The conference room went silent.
The smell of burning still hung in the air. The conference table, which had been pierced by lightning, was still giving off thin smoke.
The box full of bribes had turned into ash, with nothing left.
The officers in the room all looked pale, and sweat ran down their faces.
They had first thought the new captain was just a kid who was not even an adult yet.
Even if he was strong, they thought he would be a simple soldier who would be easy to fool.
As long as they gave him enough respect on the surface and enough money in private, everyone could keep living in peace.
But what had just happened completely crushed that hope.
"Since we can't do business," Aiden said as he sat back in his chair.
His finger lightly tapped the table with a steady tuk-tuk sound. Each tap felt like it was hitting everyone's heart.
"Then let's talk about official business."
"I want to see the base's financial reports, the supply inventory list, and the recent maintenance records for the defensive works."
Aiden looked across the room.
His voice was calm but left no room for argument.
"Since this is a military base, let me see what kind of base Nelson left behind."
Hearing this, these old foxes did not panic.
Instead, they looked like they had found a chance to complain. A hidden flash of cleverness appeared in their eyes.
Since he would not take the easy road, they would give him the hard one.
They would use a pile of rotten accounts to make this young captain give up and leave.
Soon, a thick stack of account books and reports was brought in.
They were piled in front of Aiden, giving off the musty smell of old paper.
"Captain, look. All the accounts for the G-17 branch over the last few years are here."
The middle-aged Major in charge of logistics rubbed his hands together.
He looked miserable as he pointed at the pile of documents.
His tone was full of helplessness and grievance.
"Rear Admiral Nelson, the previous commander, wasted all the base's funds while he was in power.
Right now, there is no money left in the accounts. In fact, we owe a large amount of money.
We can't even talk about repairing the defenses.
We barely have enough money to keep the base running next month."
Colonel Moore stood to the side and quickly nodded along.
"Yes, yes! Sir, we can't make something out of nothing.
The soldiers below haven't seen a bonus in months. Everyone is complaining, and morale is very low—"
Aiden sat in his chair and watched these officers and their poor acting.
These people did not dare resist openly, so they started playing this "poverty" game.
They were betting that Aiden, as a new officer, would be too embarrassed to push harder or would not understand how things worked.
They wanted to use these rotten accounts to make him powerless or force him to compromise.
"No money?"
Aiden did not flip through the clearly fake account books.
He only gave a small, calm smile.
He did not get angry or even argue. He simply stood up and straightened his collar.
"Since things are so difficult, I won't waste time on these scraps of paper."
Aiden walked around the table and headed straight out.
"Since you say morale is low because there is no money, I'll go see what kind of soldiers you've trained with no funds."
It was late morning at the training ground.
This should have been training time.
But right now, it was very quiet.
The hot sun was high in the sky, but not a single formation could be seen on the large training field.
Hundreds of soldiers in Marine uniforms were scattered around.
Some hid under the shade of trees. Others sat in the shadows of the gun batteries.
Some were sleeping flat on their backs with their hats over their faces.
Others were gathered in a circle playing cards.
One person had even taken off his boots to pick at his feet.
The whole place felt lazy and rotten.
The rows of rifles, which should have been treated like a soldier's second life, were thrown into the corners like junk.
Some barrels were even being used to hang freshly washed shirts that were still dripping water.
"These are the elites of G-17?"
Smoker, who was walking behind Aiden, saw this and the veins on his forehead began to throb.
As a tough guy from the Headquarters Elite Training Camp, this scene felt like mental poison to him.
But another strange feeling confused him even more.
"Hey, Aiden." Smoker lowered his voice.
"This isn't right. Those soldiers who ambushed us in Port D before were scum, but at least they acted like soldiers.
They knew how to fire cannons and guns properly.
Why are the soldiers here... rotting like this?"
Aiden glanced at the soldiers who had no fighting spirit and laughed coldly.
"Nelson was a businessman. He knew when to spend money.
Those elites were his private soldiers, the ones he paid well.
He used them for dirty work and to save his own life. But these hundreds of people—"
Aiden pointed at the lazy group on the training ground.
"These are the ones on fixed pay used as decorations to guard the gate.
If they don't get paid, they rot in front of you."
"All of you, get up!! Assemble!!!"
Smoker approached.
He kicked over a table where several soldiers were gambling. His roar sounded like thunder.
Crash!
The table flipped, and cards scattered all over the ground.
The soldiers were startled and slowly stood up one by one.
But there was not much fear on their faces.
Instead, they looked annoyed at being disturbed. They looked at Smoker as if he were the idiot.
"Who is it... so angry—"
An old veteran with an open collar and a crooked hat slowly picked up the cards from the ground.
He did not even bother to salute.
He squinted at Smoker with complete indifference, enough to make anyone furious.
"Officer, it's a hot day. This is G-17.
There isn't a single pirate for five hundred miles.
Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"
"You bastard!"
Smoker grabbed him by the collar and pointed at the pile of guns in the corner.
He spoke through gritted teeth.
