After the previous group rushed out of the cave.
To be safe, they split up and disguised themselves as ordinary Underworld miners.
They ran in all directions.
From different routes, heading to the same destination.
In Rivet Town, at an abandoned orphanage, cheerful laughter now echoed.
"Hahahaha… The little red flower for this summer camp definitely belongs to none other than me, the pitch-black Hook the Great!"
A short yellow-haired girl with twin pigtails draped behind her, wearing a simple Silvermane Guard uniform that looked extremely out of place.
"Little Hook, please stand properly. Otherwise, there won't be a little red flower."
"It's Hook Squad Member, sir!"
"…"
"Shush!"
After being scolded, Hook quickly suppressed her smile, stood ramrod straight, eyes staring straight ahead, wide open like copper bells!
"Hook Squad Member, you don't need to open your eyes that wide."
"Sir, an inch bigger means an inch farther! That way I can stay alert at all times and detect enemy invasions immediately!"
"Tch."
The guy in the Silvermane Guard uniform hunched over, tilted his neck, and barked sternly:
"I've told you many times—this is summer camp! Summer camp! You're just experiencing a Silvermane Guard rookie life—it's just an experience, not enlisting!"
"Sir, I believe I'm already a veteran!" Hook stood tall, eyes blazing as she shouted.
"…"
At that moment, another kid raised their hand and shouted loudly:
"Right, sir! After we leave, when do we get our discharge pay?"
"And after this, can we use the Silvermane Guard通道? We count as half Silvermane Guards now, right!"
"…"
Looking at the line of idiots standing in front of him, the disguised Silvermane Guard was speechless and placed a hand on his forehead, saying heavily:
"Do I have to repeat myself? You guys are in summer camp! Summer camp, understand?! You're not Silvermane Guards, not veterans! How could you use the warrior通道 or get discharge pay? Be grateful I'm not charging you money!"
Hook saluted the disguised Guard with blazing eyes:
"Reporting to sir, doesn't enlisting in the Silvermane Guards mean no fees anyway?!"
"Get lost—!!"
"Sir, honestly, I'm kinda reluctant to part with everyone. I heard we're discharging soon. While the brothers are still here, can we have some white stuff?"
"Lord Hook…"
"Don't be sad—we'll meet again if fate allows!"
Watching the little brats suddenly get all emotional, the uniformed man rolled his eyes.
What "white stuff"? It's just dairy drinks, and they're calling it something so fancy!
The organization kidnapped this group of morons here and tricked them into thinking this was Natasha's secret training—to toughen them up! But they ended up toughening themselves up instead!
…Damn it.
"Sir, why aren't you talking? Can't you drink white stuff?"
"Idiot! The army strictly prohibits drinking on missions! Sir is so disciplined—how could he be like us?"
"Then we'll drink ourselves… This is so boring, tch."
"…"
The uniformed man silently lifted his head and said heavily:
"Where do you all live? How about this—if you keep making noise, I'll send your recent training report cards to your parents. How's that?"
This news instantly silenced many of the previously excited kids.
Their grades weren't actually good—they slept in, faked illnesses, and didn't meet training standards.
But one brave soul among them still stood in a mighty military posture, chest puffed out, eyes even rounder, shouting loudly:
"Please do so, sir! I want my old man to witness this glory too!"
"…"
The speaker was none other than the obsessed Lord Hook.
When she learned she was joining a summer camp for at least a month of mysterious training, she was the most excited.
Not only did she fix her habits of sleeping in and skipping class, she started yelling more and more about being a veteran, even dragging the other kids into the obsession.
Veterans? If they count as veterans, what does the Overworld army count as?
"Hook Squad Member, did I give you permission to speak? I said—if you want to talk, you report first!"
After hearing the sir's reprimand, Hook trembled, then shouted loudly:
"Report!"
"Can't hear you—did you skip breakfast?!" the sir roared.
"Report!"
"Too quiet—louder!"
"Report—!!!!!!!"
"So quiet—who can hear that?! Are you reporting to the mosquitoes?!!"
Facing the sir's nitpicking, Hook held back her instinct to cry.
She took a deep breath. Though tears were already welling in her eyes, she knew this was a test!
Only by passing the test could she get that old witch Natasha's little red flower!
Immediately, Hook's chest heaved as she gathered her breath.
Seeing this, the uniformed man's pupils shrank. His instincts screamed disaster was coming, so he subconsciously covered his ears.
But the slower-reacting kids nearby weren't so lucky.
Hook's face turned beet red before she suddenly unleashed a heaven-shaking, piercing scream!
"Rep———!! Ort————!! Sir————!!———————————————————!!!!!!"
Hook shouted until her face was flushed, pouring all her lung capacity into that extremely long tail note.
Some of her nearby friends couldn't stand the piercing sound and barely covered their ears.
But some equally obsessed idiot kids actually joined her in shouting.
"Rep———!! Ort————!! Sir————!!———————————————————!!!!!!"
Under the multi-layered high-decibel sonic assault, the disguised Guard finally realized how utterly stupid his earlier action had been!
"Ah————!! QAQ"
He painfully clutched his ears, but their young voices were incredibly penetrating. He cried out in despair:
"Shush—!! Stop yelling!! Stop dragging out the tail you idiots!!"
These crazy little brats—not only yelling, but insisting on stretching the last "sir" in "report sir" to an extreme length!!
"Sir, did you hear it this time?" After shouting, Hook panted, face red, trying to claim credit.
Though she felt a bit oxygen-deprived, surely among so many veterans, her performance was the best?
"…" The uniformed man stayed silent.
"Sir?"
"…"
"Sir, what's wrong? Were you moved by me?"
"…"
After a long silence, the disguised Silvermane Guard slowly raised his head, his face dark as he said heavily:
"…You can forget about ever getting a little red flower in this lifetime."