Infinity, The Arcade Age

With the sound of hurried footsteps, soldiers rushed into the warship as soon as they saw that the enemy forces had stopped functioning and the ship had landed. Frantic, they began searching for their leader.

When they finally burst into the main control room, they found Qin Ming and General Jamie Fox.

However, the situation inside was less than ideal—more specifically, Jamie Fox's situation was far from ideal.

Anyone foolish enough to engage Qin Ming in close combat rarely met with a good ending, and Jamie Fox was no exception.

Having tried to salvage his pride by attacking Qin Ming, only to completely lose the fight, Jamie Fox was now being grabbed by the neck and swung around like a rag doll.

His legs dangled helplessly in the air as he clung to Qin Ming's collar, desperately trying to fight back.

Unfortunately, his meager strength was utterly ineffective against Qin Ming's brute force, his attacks doing practically no damage.

The soldiers rushing to the doorway froze in shock at the sight before them, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Hearing the commotion, both Qin Ming and Jamie Fox stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the doorway.

Seeing the large crowd of soldiers blocking the entrance, both men's expressions darkened immediately.

"GET OUT!"

Their simultaneous roar scared the soldiers into fleeing the room at once.

As the door shut, the sound of violent scuffling and wrestling resumed inside the control room.

The soldiers outside exchanged awkward glances.

After a few moments of silence, Jamie Fox's personal guards and the Hunting Dog soldiers suddenly began arguing, waving their weapons at each other. The argument quickly escalated, and soon enough, they were brawling just like their leaders inside.

Inside the control room, Qin Ming and Jamie Fox were locked in an all-out fistfight.

Outside, the Hunting Dog soldiers and Jamie Fox's personal guards were rolling on the ground in a chaotic melee.

This absurd internal conflict lasted a full thirty minutes before it finally came to an uneasy end.

Half an hour later, in a newly tidied command tent, General Jamie Fox sat expressionless at the head of the room, his face bruised and swollen. Major General Collins stood beside him, head lowered in shame.

Across from them stood Qin Ming and his two deputies.

Looking around at the room full of officers, Jamie Fox glanced at his own bruised and battered guards. His lips trembled with anger, but in the end, he said nothing.

The earlier melee had clearly left his side at a disadvantage—it wasn't hard to see why.

Even though his personal guards were all elite soldiers, practically at the level of champions, there were only about thirty of them.

Meanwhile, the Hunting Dog forces numbered over four thousand!

As the fight went on, and just as things were starting to even out, several hundred more Hunting Dog soldiers had stormed in, turning the tide completely.

It was impossible for thirty people to gain the upper hand against hundreds, let alone thousands.

Covering his bruised eye, Jamie Fox glared at Qin Ming, who stood across from him with his cap tilted, jacket unzipped, and hands stuffed in his pockets, exuding the look of a proper rogue.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jamie Fox finally spoke.

"I've already notified the higher-ups to send a team over to take control of this massive ancient warship. Its technology is unique—something we've never seen before—and it's bound to have immense research value. You've all played a major role in turning the tide of this battle and capturing this behemoth. I'll make sure to recommend commendations for all of you to the upper ranks."

As Jamie Fox finished, the surrounding officers immediately began praising him, showering him with compliments about his brilliant leadership and courageous example. They flattered him with every kind of praise they could muster.

Ignoring the sycophantic officers, Jamie Fox turned his gaze to Major General Collins, who immediately stiffened and swallowed nervously, his head hanging even lower.

Collins knew his performance during this crisis had been abysmal. At the critical moment, he had been too afraid of death to step onto the battlefield or issue any commands.

Jamie Fox, an old comrade of his father, surely thought even less of him now.

But could anyone blame him? With such a massive warship hovering in the sky and countless enemies on the ground, who wouldn't be terrified?

One wrong move and a cannon blast would have killed him instantly!

Jamie Fox stared at Collins, sighed deeply, and decided against reprimanding him publicly.

Shifting his gaze, Jamie Fox turned to Qin Ming and spoke in a deep voice.

"Sergeant Hyena!"

"Huh? Oh, present."

"I am now exercising temporary authority to promote you to Federal Major. You and your forces will temporarily take over the frontline camp. All soldiers will follow your command. I have only one requirement: hold this position and suppress all rebel activity in the surrounding area! What happened today must never happen again! Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone else will assist Major Hyena. If anyone disobeys orders, they will be dealt with according to military law!"

"Understood!"

The officers in the tent raised their hands in a crisp salute and shouted in unison.

Major General Collins, also saluting beside them, had turned pale.

He knew that his actual authority had been completely stripped away.

Once Jamie Fox finished giving his orders and had no more commands to issue, Qin Ming, now free to act, immediately began issuing his own orders before even leaving the tent.

"Deputy Shuke!"

"Here!"

"As of now, I am formally promoting you to Captain! You will take charge of all soldiers in the camp! If anyone refuses to comply—shoot them!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Deputy Beta!"

"Here!"

"I am also promoting you to Captain! You will take charge of all weapons and supplies in the camp! If anyone tries to block you—shoot them too!"

"Understood!"

"Everyone, disperse and get to work!"

"Yes, sir!"

After saluting, Captain Shuke turned and left immediately.

Beta, however, paused after taking two steps, then suddenly turned around and came back.

"Uh, boss, Old Third is in charge of the soldiers, and I'm in charge of weapons. If we're taking over all the work, then what are you going to do?"

Qin Ming stared at him expressionlessly for a moment, then spoke after two seconds of silence.

"Captain Beta."

"Yes!"

"Congratulations, you've just been demoted. You're now a Lieutenant."

"What?!"

"What, my ass! Get out of here! I'm in charge of all of you! If you don't get moving, I'll demote you all the way back to Corporal! Now get out!"

"Yes, sir!"

Lieutenant Beta scrambled out of the room in a panic, practically tripping over himself. Qin Ming, hands in his pockets and a dark expression on his face, followed him out.

Watching this scene unfold, Major General Collins opened his mouth several times, wanting to remind Jamie Fox that a Major did not have the authority to promote officers to such high ranks.

Even if Qin Ming wanted to promote someone to Captain, it could only be a temporary promotion. It would have to be reported to the higher-ups and officially approved before becoming permanent.

What Qin Ming was doing was a serious overreach of authority!

But seeing that Jamie Fox remained calm and unbothered, Collins hesitated, his words dying in his throat.

As he watched the three figures walk away, Collins couldn't help but think to himself that with Qin Ming's terrifying ability to win people over, it wouldn't even take three days for this camp to be completely under Hyena's control.

By then, even if Jamie Fox regained command, there wouldn't be a single person in the camp willing to listen to him anymore.

(End of Chapter)