Chapter 3
A metal hook came whistling toward the man. He casually shifted his foot, dodging it, and the raider leader staggered to his feet.
“Debt? We didn’t even touch your backpack. What debt?”
The leader’s gaze lingered, slightly aggrieved, on the perfectly intact supply backpack dangling from the man’s arm. Chloe’s gaze, on the other hand, stayed fixed on the man’s face.
‘Yeah… definitely not the kind of face you’d willingly hand your supplies over to.’
The man looked every bit the wild thug—sharp, dangerous beauty brimming with madness.
Disheveled silver-gray hair like the pelt of an alpha wolf, golden predator eyes that gleamed, strong features, and a clearly muscled body all amplified his feral aura.
Even those big lugs must have decided that taking this guy’s backpack would cost more blood than it was worth.
They’d figured robbing ten weaklings was better business than tangling with him.
Taking advantage of the moment, the short-haired girl grabbed the redhead’s half-raised middle finger and forced it back down.
The man flashed a fanged grin.
“What debt? Because you stole those guys’ backpacks back there, I had to lend them my canteen and my precious jerky.”
So he’d crossed this wasteland with no water or food—just to catch these bastards. Definitely not normal.
“Which means the root cause—you lot—have to pay it back with interest.”
The raider leader, apparently deciding it was cheaper to toss a few supplies than deal with this lunatic, nodded meekly.
“Fine. How many do you want?”
“Just give me all those bags.”
The man jerked his chin at the backpacks hanging like trophies from the raiders’ arms and shoulders. Still smiling, but the leader gritted his teeth.
“Sorry, that’s not happening.”
“I said I’m taking them. Since when does your opinion matter?”
The man tilted his head. Crack—his neck popped loudly.
A razor-thin tension filled the air, ready to snap at any second.
With this newcomer who clearly had a grudge against the raiders, the visible numbers were 6 vs 5—favoring Chloe’s side.
But the trembling weakling clutching a folding shovel and hatchet like lifelines, the short-haired girl doing the same, and the slender gentleman standing empty-handed didn’t exactly scream “combat asset.”
Plus, the other side was all men, and every one built like a brick wall. No wonder other cadets had been robbed.
Realistically, it was 3 vs 5.
The man’s lips twisted into a smirk. In the blink of an eye, he spun and drove a heavy hook straight into the jaw of the biggest raider—Raider No. 2.
The sickening crack of bone echoed as the man’s head snapped sideways. The air itself seemed to freeze.
One clean hit flipped the mood of the overconfident raiders into ice-cold dread.
“Oops, just a hair off.”
“You son of a—!”
That was the starting gun. The brawl exploded.
The raider leader, deciding Chloe was the smallest and easiest target, strode straight toward her.
The gentleman stepped resolutely in front of her.
“It is a gentleman’s duty to protect a lady—”
“Move. You’re in the way.”
Whoosh—Chloe shoved the gentleman aside, seized the leader by the collar, twisted, and flung him over her shoulder.
He never even got to counter. He flew through the air and slammed into the ground with a thud that shook the earth.
BOOM!
Before the leader could even swing the weapon in his hand, Chloe kicked his military knife far out of reach.
The golden-eyed man’s eyes glinted with interest as he watched Chloe take down a larger opponent in the blink of an eye. Raider No. 2 was already twitching at his feet.
A brief glance was all he allowed himself before effortlessly disabling Raider No. 3 from behind. The man’s arm bent backward with a sickening pop; he dropped his knife and screamed.
Meanwhile, the gentleman—flailing like a paper doll after being shoved—stumbled backward and bumped into the redhead.
“Get out of my way!”
The redhead, currently using Raider No. 4’s face as a punching bag, whirled around with crazed green eyes.
Utterly intimidated by the sheer savagery of her fists, the gentleman could only stand frozen like a meerkat on guard in front of the two ladies too scared to join the fight.
