Chapter 281

The moment Lieutenant Carter left, Miles Sutton and the others crowded around Aria Bennett.

"What mission do you think they'll assign us this afternoon?" Ezra Vaughn rubbed his hands together eagerly.

Aria twirled a keychain around her finger. "Probably sending us to crack the biometric lock on the armory depot."

With mutated zombies, flora, and fauna posing a triple threat, the Sanctuary Base needed weapons more than ever.

Only fools would leave an armory untouched.

"Finally! We can ditch these crappy kitchen knives!" Miles high-fived his teammates in excitement.

Ronan Caldwell delivered a cold dose of reality: "Dream on. The depot needs Aria's lockpicking skills, not you noobs."

Their enthusiasm deflated instantly.

Was this world even fair? They couldn't even get proper weapons?

"Aria..." The trio turned pleading eyes on her, like three hungry puppies begging for scraps.

Amused, Aria chuckled. "Fine, I'll put in a word for you."

"You're the best!" They immediately perked up.

She rolled her eyes. "Who's your 'bro'? I'm a certified beauty, thank you very much."

The group fell silent.

Beautiful? Absolutely. But after witnessing her dismantle zombies barehanded, who would dare treat her like some delicate girl?

A goddess of her caliber was meant to be admired from afar—never trifled with.

Ezra quickly changed the subject. "Think anyone will come to buy intel today?"

"Patience," Ronan adjusted his glasses. "Once they hit enough dead ends, they'll come crawling to us."

Aria nodded in agreement.

With the base on high alert, they decided to lounge in their quarters.

"So bored..." Miles sprawled on the couch. "Wish we could game."

"Then let's game." Aria waved a phone. "Those we scavenged from the lab should have some installed."

"No signal, remember?" Declan Ross looked baffled.

With a mysterious smile, Aria pulled out her laptop and typed furiously.

Five minutes later.

"Done." She tossed the phones back.

Miles opened a game and nearly dropped his jaw. "Holy—! You turned single-player into LAN mode? What kind of sorcery is this?"

"Basic skills. No need to worship." Aria calmly selected her hero.

A 3v3 match began.

Miles puffed his chest. "Not to brag, but we three are top-tier ranked!"

Five matches later.

"Mercy, oh great one!" Miles wailed, clinging to Aria's leg. "A support getting a pentakill? Since when is that a thing?"

The livestream chat exploded:

[LMAO Miles's whole worldview just shattered]

[Queen Aria: Surprise, I was pro-gamer]

[Worst gaming experience ever.jpg]

At the start of the sixth round, Declan looked ready to cry. "Aria, give us a fighting chance?"

She smirked. "Call me 'Daddy' and I'll go easy."

"Daddy!" They chorused instantly.

Ezra nearly fell off the couch laughing.

This game was officially unplayable.