Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 389

The air around the camp suddenly went still. Every eye turned to Eileen, and Tom's face twisted into a mask of anger.

He grit his teeth, his voice edged with frustration. "My biggest mistake was sticking around to fight even after realizing we were outnumbered! But who wouldn't stand their ground in that situation? Running away is for cowards! And the Red Team is full of fighters, not cowards!"

Eileen smirked, her tone icy. "Oh, so you're just gonna dump your blunder on everyone else now?"

Tom's fists clenched. "You..."

Eileen cut him off, her voice sharp and unyielding. "A strategic retreat isn't cowardice; blindly charging in is reckless! You knew we were outnumbered, and yet you stayed to fight? Come on, it's like knowing you can't win but deciding to stick around and lose anyway, just for kicks, right?"

Tom's face turned a shade of stormy gray, his jaw tight as he barked out, "Attention!"

Eileen merely scoffed, unmoving.

Tom snapped, "Eileen, this is a battlefield, and orders are like the law. I'm your commanding officer! You show me no respect, and you're causing a scene! Are you completely undisciplined? Fine, go ahead and defy me! I'll be writing a report on your behavior for the instructor!"

Eileen raised an eyebrow, her voice taunting. "Losing your cool already?"

Tom was seething, and he turned to the leader of Squad Five. "Keep your soldiers in line!"

With that, he stormed into the command tent, letting the flap fall shut with a thud.

The atmosphere outside was tense, like a taut string ready to snap.

The Squad Five leader looked awkward, clearing his throat as he faced Eileen. "Let it go, okay? We've already lost this round. I know you're strong in offense, and I'll see if I can get you deployed elsewhere."

Eileen gave him a look.

Not knowing what else to say, he added, "I'll go check on him."

He slipped into the tent, leaving the soldiers outside to slowly disperse. Despite the defeat in the first skirmish, the exercise was far from over.

Half an hour later, Squads Three and Four returned from gathering supplies. This joint exercise was quite the challenge, with participants split into evenly matched Red and Blue Teams. The examiners provided nothing at the start.

Resources—food, water, ammo, and weapons—were scattered randomly across the hills. To survive, you had to find and claim them.

Typically, the exercise lasted three days, with the first day focused on gathering resources and laying low.

After turning in their collected supplies, the members of Squads Three and Four quickly heard about Tom's ambush and near-total wipeout.

Their leaders headed straight into the tent to confer with Tom.

The soldiers outside, though anxious, had no choice but to wait.

Soon, the leaders emerged. Tom had reshuffled the teams, pulling male soldiers from Squad Five into his own, forming a new Unit One. He would lead them, along with Units Three and Four, on another mission to secure gunpowder.

Meanwhile, the female soldiers of Squad Five remained at their post.

Una kicked a rock in frustration. "He's not even pretending anymore. Pulling the guys and leaving the girls? Who does he think he's underestimating?"

The Squad Five leader, a bit of a pushover, approached Eileen hesitantly. "You can switch shifts now. Go get some food."

Eileen glanced at him, then asked, "You aiming for the top spot?"

The leader jumped. "Wha—what are you talking about?"

Too timid, Eileen thought, saying nothing more.

The leader quickly scurried off!

Una turned to Eileen. "What are you getting at?"

Eileen shrugged. "Nothing much. Just thinking we might need a new leader."

Una: "..."

Nana chimed in, "The leader's chosen by the instructors. We can't just swap them out."

Eileen paused. "Alright, fine. I'll give him one more shot."

Nana: "..."

In the main control room, Major Morris chuckled as he marked an 'X' next to Tom's name. "She's giving the leader another chance, huh? Bold of her."

Tom's instructor looked a bit embarrassed.

The Squad Seven leader: "..."

Feeling a bit uneasy himself, he said, "If I take her out, aren't I walking into danger?"

"Don't worry," the Squad Five leader assured him. "I'll make sure she's unarmed."

The Squad Seven leader: "..."

In the end, the Squad Seven leader took Eileen out on the mission.

Recon work was dull and dangerous, but anything was better than sitting idle.

As they reached the midway point up the hill, the leader of Team Seven decided it was time for everyone to split up and start their measurements. He turned to Eileen with a particular instruction, "You're not from the logistics team, so let me give you a quick rundown. Just jot down whatever you see—like any forks in the path or steep slopes. We'll gather all the notes later. You head off to the right, and if you run into anyone from the Blue Team, call for backup."

Eileen nodded casually, "Got it."

The leader handed her a clipboard with a stack of forms.

Five minutes later, Eileen returned and held out her hand, "Hey, can I get another form?"

The leader looked at her, slightly annoyed, and handed her another sheet while asking, "We can't waste materials. What happened to the first one? Did you mess it up or spill coffee on it? Hand it over; I need it back."

Eileen passed him the form, "I filled it out."

The leader was taken aback. He inspected the sheet and realized Eileen had indeed filled all twenty lines of the form!

Not only had she recorded the environmental measurements, but she'd also taken notes on the ecology—like the current wind direction, predictions for the wind changes later that night, which plants might be poisonous, and even what time it might rain.

The leader was dumbfounded, "You can predict rain too? You're pulling my leg!"

Eileen glanced at him, genuinely curious, "You can't?"

The leader was at a loss for words.

Eileen blinked, surprised, "Wow, you really can't? And you're still the team leader? The leadership track must be pretty easy to get into. Do you at least know that one plus one equals two? You can't possibly be clueless about that too, right?"