RE - Chapter 303: Flight, Takeoff! (Patreon)

“Shadow, don’t pick on Sam!”

Ashley tugged on Shadow’s tail, warning him to stop bothering the kid.

“It’s okay, Ashley. Shadow just wants to play with me.”

Sam smiled as he looked at his hand, which Shadow still had clamped gently in his mouth.

Ashley’s eye twitched, and she glanced at Krauser to see how he would react.

He looked completely unfazed.

Ashley seriously wanted to ask how he raised this kid. Sam was so calm he looked ready to walk straight onto a battlefield.

Seeing that Ashley was still worried, Krauser walked up behind Sam and stared down into Shadow’s clear, innocent eyes.

“Let go.”

Ashley watched as Shadow instantly released Sam, suddenly the picture of obedience, then wandered over to eat from the nearby dog bowl.

“...Why is my wolf such a pushover?”

Just as Ashley was feeling dejected, a rhythmic knock sounded at the door.

Krauser listened quietly until the knocking stopped.

“Might be Leon.”

Ashley immediately looked toward the door as well.

After confirming with the agents stationed around the safe house that the area was clear, Krauser used his dagger to cut the trigger mechanism of the trap beside the door. Still holding the blade, he carefully opened it.

He had been on full alert, but the moment he saw the familiar face through the gap, he finally relaxed.

“Leon. You’re here.”

Leon nodded and discreetly gestured with his right hand near his leg, signaling that the area outside was clear and there was no threat.

Krauser nodded back and opened the door just wide enough for Leon to slip inside.

Just as he was about to close it, another familiar face appeared outside.

“Han?”

“Krauser.”

At the same time, Ashley greeted Leon, then glanced behind him.

“Alan, you really came too!”

“Long time no see, Ashley.”

Krauser watched Snowy suddenly dart inside from outside, then slowly closed the door.

“I just checked with the people guarding the perimeter. They didn’t mention you were here.”

“I’m guessing you asked whether Leon had arrived?”

“And they said yes.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s the problem. Workers stick to the minimum. The less they say, the less chance they have of saying something wrong. You’re not running a military unit right now.”

“...Looks like they need more training in that area.”

Ashley looked at Alan and suddenly frowned.

“Why do you look so much thinner?”

Alan shrugged.

“I’ve been cutting weight for the past few months.”

“An agent actually needs to cut weight...? What, did you go undercover as some female drug lord and sell yourself or something?!”

“You’ve got quite the imagination.”

Seeing that her joke had left him speechless, Ashley grinned.

Before she could say anything else, Krauser called Alan and Leon away to discuss the operation.

Ashley had no intention of eavesdropping on a meeting she probably wouldn’t understand anyway, so she turned around to catch up with Snowy, whom she hadn’t seen in quite a while.

The moment she looked over, she saw Snowy pin Shadow to the floor with a bite, despite Shadow being half a size bigger, then turn around and start devouring his food.

Shadow could only lie off to the side with his ears flattened and his tail tucked between his legs, too scared to move.

Ashley took a closer look and froze.

Snowy was lean but muscular, while Shadow was fluffy all over. He looked soft and pleasant to pet, but it was obvious he wasn’t nearly as strong as Snowy.

And just like that, his food had been stolen.

Ashley couldn’t help sighing.

“Even wolves have competition. How tragic.”

Hearing his owner, Shadow clumsily got to his feet, walked over, and rubbed against Ashley, clearly hoping she would stand up for him.

Ashley gave him a look that said, You’re on your own.

Shadow’s entire wolf life seemed to lose its meaning as he helplessly watched Snowy clean out his bowl and then lie down to rest.

After a moment, Shadow cautiously approached Snowy and let out a soft whimper.

Snowy snorted.

Shadow immediately brightened up and hurried over to groom him.

“Oh my God... are you really that shameless?”

Ashley covered her mouth, staring at him in disbelief.

As she watched Shadow shamelessly suck up to Snowy, a voice suddenly came from behind her.

“What are you looking at?”

Ashley looked up and saw Alan standing behind her.

“Oh, Snowy really has Shadow completely under his paw.”

“Well, Snowy’s practically semi-feral, so he’s a little wild.

“But Shadow... how did he end up looking like a Husky?”

Alan blinked but didn’t ask any further.

