The two of them walked to the training ground in silence, while everyone else was full of questions.

Is... is that it?

Did Claire Harris just accept it like that?

What about the promised bloodbath at the Jiangcheng branch, packing someone up in disgrace and sending them back where they came from?

When the two returned together, the teammates in the training room were also full of doubt and confusion. What does this mean?

Claire Harris strode to the open space at the front, clapped her hands, and called everyone to gather: “Come on, let me introduce someone. This is a colleague seconded from Ningcheng to work with us on this mission, serving as the team’s observer, also known as special consultant. Ryan Bennett, Consultant Bennett.”

Standing among these tall, burly, testosterone-filled guardians, Ryan Bennett in his white shirt looked excessively frail.

Like a little white rabbit straying into a pride of lions, weak and easy to bully.

Yet Ryan Bennett’s expression was calm, showing not the slightest discomfort, and he opened his mouth to say, “Hello.”

“This is Eric Morgan, William Cooper, Emily Thompson, and the twins Helen Ford and David Ford,” Claire Harris introduced in order. “They’re in charge of control, mechanics, logistics, and the left and right wings, respectively. Previously, the team had an observer surnamed Yu; you’ll be temporarily taking over his duties.”

The unfamiliar teammates all wore the same uniform, and apart from their faces, there was nothing memorable about them—let alone a pair of twins who looked exactly alike.

But Claire Harris spoke quickly, whether to make things difficult or just to be perfunctory was unclear.

Ryan Bennett simply nodded, though it was hard to tell if he could remember all that.

Claire Harris gave him no time to catch his breath, immediately assigning, “Old Morgan, you have a handover with the observer. Take him to get familiar with the observer’s duties.”

Eric Morgan: “Huh? S-So soon?”

Normally, shouldn’t you show the newcomer around, take a tour of each department, and call it ‘getting familiar with the environment’?

Claire Harris: “Time waits for no one. Why don’t you think it’s too soon when you’re up for the next mission rating?”

Eric Morgan: “Yes!!”

Anyone with eyes could see that Claire Harris had no intention of giving the new Consultant Bennett any special treatment.

Ryan Bennett didn’t seem to mind, and cooperatively left with Old Morgan.

Maybe he didn’t plan to butt heads with Claire Harris either.

As soon as they were out of sight, Claire Harris reverted a bit to his usual self, raising an eyebrow: “What are you all staring at? Your eyes are about to pop out. Look at you, so useless.”

“Boss, he’s really good-looking!”

“I used to think ‘pretty’ wasn’t a word for men, but now I think it fits.”

“We all eat the same food, we’re all human, so how does he look like that? I was so close just now, and I didn’t see a single pore on his face. His skin is flawless.”

The buzz-cut with small eyes who’d been knocked on the head by Claire Harris earlier—William Cooper—sighed, “Damn, I was overthinking it. Someone like him would never be interested in me.”

“You sound a bit regretful?” Claire Harris lifted a leg and kicked him. “Now you don’t have to worry about your family line ending with you, right?”

William Cooper grinned sheepishly.

“Boss, are we really keeping him?”

“He looks like he can’t lift or fight, and besides being good-looking, what’s the use?”

“I thought you’d put up more of a fight. This isn’t like you.”

Claire Harris laid out her plan directly.

In conclusion: “The transfer order is here, and the person’s already in the department. Even if we wanted to swap him out, it’s too late. For the next few days, just keep an eye on things. If there’s anything, deal with it outside. In short, don’t stir up trouble. The only goal: complete the mission safely!”

Everyone responded in unison: “Yes!”

The team dispersed.

Claire Harris unconsciously started recalling that training three years ago, but came up empty—after all, skipping class and leaving early… he’d done plenty of that.

His memory… if you had to say, maybe that barely counted as a good point?

Chapter 3

In the days that followed, Claire Harris didn’t see Ryan Bennett at all.

According to Eric Morgan, Ryan Bennett spent every morning attending classes with the new trainees, and every afternoon training in the personal training room. His schedule was packed, and Minister Grant had come to see him once and praised him highly.

In the eyes of the leadership, people doing desk jobs always seemed to work hard no matter what they did.

Minister Grant called Claire Harris to give a warning: “Little Ryan is diligent and smart. When it’s time for the mission, you all need to focus on teamwork. He’s at least a two-star rating, and after this mission he’ll be promoted to one star. Don’t think I don’t know you’re planning to treat him like a pretty face.”

Claire Harris played dumb: “How could that be?”

The training ground had personalized training rooms for targeted practice, as well as team-based simulated combat systems.

As usual, two days before the mission, everyone would do team training. After calling everyone together, Claire Harris realized Ryan Bennett was missing: “Old Morgan, did you notify him?”

“I thought Emily Thompson told him yesterday.”

“What? Why would I tell him? I haven’t even seen him!”

“Guess he’s off attending class again.”

“David Ford, you organize the training.”

Claire Harris decided to go find him personally, to avoid Director Grant giving him a hard time again.

Leaving the training ground, Claire Harris headed straight for the new trainees’ camp.