Chapter 301 - 269: This is... a female’s scent?
Chapter 301: Chapter 269: This is... a female’s scent?
The moment Leo drew his knife, every member of the search team drew their guns and aimed them at him.
"I’ll count to three. Have your men stand down," the lead Beastman warned.
He was wary of the cold blade against his neck, but he knew this squad had their firearms confiscated by the Security Department two days prior. ’No matter,’ he thought. ’This pack of dogs will fear the guns in our hands even more.’
Unlike the Upper District, the Central District didn’t have a strict rule prohibiting Beastmen—other than the Beast Police—from carrying weapons. It wasn’t a total ban. However, with recent urban development, and because Mutant Species were mostly concentrated in the No Man’s Land and near the Lower District, the Beast Alliance had begun to explicitly prohibit possessing dangerous weapons like firearms, as well as brawling, even in the Central District.
Even soldiers from the Military Department had to surrender their guns upon entering the Central District if they came from other zones without registering in advance or receiving prior approval.
Leo and his men had wanted to take a tougher stance, but they worried a more thorough search would lead to Gu Ning’s discovery. As a compromise with the Security Department, they temporarily surrendered their guns.
They had been under surveillance since entering Zone 15. The only thing they could do was avoid conflict with the local departments. Otherwise, the authorities could use any "legitimate reason" to cause them a world of trouble.
The Security Department had taken the guns and left without any further inspection.
This current search team wasn’t the same group from the Security Department, but they had clearly come prepared.
’He knew they wouldn’t be brushed off so easily. Taking their guns was clearly just a front.’
’He even suspected they were here for Little Gu Ning.’
’A conflict is unavoidable now.’
Leo ignored the Beastman’s warning and pressed the knife down slightly. "Want to test whether my knife is faster than your guns?"
The Dog Clan members didn’t retreat. Instead, they advanced, cracking their knuckles and glaring at the inspection team, ready for a fight.
Seeing that the Beastman soldiers had no intention of backing down, the team leader narrowed his eyes and slowly raised his hand—
Just as the tension reached a breaking point, Vine pushed through the wall of his squadmates and stepped forward.
"What is your business here?"
Vine drew his knife, flicked Leo’s blade away, and questioned the Beastmen of the search party with a stern expression.
The team leader glanced at the knife in the wolf’s hand. Sensing he was more reasonable than the shameless dog, he held the search warrant out for him to see.
Vine took the search warrant and examined it carefully before asking, "Who is your superior?"
The team leader said, "It has the official seal of Zone 15’s highest department. Who do you think our superior is?"
Vine slapped the search warrant against the man’s chest. "You already came to inspect this place once. The person you’re looking for isn’t here."
The team leader retorted, "Whether they’re here or not isn’t for you to decide. Even members of the Military Department must abide by the rules of Zone 15."
"The Military Department has its own rules. How about you try following ours for a change?"
As he spoke, Leo moved to put his knife back to the man’s throat but was stopped by Vine.
"You can search," Vine said. "But we are on a mission. We can’t just let outsiders conduct a close-quarters search. You’ll have to get your superior to speak with us directly."
The word "mission" piqued the team leader’s interest, and he blurted out, "What mission?"
"None of your fucking business," Leo snapped.
Vine gave him a stern look. "Is a Military Department mission something you think you can just ask about?"
The team leader exchanged a look with his subordinate, then tapped his terminal as if to contact his superior.
"The network’s down."
The team leader lowered his wrist.
Both Vine and Leo frowned when they heard the network was down.
"I don’t care what mission you’re on; our mission must be carried out today," the team leader said. "You can find our superiors afterward. Complain, settle scores, do whatever you want."
Seeing them all tighten their grips on their guns, Vine said slowly, "Just this once."
With that, he stepped aside to let them pass.
Leo looked like he was about to protest, but he caught Vine’s warning glance. After a moment’s thought, he went to stand with Vine and snapped impatiently at the team leader, "A bunch of morons. What kind of criminal could possibly sneak onto our turf? Get it over with. You’re interrupting my nap."
