Chapter 327 Reversal.
Because he was the one who turned off the surveillance!
He had seen Lucine leading Amelia and the others to go after Abella, and just as Liam entered the tent, he quickly pressed the remote to turn off the screen.
The live recording was still ongoing...
It's just that Liam couldn't see it.
"What on earth is going on?" Commander Jackson was anxious, his tone edgy. He looked at Lucas with piercing eyes,
"What did your student do to Abella? Confess the truth now!" he demanded.
"Commander Jackson, don't listen to his nonsense..." Lucas became even more nervous, not understanding why Commander Jackson was so furious, but he had a bad feeling about this situation.
It was Liam who angrily interjected, "Last time, he suggested a combat competition; Abella won against Lucine. Lucine couldn't take the loss, and is probably looking for a chance to get even today. So Lucas turned a blind eye to her holding a grudge and bullying Abella!"
"That's framing and shifting blame!" Lucas defended.
"Then why don't you dare to turn on the surveillance and let everyone see for themselves!" Liam retorted.
"Turn on the surveillance—" Commander Jackson barked an order.
All the instructors were bewildered. Since when was Commander Jackson so concerned about a student??
Lucas didn't expect that Commander Jackson had no reaction to the name Lucine, instead it was Abella's name that got him so worked up...
He turned on the surveillance, and Liam snatched the remote immediately, reducing the screen to forty-nine small sections...
The screens showed students tackling various challenges...
Abella was not seen in any of the sections on screen!
Liam had a sinking feeling. He pushed Lucas aside, sat down at the computer, and started entering commands swiftly, locking onto Abella's face.
Soon, the now archived footage showing Abella appeared...
Initially, Abella was clearing the challenges smoothly, until it came to crossing an artificial lake with a rope ladder. That's when Lucine and her group showed up.
Zooming in, he saw Lucine deliberately step on the rope ladder, causing Joanna to fall into the lake, with Clare diving in to rescue her...
Next, Lucine was seen pushing Josie into the water...
That's where the surveillance footage ended!
Liam slammed the desk in fury and glared at Lucas, "Look at the fine mess your student has made! If anything happens to my students, you’re going to pay for it—for life—"
He didn't wait to assign blame, standing up to say, "Everyone, follow me to the back mountain for the rescue!"
Abella must not be harmed!
It wasn't just because of Battalion Lopez's reminders, but more importantly, she was his student!
His student ought to be well taken care of, as long as he is alive she must thrive for him to prosper!
Because the historical records that followed were deleted after Lucas hurriedly cut the feed those reviewing the video could only see the footage of Lucine pushing someone into the water; they were oblivious to the counterattack that followed...
Commander Jackson was about to step out of the tent when another instructor seated at the computer began reviewing other surveillance footage.
To his surprise, he discovered Abella appearing on several other cameras, leading a group of students through high jumps, low hurdles, tire climbs... and ultimately, successfully capturing the red flag at the finish line!
He hurriedly pushed open the tent flap and shouted loudly at Liam's retreating back, "No need to go, they..."
Before he could finish, he saw Abella and a few students, chatting and laughing as they walked towards the tent.
She's safe!! Is she really, okay?! He wondered.
Liam rushed forward, overwhelmed with emotion, "Are all of you alright..."
"Instructor, what are you talking about? What could possibly happen to us?" Samuel couldn't help but sneer playfully.
"The one in trouble is you, right? What happened to your face? Did you get into a fight?" Samuel teased.
Arthur laughed along, "Instructor, did you lose the fight?"
Liam gave Abella a thorough once-over, assured that she was unharmed, he retorted casually, "Nonsense, your instructor has never lost a fight!"
Joanna and Josie were somewhat puzzled; why were so many instructors watching them from the tent? Could it be because they obtained the red flag so quickly that it was surprising??
"There's no need to be surprised. We were following a straight-A student, and we reached the finish line in no time." Josie offered.
"To be honest, the obstacles you set up were too childish, not challenging at all!" Clare teased.
"Have the others from different classes not arrived? So weak!" Samuel scoffed.
...
Commander Jackson strode briskly through the crowd of instructors, stopping in front of Abella and looking her up and down several times.
"Student Abella, nothing untoward happened along the way, did it?" he questioned.
Several question marks popped into Abella's mind. What could have happened to her?
