It was official. Qin Bing had named Xiao Ke the new Centurion.
By noon, the Orca Camp's mess hall was already serving lunch, with extra rations thrown in to celebrate the promotion. But Xiao Ke, still caked in the sweat and grime from his brutal fight with Qiao Dong, headed straight for the showers.
When he emerged, a crisp, new Centurion's uniform was laid out for him. Beside it was the formal appointment letter, his name inked in bold script.
Duan Canglong and Luo Hou were celebrating like the victory was their own.
"Chief, get it on!" Duan Canglong said, holding up the uniform. "It's time to show those ass-kissers who were slobbering all over Qiao Dong who's really in charge of this camp."
"Damn right," Luo Hou added. "And it's payback time."
Xiao Ke just smiled and pulled on the new gear. The uniform was still black, but the cut was sharper, more tailored than the standard-issue fatigues. With different trim and the new insignias on his shoulder and sleeve, the uniform transformed him. He looked every bit the commander.
When he walked into the mess hall with his crew, the place fell quiet. Men snapped to their feet, saluting. "Sir."
You could see the panic flickering in the eyes of the veterans—the ones who hadn't been in camp long. When the rivalry between him and Qiao Dong was at its peak, they had all bet on the wrong horse, openly backing Qiao Dong and shunning Xiao Ke. Now, with Xiao Ke in command, they were terrified, especially the Decurions like Liu Jinquan, who feared they were about to be stripped of their rank.
But Xiao Ke played it cool, greeting everyone with a calm smile, showing no hint of favoritism or old grudges.
He sat with Duan Canglong and Luo Hou. One by one, nearly every Decurion came by to pay their respects. The only one missing was Qiao Dong.
"Heard that bastard Qiao Dong juiced himself up with some kind of potential-enhancer to hit a Level 3 warrior that fast," Duan Canglong said, keeping his voice low. "The fight wrecked him. They're saying the backlash from the drug was so bad that even if he recovers, his fighting days are over."
"Where would a broke grunt like him get his hands on that kind of expensive stuff?" Luo Hou wondered.
"Come on, who do you think?" Duan Canglong scoffed. "Qiao Mingxuan, the Centurion from the White Shark Camp. You saw how Qiao Dong was always sneaking off to meet him. My guess is Mingxuan still has a grudge against us, but didn't have the balls to come after you directly, not while you're under the Commander's protection. So he propped up a puppet to do his dirty work."
"That son of a bitch," Luo Hou growled. "We still haven't settled up with him for stealing our credit for the Hellhound mission."
"I did some digging," Duan Canglong said. "Apparently, Mingxuan is the illegitimate son of someone powerful, so he gets special treatment. Plus, he's already a Level 5 General. We're just Level 1 grunts. Taking him on right now would be suicide."
"So we just let it go?" Luo Hou pushed back. "The stolen credit, him using Qiao Dong to screw with our Chief… we just eat it?"
"Hell no, we don't let it go," Duan Canglong countered. "But we're not strong enough to make a move yet. Before we even think about him, we need to clean our own house and deal with the snakes who were loyal to Qiao Dong right here in our own camp."
"Right," Luo Hou nodded grimly.
Xiao Ke listened quietly, a small, unreadable smile on his face.
Just then, another soldier approached their table. "Centurion," he said, "Commander Qin Bing requests your presence in her private dining room."
Qin Bing usually ate in her own quarters, but she occasionally used a private room in the mess hall. Hearing she'd summoned him, Xiao Ke immediately got up and headed over. He knocked. "Centurion Xiao Ke, reporting as ordered."
"Come in," her voice called from inside.
The room was simple: a small table set for two, with a few side dishes. One set of utensils was hers; the other was untouched.
"Sit," she said, gesturing to the empty seat. "Eat. We need to talk."
Xiao Ke felt a surge of surprise but sat. "Yes, Commander."
"Two things," she began, her tone all business. "First, you are the Centurion now. These two hundred men are your responsibility. Get them in line. I will not tolerate infighting or anything that compromises this unit's morale and combat readiness. Is that clear?"
"Understood," Xiao Ke said.
"However," she continued, "I'm aware that many of these men backed Qiao Dong. If you don't stamp your authority on this camp now, they'll hesitate on the battlefield. They won't follow your orders when it counts. So I'm giving you a green light—today only. You have my permission to appoint, transfer, or demote any Decurion or squad leader as you see fit. Do you understand what I'm offering you?"
