Chapter 44: The Mole Is Actually Him?

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Mole Is Actually Him?

The snow-covered ground and hazy night always served as the most advantageous camouflage for certain outlaws.

A thin figure darted swiftly through the forest, arriving at the boundary of the reserve. He opened the iron gate, which was virtually useless as a defense, and spoke in low voices with an unidentified person.

"I just checked. Huo An is in the Seventh Service Area. He’s drunk with Liang He and the others."

"Drunk? Hah, Huo An certainly has the leisure for that." The newcomer scoffed at Huo An, seemingly quite dissatisfied. "Ever since Liang He arrived at the reserve, her treatment has been far from ordinary; otherwise, you wouldn’t have targeted her."

As the mole, he knew better than anyone how important Liang He was to Evolutionary Beastmen. That was his bargaining chip with them.

"Alright, don’t forget what you were asked to do." The newcomer was truly disgusted by the traitor’s two-faced demeanor. After relaying the higher-ups’ orders and pushing the cages holding the Fierce Beasts through the iron gate, he prepared to leave. These Fierce Beasts were meant to be used against the Evolutionary Beastmen.

"Hey! Where’s what I asked for?" he demanded. He had risked discovery to meet them; he wasn’t about to do anything without a payoff!

"We wouldn’t short you! Catch!" The other man impatiently threw a bag to the mole. Opening it, he found it filled with heavy, glittering gold.

"Thanks! Don’t forget to put in a good word for me with your boss. We’ll have more chances to work together in the future." The mole gleefully pocketed the gold and prepared to return the way he came. He didn’t hear the newcomer mutter that there wouldn’t be a future, nor did he see Huo An and the others who had been waiting for him just ahead.

"Hi, good evening." Liang He greeted him with a smile, but there was not a trace of mirth in her eyes. Her gaze, as sharp and cold as a blade, was fixed dead on the mole. Because of him, the Dark Night Wolf King had been captured, and the Silver Moon Wolf had nearly lost its life!

"I never expected the mole to be you." The General Stationmaster arrived at the scene as well. Upon seeing the mole’s true face, his expression twisted into one of bitter disappointment and profound heartache. This was the first student he had mentored after coming to the reserve!

"Dass, what did you even do this for?!"

Dass, the deputy director of the central control room.

Faced with the questioning of the General Stationmaster, his former teacher, Dass flew into a rage out of humiliation and held up the bag in his hand.

"For what? For this, of course!"

Through the opening of the bag, Liang He caught a clear glimpse of its contents. She couldn’t help but marvel that gold was hard currency everywhere, though it was truly lacking in originality.

"I stay glued to this reserve twenty-four hours a day, only to earn a pitifully low salary! I was the best student at Federal University!"

He wondered why those who were inferior to him had now become high-ranking executives, earning exorbitant salaries and enjoying all the wealth and glory, while he was stuck babysitting a bunch of ignorant beasts. His promotion speed couldn’t even match Liang He, a newcomer! Why?!

"I have no time to date, so I can only go on blind dates, but no one even looks twice at me! But now that I have this gold, I can completely change my situation!"

The more Dass spoke, the more manic his expression became. Looking at him as if he had lost his mind, the General Stationmaster let out a long sigh. He was a lost cause, truly a lost cause.

"Director, I’m old. I’ll leave the rest of the matter to you to handle."

Seeing that the General Stationmaster—the only person who might defend him—was leaving, Dass finally began to panic and immediately cried out.

"Teacher! Teacher! You can’t just abandon me! Huo An will kill me!"

Dass knew his fate as a traitor better than anyone, but he couldn’t understand how he had been exposed. His gaze drifted to Huo An and Liang He. Suddenly struck by realization, he charged toward them, only to be stopped by the Guard Team.

"It was you! Both of you! You set me up!"

"It wasn’t a setup, just luring the snake out of its hole and inviting you into our trap," Liang He said coldly. She looked at Dass as if she were looking at a dead man. If there hadn’t been others present, she would have probably twisted his head off right then and there. "You say others look down on you, but in truth, you look down on yourself."

