Chapter 332 - 294: A Female Would Never Appear Here
Chapter 332: Chapter 294: A Female Would Never Appear Here
Two Security Department officers fell one after the other. The remaining officers immediately raised their guns and aimed at the people in the vehicles, but without orders from above—and since the convoy was clearly not to be trifled with—they didn’t dare to actually open fire.
Seeing their shot comrades writhing and crying out on the ground, they could only lower their weapons and hastily drag those who were still breathing to a safe area.
By the time the security team came to their senses, the convoy had already sped off, melting into the fog and disappearing from sight within moments.
The team leader of this security squad immediately placed a call to his superior.
After a long wait, the call finally connected.
"Captain..." The team leader urgently reported the entire incident to his superior captain.
"They opened fire?" Brooke’s voice grew heavy.
"The wounds aren’t fatal," the team leader said. "I’ve already had them taken to the hospital."
"Sounds like they went easy on you," Brooke said. The signal from his terminal was intermittent and clearly still having issues. "Notify the nearby squads to follow the convoy, but tell them not to get too close. If they run into anyone from the Special Security Team, they are to avoid them. Do not engage in any communication."
The team leader hesitated. "Captain, what do we tell the higher-ups?"
This inspection mission had been ordered directly by the director of Zone 15. Even their own Security Department Chief had to come out to oversee things. The Chief had specifically instructed them that the Security Department must take the lead on everything and not be outdone by the Special Security Team. That was why they had to bite the bullet and confront the military vehicles, even though they were flying the Beast Alliance flag.
’But does the Captain want us to disobey a direct order?’
"I’ll handle it," Brooke said after a moment’s thought. "You guys be smart about it. Don’t let that bunch from the Special Security Team use you as target practice. Just do as I say and report back if anything happens."
"Understood."
After hanging up, Brooke looked at his deputy chief, Flynn, who was dozing against a telephone pole, and gave him a shove.
Flynn staggered, nearly losing his footing and falling into the snow.
"What was that for?" Flynn snapped. "If you’re not going to sleep, at least let me get some."
Brooke said, "You were right. I think we’re about to be dragged into a mess."
Flynn yawned and leaned back against the telephone pole. "What happened?"
’For the past few days, Brooke had been doing the exact opposite of everything I said, insisting on doing whatever I advised against. Hearing him say this now, he must have hit a wall.’
Brooke briefly recounted what he had just heard over the comms.
Flynn had already received news from the front lines, so he wasn’t surprised at all. "Told you not to get involved. See? You let those thugs from the Special Security Team use you as a target."
He stroked his chin and added, "But with their pea brains, they couldn’t have come up with this on their own. It looks like someone higher up is deliberately trying to push our Security Department out front. Luckily, our post is remote and sparsely populated, so we won’t get dragged into the thick of it. You should rein in that gung-ho attitude of yours. Don’t just charge headfirst into everything."
Brooke said, "I just think there’s something strange about that convoy."
Flynn sent a subordinate to buy coffee. He then opened his terminal, planning to look at something to wake himself up, and asked without looking up, "What’s so strange?"
Brooke replied, "They were very low-key when they entered, constantly avoiding conflict with us. They even surrendered their weapons. But on their way out, they raised the flags of the Military Department and the Beast Alliance and opened fire without hesitation. They weren’t afraid we’d stop them. And even if we didn’t, they should know the Special Security Team wouldn’t let them go so easily."
Flynn had told him about the conflicts between the various military districts, and judging by how the Special Security Team had been constantly bothering them lately, it was clearly true.
Flynn stroked his chin, lost in thought. "That is strange..."
"What are they even fighting over?" Brooke asked.
’This doesn’t seem like a simple squabble between two military district heads. It’s more like... they’re fighting over something.’
He couldn’t help but think of the case he was still investigating.
For the past two days, he had worked tirelessly, investigating the strange fight that occurred that night. He grew increasingly worried about the female’s situation and had turned nearly all of Zone 15 upside down, yet he couldn’t find a single trace of her.
But he hadn’t come up completely empty-handed. Following the scent of blood left in the snow, he had tracked it to a dilapidated garage near the outer district, as well as the street in the Central District where the soldiers from Zone 19 were staying.
The evidence was clear: someone from the Zone 19 squad had fought with a Beastman who was possibly a criminal, and a female had been involved.
The female’s presence made the entire battle even more mysterious.
Normally, a female would never be found in a place like this.
Brooke didn’t know if the Zone 19 team was on some kind of special mission, but he had taken some of Flynn’s earlier advice to heart and hadn’t acted rashly. Instead, he had been staking out the street where they were staying.
That was, until two o’clock this morning, when the zone director issued a mission to both the Security Department and the Special Security Team: inspect all vehicles on the streets, and detain any with Mixed Breeds or smaller-sized Beastmen, regardless of who they were.
This was the highest-level mission he had been involved in since joining the Security Department. Even the Chief, who was on vacation, had been called back to oversee it. He had no choice but to temporarily set aside his own investigation and head to his assigned location to search passing vehicles.
It was still dark, but the Security Department and Special Security Team squads, spread out across the streets of Zone 15, had already impounded quite a few vehicles.
Even though it was winter, many Beastmen throughout the zone were still out and about for work or other reasons.
Amidst such a thorough inspection, the actions of the convoy from Zone 19 seemed incredibly deliberate and suspicious. It was as if the mission from the higher-ups was aimed specifically at them. And for this group to suddenly and ostentatiously brandish the authority of the Military Department and the Beast Alliance seemed like a calculated response to their search.
"Who cares what they’re fighting over? It has nothing to do with us, anyway," Flynn said.
"Chief, your coffee."
The subordinate quickly returned with a cup of instant coffee he’d bought from a Mixed Breed’s stall on the roadside, handing the large, steaming cup to Flynn.
"I told you not to call me Chief. I’m the Deputy, the *Deputy*. If the Chief hears you, he’ll have you sweeping streets," Flynn said as he took the coffee. He took a sip and was scalded so badly he almost threw the cup. "You trying to burn me to death, kid?"
The subordinate scratched his head. "I think the guy made it with boiling water."
Flynn couldn’t be bothered to scold him. He crouched by the roadside and placed the coffee cup in the snow to cool. Just then, a large SUV went "WHOOSH!", speeding past him and kicking up a spray of snow all over his head.
Before he could react, "WHOOSH! WHOOSH!", several more SUVs sped past.
Flynn’s temper was about to flare up when he saw the gold and black flags fluttering in the fog, and he shot to his feet.
The Security Department officers on both sides of the intersection stood dumbfounded, holding up their ’STOP’ signs. The SUVs were moving so fast they had no time to react, not that anyone would have dared to try and stop them.
The roadblocks they had placed at the intersection were ignored and simply run over.
Brooke took a few steps forward in pursuit and raised his walkie-talkie. After a moment’s thought, he turned to look at Flynn. "Should we try to block them up ahead?"
Flynn brushed the snow off himself, staring at the disappearing rear of the vehicles. "At that speed? How? Their vehicles look modified. The tires are fitted with steel chains. Spike strips wouldn’t even puncture the rubber. You’d have to throw a bomb."
Just as he finished speaking, a nerve in his temple throbbed.
Flynn stood frozen for a few seconds, then snatched the walkie-talkie from Brooke’s hand. "Shit! They’re going to run the checkpoint!"