Sorry, Our Captain Is a True All-Rounder

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Punished

A flicker of surprise appeared in those cold, indifferent eyes, but only for an instant.

"Hey, what’s wrong with you two?" Lin Jingjing asked, her face etched with worry as she supported Feng He.

Feng He wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and shook her head. "I’m fine."

’I can’t believe this person’s aura is so powerful. Just a single glance was enough to injure Shi Feng and me like this.’

Shi Feng wiped away the blood, looking at the unharmed Lin Jingjing in confusion.

’We’re all Grade D. Why is Sister Lin completely fine?’

Captain Li watched them spit up blood but said nothing. His gaze then shifted to Lin Jingjing.

’Why didn’t she spit up blood?’

Beisang spoke, his voice cool and detached. "The two of them are excused from punishment. She will receive twenty strokes with the iron rod."

’The aura I just released injured both of them to varying degrees, yet this short-haired girl is completely unscathed.’

’Then she shall be the one punished.’

"Yes, sir!" Captain Li was pleased to hear the verdict.

’It’s not too severe!’

A nearby robot had already produced a cloth and begun cleaning the bloodstains on the floor.

[CLEANING. CLEANING.]

Outside the office, Captain Li let out a long sigh of relief.

His gaze finally settled on Lin Jingjing. "Why are you unharmed?"

"With an aura like that, anyone below Grade A should have been injured to some degree."

"For Grade D, the damage should have been even worse."

"Look at the other two. They’re so weak they can barely stand."

"But here’s Lin Jingjing, completely unscathed."

Lin Jingjing shook her head. "I have no idea."

’She was baffled too. She hadn’t felt a thing, yet they were all spitting up blood.’

Just then, two humanoid robots approached them. Seeing them, Captain Li said to Lin Jingjing,

"I’ll take these two to the infirmary. You go with them and accept your punishment."

With that, he hoisted up the two who were struggling to stay on their feet and headed straight for the infirmary.

Lin Jingjing looked at the cold robot before her, which stared back. "Lin Liebing, please come with us." Its voice was just as cold, completely devoid of human warmth.

"Alright."

Following the two robots from the office building to the punishment chamber, Lin Jingjing endured countless scornful looks and even direct taunts.

But Lin Jingjing paid them no mind.

Upon entering the punishment chamber, a grim chill filled the air. The floor, walls, shackles, and iron rods were all covered in mottled bloodstains.

A single lamp lit the entire windowless room. The door was usually kept closed, preventing any air from circulating.

This left the air thick with a foul, metallic stench.

"Lin Liebing, place your hands in the shackles," the robot behind her said.

The mechanical voice sounded even colder and more ruthless in the punishment chamber. ’It’s no wonder they use robots for this,’ she thought.

’They’d never disobey an order from a superior.’

Lin Jingjing said nothing, simply walking to the shackles and placing her hands inside.

’These shackles are pretty smart.’ The moment she put her hands in, they locked automatically.

The robot didn’t even have to lock them itself.

One robot stood aside while the other picked up an iron rod to begin the punishment.

She didn’t know how much force it was using, but when the first blow landed, Lin Jingjing barely felt it.

’It doesn’t hurt much.’

"One."

’So that’s why there are two robots. One of them is to count.’

"Two."

It wasn’t until the final ten strikes that Lin Jingjing truly felt the pain. Excruciating pain.

She clenched her fists and bit her lower lip, refusing to make a sound.

’Damn it, they’re increasing the force!’

"Twenty," the robot finished counting. "Punishment complete."

The shackles on her wrists automatically unlocked. Unsteady on her feet, Lin Jingjing crumpled to the ground.

Her head slammed into the wall in front of her, instantly raising a large lump on her forehead.

The door to the chamber opened and the two robots departed. Fresh air flowed in, and sunlight streamed through, bathing Lin Jingjing in its warmth.

She rolled over to lean against the wall, feeling the warmth of the sun on her body. ’Still alive.’

After she had been lying there for a while, Captain Li appeared in the doorway.

His tall frame blocked the sunlight.

Lin Jingjing looked up at him and chuckled. "Captain Li, looks like I’ll have to trouble you to take me to the infirmary."

"Heh," Captain Li scoffed. "Learned your lesson now?"

As he spoke, he walked in, scooped her up with one arm, and carried her out of the cold punishment chamber.

The moment they were clear, the iron door shut automatically.

Lin Jingjing’s entire back was lacerated and bleeding. She wore a white shirt, now stained crimson with her blood.

Captain Li glanced down at her back and quickened his pace.

In a ward in the infirmary, Feng He and Shi Feng lay unconscious in their beds.

Lin Jingjing soon occupied the empty bed beside them.

Seeing three beds taken up by Grade Ds, the medical staff was starting to get annoyed.

Their head nurse found Captain Li and said with a stern expression, "Get that trash out of here. Don’t waste my bed space."

"Don’t you know how tight bed space is? And you just went and hogged three of them."

Captain Li stood in the hallway, looking at the aggressive head nurse. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

He pulled one out, stuck it between his lips, then fumbled for a lighter and flicked it on.

He didn’t spare her a single glance the entire time.

The head nurse grew even angrier. She slapped the lighter out of Captain Li’s hand.

"Don’t you know how many soldiers are being sent back from the front lines? They need beds to recover, too! What do you think you’re doing, hogging three of them?"

"It’s one thing to hog them, but to do it for Grade D trash?"

"Stop your pointless charity. They’re weak, so they should be culled."

Captain Li glanced at the lighter on the floor, then bent down to pick it up.

He held the cigarette between his index and middle fingers, his gaze turning cold as he looked at her.

"They are patients too, which means they have the right to be in there," Captain Li said.

"What’s wrong with Grade D? Does being Grade D mean they don’t deserve to live?" Captain Li sneered, retorting, "If you’ve got the guts, then don’t eat the meals they cook. Don’t eat the pork from the pigs they slaughter, or the vegetables they grow."

"They still do their part. So what gives you the right to stand here and look down on them?"

"You think your grade is so high? You’re only two grades above them."

Captain Li grunted. "By that logic, maybe you should be culled, too."

The head nurse was stunned speechless by his comeback, but she still craned her neck and argued, "But you have to think of the soldiers on the front lines!"

"I did think of them. That’s why all I asked for were some Recovery Potions. I didn’t ask you to provide a twenty-four-hour watch."

The head nurse finally stormed off in a huff. Watching her furious expression, Captain Li put the cigarette back in his mouth and took a long drag.

"Tch."

Only after finishing his cigarette did Captain Li enter the ward. Lin Jingjing was already awake.

The ward wasn’t well soundproofed; she had heard their entire conversation clearly.

Looking at Captain Li, Lin Jingjing said sincerely, "Thank you, Captain Li."

"Heh." Captain Li let out a cold laugh, which she took as his way of accepting her thanks.