C406 After A Month

Bright already knew where the conversation was going. Prince pointed at Laura's photograph. “Look how beautiful Laura is. She is out there training while you are getting fatter day by day.” Bright grinned. “See, Father? That is exactly why I didn't want her to go.” “Now you want me to follow them?” Bright shook his head. “Never.” He leaned back. “I am perfectly fine working at Wood IT Company.” He smiled. “And besides, Mr. Wood is back, so everything is flowing well.” Bright laughed. “I am not getting as much hard work anymore.” Prince shook his head. “You really are lazy.” Bright smiled. “Maybe.” Later that morning, Hammer returned to the Gupta Military Base with everything they had requested. The moment he entered, Alicia looked at the bags. She was confused. “You and Bulldog bought all this?”

Hammer laughed. “You think we would have gone to the city to buy your underwear and other private things?” Alicia raised an eyebrow. “Then who did?” Bulldog smiled. “Mrs. Gomez.” Laura immediately looked surprised. “My mother-in-law?” Hammer nodded. “Yes.” Laura laughed. “She actually went shopping for us?” “Yes.” Alicia shook her head. “She is incredible.” Hammer placed the bags down. “All right.” He clapped his hands. “Now let's get to work.” The training continued. Day after day. Week after week. The first few days had been brutal. Our bodies constantly hurt. We woke up before sunrise. We ran. We fought. We trained with weapons. We learned to shoot. We learned how to move. We learned how to work together. There were days when some of us wanted to give up. But we didn't.

Slowly, our bodies began adapting. The running became easier. The heavy boots no longer felt as uncomfortable. Our movements became faster. A month passed. The eight of us were no longer the same people who had arrived at the base. We had become stronger. More disciplined. More confident. And perhaps most importantly, we had learned to trust one another completely. One afternoon, after another long training session, Hammer gathered us together. He looked at each of us. “We have been training you for a month now.” "You have now adapted well to your code names, I am not hearing Alicia's name or any of your names which is good." Nobody spoke. Hammer continued. “I think it is time for you to experience some real-life combat.” Cipher immediately looked at him. “What do you mean?”

Hammer smiled. “Next week, there is a family gathering.” We all looked at each other. “The whole Gupta family will gather for a day of games and friendly competitions.” Bighead raised an eyebrow. “Games?” Hammer nodded. “Friendly fights.” I laughed. “Fighting for fun? How can that be?” Hammer smiled. “It is a tradition.” He continued. “Members of the family challenge one another. They compete in different activities, including combat.” Bighead looked at me. “So basically, they fight each other and call it a family gathering?” I laughed. “Apparently.” Hammer nodded. “But there is a reward for the winner.” That caught everyone's attention.

Cipher asked, “What kind of reward?” Hammer smiled. “That is something old Boss decides.” He paused. “Boss also wants me to invite you.” Everyone became quiet. “He want us to participate?” “Yes.” Hammer nodded. “He wants you and your team to attend and represent the generation of the third family.” Cipher looked at everyone. Nobody seemed against the idea. Then Hammer's expression became more serious. “But this year will be different.” I noticed the change in his voice. “How?” Hammer looked directly at Cipher. “Hanna has decided to participate.” Cipher's expression changed. “Hanna?” Hammer nodded. “She has never returned to war eversince she came back a month ago.” He paused. “But this time, she requested to participate in the competition herself.” Ghost, who had been standing nearby, added, “She even said she is looking forward to meeting you.” The room became quiet.

Cipher smiled. “Well…” She looked down at her hands. For the past month, she had trained with Gold and Diamond. She had learned to move with it. The daily running had also helped her remain fit. She looked back at Hammer. “I have been training with Gold and Diamond for a month.” She smiled. “The running has also helped me stay fit.” She nodded confidently. “Tell Grandfather that we will definitely come.” Hammer smiled. “I will.” While the Lions were preparing for their next challenge, things were changing at Willy's estate as well. The past month had been miserable for Willy's men. After their failed attack on Lucia Goods, Willy had punished them severely. Every day, they trained. They ran along the beach carrying heavy bags of sand. They trained until their bodies could barely move.

Willy wanted them to remember their failure. He wanted them to understand that another mistake would not be tolerated. Starc had also been working constantly. One morning, he was sitting in front of his computer when something caught his attention. He froze. “Brian!” Nobody answered. “Brian!” Still nothing. Brian wasn't there. Starc immediately stood up. He hurried outside. At that moment, Brian had just returned from another training session. He was exhausted and covered in sweat. He was speaking with Willy when Starc suddenly approached them. “Boss!” Willy turned around. “What is it?” Starc was breathing heavily. “You have to see something.” Willy frowned. “What is it?” “Follow me. Quickly.” Brian looked at Starc. “What happened?”

Starc didn't answer. He simply turned around and rushed back toward the computer room. Willy followed him. Brian followed as well. When they reached the room, Starc immediately sat down in front of the computer. He opened a CCTV recording. “Boss, look at this.” The footage appeared on the screen. Starc explained, “This CCTV footage was taken about a week ago at the Hong Kong border.” Willy stared at the screen. A group of Korean men could be seen arriving and moving through the area. Willy frowned. “So?” He looked at Starc. “What is wrong with this?” Starc pointed toward the screen. “Boss, look carefully.” Willy leaned closer. “Who is that?” Starc paused. Then he pointed at one of the figures. “Who is this?” Brian stepped closer. His eyes widened. He stared at the screen. Then he looked at Willy. Willy's expression suddenly changed. His eyes widened in disbelief. “What?” He moved closer to the screen. “How is that possible?”