The Heiress They Lost Came Back Overpowered

They tickled their armpits and shoved icy hands down the backs of their collars. If it weren’t so cold—and if they hadn’t been worried about stinky feet—they probably would have pulled off their captives’ shoes to tickle the soles of their feet.

Despite the brutal interrogation, they couldn’t get a single word out of them.

Henchman A took a deep breath. "We said we don’t know, and we really don’t know. We’re not the ones who hid the flags. Even if you strip us naked and throw us in the snow, we still won’t be able to tell you anything."

Helpless, the Gray Wolf Squad had to let them go.

Before leaving, Henchman A gave them a meaningful look. "It’s best not to be so impatient, kids. Don’t forget, there’s still over half a month of training to go."

With that, the two disappeared into the woods.

The Gray Wolf Squad members were left staring at each other in dismay. Ryan Ford pointed in the direction they had disappeared, his hand trembling and his expression full of disbelief.

"He was just threatening us, wasn’t he? He was, right?"

"I think... so."

Ryan Ford ran a hand over his buzz cut. "Damn it, I was careless! We’re screwed either way. If I’d known, I would have granted his wish and stripped him naked to be thrown in the snow."

Although the other three squads didn’t have as smooth a start, every single one of them caught the two saboteurs who went for their packs.

And without exception, they all believed it was some shenanigan cooked up by Instructor #1. They snatched their earpieces and proceeded to give Instructor #1 a verbal lashing of epic proportions, reading her the riot act, demanding an explanation, and chewing her out completely.

When the voice of the bearded assistant instructor came over the line, a single thought popped into all thirty-one recruits’ heads at the same time: ’I have good news and I have bad news. Which do you want to hear first?’

The good news: Instructor #1 didn’t pull any shenanigans to mess with you tonight!

The bad news: You yelled at the wrong person! Ha ha, you’re all so screwed!

...

After the four squads finished their tirades, the murderous aura next to Zachary Jacobs grew increasingly heavy.

Zachary Jacobs stood up to slip away, only to be grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Yvonne Lowell.

He turned his head and smiled sheepishly. "Lowell, you can’t blame me for this, right? This isn’t my fault."

His only answer was Yvonne Lowell’s fist. The entire control room filled with Zachary Jacobs’s pained cries:

"AGH! Lowell, go easy on me!!!"

"Not the face! That’s my money-maker!!"

"You’re going to ruin the prosthetic mask!!"

"Yvonne Lowell, I’m warning you, don’t touch me! Don’t think I wouldn’t dare to fight back, I’m just choosing to be the bigger person!"

"AGH! Don’t kick my ass! Leave me some dignity!!"

"Lowell, I was wrong, Lowell! I’ll never do it again!!!"

...

「That afternoon」

The four squads gradually made their way down the mountain, approaching the mission’s finish line at the base of the peak behind the camp.

Yvonne Lowell was wearing a heavy coat over her training uniform, sunbathing in a lounge chair next to the finish line.

The Anomalous Abilities Unit was the fastest. The group was dragging their exhausted feet as they ran down the mountain.

When they were less than 100 meters from the finish line, they spotted Yvonne Lowell in her lounge chair. They couldn’t help but let their lips twitch. ’She’s really taking it easy, isn’t she.’

However, seeing that no one else had reached the finish line yet, the group stopped to empty Harvey Lawson’s military pack and distribute its contents among their own bags.

Then they crumpled all the flags into a ball and stuffed the whole lot inside it.

Stanley Sutton clapped his shoulder. "Harvey, show the instructor what our squad’s got. Flash over there!"

"You got it." Cradling the military pack now stuffed with flags, Harvey Lawson teleported to Yvonne Lowell’s side.

"Instructor, reporting! This is our total haul from the mission. Thirty-one flags in total. Please inspect!"

Yvonne Lowell took off her sunglasses and glanced at the bag. "Are the ones you stole from the Gray Wolf Squad in there too?"

"Yes, Instructor." Although he didn’t quite understand why she was asking, Harvey Lawson answered truthfully.

