Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 395

The control room was eerily silent.

After a moment, one of the instructors finally broke the silence, puzzled, "Did she just mention... who?"

"Click."

Commander Dirk switched off the loudspeaker.

He took Major Morris's walkie-talkie, turned it off, and said in a low voice, "During the exam, examiners shouldn't interfere with the candidates' performance."

Major Morris stared at Commander Dirk for a bit but eventually held his tongue.

The room was filled only with the sounds of various candidates being streamed live on multiple screens.

After a while, one of the examiners couldn't help but whisper to the person next to them, "Did she just say... Egbert? The international superstar?"

"Ahem." Commander Dirk cleared his throat.

Instantly, the room fell silent.

Major Morris glanced at Commander Dirk, his eyes clearly conveying—tell me! Tell me! Tell me!

Commander Dirk was at a loss but whispered, "Rumored boyfriend."

Major Morris, who was still living in the analog age, was stunned: "!!!"

Commander Dirk, who had just recently discovered the wonders of the internet, nodded knowingly.

The Red Team had the numbers on their side, plus Eileen, a force of nature all on her own.

So, after a twenty-minute one-sided brawl, the Blue Team was left battered and bruised, utterly defeated.

Eileen initially thought about sparing a couple of them, seeing as they were all classmates.

But the Blue Team, unable to accept their loss, resorted to hurling insults at her in front of everyone: "Thief! Bandit! You stole our pizza and wings!"

Eileen narrowed her eyes, unable to hold back, and finished them off.

The field was a chaotic mess of defeated opponents.

Eileen wiped her still-steaming rifle, placed one hand on her hip, and declared to her comrades, "Let's head back!"

Triumphant, the Red Team returned with morale soaring.

In the afternoon, a few commanders gathered in a tent to discuss their next move.

Led by Hancock, some of the more aggressive commanders believed that the Blue Team's recent defeat had shattered their morale, and with their supplies running low, it was the perfect opportunity to strike while the iron was hot, take the fight to them, and finish them off.

However, Joel and his more cautious counterparts thought otherwise. They argued that the Blue Team's commander wasn't to be underestimated, and chasing a cornered enemy, especially given the defensible position of their camp, might flip their advantage into a disadvantage.

The debate raged on, with no resolution in sight.

Finally, Hancock couldn't hold his frustration any longer.

He slammed his fist on the table, turning to Eileen, who was at the head of the table, and shouted, "Could you stop eating for a second and say something?!"

Eileen was halfway through her burger, her mouth smeared with ketchup. She nodded as she slurped up the last of her milkshake, "Mm-hmm, you both make good points."

Six commanders stared at her, waiting for more.

Eileen took another bite of her fries.

"Bang!" Hancock's patience snapped, and he slammed his hand on the table.

The flimsy table wobbled, threatening to spill her soda.

Eileen: "..."

Eileen swallowed her fries, reluctantly pausing her meal. She smacked her lips and asked, "Who is our real enemy?"

The question was odd, bringing silence to the tent.

After a moment, Hancock replied, "You?"

Eileen: "..."

Eileen stood up, hands on her hips, "Is that how you talk to your leader?"

Hancock scratched his nose, "What are you trying to say? Our enemy is the Blue Team, obviously."

"Wrong!" The usually quiet fifth group commander spoke up, "I get what Commander Eileen is saying. She's suggesting that our real enemy is ourselves, right?"

Eileen: "..."

The sixth group commander patted the fifth on the shoulder, sincerely saying, "That was cheesy!"

Fifth group commander: "..."

Eileen sighed, "Our enemy is the examiners."

The commanders were taken aback.

In the control room, twenty or so examiners were equally surprised.

Major Morris, seated at the head of the table, chuckled softly, murmuring, "Interesting."

Eileen took advantage of Hancock's momentary confusion to sneak another bite of her cheeseburger.

Tom's expression relaxed a bit.

He said to Manley, "Untie me first!"

Tom and Manley had known each other since their first day at the academy. Tom was always the top student in the Command Department, with Manley trailing closely behind in second place. Their rivalry was intense and ever-present.

Manley, always the smug one, let out a cold laugh. "Commander Tom, haven't you figured out your situation yet? You're on Blue Team's turf now, and you're our prisoner."

Tom gritted his teeth. "I don't know what kind of game this is!"

Just then, a soldier from the Blue Team stepped forward. "Commander Manley, we found this voice recorder on him."

Manley frowned. "Play it."

The soldier pressed play, and the small gadget crackled to life with a girl's hesitant voice.

"Uh, uh, can you hear me? Can you hear me? Uh, uh..."

Manley was speechless. The rest of the Blue Team exchanged bewildered glances.

Then a boy's irritated voice came through. "Just say it! What's with the 'uh uh'? It's not like he can answer you back! This isn't a phone!"

The girl, clearly annoyed, shot back, "I'm just testing the recording quality, Hancock! You need to respect me a bit more; I'm the chief commander here!"

Hancock, defeated, replied, "Fine, Commander Eileen, can you just get on with it? I don't get why you need to record it; a note would do the trick!"

Eileen snapped, "Mind your own business! I want to record it! This recorder was swiped from the Blue Team, and returning it shows our good faith. It's called strategy!"

Hancock, exasperated, said, "Then maybe say stuff like that when it's off!"

Eileen paused. "Oh, it was on? Let me delete that. Okay, it's deleted now."

Hancock asked, "Are you sure? Why's the red light still blinking?"

Eileen reassured, "I'm sure it's deleted. Wait, this recorder doesn't have an auto-backup feature, right? Let me check the parts..."

Hancock was losing patience. "Don't take it apart, just record it already! They're calling us for dinner!"

Eileen panicked. "What, dinner’s ready? I better hurry up. Uh, uh, can you hear me? Uh, uh..."

Manley was utterly speechless.

The entire Blue Team was just as baffled, staring at each other, wondering what on earth was happening.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of testing, Commander Eileen got to the point.

"Commander Manley, here's the situation: Our Red Team is facing a severe shortage of supplies. We're at our wits' end, and as a last resort, we've decided to send our most valuable asset, Commander Tom, to you as a hostage. We hope the Blue Team will take good care of him. If you can't keep him alive, at least let him go out with some dignity. We won't hold you accountable."