Leo saw who had arrived, curled his lip, and took his foot off the wheel.

"We were just discussing his defense system technology with the great administrator," Leo said, then glanced at the small Mixed Breed in Alex’s arms. A malicious smile spread across his face. "Oh, and his little Mixed Breed, too. We’re quite curious about her temperament. If the great administrator can’t handle her, he can hand her over to us. He’s so busy, yet he still has to look after a little Mixed Breed. How exhausting."

Alex couldn’t be bothered to deal with him, merely lowering his gaze to the little female in his arms.

Cyril wasn’t the type to meddle in others’ affairs, especially when it was Leo deliberately stirring up trouble.

Gu Ning sensed that someone had arrived to help and peeked up timidly from the crook of Alex’s arm.

In the flickering light of Leo’s flashlight, she saw a tall, slender figure standing among the Beastman soldiers.

He wore a very formal black military uniform and cap. A gleaming gold insignia was pinned to his chest, making him stand out amongst the group of Beastman soldiers.

Gu Ning didn’t dare look for long. After a quick glance at the Beastman—so quick she didn’t even see his face clearly—she buried her head again.

Alex’s arm was wrapped around her shoulders, his large hand cupping the side of her head. He patted her gently twice, the gesture conveying a reassuring strength.

"Oh? A Mixed Breed?"

Cyril glanced at the small Mixed Breed cradled in Alex’s arms, then looked away, not showing much interest. He said to Leo, "Admiral Andrew has summoned you."

Leo asked, "Looking for me? What for?"

He shot Alex a nasty look. "You again? Do you enjoy running to the old lion to snitch every day?"

’Old lion?’ Cyril shot him a glance. ’The Admiral is only in his thirties, in the prime of his life.’

’It’s a good thing the Admiral is so good-natured. Otherwise, he could have easily found a way to put down this annoying dog.’

"The Wolf Team is there, too." Cyril raised his wrist to check the time. "If you run now, you can still make it there before them."

Hearing that the Wolf Team had been summoned as well, Leo figured it had to be something serious. He immediately led his Dog Clan squad away at a brisk pace to avoid being beaten there by the Wolf Team.

Seeing them leave, Gu Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Adjutant Cyril."

Alex said to Cyril.

"No need," Cyril said, turning sideways to watch them leave. "I just didn’t want you and the Dog Team causing a scene in front of Admiral Andrew."

’Otherwise, he’d be the one cleaning up the mess in the end, which would only add to his workload. It was better to resolve it now.’

’Alex is an extremely clever alpha wolf—so clever, in fact, that Cyril did his best to avoid him, not wanting to get entangled in his affairs.’

’Even Admiral Andrew had deliberately kept the Wolf Team separate from Alex’s pack, worried that Alex would win over the Wolf Team before the military could win over him.’

’While the Wolf Team was harder to handle than the Dog Team, Alex was a wolf from Zone 5. He was no pushover.’

Alex asked, "Won’t deceiving him cause you bigger problems?"

Cyril gave a faint smile as Alex so casually called him out. "Not at all. If the Wolf Team shows up late, these little pups will only be happier, thinking they’ve gotten one over on them. Compared to wolves, puppies are much easier to placate."

Alex heard the double meanings and thinly veiled jabs in his words and had no desire to continue the conversation. The little female had been frightened by the confrontation, and he needed to take her back and properly comfort her.

He gave Cyril a slight nod, twisted the throttle, and sped off with Gu Ning, disappearing into the night.

Cyril stood and watched them disappear for a moment, then gave a few orders to the two subordinates beside him before heading alone to Andrew’s quarters.

Andrew was heating wine on an alcohol stove. Its flame leaped and danced, providing a sliver of light in the pitch-black room.

Soon, the small aluminum pot of wine began to boil with a RUMBLING sound, filling the entire room with its rich aroma.

As Andrew listened to Cyril’s report, he picked up the aluminum pot and poured the wine into a stainless-steel cup. "A Mixed Breed?"

Cyril replied, "That’s right. He’s extremely protective of her. She’s likely not just an ordinary dependent."

"Now that’s interesting." Andrew swirled his cup, took a sip of hot wine, and said, "Look into it. See if she’s a relative. This wolf is slippery; it would be good to have some leverage on him."

Cyril agreed. "The power struggles in Zone 5 are vicious. The fact that he managed to extricate himself is no small feat."

"He’s composed." Andrew sat on the sofa, examining the construction site’s defensive schematics in the dim light. "Any other wolf would be stuck in Zone 5 by now, locked in a life-or-death struggle with those wolf cubs. He’s very capable."

Cyril said, "Sir, if he joins the Military Department, the Wolf Team..."

The Wolf Clan Beastmen in the military zone deal with Mutant Species every day. They’re far more volatile and savage than the wolves living in the Land of Fertility.

It would be no easier for Alex to win them over than it would be to go back to Zone 5.

"Alex isn’t the type to rely on brute force. He’ll find a smarter way to win over those wolf cubs." Andrew continued, "It all depends on whether he wants to go back to Zone 5 or is willing to accept a position in the Military Department. If he’s just planning to use me as a stepping stone..."

Cyril said, "With his abilities, I doubt he’ll be content staying in the No Man’s Land."

Andrew took a sip of the hot wine and rolled up his sleeves, revealing an arm covered in scars of varying depths. "It’s normal for an alpha wolf to be ambitious. A wolf as smart as him must know where his talents are most useful."

"What’s the situation with the police department?" Andrew asked, changing the subject.

"They’re rounding people up all over the place," Cyril said. "But they’re short-staffed and want to borrow personnel from us."

After yesterday’s total blackout in Zone 19, a large number of inmates took the opportunity to break out of the Zone 19 prison. A good number of Beastman offenders also escaped from police holding cells. The police department is completely overwhelmed.

Andrew stood, poured out the last of the wine from the aluminum pot, and extinguished the alcohol stove. "Tell the police department to be patient for a few days. No matter where they run, they can’t get out of Zone 19. We’ll clean up the Mutant Species first, then we’ll clean up the escapees. The military district could use some new recruits in the new year, anyway."

...

...

"Boss, we’ve finished tallying the number of escaped prisoners. Prisons One and Two had the most."

Little Black handed a thick file of prisoner profiles to Leighton.

"This is the list of capture targets the department assigned to our squad," Little Black said, handing Leighton another, thinner file.

Leighton shone his flashlight on the prisoner files to examine them.

"Isn’t this way too many?"

A few squad members crowded around Leighton, staring at the files in his hands. "How are we supposed to catch all of them?"

Not even counting the ones from the holding cells, over a thousand inmates escaped from the prisons.

It was true that in past years, some prisoners had always managed to exploit the winter culling of Mutant Species to escape, but an exceptionally large number had gotten out this year.

The file in Leighton’s hands alone contained about a hundred prisoners.

"No rush," Leighton said. "The Military Department will handle them. For the next few days, all we have to do is track and pinpoint their locations."