Alex put down his terminal and surveyed the convoy before him.
Night fell and the streetlights flickered on, one by one. The soldiers preparing to leave the zone tomorrow were loading supplies, checking engines, and topping off fuel tanks.
"Boss," Seth said, walking to Alex’s side. "The passes have all been distributed."
Seth glanced around before secretly slipping his own pass into Alex’s hand. "Boss," he whispered, "I heard people from the Military Department are at the checkpoint. Take my pass and go first."
Alex glanced down at the pass, then stuffed it back into Seth’s pocket. "The higher-ups in Zone 19 are watching me. It doesn’t matter how many of our guys are there; it’s useless."
As he spoke, his gaze swept coldly over the unfamiliar soldiers patrolling nearby.
’Most of the soldiers on this side of the eastern wall have been busy preparing to leave for the past two days,’ Alex thought. ’It finally gave them the chance they needed to plant their own people in here.’
Seth also sensed the presence of these strangers and frowned. "Boss, why do the Zone 19 higher-ups always have it out for you?"
"It might not be me they’re targeting," Alex said.
Seth looked at him, confused.
Alex said, "Go back and stand guard. Don’t leave the perimeter of the building until Gu Ning and the others are on the vehicles tomorrow."
"Yes, sir," Seth acknowledged. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Boss, are you really not going with the Little Boss?"
Alex saw a figure walking toward him and patted Seth’s back. "Go on. Do as I said."
Seth said no more and strode toward the building where Gu Ning was staying.
"Aren’t you going to explain about her?"
Vine stopped in front of Alex, crossing his arms as he looked at him.
Alex ignored the question. "Is your convoy ready?"
"Stop changing the subject," Vine said. "Be straight with me. What exactly is the relationship between you two?"
Seeing that Vine wouldn’t let it go, Alex brushed the snow off the side mirror and leaned against the car window to rest for a moment. He looked at Vine and said, "Didn’t you go see the Admiral? Did he not tell you?"
Vine thought about what he had heard from Andrew that morning. He glanced around, then said succinctly, "The Admiral told me her identity and that you’re protecting her. You don’t have... other intentions, do you?"
"Did you approach her deliberately because you knew who she was, or was there some other reason?"
Alex fell silent for a moment after hearing the question. "I can’t answer that. But I will always protect her. I imagine if it were you in my shoes, you’d do the same."
Vine’s gaze, sharp as a blade, scrutinized Alex and his words.
After a moment, he took an item out of his pocket and tossed it to Alex.
The card-like object flashed silver as it flew through the air.
Alex raised his hand and caught it. Opening his palm, he saw it was a pass—a special-access pass, at that.
He flipped the card over between his fingers, looking surprised. "Who gave you this?"
"Cyril," Vine said.
At the mention of Cyril, Alex’s eyes flickered, and he looked up at Vine.
"If Cyril gave it to you, it wouldn’t be right for me to take it. You keep it." Alex tossed the pass back to him.
Vine caught the pass and frowned. "You think I want to give this to you? If you don’t go, do you expect her to stay behind with you?"
He glanced around and lowered his voice. "Every day she stays here is another day she’s in danger."
The dangers in Zone 19 weren’t just the Mutant Species and the gangs; there were far more sinister things lurking in the shadows.
Blocking the passes was just the beginning.
Even though Andrew hadn’t told him much, he could sense something was off about this whole pass incident.
If the young female didn’t leave soon, she would be dragged into all of Zone 19’s dirty business.
She wasn’t an ordinary female. Those people would definitely start getting ideas about her.
"I appreciate the thought," Alex said, "but she will be leaving."
"Don’t you want to go with her?" Vine asked.
"Of course I do. But we have to follow protocol."
Vine was about to say more, but Alex stood up straight, walked over, and clapped him on the shoulder. He tilted his head and said, "We each have our own missions."
Hearing the word "mission," Vine swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
’Even though we’ve never seen eye to eye, we’re both alpha wolves. We understand that some responsibilities are more important than personal desires.’
’I’ll just have to trust him for now.’
"Protect her," Alex added in a low voice.
.
「Midnight.」
Gu Ning was buried under her blankets, scrolling through her terminal. Its soft glow illuminated her face.
Maybe it was because she was about to leave Zone 19, but she was too excited and nervous to sleep. For the first time, she had insomnia, unable to drift off no matter how long she lay there.
Since she couldn’t sleep, she simply opened an app called PawPress. She set her terminal to silent mode, hoping to lull herself to sleep by watching a few videos.
She scrolled through the homepage, watched a few random videos, and then started a drama series called *Beastman’s House*.
It was a classic series on PawPress, with over five hundred episodes already out. Each episode was about thirty minutes long, making it the longest-running paid drama on the platform.
She had already seen over twenty episodes. The show was exceptionally well-made, from the script and acting to the set design. The plot centered on a community made up of different clans, telling stories about the various ups and downs of their lives in an episodic format. The Beastmen in the show could be in human form, half-beast form, or full beast form, and they switched between them seamlessly without needing special effects. The overall style was reminiscent of an old-fashioned family sitcom she had once watched, just a Beastman version.
It was the most realistic depiction of Beastman life Gu Ning had ever seen, and she was thoroughly engrossed.
The show’s enduring popularity wasn’t just due to its great production and writing; it also boasted the most female cast members of any show, including a permanent female lead.
Even though her screen time wasn’t huge, it was still miles ahead of other shows and movies.
The latest episode Gu Ning was watching featured a young man from the Fox Clan who had just moved into the community. He was extravagantly dressed, taking his little nephew to a banquet hosted by a female.
When the little nephew appeared on screen, Gu Ning’s eyes lit up.
’What a cute little fox!!!’
The nephew, who looked to be only seven or eight years old, was a little white fox. He wore a tiny vest and a bow tie, with his furry ears and tail out. Holding a book, he delivered his lines with a straight face, roasting his uncle for dressing like a peacock and wearing overpowering cologne.
Gu Ning couldn’t help but chuckle at the subtitles for the little white fox’s deadpan complaints. ’The contrast is just too adorable.’
’Wait, why do this little fox and his uncle look so familiar?’
She hit pause and pulled up the episode’s cast list, where she was stunned to see two familiar names: Idelos and Deviant.
’So I do know them.’
’Idelos was acting in shows when he was this little? No wonder he’s so popular. He was a child star.’
Gu Ning went back to the video, ready to continue watching, when her blanket was suddenly yanked away.
Barto was crouching by her head. "Still not asleep? Do you plan on getting up tomorrow?"
He startled her. She clutched her chest and said, "Going to sleep now."
’After I finish this episode,’ she thought. She was just getting to the good part.
"Can’t sleep?" Barto asked.
Gu Ning nodded.
Barto’s gaze fell on her glowing terminal. "What are you watching?"
Gu Ning asked, "Want to watch?"
"...I can’t sleep either," Barto admitted.
Gu Ning found that strange. After his and Cook’s second mutation, they usually passed out the moment their heads hit the pillow. Even if she made noise in the middle of the night, it wouldn’t wake them.
’Could it be the little fox is just like me, too worked up about leaving Zone 19 to sleep?’
With that thought, Gu Ning sat up and projected the video onto the wall, ready to finish the episode of *Beastman’s House* with the little fox.
Barto got up to get a drink of water, pouring a cup of hot water for Gu Ning while he was at it.
The noise woke Cook, who groggily sat up next to Gu Ning, resting his head on her shoulder.
Gu Ning patted the little pup’s head and pressed play, finally able to turn the volume up.
Hearing a vaguely familiar voice, Barto froze and turned to look at the video projected on the wall.
"..."