"It’s nothing..." she began, but when she saw Kloer and the others behind Alex, she cleared her throat and quickly waved her hands.

She had been woken by the noise from upstairs. She had no idea what they were doing up there, but every now and then, a muffled thud echoed as if something was being slammed onto the floor.

The houses in Zone 19 were solidly built with excellent soundproofing, so she rarely heard any noise from upstairs or next door.

Although she was usually a good sleeper, she startled awake easily, especially in unfamiliar surroundings.

The noise upstairs hadn’t stopped after she woke up. She decided to use the restroom, and when she came out, she saw Kloer, Seth, and the others standing at the door.

Alex strode over to Gu Ning, grabbed one of his jackets from the bedroom to drape over her shoulders, then put his arm around her and guided her to the living room sofa.

Gu Ning was still in a drowsy, half-asleep state and had no idea why Alex had called Kloer and the others over in the middle of the night. She subconsciously touched the mask on her face. Thankfully, she had a habit of sleeping with it on.

"All of you, over here."

Alex sat down beside Gu Ning and spoke to the three men standing by the door.

The three obediently came and stood before him and Gu Ning.

Kloer’s gaze landed on Gu Ning. After staring at her for a couple of seconds, he chuckled and said, "Little Gu Ning, what’s with the getup?"

Gu Ning tilted her head up to look at him, then, after a moment, silently lowered it again.

"You’re that afraid of the cold?" Kloer said. "You even have your head all wrapped up."

"Sit down, all of you," Alex cut in, interrupting Kloer.

The three looked around. Seeing only the one sofa, they plopped down on the floor and looked up at Alex and Gu Ning with obedient, well-behaved expressions.

Gu Ning turned to Alex with a similar look on her face.

At times like this, Alex radiated the aura of a great leader, his demeanor growing much more serious. She instinctively straightened her back, waiting for the boss’s speech.

"This is Seth and Jite." Alex gestured toward the two young wolves. "They’ve been with me since they were cubs and are some of my oldest followers. If you trust me, then you can trust them too."

Gu Ning didn’t quite understand why Alex was suddenly introducing his Wolf Clan members to her in the middle of the night, but she raised a hand to them in greeting anyway.

Seth grinned at Gu Ning. "Hello, little boss. I’m the boss’s most loyal follower. After the boss, you’ll be my closest brother. I’ll definitely protect you."

Jite added solemnly, "We would never betray the boss. You don’t need to be afraid of us."

’This must be the boss’s first time formally introducing us to the little boss,’ they thought. ’He must be trying to reassure him.’

Gu Ning nodded, bewildered.

"You should be familiar with Kloer by now." Alex paused, then said, "Kloer is a friend of ours. He’s a great guy, he just has a big mouth."

Gu Ning’s gaze shifted from Seth and Jite to Kloer.

Kloer watched her with his arms crossed. His hulking, bear-like frame really did make Seth and Jite look like two "little wolves" in comparison.

"I may not be part of Alex’s pack, but he’s my best friend," Kloer said.

"These next few days, the three of them will be staying with us," Alex said to Gu Ning, getting to the point. "They’ll only sleep in the living room. They won’t go into the bedroom or use our bathroom."

Alex looked down at her, his voice gentle. "If you don’t want them here, I’ll have them leave right now."

Gu Ning froze for a moment. Then she realized Alex was asking for her permission for them to stay.

"We’ll only be here for five or six days," Seth chimed in, afraid Gu Ning might refuse.

Jite added, "It could be seven or eight days."

Kloer said, "Or even half a month."

Gu Ning was speechless. ’It doesn’t matter. In a couple of days, I can go back to living with Cookbatuo.’

Alex shot them a look, then explained to Gu Ning that they had given up their rooms for the Military Department.

After hearing that, of course she had no objections.

She was also aware that Zone 19 was in the middle of fighting the Mutant Species. All the three of them needed was a place to sleep.

Alex wasn’t even going to let them use the bathroom.

There was only one thing she was worried about.

’Will they be able to smell me?’ she wrote on a slip of paper and passed it to Alex.

Alex had told her that no one else could know her identity. That being the case, he probably hadn’t told Seth and the others either.

"They won’t," Alex replied. He could see the anxiety in her note and suppressed the urge to tell Seth and the others her identity.

After sending Kloer and the others off to get their blankets and bedding, he leaned close to Gu Ning’s ear and whispered, "Don’t worry. You smell completely like me."