Seeing Commander Jackson's anxious reaction, could he know that Lucine had bullied them?
Luckily, she had hacked into the surveillance systems right after leaving the artificial lake and deleted the subsequent records...
She curled her lips into a smile, "Nothing at all."
"That's good to hear; I'm glad you're not too tired..." Commander Jackson's worried heart finally settled down, then he noticed two important figures next to him.
"Ah, Samuel and Arthur are here as well? Finally participating in the military training, what do you think? How were the challenges set up on the back hill?" Commander Jackson addressed the pair.
"Way too easy." Samuel was quick to answer.
Commander Jackson laughed, "You should leave some chances for the other students, look at them; they still haven't reached the endpoint..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Lucine storming over with a few classmates in tow!
Relying on her family background, Lucine walked straight up to Commander Jackson and, raising her voice, she reported,
"Commander, I want to file a formal complaint against Abella and Clare for pushing us into the water, preventing us from climbing ashore, and even throwing stones at our heads!"
"Our heads were all hit by stones!" Amelia chimed in, clearly unsatisfied.
The others quickly joined in, accusing Abella and Clare.
Joanna and Josie nervously clasped each other's hands. What to do? Although Lucine and her friends struck first, it was true that later on, they were indeed dealt a harsh hand by Abella and Clare...
Samuel and Arthur wanted to speak up, but they saw that Commander Jackson, who had been all smiles before, was now standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the girls with a grim expression.
"You dare come to me spouting such lies? I've seen the surveillance footage, it was you!" Commander Jackson turned towards Lucine and continued,
"You deliberately shook the rope ladder, causing this student to fall into the water, and physically pushed another student in. Did it happen or not?"
"I, I..." Lucine was dumbfounded. Hadn't her father asked the Commander to take good care of her? Was this the care she was promised? And what about Instructor Lucas... how did he let this happen.
It was at this point that she looked towards Instructor Lucas, wasn't he supposed to turn off the surveillance and stop recording when it happened?
How come Commander Jackson saw everything?? And more importantly, why wasn't Instructor Lucas speaking on her behalf right now?!
"Student Abella, besides the two female students who fell into the water, was anyone in your class injured?" Commander Jackson's tone softened slightly as he turned to Abella.
Abella answered obediently, "No."
After all, for her and Clare to be in trouble, it would have to be from the Triangle Zone group...
Commander Jackson heaved a silent sigh of relief. Thankfully, the two boys were also unharmed; otherwise, he could have lost his position today!!!
***
Chapter 328 Sabotage.
"You led the bullying of your classmates, and I will propose to the school that you be disciplined!" Commander Jackson fixed his gaze on Lucine, showing no favoritism.
"Commander Jackson..." Lucine tried to explain.
Before she could finish, Commander Jackson glared at Amelia and the others, "You will all be punished too! I will propose to the school a self-reflection essay of three thousand words, not a word less!"
"Commander Jackson..." Amelia and the others wanted to plead their case.
Commander Jackson turned to Lucas, "Today, you are to write a 10,000-word self-criticism report and be recorded for a major demerit! If you don't finish, don't even think about staying in this company!!"
Lucas knew that it was useless to say anything at the moment. He stood at attention, saluted, and responded loudly, "Yes, sir!!"
"Student Abella, you've all had a hard journey. Go back and rest. As a reward, the entire medical squad will have a day off tomorrow."
"Thank you, Company Commander." Abella handed over the red flag to him and left with a few people beside her.
"Abella, do you know the Company Commander?" Joanna couldn't help asking after they had walked a distance, "He seemed quite polite to you..."
"I don't know him." Abella said honestly.
But Commander Jackson knew her; if she had encountered trouble today, it wouldn't just be him, a company commander, who'd be implicated...
"He's an opportunist. It seems you come from a decent family background?" Samuel raised an eyebrow at Abella, suddenly taking an interest in the girl before him.
"Merely a merchant." Abella retorted.
"Your family is in business? What do they do? Our family is also in business..." Arthur began, then suddenly remembered something,
"Right, since it's the first time we've successfully cleared a challenge together, why not celebrate? Let's go for a meal?"
Abella and Clare were about to decline when they heard Joanna and Josie exclaim in unison, "Sure!"
Samuel and Arthur had helped them during the competition, and now they were both eager to treat them to a meal...
With nothing better to do, Abella and Clare decided to join them.
