[COD] Newbie's Rise to Power

The ghost spoke up to stop them.

Koenig also threatened him, "Zimo, you're not allowed to insult her!"

They couldn't understand Chinese, so they could only judge from Wang Zhiqiang's tone that he was being aggressive towards them.

The ghost's deep voice offered words of advice: "We're here to talk to her, not to lecture her. She did nothing wrong this time; it was in accordance with a soldier's duty. She just wasn't vigilant enough."

You bow your head and admit your mistake: "I'm sorry, it was my fault."

"No, YN, you're not wrong. You just lack experience. We hope that next time you can rely more on your teammates instead of acting alone."

Koenig spoke, his tone urgent.

But his words were immediately refuted by the ghost:

"As a soldier, she has no problem acting alone, and she must learn to act alone, but she needs to be more vigilant."

Koenig: "I know I'm worried about her, and she's inexperienced and relies on her teammates a lot. What's wrong with relying on us?"

Ghost: "Your teaching will make her weak. As a soldier, she needs to be independent."

Koenig's voice rose: "She's injured now, and you're demanding she be independent? Are you a monster? And you say she needs independence, then why did you come here..."

"Koenig!"

Ghost interrupted him coldly: "Perhaps we should talk about how you disobeyed orders and fired."

Koenig was taken aback, then defended himself: "What disobeying orders? I didn't."

He fulfilled the other party's requests.

Ghost: "Don't play dumb, unless you want me to rip your brain out."

When you hear them rambling on about something else, you don't feel comfortable interrupting, so you turn to look at Wang Zhiqiang, who is silent beside you.

"Brother, don't be angry. I promise I'll be more careful next time."

You can't say you'll never act alone again. As Ghost said, as a soldier, you should and must learn to act alone.

Wang Zhiqiang turned his head away from you, but let out a cold snort:

"No, I can't control you."

Chapter 101: Male Mother

When Wang Zhiqiang said this, his tone was no longer angry, but rather like the sarcastic banter between good friends.

Well, at least they responded, which is an offer of an out.

You immediately switch to comforting mode: "I'll take care of you! Bro, if you don't take care of me, who will? If you ignore me, won't I be all alone?"

You nudged his arm, signaling that you wanted him to talk to you.

Wang Zhiqiang sneered again: "You know that's good. We're the only compatriots here, and only I would think of you in everything."

You nodded repeatedly: "Of course, of course, you're the best to me, you always put me first!"

That's the truth. From the moment you entered the base, Wang Zhiqiang took special care of you. He was there for you when you first started to integrate into the group and when you were training hard.

He takes care of you when you're sick; he's very considerate.

Wang Zhiqiang leaned back in his car seat, letting out a soft sigh.

“I’m still so young, and I’m already worrying like an old woman, and someone doesn’t even appreciate it.”

You shake him: "I appreciate it! I already said I appreciate it! Wang Zhiqiang, if you keep acting like this, do you really want me to call you 'Mom' before you're satisfied?"

Wang Zhiqiang immediately straightened up and looked at you with a serious expression:

"No! I can be a male mom, but you can't actually call me mom!"

You open your eyes wide and approach him: "Oh, you even know about male mothers?"

Wang Zhiqiang: "Of course, my phone isn't an old-fashioned phone."

You spread your index finger and thumb into a hook shape and rest them on your chin, pretending to be thinking.

"But your personality doesn't seem like a male mother's, except..."

Your eyes glance towards his chest...

Wang Zhiqiang's upright and serious face immediately changed expression!

He reached out his hand to you, and his large palm immediately covered your eyes, blocking your vision.

"You're not allowed to look around!"

You didn't try to pry his hand off; you just shrugged helplessly.

"Stingy. Real male mothers would never be so stingy."

Of all these men, Wang Zhiqiang is the one you can joke around with the most.

Not only are you similar in your thoughts and jokes, but because of your close relationship, you don't hold grudges against each other too much.

"What are you talking about? Can't you use English?"