She was giving him the power to purge the camp, to replace Qiao Dong's loyalists with his own men, and seize absolute control. It was a test and a gift.
"I already have a plan, Commander," Xiao Ke replied.
She nodded, satisfied. "Good. Second thing: Qiao Mingxuan's scouts reported a horde of zombies heading for Ginkgo Town—over 200 of them. I don't want that fight happening inside the town walls; the risk of infection is too high. Tomorrow night, I'm leading a team out to ambush them. It'll be a good field test for the recruits. Be ready."
"Yes, Commander!"
They finished their meal in silence. When they were done, Qin Bing left first. Xiao Ke stepped out to find his men had also finished eating. They all headed back to the barracks for some afternoon rest.
But they'd barely gotten inside when Liu Jinquan showed up, a smug look on his face and a stack of letters in his hand.
"What's this?" Xiao Ke asked.
"Sir," Liu Jinquan said with a sycophantic grin, "these are letters from warriors in the camp, all written to Qiao Dong. Found them in his locker."
Xiao Ke's eyes narrowed. "And you brought another man's private mail to me… why?"
"Sir, these aren't just letters. This is proof!" Liu Jinquan said eagerly. "Most of these guys aren't even from his squad. They were all pledging loyalty to him, promising to follow him. Some of them… some of them are from your own First Squad, sir. Your men."
"Traitors," Duan Canglong spat. "I knew we had snakes in our own squad."
"This makes it easy," Luo Hou said, his eyes hard. "We just go down the list and root out every last one of them."
"And not just in our squad," Duan Canglong added. "Let's see who else was kissing his ass. We need to make an example of every two-faced, spineless leech in this camp."
Xiao Ke said nothing. He calmly took the stack of letters from Liu Jinquan. Then his voice cut through the air, low and sharp.
"Liu Jinquan."
"Sir!"
"Pass the word. All warriors, Orca Camp. Training ground. Now."
"Yes, sir!" Liu Jinquan beamed, thinking his gamble had paid off. He scurried away to carry out the order.
Soon, the entire camp was assembled on the training ground. The air was thick with tension and nervous whispers. Word had spread fast: Xiao Ke had the letters. He knew who had betrayed him.
Those who had written them, especially the men from Xiao Ke's own squad, looked pale as ghosts. They were finished.
Even Qin Bing had appeared, watching silently from the edge of the field, curious to see how her new Centurion would handle his first real test of command.
Xiao Ke walked to the front of the formation, his gaze sweeping across the nearly two hundred faces before him.
"I called you here because of these," he said, his voice carrying across the silent yard as he held up the letters. "I'm told these are pledges of loyalty, written to Qiao Dong. I brought you here to address this, and to talk about the future of this camp."
All eyes were locked on him.
He motioned to Duan Canglong. Then, in front of everyone, he gave a simple command.
"Burn them."
Duan Canglong froze. "Sir? We haven't even read them. How are we supposed to punish the traitors and—"
He stopped short when he met Xiao Ke's gaze. The look in his commander's eyes was like steel.
"Understood," Duan Canglong said, his voice barely a whisper. "Burning them now."
He took out a lighter. As the whole camp watched in stunned silence, he set the letters ablaze. Flames licked at the edges of the paper, turning the words of betrayal and ambition into ash.
Xiao Ke let the silence hang for a moment before speaking again, his voice calm but ringing with absolute authority.
"The past is over. What's done is done. From this day forward, I am your Centurion, and you are my warriors. I will be the first into the fight, and I will lead you to glory. Follow me, and I promise you wealth, rank, women—everything you're fighting for."
He paused, and his eyes found Liu Jinquan in the crowd. His voice dropped, becoming lethally cold.
"But if any of you try to pull the same backstabbing crap again… just look at what happened to Qiao Dong. That will be your future."
A bead of sweat traced a path down Liu Jinquan's temple.
For a heartbeat, there was only the crackle of the dying fire. Then, Duan Canglong and Luo Hou roared.
"WHERE THE CENTURION GOES, WE FOLLOW! TO THE DEATH!"
The cry was picked up by another soldier, then another, until the entire training ground erupted in a single, thunderous chant.
"TO THE DEATH!"
"TO THE DEATH!"
In that moment, all doubt vanished. All fear and resentment were burned away with the letters. There was only the fire in their blood and the man who stood before them. There was only their Centurion.