Just like how he instructed the group, they didn't have anything to do other than staying in the room.
The group only had rested for a week before this mission, so the morale was a bit low. That was the reason Kai suggested a competition among themselves.
And the rest of the two days, he decided to stay silent while observing the others' expressions. They seemed to be pretty eager for the competition, making him feel assured. As long as he was careful out there, they should be able to complete this mission without a problem.
When the third day came, he and Tasha went to school earlier to discuss the matter with their pilot, and he agreed about the arrangement.
They then flew toward British Columbia. The journey took a few hours and was pretty boring.
It was only when he was about to arrive, he suddenly remembered the general who was in charge of the British Columbia Base and facepalmed. "Ugh… I miscalculate something."
"Kai?" Michelle's face turned pale as she looked at Kai with a worried expression. Having miscalculated something was a serious problem, especially if it was coming from Kai.
"No… It's not about a plan. We have gone to this base once, and I've just remembered who is the one in charge here." Kai closed his eyes with his hand, looking very frustrated.
"Now that you mention it, it's the former student council's father, Brad Matthew." Michelle gasped.
"I think I should deal with him again…" Kai let out a long sigh. "In any case, this is going to be annoying, at least for me."
Sofia tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What happened?"
Kai thought for a moment and shook his head. "It's fine. You don't need to know about this small thing."
He wasn't someone who told everything to the girls, especially with a small matter like this. The girls knew this because Baran, his deputy in that mission, told them what happened, else they wouldn't know.
Since Kai didn't want to talk about it, the girls decided not to say anything.
As he had expected, the moment he arrived at the military base, Baran was the one who greeted him. But this time, he also came with another young man.
"Eh? Student Council President?" Kai widened his eyes as soon as he came out of the helicopter.
"Ahaha… Please don't call me with that title again. I have graduated, you know."
"I apologize. I didn't mean too; I was just a bit shocked." Kai scratched the back of his head.
"It's fine. It's been a while since I have been here, and fortunate enough to be a Corporal. Just call me Brian since my rank is below you."
"Eh? But your name is with 'Y' no?"
"It's fine. There is someone who has the same name, so… Yeah, it's just to call me, not a big deal."
Kai fell silent and decided not to butt in. "Still, it's surprising to see you here. And what's about the other members of the Student Council?"
���They are with me, of course. Truly… I am blessed. When I was about to split the group because of my personal reason, they decided to come with me. And the reason I am here… Yeah, I just want to prove that I am worthy." Brian took a glance at the office not far away from them.
"I see." Kai noticed this and nodded before glancing at the girls. "How about you four? Do you want to visit the others first? I will handle the mission negotiation myself."
Michelle and the others exchanged looks and nodded.
He then looked back at the two and said, "I am going to the general's room. Since I have gone here once, I still remember his room."
"I understand. Because there is no prior information, I believe the general wants you to go there alone."
"Yes. Can you guide the girls for me? I believe we are going to set off in an hour or two."
"Yes, Sir." Baran and Brian saluted.
Kai felt a bit uncomfortable to see his senior in school actually saluting him, especially when he knew that he had been helping him this whole time. But he decided not to say anything because his rank was far higher than him because it could also mean that he was looking down on him.
He simply nodded and walked toward the general room. Looking at the familiar hallway, he smiled and stared at the wooden door at the end of the corridor.
*Knock Knock!*
"This is Kai Carter."
The surroundings fell silent for a few seconds before an aged voice echoed from inside the room. "Come in."
Kai gently pushed the door open and walked before him, watching the stern face of Brad Matthew.
"It's been a while, eh, little brat." The voice was filled with disbelief. "To think you have become a Lieutenant Colonel… I am wondering why the headquarter allows it. You need to gain a few more years' experiences to have this position."
Kai didn't say anything despite all his words and waited patiently until Brad got tired from b*tching about his position.
"Never mind. I have been instructed by the headquarters about your mission. There will be a team monitoring you from here. And it seems the headquarters also send someone to supervise them and make sure that the recording is a secret. In any case, I won't do anything for you about this mission."
"I understand. My mission this time literally doesn't have a connection with the base, albeit I have been given permission to retreat to this base if the situation turns dangerous."
"So, I've heard." Brad nodded before raising his device to show a map to him.
Kai noticed the red line near the border of British Columbia and Yukon Territory.
"If I may ask, what is that line, General?"
"It's our line of soldiers. There are a few camps around that area since we are marching toward Yukon Territory. Unlike you, they need to ensure that all magical beasts die, so their speed is too slow to march.
"I have gotten the information about the volcano, and the nearest spot is this place." Brad pointed a dot near the red line. "This is a temporary base, so we can keep sending the supplies and anything to help them. In any case, there will be a total of three thousand soldiers in this base, so if you want to escape, you can go there."
"I understand. I shall be careful as to not play along with death, including your subordinates' lives." Kai nodded.
"As long as you know it… I don't care if you are recklessly charging at the enemies or whatever. Just make sure you think about the responsibility of your action. My soldiers also have the responsibility in the base such as family. At the very least, you should know that their lives are not to be sacrificed for your life."
'Ho?' Kai was slightly astonished. Brad always talked many spicy words, but this might be the first time he found that Brad was actually responsible for the lives of his soldiers as if he cared about them. He might not be able to express himself that well, resulting in his bad relationship with his own son, or so he thought.
It was not like it was his position to butt in their private life, so he just believed Brian could mend their relationship.
He nodded and pointed his finger to a certain spot before moving to another spot. "My group plans to start from this place to this place. We might not be able to kill all the magical beasts around the area, but I am sure we can thin their numbers to a certain degree."
Kai told him his plan. It was necessary because Brad must have gotten the order to monitor them as well and head to their place as soon as an emergency appeared.
"It's not the best spot, but I think I can place more soldiers there to clean up the place." Brad nodded.
"I think that is the best. After all, if the volcano erupts, the first place that will get affected by it is this place. It's the best time to thin their numbers."
"The best time?" Brad narrowed his eyes. "You are overestimating yourself, kid."
Kai frowned as their eyes intertwined. There seemed to be a spark between their eyes, but Kai decided to blink and end the matter. "I am sorry, General. In any case, I will be doing my best out there, so I appreciate it if you can clean up the place to ensure the base's safety."
Brad closed his eyes for a few seconds and retracted the map. "Anyway, you can get a truck for luggage. You can go to Baran to handle anything else."
"I understand. I shall leave now, General." Kai nodded and left with a calm expression.
After getting permission from Brad, he returned to meet the girls and had a small talk with the former student council group. Mia seemed to have a pretty heated argument with Brad because of the way she talked this whole time about how he couldn't put trust in his own son and kept suppressing him.
The other two were also supportive about this because they were capable, albeit it was still not enough to be acknowledged by Brad Matthew.
They ended up talking for a whole two hours before Kai decided to go with a military truck to help them carry their luggage for a few weeks.
After saying their goodbye, Michelle drove the truck. Well, she had been trained by her family to drive everything, except flying vehicles.
Kai was beside her, directing the route.
Brad watched how the kids left the base with their vehicle and tapped the window before scratching his head. There seemed to be a mixed feeling in his heart as his face was not really comfortable before he said inwardly, 'Come back alive.'