Kloer glanced at the note Gu Ning had given him, his gaze shifting between the Beastman and the Dwarf hybrid. He turned to the Beastman with a cold expression and asked,

"Is this yours?"

The corner of the Beastman’s mouth twitched, though he didn’t try to lie. "Supervisor Kloer, I’m in a real bind here. Besides, he’s just a hauler. He can just go back and grab another one."

"WOOF!" The Dwarf hybrid snarled at him, baring its teeth.

"He hauls things, but not for you." Kloer scanned the Beastman’s nameplate with his terminal, snatched the box of materials from his hands, and gave him a kick. "Scram and get your own. If I catch you breaking the rules again, you can expect to be written up."

The Beastman scurried away.

Kloer handed the box of materials back to the Dwarf hybrid. "All right, get back to work."

With his belongings back, the Dwarf hybrid was no longer frantic. He wagged his tail happily and let out a couple of barks at Gu Ning.

Gu Ning could hear the gratitude in his tone and gave him a little wave.

The Dwarf hybrid moved to nuzzle her hand with his head but stopped short after catching her scent. He twitched his nose, sniffing the air a couple of times, then let out a low grumble, clutched the box of materials, and ran off.

"Well, aren’t you something," Kloer said, looking at Gu Ning. "It’s rare to see a Dwarf hybrid who’s this easy to communicate with. You’re just the person to act as a translator for those Mixed Breeds."

Gu Ning felt a little insecure hearing Kloer suggest she be a translator for the Mixed Breeds.

’The truth was, she couldn’t understand what the Dwarf hybrid was saying either, but she could grasp the meaning he was trying to convey.’

’It was probably from spending so much time with Cook.’

"A lot of Beastmen take shortcuts or just want to slack off, so they like to grab these Mixed Breeds to do their personal errands and steal their materials."

Kloer looked down at the little Mixed Breed beside him. "Ever been bullied like that before?"

Gu Ning nodded.

’Of course she had. She used to be a hauler, too, and was constantly being grabbed by one Beastman to deliver something or another to fetch a tool. She had her own assigned work group, but she was too afraid they’d beat her up if she didn’t obey. She had no choice but to take on the extra tasks, while not daring to fall behind on her own group’s work. By the end of the day, she’d be so exhausted she could barely stand.’

"Why don’t you fight back? You just let them bully you like that?" Looking at the little Mixed Breed’s mild-mannered appearance, Kloer found it impossible to imagine how he’d gotten into a brawl out there that was bad enough to land him in a police station.

Gu Ning wrote on the paper: Won’t I get written up for fighting?

Kloer glanced around, pulled her arm, and whispered close to her, "If anyone gives you trouble in here, you go right ahead and fight them. I’ve got your back."

Gu Ning stared at him, astonished.

In the long, narrow, dimly lit tunnel, Kloer seemed to stand a little taller in her eyes.

For the first time, his burly frame didn’t make her feel afraid, but instead gave her a profound sense of security.

"But you can’t start trouble on your own," Kloer said. "And don’t tell the boss, okay? Otherwise, he’ll beat the hell out of me."

A smile spread across Gu Ning’s face. ’This big bear-man is really a good guy. She had zapped him half to death last time, yet he didn’t hold a grudge in the slightest and was even offering to back her up.’

She patted Kloer’s arm, then her own chest, assuring him she would never tell Alex.

"From now on, we’re good buddies," Kloer laughed, patting the little Mixed Breed’s shoulder and seizing the chance to get closer to him.

’The boss said he was taking the little Mixed Breed back to Zone 5, and they would have to be around each other for a long time to come. He had to get on the kid’s good side.’

Over the course of the afternoon, Gu Ning followed Kloer as he handled several conflicts between Beastmen and Mixed Breeds. She finally understood that Kloer’s job wasn’t to crack a little leather whip and hurry people along from behind, but to act as a quasi-security guard, responsible for things like breaking up fights and maintaining order on the job.

She was quite happy with this work. Kloer had all the Beastmen completely in line; practically no one dared to cause trouble in his presence. By his side, she didn’t have to worry about being bullied. Plus, running all over the place with him kept her from getting too cold.

After nightfall, Kloer did as Alex had instructed and brought Gu Ning back to his residence.

’Barto and Cook will be out of the police station tomorrow,’ Gu Ning thought. ’It’s probably best to stay at Alex’s for one more night.’

’She trusted Alex a lot now; staying here was much safer than going back to her own place alone.’

Kloer put the food he had fetched in front of Gu Ning, wanting to eat with her.

After their afternoon together, he felt that he had gotten considerably closer to Gu Ning.

However, Gu Ning still grabbed her bowl and scurried behind the sofa.

Kloer scratched his head, took a picture of the sofa, and sent it to Alex:

[Boss, how do you teach a wolf cub to not be so protective of its food?]

A moment later, Alex replied:

[No need to. Let him eat however he wants.]

"..."

After dinner, Kloer gave Gu Ning a few instructions, left his personal terminal contact ID, and went back to work.

In a few more days, they could hand their work over to the military. All they had to do was stay indoors, manage the various systems, and lure all the Mutant Species into Zone 19. The army would then conduct a massive, systematic sweep.

Once Kloer left, Gu Ning was alone in the room.

She was standing at the entrance to the washroom, looking at the message Alex had sent her:

[Go take a shower and get some rest. I won’t be back until very late.]

[Sleep in the bedroom.]

The message had been sent to Cook’s terminal; Gu Ning hadn’t given Alex her personal terminal ID.

Afraid she wouldn’t understand, Alex had also sent two cute, chibi-style stickers of a little wolf sleeping and showering.

[Message me back if you understand.]

Gu Ning pursed her lips in a smile, downloaded a little wolf sticker pack of her own, and sent him an animated sticker of a little wolf nodding. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

「On the high wall, wind and snow howled.」

Alex stood on the edge of the platform atop the high wall, eating an energy bar while his eyes were fixed on his terminal’s message notifications. After a moment, seeing no reply from Gu Ning, he was about to initiate a call.

A message popped up—

Alex’s finger froze. He stared at the little wolf sticker for a moment before opening several unread messages from Lanuo:

[This formula I mixed is several times stronger than anything on the market. Just one spray can eliminate a male’s rut scent. Works great, doesn’t it?]

[But what do you need this stuff for? Are you going into rut? Or is it Kloer?]

[Couldn’t you guys just use Inhibitors? Or is some other male beast in rut stinking up the place? Zone 19 is a bizarre place. Who goes into rut in the winter?]

...

’A shower?’

Gu Ning stood at the washroom door, thinking for half a minute, then walked to the living room and opened the old backpack she had placed on the coffee table.

’She had grabbed it when she went back this morning. Figuring she would probably stay at Alex’s place again tonight, she had packed some toiletries.’

Toothbrush and toothpaste, a towel, a bar of soap, a change of underclothes, and a bottle of Beast Smell Agent.

’She was still longing to use Alex’s private bathroom.’

[What time will you be back?]

Gu Ning sent a message to Alex to ask.