Caroline didn't even finish her sentence before Francis jumped in. "That's easy! The army already keeps records on every mutant in the shelter—soldiers and civilians. I'll get you a full list. When you find someone you like, I'll have my people pack them up and deliver them to your door!" Caroline lit up at the first part. A full collection of ability data? That would save her so much time. But when she heard the words "someone you like" and "pack them up," the corner of her mouth twitched. Why did Francis always mess up his wording at the end? What she really wanted from the deal was simple: more mutant creature corpses, their help to capture rare mutated animals, and for the military to keep an eye out for useful ability users. The modified truck was just a lucky bonus she stumbled into. Francis also promised that, if nothing went wrong, the truck should arrive at the shelter by tomorrow. After speaking with him, Caroline returned upstairs to check on the still-unconscious Raven and Silver. Both were stable and didn't need her attention. She went back to her room to get some rest. Caroline slept through the night. By the time she woke the next morning, it was already around eight or nine. After breakfast, she planned to ask if Tyler had made it back. Before she could leave, someone knocked on her door. When she opened the door, she saw Tyler standing there, eyes bloodshot. His round trip had taken 12 hours. He told her everything. How he was followed, how he used Shane to take care of the trackers, and how he managed to slip away afterward. "I didn't go back to check," Tyler said. "But after driving a few miles out, I waited for a few hours. No one showed up. Shane should've taken them out." After hearing the whole plan, even Caroline couldn't help giving him a thumbs-up. That was sly. Downright ruthless. He solved three problems with one move—sending Shane far away, finding someone to keep him busy, and getting rid of the stalkers. That was smart. Caroline also shared everything that had happened on her side.Tyler frowned. "Something big is about to happen to the shelter." Caroline thought the same. But with Raven and Silver still recovering, they couldn't leave yet. And besides ... "It's not safe out there," she said. "We need Commander Ball to settle things down. Only then can we move out." She believed the wait wouldn't be long. After all, tomorrow was Nathaniel's funeral. If Andrew's people wanted to make trouble, it would definitely be tomorrow. So for now, they would stay inside the shelter and watch how things played out. What bothered Caroline most was her mobile base; it was burning through energy every minute. Luckily, Francis worked fast. Before the morning ended, he sent her another batch of mutated creature bodies. This time, it was dozens of bags of mutant mosquitoes. Caroline glanced at them. Each mosquito was as big as a hand, with long, sharp mouthparts that looked terrifying. After speaking with the soldier who delivered the bags, Caroline learned that farther south from Hornvale, mutant mosquitoes were already everywhere. She couldn't imagine what the southern part of Caswana looked like now. The soldier said people in the southern shelters were evacuating. The mosquitoes seemed to crawl straight out of the ground. No one knew where they were even hatching. On the bright side, the number of mutant flies had dropped significantly because most of the trash in the streets had been cleaned up. But the remaining flies were all much bigger. The government had already sent experts to study the mutant mosquitoes, but so far, they hadn't found anything useful. "If one of these things bites you, it sucks so hard your skin turns pale like paper," a young soldier said, shaking his head. "It even leaves a deep dent. It looks terrifying." Caroline knew the truth was even worse. These mosquitoes would keep mutating. This was only the beginning. After storing the latest batch of mutant mosquito corpses in her storage space, Caroline headed upstairs. She wanted to ask Nelson about his past research on mutant flies and mosquitoes. But when she reached the 65th floor, she froze. Nelson was playing with the cat. Caroline had no idea how long he had worked last night, but the huge mutant cat was now spotless. Its fur was clean, shiny, and warm, with a soft, cozy scent drifting off it. Even the labs, usually full of sharp chemical smells, now smelled like cooked meat. She peeked inside. Oh wow. There was a whole pot simmering on the stove. "Nelson, what are you cooking? I didn't know you could cook," Caroline asked with a smile. Nelson looked up when she walked in and tossed the cat teaser aside.