Chapter 105: Chapter 101: Puppies, in Such a Sorry State?
West Wall Base.
Kloer stepped out of the elevator, a document in hand, and hurried toward the combat operations conference room.
The hallway outside the conference room was crowded with Beastmen in combat gear. They were standing or leaning against the walls, talking amongst themselves. Kloer’s gaze swept over them before he pushed open the conference room doors.
A tidal wave of noise flooded out from within.
The conference room was just as packed. In addition to the higher-ups from Zone 19 and the Military Department, there were also many squad captains from the First Military District and the Second Military Zone.
Kloer finally managed to squeeze his way to Alex’s side. He handed him the document and whispered in his ear, "Boss, these bastards have rented out most of the houses in the Central District. There’s barely anything left."
Alex frowned slightly as he flipped through the document.
"Our men have been waiting for half a day. When are you going to arrange accommodations for us?"
"Easy, easy," the head of Zone 19 said, trying to placate the disgruntled members of the Military Department. "We’re already making arrangements."
"And your ’arrangements’ involve us sleeping in the base’s main hall?" a captain said coldly.
"It’s just temporary," a Zone 19 higher-up said. "Winter came early this year, and many people’s leases haven’t expired yet. We can’t just kick them out."
Although the housing in Zone 19 was centrally managed and allocated by a department, just like in other zones, it had a unique situation. The population turnover in Zone 19 was extremely high, and the accommodations prepared for the Military Department were only occupied for two or three months out of the year. So, the Zone 19 higher-ups who controlled the housing management rented these properties out, collecting rent like subletters.
This year, not only did winter arrive early, but the Mutant Species populations had also expanded, attracting more Beastmen who came to prospect for Crystal Stones. In previous years, Zone 19 could barely manage to accommodate the army. This year, they couldn’t even free up half the houses.
"Are you saying we should make way for that trash?" a captain from the Bird Team, Philinos, stared menacingly at the higher-up.
After he spoke, the other captains started arguing with the Zone 19 higher-ups again.
Seeing the scene, Admiral Andrew, who was sitting at the head of the table, rubbed his temples with a headache. "Calm down, you pups. Let’s talk this out properly..."
No one heard him. The various squads were in a screaming match with the higher-ups, red in the face and on the verge of grabbing chairs to throw at each other.
"What the hell is this? Making us put up with that trash? I think your heads are full of shit!"
"And you still want us to guard the Wall? Fuck off."
"You useless, money-grubbing bastards, why don’t you grab a gun and go kill the Mutant Species yourselves!"
"Look at them, so fat and greasy. You think they can even lift a gun? Give ’em a little knife, maybe."
The faces of the Zone 19 higher-ups turned blue from the verbal abuse of these thuggish captains, and they immediately dropped all pretense of politeness.
"You have the nerve to talk? Inhibitor production increases every year, but we never see a single extra vial end up in our hands."
"Exactly! Any random squad leader can fill their pockets in a single winter, and you captains earn even more, right? Whatever little bit you let slip through your fingers is more than we make from a whole year of collecting rent."
"If you could spare us some more Inhibitors and Crystal Stones, would we need to scrape by on rent money?"
"Bullshit!" a captain cursed. "That’s what we manage to save ourselves! We spend all year working our asses off, guarding the No Man’s Land and the Crystal Stone Mines, risking our lives to kill Mutant Species, while you sit here reaping the benefits and have the gall to complain."
"Who are you useless bastards trying to fool? Don’t think we don’t know how many Crystal Stones you’ve skimmed off the top by increasing the Inhibitor production."
Both sides were on their feet, shouting, shifting blame, and pointing fingers, spraying spittle at each other.
Only Andrew at the head of the conference table, Philinos in the middle, and Alex at the end remained seated and motionless.
Kloer quietly patted Alex’s back and whispered, "Boss, shouldn’t you get up and yell a bit too?"
Without looking up, Alex said, "It’s fine. Let them argue."
As he spoke, his fingers moved quickly, typing into the chat window for the contact saved as "Ning":
"Are you awake? Did you sleep well last night? Were you cold?"
Ning: "(>_
Alex: "If you’re still sleepy, you can sleep a little longer. I’ll have Seth leave the food on the table. You can eat and then go back to sleep."
Alex glanced up at the heated argument before replying: "What do you want for dinner? I’ll bring it back for you."
After a moment, Ning replied: "You don’t have to bring anything. You left a lot of food, it’s more than enough for me."
Alex: "I’m not busy today. I can get back before dinner. I’ll bring back something hot and we can eat together."
Ning: "Okay, I’ll wait for you then."
The corners of Alex’s mouth lifted slightly as he replied to Gu Ning with a "patting a little wolf’s head" sticker.
Kloer, who was beside him, caught a glimpse of his smile and thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Although the boss had a decent temper, it was rare to see him smile, let alone so... happily.
Kloer’s gaze shifted to the arguing crowd, and he understood. ’The boss must be just like me, enjoying the show these idiots are putting on.’
He was happy to see those moronic higher-ups getting cursed out. It would be even better if someone would just beat them up.
For the past few days, he had taken over some of Alex’s duties, and the tedious workload was so torturous he felt like tearing his hair out.
He couldn’t understand how the boss could tolerate these idiotic higher-ups from Zone 19. He’d only been doing the job for a few days and he already wanted to twist the bastards’ heads off.
"BANG!!!"
The conference room door was violently kicked open from the outside.
The door slammed against the wall, bounced back, and was shoved aside by the newcomer. With another loud CRASH, the poor door fell to the floor.
The conference room fell silent as everyone turned to look at the doorway.
The Beastman who had kicked the door was in combat gear, his head and face so covered in dirt and grime that his features were almost unrecognizable. But his silver-blue eyes were incredibly bright, shining with a ferocious light that looked like it wanted to devour someone.
Behind him stood an equally filthy Dog Clan squad.
Seeing the newcomer’s dust-covered appearance, the adjutant standing beside Andrew raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile.
"Well now, little puppies. Get yourselves into a messy situation?" Philinos tilted his head and taunted.
The lead Beastman shot him a vicious glare.
"Leo?" Andrew sized him up. "You seem to be in a great hurry. Is there something important to report?"
Andrew glanced at the higher-ups, then said in a gentle tone, "You’ve been fighting in the underground tunnels for days on end. That must have been tough. Get a good meal, rest well. Whatever it is can wait until later."
The adjutant next to him thought to himself, ’Now this is going to be a good show.’
"Who’s in charge of our food and lodging?" Leo’s gaze swept over everyone in the conference room, as if he were about to pounce and devour someone at any second.
The higher-ups looked at each other, none of them daring to speak.
Finally, their gazes landed in unison on Alex, who had been sitting there silently the entire time.
Feeling their eyes on him, Alex indifferently raised his gaze.
