Chapter 333 - 295: I Tell You, You Youngsters
Chapter 333: Chapter 295: I Tell You, You Youngsters
Flynn bellowed into his walkie-talkie, "Use whatever means necessary! Stop those cars with the flags up ahead!"
Brooke frowned. "Something’s not right. This road doesn’t lead to a city exit checkpoint."
Currently, the only open checkpoints for entering or leaving Zone 19 were the north and south ones. All others were temporarily closed. Even if they tried to force their way through, they wouldn’t make it.
The road these cars were on led to a dead end.
"D-Director..." At that moment, the subordinate who had gone to get Flynn coffee said, "There are no inspection teams ahead of us."
The inspection area they had been assigned was an abandoned old district in Zone 15 that was still under construction. Besides the workers, only a few Mixed Breeds were active or lived in the area.
The outer district of Zone 15 was mostly composed of ruins from several hundred years ago. Its area was nearly as large as the Inner District, and it couldn’t all be renovated and rebuilt in a short time, so it had been temporarily enclosed by a wall.
Sometimes, to avoid the tedious checkpoint inspections, some Beastmen would sneak in and out through the ruins. Even the wall was useless; they would either climb over it or dig a hole under it.
Of course, if they were caught even once, their Zone 15 residence permits would be voided, and a black mark would be added to their personal records.
And now, at the end of the ruined district in front of Flynn and his team, a checkpoint had been established to facilitate the transport of construction materials from nearby urban areas. Although the checkpoint was closed, anyone who knew how to operate it could open it.
Now that it was winter, this area wasn’t considered very important. With Mixed Breeds living here who needed to be relocated, construction had also been temporarily halted.
This area was in a state of being almost completely unmanaged.
Flynn and Brooke exchanged a look and took off in a dead sprint.
"These bastards! They’re deliberately screwing me over!" Flynn tossed his walkie-talkie aside and transformed into his giant beast form, shreds of his clothing scattering in the air.
’If they get away, forget about being Vice-Director, I won’t even have a job sweeping the streets. I’ll be thrown out of Zone 15 immediately, and maybe even exiled to the No Man’s Land.’
Flynn remembered that he had only snatched this administrative area after jumping through countless hoops and dealing with that crafty old fox, the Director of the Security Department, all to avoid getting caught up in the power struggles from above. The thought made him want to slap himself.
Those guys from the Special Security Team had been watching this convoy since before it departed, but they hadn’t dared to stop the cars. They were waiting for interception orders and documents from their superiors, but for some reason, they’d been waiting forever and still hadn’t received them.
Flynn had been hoping that this group from Zone 19 would just leave smoothly. If they wanted to fight, they could do it after leaving his jurisdiction in Zone 15. But as it turned out, these people from Zone 19 weren’t playing by the Special Security Team’s rules at all.
After making such a scene, they had the nerve to come over here and bring disaster down on him.
Brooke and the other team members followed suit, transforming into their beast forms and giving chase.
If this convoy escaped from right under their noses, they would all suffer the consequences.
*
"See? I told you security was lax here."
Minoz poked his head out gleefully from the back seat, grabbing the front seat and saying to Barto, "You promised me. I get you guys out of Zone 15 smoothly, and you get me a permit for Zone 5. You’re a man of your word, right?"
Barto kept his hands on the steering wheel and glanced at the rearview mirror, his brow furrowed slightly. "We’ll talk once we’re out of here."
With that, he activated the in-car communicator. "They’re catching up. Stay close."
"Got it," came Leighton’s voice, immediately followed by a soft, muffled groan.
Then, Mingxi’s voice was heard. "Miss Gu Ning, are you all right?"
Barto’s frown deepened.
Except for Leighton’s car, the communication channels for all other vehicles in the convoy were open. Hearing that muffled groan, everyone instinctively glanced at their comms system.
When Cook heard Gu Ning’s name, he looked at the comms system, tilted his head, and let out an excited, "WOOF!"
"Shut up," Barto snapped coldly.
