Chapter 287 - 257: She is the Top Priority
Chapter 287: Chapter 257: She is the Top Priority
"Boss, are you not planning on coming back from this trip to Zone 5?" a Dog Team member asked Leo tentatively.
Leo’s finger scrolled through the dense text on his terminal, his eyes practically glued to the screen. "Says who."
Seeing how seriously he was reading, the two team members beside him exchanged a look of understanding. The one on the left asked, "Boss, aren’t you reading because you want to test into the Upper District’s civil service?"
Leo’s scrolling finger froze. He glanced over at the man. "What bullshit is that?"
The team member on his right stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "Boss, even though you have a military rank, it won’t count for much in the Upper District. Those Upper District People are all so arrogant. Besides, a civil servant position in the Upper District has way more power than a regular military post, and you don’t have to deal with Mutant Species all day. You can’t imagine how cushy it is."
Leo scoffed, unconcerned by what his team member said.
’No matter how much power they have, it’s no match for my fists. So what if they’re Upper District People? If they dare get cocky with me, I’ll beat them to a pulp.’
The team member nudged Leo with his elbow and said in a low voice, "Boss, forget all that other stuff. The most important thing is, you’ll have more chances to meet females, and your mate application will have a much better chance of being accepted."
The team member on the left slapped his thigh. "That’s right!"
"Boss, you gotta work hard and pass that exam! When you do, we can ride your coattails."
Hearing this, Leo slowly straightened up. "A mate?"
He looked at the team member on his left, then the one on his right, before glancing back down at the dizzying text on his terminal. An image of the little female surfaced in his mind, and his eyes began to gleam.
"Yeah, Boss, if you just study a bit more and get your academic scores up, you’ll have a great shot. Even if you don’t stay in Zone 5, getting some kind of government post, well, that’d..."
"That’s it!"
Before his subordinate could finish, Leo slammed a hand on his thigh, startling both men.
Leo turned to stare at the little female’s room, his eyes glittering. "How could I have forgotten about that!"
’Gu Ning is a female from Zone 5. There’s no telling how many scumbags from the Upper District want to apply to be her mate.’
’That bastard Alex definitely knows it too, which is why he brought Gu Ning along with him to Zone 19.’
’Gu Ning, that little snake, is so young, and Alex is so cunning and sly. She couldn’t resist his sweet talk and just followed him here.’
’When she gets back to Zone 5, a whole new pack of wolves will pounce on her.’
’No, I have to do something.’
The two team members exchanged a confused look. "Forgotten about what?"
"Shoo, shoo, this has nothing to do with you. Go look at your Yuanbao." With that, Leo stood up and strode toward Gu Ning’s room.
*
「Zone 19.」
Office of the East Wall Commander.
The attendees were either conversing in low voices, frowning thoughtfully at the documents distributed to them, or propping their heads in their hands and dozing off.
With the Mutant Species incident resolved, there were still many miscellaneous matters to handle. The Military Department was in charge of security and defense, while the rest was left to this group of high-level officials from Zone 19.
In previous years, when it came to these messy miscellaneous tasks, these high-level officials would either pass the buck, delegating tasks down the chain of command, or they would pick the most lucrative jobs for themselves. Sometimes they would even draft "key project" proposals to request funding from their superiors. The end result was that the funds would vanish without a trace, or the books would simply be cooked.
But the last few years, and this year in particular, were different. The Military Department had taken full control over all operations in Zone 19.
Any decision made by a Zone 19 official had to be reviewed and approved by the Military Department.
Kobe’s face turned ashen as he looked at the document in his hands. A high-ranking administrator, second only to the district chief, and they were assigning him to garbage cleanup duty? Even though it was only a supervisory role, this was clearly a deliberate slight.
Kobe clenched the document, his gaze dark as he looked at the male at the head of the table.
Andrew was leaning back lazily in his chair, listening with downcast eyes to the reports from his subordinates.
’Every time he called them for a meeting, it was a chance for him to kick back and relax.’
’These high-level officials from Zone 19 were so slick, the words that came out of their mouths were no better than farts. All they did was raise issues, complicate them further, and ask for this and that, without ever solving anything.’
’They were even less useful than the latest propaganda bulletin his little reporter had put together for the Military Department.’
Andrew picked up the draft Gu Ning had prepared and flipped through it. Every photograph was exquisite and professional: the resolute faces of soldiers standing guard in the snow, the solemn and orderly patrol squads, the soldiers atop the high wall barely visible through the snowy mist, their steadfast backs seeming even more dependable than the wall itself.
Through her lens, the soldiers and Zone 19 were captured with a weighty solemnity, almost completely erasing the district’s past image of chaos and filth.
Strangely, he could perceive her thoughts through these photographs.
These photos were imbued with emotion—an emotion and perspective completely different from photos taken by other soldiers. It was one of profound respect and trust.
If he ignored the text accompanying the photos, the draft was good enough to be sent to the Beast Alliance’s central news station.
Andrew shook his head and chuckled softly as he looked at all the red marks Cyril had made on the draft.
’The little female didn’t know the common tongue of the Beast Alliance, so her word choice and sentence structure were bizarre. She must have used a system translator. He could tell she had written it with great care, but it still needed major revisions before it could be published.’
Cyril glanced over and saw Andrew looking at the draft the little female had submitted to the propaganda department this month. He quietly lowered his head and opened his own terminal.
’He’d sent Gu Ning a few messages but hadn’t gotten a reply. What was she doing right now?’
Cyril’s mind had just begun to wander when he heard Andrew answer a call.
"In heat?"
Listening to Vine’s report through the terminal, Andrew slowly sat up straight.
The office fell silent. Everyone turned to look at Andrew.
Andrew gave them a dismissive wave, and Cyril immediately said, "Gentlemen, that concludes today’s meeting. I will organize the various restoration tasks for Zone 19 and send them to your terminals later."
The officials rose and filed out of the room.
A moment later, only Andrew and Cyril remained in the office.
Andrew walked to the window, his expression somber as he listened to Vine give a detailed report on Gu Ning’s condition from the other end of the line.
"She said she’ll only bleed for five days," Vine said in a heavy tone over the terminal. "Even though it’s only a five-day estrus period, she’s losing a lot of blood. We don’t know if there’s any medication that can reduce the bleeding."
Andrew considered this, his focus sharp. "A five-day estrus period..."
"Don’t give her any medication for now. I’ll arrange for a doctor to head over," Andrew said. "Monitor her condition constantly, take good care of her, and report any changes immediately."
Vine: "What about the mission..."
Andrew: "She is the mission’s priority."
Vine: "Understood."
Cyril, who had been silently organizing documents, heard Andrew’s words. His mind raced, and he quickly put the pieces together. He opened his terminal, found an unsaved, unfamiliar contact code, and with a quick double-tap, sent off a short message.