He wasn't tall, and on top of that, he was overweight. His belly was so big it looked like it could burst his shirt. And this was the apocalypse. Hardly anyone had a beer belly like that. He looked to be in his 40s, way older than Francis. And ... he was ugly and full of flesh. Standing next to him, Francis looked incredibly easy on the eyes. Not to mention Caroline had Denton, Tyler, and Nelson on her side. Each of them was handsome, with top-tier looks. Caroline glanced at this guy and quickly looked back at Tyler to "cleanse her eyes." "Commander Zimmer's man," Francis explained to Caroline and the others. He squinted at Bernard Hansen like he was a rotten apple. Bernard was indeed a rotten apple. He had no real skills, just a fat guy who only reached this position by kissing up before the apocalypse. He was a master manipulator back then. Now? Not so much. But his rank was still there. Without a major mistake, he couldn't be removed. He'd always had a cushy job, collecting supplies but barely doing anything. Nobody expected Andrew to fall, and that left Bernard in an awkward spot. Now, seeing how strong Nathaniel was, he wanted to get on Nathaniel's good side and stayed at the base. When he found out that Nathaniel was busy and had given Francis, who was the same rank, control over many base affairs, he got ambitious. He figured, if Francis was his equal and was favored by Nathaniel, why couldn't he be? So, he started constantly making trouble for Francis. When he found out Francis had reserved these rooms, he assumed it was playing favorites. Bernard couldn't believe strict Nathaniel would keep a few rooms open for people who might not even stay. It was because he didn't know the army's inside story, the relationship between Francis and Nathaniel, or all the stuff Caroline and her group had done at the shelter. So he intentionally put his stuff in one of the rooms to cause trouble for Francis. If things blew up, he could use the excuse of "maintaining military discipline" to push Francis out, accusing him of abusing his power! He was skilled at these kinds of underhanded tactics. "Hmph! The base is still under construction, but a new group is moving in soon. And you saved four huge rooms? That's favoritism, plain and simple! You say it's Commander Ball's decision? I don't buy it! I think you're behind this, Francis. Don't think I don't know—you were neighbors at the shelter. Who knows what you had going on in private?" Bernard walked up to Francis and deliberately glanced at Caroline, giving her an extremely creepy look. "So you're Caroline, huh? I've heard a lot about you. I heard you 'touched' every one of Francis's soldiers? How many times have you touched Francis?" The tone made it sound like Caroline and Francis, and even all of Francis' men, were sleeping around! Caroline didn't say anything; she just threw an ice blade straight at him. Tyler and Denton weren't having it either. Denton shouted, "Fuck you!" A short knife appeared in his hand, and he ran up to Bernard, pressing it against his neck. Tyler was even faster. No one saw his movement, but when he stopped, a short-barreled gun was pressed against Bernard's head. His thumb clicked the safety off. His low voice carried a threat. "Watch your mouth." Caroline's ice blade struck the ground beside Bernard's foot, sinking an inch deep. Nelson grit his teeth and muttered under his breath, "Poison him. Poison this fat bastard." He didn't even have a weapon, but the dark look in his eyes made it terrifyingly believable. Bernard's face went pale. Caroline and the others moved too fast. He hadn't brought any guards, thinking nothing could happen in the base. Who would've thought these few could almost kill him in an instant? "W-what are you doing?" Bernard stammered, looking at Francis and raising his voice. "Francis, is this how you manage the base?"Francis yawned. He looked at Alger and said, "Alger, you wanted me in a meeting? I'm on my way." Then he winked at Caroline and whispered, "Handle it however you want, just don't kill him. He and I are the same rank, so neither of us can control the other. If I stay, he'll jump around like a mad dog, and I'll end up having to save his ass. What's the point? Might as well let you scare him a bit. Make him resign from Hornvale and go crawl back to Commander Zimmer."