Chương 166: A Miscalculation in Judgment

"He's right here." Hearing Vince's question, Evelyn smiled, gave a slight nod, and then shot a meaningful look at Marcus and the others behind her. Standing next to Marcus, Holden immediately understood. He turned toward the dead-silent command tent and called out:"Zhang, Jiang, bring them out." The moment the words left his mouth, a large hand swept the tent flap aside. Two veterans clad in tight-fitting combat gear stepped out, each dragging a person behind them.

"Woah, what was all that noise earlier? I thought you guys started shooting out here..." Wyatt muttered as he looked around, giving his old acquaintance Vince a quick nod of acknowledgment. Right now, Travis was standing beside Evelyn and Vince with his neck shrunk back like a turtle, and the surrounding crowd was so terrified they could barely hold onto their guns. Thinking back to how ferocious and murderous these people had looked just before Vince arrived, Wyatt couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

He immediately fell back into his natural role as the hype-man. However, the surrounding crowd instantly exploded into a frenzy of whispers. They recognized the two men being dragged across the dirt. It was Chester, who had just seized command last night, and Squad Leader Victor. Both men were currently hogtied, massive wads of rags stuffed in their mouths. They were writhing on the ground, snot and tears streaming down their faces. Seeing the crowd surrounding them, they began squirming even more violently.

"Reporting to Colonel Lin and Colonel Ye! The mutineers Chester Zhao and Victor Xu have been apprehended! Awaiting orders!" Wyatt and Cole casually tossed the two men at Travis's feet, snapped to attention, and delivered a crisp, perfectly synchronized military salute as they shouted their report.

"This... Colonel Ye, what is the meaning of this?" The breath Travis had just let out immediately caught in his throat again. Since this new 'Colonel Lin' had chosen to display his overwhelming power rather than attack, Travis assumed his life was more or less secure. But he hadn't expected Evelyn to spare these two men and drag them out in front of everyone. What was she playing at? If it were him, given the chance to assassinate his rivals, he wouldn't have hesitated for a second.

After all, physical elimination was the only way to guarantee a permanent solution. Yet here she was, parading them in front of the entire camp.

"Last night, Chester ordered his men to lure a zombie horde to surround Major Wang and Captain Zhang while they were conducting a reconnaissance mission, resulting in Major Wang being severely injured..." Evelyn looked down coldly at Chester, who was squirming at her feet and staring up at her with sheer panic in his eyes. She then raised her head and addressed the crowd.

"For mutiny, attempting to divide the troops, and plotting to murder fellow comrades... under wartime martial law, the sentence is immediate execution by firing squad..."

"Mmph! Mmph!" Chester and Victor immediately began screaming, but with the rags stuffed in their mouths and their bodies tightly bound, all they could manage were muffled whimpers and frantic thrashing. Travis quietly took a step back, drawing a clear line between himself and the two men. Whether she was executing them as a warning to the others or establishing dominance, his only job right now was to shut up and keep his head down. Meanwhile, Vince was confused again.

He swept his gaze over the two men on the ground, then looked at Evelyn's back and the veterans standing behind her. He frowned. What is she doing now? At first, he thought Evelyn was trying to use him as a borrowed knife to eliminate Chester, officially partnering with him under the guise of the military. But after she bestowed a fake rank upon him, he assumed she was genuinely willing to submit her veteran squad to him, using his power to eradicate Chester and consolidate the convoy.

But if they already captured Chester, why not just kill him and be done with it? Why drag him all the way out here in front of me? It can't be that she's afraid of a backlash and wants to use my authority to suppress the rest of the troops. That makes no sense. These guys aren't Chester's blood relatives; they wouldn't care. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Vince put himself in her shoes.

If he were in her position and possessed that kind of strength, he would absolutely 'clean the house before inviting guests.' By the time he arrived, Chester and his cronies would be stone-cold dead to prevent any unexpected variables. Then, when he arrived, she could just declare Chester a mutineer who had already been executed, toss the corpses at his feet, stand right behind 'Colonel Lin', kick the wall out from under Travis's fence-sitting ass, and pledge her loyalty. Done and dusted.

So what's the point of this whole theatrical display? However, he figured Evelyn definitely had more to say, so he remained silent. He didn't move a muscle, just quietly watched her back and let the performance play out.

"However, considering Chester's previous contributions in breaking through the encirclement and managing the camp, and given that I have already transferred full command authority of all personnel—including myself—to Colonel Lin..." Evelyn turned around. Those bottomless, dark eyes met his once again. She gave a slight nod and continued.

"I am transferring the right to penalize and dispose of these two men to Colonel Lin. I have no objections to whatever he decides..." Ah. Now he understood. And he realized that Evelyn was absolutely ruthless. She had intentionally kept these two alive until he arrived, explicitly handing them over to him. Her goal wasn't to dictate how they died, but to dictate how they lived... What Vince needed right now wasn't something as superficial as 'establishing dominance.'

