C402 Hunting

Hammer finally broke the silence. “No. Nothing happened,” he said calmly. “Your employees were simply worried that since you left, we would stop training them.” Alicia stared at him for a moment. She seemed unconvinced, but she eventually nodded. “Tell them we are safe.” Hammer smiled. “No problem.” He turned toward the other coaches. “Let's go.” The coaches began walking away, leaving the eight of us standing in the training area. For a few seconds, nobody said anything. Then Faith looked around. “So, how are we going to find something to eat?” She looked directly at me and Chris. “Cracker and Bighead, you two will go hunting, right?”

Chris immediately laughed. “Impossible.” Faith raised an eyebrow. “Why?” Chris shrugged. “Because I don't know how to hunt.” He paused before looking at everyone. “And I'm serious. We are all hungry, right?” Nobody answered. Chris spread his arms. “So we will all go.” Sarah rolled her eyes. “You really don't know how to make anything simple.” Chris laughed. “Well, I least we won't starve alone.” Alicia smiled. “Then we are all going.” Laura immediately looked concerned. “Wait.” Everyone turned toward her. “Is there anyone here who actually knows how to hunt?” We all looked at one another. One by one, we shook our heads. Nobody knew how to hunt. Not even a little. Chris sighed. “This is going to be interesting.”

We eventually made our way toward a small forest not far from the military base. The coaches had given us several large hunting guns. Just holding them made the whole situation feel ridiculous. We had weapons. But we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. Still, we were hungry. And hunger had a way of making people willing to try almost anything. We walked deeper into the forest, carefully looking around. Every few seconds, someone would stop because they thought they had heard something. Then we would realise it was nothing. Chris eventually whispered. “How exactly are we supposed to know what we are looking for?” I shrugged. “Animals?” He stared at me. “Very helpful, Cracker.” I smiled. “You asked.”

Alicia laughed softly. “Both of you, stop talking and look around.” We continued walking. The forest was quiet except for the sound of our footsteps and the occasional movement of leaves. Then suddenly, I saw something. A small rabbit was sitting a short distance away. It was beautiful. Its ears moved slightly as it looked around, completely unaware that eight people carrying large guns were watching it. I immediately raised my gun. I aimed carefully. But before I could pull the trigger, Laura shouted. “Don't!” Everyone turned toward her. I lowered the gun slightly. Laura pointed toward the rabbit. “Look how beautiful it is.” She stared at it with a soft expression. “Why do we have to kill it?” Chris looked at her. “Excuse me?” Laura continued. “What if it has a family? We can't be this heartless.”

I couldn't help laughing. Chris shook his head. “Fine. You won't eat it.” He looked at me. “Cracker, just shoot it.” I raised the gun again. The rabbit remained still. I took the shot. Bang! The rabbit jumped at the sound and immediately ran away. I had missed. Chris stared at me. Then he shook his head. “Brother, are you teaming up with Laura now?” He pointed toward the direction the rabbit had disappeared. “You missed on purpose, right?” Laura laughed. “It's God's will.” Everyone laughed. Chris looked at her in disbelief. “God's will?” Laura nodded confidently. “Yes.” Chris shook his head. “This family is going to starve.” We continued walking deeper into the forest.

After some time, we noticed something growing among the trees. Samantha suddenly stopped. “Wait.” Faith looked at her. “What?” Samantha pointed ahead. “Cherries.” Faith immediately smiled. They both rushed toward the trees. Laura followed them and laughed. “It seems like we won't kill any innocent animals after all.” Samantha and Faith began picking the cherries. They placed them carefully into a small bag we had brought with us. I looked at Alicia. “Wife, you also prefer cherries over meat?” Alicia shook her head. “No.” I smiled. She looked at the cherries. “I'm hungry. Cherries won't be enough.” Chris immediately laughed. “See? That's what a real leader does.” Alicia turned toward him. “Who said I'm your leader?” She smiled. “We are all one family.”

Sarah looked at Alicia. “Even one family needs someone to lead them.” Alicia laughed. “Are you volunteering?” Sarah smiled. “No chance.” We all laughed. For a moment, everything felt normal. Just eight friends standing in a forest, trying to find something to eat. Amanda, however, remained unusually quiet. She walked behind the rest of us, occasionally looking around. She seemed more interested in watching the forest than joining our conversation. Then suddenly, Chris stopped. “Wait.” We all froze. “What?” Samantha asked. Chris pointed ahead. Everyone looked in the same direction. A large deer stood between the trees. This time, there was no debate. Chris slowly raised his gun. Sarah immediately looked at him. “Bighead…” Chris smiled. “Don't.” Sarah sighed. “Please don't miss.”

