Chapter 158: Chapter 146: Isn’t There a Mimic Mixed Species Right Beside Him?
"Just bear with it."
Kloer patted Jite, who was lying on the ground, and took out a dagger to dig the bullet out of his right hind leg.
Gu Ning squatted beside them with a flashlight, helping to light the area. Seeing the blade pierce the flesh, she felt a sympathetic pain in her own leg and looked away, unable to watch.
Jite didn’t make a sound. He even licked Gu Ning reassuringly.
Kloer quickly extracted the bullet. A thumb-sized, bloody hole was left where Jite had been shot, blood gushing out. Gu Ning immediately sprinkled styptic powder on the wound.
She had found the powder in a small first-aid pouch in her backpack. The pouch contained gauze, cotton balls, topical ointment, and other supplies—all packed for her by Barto.
Kloer examined the bullet and asked, "This doesn’t look like a military-issue bullet. Who attacked you?"
Fortunately, Beastmen were physically robust and durable; an ordinary bullet wasn’t enough to easily kill them.
The military’s weapons were manufactured in dedicated arsenals, and both their guns and bullets bore military markings and serial numbers.
These weapons were primarily used to deal with Mutant Species and were more powerful.
Weapons in all zones were also controlled by the Military Department. Private manufacturing of weapons was a violation of Beast Alliance law. If military weapons ended up in private hands, the person responsible would be held accountable.
Under such strict weapons control, very few military weapons ever circulated. The weapons in Zone 19 were all privately made and couldn’t compare in power to military-grade ones.
Gu Ning also wanted to know who had attacked Jite and the others. Mutant Species didn’t use any kind of weapons, so it was impossible for one to have shot Jite.
’Could it be those wolf packs that are at odds with Alex?’
She felt that wasn’t right. If it were them, Barto wouldn’t have had to come and tell them to leave.
She was extremely worried about Barto and Cook right now, but she had no leads. There was nothing she could do but wait and hope that Jite could provide them with some useful information.
When Barto ran off just now, she had reacted quickly and sent Seth and the others after him. They had returned shortly after, saying they lost his trail right at the entrance.
Jite glanced at Gu Ning, who was diligently treating his wound, then barked a response to Kloer.
Gu Ning impatiently wrote a note to Kloer: [What did Jite say?]
Kloer scratched his head. "Actually, I don’t really understand the Wolf Clan’s beast tongue."
"..."
Gu Ning’s eyebrow twitched. She put down the note. ’Then why did you even ask him?!’
Seeing her cute, frustrated expression, Kloer ruffled her hair. "Jite is injured, so it’s not a good idea for him to change forms casually; it would increase the probability of mutation. That little fox has already sent a few young wolves to search. You just stay here and rest easy. I’m going to go out and get a handle on the situation."
Jite nodded his wolf head in agreement and gently nudged Gu Ning with his snout.
Earlier in the day, Alex had come over to help them resolve their conflict with the Military Department’s wolf pack. After getting an understanding of the situation and seeing that Cook and Barto hadn’t followed, he sent them to go find them.
They had followed the scent of the two Mixed Breeds all the way to the Central District, where they lost the trail.
He led his men to search around the Central District for a while before they were suddenly attacked by an unknown assailant. Not long after, Barto appeared and told them to return and find Gu Ning.
Thinking about it carefully now, Barto’s behavior was very strange.
The Beastmen who attacked them were most likely gangsters from Zone 19. Barto must have provoked them, which is why he was in such a rush to have them bring Gu Ning to Alex for protection.
Having been in Zone 19 for so long, they had learned a thing or two about these local gangs.
Most of these gang members were vicious and would do anything. Every year when Zone 19 was cleared of Mutant Species, the military would also clean up the gangs. With the military standing guard, the gangs didn’t dare get too brazen.
However, now was the critical period for clearing out Mutant Species, so the military didn’t have the spare manpower to deal with them.
Jite didn’t know how Barto had provoked these gangs, or whether Gu Ning was involved. He only knew that until the military took action to clean up the gangs, he couldn’t let Gu Ning leave the military’s protection.
After Kloer left the room, Jite got up and stood guard at the door. His enormous body blocked the entrance completely. He and Seth formed a guard, one inside and one out.
Seeing their formation, Gu Ning knew she had no choice but to wait anxiously in the room, periodically checking her terminal to see if the network was back online.
Her only hope now was for the power to come back on quickly so she could contact Barto through her terminal.
Without realizing it, she curled up on the sofa and drifted into a hazy sleep.
During this time, Cyril came by once. He brought some food for Gu Ning and also wanted to check on the little Mixed Breed’s condition.
However, Seth and the others were guarding so tightly that they wouldn’t let anyone who wasn’t one of their own get close. Even though it was his own house, Cyril couldn’t get in. He had to leave the food at the door and go.
「2:00 AM.」
In a state between dreams and reality, Gu Ning heard the door open. A moment later, she felt someone drape a blanket over her.
The room was pitch-black; she couldn’t see a thing. Her consciousness was hazy, on the verge of slipping back into sleep, when a white light suddenly flashed before her eyes.
"The power’s back on!" Kloer’s hushed, excited voice sounded in her ear.
Gu Ning slowly opened her eyes.
Just then, a call popped up on Kloer’s terminal, and he answered it without a second thought.
"Lanuo?" Kloer said happily. "How’d you know to call me?"
Lanuo sounded relieved that he had answered. "I haven’t heard from you guys in a long time, and I couldn’t reach Alex. At least I finally got ahold of you."
Kloer glanced toward the sofa, then walked toward the door, lowering his voice. "Zone 19’s power and network have been down for about ten days. And look at that, you called me the second the power came back on."
"It’s no coincidence," Lanuo said. "I’ve been trying to contact you all for days. How are things over there? What’s the progress on clearing out the Mutant Species?"
"Almost done." Kloer patted Jite, who was lying in the entryway, motioning for him to move aside so he could step out to talk with Lanuo.
Jite opened his eyes and slowly got to his feet.
"Once the King Seed is dealt with and Zone 19’s entrances and exits are reopened, Alex will take us back. If all goes well, it should be just two or three days," Kloer continued.
Lanuo sounded a bit surprised. "So soon? Winter has just barely started."
He wasn’t just commenting on the speed at which the military was dealing with the Mutant Species, but also on Alex’s early return. According to Alex’s plan, he was supposed to take a position in the Military Department and wasn’t expected back in Zone 5 until spring at the earliest.
Kloer said, "Winter came early to Zone 19 this year, so the Mutant Species attacked early too. It’s not really that fast. We still don’t even know if we can lure out the King Seed."
Lanuo: "Lure out?"
Kloer said, "You haven’t heard? According to military intelligence, there are at least three King Seeds this time. The military has only killed one so far. They’ve swept through all of Zone 19 these past couple of days, but there’s still no sign of the other King Seeds. They have no choice but to use a Mimic Mixed Species."
After hearing this, Lanuo said thoughtfully, "So that’s how it is. That must be Alex’s mission."
Kloer: "What’s ’how it is’?"
Lanuo didn’t answer, asking instead about the military’s arrangements.
Kloer told him everything he knew. "I just got this intel myself. I don’t know if it’ll work. I’ve never seen a Mimic Mixed Species imitate a female before. Can that thing really be effective against a King Seed?"
"You’ve never seen one?" Lanuo asked, puzzled. "Isn’t there one with Alex right now?"
