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Chapter 6 - The Burning Flames: One Step At A Time I

"Sit down, Private Theo. Let's have a more casual conversation," said the general, as he gestures for Theo to sit down on a chair next to him. Theo's eyes narrow before he bows down to show respect. 

"Yes sir," he sits down as he keeps his formal gesture. General Robert wants to have a simple yet informative conversation, so he thought Theo would loosen up a bit but it seems like the opposite. 

'I guess it won't be easy to start a conversation with him. Though I understand the position that he is in,' General Robert just sighs with a small smile on his lips. Theo stares at the general when he suddenly sigh out of nowhere. 

"Well, I'm glad that you're being cooperative with me. Now, what do you wish to know first?" the general leans back to his chair, relaxing himself to not tense up the situation between them more. 

"Tell me what happened when I was unconscious. I want to know how I ended up here in the first place," Theo gets straight to the point. He wonders for so long, and now is the chance to understand the whole situation.

"I did promise to tell you that, didn't I? Hm.. the searching team was sent to check on any survivor from Unit 109, and eventually found you unconscious on the ground when they were checking the surrounding area. You were lucky to be detected by the heat detector," the general explains the situation. 

'Ah... so that was what happened..' Theo thinks to himself. He was indeed lucky to have been found that way. General Robert stares at Theo, wondering if he notice how unusual his body temperature is. 

"Private Theo, did you know that you were heading to the south?" The general doesn't want to mention about the temperature yet, so he keeps it to himself and asks about something else.

Theo looks at the general with a surprise face, looks like he didn't realize it. Maybe his body moved on its own, following its instinct. Either way, there's no point on dwelling with that any longer since it won't bring any benefit for the future. 

"Maybe I should not have asked that, my apologies. Let's start our first deal now, we should not waste any more times," General Robert knows that he needs to act quick in order for him to move forward. 

"So, what is it that you want, Private Theo?" the general takes the first step, and waits for Theo's answer. 

"Sir, I would like to hear your command first. Only after hearing that will I state my needs," Theo takes another turn, and waits for the general to state his needs first. If this deal is going to benefit the general more, Theo would want to control the needs stated, if the general's command were to be more dangerous, then he'll ask for bigger needs. 

He knows the general's order won't change anyways, so it's better for him to at least ask for the appropriate stuffs accordingly.

"Oh? Very well then," looks like Theo knows what he's doing when he accepted the deal. Right, a perfect candidate for the future commander that the general planned to 'build', or so to speak. 

"You will be appointed to another unit in 2 days, Unit 125. I want you to prepare yourself for an expedition. You might need to fight some machines though, since Unit 125 specialize in clearing any area," General Robert wants to see how Theo's fighting style looks like, and he wants to see if Theo is as fast and agile as what the Southern Regiment told him. 

'I just got discharged from the med tent and now I only have 2 days to prepare for the next battle. Looks like he is not playing around,' Theo eyes narrow as he listens to the general's command. 

'Well.. I won't be playing around too,' Theo nods at the general's command. General Robert smiles, looks like Theo is fine with the command too, so now, it's time for Theo's needs.

"What is it that you want then, Private Theo Smith?" The general waits for Theo's answer eagerly, who knows what he will come up with. Theo seems to be thinking for a while before he states his needs. 

"I need a cloak," Theo answers without hesitation. The general looks at him with a confused expression. 

"A cloak..?" that's... eccentric.