He sat together with his teammates, able to clearly see Claire Harris's appearance. Arrogance, conceit, and the desire for victory were all expressed unmistakably in Claire Harris's tone.

"Application accepted." The chief commander paused, then said to Claire Harris, "After this mission, the command center will reassess your performance. Please be prepared to take on S-level missions at any time."

Claire Harris had heard this set of lines many times before.

He sat there coldly, expressionless.

It made people wonder—after years of obeying so-called arrangements, this rebellious rising star was bound to explode sooner or later.

After the main meeting, there was still a small strategy session to attend. Claire Harris then spent another two hours talking privately with Minister Grant and other direct superiors.

When he came out, all his teammates had changed into casual clothes and were waiting for him.

"Call the new guy," Claire Harris said offhandedly.

The night before a mission, the whole team would go out for hotpot together—"Have a good meal before hitting the road" was the team's tradition.

"Already did. Consultant Bennett said he won't be joining."

"He's still in the training room."

Claire Harris recalled the scene of that person playing Tetris during a professional class, finding it a bit amusing.

He told the others to go ahead and save seats.

In the vast training facility, there were over a hundred private training rooms. Team Seven had their own fixed number, and Claire Harris had access. It took him almost no effort to find the person he was looking for.

Ryan Bennett had just finished training.

He had just gotten off the simulator, drenched in sweat, the collar of his gray T-shirt already soaked through. Two mechanical arms hovered at his sides—one handed him a towel, the other a bottle of purified water.

Ryan Bennett took the water, surprised to see Claire Harris: "Captain Harris?"

Claire Harris stood at the doorway, arms folded leisurely, as if waiting for a reasonable explanation.

"Why aren't you joining the team dinner?"

Ryan Bennett took a sip of water, sweat beading at his brows and eyes, his handsome features misted with moisture.

Though they were both men, Claire Harris suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if... his presence in a subordinate's training room was somehow overstepping, and he ought to avoid suspicion.

Ryan Bennett replied, "Sorry, I already scheduled a video call for tonight."

Claire Harris: "Can't you take it a bit later?"

Ryan Bennett grabbed the towel to wipe his sweat. "Too clingy—would get upset."

That statement made something clear, reminding Claire Harris of a key point, and he realized why he felt he should avoid suspicion.

He raised his eyebrows. "Someone at home?"

The mechanical arms had already obediently put away the towel and left.

But another bead of sweat slid down Ryan Bennett's forehead. He instinctively grabbed his shirt hem and wiped the sweat with his T-shirt.

The taut waist and abdomen of youth were revealed—unlike any other guardian in Sky Dome: that waist was slender and flexible, the skin so pale it was dazzling, seemingly fragile to the touch. As he moved, a round navel on his sweat-dampened flat stomach peeked out above his waistband.

Claire Harris looked away.

"Captain Harris, do you mind?" Ryan Bennett clearly understood the underlying tension better than he did, yet acted completely natural. "Do I need to disinfect the training room after I've used it?"

Ryan Bennett had also heard about the severity of Claire Harris's homophobia.

Rumor had it that after being openly pursued by a man, he insisted on disinfecting any office a gay person had entered.

Such provocation was hardly enough to bother Claire Harris.

Claire Harris stated his real reason for coming to the training room, though it wasn't much harsher than expected: "I wanted to tell you, a lot of people think they can get an A-level mission just to complete their star promotion. They'll soon find out they're overthinking it, because A-level missions are many times more dangerous than they imagine. If you still care about the people around you, Consultant Bennett, it's not too late to quit now. I can arrange for you to return to Ning City."

Ryan Bennett acted as if he didn't catch the sarcasm. "But for me, it's already too late to quit."

The atmosphere was tense.

Suddenly, Claire Harris smiled. "Fine, then I have only one request for you."

Ryan Bennett looked calm, meeting his gaze.

Claire Harris tossed out a few words: "Follow orders, and win by lying low."

Chapter 4

Departure day.

[1456.5.17 09:51:40]

In the third command center of Sky Dome, the massive system projection displayed the current time coordinates. People bustled about in an orderly fashion, no different from countless previous guardian operations.

Eight minutes before the mission was to officially begin, all members of Sky Dome Guardian Team Seven had already changed into the standard black combat uniforms, each having their physical condition rechecked by an inspector to ensure no adverse reactions would occur during transit.

Claire Harris had already finished his inspection and, as usual, was checking on all the team members.

When he saw Ryan Bennett, he frowned and patted the shoulder of the teammate beside him. "Go take a look."

Amidst a group of burly guardians, there was a slender figure.

The day before, Ryan Bennett had a subcutaneous communicator implanted in his neck, and now a dispatcher was connecting it to his control wristband. He was a bit taller than the dispatcher, so he lowered his head, his long lashes veiling his eyes, making him seem aloof and out of place.