Aside from the high-strength blastproof walls and alloy blast door that could only be opened from the outside, Ruby's room was almost identical to that of an ordinary teenage girl. Textbooks were piled on her desk, rumpled sportswear had yet to be tossed into the laundry basket, and several celebrity posters hung on the walls. It was not especially spacious, but it was enough for Ruby Hale to live in. She had been born in this base, and she had spent all seventeen years of her life here. Study and training had filled her entire existence.
That was until she met the handsome man who had suddenly appeared here, only a few years older than her, and went on a date that afternoon—a date that had disrupted all her plans and abruptly crashed into her dull life. Later, she saw that man again, but because of her mother's work, she had been forced to leave his side after only a few words, filled with disappointment. Still, she had received some invaluable gifts from him. A folding hunting knife longer than her forearm and a pistol had remained on her bedside table, and she took them out to play with from time to time. Her mother had often proposed confiscating them, but Ruby's rare rebellious streak, the Malik family's influence, and that man's authority had ultimately made her abandon the idea. Those who spent their lives in politics saw omens in everything.
Using the folding hunting knife required practiced skill. Ruby had discovered that its edge seemed as though it would never dull. Even when used to chop through a cow's leg bone, its seemingly slender blade could withstand the tremendous recoil before cleanly slicing through the bone. Its excellent balance and blade forged from high-strength alloy made it equally stunning