Bounty Hunters (Vote for the Monthly Ticket and Recommended Ticket)

"Yes!" Hog answered loudly, then asked curiously, "My lord, who do you think that person lurking in the shadows and spying on us might be? House-elves generally don't cause trouble of their own accord. They were probably acting on their master's orders, weren't they?"

It wasn't surprising that Hog thought so. House-elves had always been known for their cowardice, meekness, and loyalty.

Even Qiqi had only awakened to her own will after years of Anduin's guidance. And even then, she was usually mild-mannered.

It was hard to believe a House-elf would step forward and cause trouble of its own accord.

"Very likely." Anduin agreed. "But we'll need more information to be sure. You and Qiqi go investigate. I'll keep a close eye on those three kids."

Hog nodded. He knew his boss was probably planning to use his usual "surveillance technique" again.

After Hog left, Anduin thought for a moment. Instead of continuing with the work at hand, he got dressed and stepped through the Any Door into the ranch space.

Anduin headed straight into the research building on the ranch and made his way deeper inside.

After opening an experimental room's door, secured with multiple locks, he found dozens—perhaps hundreds—of human-shaped Experiment Pods with glass fronts.

Most of the pods were empty. Only a handful contained naked humanoid creatures immersed in nutrient fluid.

The few remaining humanoid creatures spotted Anduin and immediately widened their eyes, looking at him as if pleading for mercy.

But they seemed to have lost all their strength. They couldn't move in the nutrient fluid, or even open their mouths to make a sound. All they could do was writhe slowly like maggots and blink repeatedly.

"Ah..." Anduin sighed. "There's only one human woman, two human men, one male Werewolf, one Goblin, and two Grindylows