A flicker of disgust crossed Yvonne Lowell’s eyes. She tilted her chin at a nearby assistant instructor. "Go count them."

The assistant instructor was dismayed. The assistant instructor was aggrieved. The assistant instructor was reluctant.

He was just as disgusted by the thought of flags that had been stuffed down someone’s pants, okay?! But he still resigned himself to his fate and began to count.

The other members of the Anomalous Abilities Unit also sped up to the finish line and greeted Yvonne Lowell.

Theodore Zane sidled up to her with a sly grin. "Instructor, it’s been two long days. We’ve missed you terribly."

Yvonne Lowell shot him a sidelong glance. "Pfft. Weren’t you the one yelling curses at me the loudest in the middle of the night?"

Theodore Zane froze for a second before admitting his mistake with a pained expression. "A misunderstanding! It was all a misunderstanding! My reverence for you, Instructor, is as clear as day and can be witnessed by the heavens themselves!"

"Alright, go get some rest. We’ll assemble again once everyone is back."

"Yes, ma’am!" everyone shouted in unison.

Before leaving, Theodore Zane didn’t forget to turn and look at the assistant instructor still counting the flags.

"Hey, Assistant Instructor! Our squad has thirty-one. Make sure you don’t miscount, ’kay? It would be a shame if it cost us first place."

Yvonne Lowell kicked him. "The results aren’t even in and you’re already this cocky?"

Clutching his butt, Theodore Zane ran toward the dorms, not forgetting to holler back, "We got thirty-one! It’s in the bag!"

Yvonne Lowell couldn’t help the corner of her mouth from twitching. ’What an attention-seeker. I clearly kicked his calf...’

...

Once everyone had returned and cleaned up, Yvonne Lowell called them to assemble on the training grounds.

"Now, I’ll announce the results of the past two days and one night. Out of a total of one hundred flags, you brought back ninety-four."

"The Anomalous Abilities Unit has thirty-one, the Snow Phoenix Squad has twenty-seven, the Dragon’s Ascent Squad has twenty-three, and the Gray Wolf Squad has thirteen."

"Therefore, as agreed, for the next half a month, the Gray Wolf Squad will stay behind for two hours of extra training every night. As for fulfilling the Anomalous Abilities Unit’s request—you guys can state it in a moment."

After a pause, Yvonne Lowell continued, "Additionally, of the six flags that were not found, four were in areas you never reached."

"However, two of them were in areas that some squads passed right by without spotting them. So, it wouldn’t be too much to have every member of the squads that passed them do 100 push-ups, would it?"

The crowd below was dead silent. No one spoke a word.

"Why aren’t you answering? Do you think that’s excessive?" Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow.

"Not at all!"

’We really want to say it’s excessive,’ they thought. ’But are we allowed to...?’

Yvonne Lowell’s lips curled in satisfaction. "I don’t think it’s excessive either. So, all of you, get in position for push-ups."

Everyone froze. Blake Paxton asked timidly, "Instructor, didn’t you say only the squads that passed by them had to do them?"

Yvonne Lowell feigned a sudden realization. "Oh, look at me. I forgot to tell you where those two flags were. I took some screenshots from the surveillance footage. Here, have a look for yourselves."

An assistant instructor handed them printouts of the surveillance images to pass around. Well, damn...

The two flags were located near the spot where the last surviving member of Dragon’s Ascent was being jumped by the Snow Phoenix Squad, and near where the Gray Wolf Squad was getting robbed by the Anomalous Abilities Unit.

Everyone instantly felt as sick as if they’d swallowed a dead fly. With miserable groans, they could only get down on the ground for push-ups.

’So frustrating! We just changed into clean clothes, and now we have to wash them again. This is clearly blatant revenge for us wrongly accusing her last night, isn’t it?!’

Only after they had finished their push-ups did Yvonne Lowell speak again. "We agreed to grant one request to the first-place team. Anomalous Abilities Unit, you may make your request now."