[1] Apocalypse: Third Rebirth

Chapter 143: Don't Call Me Ma'am

If Wang Chao was asking me to give them a chance, then I would. But I would do it in my own way and on my own terms.

"I understand that you guys have probably been a team for a long time, and, while I can appreciate it, I care more about you as individuals. Therefore, I don't guarantee that I will want to keep you all. It is up to you to prove that you belong here."

"May I ask what benefit there is to staying with you versus going off on our own as a team?" asked the man in the middle and I have to admit, I was impressed with his question. If he was so desperate that he was willing to join us no matter what, then I would have some concerns.

"Good question," I said nodding my head, but completely ignoring it. They would learn the benefit of being with us in due time. "What's your name?"

"Cao Mu Chen," he said as he took a step forward.

"Are you the new captain?" I asked looking between all of the men. I knew that Li Yi Ming was the original captain, but he was clearly no longer here.

"I am," he said as he continued to look forward, but not actually at me. I didn't know if I should take offense to that or not. I understood that this might be a practice in the military, and after being around the zombies for so long, I knew that it was a sign of respect, but still...

"Are you trying to insult me by not looking at me or are you trying to be differential to me? Or are you not willing to look at me because of Wang Chao?" I needed to know the answer to this because it could become a big deal in the future. If he recognized me as a leader, then that was fine, but if he was doing it in order to not insult Wang Chao by looking at something that was 'his'... we would have issues.

Poor Cao Mu Chen looked startled and his eyes widened as he turned his gaze to look at me. "No disrespect intended, Ma'am."

And that too would have to come to a quick stop. "You are no longer in the military," I said as I looked at him seriously. "You do not need to call me Ma'am. Your choices are Boss or Li Dai Lu. Do you understand?"

I saw Cao Mu Chen briefly look over at Wang Chao and my eyes narrowed. Before Wang Chao could so much as twitch, Cao Mu Chen turned his attention back to me. "I will try to call you Boss, but Ma'am might slip out," he admitted. I smiled at his statement.

"At least you are honest," I said. "Now, what is your specialization?" I asked, tilting my head to the side and staring at the new Captain.

"My specializations are in leadership, cold weapons, and hand-to-hand combat," he said, coming to attention. Nodding my head in approval, I continued. "How are you with swords?" My question seemed to startle him and he flinched slightly.

"The military does not train us in using swords as part of active combat," he said, skirting the issue.

"Not what I asked," I said simply as I continued to stare at him, taking in every expression and micro-expression that he showed.

I didn't do this type of interrogation when I was letting people into my compound before, and it was a mistake that I would not be repeating at any time in the near future.

"I am... good at them," he confessed. Not the answer I was looking for.

"Look," I said as I stared at him in the eyes. "This is going to be nothing like your old life, do you understand? So if you think that you get points for being modest, you are sorely mistaken. If you are good at something, say it. If you are not, tell me now. We are going to hash everything out right now because if I find you were holding something back or not admitting to something... well, Liu Wei won't be the one to hunt you down and kill you. Am I clear?"