Chapter 16: Okay, I’ll Prove Myself

Emerald calmed down, "Captain, I never intended to put you in a difficult situation, but I..."

"You don't need to say anything." Harrison stopped her and looked at her scornfully, "I will keep you here for one year since I already promised Harvey McAdams. You will be the ground crew, gofer or nothing or whatever you want to do! But you will never join the flight team. I don't need trash in my air force."

"Please give me an opportunity to prove that I'm not trash."

"I have seen your file, and there is nothing to brag about flying through the debris belts." Harrison said coldly, "The worst one of my pilots can fly through the debris belts three times with their eyes closed!"

"Colonel, I haven't received any training yet! You can't refuse me just because I'm a woman!"

"Okay, I'll give you an opportunity." Harrison stood up and got closer to her. There was nowhere she could hide, so all she could do was watch him hold her waist with his big hands.

His hands slid down slowly from her waist as his face approached her and sniffed her face with his nose like a beast.

"You have two ways to prove you're not trash--beat any of my men or get naked on my bed. I can let you join the flight team if you can do either one of them, so which one do you choose?"

Emerald clenched her fist and inhaled deeply. "Okay, I'll prove myself."

****

People gathered in the boxing ring of the Phoenix at 7 o'clock that night. Rumors had spread all over the ship that a girl would challenge one of their colleagues to prove her worth and join the flight team.

It was an unexpected event for their boring life in the force, so the pilots, engineers, ground crew, and support staff had all gathered by the boxing ring before 7 o'clock.

Emerald, a girl with a short and slim body, was visibly nervous as she stepped into the center of the ring. The crowd of young men roared in excitement.

Bruce Green was also standing in the crowd. He was not surprised to see that the captain was giving Emerald a hard time, but he hadn't expected Emerald to challenge the captain in this way.

Was she really an expert?

Emerald, who was the focus of attention, was standing in the center of the dark-green practice range of 50 square meters. Looking around, she felt her hands sweating and her body turning cold in fear.

She was surrounded by men in white vests and camouflaged pants. All of them were tall and strong men, and they were smiling at her as if she was prey for them to hunt and devour.

She had never expected to cause such a big sensation on her first day, but she had no choice. She had to prove to Harrison that she was worthy of training and to Kenzo that she wasn't useless.

Her only consolation was that by standing here, her bravery may have persuaded Harrison Gates that she had what it takes to be a pilot.

The man in front of her was still young. He seemed to be around 20 years old with his baby face and fine features, but his strong body and powerful muscles were intimidating.

He slowly snapped his fingers one by one, smiling brightly. "The captain said he had a reward for me for my good flying skills. This is indeed a reward…"

The crowd cheered in laughter at his words, but Emerald was too nervous to say anything or even to smile.

He took a bow like a gentleman. "Miss, I'm Zach Williams, 26 years old. May I have the pleasure to buy you a cup of coffee after this?"

The ring was filled with laughter and cursing from the crowd.

"Stay away from him!" Someone shouted to Emerald. "Miss, I'll win him if you will be my girlfriend!"

Without paying attention to the crowd, Emerald solemnly pointed her fist to Zach and adopted a defensive pose.

Three minutes later, tears are welling up in her eyes. One drop fell to the ground, but she managed to hold back the rest by choking them back. The pain was too much.

Zach Williams, who was sitting on her right, didn't want to continue fighting. He whispered, "Just give up. Give up, and this will be over."

Laying on her stomach, she raised her head with difficulty, looking at the men's faces. Finally, they stopped laughing and looked sympathetically at her, and some of them were shouting. "Zach, it's enough. Be a man!"

Emerald looked down.

Apparently, the captain had ordered Zach to beat her up until she gave up.

But she couldn't give up. She couldn't lose.

"No. I won't give up!" She shouted with all her strength. The crowd went quiet.

The men stared at her. Zach froze in surprise and started staring at her without saying a word.

"Let me go." She said frivolously, "I can't beat you anyway."

"Let her go!" The crowd screamed.

Zach stepped back to save face.

She was visibly struggling to stand up. Her legs were soft, and she was in so much pain that she fell to the ground again. Bracing her hands against the floor on her knees, she looked around. Tears rolled down her face in sadness and sorrow.

These soldiers were chauvinistic by nature, and after following Harrison Gates for a long time, they had become even more narrow-minded. Upon seeing a small, slim girl who was being beaten up by one of them looking so firm and determined shocked them.

Even Bruce, who is standing in the crowd quietly, thought that Zach was being too harsh on her.

Emerald's words made them even more sympathetic. "I just want to join the airforce and be a pilot..." She said in a convincing voice.

"I was born in the Wales district, the poorest district of Hope City. When I was five years old, my parents were knocked over by a rich man's car. They died shortly after, but the criminal was at large. I became an orphan. Do you know what kind of place Whales District is? Do you know how poor girls make a living?"