Ryan Shaw didn’t care one bit what anyone else thought.
He stood by what he’d said: if she was just here to put on a show, she was welco to join another unit.
She just shouldn’t co to his squad and corrupt its culture.
Ryan Shaw was already reeling from so sudden bad news and hadn’t yet recovered.
Then, he had to deal with soone as pretentious as Catherine Linden, which only soured his mood further.
To make matters worse, the weather was not cooperating today.
In the middle of sumr, the worst part wasn’t the scorching heat, but the oppressive low pressure and suffocating humidity that ca just before a storm.
It all seed to echo his own gloomy mood, causing Ryan Shaw to quicken his pace as he ran.
Even though he’d been the last to start, he gradually overtook every mber of the Third Squad and beca the first to reach the finish line.
Levi Vance knew Catherine Linden was coming today. However, he’d been out on business when she arrived, so he was just now coming over to check on things.
As soon as he got there, he heard mbers from the other squads secretly complaining that Ryan Shaw had forced everyone on a five-kiloter run.
Ryan Shaw was lost in thought. When he stopped, he rembered to check his stopwatch but completely failed to notice Levi Vance standing nearby.
It wasn’t until Vance walked up to him with his hands clasped behind his back that Ryan Shaw saluted him. "Vance."
"I hear you sent them on a run? Is Catherine Linden with them?"
Ryan Shaw nodded.
Levi Vance hesitated, then said diplomatically, "She’s just a young woman, after all. She’s only here to get a feel for life in the detachnt. It’s not like she’s actually trying to beco a special police officer. Don’t be so harsh. Know when to back off."
Vance’s underlying ssage was clear: he wanted Ryan Shaw to stop pushing the young woman so hard.
Normally, Ryan Shaw would have turned a blind eye and let it slide.
But unfortunately for them, he was in a bad mood right now.
"Then you should move her sowhere else, Vance. She doesn’t belong here. Going easy on her would just tell my team that it’s okay to slack off during training. When it’s ti for the real thing, I’d be getting them killed."
"..."
For a mont, Levi Vance was at a loss for words.
Everything Ryan Shaw said was right. He wasn’t wrong.
But in this era of peace, how many "real things" could there possibly be?
Besides, who said he wasn’t training his team properly? She was a famous actress; how could she be treated the sa as a regular special police officer?
Vance also keenly sensed that Ryan Shaw seed to be in a foul mood.
He decided not to waste any more words. He’d talk to Catherine Linden later and suggest she move to a different unit.
He sighed and walked away, his hands clasped behind his back.
After reaching the finish line, Ryan Shaw sat on a rubber tire, watching his stopwatch and waiting.
The passing ti for the five-kiloter light-pack cross-country run was 23 minutes, but now...
Ryan Shaw glanced at his stopwatch. It had been 47 minutes, and the two team mbers and Catherine Linden were still nowhere to be seen.
The team mbers who had finished earlier had already completed a round of rest and were now standing at attention, yet there was still no sign of the three.
Five minutes later, Catherine Linden finally returned, supported on either side by the two team mbers.
As soon as the two young n got back, they reported, "Captain Shaw, Catherine Linden got heatstroke! She also fell and scraped her knee!"
The two of them had wanted to get closer to Catherine Linden from the start.
So after the run began, especially after Ryan Shaw overtook them, they had tacitly slowed down, keeping a short distance ahead of Catherine.
The weather today was really awful.
But instead of Catherine catching up to them, they saw her collapse.
The two imdiately ran over to help her.
One fanned her with his hat while the other gave her water.
When she ca to, they couldn’t bear to see her in that state.
Feeling protective and wanting to play the hero in front of a beautiful woman, they offered to carry her on their backs, but Catherine Linden refused.
"This is my task. I can’t be a burden to you."
With that, she staggered to her feet.
She didn’t make it two steps before falling again.
Her skin was delicate, and her knee imdiately started to bleed.
But she still insisted on finishing the five-kiloter run herself.
The two n exchanged a look. ’Just look at her,’ they thought. ’Look at that dedication.’
’We thought she was just here to put on a show, but now we see that’s not it at all!’
’As expected of an award-winning actress, Catherine Linden takes every role seriously.’
’She even persevered through such grueling training. She’s really one of a kind!’
Ryan Shaw’s sharp gaze shifted between the two team mbers supporting Catherine Linden.
"Catherine Linden got heatstroke and fell. What does that have to do with you?"
"..." Confronted by Ryan Shaw, the two were montarily speechless.
The truth was, given their usual pace for a five-kiloter run, they wouldn’t have even known if Catherine Linden had fainted from heatstroke behind them...
"The passing ti is 23 minutes. You took more than double that. With a performance like this, how can the people trust you with their lives and property?"
The two n said nothing, but inwardly they were indignant.
’Where did this emotional captain co from,’ they thought, ’always making such sweeping accusations?’
"You two, run another five kiloters. You can stop when you finish it in under 23 minutes!"
The two n didn’t move at first, and Catherine Linden couldn’t help but feel it was unfair.
"Captain Shaw, it’s my fault. My physical fitness isn’t up to par. They were only late because they were helping . If you’re going to punish soone, punish ."
Ryan Shaw’s lips curved into a smile.
"Miss Linden, do you really think you’re the only reason they were so slow? You were a factor, yes, but if they hadn’t wanted to slack off, they wouldn’t have posted that ti. You want to be punished with them? Fine. Run another five kiloters together."
The training ground fell silent.
"Well? Get going."
The two team mbers pressed their lips together and started running.
Catherine Linden stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
’She felt awful, her knee throbbed, and worst of all, this handso captain in front of her had a heart of stone, completely unmoved. It was so infuriating!’
Her body swayed, and she looked as if she was about to faint again.
Only then did Ryan Shaw call over a team mber to take her to the infirmary.
As for the team mbers calling Ryan Shaw’s training thods emotional...
Heh. Ryan Shaw couldn’t care less.
Back when he was in the special forces, the instructors were far more unpredictable.
’Do these guys naively believe that in a real ergency, criminals are going to play by the rules and follow so logical sequence?’
’What a joke.’
Without the distraction of Catherine Linden, the two team mbers who had to re-run the five-kiloter cross-country both finished in under 20 minutes.
’Pretty outstanding, wasn’t it?’
As for Catherine Linden...
Catherine Linden and Ryan Shaw were Levi Vance’s top two concerns, so the mont she entered the infirmary, he received the news.
He also heard about what had just happened from the other team mbers.
Vance was genuinely worried.
He was worried the actress would go online and say sothing, and the ensuing flood of vitriol from netizens would drown their entire unit.
So, with a beaming smile, Levi Vance suggested moving Catherine Linden to a more "personable" squad.
But to his surprise, Catherine Linden disagreed.
She said, "Why should I move? I think Captain Shaw is great. It really was my fault. Thank you for your concern, Vance."
Levi Vance was completely stunned.
’No, no, no,’ he thought. ’Why do her words make feel so uneasy?’
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