"Knock, knock, knock!"
Someone knocked on the office door.
Long Zhan pushed his thoughts aside and spoke in a low voice.
"Come in!"
The door opened, and Brigade Commander Zhao of the Sharp Sword Reconnaissance Brigade slipped in with a cheeky grin.
"Chief, busy?"
Long Zhan's temples throbbed.
"Spit it out!"
"Heh heh."
Brigade Commander Zhao rubbed his hands and sidled up, looking pained.
"Well... Chief, the Windbreaker Reconnaissance Brigade has nearly been allocated a whole battalion. Couldn't you spare a few slots for us at Sharp Sword?"
The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he became, his voice rising.
"How are we at Sharp Sword any worse than them?"
"All these years tackling the toughest jobs along the border, when have we ever held back?"
"Now there's a mission, why do they get the meat while we don't even get a sip of the broth?"
"That's not fair! You can't play favorites like this, Chief!"
Long Zhan's head buzzed.
He waved a hand irritably.
"All right, all right! You'll get some slots! Now get lost!"
"You got it!"
Brigade Commander Zhao instantly beamed, saluted, and made to slip away.
But the moment the door opened, a dense crowd surged in from outside.
"Chief! Our Thunder Armor Brigade wants in too!"
"And us at Red Wolf!"
"Chief, you can't favor one over another!"
The Thunder Armor Brigade, the Red Wolf Special Operations Brigade, the Rocket Force, the Windbreaker Brigade... officers from every unit crowded the doorway as though they had arranged it beforehand, all gazing at him expectantly.
Long Zhan: "..."
He felt less like a general and more like a hunk of meat surrounded by hungry wolves.
Fortunately, he had just gained another five thousand slots. Otherwise, they would hound him to death day after day.
Bell City,