Commonwealth.
Interrogation room.
The two evaluators were unusually calm and seemed to have grown accustomed to the outbursts of the man in front of them.
"I'm sorry, you have to accept another round of evaluation."
"Another fucking evaluation? Shit, not even when I was a soldier did they screw me this much. I've already accepted ten rounds of evaluation. I'm the captain in charge of escorting Deanna Monroe back to Ohio. Tell me, sweetheart, what do you need to evaluate? I see you've got time—do you usually waste it evaluating people?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dixon, you must accept another round of evaluation. This is the protocol for unstable individuals. We know the lost front line has suffered unimaginable losses, so as evaluators we can understand it. We deeply apologize."
"Fuck! All of this is real bullshit."
...
After shouting and cursing, Merle suddenly changed his attitude and looked at the two with a smile on his face. Only the three of them could hear what was being said inside the interrogation room.
"You approve me to pass—how about I get you some good stuff in the future? I'm the best at that. You looking for sweets or green cash? Games or books? I can do it. What do you think?"
After speaking, he raised his eyebrows mysteriously, which added a hint of wretchedness to his originally fierce appearance. The female evaluator frowned slightly, but it was only for a moment and did not reveal too much.
The woman lowered her head and wrote a few words on the paper, and the man beside her was even more eager to write something. From the way he slightly shook his head, it was clear that this man strongly disapproved of Merle in his evaluation.
Merle's expression gradually turned cold. For this group that had been with him for a month, it could be said that they were both familiar and unfamiliar. What was familiar were the two people; what was strange was the attitude shown by the other party. He had never displayed so many different expressions in such a short time.
The male evaluator he nicknamed Walnut, and the female one he named Peanut.
Seeing Walnut's expression at this moment, Merle realized they were about to reject him again, and this evaluation would probably be complicated to repeat once more. He was not a patient man, so instead of showing a reliable attitude, he decided to make a plan over the next few days.
Thinking of this, he suddenly raised his hands, slammed the table with his rough palms, and stood up. The chair behind him was pushed back by his legs and flew backward. The legs of the chair hit the ground, and the friction made a screeching sound!
Bang!
The loud noise and Merle's actions startled the two evaluators, and they nearly jumped out of their seats. Even some soldiers in white suits nearby raised their weapons. If Merle made another move, they would pull the trigger at any moment.
But who was Merle? After staying in this damn place for a month, he had already figured out some of the unspoken rules here. He knew what to do and what not to do.
"Hey, Walnut and Peanut..." Looking at the panic on the evaluators' faces, Merle showed a satisfied expression. He placed his hands on the table, looked at the two of them, and said in a playful tone, "Look at what your faces are showing me. Turns out you can show fear too."
At the same time, a middle-aged woman dressed in black business attire entered through the door not far away, followed by a young and beautiful woman. When the two soldiers saw the woman in the interrogation area, they immediately saluted.
"Welcome, Mrs. Monroe! Miss Clark!"
It was Deanna and Alicia who had come to this place. Judging from the respectful attitude of the people, it seemed they had achieved something during this first month.
But Deanna's complexion was not as radiant as her glamorous appearance suggested at that moment.
As soon as she entered through the door, she headed straight toward the room where Merle was. The guards in white combat uniforms on both sides immediately stopped her, and another guard knocked on the interrogation room glass. When they heard this, the evaluators hurriedly stood up.
The panic on their faces gradually turned cold. The two placed the documents into a briefcase, quickly left the room, and soon exited through the other side of the corridor under guard escort.
Merle, who was sitting down, only looked at the two evaluators with a half-smile, without speaking or obstructing them—he simply watched them leave the room.
This scene fell into Deanna's eyes, making her expression even uglier. She whispered a few words to Alicia, and the two waited for a while. Soon, a soldier in a white combat uniform entered, but this soldier was slightly different from the others. The weapon he carried was a sniper rifle. Yes, this man was Jon Seda, who had accompanied Deanna to the interrogation room.
As soon as Jon entered, he walked directly in front of the two guards, then gestured to them, and the three of them entered together.
Merle sat carelessly in his chair, merely watching the few people who entered. Jon greeted the two guards in the room, and the other guards looked at one another before leaving the room.
As soon as the room was cleared, Jon nodded toward Merle, turned his head, then turned around and stepped out of the room, standing at the door. The guards around him seemed very afraid of him, and they all moved away.
Deanna sat down across from Merle, and Merle, who was no longer causing trouble, had already settled into his seat and was smiling casually.
"What do you think? Does this fucking dump have any hope?"
Deanna shook her head slightly and sighed helplessly. "It's still not working. There's a group of people who have a lot of opinions about me. The other side is deliberately waiting for me to make mistakes. That's why they won't let you in. They're only doing it to force me to pick a side and do what they want."
Merle simply clicked his teeth while thinking. The ideas in his mind grew darker. After listening to what Deanna said, he shook his head.
"No, no, no. You must not show them weakness. You can't do that under any circumstances. If you keep wasting time, you'll only end up displeasing both sides of power. Remember, Deanna, you're new in this place. Prestige is what matters."
Deanna understood Merle's words perfectly, but the problem now was that if she didn't show weakness, then Merle would never be allowed to enter the Commonwealth, which would also directly cost her something important: her confidant.
On the way from Washington to here, she and her husband had seen that the way Merle survived was the best. It could be said that between him and someone from the army like Jon, there was no difference. Even if the two of them met outside, it was estimated that Jon would not be able to handle someone like Merle.
In fact, the original Merle had not been so skilled, but after Airon's training, his strength was at least twice what it had been before. Ordinary soldiers were no longer at his level, which caused Merle's value as a leader to skyrocket to incredible heights.
Deanna knew this as well, which was why she truly wanted to bring Merle into the Commonwealth base. However, since she had taken a high position as soon as she arrived, she must have offended someone, and thus many barriers stood in her way.
"Taking all of that into account, the chances of bringing you in are very low. Everyone else has integrated, but they know very well that you're someone who can't be tamed under their standards."
Alicia also frowned. She did not have as much foresight as Deanna, but Airon had arranged for Merle to accompany them for a reason, so she had no intention of giving up.
Merle narrowed his eyes slightly, tapped the table with his fingers several times, then patted it lightly. Seeing that both women were looking at him, he spoke.
"Since I can't get in, find a way to let me get out of this place."
"What?"