Leopard cleared his throat. "Raven, have you forgotten something? I''m the instructor. You''re a cadet?


    The ss stared at him in disbelief.


    Wasn''t he supposed to assert his authority,y down thew, and show Raven who was in charge?


    So why... did he sound like he was trying to gently remind her instead ofmanding her?


    456%8


    Meg


    Before they could process that, Raven calmly looked at Leopard and said, "This trainingsts ten days. Are you nning to waste all ten?"


    Originally, she hadn''t intended to stay past the opening ceremony.


    But after sizing them up, she decided to remain-for one reason. Leopard and his group had potential. If she could get them through the Hundred-Man Unit assessment, they could be her trusted aides in the elite corps.


    And her mission during these ten days was simple: to push them to a breakthrough.


    Leopard felt the weight of her gaze and instinctively shook his head, "No, ma''am.”


    Then his shoulders drooped again. He looked at her, voice small. “But... do we really have to run that manyps?"


    At that moment, Leopard truly wanted to disappear.


    Just earlier, he''d been feeling sorry for Jaxton. Now he realized-he was the one who needed saving.


    This training ground was huge. A hundredps? Not even three hours would be enough. Two was a fantasy. Raven was clearly out to destroy him.


    And the worst part? He was starting to think she had evidence to prove it.


    Meanwhile, the rest of the ss sat frozen in shock.


    Had they heard right?


    Raven had just trampled all over Leopard''s authority, and not only did he not get angry-he actually started negotiating


    with her?


    What the hell was going on?


    Before anyone could wrap their heads around it, Raven turned to Leopard and


    asked, her tone steady and low, "You got a problem with my orders?"


    Leopard snapped to attention like a soldier under fire. "No, ma''am!"


    Raven nodded slightly. Then she swept her gaze across the ss, her expression unreadable.


    "Anyone else have a problem?"


    Silence. No one dared to speak.


    Taking their silence as consent, Raven pulled out her phone, opened the timer app, and said evenly, "Two hours. Starting


    now."


    As soon as the words left her mouth, Leopard shot off like a cannon. The others stared after him, faces conflicted.


    14:53 Sun, 20 Apr


    Eventually, a few broke into a jog behind him.


    But most of the ss? They chose a much more leisurely pace.


    A handful of girls didn''t even bother jogging-just casually strolled like it was a morning walk in the park.


    They weren''t stupid. Tenps in two hours might be doable. But a hundred? That was t-out impossible. Why kill themselves over a lost cause?


    Raven, however, remained still, silently observing. She didn''t say a word.


    The movement in her ss didn''t go unnoticed.


    Nearby, cadets in other units began whispering.


    "Hey, isn''t that the ss with the girl who requested ten times the training?"


    "What are they doing? Warming up?"


    "But warm-ups are supposed to be done in formation, right?"


    "Wait a second... isn''t that Leopard leading the charge?"


    But before the chatter could spread, sharp barks rang out from the other instructors.


    "Eyes forward! Silence!"


    The murmuring died instantly as every cadet straightened up.


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    What they didn''t see, though, were the instructors-ncing sideways at Leopard, who was now grimly pounding the track. And in their eyes? A flicker of glee.