Chapter 71: Chapter 71: This Female Looks Unfamiliar

The Beast Alliance’s Investigation Department office.

Eric sipped strong tea, watching a video of a small, virtual female to wake himself up.

Even though he had almost completed this month’s assignments, he still had to get up bright and early for work every day.

"Field assignments are so much better," Eric said to his colleague, Kevin. "I’m sick of being cooped up in this tiny office every day."

Kevin was leaning back in his chair, his feet propped up on a desk piled high with documents, looking as if he were asleep.

Hearing Eric’s complaint, he replied without opening his eyes, "Could you be this comfortable on a field assignment, watching virtual females?"

Eric took a big gulp of tea and sighed. "Why not? Those greenhorns in Zone 19 watch them every day. If their mission wasn’t mostly done, I’d have to catch them and teach them a lesson."

Kevin chuckled. "Those damn kids. Still too young, can’t hide a thing." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Kevin opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him. "But don’t spoil them too much. You need to find an excuse to knock some sense into them."

Eric said, "Making them spend a winter in Zone 19 will be more effective than any lecture."

Kevin replied, "The winter is so long. Did you really have to spend the money to hire a mercenary? Couldn’t you just let them handle it themselves? You’re going to have to sink a lot of your own money into this mission again."

Eric said, "I’m not spoiling them. I’m afraid they’ll screw it up."

Kevin shook his head. "And you say you’re not spoiling them. Giving them such an important mission, then hiring someone to solve it for them... Are you trying to be their dad or something?"

Eric was about to say something else when a message popped up:

W (No Man’s Land) (Note: Earth’s Strongest Black-Hearted Leopard): [Your money wasn’t wasted. This Mimic Mixed Species is pretty capable.]

Eric paused and replied: [?]

W (No Man’s Land): [Estimated level: Special Level]

Eric immediately sat up straight. THUD! He slammed his teacup down and quickly replied: [You sure? Prove it.]

Seeing him so worked up, Kevin leaned over to take a look.

A moment later, W (No Man’s Land) replied: [More money.]

Eric: "..."

Kevin snorted when he saw the message. "I’d suggest you cut your losses now."

Eric was so angry his hair was practically standing on end. He wanted nothing more than to delete this black-hearted leopard from his contact list right then and there.

After calming down a bit, he suppressed his emotions and replied: [I’m supposed to just take your word for it that it’s Special Level? How can I believe you if you don’t show me proof?]

For a long time, the black-hearted leopard didn’t reply.

Just as Eric was losing his patience and about to ask again, the leopard replied.

W (No Man’s Land): [(Photo)]

Eric opened the photo.

"...?"

"!!!"

He shot up from his chair, the sudden movement causing Kevin, who was making tea nearby, to glance over.

Kevin asked, "How much more did he shake you down for?"

Eric stared at the photo on his terminal, took a deep breath, and said, "Isn’t this a female?!"

Kevin, who had been pouring water, paused. He set down the kettle and walked over, craning his neck to look at the photo.

The photo clearly showed a petite female.

Kevin said, "...This leopard really does see you as his personal piggy bank. You’re not actually going to fall for this, are you?"

Eric didn’t say anything, carefully studying the female in the photo. ’No, the Mimic Mixed Species,’ he corrected himself.

In the blurred background, a female was sitting on the ground, her head turned toward the camera.

She had long, soft black hair and a pair of round, jet-black eyes. Her gaze was clear and sharp, tinged with wariness.

A slightly thick black line ran across the middle of her face. Combined with her tense expression, it made her look like a tribal female from a protectorate, as if she were about to bare her fangs at anyone who got too close.

There was almost no trace of a Mimic Mixed Species about her.

The female’s face was unfamiliar. Eric couldn’t match her to any female in his memory.

Kevin had already taken the photo and was running a search for it in the system.

Females were rare, but they hadn’t seen every single one.

The search results came back quickly.

A total blank.

Seeing the results, Kevin frowned slightly. "Don’t tell me it really is a Special Level Mimic Mixed Species?"

Not all Mimic Mixed Species could disguise themselves as females. It required an extremely high mimicry level.

The higher the level of a Mimic Mixed Species, the smarter it was, and the less likely it would be to carelessly disguise itself as a female.

While disguising as a female made hunting effortless, it also greatly increased the risk of their identity being exposed.

"It’s probably real," Eric said, also glancing at the search results. "Unless that leopard has finally made enough money to retire, he wouldn’t dare lie to us about something like this, even if you gave him ten times the nerve."

Kevin carefully examined the photo of the "female," contemplated for a moment, and said, "In a place like Zone 19, it’s true that quite a few gangs hunt Mimic Mixed Species."

But this was a dangerous business. One wrong move and they could become the prey of the Mimic Mixed Species themselves.

High-level Mimic Mixed Species in remote areas were more feral than those in developed regions. When hunting, they could eat enough to evolve into a minor Mutant Species leader in a very short time, which also made them prime targets for being hunted down.

Eric placed a call to W.

The call connected, only to be immediately disconnected.

The next second, W sent a message that made Eric grind his teeth:

W (No Man’s Land): [5 million, converted to Pure Crystal Stones.]

After seeing it, Kevin said, "Not bad. Only an extra 5 million."

Eric: "...You paying?"

Kevin held up his hands and backed away. "I wouldn’t dream of stealing your mission."

Gritting his back teeth, Eric sent the transfer to W: [No Crystal Stones. I can only do an online transfer.]

After transferring the five million, his balance showed: 50.

Before Eric could even feel the sting of the loss, he received a refund from W along with a message: [Converted to Crystal Stones. You have five days.]

"..."

Eric slammed his hand on the desk in anger. "Where the hell am I supposed to find five million in Crystal Stones?!"

Kevin, who was sitting in his chair looking at the "female’s" photo, shot him a sideways glance. "Didn’t you give Mingxi and the others a bunch of Crystal Coins before they left?"

Crystal Stones were hard currency and more practical in Zone 19. Eric hadn’t been comfortable with Mingxi’s team, fresh out of graduation, taking on a mission in such a remote area, so he had stuffed a bag of Crystal Coins into the hands of those young lions.

However, those Crystal Coins were worth one million at most. Even if they hadn’t spent a single one, it wouldn’t be enough for five million.

Kevin offered him an idea. "Aren’t the First Military District and the Second Military Zone moving into Zone 19 in a few days? Ask them."

"I’ll ask for you," Kevin said, scrolling through his contact list. "Put it on my tab."

Meanwhile, Eric called Mingxi. "I can’t let you cover it all. That kid Mingxi is in charge of the money. He probably hasn’t touched that one million in Crystal Coins. I’ll have him front the cash for now."

The call connected quickly.

"Teacher?" Mingxi’s voice came through. "You’re calling so early. Is there an emergency?"

Eric got straight to the point. "How many of the Crystal Coins I gave you are left? Don’t touch what’s remaining. It’s for the mission."

There was a moment of silence on Mingxi’s end, then a cough. "Teacher, what kind of mission is it? Does it have to be Crystal Coins?"

Eric heard the hesitation in his voice and his face darkened. "How much is left?"

Mingxi exchanged a glance with his bleary-eyed teammate next to him and said, "Not... not much is left."