Chapter 176: Chapter 164: You Don’t Want to Do This Anymore?
The moment the fighting stopped, everyone’s attention turned to the young female nearby. They watched with varying expressions as she cried, clutching a Mixed Breed.
Leighton nudged the Beastman he had knocked unconscious with his foot. After contacting Little Black and the others to come clean up the mess, he strode quickly toward Gu Ning.
He had barely taken two steps before Cyril blocked his path.
Leighton looked Cyril up and down. "I’m with the police."
Cyril gave a slight nod. "Military Department."
Seeing that he had no intention of moving, and that the Military Department’s soldiers had formed an impenetrable line, Leighton said, "I’m here to investigate a case."
Cyril replied, "Thank you for your hard work, Officer. We’ll take it from here."
Leighton frowned and glanced in Gu Ning’s direction. "Isn’t the Military Department busy clearing out Mutant Species? How do you have the time to deal with these guys?"
As soon as he asked, he saw Mingxi push past the Beastman soldier blocking his way and head straight for Gu Ning, only to be stopped by two giant, transformed wolves.
Belial, in his beast form, emerged from behind Mingxi, baring his teeth and growling low at the two wolves. The atmosphere instantly grew tense, ready to explode.
Seeing this, both Leighton and Cyril hurried forward to break them up.
"If you’ve got so much energy, go chase Kuinan," Leighton said to the two young lions, giving Belial a kick for good measure.
Belial whipped his head around and roared at him. His sharp claws extended, gouging a deep scratch into the ground, ready to strike at any moment.
"Belial." Mingxi shot him a warning look.
Belial licked his lips and retreated to the side.
"She’s our mission," Mingxi said, forcing himself to be patient with Cyril. He opened his terminal to display his mission orders, stamped by the Beast Alliance’s investigation department.
Cyril glanced at the file, his eyes flickering between Mingxi and Leighton. "The military has taken over here," he said. "If either of you has a problem with that, you can take it up with your superiors."
Mingxi was about to say more, but he heard a low sound from Belial behind him. He paused, glanced at the young female surrounded by the two Mixed Breeds, and then turned and walked toward the entrance.
At the stairwell entrance, Mingxi stopped before the steps. He looked at the figure leaning against the wall and asked, "Did you catch him?"
Wanai was wrapping a leather belt around a long gash on his arm. "He got away."
Mingxi said, "Let him go. He wasn’t your assignment."
Wanai scoffed. "Oh, so you *do* remember he wasn’t my assignment."
"What you had me do already went far beyond what my commission covers."
Belial let out a low growl, clearly disagreeing with him.
’We paid him a fortune. Shouldn’t that cover it?’
Wanai shot him a glare, his eyes glinting sharply.
Sensing the leopard’s displeasure, Mingxi placed a hand on Belial and shook his head, then said to Wanai, "We’ll pay you double."
Belial: "AWOO...!"
’This damn leopard has already bled us dry! Where are we going to get more money?!’
Wanai bit one end of the leather belt to pull it tight around his wound. "The assignment ends here."
Mingxi asked, "You’re quitting?"
Wanai didn’t answer. He opened his terminal and brought up the photos he had just taken.
The photos showed the scene in the Beast Fighting Arena. Military Department soldiers stood in a line with their backs to the camera. And in the center of the frame was the little Mimic Mixed Species, kneeling on the ground and holding another Mixed Breed.
Wanai had taken several shots of the little Mixed Breed from different angles. He picked two and sent them to Eric to complete his report.
After a moment’s thought, he looked up at Mingxi and Belial. "Go stand over by the entrance."
Though they didn’t understand why, they did as he said and moved to the main entrance.
Wanai snapped a photo of them. As he sent it to Eric, he said, "No need to pay me again; your boss already has. Consider the extra work a BOGO deal. Come find me when you have money again, but next time, my rate will be triple."
Mingxi was stunned. "Our boss already paid?"
Wanai had no desire to explain further. "She’s right here. Whether or not you can get her from the military is up to you now."
’He actually wanted to get the little Mixed Breed alone himself. There was a question buried in his heart that he needed her to confirm. But with the military here, and her being a Mimic Mixed Species... trying to snatch someone from the military was difficult. More importantly, he didn’t want to piss off the Military Department. Getting on their blacklist would make future work a nightmare. There was no need to get mixed up in it.’
Having said his piece, Wanai glanced hesitantly toward the entrance.
After a brief pause, he ignored Mingxi’s questions and vanished into the darkness.
...
...
The dark clouds gradually scattered, and the heavy snow ceased. Zone 19 welcomed a rare spell of good weather.
However, the Beastmen filing into the conference room were all grim-faced, the weight of heavy burdens etched on their features.
Andrew sat at the head of the table, listening intently to the reports.
"The Mutant Species at the East, North, and West Walls have been almost completely cleared. Only a few stragglers remain at the South Wall."
"Based on this trend, the harvesting mission should be considered a success—"
"Success? What success?"
Vine cut the officer off, his voice low and firm. "King Seed No. 3 escaped. As long as it hasn’t been captured, the harvest isn’t over."
Andrew tapped his fingers on the table and asked Philinos, "Any trace of No. 3?"
Philinos replied, "It was heavily wounded. I’ve already sent two teams after it, but there’s been no sign of it so far. It fled in the direction of the No Man’s Land. Given its injuries, it likely won’t be showing itself again anytime soon."
Andrew nodded. "Maintain the alert."
Philinos: "Yes, sir."
Andrew’s gaze swept across the room. "You’ve all worked hard. The housing in the Central District has been cleared out. Once you’ve wrapped things up here, get some rest. We’ll post a rotating watch for King Seed No. 3, so there’s no need to be overly anxious. All other teams are to rest and regroup as planned."
Hearing this, and especially the part about the extra housing, everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of relief.
’After so many exhausting days, they could finally rest.’
"Our Dog Team gets first pick of the houses. Nobody better try and snatch them from us," Leo declared.
Andrew smiled faintly. "There are more than enough. Take your pick."
Leo waited for someone to object, but surprisingly, no one rose to the bait.
Especially the Wolf Team and the Bird Team, who usually loved to antagonize him, were silent as the grave.
’Something had felt off ever since he’d entered the conference room. At first, he’d just assumed they were worried about the escaped King Seed No. 3, but now, it felt even stranger.’
Andrew gave a few more orders before dismissing the meeting.
Everyone rose one by one to leave. Leo pushed his chair back, ready to go as well, but then he noticed Philinos, Vine, and Alex—who hadn’t said a single word the entire meeting—were still sitting motionlessly in their seats. They showed no sign of leaving. A suspicious look crossed Leo’s face, and he sat back down.
Leo casually propped his leg up, looking at Andrew. "Something you forgot to mention?"
Andrew replied, "It’s nothing. Go take your pups to pick out their housing."
Leo didn’t move. ’They obviously have more to discuss. Why are they trying to exclude me?’