“These bastards are making me sweat even more in this damn heat!”
Too busy joyfully pummeling her captive, the redhead didn’t notice Raider No. 5 sneaking up behind her with a raised rock.
“Behind you!”
BANG—!
The weakling’s shout and a gunshot rang out simultaneously.
Raider No. 5, arm still raised, crumpled to the ground.
“Aaaargh!”
Raiders and Chloe’s group alike screamed in panic. Sudden gunshot, a classmate down—more than enough to terrify anyone.
This was open wasteland—no cover whatsoever. The worst possible place to dodge sniper fire.
Another shot cracked through the air.
“Get do—ptoo! ptoo!”
The raider leader, who had just thrown a fistful of sand at Chloe’s face while she was yelling life-saving advice, scrambled to his feet and started running.
The redhead instinctively used the half-conscious Raider No. 4 as a human shield and shrieked as the body in her grip went limp.
“I said get down! Crawl!”
Chloe grabbed the redhead by the back of the head, forcing her flat, then quickly checked the now-limp Raider No. 4.
She pulled the dart from his back and checked his breathing beneath his nose.
“Tranquilizer gun. Won’t kill you. You’ll just sleep a few hours—maybe a full day.”
Which meant getting hit pretty much guaranteed exclusion.
“Now that’s real comforting!”
The redhead clutched her pounding heart and yelled.
Tranquilizer rounds, not live ammo. And the Northport crest engraved on the darts. This was part of the “basic training.”
Like hunters flushing game, the darts came from all directions in unpredictable patterns.
Raiders and Chloe’s group alike scrambled in a chaotic tangle, desperately dodging—
“Aaaaaagh! Stop! Make it stop!”
At the gentleman’s frantic scream, everyone looked where he was pointing.
[⚠MINEFIELD WARNING⚠]
Beyond the lone red triangular sign stretched a vast minefield.
As if to prove it was real, several mines were blatantly half-buried, sticking out of the ground like they were showing off.
No barbed wire, no gates—just open invitation to a suicidal stroll.
Front: a hail of tranquilizer darts from every direction.
Back: a minefield.
A perfect dead end.
Chloe was certain—the instructors had herded them here on purpose.
‘Those are training mines.’
Having served in the military, she instantly recognized them as non-lethal training explosives.
Step on one and you’d be launched into the air, knocked unconscious, maybe injured—but you wouldn’t lose a leg or get blown to bits.
“Perfect! We can use these for cover!”
A triumphant shout—and suddenly an arm snaked around Chloe’s neck from behind. The raider leader really didn’t seem to wonder why she hadn’t dodged.
“You’re not the only one who gets to use people, idiot.”
With a sneer, Chloe grabbed the arm, twisted, seized his collar, and perfectly recreated the throw he’d suffered earlier.
His body lost balance, soared through the air, and crashed down—right onto one of the protruding mines.
KABOOM—!
The instant he hit the ground, an ominous click sounded, followed seconds later by an explosion that sent a pillar of dirt sky-high.
Dust and wind blocked the line of sight the snipers had been using. The incoming darts from that direction abruptly stopped.
‘Good. Phase one—vision blocked.’
Using the opening, Chloe immediately knocked out two more raiders and hurled them into the minefield.
BOOM! KABOOM! Double explosions turned the dust cloud twice as thick, completely obscuring sight.
But the snipers must have shifted positions—the dust was no longer an effective shield.
It was starting to settle.
Desperate not to eat a dart here, everyone frantically rummaged through their packs.
“Damn it, just bandages and antiseptic! What, am I supposed to stop bleeding with this?!”
“Umm… didn’t they say the shovel and tarp would help…? How do we—”
“Lady, what if we used the lighter? Set the whole minefield on fire and detonate everything at once?”
That’s when the short-haired girl pulled something out of her own pack.
“What’s this?”
What she held was the one item that could turn this entire situation around.
—Time remaining until timeout
42:28:11
