Chapter 214: resolving differences

“Hey, do you even have a boyfriend?”

“…”

“Please, answer me, stop being such a cold beauty all the time. Let me tell you, I already met lots of beauties before now, you’re not the first, so act normally”.

Clark’s weird voice sounded out in the cold forest as his 2 seconds in commands sat on a mechanically erected chair, eating leisurely without a care of the world.

“Clark, don’t you think that’s insensitive?”

Benny could not help but comment at this moment on hearing this, as he fidgeted a little on his seat before secretly directing his gaze at the one that the word was directed at.

“I know, Benny, that’s not what I meant. Diana, I meant that you’re not the first beauty that I met, but you’re the most beautiful one among them all, that’s what I wanted to say”.

“Major, this is not the time to be engaging in casual talks, we are in a dangerous region, you said so yourself”.

Hearing the cold tone that this lady used in replying to him, Clark could hardly control himself as his lips twitched fiercely. Really, lady?

Though he never talked about it, from the day when they escaped from the avalanche, he already started noticing the change in how she behaved and talked around him.

“Am I that attractive? Gosh!”

That was the first thing that crossed his mind when he first noticed it, as he understood what caused it immediately.

Even if he felt ashamed to acknowledge it, it was still inevitable that he felt some hormone reactions when he hugged her from behind during their escape. It was not him, it was his hormones, so he was not guilty.

He wanted to clear things with her before, but he held himself back on noticing that it made her closer to him. His 2nd in command getting closer to him was good, as it would mean his orders could better sink in.

This changed though, since when he erupted at her during the moment that he evicted the disobedient soldier from the squad. He was very conscious when he did it.

Though he knew that it would bring some slight problems, he still did it because, first, he wanted to use it as a medium to make it clear to her that their relationship should not cross some boundaries.

Secondly, he was really angry at that moment because of the death of their first high-grade soldier, so his actions leaned a little more on impulse.

It was already 2 days since they took shelter inside the hole that was inside the giant cedar tree. They did not leave yet, because they wanted to recover here and to recharge the energy charges of their equipment.

During these 2 days, Clark kept to himself, but when he noticed that Diana was slowly growing more and more distant from him, he knew that his intervention was needed.

This was the result. After thinking it through, he decided to call a casual gathering between himself and his second in commands.

“Ok, I admit it. Diana, I shouldn’t have yelled at you”. He finally said the golden word of apology with a smile on his face.

Though it was not right in terms of military standards for a superior to apologize to his subordinate in such a manner, Clark felt that it was the right decision to maintain the cohesiveness of his squad.

“Sir, what are you apologizing for?” Like she was clueless of the point that he was driving at, she asked innocently with the same cold tone.

“Diana, please stop this, you’re older than me, you know how these things work more than me also. It’s easy to get carried away by your emotions, that’s what happened, and I’m sorry, please”.

Getting no positive reaction despite all these, he finally turned to Benny for help. “Buddy, help”.

“Umm…, me?”

“F*ck, yes, you”.

“Oh, I don’t really have much to say. You were a little harsh in your tone to be sincere. But I also support it that she should forgive you, that’s the best course of action, right?”

Clark facepalmed. “What a friend indeed”.

“Sir, you know that’s not decent in military standards, right?” She finally spoke out in a normal tone for the first time, making Clark grab his chest exaggeratedly in relief.

“Ah, thank you, now you’re talking. I’m sorry, really”.

Hearing the sincerity in her superior’s tone and how exaggeratedly he was acting, she blushed inwardly a bit before finally speaking out.

“Sir, to be sincere, I forgot about it already”.

“That’s a lie, be more sincere”. Clark quickly countered.

“That’s the truth, your manner of speech just brought me to the realization that you were the leader of this squad, nothing else. As your second in command, I had no right to so blatantly oppose your decisions”.

“I should be the one to apologize, I’m sorry”.

Damn, Clark and Benny were now the ones left speechless. Though they wanted to refute this claim, they kept quiet because they knew that she was right. She didn’t mind them though as she continued.

“I was just a little hurt by your harsh tone, and it was so sudden and abrupt, I was a little overwhelmed at the time. But I already got over it, I got nerves of steel, I’m a soldier, remember?”.

“Yeah”. Both male soldiers replied in tandem.

