Chapter 156: Chapter 156: The Man Called Direwolf
Vera Xavier walked over to the shopkeeper and said, "Maâam, a bag of salt, please."
The gossiping women immediately fell silent, their gazes now holding a new level of curiosity and scrutiny.
Vera Xavier simply smiled back without offering an explanation. She bought the salt and left.
She had barely taken a few steps before the women were eagerly chattering again. "So thatâs the Preston Familyâs good girl? I never noticed before, but sheâs quite pretty."
"Yeah, I always thought that since she was from the countryside, sheâd be crude and uncultured. But looking at her now, she doesnât seem so bad!"
"Isnât that the truth? Fair skin, big eyes... sheâs a rare beauty. But have you guys noticed? She doesnât resemble Preston or Langdon."
Hearing this, Vera Xavier found it both ironic and bitter. âIâm not part of the Preston Family, so of course I donât look like Zachary Preston or Rona Langdon. Itâs just... I never once thought about that in my past life.â
After hearing all this gossip, she was more or less certain that this whole affair was likely connected to Nathaniel Nathan.
She decided to call Nathaniel Nathan when she got back.
Nathaniel Nathan was in the middle of a training exercise with his squad. His eyes were narrowed, his face smeared with green paint as he weaved through a hail of gunfire. With incredible agility, he vaulted onto the opposing teamâs supply truck. In a single, fluid motion, he dabbed the special paint onto the "kill zones" of the enemy soldiers.
According to the rules, all those soldiers were now "dead."
An enemy soldier ripped the hat from his head, slammed it on the ground, and cursed. "I must have the worst fucking luck to draw Direwolf as an opponent. Taken out without firing a single shot... what a pathetic way to die!"
Another soldier clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, you got off easy, so quit complaining. I heard that in the last exercise, Direwolf absolutely brutalized some guy. Word is, he was laid up in bed for three months straight. You should be thanking your lucky stars we got taken out clean instead of being played with."
"Good point!" another soldier chimed in. "Direwolf is a total nightmare. When we run into him, even a dozen of us ganging up on him isnât enough of a challenge!"
As they were talking, a massive explosion, BOOM, echoed from a short distance away. A vehicle was blown completely upside down, and a few soldiers struggled to crawl out of the wreckage.
The soldiers exchanged glances, a look of relief for having survived a close call on their faces. They were all thankful for their good luckâbeing "killed" in one clean shot was much better than being blown to bits by Direwolf.
One of the soldiers asked, "Does it feel like Direwolf is even more unhinged this time?"
"If he wasnât unhinged, he wouldnât be Direwolf," another soldier said. "For the last six months, weâve been his personal punching bags. Heâs been running us into the ground. I wish heâd just stay on leave forever so we wouldnât have to suffer like this."
"Heâs always been wild, but doesnât he seem even crazier today? How long has this exercise been going on? How many of our guys has he taken out by himself already?"
"Now that you mention it, youâve got a point. His kill count today is definitely off the charts."
Nathaniel Nathan was, in fact, filled with pent-up rage. More accurately, he had been on edge ever since receiving the call from Master Nathan. His mind was consumed with thoughts of Vera Xavier. He was worried Aaron Cheney couldnât help her, worried the Kane Family would bully her, and worried that she wouldnât be able to handle whatever traps Rona Langdon and Cara Preston set for her.
With a fire raging in his gut, he was taking all of his frustration out on the exercise.