Colonel Hammond asked around, but not a single person volunteered.
Everyone had bought their way up the ranks, of course none of them were willing to risk their lives.
And that was the current state of the 88th Branch Base.
All the NCOs and junior officers were just taking up space and drawing paychecks, barely anyone was actually doing real work.
In the end, Colonel Hammond even looked toward Captain Petyr Dash.
"Me? Then who's going to manage all the base affairs?"
With just that one sentence, Colonel Hammond backed off.
After all, the base's daily operations really couldn't run without Petyr Dash, the "Chief Steward."
If he were only gone for a day or two, maybe it wouldn't be a big deal. But if he were away for too long, or if something happened to him, the base would be in chaos.
"If none of you are willing to go, then we'll draw lots."
"Whoever gets picked goes. Fair and square."
"If you've got a problem with that, strip off your uniform and get the hell out!"
Colonel Hammond finally lost his temper.
Everyone immediately shut their mouths.
No one wanted to go, obviously, but if it came down to actually giving up their ranks and positions, they weren't willing to do that either.
Sure, they spent a lot of money to get promoted, but they'd also made plenty of money in return.
And what is the Marine?
Only the largest armed enforcement body under the World Government!
Who isn't afraid of them?
Soon, the results of the draw came out.
A warrant officer, face full of dread, was picked to take on the mission, recover the body and investigate the killer.
Everyone else dispersed gleefully, relieved that it wasn't them.
Jay acted no differently from the rest.
Originally, his chances of getting promoted anytime soon were pretty slim.
But there's always an exception.
If enough NCO and junior officer positions opened up… wouldn't that give him an opportunity?
"Don't let me down, Boness."
He looked up at the sky, squinting as the bright sunlight hit his eyes.
In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed.
And during those ten days, the entire base was on edge.
NCOs and junior officers were all walking on eggshells.
Because starting from that day, Colonel Hammond sent out three different teams, one led by a warrant officer, another by an ensign, and the last by a lieutenant.
But all three teams… were wiped out!
Not a single survivor, the killer took them all out cleanly.
Based on the wounds on the bodies, the only thing they could infer was: "The perpetrator is skilled with a blade."
Everything else? Unknown.
This made Colonel Hammond absolutely furious.
Just yesterday, he smashed up his own massive office, cursing everyone as worthless trash.
Those who heard him just rolled their eyes, nobody took it seriously.
Worthless? Fine, they were all worthless anyway.
But only Jay knew the real reason why those teams were so easily taken out.
Yes, they were useless, but more importantly, he'd been acting as a mole, leaking their information.
Transponder snails weren't easy to come by, but Daz Boness already had one, so their communication was simple.
Number of personnel, appearance and height, weapons and gear, rank and strength, personality flaws, estimated location…
With intel that detailed, if Boness couldn't pull off a clean kill, Jay would seriously start questioning the reputation of this infamous West Blue assassin.
As for whether anyone would suspect him?
Jay wasn't worried at all. After all, the intel was gathered by Buck, and the killings were done by Boness. What did any of it have to do with him?
He just wondered how much longer the Colonel could hold out.
Right after lunch, Jay was "summoned."
All remaining NCOs and junior officers at the base were called together.
Colonel Hammond's eyes were bloodshot, he didn't even bother lighting a cigar. Clearly, the pressure was getting to him.
"I'm sure you've all heard what's been happening."
"I won't waste time. Whoever finds the killer will be promoted by one rank!"
"If you can capture or kill the perpetrator, I'll promote you again, on the spot!"
"You have five days. If the mission isn't completed, you'll all be court-martialed. If no one steps up, then everyone gets demoted. Your choice."
This time, Colonel Hammond wasn't bothering with drawing lots.
Because even if someone was picked, they still wouldn't go.
So many had died already, no one was that stupid. Worst case, they'd just quit the Marine.
But Colonel Hammond couldn't afford that luxury. He had to solve this problem, at the very least, he needed to find out who was targeting him from the shadows.
There's no such thing as guarding against thieves every day of the year.
The many merchant associations he was entangled with brought him steady, generous profits every quarter.
If things kept going like this, not only would his own interests suffer, his entire network of partners would never allow it!
So those business ties had to be protected.
Even if more Marine men had to die, so be it.
There were always more recruits. He could just bring in new ones, promote a fresh batch, and the base would keep running.
Everyone looked at each other, seeing both temptation and fear in each other's eyes.
Same as always, nobody didn't want a promotion.
Especially when capturing or killing the killer meant a double promotion!
What did that mean?
For someone like Jay, a sergeant, it meant skipping over staff sergeant and directly becoming a warrant officer!
Crossing from NCO into officer ranks in one leap, becoming a full-fledged junior officer of the Marine.
That kind of promotion? Like riding a rocket.
Others felt the same excitement, especially the only remaining lieutenant.
If he got promoted twice, he'd become a proper major!
He might even be sent to HQ for advanced training, then transferred to a better base to take charge of actual affairs. That would be a dream come true.
After all, the four seas' branch bases usually only had one field officer, typically a colonel.
Bases that have a colonel, a lieutenant colonel, and a major stationed at the same time are extremely rare.
The 88th Branch Base was no exception.
Colonel Hammond served as both the base commander and the overall leader, while Captain Petyr Dash handled all the daily affairs within the base.
Colonel Hammond also held the authority to appoint and promote both junior officers and NCOs.
However, when it came to promoting someone to the rank of major, even Colonel Hammond could only submit a report to higher-ups and hope for the best.
So the promise he made just now was actually incredibly generous.
But on the flip side, it also meant the difficulty level was sky-high.
To find the killer and capture them within five days, how hard was that?
A court-martial was no joke.
Even if you weren't killed by the murderer and managed to escape back alive, you'd still be facing death.
Most people had no confidence whatsoever, so after that initial flash of temptation, they quickly calmed down and kept their mouths shut.
In the midst of this eerie silence, everyone was filled with anxiety, constantly throwing glances at the people around them, hoping someone else would take on the mission.
It wasn't that they were being overly humble, its just that if no one accepted, then everyone would be demoted!
Colonel Hammond's speech had completely cut off their way out.