QT: Against My Will-Chapter 510 - 8.27 - The Wraiths - Monster Heist

"7th Special Operation Force?!" Liam exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes widening with excitement. "Do you have any idea what that means? Shina Night is going to be part of the most elite branch in the entire military! But wait..." he suddenly realized something.

"Only alphas can join the Special Operations Force," Juliet finished Liam’s sentence, her brow furrowed with confusion as she looked at Silvia’s tomb, "Or what I heard."

LAD had seven branches, each specializing in different areas of military operations. The 7th branch, known as the "Wraiths," was considered the elite of the elite, tasked with leading and executing high-risk, high-reward missions against high-value targets. They were basically generals, handpicked by the soldiers in the military after they prove their worth.

As they looked at the letter, they noticed a note on the other side that reads: "Shina Night will only be accepted into the 7th Special Operation Force if all these people pass the LAD entrance exam with a score of 95% or higher: Juliet Robbinson, Liam Stevens, Henry...Bertha...Alain...Douglas...Laura..."

There were at least thirty names listed. Their joy was short-lived, more like killed in an instant as they realized that they too were now involved in Shina Night’s rigorous selection process.

"She is fucking crazy...How is she still alive?!" Liam cursed under his breath, "Does she seriously expect us to help her pass?!" he exclaimed.

Everyone was sad over her death, but they refused to let Silvia’s supposed death affect them or their lives. They were made of sterner stuff and wouldn’t let themselves be derailed by her death.

"You dumbhead should have known by now that..." Juliet sighed heavily, somehow, she had already been foreseeing this, "...she always had a way of getting what she wants. Now, she is giving us a choice. If we don’t do it, we risk losing her forever. She has a new identity, and creating a new team within the LADs is well within her capabilities."

Liam gritted his teeth, "Passing with a score of 95% or higher would be a cakewalk for you, but what about the rest like Bertha?"

Henry took hold of the key and contacted his team urgently, "Listen up. We need to convince everyone on the list to delay their LAD entrance exam until next year. If necessary, use force to make it happen. Juliet’s right. If our ex-leader can be accepted to 7th Special Operation Force, why can’t thirty students from St. Moon Academy pass with a score 95% or higher?"

"It still sounds impossible." Laura began to cry fake crocodile tears, "Only those with a top physique or magic users can pass with such a high score. But..." She trailed off as she shed her crybaby look and adopted a look of intense bloodlust, "...What if we hunt a few ingredients for Alain’s sour cake?"

"Wait a minute!" Bertha exclaimed as soon as Alain sent out the list of ingredients, noticing that some of them had already been crossed off. She had been quiet until now, but the thought of the group resorting to assassinations made her feel uneasy.

Her voice trembled with apprehension as she looked at Laura, "We can’t put our own ambitions above the safety and well-being of innocent people. We are supposed to be protecting those inside the barriers, not endangering them for our own gain."

Laura’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Bertha, "Well, well, well, look who’s suddenly got a conscience. Our little humanitarian," she sneered. "But how do you propose we accomplish our goals? Play hero and only target the ’deserving’ bad guys? They are all gone. Riley took down all of them and the prisons are almost empty."

Laura shook her head in mock pity. "You never had the stomach for this kind of work, Bertha. But the rest of us do. Nobody in here cares about the people behind the barriers. We’re not afraid to get our hands a little dirty to survive and get filthy rich. If you can’t handle it, then maybe you’re not cut out for Silvia’s team after all."

Laura’s wrapped a string around her hands, its edge glinting in the dim light. It was like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment and inflict harm. "Hey, what happens if one of the names suddenly disappears from the list? Will anyone here be suspicious enough to investigate?"

Laura’s eerie and threatening tone didn’t seem to faze Henry, "Brace yourself. Anyone who discovers Shina’s motives may attack and interfere with our operations."

He turned towards Bertha with a look of disinterest on his face, "Bertha, let me be perfectly clear. As the only Vice Leader without an underling, you are still held to a higher standard. Your sole responsibility is to meet and exceed expectations, and anything less than 95% will be considered a failure on your part."

Bertha’s heart sank as she heard Henry’s words, holding back not to burst into tears as she ran away from the group. She had always felt like the weakest link in the team, but to hear it stated so bluntly was a harsh reality to face. Everyone had her for Silvia’s pet because Silvia never gave her any difficult tasks.

Henry’s remark caused a moment of stunned silence among the team as they realized the weight of his words. Even Juliet was taken aback by his bold statement, and her usually confident demeanor wavered for a moment, "What is the likelihood of some LADs turning against us?"

"I don’t know. It all depends on whether they see Shina Night as an enemy." Henry’s expression remained stoic as he responded, glancing at the key in his hand. It was a hard drive.

"Great, now we are really done for." Liam’s voice rose in frustration.

They were taken aback when Bertha suddenly ran towards Henry and Laura with her scythe, "I don’t care what you think about me, but nobody is going to threaten the civilian’s safety under my watch!" she shouted as she swung her weapon at him.

Henry was caught off guard by the sudden attack, but he managed to dodge her strike just in time, surprised by her speed. He stepped back, his eyes narrowing as he assessed Bertha’s movements. "So, you’re finally showing some backbone," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Let’s see how long you will last."

Bertha held her scythe tightly, her heart pounding in her chest as she faced off against the two of them. Laura had already appeared behind her to press the sharp string against her neck, drawing some blood. Henry was slow to react just to bait her. She knew she was outnumbered and outmatched, but she refused to back down.

Douglas took a whiff of Alain’s cupcake and took a huge bite, chewing thoughtfully. "Training’s begun? Hold on, I need to finish this first," he said with a mouthful.

It was clear that Douglas was not one to pick up on social cues easily. He was the only delta who could go toe-to-toe with an Alpha and come out on top in terms of powers, and one of the few people who could ace the whole LAD exam with a perfect score. He was always one to let his instincts guide him, and it was those same instincts that led him to Silvia’s team.

St. Moon Academy taught students theory and practice in equal measure, while LAD threw the theory out the window and focused solely on practical training.

In other words, St. Moon Academy was 50% theory, 50% practice: [Learn about the anatomy and behavior of the enemy and how to devise a strategy to defeat them.]

Lycan Assault Division was 100% practice, 0% theory: [No time for studying the enemy, just charge at them with all your might and hope for the best. And if you don’t know what to do, well, you should have figured it out beforehand.]

It was like being thrown into the deep end of the ocean and being expected to swim like a champion after learning how to swim in a pool.