"Huh?" Minoz perked up his ears. "What was that sound?"
"A Mimic Mixed Species," someone said.
Minoz turned to look behind him. ’Wait, isn’t that guy in our car...?’
"You didn’t hit anything, did you?" Leighton switched off his mic and turned to look at the back seat.
"I’m fine," Gu Ning said, grabbing Mingxi’s arm.
Just now, the car felt like it had run over something. It jolted violently, then suddenly accelerated. She was almost thrown forward, but Mingxi had reacted quickly, grabbing the back of her collar and pulling her back.
’There weren’t even any seatbelts in the back. The only thing she could grab onto was the little golden lion beside her.’
This road was much less smooth than the last one. The car was constantly swerving and bouncing, and moving at a breakneck pace. Several times, Gu Ning was nearly thrown into the ceiling.
Even when she was out in the wilderness, she’d never been in such a bumpy vehicle. After just a short while, she felt like her body was going to be shaken to pieces.
Finally, Mingxi couldn’t bear to watch any longer. "Excuse me," he said, before scooping her up and setting her on his lap.
He wrapped one arm tightly around Gu Ning’s waist and grabbed the handle on the car’s ceiling with the other, holding them both steady.
At this point, Gu Ning couldn’t worry about the impropriety of the situation. She fumbled for the door handle to try and steady herself.
She turned to look out the window. The sky was gradually brightening outside. Through the hazy mist, she could see a narrow, dilapidated streetscape. The buildings looked similar to ones she’d seen on the road, and from time to time, Beastmen of various forms would flash past.
The convoy twisted and turned through the alleyways, sometimes having to swerve to avoid pedestrians who appeared out of nowhere. Even though Gu Ning never got carsick, she was starting to feel dizzy.
The arm around her waist was also holding her tight. If she wanted to sit more comfortably, her only option was to press back against the Beastman behind her.
Gu Ning subconsciously tried to lean forward, but after another jolt nearly sent them flying, she gave up struggling and tried to find a position that was at least tolerable.
Soon, however, she realized something was wrong with where she was sitting.
After a silence that stretched for more than ten seconds, Gu Ning slowly raised her head to look at the one above her.
She only saw a sharply defined chin.
The Beastman behind her had his head tilted back, as if he didn’t dare to look at her, and his breathing had become shallow.
The truth was, Mingxi really didn’t dare to look at her.
’He felt like his reputation was ruined for life.’
’He couldn’t even understand why his body would have such a shameful reaction at a time like this.’
’He had completely lost face in front of the young female.’
In the few short seconds it took for the change to occur, he went from astonishment to a brief mental blank, and now to utter shame. His entire being felt like it was on fire, and his ears were burning red.
The car continued its jolting, bumping ride. Gu Ning and Mingxi both clenched their teeth, each enduring a level of awkwardness and restraint that was almost unbearable.
Just then, the car screeched to a sudden halt. Inertia threw them both forward. Relying almost entirely on his own strength, Mingxi managed to control their momentum, pulling Gu Ning back with him as they fell backward.
Muffled groans sounded from both of them at the same time.
"Who the hell found this crappy road?" Leighton cursed, turning the wheel to head into an alley on the right.
A building ahead had collapsed, blocking their path.
The car finally slowed down. Gu Ning let out a long sigh and, grabbing the hand Mingxi still had wrapped tightly around her, said, "You can... let go now."
After she spoke, Mingxi seemed to snap out of his daze and released his grip.
"What’s that smell?"
Before Gu Ning could even get off Mingxi’s lap, Leighton and Belial, who were in the front, both turned around.
Gu Ning felt incredibly uncomfortable under their indescribable gazes and quickly scrambled over to the other side of the seat.
Leighton quickly understood what was happening. He clicked his tongue. "I swear, you young people... Can you even handle yourself?"
Gu Ning shrank into the corner.
Mingxi said nothing.
"What are you guys doing?" Belial asked, dumbfounded.
Mingxi covered his face with one hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Get me an Inhibitor."