As soon as Hammer heard that Roy and Gerald were about to leave, he immediately called out to stop them.
Tonight, Hammer had not only lost eight sheep but also his pride. There was no way he'd let Roy and Gerald slip away so easily.
At Hammer's command, a few guards blocked their path.
"General Hammer, what's the meaning of this?" Roy asked, glaring at him with dissatisfaction.
Hammer waved his hand, signaling the guards to stand down, then fixed Roy with a sincere look.
"Mr. Black, I'm hoping you'll consider helping me deal with this mess. I'd owe you a personal favor," Hammer said earnestly.
He sounded almost desperate, even offering a favor, which was a big deal. Clearly, the trouble he was facing wasn't trivial.
But Roy's expression turned odd after hearing Hammer's words.
"General Hammer, did the person who suggested this to you mention that I've had a run-in with Amacham Corporation?" Roy asked.
Hammer froze. He genuinely hadn't known about this.
"Is that true?" he asked, surprised.
Gerald stepped forward to back Roy up. "It's true. Black once stumbled upon a serious bio-leak incident in Nevada. At the time, he didn't know it was caused by Amacham's secret experiments, and that led to a conflict. Afterward, Amacham tried multiple times to make trouble for Roy. Just a few months ago, FEA headquarters warned Amacham's chairman, Genevieve Aristide, to back off."
Hammer's face darkened instantly. "That damn Amacham Corporation! They dared to use me!" he cursed, realizing he'd been played.
Gerald, meanwhile, seized the moment to fan the flames with a sly tone. "Exactly. Amacham's been getting more brazen these past few years. Take that Nevada incident—they tried to wipe out an entire town with mercenaries to cover their tracks. Seems like Amacham's forgotten why they even have their current status with the Pentagon."
Hammer's face grew so dark it could rival Gerald's. For a traditional patriot like Hammer, Amacham's actions were way over the line.
Amacham had earned its Pentagon connections by supplying resources during World War II. To an old-school soldier like Hammer, their behavior was a betrayal.
Gerald didn't push further. Saying too much might seem deliberate and could backfire if Hammer caught on later.
"I'll settle accounts with Amacham later, but first, we need to deal with the problem at hand," Hammer said, turning to Roy. "Mr. Black, can I trust you?"
Roy exchanged a glance with Gerald.
Truth be told, a favor from a powerful Navy lieutenant general was no small thing. But Roy didn't know much about Hammer's background, so he hesitated.
"General Hammer, I need to discuss this with Mr. Olin before deciding. Can we have some privacy?" Roy asked.
"Of course," Hammer replied.
Roy and Gerald walked to the far end of the aircraft carrier's deck, hundreds of meters from Hammer. Even shouting wouldn't carry that far.
In the distance, FEA agents were working through the night under a rickety offshore drilling platform, their spotlights turning the area bright as day.
"Mr. Olin, what do you know about this Lieutenant General Frank Hammer?" Roy asked.
"I've heard of him," Gerald replied. "He's a very old-school soldier, doesn't tolerate any nonsense. The Pentagon speaks highly of him, and the rank-and-file soldiers respect him deeply."
Gerald shared more about Hammer, painting a fuller picture in Roy's mind: a man who rose from the bottom through military merit, cared deeply for his troops, and was stubbornly traditional. It was a familiar archetype in movies, but rare in real-life America.
Roy rubbed his chin, thinking it over, then looked at Gerald. "Mr. Olin, do you think General Hammer's reliable?"
Gerald had a hunch about Roy's intentions. When someone asks a question like that, they usually already have an answer in mind—they just need a reason to go with it.
So Gerald began to break it down. "Mr. Black, overall, General Hammer's pretty trustworthy. You saw how he handled losing that bet earlier. Amacham's been so bold because of their strong Pentagon ties. I think it's worth building alliances within the military to counter them."
Hammer's reaction showed he was already fed up with Amacham. With a little push, he could become a key player in an anti-Amacham military faction.
Roy was tired of Amacham's constant scheming. This was a chance to take the fight to them and keep them too busy to pull their usual stunts.
"You make a good point," Roy said. "I'll work with General Hammer then."
Gerald grinned. "I can't wait to see the look on Bartholomew's face."
"Same here!" Roy replied.
Later, a warship quietly broke away from the carrier group and headed toward the Hawaiian Islands.
Roy slept until noon the next day, waking up in the warm equatorial climate. It was his first time sleeping on a warship, and the experience felt fresh.
Too bad there wasn't a pretty female soldier to share the night with. Hammer might need Roy's help, but he wasn't that desperate.
At the ship's mess hall, Roy's appetite shocked the American soldiers. There's an old saying: the more you eat, the stronger you are. In ancient times, a warrior's strength was often judged by how much they could eat. That's where the phrase "Is Lian Po too old to eat?" comes from.
In the strength-worshipping American military, eating a lot was a badge of honor. Some soldiers even recognized Roy as the new Olympic heavyweight boxing champion and came over for autographs.
Knowing Roy's massive appetite, the mess hall went all out to keep him fed, leaving him thoroughly satisfied.
At least Hammer's attitude was solid, and Roy's impression of him started to improve.
