There's Nothing More to Say

"Do I look like I'm doing well to you, kid?" Tychus Findlay handed his ID card and chip to Raynor. "My gear got lost on the way here, and they told me to come here to collect some new equipment."

Raynor took the chip, inserted it into the scanner's slot, and then glanced at the screen after sweeping a look over Tychus's wrinkled face. "According to the request, you are entitled to a new ration."

"Because the latest batch of supply crates is still piled up in the storage unit, we are currently counting and categorizing the inventory. This will take quite some time. Please return to this counter at 14:00 hours; by then—"

"Are you sure you aren't just jerking me around?" Tychus raised an eyebrow, cutting Raynor off. "I traveled thousands of miles from the death deserts of Reading III to this frozen world, and I'm standing here in nothing but my underwear."

"Actually, the indoor temperature here is consistently maintained at around twenty degrees Celsius." Raynor pulled the chip out and placed it back on the counter.

"Listen, maybe you didn't understand the meaning of those words, or maybe I was being too polite, letting a greenhorn like you climb all over me." Tychus planted one hand firmly on the counter, leaned his body forward, and grabbed Raynor's collar with his other hand, pulling his face toward his own and glaring with dark brown eyes.

Tychus had tried this trick many times; he was tall and had a fierce face. Usually, when dealing with those fresh recruits, as long as he locked eyes with them, those cowards would be scared out of their wits. And Tychus could tell almost at a glance that Raynor had definitely not been in the service for more than two years.

Perhaps the rank of Private First Class gave him some points, but based on Raynor's build, he was far from being a match for an old dog like Tychus.

"Maybe you should get your little lackeys to prepare my gear immediately. I don't have time to stand here and stare at the shelves."

"Forgive me, I don't understand what you mean." Raynor looked at Tychus calmly. "Because I don't know if what's coming out of your mouth is actual words or just crap."

Tychus seemed to freeze for a moment; he probably hadn't expected Raynor to be so unfazed.

"If I haven't made myself clear enough." This made Tychus lose face, so he grabbed Raynor's collar with both hands and hoisted him off the chair with force, determined to teach this recruit a lesson. "Find my gear right now, or I'll break every bone in your body and twist your head off to use as a chamber pot!"

"Before that happens, I'll rip that thing off your neck and use it as a ball to kick around." Raynor had never backed down in his life. He gripped Tychus's wrists and, with a strength that surprised the latter, pried the hand clutching his collar away bit by bit.

Tychus realized he would have to get into a fight today. That didn't matter; he usually had a good sense of proportion. He would make Raynor feel humiliated and miserable, and the Marine medics wouldn't find a single mark on him that could lead to a conviction, not even a slightly large bruise.

"Today, you will regret angering Tychus Findlay. I'm going to break every one of your finger bones and then glue them back together." Tychus was already tired of the boring game of trading threats with a country boy. When a situation developed to the point where nothing but fists could solve it, he had to let the other party know whose fists were the hardest.

The Tychus Findlay who had just been released from prison had an angry lion hidden in his heart, and.

"Put him down, you lunatic." Just as Tychus was about to lift Raynor high above his head, ready to toss him toward the storage shelves behind the counter like a piece of trash, a cold gun barrel was suddenly pressed against his temple. A somewhat sharp male voice followed, sounding like the thugs and street racers he had encountered in some colonial towns—frivolous, arrogant, and always thinking they sounded tough.

"I'm counting to three. One, two—"

But the faint click of the safety being disengaged made Tychus retract his contempt and immediately put Raynor down, pressing him back into the chair as if placing a ragdoll into a basket. Raynor, after straightening his ruffled collar, leaned back in his chair and watched Tychus quietly.

"Hands up, squat against the wall." The voice continued.

Tychus turned around and saw a young soldier pointing a shotgun at him. The soldier had messy red hair, some freckles on his nose, and was chewing on a nearly burnt-out cigarette.

"Didn't you hear me?" The red-haired soldier spat the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his foot. "Hands up, back to me. I hate looking at your face."

Tychus looked at the soldier with composure, completely unmoved, deeply convinced that the other party wouldn't dare to fire. "You'd better put that gun down quickly so we can settle what happened before. It'll be better for both of us before the Military Police arrive."

"What's the situation with that guy, Harnack?" At this moment, another voice came from the empty hall of the supply station. Tychus immediately looked toward the sound and saw a sergeant in a crisp coffee-colored uniform walking over with three soldiers in similar attire.

Among the three behind him, one was chewing gum, blowing bubbles out of boredom, hands in his pockets, walking with a gait that was one of a thousand, but he chose the most unusual one—this was Josephine.

Another was holding a pen and a sign-off list, recording something as he walked; that was Lee Pachinyang. Carrying an E-7 Gauss Rifle and walking on the sergeant's right side was Amy Brandon, those deep blue eyes like the surface of the sea under the sun.

These soldiers all wore flat-topped caps with wolf-head insignias, their uniforms covered in dust. They had been moving cargo at the other end of the warehouse, while Tychus's attention had been entirely on Raynor.

The sergeant in the lead was a handsome man with cold gray eyes. His originally crisp uniform was covered in dust and wrinkles from the cargo work, and his face was stained with black oil, but the rifle insignia on his shoulders indicating a combat unit showed that his troops were definitely not recruits doing odd jobs in military logistics.

The sergeant walked up to Tychus and Harnack, standing just a step away. Then, he looked at Tychus. "Tell me, what is all this about?"

"Sir, this matter..." The only thing that could make Tychus drop his arrogant posture was the sergeant's badge on that man's chest. One of the rules of survival for a Marine was that you must always be respectful to those with more stripes or other insignia on their shoulders than you. The corporal in the dispatch hall earlier was just a desk-bound clerk and wasn't qualified to make Tychus behave.

"I wasn't asking you." The sergeant interrupted Tychus in a calm tone. "I want to remind you that I don't have a pleasant face for guys who come to smash up my turf. If my subordinates prove that you really are here to cause trouble, I'll hand you over to the Military Police."

"Even if you licked my boots ten thousand times, this decision wouldn't change in the slightest."

Tychus realized immediately that although this sergeant was so young, he was definitely the type of ruthless character who meant what he said.

"Boss, this guy was grabbing Jim and getting ready to beat him up. Thanks to me, the kid didn't get his pants pulled down and his ass kicked." Harnack chuckled.

"Hey, I was just about to knock him down; you're the one who jumped in." Raynor laughed too.

"See?" Augustus turned to Tychus and spread his hands.

"I think there's nothing left to say."

Thanks to The Little Hero Who Cannot Be Killed and Agent Rongrong for the tips. Thanks to Hope Lives Forever 23333, Sanyeliuli, Yimengqiannian S, Xiajuanqiufa, Wuxuan, Mengmengda Gugugu, Bookfriend 161121213935249, commandllche, Mengxin Tuzi, Bookfriend 20190422191709173, Youxinwuyan, The Little Hero Who Cannot Be Killed, Jinghu Yejing, dreams, Chenfeng, Lingxiaoyunqiao, Yao Guang Tian Shu, Biao Ai Shang Hen, Rice and Stone, Scarlet Night, Lakexier, Angel Yunhui, and Shao's monthly tickets.