Refusal

"Captain, requesting to rejoin the squad." Just as Knox's squad realized that everything they had done was futile and morale had sunk low, Kari's voice suddenly came through the comm channel.

Everyone came back to their senses. Earlier, after Kari had once again lost a mech due to his recklessness, he had spewed quite a bit of foul language.

Everyone had already been in a terrible mood. How could they stand his Negative Energy pollution? Knox had directly used his captain's authority to kick him out of the chat channel.

Although he had later been added back, Kari had apparently calmed down and reflected on himself. After returning to the squad channel, he had not made a sound, and everyone had gradually forgotten about him.

Only when he spoke now did they realize they had not seen him for quite some time.

"Everyone was in a bad mood earlier, and you were shouting up a storm. It was hurting morale too much, so I kicked you out to cool off. Don't take it to heart." The team members were like family. Kari might be loud and excitable, but he usually did not let them down. So Knox explained his earlier action to reassure him.

"It's fine. I went to apply for a new mech just now. I'll be back with the squad shortly." Kari was rather broad-minded and had not taken what happened earlier to heart at all. His words also showed that he had not stayed silent out of spite—he had been interfacing with another system.

"Cleared passages aren't absolutely safe. Watch yourself." Though being careful would not necessarily help much, Knox still warned him.

"Understood. This Z2 Robot is one of the last few left in storage. Officer Letosi, who manages the inventory, already said that if I