“Fuck you!” Han Ya burst out from the ranks.

“Han Ya!” Horne snapped. He stood ramrod straight, brows furrowed tightly, his face stern.

Han Ya barely restrained himself from exploding on the spot and flipping Woody to the ground.

No one dared speak. They kept straight faces watching Horne, though the shock in their eyes couldn’t be hidden.

The passing team rustled faintly.

Horne’s face darkened terribly. He clenched his fists, muscles taut, and took slow, deep breaths.

Woody couldn’t care less. He glanced at Han Ya, then at Horne, snorted a laugh, and tossed out: “As for who the other adjutant is, wait for the news, Major. Also, bring me the detailed supply lists and training schedules for review later.”

Silence fell.

Horne hadn’t said another word from start to finish. He simply walked straight into the command room.

Bang! He slammed the door.

The team dispersed.

A few meters away, Hels stood under the sun as if practicing parade rest, but up close, one could see his slight trembling. He went straight back to the shooting range and found his training partner who had just asked him about instruction. Indifferently, he said: “The major’s training session is coming up. What didn’t you get? You can ask me.”

In less than a day, the entire Military District knew the major had a kid. Some avoided the topic entirely; others couldn’t stop gossiping.

Bang!

Over a hundred training rounds fired out.

No one dared approach within several meters of Horne, and during his training that day, all the soldiers were so obedient that not one made a mistake.

Horne stood behind Hels, watching his focused aiming, and said coldly: “Where does the left hand support?”

Hels badly wanted to say he could handle it one-handed. His heart pounded fiercely a few times, but in the end, he obediently admitted the error: “Yes, sir!”

A bullet fired—bullseye.

This was Hels’s first perfect bullseye.

“Very good.” Horne said. He stepped away to check on the next person.

Fortunately, they all seemed to have grasped it well, showing greater progress than before.

But the better they performed, the more irritated Horne felt, a nameless fire with no outlet.

It was such a simple matter: kill the Aliens, rebuild human society. Why was every step so agonizingly difficult?

In the command room, Han Ya packed up his things to make space for Woody. As he did, he cursed nonstop; even before entering, the filthy tirade and crashing sounds could be heard.

“Why didn’t General Al and General Yaro crack down like this when they were around?” Han Ya kicked an Alien training dummy, which smashed against the door, rolled twice, and stopped.

“This fucking prick is obviously targeting you!” Han Ya jabbed a finger at the closed door, eyes bloodshot, glaring at Horne.

His pointing finger shifted from the door to Wen Yu. As soon as she opened it, she found herself being pointed at and saw Han Ya’s furious state, knowing exactly what had set him off.

Horne said nothing the whole time. He didn’t even know what to say; his mind was more chaotic than the command room.

“We absolutely can’t back down. Otherwise, go straight to Leon and Ganal. Can’t You Wangwang help you?” Han Ya gave up packing, flopped onto the sofa beside Horne, and they sat in mutual silence.

Wen Yu gathered her things from the command room, silently listening to Han Ya’s pointless cursing for several minutes before dragging a chair over and sitting in front of Horne.

She kicked Han Ya and frowned: “Stop cursing.”

The grumbling gradually died down.

Horne took a deep breath, leaned exhaustedly against the sofa back, tilted his head up, and stared at the ceiling.

“Horne, we have to consider your situation going forward.” Wen Yu said, her voice as calm as ever. “Their intentions are clear: one, reclaim military authority; two, restrict your movements; three, drag you down from your pedestal through public opinion. The first stems from the consequences of the two generals’ time in power. The latter two are situations you created yourself.”

Horne recalled what You Wangwang had told him. He had heard it but hadn’t taken it in, still seizing every chance to shoot Aliens.

“Many in Loch City follow you—or rather, followed your parents—but even that is dwindling.” Wen Yu spoke slowly but clearly. “Every decision you make conflicts with their interests. I know you might think you just want the Aliens dead, but even that clashes with their benefits.”

“I know.” Horne said.

What they wanted wasn’t to defeat Horne but to correct the views of all his supporters—and Horne was the most prominent among them.

Even one adjutant wasn’t enough; they had to send two.

“We still don’t know who the other adjutant is. No matter who, be careful. We’re too far to help you right away.” After Wen Yu finished, she sighed.

“Yeah,” Han Ya patted Horne’s leg. “Talk anything over with Ben Yian. If it’s not urgent, just terminal us.”

Wen Yu paused for a moment. She glanced around and, seeing no one else in the command room, lowered her voice: “I suggest you talk to Hels.”

Han Ya: “?”

Han Ya’s mouth hung open as he pointed at the door: “The Hels you mean is the same one I’m thinking of?”

Horne was also a bit surprised.

Wen Yu nodded.

“That cocky little shit who doesn’t know his place at ten years old?” Han Ya stared at Wen Yu in shock, then started clapping while praising: “Wow, our Yu-jie always drops the most eye-opening bombs.”

Wen Yu kicked him again.

Most of the time, Horne admired Wen Yu’s insight. Having spent so much intimate time with Hels, he knew the boy was no ordinary kid, but to Wen Yu, Hels was just a casual acquaintance.

“I think he could become someone very reliable for you in the future.” Wen Yu thought for a moment and added a caveat: “If guided properly.”

“Mm, got it.”