Chapter 103: The Appraisal Gathering (I)

“Have you made your decision? Are you sure you won’t reconsider?”

Miss Yue frowned as she looked at the three sisters before her, a hint of displeasure crossing her face.

“I’m not saying anything if you choose to follow someone else, but following that man is far too dangerous. In fact, if you choose this path, it means you’re destined to live forever amid killing and being killed. Perhaps the Commander has some feelings for you, or perhaps not. But that hardly matters. You were born in the wilderness, so you should understand this saying—life is your own.”

The three exchanged silent glances upon hearing Miss Yue’s words. Then, Eluka stepped forward to respond.

“Yes, Miss Yue, we have made our decision. Indeed, as you said, the Commander walks a path we cannot fully comprehend…”

“Then you still want to follow him?”

Miss Yue’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“To be honest, if you were driven by a noble mission like world peace or restoring order, I might understand. After all, such lofty goals, though intangible, at least make a somewhat decent excuse. But the Commander doesn’t care about those things. He’s never intended to gather followers or build a force to achieve ideals. For him, as long as there are people to kill, that’s all the fun he needs… I simply fail to understand the meaning of such a life. Do you share that kind of interest?”

“We don’t have that kind of interest at all!”

Eluka quickly waved her hands in denial. Choosing a dangerous path was one thing, but being seen as a pervert was another matter entirely. She would rather die than be considered like Ferren—a depraved man. No matter what, she could never enjoy such things!

“Then why do you insist so much? I truly cannot understand.”

Miss Yue frowned again as she spoke.

“To be honest, if I hadn’t checked your bodies and confirmed you’re all still virgins, I would have thought you were poisoned by the Commander… Hmm, really, he hasn’t touched you, has he?”

“Absolutely not!”

Though they had endured days of harsh training, Eluka blushed deeply at such a question, vigorously shaking her hands to deny it. And she was not wrong—apart from the day they first met Ferren, when he conducted a physical examination, he had never touched the girls again. Eluka had never heard the term “gentlemanly conduct,” but from her perspective, Ferren was clearly more civilized and polite than other men. The men they had seen before frequently groped women, taking chances to embrace and fondle them as a matter of routine. The best way to stop those men was to shoot them dead; once they were corpses, they would understand what could and couldn’t be touched.

After choosing to become Ferren’s subordinates, Eluka and the others had prepared themselves mentally for sacrifice. In the wasteland, this was no news—without moral or legal constraints, such matters between men and women were commonplace. Many women in teams bore dual roles: fighting and satisfying their comrades’ desires. The open atmosphere here made it normal for women in a group to be shared in turn, all in good spirits.

Ferren’s team was no exception. When the three sisters initially agreed to join him, they had prepared for this too. To avoid awkwardness, they cleaned themselves daily while awaiting Ferren’s “call.” Yet, it seemed Ferren lacked that interest. Most of his time was spent killing out of boredom or engaging in “academic discussions” with Delin—topics the sisters neither understood nor wished to.

“It’s truly strange. If he had touched you, that would be one thing, at worst you’d be too poisoned to be saved… but in your current state…”

As she spoke, Miss Yue scrutinized the three sisters with an alien’s expression, from head to toe, then shrugged helplessly.

“Fine, the path is yours to choose. Just don’t come blaming me if you die. Let’s go.”

Under Miss Yue’s lead, the sisters left the room and followed the corridor to another chamber. Upon entering, they soon spotted Ferren sipping tea inside.

“Commander!”

Seeing Ferren, Eluka called out and dashed to his side. These past days had been tough under Miss Yue’s regime. Contrary to Eluka’s expectations, the woman hadn’t forced them to learn complicated skills or knowledge. In fact, they had only been taught a few simple things:

How to stand, sit, and walk.

When speaking, whether to hold their heads high or low. How to keep their backs straight when walking, avoiding a hunched posture. What seemed simple to Eluka turned out to be far more difficult than fighting a Deathclaw unarmed. Miss Yue’s training methods were brutally straightforward.

“Don’t think, just remember with your body!”

Balancing a teacup on their heads was just the beginning. They had to sit rigidly; even the slightest slouch could earn a whip lash. Hands had to be kept behind their backs. They had to learn how to move swiftly despite wearing complicated clothes—after all, elaborate attire could lower the enemy’s guard, and using such disguises cleverly was their new lesson.

Poor as they were, the sisters had never endured such harsh training. Their skills were partly taught and partly honed through life-and-death experience in the wild. Miss Yue’s Spartan education was like teaching three monkeys from the Amazon how to queue, buy tickets, open doors, and turn off lights. It was merciless torture. They often longed for the freer days with Ferren, when a slightly improper sitting posture wouldn’t mean a whipping.

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, seeing Ferren now was like peasants finally freed after decades of oppression. Not only was Eluka visibly moved, but even Chris—usually stoic—had tears in her eyes, nearly dropping to her knees to clasp Ferren’s hands in gratitude.

“Commander!”

The youngest, Kurona, had no qualms; she practically screamed as she rushed into Ferren’s arms.

“Kurona has missed you so much…!”

“Looks like you’ve all made your decision?”

Ferren reached out and patted Kurona’s head calmly, showing no surprise. As he had told Miss Yue, no matter what the sisters chose, he didn’t care. Now that they had decided to continue following him, Ferren had no reason to object.

Life belonged to them, and their choices were theirs alone.

“Yes, we are willing to continue acting alongside the Commander.”

Eluka eagerly expressed their resolve, pulling Kurona close, while Chris nodded slightly in agreement, signifying a unanimous decision.

“Very well. Since you’ve made up your minds, I have nothing more to say. Let’s sit and watch together.”

Ferren gestured toward the sofa beside him. After a moment’s hesitation, the sisters sat on the opposite side. Only then did Ferren nod to Miss Yue.

“You may begin.”

“Understood, Doctor.”

Miss Yue rolled her eyes at Ferren, then took out a device resembling a TV remote and pressed a button.

In an instant, the entire room plunged into darkness. (To be continued.)