Talent — Insight (makes it easier to notice things and read people that others overlook)
This is Carn’s talent. It was precisely because of this unique ability that he survived through repeated crises and made it this far.
Although he had decided to trust Carn’s judgnt,
Yu Yuan still sent a ssage to Alpha, telling them to prepare a rescue for Carn.
But the mont his ssage was sent, he imdiately ordered Alpha to halt, to show no abnormal moves.
Through Carn’s vision, which was gradually darkening, he saw a faint, hardly noticeable surprise flash through Hogg’s cold eyes.
The next mont, Hogg threw Carn to the ground.
Carn, finally breathing fresh air again, clutched his neck and gasped for breath.
His oxygen-starved, groggy mind slowly cleared.
"Ch... Chief..."
At this mont, Carn’s expression was pitch-perfect, a mixture of fear, confusion, and shock all plastered across his face.
But Hogg had already stepped forward, one boot pressing down hard on his chest.
Carn felt as if his ribs were about to crack. Under that powerful compression his heart’s room to move had been constricted; the sensation of near-death washed over him again.
"Carn, why, when we were at the zoo, did Zoe suddenly tell you to go collect the remains of the chanically modified? What is your relationship with her?"
Hogg bent down, his lupine gaze fixed on Carn’s eyes as he asked seriously.
Carn pushed against the pressure of Hogg’s boot with both hands, struggling to explain, "Chief, I have no relationship with her! I only t her once, right in this office, you were there!"
Hogg of course knew the things Carn was saying, but that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
"Then among all those people present, why would she single you out?"
"I don’t know! Chief, I don’t know why she told to go. It was my first ti entering the zoo today, and I didn’t even speak to her..."
"Chief... I owe my position to you. Why would I deceive you? You trusted . She must be trying to sow discord between us..."
Carn’s innocence, pleading, and desperate explanations were on full display, and Hogg watched his expressions closely as he spoke.
But...
There were no signs of deceit; everything matched the current situation perfectly.
Hogg eased the pressure from his boot slightly.
"That attack by the chanical Vanguard Society was noticed by the Black Rock Caravan, and they inford you imdiately... Why are they so invested in your commission?"
Hogg’s voice was no longer as icy as before.
With the pressure on his heart reduced, Carn finally felt so life return. Hearing Hogg’s question, he did not hesitate and replied:
"Chief, ever since I encountered that chanically modified attacker last ti, several other factions have been curious about this sudden super combat force appearing at the Thug Prison.
I was sure the Black Rock Caravan wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to profit from this. They would dig into the intelligence behind the Thug Prison. I only issued a commission to them to push things along..."
This explanation was plausible. Hogg understood the Black Rock Caravan’s character — they would certainly pry into the Thug Prison’s secrets; that’s how they made their money.
After all, such intelligence could be sold at a high price.
And indeed, that intelligence had once been traded at the Black Shield Police Departnt for a large amount of supplies.
It could only be that Carn had anticipated the Black Rock Caravan’s actions and got a line to them ahead of ti.
But Carn hadn’t finished speaking yet.
"Chief, it’s not just the Thug Prison. I have people gathering any intelligence that might threaten us — I’ve been investigating the Western District, the Southern District, the Central District, and even the Black Rock Caravan…"
"I also commissioned the scavengers to collect information about the internal strife at the Burning Fortress... and that strange guy who showed up in District 13, I had so scavengers acting as lookouts there..."
Before Carn finished, Hogg suddenly turned to him.
"What strange guy?"
"Uh..." Carn hesitated for a mont, then quickly answered;
"It’s the guy we killed in District 13 last ti — completely bloodless, with four sharp fangs. I noticed you seed interested in his teeth, thought they might be useful to you, so I took it upon myself to look for them..."
As he said this, Carn seed to suddenly realize the implications, a flash of panic crossing his face at having overstepped.
"Chi... Chief, I didn't an to second-guess you. You once stopped Loris from threatening , and promoted to Commander. I only wanted to repay you... I know I was wrong. I’ll have those scavengers taken care of right away..."
Unexpectedly, Hogg removed his boot from Carn’s chest.
"Get up."
Hogg turned and walked to his desk.
Carn rubbed his chest, slowly rose, and looked at Hogg.
"Ch... Chief..."
Hogg pulled from a drawer the small pouch that contained the four teeth of a Blood Slave.
"I didn’t expect you to have noticed this..."
"Carn, now that Lao Ke is dead, my situation isn’t great."
"Chief, I... my subordinates swear to follow you to the death!" Carn’s face showed determined loyalty.
Hogg waved a hand.
"Relax, although my situation is difficult, it’s not about to collapse just yet. But I suspect that Zoe will approach you in the near future... Rember what happened with Loris?"
"Chief, you an... they’ll try to tempt to betray you like Loris did?"
Hogg regarded Carn with a half-smile, half-smirk.
"That might be a good option for them, wouldn’t it?"
Carn thought for two seconds, then gave a self-mocking smile and shook his head slightly.
"Chief, siding with them would only make their dog. You gave status, life, and respect. Why don’t we turn the tables instead?"
Resoluteness flashed in Carn’s eyes.
"It just so happens the zoo suffered huge losses; all those mutated creatures are dead. With our current force, if we were on the defensive alone, we could definitely hold."
Hogg’s eyes showed another flicker of surprise when he heard Carn’s words.
Then he pointed at Carn and actually laughed softly.
"Heh... interesting! Very interesting!"
A few seconds later he strode to Carn’s side.
"Relax, we aren’t at that point yet. I’m pleased with your performance just now — you passed my test." He slapped Carn’s shoulder heavily, his gaze deep.
"Rember what you just said."
"Chief..." Carn was about to say more.
Hogg shook his head slightly.
"Go. From now on, you take Lao Ke’s position. Help manage those brats."
Seriousness and solemnity crossed Carn’s face as he saluted Hogg.
"I won’t disappoint you!"
He started to walk out. Just as he was about to leave the room, Hogg’s voice sounded from behind him.
"Carn, you did well on that matter. If you find another of those strange creatures, inform imdiately!"
Carn paused, turned, and nodded.
"Understood, Chief!"
When the room door closed again, the smile on Hogg’s face faded. He continued to stare toward the doorway, his gaze deep and lingering.
"Car... n..."
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