Lance finished speaking unhurriedly and stood up. "Oh, by the way, the Nine Tower is quite interesting. The ninth floor, I mean." Lance's words carried a hidden meaning. This also answered Thora's earlier question. He had been in the Nine Tower this whole time. The food in front of him was barely touched. He wasn't hungry at all. He had only accepted the meal for the sake of accepting it. Thora mulled over Lance's words. He was hinting that the person who had just attacked her very likely knew her true identity. But that didn't narrow things down much. The academy's higher-ups could easily know who she really was. Why they wanted to attack her was the real question. Lance took a few steps, then, as if suddenly remembering something, said without turning around, "About two hours ago, there was apparently a violent assault in the cafeteria. I heard it was your little sidekick who did it. She's probably in a solitary confinement cell by now. "I hear the military academy's solitary confinement cells are specifically designed to discipline students who break the rules..." His voice faded along with his footsteps. Thora's expression shifted instantly. She rose from her seat, not even bothering to finish her meal. The "little sidekick" Lance mentioned was obviously Shirley. Shirley had always been wild and hard to tame. Though she had mellowed out over the years, she still had a tendency to snap whenever Thora wasn't around. But Thora was certain that with Shirley's current temperament, she would never throw the first punch unless someone else started it. So she needed to find out exactly what had happened. She headed straight back to her quarters. Sure enough, Tristan, Luke, and Ryan were already waiting at the door. "Boss." The moment Tristan saw Thora return, he went to meet her, his eyes fixed on her without blinking. Thora nodded, opened the door, and stepped inside, only to discover there was an extra person in the room. She looked at Ryan. "Why are you here too?" Ryan had been acting more and more like he belonged lately, as if he had somehow become part of the inner circle. She had no idea when it started, but this guy had quietly wormed his way into their group, always showing up around them. Though Thora had long since figured out what he was after, he had never formally asked, so she had never formally acknowledged him. Trying to slip in under the radar? Not that easy. Luke stifled a laugh, pushed up his glasses, and walked straight inside. Tristan also wore an expression like he was ready to enjoy the show. Although he and Ryan had become pretty close after all those fights turned into friendship, close enough to call each other brothers, the Boss wasn't someone you could just sneak your way into following. So he was more than happy to watch Thora give Ryan a hard time. ... Ryan licked his dry lips. Never in his life had he imagined he would find himself at a loss for words in front of a woman. He was a tough, battle-hardened guy, for crying out loud. Why was he suddenly nervous? He cleared his throat. "Since we're all Astralis Military, we should have each other's backs here. And besides..." Ryan suddenly snapped his legs together and stood at attention, bellowing with full conviction, "Fighting alongside the Boss means I'm one of her men!" The moment those words left his mouth, he felt several icy stares pierce into him and immediately shut his mouth. Wait! Was there something wrong with what he said? Why were Tristan and Luke looking at him like that? Thora didn't give Ryan any more grief and walked inside. Ryan quickly followed. "What happened with Shirley?" she asked, sitting down and getting straight to the point. Luke calmly recounted the situation to Thora. "That's what happened. Shirley was taken away by soldiers on the spot and thrown into solitary for aggravated assault. The guy she stabbed was hurt too badly to heal on his own, so they rushed him straight to the infirmary. If they'd been a minute later, he probably would've lost that hand for good." When Luke said that last part, his tone carried an unmistakable chill. Even if Shirley had made a mistake, the only person who had the right to discipline her was the Boss. No one else was allowed to lay a finger on her. That was a rule they had all carved into their bones over the years. Now that the rule had been broken, how could he not be furious? If Harvey and Ashton were here, they would feel exactly the same as Luke. And that was the unity of Wolffang. Thora frowned. "Who was the guy?"