"Mr. Black, how'd you sleep last night?" Hammer asked, suddenly appearing in the mess hall with a tray of food and sitting across from Roy.
Roy glanced at Hammer's plate—it was piled high, almost like a young athlete's portion. Normally, younger guys eat more because of growth and fast metabolism. But at Hammer's age, appetites usually shrink. Roy wondered if Hammer was trying to show off after seeing Roy devour eight sheep the night before.
"Slept great, nice and sound," Roy replied.
Hammer flashed a stiff smile. Honestly, Roy wished he wouldn't. The smile was uglier than Gerald's, scary enough to give kids nightmares. Didn't Hammer's kids get childhood trauma from that face?
"Good to hear. I was a bit worried you wouldn't sleep well," Hammer said, starting on his lunch.
He ate at a steady pace, not wolfing it down like Roy. Roy noticed the soldiers around them didn't bat an eye at Hammer's presence.
"General Hammer, do you always eat in the main mess hall?" Roy asked.
"Yep, unless there's a special guest, I eat with the soldiers here," Hammer said.
Roy understood why Gerald said Hammer was so respected by the rank-and-file. A general eating in the mess hall every day was far more relatable than some officer hiding in their quarters sipping wine and eating gold-crusted lamb.
But respect aside, Hammer had clearly taken too much food today. He slowed down, each bite looking like torture.
Roy, holding back a laugh, couldn't resist. "General, if it's too much, don't force it. It's not good for you."
His well-meaning advice only sparked Hammer's stubbornness. "Who said I can't handle it? Wasting food is shameful in the military!"
With that, Hammer shoved the last few pieces of bread into his mouth, nearly gagging. He covered his mouth to avoid embarrassment.
"Mr. Black, after lunch, come to my office. I'll step out for a bit," Hammer said, rushing off, probably to the bathroom to throw up.
Roy shook his head. He'd warned the old man not to overdo it, but Hammer wouldn't listen. Now look at him.
After finishing his own lunch, Roy was about to ask a soldier for directions to Hammer's office when a brunette woman in a military uniform approached.
"Mr. Black, follow me," she said.
Roy looked up, feeling like he'd seen her before. Then it clicked—she looked like Perkins, the assassin hired by Viggo Tarasov to kill John Wick in John Wick (played by Adrianne Palicki). What was she doing here instead of working at the Continental?
Noticing Roy's unabashed stare, the woman's eyes flashed with annoyance. She hated being gawked at, even if Roy was a rare handsome guy.
In her mind, good-looking guys were synonymous with pretty boys and weaklings. Sure, Roy looked muscular, but muscles didn't mean fighting skills. Gym rats with steroid-pumped "dead" muscles were just for show, useless in a real fight.
"Mr. Black, are you listening?" she snapped, pulling Roy out of his thoughts.
He flashed a sunny smile. "Ma'am, may I have your name?"
Her irritation grew. As Hammer's guest, Roy wasn't someone she could brush off, so she answered stiffly, "You can call me Miss Jay. Can we go to the general's office now?"
Jay sounded like a codename. Roy hadn't expected Hammer to have such a beauty by his side, keeping her hidden like that.
"Lead the way," Roy said, mentally grumbling about Hammer as he followed Jay out of the mess hall.
In the warship's largest office, Hammer looked rough—probably from vomiting too much. At his age, he should've known when to quit.
"General, I've brought him," Jay said.
"Mr. Black, good to see you," Hammer replied.
Jay, having completed her task, stood behind Hammer.
"General Hammer, is this about the mission?" Roy asked.
"Yes. Let Intelligence Officer Jay brief you on the situation. Miss Jay, tell Roy about Project Canyon," Hammer said.
After vomiting, the throat feels raw, and talking's a pain—Hammer was clearly in that state, so he passed the task to Jay.
"General, Project Canyon is top-secret. How can we tell him?" Jay asked, apparently unaware of Hammer's plan to involve Roy.
Hammer rubbed his temples, exasperated. "I know it's classified. I've authorized FEA Agent Roy Black to be briefed. He'll handle the mess with Project Canyon."
Jay's shock deepened. "This pretty boy?"
Roy shot her a glare. He hated being called a pretty boy. What's wrong with being handsome? It's not like he was eating her food.
And small? Please, she wouldn't be able to handle… ahem!
"Mr. Black has handled many dangerous incidents. He's perfect for Project Canyon. Miss Jay, no more arguments—follow orders!" Hammer said firmly.
At the mention of orders, Jay clammed up. She turned Hammer's laptop toward Roy and played a video showing a lush tropical island.
"This island in the Pacific is called Mist Island," Jay began. "Years ago, a fisherman discovered it and saw species unlike anything else. The federal government sealed it off."
Roy studied the video. "Why call it Mist Island? I don't see any mist."
"The island's central canyon is shrouded in fog year-round, and that's where the unique species are. About ten years ago, the Pentagon partnered with Amacham to study the canyon's special lifeforms. But recently, we lost all contact with the research base there."
Great, another classic bio-leak incident. America seemed to need a yearly spill to feel complete.
Miss Jay (Adrianne Palicki)