"As soldiers, you actually threw your weapons aside?!
What if an enemy comes?! Is this how you guard Justice?!"
"Justice?"
The veteran laughed in a mocking way.
He was not afraid of Smoker because he was already completely rotten.
How could a person who did not even care about tomorrow be afraid of a superior officer?
"Officer, you're a big shot from Headquarters. It's easy for you to say."
The veteran let Smoker hold his collar and spread his hands, acting like he did not care at all.
"The personal guard that Rear Admiral Nelson kept ate meat every meal and got double pay.
What about us? We can't even get a hot bowl of soup.
You want us to polish our guns and risk our lives for this little money?
It isn't worth it."
The soldiers around him also started joining in.
Their voices were full of resentment and mockery.
"That's right, Officer. We're just here to earn a living."
"We do as much work as we get paid for!"
"Since there's no money to give out, don't waste everyone's sleeping time."
The group laughed and joked around like total thugs.
Smoker's fists tightened with rage.
This made him feel even more disgusted than meeting pirates.
These people were completely ruined. They did not even have any shame left.
"That's a very logical point."
A calm voice suddenly cut in and stopped the shouting.
The crowd parted.
Aiden walked over with his hands in his pockets and an expressionless face.
Gion followed behind him, her brow furrowed. She was clearly shocked by the lack of discipline here too.
Aiden walked up to the old veteran.
He did not get angry.
But the pressure from a superior officer made the veteran, who had been joking a moment ago, instinctively stop smiling and pull his neck back.
"You just said that because there is little money and no battles, there is no need to train properly?" Aiden asked.
"Uh... yeah, that's right."
The veteran said stubbornly, his eyes moving around.
"Everyone's just trying to get a meal.
These guns were handed out three years ago, and I haven't even touched the safety once—"
"I see."
Aiden nodded as if he agreed with the man's explanation.
Just when everyone thought the young captain was going to compromise or give a boring speech about shame—
Aiden suddenly reached out and picked up a brand-new rifle from a nearby rack.
He did not check the bolt.
He simply gripped the barrel with one hand.
Bzzzt.
Under everyone's terrified gaze, the steel rifle in Aiden's hand quickly turned red and softened.
It looked like it had become a toy made of wax.
In just one second.
Drip.
The barrel turned into a puddle of glowing red molten iron.
It dripped down next to the veteran's military boot, instantly burning through the floor and giving off a puff of blue smoke.
"Waah!"
The veteran let out a strange cry of terror and fell flat on his butt.
His face turned white as he looked at Aiden in horror.
Aiden let go, letting the remaining half of the wooden stock fall to the ground.
He pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his hands, his gaze sweeping over the entire area.
At that moment, the temperature of the lazy training ground seemed to drop to freezing.
"Since you think guns are useless, then don't carry them anymore."
Aiden's voice was as cold as ice, cutting across every soldier's face.
"The thing I hate most is people who take a position but do nothing."
"You take a spot in the Marines and collect a Marine salary, but you do the work of a security guard and grow lazy.
You even think this is normal."
Aiden took a step forward.
The soldiers all backed up together without thinking.
"You are not worthy of holding a gun.
You are not even worthy of wearing this uniform."
There was no angry shouting, only a calm statement.
But this deep contempt hurt more than any insult.
The soldiers looked at each other.
The "right" to just get by disappeared under Aiden's gaze.
It was replaced by deep shame and fear of this unknown power.
"Dismissed."
Aiden waved his hand as if he were bored.
It looked like even seeing them made him feel dirty.
"You're an eyesore."
After saying that, he turned and left.
He did not say another word.
He did not even give any order for improvement.
Being ignored like this made the soldiers feel a strange sense of panic.
On the way back to the office building, Colonel Moore had already run away in fear.
Only Gion and Smoker remained by Aiden's side.
"Why didn't you just punish them directly?" Gion could not help asking.
"Or just ask Headquarters to send a group of new recruits to replace them?
Keeping these old foxes will only cause trouble."
"Replace them?"
Aiden kept his hands in his pockets and spoke casually.
"Replacing them won't work.
If you throw new recruits into this big mess, as long as the place stays the same, they will turn into new old foxes in less than two years."
He looked at the distant horizon and added calmly.
"I'm going to leave here eventually.
I can't be the captain here for my whole life."
"If I only rely on pressure or on changing people again and again to keep order, then the moment I leave, this place will go right back to the way it was."
Aiden turned to look at Gion and smiled.
"What I want to leave behind is a G-17 that pirates won't dare approach, no matter who the captain is."
"As for those cowards—" Aiden's tone turned a little colder.
"It's simple."
"Break their bones and then reset them."
"Don't they think there are no pirates here?
Don't they think there are no battles to fight?"
Aiden looked at the sea, which was slowly getting dark in the distance.
A spark of light flashed in his eyes.
"They have already forgotten what blood tastes like."
"Just talking is useless.
I need to make them pick up their guns again.
I'll make them understand just how cruel this sea really is."