Chapter 53: Chapter 53: A Mistake, or a Case of the Same Name?

After passing through the iron gate, they walked about ten meters forward. At the end of the hall, the holding cells were around the corners to the left and right.

Alex and Kloer followed Leiton down the right-hand corridor.

Both sides of the corridor were lined with small, iron-barred enclosures. Since they were for temporary detention, they weren’t as secure as prison cells.

The holding cells held numerous Beastmen and Mixed Breeds who had broken the law. Some clung to the bars, yelling at the patrolling Beastman officers, demanding to be let out or hurling insults. Others tried to sweet-talk the officers, hoping to bribe them.

Many aggressive Mixed Breeds were ramming the iron-barred doors, trying to break them open with brute force or simply venting their frustration.

The entire corridor was in an uproar.

A few Beastman officers patrolled the corridor. If any of the Beastmen or Mixed Breeds got too rowdy, they would jab the iron-barred doors with an electric baton.

Leiton walked ahead of Alex and the others, occasionally tapping the adjacent bars with his nightstick to make the Beastmen inside behave.

A Beastman gripped the bars and bared his teeth at Leiton. "Little lamb, I’d let me go if I were you. Otherwise, when my boss..."

"BZZT!"

A flash of electricity arced, and the Beastman fell to the ground, stiff as a board.

Leiton cleaned out his ear, tossed the electric baton to an officer, and continued walking. "Your boss was sent to the military district for ’re-education.’ You’ll be joining him soon enough."

"Military ’re-education’?" Kloer sidled up to Leiton and asked, "Officer, do all the offenders here get sent to the military?"

Leiton said, "What else? We don’t have the resources or the patience to babysit them. A harsh training session in the army will straighten them out."

In truth, it wasn’t just a matter of resources. The main issue was that offenders in Zone 19 were more brazen than those in other zones, and many were repeat offenders who refused to change.

Minor offenders were locked up for a few days and then released. Major ones were tossed into the military for better, unified management.

Rather than letting them waste rations at the precinct, it was better to have them contribute to Zone 19 by joining the army to fight the Mutant Species.

However, not all Beastmen would quietly stay in the precinct or the military. Some would attempt to escape, even attacking police officers and soldiers.

For these kinds of desperate fugitives who were asking for a death wish, the guns in their hands didn’t need to show any mercy.

"Boss." Kloer fell back to Alex’s side and whispered in his ear, "This isn’t looking too good."

He was starting to worry about Cook’s current condition.

Most Beastmen couldn’t stand an environment like the holding cells, let alone a Mixed Breed.

Alex didn’t say a word. His brow had been furrowed ever since they entered the detention area.

"Here." Leiton stopped in front of a holding cell at the far end on the right.

At that moment, the Mixed Breed locked inside was ramming the iron-barred door like a madman, a terrifying roar tearing from his throat.

The Beastman in the next cell over said, "Is this guy about to mutate? Officer, move me to another cell! I don’t want to get bitten by a Mutant Species."

"Quit your yapping. Stay away from the door and he won’t be able to bite you."

Leiton said, taking his nightstick to rap on the bars and quiet the Mixed Breed down.

Alex grabbed his hand.

Leiton’s eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to speak, Kloer said, "Officer, we’re here to see Cook, not this guy."

Leiton shook off Alex’s hand and tapped the iron-barred door with his nightstick. "His name *is* Cook. You don’t even recognize your own Mixed Breed?"

Kloer stared at the unfamiliar, fierce, and aggressive Mixed Breed before them and muttered, "There must be a mistake. Is it just the same name?"

’This definitely isn’t our smart, adorable little Mixed Breed.’

Leiton: "What did you say?"

Kloer: "Officer, the Mixed Breed from our place is also named..."

"He’s from our place too," Alex interrupted Kloer. "We’d also like to see the other one."

Leiton gave them both a strange look.

"WOOF-ARF!!!" Catching Alex’s scent, Cook became even more frantic. He slammed against the iron-barred door, making it CLANG violently, and shoved his hands through the gaps, trying to scratch Alex.

Alex’s gaze swept over his face before he took a step to the side. "Officer Leiton, was it Cook who bit you? I’m sorry. We’ll pay the fine."

Hearing this, the suspicion in Leiton’s eyes lessened slightly. "He still has to stay here for two days, even if you pay the fine. This is his third offense on my record. Last time, he bit a few big guys half to death. I saw he was badly injured too, so I cut him some slack and let that little fox take him back. A couple of days ago, he and that fox were fighting in the street again. They were fast runners, so I let them off the hook that time too. But this time, I can’t just look the other way."

At this point, Leiton asked, "Is that fox from your place too?"

Kloer was completely confused. ’What fox? Is Cook this fierce when he’s out? Fighting all the time?’

But he did recall hearing that Cook had been injured in a fight. Not long ago, when he had just been transferred to the East Wall, Cook had shown up to work limping for a few days.

He had even remarked at the time that the little Mixed Breed had a positive attitude, coming to work even while injured. He didn’t even mark him as absent despite his tardiness.

"The fox isn’t from our place." Alex was silent for a moment before saying, "He’s probably a friend he made on the outside."

Leiton chuckled and turned into the other corridor. "You’d better keep a closer eye on this little Mixed Breed of yours. I can see his mind is actually quite stable. Best to keep him from making bad influences on the outside, so he doesn’t get led astray."

Alex said, "You’re right. I’ll watch him more carefully from now on."

"Boss, is there some kind of mistake?"

Kloer glanced at the frenzied Dog Clan Mixed Breed, a feeling that something was wrong growing inside him. He hurried to catch up with Alex and ask.

Alex stared straight ahead. "From now on, don’t say another word."

Kloer was confused. "Why, Boss?"

Alex: "Shut up."

Kloer: "...Oh."

Gu Ning sat on the cold, hard floor, hugging her knees and feeling drowsy.

A long whistle came from across the way. In the opposite holding cell, a burly, bare-chested Beastman pressed against the iron-barred door, gripping the bars. "Hey, little Mixed Breed. First time I’ve seen you. Who do you run with?"

Gu Ning glanced at him, shuffled further into the corner, and turned her back.

Seeing that Gu Ning was ignoring him, the half-naked Beastman pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and tossed it at her head. "What’d you get brought in for? Lookin’ all skin and bones like that, you probably can’t even get a full meal, huh? Get out and run with me. I’ll make sure you’re well-fed."

Barto, who was two enclosures down from Gu Ning, leaped onto his iron-barred door. He hung from the bars and yelled at the other Beastman, "Leave him alone, you hear me?"

Hearing Barto’s voice, the half-naked Beastman grinned. "Yo, little big brother Barto, what’re you in for? Busted for selling contraband?"

Barto: "I got in for selling your dad’s tailbone to someone for soup. Keep yapping and I’ll cut off your tailbone and sell it for soup too."

The half-naked Beastman sneered, "Don’t sell it to someone else. Make some soup for yourself. Your little tail isn’t even as big as my pinky, is it?"

As he spoke, he held up his pinky at Barto, which was followed by a string of colorful curses from Barto.

"What’s all the racket?" a voice shouted, silencing them.