"We’re just following orders," the team leader said coldly, walking past him and directing his subordinates to search the rooms one by one.
"Look all you want, but keep your hands off our stuff. Don’t leave your stench all over everything."
"And wipe your damn feet before you go in."
Leo trailed them, constantly harassing and heckling them. When he saw them reach the room where Gu Ning was staying, his heart clenched. He exchanged a look with Vine.
Vine made a subtle gesture with his fingers, warning him not to give anything away.
Seeing the gesture, Leo calmed himself. But as he smelled the scent coming from Gu Ning’s room, he couldn’t help but hold his breath as he followed the inspection team inside.
The moment the team leader pushed the door open, he saw a red-haired Beastman sitting in the living room, engrossed in a book. A fairly large Dog Clan Mixed Breed was lying at his feet.
"GRRR-WOOF!" Cook snarled, baring his teeth and watching them with wary eyes.
Barto glanced up at them, then, unfazed, went back to his book.
The team leader sized up the two Mixed Breeds, mentally checking them against a list.
’His superiors had told him to pay close attention to the four Mixed Breeds in their group. These were two of them.’
"Captain, we’ve searched the other rooms. Nothing there."
A subordinate came up from behind and whispered in his ear.
The team leader sniffed the air. The strange, sweet fragrance he’d caught in the hallway was much more distinct now.
’Is this... the scent of a female?’
’He couldn’t be sure. His orders mentioned they were traveling with a Mimic Mixed Species.’
’A high-level Mimic Mixed Species could disguise itself as a female.’
’He looked at the two Mixed Breeds with hesitation. Could a Mimic Mixed Species replicate a scent this perfectly? The smell was so convincing he found it almost impossible to doubt it belonged to a female.’
"Finish your search and get the hell out," Leo prompted, seeing him standing there frozen.
"You have two Mixed Breeds with you?" the team leader asked, jutting his chin toward Barto and Cook as if it were a casual question.
"Four," Vine stated from the doorway.
Leo retorted, "What’s it to you? Aren’t you here for some criminal? Did your orders change to rounding up Mixed Breeds?"
The team leader ignored him, his gaze shifting between the two Mixed Breeds.
’They both carried that female scent.’
’The scents in the room were too muddled, and he knew they had a Mimic Mixed Species with them. He couldn’t be certain of their identities.’
’But that wasn’t important. As long as the numbers matched up—no more, no less—it was fine.’
’A Mimic Mixed Species could pass for a female, but a female couldn’t disguise herself as another type of Beastman. That made them easy to identify.’
With that thought, he asked, "Where are the other two?"
Just as he asked, the bathroom door opened.
The team leader looked over and saw an atavistic Mixed Breed.
They were bundled up tightly, with only a pair of red fox ears and a fox tail visible.
"I just took a dump, how’d so many people show up all of a sudden? You guys here to take a dump, too?" the atavistic Mixed Breed muttered, freezing for a moment upon seeing the crowd.
At the sight of them, Leo’s rigid posture relaxed, and he leaned back in his chair.
Two members of the search team pushed the newcomer aside and entered the bathroom to investigate.
"Captain, there’s no one in here."
After checking the bathroom, they came out and reported to the team leader.
"Why don’t you pry up the floorboards and see if anyone’s hiding under there," Leo said, sprawling in his chair while stroking his knife. He glared at them with such impatience it looked like he might cut them down at any second.
Seeing the team leader’s eyes fixed on the bedroom, Leo offered a "helpful" reminder, "The one in there has a nasty temper. Best not to wake them."
The team leader assumed he was just trying to obstruct them and gestured toward the bedroom with his chin, signaling two of his men.
The two men understood. They shoved open the closed bedroom door and strode inside.
The living room fell silent for a few moments before a pained cry from one of the men echoed out from the bedroom.