Chris looked offended. “Have a little faith.” He aimed. For several seconds, nobody moved. Then he fired. Bang! The deer dropped. We all stared. Chris lowered the gun with a proud smile. Sarah slowly shook her head. “Bighead, you are heartless.” Chris laughed. “You wanted meat, didn't you?” Laura sighed. “I was hoping you would miss.” Chris laughed even harder. “Well, at least now we have dinner.” We carefully carried the deer back toward the base. It wasn't easy. By the time we returned, everyone was exhausted. But at least we had food. That evening, we gathered around the fire. The smell of cooked meat filled the air. Everyone was focused on eating. Interestingly, Laura and Samantha were among the first people to take some meat.

I looked at both of them and laughed. “Wait a minute.” They looked at me. “Didn't you two say you preferred cherries?” Laura paused. I continued. “And didn't you say we shouldn't kill innocent animals?” Samantha laughed. “Well, it is already dead.” She picked up another piece of meat. “So meat is meat.” Everyone burst into laughter. Laura nodded. “Exactly.” Chris looked at them. “Where did all that concern for the rabbit go?” Laura smiled. “The rabbit survived.” She pointed toward the forest. “And the deer didn't.” Chris laughed. “Fair enough.” We continued eating and joking around. We sat around the fire, sharing food and laughing about the day's failures. I looked at Alicia sitting beside me. She smiled. I knew the training would become harder. I knew there were dangers waiting for us outside those walls. But for that moment, none of it mattered. We were together. And that was enough.

Far away from the military base, inside the Gupta family, Samson sat across from his daughter, Hannah. The atmosphere between them was serious. Samson had already told her everything he knew about the situation. Alicia was training at the family's military base. Not only Alicia, but several other people had been allowed to train there as well. Hannah listened carefully. When Samson finished explaining, he remained silent for several seconds. Then he shook his head. “My child,” he said, “it seems like my father has gone weak.” Hannah looked at him. Samson continued. “How can he allow strangers to train there?” He leaned back. “Even you were not allowed to train there back then.” Hannah nodded. He continued. “That is exactly why I am concerned.”

Hannah's expression became more serious. The military base was not an ordinary place. It was one of the most important locations belonging to the Gupta family. Only members of the family and those who had been personally approved by the highest-ranking members were normally allowed anywhere near it. Now Alicia was there. And Victor had personally allowed it. That fact alone made Hannah suspicious. She slowly folded her arms. “So this Alicia is important enough for Grandpa to break his own rules?” Samson didn't answer immediately. Hannah's eyes narrowed. “There must be a reason.” She thought about everything she had heard. Alicia possessed the Gold and Diamond. She was connected to Gabrielle. And now she was training at the Gupta family's military base.

The more Hannah thought about it, the more curious she became. Then she remembered something. “Father.” Samson looked at her. “Every year in spring, we usually have the family gathering.” Samson nodded. “Yes.” Hannah continued. “We play games, compete against each other and challenge one another in friendly competitions.” Samson nodded again. “That is correct.” Hannah smiled. “Then tell Grandpa that I will participate in this year's competitions.” Samson looked at her carefully. “You haven't participated in years.” “I know.” “Why now?” Hannah's smile grew slightly. “Because this year will be different.” She stood up and walked toward the window. “The third family will surely participate.” Samson remained silent.

Hannah continued. “And if Alicia is really as dangerous as you keep saying she is…” She turned around. “…then I will finally get to meet her.” Samson's expression changed. “Hannah.” She looked toward the family grounds. “I only want to meet the woman everyone seems to be so afraid of.” Samson didn't respond. But deep down, he knew Hannah wasn't simply interested in a friendly family competition. She was curious about Alicia. And curiosity, when it involved someone carrying the Gold and Diamond, could be extremely dangerous. Hannah looked back at her father. “Tell Grandpa I am participating.” Samson nodded happily. “All right.” Hannah smiled. “Good.” She turned back toward the window. “I'm looking forward to meeting Alicia.”