Chapter 100 - 99: Lock the Main Gate Dead
Once she was settled, the driver started the car and pulled away, not saying a word the entire time.
The scenery outside the car window rushed by as they drove farther and farther from downtown Kingsland.
Yvonne Lowell had pretended to be asleep since getting in the car. She only opened her eyes when she figured they were almost there.
She turned her gaze to the window and suddenly asked, "How’s his health been lately?"
The driver glanced in the rearview mirror. "He’s doing well in all respects. The medicine you gave him has helped a lot with his old ailments."
"Mm," Yvonne Lowell replied lazily. "Tell him I’ll visit another day and bring his medicine."
The driver recalled what the man had told him before he left.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Before I left, he said... if you mention visiting ’another day,’ he wants you to specify exactly when that ’another day’ is. Otherwise, he won’t believe a single word."
’Tsk. The older they get, the more childish they become.’
Yvonne Lowell scoffed. "Then he can believe it or not. Even if I don’t show up myself, his medicine will be delivered on time."
The driver’s mouth twitched. ’Why is it always us who suffer when the titans clash?!’
"Understood. I’ll be sure to relay your message word for word."
...
The driver parked in front of an abandoned school. "They arrived two hours ago. Forty people in total. We’ll be depending on you for this next month."
"No problem," Yvonne Lowell said as she pushed the door open and walked toward the main gate. "Just tell him to stop fleecing me in the future."
Recognizing her, the guard at the gate immediately let her pass. "Lowell, you’ve arrived."
"Where are they?"
"They’re all in their dorms. We had them sort out their belongings and then let them rest," the guard replied with a slight bow.
Yvonne Lowell stretched her neck, a wicked smile curling her lips. "Go have the main dormitory gate locked up tight."
’The training doesn’t officially start until tomorrow, anyway. I’ll just have a little fun with them today.’
"Yes, ma’am."
Yvonne Lowell calmly put on a mask and voice changer. She walked over to the large banyan tree in front of the dorms and, with a few nimble movements, climbed up to sit on a branch.
Picking up the walkie-talkie, she said, "Sound the alarm."
...
In a dorm room on the top floor of the men’s building.
Theodore Zane lay with his hands behind his head, one leg casually crossed over the other. "Hey, what do you guys think this ’hellish training’ is actually going to be? They just dumped us here and took off. They even confiscated our phones and didn’t explain the schedule."
Blake Paxton, pretending to be asleep nearby, murmured, "I don’t know. But it’s definitely not going to start tomorrow like the notice said."
Jasper Hayes, the captain of Dragon’s Ascent Squad, chimed in, "I agree. They might even call a surprise assembly in the middle of the night while we’re all fast asleep."
"Those guys downstairs don’t look like they’re in the same profession as us. Feels more like we’ve stumbled into a den of bandits," said Ryan Ford, the captain of the Gray Wolf Squad, as he pulled his head back in from the window.
"Whatever the case, it’s best we get some rest and conserve our energy now," Stanley Sutton said, rolling over to face the wall.
Just as everyone was drifting off, a deafening alarm blared.
Everyone instantly shot up from their beds, scrambled into their shoes, and bolted for the stairs.
"Fuck! Old Man Hawthorne, you and your damn jinx mouth!" Theodore Zane yelled, pulling on the pants beside his bed as he dashed out.
"What the hell does that have to do with me! I said it would be in the middle of the night!" Jasper Hayes shouted, right on his heels.
"Dude, why are you running out shirtless?"
"Shit, we’re trying to escape with our lives here! I’ve got it right in my hand, don’t I? I’ll put it on downstairs. You should be glad I didn’t come out bare-assed!"
"Seriously, why did they make us all stay on the top floor? The five floors below are all empty."
"If they’d let us stay on a lower floor, would we be in this mess? Quit your yapping and hurry up!"
...
There were two six-story dormitory buildings. The men and women each occupied the top floor of a building, and both buildings shared a single main gate for entry and exit.
Aside from the main dormitory gate, there were no other exits. The entire compound was enclosed by a two-meter-high wall.
Hearing the incessant complaints and the chaotic stampede of footsteps, Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow, her mood improving considerably.
When she heard someone trying to push the gate, Yvonne Lowell glanced at her stopwatch. ’One minute and 24 seconds. Not bad, they’re pretty fast.’
She broke off a small twig and tossed it down at the people below.
Finn Knight took the hint. He raised his megaphone and shouted toward the trapped crowd, "The gate is broken! You’ll have to figure out a way out on your own. Attention! The Anomalous Abilities Unit is prohibited from using superpowers. All forty of you must help each other. The task is only complete when every single person is out."
Everyone stared at each other in disbelief. ’The gate is broken? Then how did we get in here just now? Phase through the wall? Is this some kind of joke?!’
Besides, they had never seen such a bare courtyard. There was nothing but the walls and the ground.
If there were even a single rope or a ladder, they wouldn’t be this frustrated.
"All right, everyone, let’s get a move on. The iron gate has bars we can use as footholds. Let the women climb the gate first. Those of us who are tall enough, start on the wall. Help each other! Everybody move!"
Stanley Sutton’s decisive words spurred everyone into orderly action.
Yvonne Lowell glanced across the way. ’Tsk, why am I suddenly regretting this? I should’ve waited until tonight to pull this stunt.’
’Just imagine it: in the dead of night, a row of heads poking over the top of the wall, their eyes glinting in the dark. Now that would’ve been an interesting sight.’
Due to the limited space, it took several batches for all forty people to make it over the wall.
Excluding the time Finn Knight spent making the announcement, it took the forty of them less than three minutes to get downstairs and over the wall combined.
Once they were out, everyone quickly fell in with their respective squads, straightened their uniforms, and snapped to attention.
After lining up their teams, the captains stepped forward to report to Finn Knight.
"Sir! Anomalous Abilities Unit, ten present of ten assigned! Awaiting orders!"
"Sir! Dragon’s Ascent Squad, nine present of nine assigned! Awaiting orders!"
"Sir! Gray Wolf Squad, nine present of nine assigned! Awaiting orders!"
"Sir! Snow Phoenix Squad, twelve present of twelve assigned! Awaiting orders!"
A glimmer of appreciation flashed in Yvonne Lowell’s eyes. ’I have to admit,’ she thought, ’these people are a hell of a lot better than those pushovers I trained overseas.’
Especially Snow Phoenix, the only all-female squad. Not only were its twelve members the fastest to get out, but their uniforms were also perfectly neat, making it obvious they were constantly on standby.
The selection criteria for an elite squad were already incredibly strict, and the standards for a female squad were even more demanding. Every single test pushed their bodies to their absolute physical limits.
For those twelve women to have been chosen from thousands, the hardships they had endured and the suffering they had borne went far beyond what anyone could see on the surface.
Finn Knight was also astounded by their fluid, seamless coordination. ’Maybe our headquarters should rethink its training strategy,’ he mused.
He chuckled. "You’re all quite impressive. A shame I’m not the one in charge."
Just as the crowd was looking on in confusion, Yvonne Lowell pocketed her stopwatch and leaped down from the tree.