Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 63: No Rules in Survival

Even if one person jumped high, the entire team would fail the drill if the other two couldn't keep up.

The group exchanged looks, unsure how the captain and deputy captain were going to handle this climb.

Mariella looked even slimmer than Number Ten. There was no way she could act as the base for two grown men.

Number One was the biggest among the bodyguards. He was six foot three and weighed nearly 200 pounds. Chandler wasn't far behind, standing six foot two and weighing 187 pounds.

The two of them together were pushing 400 pounds. With Mariella's slight frame... how could she possibly support that?

Unhurried, Mariella untied the rope at her waist, securing one end to the steel frame above and tossing the other end down.

Chandler grabbed the rope first and climbed up quickly.

Number One followed right behind him.

In the blink of an eye, all three of them were up.

Everyone froze.

That works too?

Under the crowd's skeptical gaze, Mariella grabbed the rope and demonstrated a clean, controlled descent.

She moved fast and clean, not a shred of hesitation in her motions. She looked like someone who'd been through real fights before.

After Mariella descended, Chandler followed, then Number One.

They climbed fast, but they descended even faster. Each of their descent times averaged under three seconds.

The little cheerleader waved her colorful balloon again, shouting, "Yeah! Mariella, you're the best! Captain Zimmer and Deputy Captain, you're awesome too!"

The stunned bodyguards finally snapped out of it and started clapping and cheering.

But the looks they gave the trio were complicated. That definitely felt like cheating.

Number Four muttered under his breath, "No one said we could use a rope."

"Exactly... that's kind of breaking the rules, isn't it..." Number Seven added quietly.

Most of the others stayed silent, but there was clear dissatisfaction in their eyes.

Chandler swept his gaze across the group, taking in every reaction.

"I never said you could use a rope," he said calmly, "but did I ever say you couldn't? In real combat, adaptability matters. Not blindly following rigid rules.

"Ms. Townsend is fast and skilled, so she takes the lead. Once she gets up there, her first job is to pull her teammates up. Throwing down a rope is one of the fastest ways to do that.

"The purpose of training is to win in real situations. As long as it works, don't limit yourselves to fixed methods. Got it?"

"Got it!" everyone answered in unison.

It was a vivid lesson.

Not only did they learn the importance of adaptability in real combat, but they also witnessed Mariella's exceptional ability firsthand.

Their boss wasn't some delicate flower. Her climbing speed was on par with Chandler's.

If anything, she was a rose with thorns.

...

At noon, everyone gathered to make dumplings.

Most of the male bodyguards had never done such delicate work before, and the dumplings they made came out in all kinds of strange shapes.

Mariella made a point of saying, "You eat what you make. We're ranking performance too, so take it seriously."

Matthew moved through the group, correcting one person's folding technique, pointing out another's uneven dough thickness, or telling someone they'd added too much or too little filling.

Even though they had no experience, they were all young and quick learners.

After producing a batch of oddly shaped dumplings, their technique gradually improved.

By 1:30 p.m., the dumpling-making session came to an end.

Mariella had them cook the ugly ones first, while the better-looking dumplings were placed in the freezer.

Everyone ate the dumplings they made. They might've looked terrible, and many had split open, but no one complained about their own work.

After lunch, Mariella had them continue learning hydroponic vegetable growing and change the water for the bean sprouts.

Once they had digested the meal, they were to take a one-hour nap.

Outside, the world was in chaos. Wind and rain raged nonstop, as if trying to tear the earth apart.

But inside No. 98, everything was calm and peaceful, like a sanctuary untouched by the disaster.

Aside from the fact that food delivery was no longer possible, and the bodyguards had to cook for themselves, life hadn't changed much.

Still, these bodyguards had friends and colleagues out there. The updates coming through their phones were shocking.

After three straight days of relentless storms, Liraelith had suffered devastating damage.

In the city center, residential buildings were flooded up to the sixth floor, and the water was still rising. With transportation cut off, government rescue efforts were slow.

Many families had run out of food, flooding group chats with desperate pleas for help.

Everyone was waiting for rescue, but in a disaster affecting entire regions, even countries, the government was overwhelmed and unable to deploy enough teams.

Fortunately, Liraelith had urgently brought in a batch of inflatable boats and formed a supply distribution team.