I only wanted to retire, but I ended up becoming an extremely popular character.

Inside the villa, in Zod's office.

Thirty minutes earlier, Hitis had arrived at Zod's office on time.

But 30 minutes later, Zod still hasn't arrived at the office.

Hitis was so angry that she paced back and forth in her small office like a cat on a hot tin roof, cursing Zod hundreds of times in her mind.

She really wanted to leave the office and come back later, too lazy to deal with this lieutenant who had no sense of time.

But then she thought again that she couldn't leave Zod any leverage over her. They say a new broom sweeps clean, especially since Zod emphasized that it was an urgent mission.

So Hitis patiently waited for another 20 minutes before Zod slowly opened the office door.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Warrant Officer Hitis."

Zod scratched the back of his head and smiled apologetically.

"Not long, about an hour." Warrant Officer Hitis's lips twitched.

This small incident is enough to infer that a commander like Zod, who has no sense of time, cannot possibly have very strong command abilities.

Upon hearing Hitis's somewhat complaining tone, Zod explained apologetically, "Sorry, I found a mouse in the room, which took up a bit of time. I feel like I won't be able to sleep peacefully at night unless I get rid of the mouse."

Hitis raised a cold, beautiful eyebrow: "So, Lieutenant, have you dealt with the rats?"

"Okay, all cleaned up. I should be able to get a good night's sleep tonight. Now let's get down to business."

Zod smiled and nodded, getting straight to the point: "Warrant Lieutenant Hitis, according to Colonel Xavier's orders, our next mission is to launch a surprise attack on Clock Tower."

"A surprise attack on Clock Tower Town? But isn't that behind the Holy Land defense line?"

When Hitis heard about the mission at first, she was clearly very surprised and confused.

However, Hitis quickly grasped the true intention behind the so-called surprise attack on Clock Tower Town: "The real target is the Cannon Fortress?"

"As expected of Warrant Officer Hitis, I heard from Colonel Xavier that you are an excellent Imperial officer."

Zod had just taken over the squad and was still quite inexperienced. Saying some words of praise would help him build a better relationship with his subordinate officers.

"You flatter me," Hitis replied modestly.

Zod took out a battle map and spread it out on the table: "Come here and take a look."

He gestured for Hitis to come closer to examine the map, and then relayed Colonel Xavier's strategic intentions to Hitis in their entirety.

"Lieutenant, to put it simply, our objective for this operation is to capture Clock Tower Town as much as possible, clearing obstacles for the special forces and buying them space and time."

Hitis summarized the objectives of this operation and made a final confirmation.

Zod pointed to the location of Clock Tower on the map: "That's right. The operation is scheduled for nightfall two days from now. After our surprise attack on our side draws the enemy's fire from Clock Tower, the special forces will take the opportunity to detour around Clock Tower and destroy the giant cannon fortress further behind."

"Lieutenant, I have a question."

"explain!"

"How do we avoid the enemy's defense zone? Once a firefight breaks out, our squad might not even see the shadow of Clock Tower before being surrounded by the enemy and becoming dust under their artillery fire." Hitis frowned slightly and gently bit her thumb.

Everyone was aware of the risks of this operation. To carry out a surprise attack deep into enemy-occupied territory was tantamount to dancing with death. One wrong move and they could be doomed.

Zod feigned nonchalance: "We don't need to worry about that. Before the operation, the 'Imperial Blade' legion's reconnaissance units will find a safe enough route for our squad."

Meanwhile, Zod was already making another plan in his mind.

"So our current task is to wait for the corps' next instructions in two days, right?" Hitis hesitated for a moment, "Lieutenant, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

"Yes! I've finished explaining the combat mission assigned by Colonel Xavier."

Zod stared intently at Hitis, a faint smile playing on his lips: "But personally, there's something I need to tell Warrant Officer Hitis."

"What is it?" Upon hearing Zod's tone, Hitis suddenly became somewhat wary.

Zod cut to the chase: "I want to make a bet with Warrant Officer Hitis."

Zod had to get Warrant Officer Hitis to accept this bet, no matter what.

This will directly affect Zod's survival rate in the upcoming missions.

In other words, even if the methods are somewhat despicable, Zod has to do everything he can to survive.

Warrant Officer Hitis sneered: "Oh? What kind of bet?"

Zod grinned: "When our squad arrives at Clock Tower, we'll split into two groups to see who can take the central square of Clock Tower first."

Hitis, intrigued, pressed on, "So, Lieutenant, what are the stakes?"

Being able to act independently without being restrained by Zod made Hitis more than happy.

Of course, this is also a good opportunity for her to prove herself with her abilities.

Adding some stakes would undoubtedly make the game much more interesting.

After hearing Hitis talk about the bet, Zod already knew he was 9% sure of success.

Of course, Zod wouldn't hesitate to offer his most valuable bet: "How about I bet my second lieutenant rank?"

"What do you mean?" Hitis appeared calm on the surface, but her heart was in turmoil.

Zod turned around and looked at the double-headed eagle flag symbolizing the Empire on the wall: "If you take over the central square of Clock Tower first, I will personally go to Colonel Xavier to resign and step down, and ask you for credit so that you can become a lieutenant."

Anyway, Zod didn't care about the so-called second lieutenant rank. He was overjoyed to be able to resign and retire unscathed.

It would be even better if he could be sent back to his original unit.

"What if you were to occupy the central square of Clock Tower Town first?" Hitis asked in return.

Zod's lips curled into a quick smile, a sly glint in his eyes: "If I capture the central square of Clock Tower Town first, you will have to carry out any military orders I issue from now on, one hundred percent."

However, this situation is absolutely impossible.

Because the ultimate winner will undoubtedly be Hitis.

The stakes were nothing more than a carrot dangling in front of the donkey, bait that drove Hitis to pull the millstone with all her might.

Zod only ever wanted to retire; he would never steal credit from Hitis, much less risk his life to conquer a target he had no interest in.

This betting arrangement allows both parties to get what they want, so why not?

Hitis pinched her chin, a smirk playing on her lips. "Oh? Do you think I'm not obedient enough?"

She believed she had acted obediently enough to Zod's orders, and even tried her best to suppress her dissatisfaction with Zod.

She is quite confident in her acting skills.

"Is that so?" Zod chuckled sarcastically. "Then wouldn't it be better if you listened to me even more from now on? How about it? Deal?"

In fact, Zod sensed something was off when he first entered the hall and saw Hitis and her soldiers.

Hitis and her soldiers were clearly not very welcoming of Zod's arrival.

Zod quickly understood the reason: it was because he and Cassius, these two uninvited guests, had taken the officer positions that originally belonged to Hitis and the others.

Zod believed that making such a bet was reasonable.

Zod was simply returning the rank that rightfully belonged to Hitis to her; it made perfect sense.

"Of course, deal!"

For Hitis, winning this bet would give her a chance to be promoted to second lieutenant.

Even if she loses... no, she won't lose. She's a real warrant officer in the "Imperial Blade" Legion, fundamentally different from some random lieutenant who just parachuted in from who-knows-where.

And the moment Zod heard Hitis readily say "Deal"...

He knew then that the other party had taken the bait!