As Seth’s car drove off, Gu Ning took one last look at the apartment building where they had lived.
In the hazy morning mist, the nondescript building gradually faded from her sight.
She raised the camera hanging around her neck and took a picture.
"Can’t bear to leave?" Vine stopped the window halfway up, letting her take another look.
Gu Ning shook her head. She was a little sad to leave a place she’d lived in for so long, but that was overshadowed by the joy of leaving a dangerous area and the apprehension of starting a new life.
"WOOHOO!!! Let’s go, let’s go!"
A car sped past them with a cheer, following closely behind Seth’s vehicle.
The driver’s side window was wide open, and Gu Ning could clearly see the Beastman behind the wheel.
...It was that annoying dog.
Her sentimental mood was shattered by the cold wind that blasted in from the passing car. She pulled her gaze back, closed the window, and snapped a photo of the vehicle. She decided she would write a small suggestion to the Military Department’s propaganda division about getting Beastmen to drive properly.
Gu Ning secretly nursed her grudge.
Vine turned on the car’s heating system and started the vehicle.
As the sky brightened and the morning fog thickened, the convoy drove steadily toward Zone 19’s only open checkpoint.
An hour or so later, the convoy entered the tunnel at the base of the southern defensive wall.
Gu Ning had been dozing off, but the moment her vision went dark, she was instantly wide awake.
The tunnel environment was all too familiar, and she instinctively became alert.
The tunnel had no lights of its own, illuminated only by green emergency lamps. She took off her goggles and turned to look at Vine in the driver’s seat beside her. He was staring intently ahead, his face flickering in the emergency lights.
Remembering Alex wasn’t in the car with her, Gu Ning sighed softly and glanced back at Barto and Cook.
Cook’s head was resting against the back of her seat. His eyes were half-closed and he looked exhausted, but he was forcing himself to stay awake.
Barto was quietly looking out the window, lost in thought.
When Gu Ning turned her head, her eyes met Vine’s.
She couldn’t help but sit up a little straighter.
Vine’s voice was low. "Sleep if you want to. You don’t need to wear a mask in the car. The windows are one-way glass; no one can see inside."
Hearing this, Gu Ning pulled her mask down slightly to uncover her nose and breathe.
Seeing the car ahead slow down, she knew they were about to reach the checkpoint. Barto had already told her about the series of inspections, so she couldn’t fall asleep yet.
The convoy was moving at a relatively steady pace, so the inspections up ahead were probably going quickly.
The point of light at the tunnel’s exit grew closer, and Gu Ning reached into her pocket for her pass.
But her fingertips brushed against something hard.
Gu Ning paused, pulling a palm-sized object from her pocket.
’What’s this?’
She turned on her terminal for light and brought the object closer to her eyes for a better look—
It was a white camera.
This camera was about half the size of the one hanging around her neck, and it was incredibly light.
Gu Ning expertly found the power switch. The camera’s functions were basically identical to the one she was currently using.
Gu Ning was astonished.
’How did this camera get in my pocket?’
She turned back to look at Barto and asked:
"Barto, you give me... camera?"
Barto’s gaze shifted from the window to her. He yawned and said, "You want a new camera? Once we get to Zone 5, we can hunt for one for you in an antique shop."
"We’re approaching the checkpoint," Vine interrupted them. He said to Gu Ning, "Give me your pass."
Hearing Barto’s reply, Gu Ning could only suppress her confusion for the moment. She pulled her mask back up and handed her pass to Vine.
Barto also took out his and Cook’s passes, waiting for the inspection.
Vine’s car stopped before the checkpoint.
It was Gu Ning’s first time seeing a Zone 19 checkpoint.
The checkpoint station resembled a highway toll booth she had seen before, but it was far more fortified. There were several layers of barriers, and the automatic crossbar was so thick it looked like it could easily smash a large SUV like theirs in half.
Seeing two inspectors approaching with orange light sticks, Gu Ning grew nervous.
Barto held Cook down, who was snarling at the window, and shushed him. He stared intently at the Beastman inspector approaching the car.
Vine didn’t move, but his hand on the steering wheel tightened for a moment.
Just then, another Beastman walked up from behind the two inspectors and said something to them in a low voice. The two exchanged a look and headed toward the car behind them.
"Wolf Team." The Beastman who remained tapped on the window, his eyes occasionally flicking toward the two inspectors who were walking away.
Vine waited until the other inspectors had walked away, then cracked the window open and handed out the passes for himself and his three passengers.
The Beastman outside took the passes, swiped them quickly on a device in his hand, and handed them back to Vine. He gave Vine a slight nod and made a hand gesture.
Vine closed the window, started the car with a grim expression, and stepped on the gas.
’Looks like Alex was right to stay behind,’ he thought. ’Someone leaked our movements and tipped them off that we’re traveling with a female who doesn’t have Beast Alliance status.’
’The inspection wasn’t too strict. They must have been thrown off by the misinformation we spread, thinking Gu Ning stayed behind with Alex, or that she’s in another car.’
Vine’s car passed through the checkpoint smoothly.
After the few cars behind them cleared the inspection, the car carrying Seth and the others, which had deliberately stayed back, was stopped.
"Him." The inspector pointed at the "Alex" in the passenger seat, his expression cold. "His pass didn’t clear the check. He can’t leave the zone."
Seth looked at the pass in the inspector’s hand. "Buddy, take a closer look. Didn’t it go through?"
"This isn’t his—" The inspector suddenly froze when he saw an unfamiliar name on the scanner’s screen. He snapped his head up to look at the alpha wolf inside the car.
Before his and his partner’s eyes, "Alex" gradually transformed into the inspector’s own likeness.
"Seriously, do you people even know how to do your jobs?" Seth snatched the pass back. "This guy is a mission objective we’re taking back with us. Can’t you see this is a special permit required for the mission?"
The Beastman inspector’s mouth twitched. "Mission documents!"
Seth unhurriedly pulled out a stack of documents and handed them over. "Take your time."
"Can you hurry the hell up?!" Leo leaned out from the car behind them, shouting impatiently. "What the fuck are you checking that’s taking so long? If I weren’t in a rush to go enjoy myself in Zone 5, I’d have smashed up your whole damn department by now."
Hearing the shouting from the car behind, the Beastman inspector grew flustered and anxious. Their objective wasn’t to verify the documents’ authenticity anyway.
His eyes scanned the car’s interior, and he took a deep sniff of the air inside. After smelling nothing but wolves and no other unusual scents, he could only grit his teeth and let them pass.
Seth held up the documents. "Don’t you want to take another look?"
The inspector glanced at the Mimic Mixed Species inside the car, which was now wearing his face. He felt utterly creeped out and waved them on. "Just go!"
Seth slowly rolled up the window and stepped on the gas.
Only after the car had driven some distance did he finally breathe a sigh of relief, drenched in a cold sweat.
He turned to look at 1366 in the passenger seat, who had already changed back to look like the boss. Seth swallowed nervously, shoved the button for the shock collar back into his pocket, and wiped his sweaty palms on his clothes.