“That’s fighting dirty!” One of the boys behind the bench shouted, but Khan ignored him.

Khan used that chance to turn and take care of the blinded boy. He was still covering his eyes, so he couldn’t react to the precise kick that hit his groin.

The two boys behind the bench covered their mouths again. They didn’t expect Khan to go after their already hurt friend, but they had to admit that his tactic worked well.

Khan didn’t stop there. The four boys had given him the chance to vent his foul mood. Another kick fell on the blinded guy’s belly while his two friends were still trying to reach him.

The two boys eventually reached Khan. One of them tried to grab him, but Khan swiftly took a step back and dodged his arms. However, the second kid approached him from the side and managed to throw a punch on his face.

Pain spread on Khan’s face, but he didn’t lose his focus. He pretended to stumble on the grass near the street, and the two boys promptly tried to exploit that chance. However, their vision went dark when Khan threw a handful of dirt in their eyes.

“Watch your balls!” Khan shouted, and the two blinded boys quickly covered their groins.

Khan’s left fist hit one of them on the nose and made him stumble on the ground. The boy instinctively protected his head during the fall, so Khan’s kick could reach his groin without any obstruction.

“You’ll pay for this!” The fourth boy shouted after he managed to regain his vision.

Khan fell to the ground as the boy jumped on his back. A series of punches landed on his face and forced him to use his arms to block them. Yet, more lies came out of his mouth.

“Do you think that sitting on top of me is a good idea?” Khan asked, and the boy stopped his offensive to check his opponent’s legs.

Khan’s hand promptly reached the boy’s face at that point. He used all his strength to slam his opponent on the ground, and a faint cracking noise reached his ears.

‘What?’ Khan shouted in his mind while crouching on the ground to check the boy.

His ears didn’t lie to him. The boy had fainted after his head had slammed on the ground, and blood flowed out of his mouth. Something had broken during the impact, and Khan began to panic at that sight.

‘This one needs a doctor,’ Khan quickly concluded and grabbed his phone.

Khan searched through the various menus to find something that could make him call a doctor, but a faint worry made him stop his actions.

‘Can they even expel me for this?’ Khan wondered for an instant, and his priorities soon took control of his actions.

Khan stored his phone and began to search the fainted boy’s pockets. He quickly found a phone, and he didn’t hesitate to grab his hand to pass through the genetic scanner.

“Put your arms behind your head and lie on the ground,” A metallic voice suddenly resounded behind him.

Khan let go of the phone and followed those orders. He slowly turned before lying on the ground, and three short robots appeared in his vision.

Those robots were identical to those in charge of cleaning the streets. They were rectangular and white, and two pairs of large wheels allowed them to move freely through the training camp. However, two arms had come out of their body at that time.

The arms wielded small tasers pointed toward Khan. He had no option but to obey those orders, but he didn’t miss the chance to improve his situation.

“That boy needs a doctor,” Khan explained. “I think he fell on a rock or something.”

“We have already recorded the entire violation,” One of the robots said with its usual mechanical voice. “A lieutenant is currently reviewing the tape. You all must remain in custody before the verdict.”

‘Dad would be proud of me,’ Khan laughed in his mind.

The robots put handcuffs on Khan and the four boys. Then, they activated scanners to inspect their injuries. It didn’t take much before a small drone flew above the fourth kid and lifted it in the air through a yellow light.

Similar drones arrived above Khan and the others, but they didn’t use the same care. They magnetically attracted the handcuffs and forced the four to fly across the camp while hanging from their surface.

The direction of the two groups was also different. The fourth boy flew toward the medical bay, while Khan and the others went toward the outskirts of the camp, where the ground opened to reveal a large basement.

Four holes opened on the basement’s roof before the drones dropped their prisoners there. Khan suddenly landed in a small cell that featured metal bars covered by azure light.

The handcuffs automatically opened once the hole in the roof closed, and tremors spread through the cells as the basement returned underground. Only the faint light of the electric torches continued to illuminate the area, but everything appeared quite dark nonetheless.

‘What a beautiful first day in the army,’ Khan thought while giving voice to a faint laugh.