Your playful banter with Wang Zhiqiang not only eased the tension but also attracted the attention of Ghost and Koenig.

These words were spoken by Koenig, who was looking at you with his blue eyes, his tone devoid of emotion.

You pried Wang Zhiqiang's hand away and said to Koenig with a smile:

"Nothing, we were just talking about our mothers."

Koenig asked doubtfully, "Really?"

Your eyes darted around, but your tone remained firm: "Of course!"

You can't exactly tell him, "You guys are talking about pectoral muscles, can you?"

Suddenly you feel a strong gaze, and you look over to meet the ghostly brown eyes.

Following his gaze, you saw yourself holding Wang Zhiqiang's hand.

......!!

You immediately reacted as if you'd been electrocuted, quickly releasing your grip and raising your hand.

You pursed your lips and gave a forced smile, then looked at Wang Zhiqiang.

Bro, believe me! I didn't mean to take advantage of you!

You hoped Wang Zhiqiang would understand your hint, but he simply withdrew his hand, turned his head to look out the window, and said nothing more.

The ghost also looked away, while Koenig, oblivious or unconcerned, continued playing with his fingers.

The atmosphere inside the car went from tense at the beginning to awkward at the present, and this continued until you got out of the car at the police station.

Inside the police station, Ghost and his three companions were handing over duties to the police. You sat outside doing nothing, then reached up and pulled a rope from your neck.

A woman's diamond ring is draped on a simple black cord.

That's the ring Keegan bought when you were on a mission with him.

You've put the ring on hold for now because he suddenly left and you have to complete a mission.

You were afraid of damaging it, and you were also afraid of losing it if you left it lying around, so you found a rope, strung it up, wore it around your neck, and tucked it into your clothes to cover it up.

You looked at the ring, then at the police officers walking by, and made a decision.

You find a police officer in charge of the case and ask him if you can return the rings you bought for the mission.

After speaking with the police officers, they helped you call the store to inquire.

Knowing it was related to a police investigation, the shop agreed to a refund, as long as the ring was intact.

You hesitated, saying, "The rings are in very good condition, but they don't make a pair."

After all, Keegan took the one with him, and he didn't reply to your messages, so he's probably busy with a mission.

Upon learning that you only have one ring left, the shopkeeper was in a dilemma.

They were already reluctant to return the goods if it weren't for the police, and now they're even less willing.

Since wedding rings are sold in pairs, how can they resell single rings if they are returned?

Hearing the store's difficulties, you didn't insist anymore. After hanging up the phone, you shamelessly asked the police officer if you could get reimbursed.

The police officer said he could help you apply for it, but he wasn't sure if it would work.

You nodded reluctantly, knowing you had no choice but to give it a try.

"what happened?"

Gates' voice rang out, and you turned around to find that he and Ghost and a few others had come out of the conference room, followed by two police officers, one of whom looked to be a sheriff.

"Sergeant Gates, it's like this..."

Before you could even speak, the police officer beside you explained your situation and also mentioned your reimbursement request.

You desperately wanted to cover your face, but under everyone's inquisitive gaze, you had no choice but to answer honestly.

"Yes, because Sergeant Keegan bought it for the mission, and I thought I couldn't let him pay for it himself, since the ring is indeed quite expensive."

Gates: "Why didn't you report this? We did apply for it at the time."

You stammered an explanation: "Because...the situation was sudden."

You lied! You lied in front of several superiors!!!

You kept your head down, avoiding eye contact with them.

Gates: "That's a bit tricky. It's difficult to get reimbursed without applying, so how about you, YN..."

"Sheriff Elijah, this was purchased for your mission, so it should be reimbursable according to procedure, right?"

A ghostly voice sounded.

Sheriff Eri paused for a moment, then smiled and replied, "Indeed."

Then, turning to the officer next to you, you said, "Please submit a reimbursement request for me later, and then handle this matter for Ms. YN."

Sheriff Erie thought to himself: Since their lieutenant has spoken up, this little thing is negotiable. I'll agree to it first.

"Yes, Sheriff."