Chapter 264 - 238: Who Taught Her That
Chapter 264: Chapter 238: Who Taught Her That
"Passes."
Gu Ning handed her pass to the inspector in front of her. Beside her, Cook copied her and handed his over as well.
The inspector scanned the passes on a device. After confirming they were valid, he eyed the two Mixed Breeds up and down for a few moments before looking back at his device.
Gu Ning watched his movements nervously.
After confirming the information on the device permitted the two Mixed Breeds to enter Zone 15, the inspector handed the passes back to them.
Gu Ning’s slightly raised shoulders relaxed. Just as she reached out to take her pass, a hand shot out from behind the inspector and intercepted it.
Seeing the newcomer, the inspector called out, "Chief."
The security chief finished reading the information on the passes, his gaze sweeping over the large and small Mixed Breeds before him.
One of the Mixed Breeds was too large, exceeding the typical size range for a Dwarf hybrid but not quite meeting the standard for a giant hybrid. The other one did fit the standard for a Dwarf hybrid, but was on the smaller side.
The pair looked strange together, no matter how you looked at them.
He focused his gaze on the Dwarf hybrid to his right.
His pass information indicated that he was a soldier from the Military Department who had been injured and regressed while fighting Mutant Species.
Noticing the standard-issue combat uniform he wore, the same as other soldiers, the chief cautiously had him open his personal information on his terminal.
Behind him, Vine’s expression darkened when he saw this.
’This is beyond the normal security check procedures, especially for a regular military unit like theirs.’
’Normally, a unit like theirs only needs to present their passes. Whether they have terminals or not, whether they are Beastmen or Mixed Breeds—even if they are Mutant Species—the checkpoint has to let them through.’
’Passes come in different types and levels, mostly used by the military or other official agencies. Their purpose is to facilitate missions. Even for a place like the Central Green Area, a pass issued by the Military Department and the Beast Alliance is all they need to get in.’
’A strict inspection isn’t the problem. The problem is that Zone 15 is just an ordinary, mid-tier zone.’
’The proper security procedure would be to ask the unit’s leader why he’s bringing two Mixed Breeds and if it’s mission-related, not to verify their identities himself.’
’Especially since the passes he and the other captains, like Philinos, hold contain the highest-level mission chips. Logically, even if someone he’s escorting doesn’t have a pass, Zone 15 has no authority to stop him; they can only report it up the chain.’
’The fact that they dared to do this, without even bothering to offer an explanation, means they’re being backed by a very high-ranking Beastman. And they’re clearly targeting Gu Ning.’
’This kind of inspection is anything but friendly.’
Vine’s sharp gaze swept over the security personnel.
’He had learned from Admiral Andrew that Gu Ning had never been outside of Zone 19. Someone in the Military Department had leaked her identity and the details of their mission to a very high-ranking Beastman.’
’Their journey from here on out probably won’t get any easier.’
Gu Ning opened her personal information on her terminal and held it out for the security officer to see. ’Thank goodness Vine was so thorough,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, I would have been exposed right then and there.’
’This inspection is all wrong. If my female identity is exposed, we could be stuck here for a long time.’
The security chief glanced at her terminal. The personal information perfectly matched the information on the pass.
He lifted his eyes to look at the small Mixed Breed before him, then sniffed the air around him.
He couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary, just the scent of wolf.
"Take off the mask," he said.
Vine shot him a cold glare.
Hearing his demand, Gu Ning’s heart began to race, and her hand tightened on the hem of Cook’s clothes.
Cook’s tail thrashed about anxiously. He had been on high alert since the inspection began, sensing the ill intentions of these security officers—especially the one in front of them.
"Brother, I’d advise you not to ask them to do that," one of the young wolves in the crowd warned. "They’ve been on the road for half a day and haven’t eaten yet. They’re not in the best of moods."
As soon as he finished speaking, Cook let out a vicious growl at the inspector in front of them.
Gu Ning hesitated for a moment. She met Vine’s gaze, which seemed to hold a hint of encouragement. Lowering her voice, she copied Cook and let out an "AWOO!"
The inspector: "...?"
Vine: "..."
The onlooking young wolves: "..."
’That sound... was a bit like a puppy... or a wolf cub.’
’It was... actually kind of cute.’
’Just what you’d expect from someone Alex is raising. His temper is exactly like Alex’s.’
’Be more ferocious!’ the young wolves quickly realized, growing anxious for the little Mixed Breed. ’This is no time to be cute!’
"The mask. Take it off." The chief let out a scoff, hearing the completely non-threatening, not-even-remotely-fierce sound, and repeated his demand.
He also took the opportunity to observe the expressions of the other wolves.
None of the wolves stepped forward to stop him; they only expressed their dissatisfaction with the inspection process.
"What’s the meaning of this, Zone 15? We’ve never seen you run a check like this before!"
"Yeah! We’re on a mission! Do you even have the clearance level to be conducting an inspection like this?"
"Finish up and let us through! We’re having a hard enough time keeping Kaper and the others in line..."
"WOOF!" Cook bared his teeth and barked at the security chief again, shielding Gu Ning with half his body.
Gu Ning clung to Cook’s arm and also let out a warning roar.
After she roared, Cook lowered his head, licked one of her fake beast ears, and let out a confused, "Awoo?"
The noise from the surrounding crowd died down.
The young wolves suddenly found the sky very interesting or busied themselves with scratching their ears.
’For some reason, they were reminded of the bathroom in Zone 19 that night...’
’So weird.’
Vine’s brow twitched slightly. He shot his team members a look, signaling them to be ready to move at any moment.
On the perimeter, Barto sighed and put a hand to his forehead. ’Who on earth taught her to do that?’
Seeing that the little Mixed Breed had no intention of taking off the mask, the security chief lost his patience. He stopped talking and reached out to pull off her muzzle.
Cook immediately pounced, instantly slamming him to the ground.
The muzzle, which was merely for show, broke with a simple tug on the strap. Cook opened his mouth and bit down hard on the Beastman.
Seeing that they were surrounded by allies, Gu Ning also lunged forward. Spreading her fingers, she grabbed onto the arm that was trying to fend off Cook and clawed at it viciously.
’To protect my identity, I have to go all out!’
’I have some experience with fighting by now. I’m a Mixed Breed, so I don’t need any technique. Just hit whatever I can, as long as I look ferocious.’
Seeing this, the other young wolves rushed forward to "break up the fight," conveniently "accidentally" stepping on the chief a few times to keep him from getting up.
With the help of the young wolves, Gu Ning was practically pinning the Beastman down and beating him.
She copied Barto, grabbing his head and slamming it against the ground.
Of course, the ground was covered in snow, so the slamming didn’t do much damage. All the real harm came from her sharp claws.
The Beastman chief screamed in pain as she clawed him. He tried to pull her off his face, but his hands were being held down by someone, and one of his legs had been stomped on and broken.
The other security officers tried to rescue him, but the pack of wolves had formed a tight circle around the brawl, three layers deep, and they couldn’t push their way in.
After quite a while, the wolves finally "rescued" their chief from the two Mixed Breeds.
The sight of their chief was horrifying.
His face was covered in blood, and he couldn’t even stand up. He had to be supported as he howled in agony.