A warm sensation moved his attention away from the cell. Khan checked his face and discovered that a line of blood was falling from his nose. A few bruises had also appeared on his cheek and corner of his right eye, but none of them seemed serious.

‘I’ve become quite tough,’ Khan concluded.

The fourth boy had landed many punches on his face, but he had endured the blows quite well. Still, thinking about his strength reminded him of the cracking noise.

‘I should be careful,’ Khan thought while inspecting his hands. ‘I don’t know how strong I am. I should avoid getting into fights until I learn to control myself.’

Khan sighed before sitting on the bench inside his cell. The battle wasn’t his fault, but he had still let his feelings take control of his actions. He could have run away after knocking the first two boys unconscious and avoid that mess.

‘The robots have recorded the fight,’ Khan thought. ‘I should be fine unless the Global Army is as corrupted as the Slums.’

His background was quite messy, while the boys seemed to come from Ylaco’s wealthy districts. Khan didn’t know what to think about the army, but he didn’t feel too anxious. His father would give him a hand if something unfair were to happen.

Khan inspected the basement, but the dim light didn’t allow him to see much. Two rows of identical cells occupied the sides of the building, but he couldn’t find other prisoners except for the three boys.

His hand eventually went into his pocket. Khan drew the phone and smiled when he saw that it worked even from inside the cell. His fingers quickly tapped on the smooth screen and browsed through the menus to find the army’s regulations.

‘The punishment for the fights inside the camp consists of a few hours of work inside one of the buildings,’ Khan read. ‘That’s not bad. You can also pay a small number of Credits to avoid the work, but I can’t do much in my case.’

The regulations described specific cases that could aggravate the punishment, and Khan read through all of them. He wanted to memorize those rules before returning to the camp.

The three boys eventually woke up, and loud complaints resounded from their cells once they understood where they were. Some of them even gave voice to threats that featured their family name, but no one cared about them.

Their attention soon fell on Khan. The three boys could see that he was quietly browsing through his phone, and their anger didn’t allow them to remain silent.

“This is all your fault!” One of the boys shouted. “Who is so stupid to fight inside the camp?”

“You, apparently,” Khan replied without moving his eyes from the phone.

“Where is Samuel?” Another boy asked.

“I think the drone flew him to the doctor,” Khan honestly explained.

A second of silence followed that revelation. The boys were angry, but they didn’t forget that Khan had beaten them. The fact that their friends had ended up needing medical care made them also feel a tinge of fear toward him.

“You just wait,” The first boy whispered. “We have underestimated you today, but we still have a long time together. Be sure to watch your back, and start covering your groin.”

Khan wanted to bicker some more, but a loud snore suddenly resounded through the basement. The noise came from the other side of the building, where a table, chairs, and a series of clothes occupied the area.

A figure slowly began to move among the clothes. A tall man who wore only a pair of trousers stood up and began to browse through the pile under him.

The man cursed and snorted whenever he failed to find what he was looking for. He went through all the uniforms in the pile of clothes, but he remained unsatisfied.

“Sir! Sir!” The first boy shouted once the man turned toward his cell. “There has been a mistake. I’m Bloke Seylor. I’m sure you are aware of my family.”

“I can barely remember where I put my damned uniform,” The man snorted before inspecting the various cells.

“Sir! Sir!” Bloke continued. “Please, listen to me. I shouldn’t be here. We were only playing around.”

“What kind of game makes you lose a brawl in such fashion?” The man replied without bothering to stop his search. “I’ve seen the battle. I have to admit that I laughed at times.”

“Are you the Lieutenant in charge of our case, sir?” Khan asked when he heard those words.

“I’ve already given my verdict,” The man replied while approaching the other side of the basement. “You are in the clear, young man. You fought well.”

Khan wanted to thank the Lieutenant, but the Bloke spoke before him. “How could you do that? He sent Samuel to the medical bay!”

“Who cares,” The man snorted.

“I will definitely tell my father about this!” Bloke continued. “You are only a Lieutenant. I bet that the Global Army will strip you of your rank!”

The man ignored those words, and his eyes lit up when he found a uniform hidden in the corner of a cell. He quickly wore it, and the four boys remained shocked when they saw three stars on both shoulders.