Someone like Dass, who was simultaneously insecure and arrogant, and driven mad by jealousy—who would willingly be with him? Were they blind?

"You’re talking nonsense! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!"

His last shred of dignity pierced by Liang He and his pride shattered on the floor, Dass struggled frantically, breaking free from the Guard Team’s restraint. He pulled a knife from his pocket and lunged straight at Liang He.

"ROAR!"

Just as Liang He prepared to counterattack and Huo An reached out to pull her away, a swift, agile figure flashed by. By the time they saw clearly, Dass was dead beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"Cedriel?!"

Liang He hadn’t expected the Mojin King Tiger to follow them. Surprised, she hurriedly stepped forward to check if he was injured.

"Are you foolish? He had a knife in his hand, and you just charged at him?!"

"AWOO~"

Seeing that the Mojin King Tiger was unharmed, Liang He breathed a sigh of relief. It was inevitable that she would scold him a little, but the moment she heard him whining and acting spoiled, her stern expression instantly broke.

"Alright, you’re the only one who knows how to act so cute. You can’t do this next time, understand?" Gently patting his tiger head, Liang He stood back up and glanced at Dass on the ground. She then turned to Huo An to discuss the person who had just met with Dass. "That person, was he from the Rebel Army?"

"Most likely, yes." Huo An ordered his men to carry Dass’s body away. The gold in the bag would be handed over to the Law Enforcement Department as material evidence. "They cooperated with Dass. Their goal should be to use the animals in the reserve for research."

"So, they have a stronghold here on Sky Shining Star?" Liang He asked. Otherwise, transporting animals from Sky Shining Star to other planets would undoubtedly be far more difficult and highly risky.

"Exactly. We’ve always wanted to locate their stronghold, but unfortunately, they’ve hidden it too well."

Sky Shining Star was a vast territory, yet the reserve alone occupied at least half of the area; otherwise, it would be impossible to integrate various terrains and landscapes to raise Beastmen and animals with different needs.

"Then the man just now..." Liang He had originally wanted to capture the man directly, but Huo An had stopped her.

"I asked you to cooperate and pretend to be drunk. Aside from drawing out the mole, it was also to pass false information to the Rebel Army through him," Huo An explained.

It turned out that from the very beginning, Huo An’s intention in joining Liang He and the others to eat roasted whole lamb, drink, and chat was to dispel Dass’s misgivings and lower his guard, thereby catching evidence of his collusion with the Rebel Army. As the deputy director of the central control room, Dass was intimately familiar with their every move. If they didn’t put on a show, he wouldn’t have been easily fooled.

"I’ve already sent people to track him. Once we locate the Rebel Army’s stronghold, we’ll carry out an arrest immediately," Huo An added.

Liang He nodded in understanding, raising no objections. She then looked at the Fierce Beasts that hadn’t yet been released from their cages.

"How do you plan to deal with these Fierce Beasts?"

"I’ll send them to the Federal Animal Research Institute. They have been dedicated to developing a potion to cure the Fierce Beasts."

As the Fierce Beasts were one of the Rebel Army’s major lethal weapons, the Federation naturally wouldn’t sit idly by and let the situation escalate. Thus, after the Fierce Beasts appeared in large numbers, the Federation set up a specialized task force to conduct relevant research.

"They used to be adorable, lively animals too." Liang He let out a deep sigh. Her eyes were filled with unbearable pity and compassion as she looked at the Fierce Beasts. She wanted to save them. Just as she had once been healed by them. "I believe that one day, the Fierce Beasts will be cured and return to nature where they belong, living happy lives."

Looking at Liang He’s expression full of determination and hope, Huo An’s heart was touched. The corners of his usually suppressed lips gradually curved upward into a knowing smile.

"Yes, that day will surely come."

And it would come soon.

Perhaps, it had already arrived.