Chapter 134

"What's wrong?" Jack asked immediately when he noticed Sherry's expression had changed.

"Nothing."

Sherry tucked the badge into her palm, her face calm as she spoke.

Jack still had to deal with Karina—Sherry didn't want him distracted by this.

Besides, this whole thing started because of her.

If it weren't for her, Tyler wouldn't have sent someone to assassinate Jack.

So she planned to handle it herself.

Jack had actually caught Sherry's subtle movement, but since she wasn't saying anything, he wouldn't press her.

He knew Sherry. Sure, she could be stubborn sometimes, but deep down, she was someone who made her own decisions.

If she didn't want to talk about it, that meant she already had a plan.

"That's good then." Jack nodded without asking further.

"I've already sent people to handle it. Let's head back." Sherry said.

Jack nodded and followed Sherry as she turned to leave.

The two retraced their route and drove away from the mountaintop.

Before they knew it, they'd arrived at the gates of Clayton Military Academy.

This was the place where they'd once poured out countless hours of sweat and passion.

Under the night sky, those imposing gates still stood tall, like a silent elder bearing witness to generation after generation of young people and their glory days.

Sherry stopped the car, tilted her head back, and gazed at that familiar emblem, a trace of nostalgia flickering in her eyes.

"Jack..." She turned to look at the man beside her, whose expression had also softened slightly, and suggested quietly, "Want to go in and look around? Just to... relive old times?"

Jack followed her gaze toward those familiar iron gates.

Images flashed through his mind—morning physical training, tactical drills in the mud, late nights arguing heatedly with classmates over strategy plans...

But in the end, he gently shook his head.

"Nah." He said softly, a smile of acceptance tugging at his lips. "Some things are better left as memories. We're not students here anymore."

Sherry paused for a moment, then smiled too.

He was right—they'd graduated long ago, left this place behind.

Now, one of them was the powerful Quartermaster General of Imperial City.

The other was nothing less than a commanding general leading the entire military.

This place didn't belong to them anymore.

Just as the two were about to leave—

A low rumble of engines grew louder.

One after another, black sedans and SUVs rolled up like a convoy, slowly coming to a stop at the gates of Clayton Military Academy.

Doors opened, and groups of young people climbed out.

Men and women, their faces marked by traces of youth, excitement, and anticipation for the future.

Some carried backpacks, others pulled rolling suitcases, and some stood at the entrance taking commemorative photos with their parents.

Sherry raised an eyebrow slightly, watching the scene unfold with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"This year's new recruits are here." She said softly, a note of reflection in her voice.

Jack nodded, his gaze sweeping across those energetic young faces, a faint smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah," he said quietly, "another batch of fresh blood."

He looked at those young people and seemed to see his former self.

Back then, they too had walked through those gates with hearts full of passion, believing they could change the world.

And now, they really were changing the world in their own way.

Just... in a somewhat different manner.

"Let's go," Jack withdrew his gaze and looked at Sherry. "We should head back."

Sherry nodded, started the car, and disappeared from the academy entrance.

.........

"So this is Clayton Military Academy?"

Mia stared at the imposing structure before her, her heart swelling with excitement. She took a deep breath, as if trying to inhale all the solemnity and discipline that hung in the air.

Just then—

A car sped past Mia's side.

It was Sherry's car.

The sudden movement distracted Mia, and she instinctively glanced over.

Just one glance.

But in that glance, Mia saw Jack sitting in the passenger seat of Sherry's car.

She saw his eyes.

They were powerful eyes.

The kind of extreme restraint that somehow seemed capable of seeing through everything—sharp and penetrating.

Like a legendary blade hidden in its sheath, not yet revealing its edge, yet radiating an undeniable sense of pressure.

Mia's heart skipped a beat.

"That's..."

She instinctively tried to get a clearer look at the man's face, but the car window reflected the brilliant lights from the academy gates, blurring everything inside into spots of light.

In the moment Mia stood frozen, Sherry's car had already shot past her like a phantom, bringing with it a sharp gust of wind that lifted her smooth hair.

Mia stood rooted to the spot, her head still slightly turned, her gaze locked on the direction where the car had vanished into the night.

"Mia, what are you spacing out for? Come get your luggage!"

Her roommate's urging voice rang in her ears.

"...Coming."

Mia snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, and pushed down that inexplicable flutter in her chest.

She bent down, opened the car door, and dragged out her heavy suitcase.

But the moment she straightened up, she couldn't help but look back once more.

The twilight was deep—there was no trace of any car.

"Was I imagining things..."

Mia murmured to herself. She had the persistent feeling that she'd seen those eyes before.

......

That night—

Mia lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

The dorm room was quiet, filled only with her roommates' steady breathing and the occasional chirping of insects outside the window.

But inside Mia's mind, it was like countless bees buzzing around.

She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to fall asleep.

But every time she shut her eyes, those eyes would appear in the darkness.

Deep, cold, sharp.

Like the sword of Damocles hanging over her head, or like an unfathomable black hole, sucking in all her attention.

"Who was that..."

Mia suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed.

She irritably ran her fingers through her hair. She was an extremely perceptive person—her whole life, her intuition had never been wrong.

She could say with one hundred percent certainty that she hadn't been mistaken. Those eyes—she'd definitely seen them before.

But for the moment, she couldn't remember where.

"Wait..."

Suddenly—

Something clicked in Mia's mind.

She climbed out of bed.

She rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a photograph, gently running her fingers over the figure of a man's back.

The edges of the photo had yellowed slightly, clearly from being looked at countless times.

Staring at the back in the photograph—

Mia's body trembled violently.

She finally remembered where she'd seen those eyes.

It was him!

The man who'd rescued her from the pirates!