The university town had a shared commercial street where students from the ten universities nearby could dine and shop.
Joanna and Josie chose a small restaurant with a pleasant environment. They were eating when Isla, dressed in a military uniform, entered with a male companion.
"I feel bad always having you treat me to meals..." Isla playfully tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, revealing a coy demeanor.
The male student, who looked to be about 180 pounds and quite simple and endearing, laughed and said,
"As long as you like it, I can bring you here every day... Let's sit over there; we can enjoy the view of the lake."
Isla smiled and followed him, her gaze met Abella's, and her face soured slightly.
The table chosen by the plump student was right next to Abella's.
Isla wanted to choose another table, but on looking around, she saw every other spot was taken, so she had no choice but to compromise and sit at the next table, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
"Isla, what would you like to eat?" The plump student scanned the QR code with his phone and handed it to Isla to order.
If it had been in the past, Isla would never have considered such a modest restaurant, nor would she have had such affordable meals...
But times were different now. Every meal since the first day of military training had been paid for by an admirer...
She might as well take advantage when she could...
"These dishes will do," Isla said after ordering, sneaking another glance at the table next to her. She saw Abella eating her meal with deliberate slowness, paying her no mind at all, which made Isla breathe a sigh of relief.
"Clare, if you hadn't jumped into the water to save me today, I would have drowned! I raise this drink to you. Thank you for saving me!" Joanna lifted her beverage for a toast with Clare.
Clare smiled and replied, "Why so formal? We're dorm mates now, practically in the same boat!"
"Samuel, thank you for saving me, and Arthur, Clare, thank you for pulling me ashore..." Josie picked up a glass of strawberry drink and toasted each, then turned to Abella.
"Abella, thank you for avenging me!"
Although she had fallen into the water at that time, Josie had watched as Abella took down Lucine and her pack of cronies.
Cool was an understatement!
In her eighteen years of life, it was the first time seeing a girl so badass!
Clare had just finished her drink when she heard someone at the next table call Isla's name. She turned her head and saw the proverbial 'narrow road for enemies.'
"Isla... I'm not sure if you have a boyfriend."
After all the dishes were served, the plump boy nervously looked at the girl in front of him, cautiously declaring, "If not... I wonder if I'm worthy to be your boyfriend."
Isla lowered her eyes, blushing coyly. This fatso - just because he had treated her to a few meals, he wanted to be her boyfriend.
What a pipe dream! Isla sneered inwardly.
"You definitely have what it takes, it's just that she doesn't," Clare, not minding stirring up trouble, commented from the next table.
"Her private life is too messy. Even her fiancé left her because of it. If you don't mind and have the resolve, you'll have to try even harder. Her standards are high, you see. For her, your type is as far away as Mount Everest from her ideal." Clare said bluntly.
"Clare, what are you talking about?!" Isla was fuming with anger, biting her lip.
She couldn't believe Clare would expose her embarrassing moments like this in public, causing her such embarrassment.
All eyes around were suddenly on her...
The plump boy was stunned; that amount of information was overwhelming for him to take in.
How could this seemingly pure and innocent girl have such a chaotic private life and be abandoned by her fiancé?
Hadn't she said before that she was too busy studying since childhood and had never had a boyfriend? He thought to himself.
What in the world was going on?
"Jamie, don't listen to her nonsense. I've lost my appetite. If you believe her, then stay behind!" Infuriated, Isla grabbed her cap and left.
"Isla..." The plump boy, though unsure of the situation, instinctively followed in Isla's footsteps.
Clare was somewhat disappointed that the show had ended so abruptly. It seemed some guys just couldn't tell the difference between a white lotus and genuine purity...
Josie and Joanna were quite curious, pestering Clare to inquire about the incident. Clare didn't go into much detail, only warning them that Isla was a mean person and to not believe anything she said should they cross paths in the future.
After the meal, Samuel and Arthur left early to play ball with a few friends, while Abella and her group walked towards the dormitories.
From a distance, the four girls could see Isla at the school's west gate, speaking impatiently to a woman.
It wasn’t until they approached that they could hear some of the conversation.
Isla, visibly exasperated, demanded, "What are you doing here?"
Daisy stuffed a bag into her arms, "I heard boot camp is tough, so Mom made you some steamed buns, the ones you loved as a kid. Take them to share with your dorm mates...”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
