Chapter 259 - 235: How Come You Can’t Do It?
Chapter 259: Chapter 235: How Come You Can’t Do It?
The convoy reached the Zone 15 checkpoint around noon.
Getting inside, however, was not so easy.
Gu Ning saw the vehicles ahead of them stop at the checkpoint and not move for a long time. She turned to Barto and asked, "What’s going on up there?"
"It’s winter, so the inspections are probably stricter," Barto said, his eyes fixed on the inspectors emerging from the checkpoint. Seeing them begin to check the vehicles one by one, he had a bad feeling.
He leaned closer to Gu Ning and sniffed her.
Gu Ning: "?"
Barto’s expression grew grim. "Your scent is a little strong."
Although his scent, along with Cook’s and Vine’s, served as a mask, and she’d also picked up Leo’s from contact, they weren’t enough to completely hide her female scent. After being cooped up in the small, confined space of the car for so long, it was even worse. She hadn’t been able to wash properly during their days on the road, and the battering from the wind, frost, rain, and snow had only made her scent more pronounced.
The inspectors at the checkpoint were all well-trained, elite Beastmen with exceptional senses of smell and sharp reflexes. Gu Ning’s current scent would almost certainly not escape their inspection.
Seeing Barto’s worried expression, Gu Ning took out a pen and paper and wrote: *Don’t we have official passes? What is there to worry about?*
’Besides, this is Zone 15, a C-level Middle Zone City. Even if it’s the lowest-ranked of the Middle Zone Cities, it’s still more orderly than Zone 19.’
’This was the very city she’d always wanted to bring Cook to, the one she’d researched so thoroughly.’
’Any city designated as part of the Central District was already leagues ahead of the Lower District Cities in every aspect. Even if the inspectors smelled her female scent, she was with these Military Department soldiers. Plus, she had credentials as a reporter for the Military Department’s propaganda division, which made her part of Vine’s team. With all that protection, they wouldn’t pull her aside for individual questioning, would they?’
’She wasn’t afraid of the Beastmen discovering her female identity. The main leaders of the convoy already knew she was a female; they could just say she was accompanying the Military Department on a mission.’
’The only thing she had to worry about was them discovering she was an *outsider* female. Barto had already told her about the Land Beastmen’s hostility toward outsiders.’
’What’s more, she wasn’t even a Beastman, but a genuine human.’
’Right now, only Barto knew she was an outsider. He completely accepted her for who she was and was helping her keep it a secret.’
’Besides him, Andrew probably knew too. It was impossible that he hadn’t investigated her. But she and the inscrutable general had an agreement, and she knew he was likely turning a blind eye. Because of that, she felt relatively at ease with his subordinates.’
’Even if all the Beastmen in the convoy knew she was a female, based on her observations of them these past few days, they were strictly disciplined and likely wouldn’t expose her identity.’
’Of course, it was better that they didn’t know. It would prevent a lot of unnecessary trouble on the road.’
’The little puppy, Leo, was a case in point.’
Gu Ning could only pray silently that they would reach Zone 5 without incident. After she settled down with Barto and the others, she could use her job and her skills to properly integrate into Beastman society, and then she wouldn’t have to worry about any of this anymore.
But right now, her prayers were not working.
Gu Ning pressed herself against the car window. She saw far more inspectors than there had been in Zone 19, and they were searching the vehicles. Some team members from the cars up ahead were even getting out. A sense of unease began to creep in.
This situation definitely didn’t seem right.
When the convoy passed through the Zone 19 checkpoint, none of them had even gotten out of their vehicles.
After a moment’s thought, Gu Ning rummaged around in the vehicle and found a bottle of scent neutralizer. She sprayed it vigorously around the car, then on herself.
"That’s useless." Barto stopped her hand, tossed the neutralizer aside, and pulled her onto his lap.
Gu Ning: "...What are you doing?"
"What do you think?" Barto pulled down the mask she had just put on. "Gotta cover your scent, little Mixed Breed."
’If it weren’t for the incident with the Mutant Species last night, he wouldn’t be worried, even if the inspectors found a female in the convoy.’
’An adult female traveling with a legitimate military unit could easily be explained as being on a mission. Who would have nothing better to do than to cause trouble for a female?’
’Besides, in every city they’d stopped in along the way, Andrew had arranged for supplies and personnel to meet them. But judging by how their supplies were burned and stolen last night, it was clear that it wasn’t just Mutant Species trying to attack them.’
’They hadn’t originally planned to stop in Zone 15, just pass through, restock on supplies, and move on. However, given the current situation, they would be forced to rest and regroup properly in Zone 15.’
’Those damned bastards probably used the Mutant Species attack as cover for their own dirty work, all in an attempt to pin them down in Zone 15.’