Though the conversation spiraled out of control and progressed in a way that he did not anticipate, Clark was still happy as his small beef with his second in command seemed to have been resolved.

They chatted together happily, as they used this rare time where they stayed together to get to know themselves more.

“So, do you already have a boyfriend?” Clark suddenly brought up this topic again, making the atmosphere weird.

“Sir, why do you like that question so much? Are you…?”

“No, no, not that. I’m just asking, you know”.

“Hmm, I’m single, if that’s what you want to know”.

“Great”. Clark suddenly jumped up.

“What is great about it?” Diana asked puzzled.

“Benny is also single. Damn, I think I found you a soul mate. Love blossoms more in desperate situations, you both should just make out together, it’s a match made in heaven”.

“…” Now, Diana and Benny were the ones who grew speechless.

Seeing how Benny stuttered just because of this, Clark was disappointed. He no longer fretted about it as Diana calmly stirred the topic in another direction.

10 minutes later, he finally said another gossip-worthy word.

“Sigh, I miss my girlfriend”.

“Umm…, sir, you have a girlfriend?” Diana asked cautiously.

“Is it that beautiful one that Leo told me about?” Benny also asked curiously.

“F*ck, I always knew that bastard was untrustworthy. Yes, it is her. I miss her a lot, to be sincere. It’s more than 3 years already, I wonder where she currently is”.

“If you miss her, why not go meet her?” Diana asked again, this time puzzled.

“She is missing, since about a year ago”. Clark answered back immediately with a sigh as he leaned back on his chair.

“Oh…!”

Using the exclamation to stir the topic to another direction again, they continued their idle talk until the day grew dark.

“I already decided, we’ll be going tomorrow. We already stayed here to recover long enough; we have to continue to get more progress in the mission”. Clark suddenly spoke out again.

“Yeah, I’ve also recovered. I think you just have to give a motivational speech to the soldiers; they have already been inside the tree for 2 days now because you ordered them not to come out”.

Diana also spoke out at this point while standing up, as she brushed the snow that was attached to her thick black uniform away with her left hand.

“Benny, what do you think?” She asked again.

“Hmm, I don’t have any objections. Clark calls all the shots; my role is to obey and execute his orders to the best of my abilities”.

“You’re such a lazy bum”.

With that, the trio of soldiers stood up as they started retrieving their solar panels and equipment that were placed on various parts of the large cedar tree to recharge.

In an extreme region such as Mount Everest here, they did not have access to most of the resources they needed to recharge their devices.

They recharged them mostly with the input chargers they came with as supplies for the mission, but they also came with sonar panels whose usefulness came today that the sun did the favor of showing its golden head.

Due to the danger of this region, Clark forbid all the soldiers from coming outside except the 3 of them.

This was not without basis though as in just these 2 days that they stayed here, they already fought 5 exobeasts which was a frightening number in one region of this forest.

They succeeded in killing 4 of them, but the last one which was also the strongest escaped their grasp.

Due to this discovery and other countless readings that were obtained from their long-range detection devices, they already concluded on the right plan to cross this region.

If they still had the option, they would have opted to leave this region entirely and go back through the tunnel that they came with. This place was just too spooky and dangerous.

Though this was the plan that they favored the most, everything didn’t always go according to plan. They could not implement it, as that route was already covered and destroyed during their escape from the cats.

Their only choice now was to continue forging ahead, stay alert, and pray that they should not encounter a situation that was bigger than they could handle.

Perhaps, if they were lucky, due to their already many experiences in this region and its dangers, they would be able to leave without suffering any casualties again.

After gathering all the solar panels and arranging the equipment that was already fully charged, they finally went back inside the tree.

Clark went in last, as he did the normal procedure of carrying the tree bark again to cover the opening in the tree.

For the deeper parts of the tree, they didn’t take the risk of exploring it. Getting shelter in the tree was already a boon to them, pushing their luck in the name of curiosity was not something they wanted to do.

After getting into the hole that they already customized to their standards, the soldiers all greeted him respectfully.

He nodded with a smile to acknowledge them, before going closer to sit down beside Diana and Benny. As he rested his head, a lot of things went through his mind.

“Were the commissioners able to stabilize the city in my absence? Did the Persian tiger’s organization come back for revenge? I hope everything is fine back home”.

With these thoughts revolving in his head, he finally went to sleep.

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