He needed 'checks and balances' within the convoy. The problem looped back to the scenario Vince had just simulated: If he were Evelyn, he would pledge his loyalty when Vince arrived. But what if Vince didn't believe him? An overwhelmingly powerful outsider wouldn't blindly trust anyone. Therefore, that outsider would definitely need a familiar face from the old regime to act as a guide and informant. A slippery fence-sitter like Travis could never fill that role.

This made Chester—a man who had formed a blood feud with Evelyn and lost his entire inner circle—the absolute perfect candidate. Not only that, but Chester—who hadn't even dared to fart out of line when Joseph was in charge—would instantly transform into Vince's most loyal hunting dog when faced with a stronger, more ruthless master. He would remain loyal until the convoy dissolved or the day Evelyn died.

On the surface, it looked like Evelyn was using Colonel Lin's authority to spare Chester, subsequently re-integrating him into the armed forces to check the power of her and her veterans. This life was a gift Evelyn saved specifically for Vince! Vince wasn't the only one who understood. Even Chester, writhing on the ground, had figured it out. Evelyn's words instantly ignited a spark of hope in the man who, seconds ago, thought he was about to be publicly beheaded as a warning to the monkeys!

His only real beef with Vince was the minor friction over requisitioning supplies! He could easily pin all of that on his squad leaders acting on their own authority! He looked up at Vince, his eyes brimming with desperate hope. He frantically shimmied toward him, slamming his forehead against the pavement over and over, begging Vince to spare his life!

"I have an objection..." Vince calmly raised a hand, cutting off whatever she was about to say next. From the very beginning until now, Vince genuinely had a good impression of Evelyn and her veterans. At the very least, they were smart, efficient people who got things done. But this specific move left a slightly sour taste in his mouth.

"Colonel Ye, we're old friends... Do you really not trust me?" A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He stared into those incredibly beautiful, bottomless eyes and spoke in a cool, detached tone. For a fraction of a second, the smile on Evelyn's face stiffened imperceptibly. A flash of unnatural awkwardness flickered through her otherwise placid eyes. Trust. What a luxurious word. Even though Vince said it, he knew full well that he didn't trust Evelyn either.

Otherwise, he would have just played along with her script and saved himself the brainpower. He admitted it—this woman, and the veterans behind her who looked like they all had colorful pasts, were genuinely brilliant people. Smart. Patient. Capable. Decisive. Ruthless. Combined, this group was probably the smartest collection of individuals Vince had met in years.

He had no idea how they had analyzed his personality to come up with this intricate sequence of events, but on this one specific detail, they had miscalculated completely.

"Everything Chester and his accomplices did happened before I arrived. Since you've already captured him, you have every right to dispose of him. You don't need to ask me..." Vince looked at Evelyn, his voice dropping into a somber register. He then turned his head toward the lobby, speaking at a volume that wasn't a shout, but carried clearly to everyone present.

"Chester ordered his squad leaders to forcibly seize supplies from survivors, with the intent to massacre civilians. Several of the instigators have already been executed by me under martial law on the spot..." With a few sentences, he officially stamped the narrative into reality. He pulled his gaze back from the crowd and refocused on Evelyn.

"As for their mutiny and attempting to murder their comrades..." Crap. I miscalculated! Holden had been feeling quite smug watching the situation unfold exactly according to their plan. But the moment Vince threw that ice sphere, his heart sank. Wyatt's recount had only proven that Vince possessed immense power. But it wasn't until he hurled that sphere that they realized exactly how immense that power truly was.

In his psychological profile, Holden had leaned conservative regarding Vince's sense of security in interpersonal relationships. He concluded that Vince wouldn't easily trust anyone, including Evelyn. Based on that, the team formulated the plan to spare Chester, intentionally leaving a volatile element in the convoy and handing it directly to Vince. They offered him a tool to counterbalance Evelyn and the veterans. But looking at it now, his assessment had a fatal flaw.

Their sheer lack of imagination led to a severe miscalculation of Vince's strength as a "Generational Leap" Awakened, causing them to vastly overestimate the threat their small group posed to him. They had been analyzing the situation through the lens of a fractured convoy—the Evelyn faction versus the militia faction. But in Vince's eyes... did those factions even exist? Checks and balances? Who the hell is he checking and balancing?! The man doesn't need checks and balances!

Trying to offer 'checks and balances' to someone with absolute, overwhelming strength was practically an insult! Even from a distance, Holden could tell from Vince's tone that his "Affinity" had just taken a -1 hit. He began to panic internally. He needed to find a way to warn Evelyn. But as a subordinate soldier, speaking out of turn right now would look incredibly suspicious and weak. I can't exactly just dive forward and kowtow again, can I?!