The next morning, Cassie woke up with a throbbing headache. She lost control again in front of an alcoholic drink. She drank too much, leaving her with an intense hangover.
She wondered where her team members went as early as this morning. She was alone in the sleeping quarters. Then the bell rang, signifying that it was time for breakfast.
Going out, Cassie saw her team members sitting at the rectangular table along with the other teams. The Blue and Green team watched the Red Team strangely as if they already knew that the Red Team was in trouble.
There was an announcement this morning, telling everyone about the rule broken by the Red Team. They were subject to punishment after their training today.
"What happened?" Cassie asked her team members. She noticed that they didn't look well today. They were not able to sleep because of the cold night.
"Ninth, caught us last night," Clark whispered back to Cassie.
"What??!" Cassie blurted out in surprise.
"We have to face a group punishment later on," Tom added.
Cassie could only sigh deeply. She had lost her appetite. Aside from that, she felt so uncomfortable because of her hangover.
"What is today's activity?" She asked them. She thought she couldn't perform well today. She just wanted to sleep and relieve herself from this hangover.
"Treasure Hunt," one of their members told them.
Cassie could only nod her head. They already gained big points from their last activity. For today, she had to recover and lie low for the meantime. She would let her team members do the rest.
There was a large man-made forest near the training camp. They had to find fifty treasure chests. But it wouldn't be easy. The training team set different traps inside the forests. Aside from the traps, each team could also ambush each other and steal the chests from the other team.
The team who could find more treasure chests in the given time would gain high scores for this activity.
"So what's our strategy boss?" Tom asked her.
Cassie just glanced at them meaningfully, her lips curling up into a mischievous smile.
"Nothing. We are going to do nothing," She said.
Tom: "..."
Clark: "..."
Austin: "..."
Joshua: "..."
"Why Boss?" Joshua asked her inquisitively.
Cassie sized them up, from top to bottom. "You lacked sleep, right? So I would suggest finding a hiding spot in the forest and, taking your time. Have a good sleep."
"How about our points?" Clark reacted, feeling worried.
"They give us five hours to accomplish the task. Rest for four hours then we will strike back at the last hour." Cassie explained.
"Eh, how are we going to do that?" Her team members were still confused.
Cassie waved her hands, telling them to get closer to her. She wanted to make sure that the other team wouldn't hear her strategy.
"An hour before the mission ends, we have to regroup at the entrance of the forest. Then we are going to ambush them and steal the treasure chests!" Cassie informed them in a low voice.
"This could save our time and energy!" She added in her cheerful voice.
The four men blinked their eyes a few times before they were able to digest her words. The men suddenly burst into a peal of laughter. They loved her suggestion.
"Got it, Boss!" Clark said enthusiastically.
"We will do as you say." Austin raised his thumb, commending Cassie. "You're the best strategist, Team Leader!" Cassie just winked at them.
It did not take long when all the group assembled in front of the forests. The sound of the whistle indicated the start of the Treasure Hunt Race. Each group entered the forest in different directions.
Cassie reminded her team members of what they should do. After that, they went their separate ways. She advised them to have a buddy system which meant they would go in pairs, except for her who wanted to be alone.
Cassie found a tree and climbed it. She decided to sleep there for an hour to ease her throbbing headache. Unknown to her, there were also cameras installed in that forest, monitoring their every move.
A certain someone was monitoring her right now. Flint was in-charge today of the CCTV control room and Justine was the one on the field, accompanying them in the forests.
"What the hell is she doing? Sleeping during an important mission?" Flint slammed the table in the control room as he watched Cassie.
He couldn't believe that Cassie would do this as team leader. She didn't even make an effort to find one treasure chest. Her nonchalant behavior made him angry.
"Is she taking this mission for granted?" Flint was feeling agitated once more. Cassie could easily anger him.
"Just you wait Applicant 0018! You still have to face your punishment later. I will not go easy on you, this time. Even Justine can't save you," Flint said with conviction.
Seeing that Cassie had already fallen asleep, Flint focused his attention on another team. The Blue and Green Team found two chests already just fifteen minutes after the race started.
Flint admired the dedication of the Blue and Green Team. He was now rooting for them to win this race. But still, he was bothered by Cassie and the Red Team. Every point that they would gather in every activity was counted. How could the Red Team relax like this just because they gathered high scores from yesterday's activity?
*****
An hour had passed and Flint tried to check Cassie's whereabouts. His brows knitted in a deep frown when he saw her just waking up.
She jumped off the tree and did some stretching. She looked refreshed now compared to this morning. But she still needed to cool her head and body.
Cassie started to move as if she was looking for something. On the other hand, Flint's eyes never left the monitor. He was observing her.
Cassie moved faster than others. In just a few minutes she reached the center of the forests. Her eyes gleamed with joy when she saw the man-made falls.
"What is she planning to do? Did she locate the treasure chest in that area?" Flint mumbled. But his eyes went round when he saw Cassie start to undress.
"What the heck…"
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