Chapter 321 - 283: Will Not Separate
Chapter 321: Chapter 283: Will Not Separate
"I’ll go back and think about it." Gu Ning stood up, planning to go back and discuss it with Barto and the others.
She turned to leave, but something occurred to her. She turned back and asked, "Besides the Wolf Team... what’s a more... reasonable solution?"
Vine’s gaze fell on the Kaper Terminal on her wrist. "Add Kaper to your household registry. Cook’s name is listed in the family section of his military records. That way, you can inherit everything of Kaper’s, including Cook."
"...?"
Huh?
Gu Ning’s eyes widened. "But he’s... he’s gone, isn’t he?"
Vine was silent for a moment before saying, "His death hasn’t been reported to the system yet."
"How thoughtful."
Philinos’s sarcastic scoff cut through the cold wind and into Gu Ning’s ears.
Gu Ning was also a bit stunned by the method Vine had proposed.
’But on second thought, maybe it could actually work?’
Philinos, who had been standing by like a fly on the wall, walked over and clapped Vine on the shoulder. "Did you use up your entire life’s supply of brain cells for that one?"
After his jibe, he stepped in front of Vine and said to Gu Ning, "Let’s go. I’ll walk you back."
...
After returning, Gu Ning told Barto about Vine’s proposal.
"He’s gotten smarter, hasn’t he," Barto said meaningfully.
’That alpha wolf is still too honest,’ Barto thought. ’If it were me, I would have just used Kaper’s name to keep Cook by my side. That way, I could maintain a long-term connection with Gu Ning.’
But instead, he had given Gu Ning a practical and feasible suggestion.
That made Barto see him in a slightly better light.
Gu Ning held her cup of hot water, blew on it, and took a couple of sips. "If that doesn’t work," she hesitated, "should we... change zones?"
She had wanted Cook to integrate into a wolf pack, but she never wanted him to leave her side. Since she was going to Zone 5 with Alex, it seemed perfect for Cook to join Alex’s pack. But after hearing Vine’s words, she now felt it was too dangerous to bring Cook with her to Zone 5.
Barto said, "Do you want me to be honest?"
Gu Ning blinked, looking at the little fox.
Barto said, "You have to go to Zone 5. Not only that, you and Alex need to fight for your own territory. As for Cook..."
"Never mind." Looking into Gu Ning’s eyes, Barto decided not to finish his sentence.
’It’s enough that I understand,’ he thought.
Gu Ning understood, too. She put down her cup, stood up, and walked over to Barto. She cupped the little fox’s lowered face and lifted it. "Barto. Me, you, and Cook. The three of us aren’t splitting up."
’They had made it through such difficult times together. How could she abandon them now?’
Barto and Gu Ning locked eyes for a moment, then he suddenly threw his arms around her, burying his face in her stomach and taking a deep sniff. "You’re infuriating," he mumbled.
Gu Ning smiled. "Speaking of which... we were planning... on living in Zone 15."
Barto released her. "From the looks of it, Zone 15 is no paradise either. We need to leave as soon as possible."
As he spoke, he sniffed at Gu Ning. "The smell of blood has faded a lot. Are you still bleeding?"
Gu Ning said, "Just a little. It should... stop... by tomorrow."
"Then I’ll pack our things. We’ll leave in the next day or two." Barto took her hand, the one wearing the Kaper Terminal. "Vine’s suggestion is good. Keeping Cook with you is the best way to protect him. He regressed too early, and to have regressed this much in such a short time... If anyone ever investigates, just having him on your household registry won’t be enough."
Barto paused, then said, "Both of Vine’s proposals are viable." ’The best suggestion is still to let Vine look after Cook.’
’But Gu Ning wants to keep Cook with her, so the other proposal is just icing on the cake.’
Gu Ning asked, "What about you?"
The corner of Barto’s mouth quirked up as he feigned a casual tone. "Me? Do I look like I’m not doing okay?"
Gu Ning looked at Barto’s handsome face and said, "The Inhibitor... it’s working?"
"Of course it’s working. I only use the best Inhibitors." Barto reassured her, "Once winter is over, as long as Cook gets his Inhibitor shots on time, he’ll slowly get better too."
*
The internet finally came back on after dinner.
Gu Ning received a message from Alex saying he’d be back later. She replied with a nodding emoji, then quickly logged on and sent the prepared footage to Idelos.
The connection was still spotty, and the footage file was large. After waiting a long time, the upload progress bar hadn’t even reached the halfway mark, so Gu Ning went to take a shower first.
When she got out of the shower, the footage had finished sending, and Idelos had also sent her a message:
[Have you been busy lately?]
Gu Ning’s inner office drone’s radar went off. Wrapping the towel she was using to dry her hair around her head, she replied:
[Yes, I’ve been super busy. The connection has been pretty bad too, so I couldn’t send it. Sorry.]
[Understood,] Idelos replied.
[If you need any help, just let me know,] he added in another message.
Gu Ning replied with a (paw-shake) emoji.
Idelos stared at the cute sticker for a moment, then opened the video footage sent by Gu Demiao Ning.
An hour later, he had meticulously watched the entire video file.
Then, he scrubbed the video back and forth between several bookmarked segments, picking up a printed photo from his desk to compare it carefully.
After a long moment, Idelos put the photo down, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"So that’s how it is?"
His voice, a mixture of confusion and sudden understanding, echoed in the empty room.
*
After dealing with the work for Idelos, Gu Ning messaged Andrew about Vine’s proposal. She happened to have an unread message from him, so she replied to that as well.
After a few minutes, Andrew still hadn’t replied. ’He must be busy,’ Gu Ning thought, so she set the matter aside for the time being and started reading her language book.
She had only read a few pages when drowsiness washed over her. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she vaguely heard a door open. She roused herself slightly and turned toward the entrance—
The door was already closed.
About ten minutes later, Gu Ning had just about drifted off to sleep when a tall, slender figure sat down beside her, leaned in close, and sniffed her.
The movement woke Gu Ning, and she opened her eyes.
The lights in the room had been turned off at some point. Just then, a warm, steamy kiss landed on her cheek.
"Were you asleep?"
It was Alex’s voice.
Gu Ning’s eyes flew open as she tried to make out the silhouette in the darkness. "Alex, you’re back?"
"Mhm," Alex murmured in response, his hand resting on her head, cradling her. "Everything outside has been taken care of."
Gu Ning adjusted her loose earpiece. "You worked hard."
Alex asked, "The smell of blood on you is gone. How are you feeling? Any discomfort?"
Gu Ning replied, "No."
Alex glanced at the painkillers on her bedside table. She hadn’t touched them; she hadn’t taken any tonight.
"We leave tomorrow morning," he said.
"Okay." Hearing they were leaving so soon, Gu Ning said, "You should get some rest. Quickly."
"No rush." Alex gazed at Gu Ning’s face, his eyes glinting in the darkness. "Before we leave, there’s one thing we need to do first."