Maybe girls preferred them a little chubby. Probably made them nicer to cuddle.

He looked back at Ashley.

“Let’s head out. Check if there’s anything else you need to bring.”

“Don’t worry. I already packed everything.”

“No questions?”

“None.”

“Good. Snowy, grab your buddy. We’re leaving!”

“Woof!”

...

Ashley watched the scenery blur past outside the window while continuing to stroke Snowy, who was sprawled across her lap.

They had already switched vehicles several times along the way, and now they were on the highway, heading somewhere she didn’t recognize.

She was starting to get sleepy. Raising a hand to cover her mouth, she let out a quiet yawn.

“Get some sleep. We’ll wake you when we arrive.”

Alan glanced at the drowsy Ashley through the rearview mirror.

At that, Ashley finally relaxed against the seat, using Shadow as a pillow and Snowy as something to hug, then quickly fell into a deep sleep in the back.

Once she was asleep, Alan turned his attention back outside. After watching the surroundings for a moment, he activated his headset.

“Everything’s clear. Keep moving.”

Under the cover of night, scattered lights flashed past along the highway before gradually disappearing into the distance.

Only the soft moonlight remained, illuminating the road in a quiet, peaceful glow.

By the time Ashley felt someone shaking her awake and opened her eyes, they had already reached an airport.

“You’re not still half asleep, are you?”

Ashley rubbed her eyes and only then realized that Snowy, who had been in her arms, had gotten out of the vehicle at some point.

Shadow, whom she had been using as a pillow, was still fast asleep.

She rubbed the wolf’s ears, looked at Alan through sleepy eyes, and shook her head.

“No.”

“Haha. I’m not convinced.”

After taking a moment for the grogginess to fade, Ashley got out under Alan’s protection.

Not far away, Leon, Krauser, and the others were already waiting.

“We’ll enter through the crew access later. The luggage has already been taken care of, so you don’t need to worry.”

Ashley nodded.

Once Alan had escorted her over to Leon, he left to arrange transport for the two animals at her feet.

No matter how well behaved they were, very few passengers would be comfortable sharing the cabin with a wolf.

Once everything had been arranged, the plane’s navigation lights flashed as it slowly taxied onto the assigned runway, accelerated, lifted off the ground, and retracted its landing gear.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the aircraft has now reached cruising altitude. The seatbelt sign has been turned off. You may now unfasten your seatbelts and move around the cabin as needed.”

Leon unfastened his seatbelt.

He exchanged a glance with Alan, who was sitting not far away beside Ashley, then with Krauser on his right before standing to conduct a safety check of the cabin.

Alan watched Leon walk away, then turned to Ashley.

“All right. You can go back to sleep now.”

“No way. I already slept enough earlier.”

“That’s a shame. We’ve still got a long way to go.”

“That’s fine... as long as you keep me company.”

“No chance. I need to catch up on sleep too.”

“No way, I’ll get bored. Tell me what you guys have been doing lately. Leon looks exhausted, and you’ve lost weight too.”

Alan smiled.

“You noticed?”

“Hehe, of course. I’m practically a reporter now!

“...Well, I was. Then my dad called me away halfway through, and now I’m here.”

“Hmm. Things don’t always go according to plan, huh?

“...Ahem.”

“? Are you getting sick?”

Ashley looked at Alan’s slightly pale complexion.

Alan casually raised his left hand and checked his arm before shrugging.

“...Ha.

“Yeah. Maybe?”

“You brought medicine, right? Or you could ask a flight attendant.”

“I have some. Now that you mention it, I’ll go get some hot water and take a pill.

“...Stay alert and keep an eye on our surroundings.”

“Okay. Go take your medicine first.”

Ashley watched Alan leave his seat, a trace of concern flashing across her face.

Not far away, Krauser had seen the whole exchange and frowned as well.

Alan knows he isn’t supposed to leave his seat without permission, right?

Meanwhile, Alan entered the restroom, pulled a syringe from his pocket without hesitation, and injected it into his neck.

Once the injection was finished, he withdrew the syringe and slipped it into a concealed pocket inside his clothes.

After splashing some water on his face, he left the restroom and returned to Ashley.

Seeing this, Krauser grew even more suspicious.

He looked toward Leon, who had finished his patrol and returned to his seat, and couldn’t help thinking:

Are these two little bastards hiding something from me?