Chapter 269 - 241: We Can’t Keep It With Us
Gu Ning saw that Leo’s face was a little pale and his lips were colorless, so she knew he wasn’t just putting on an act. She patted a member of the Dog Team beside her, coughed softly, and gave the pups a meaningful look. The pups caught on, grabbed all the grilled sausages from the stall, and swarmed back to the vehicles to avoid being scolded by Wolf Team any further.
Once they were gone, Gu Ning turned her gaze back to the little fox.
"I’m warning you, let me go!" The bound little fox thrashed and rolled on the ground. "Which combat department are you from? I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Bartok took a strap and tied it around his muzzle.
Gu Ning sidled up to Bartok and whispered, "Take care of him?"
Bartok: "Not killing him yet."
Hearing that they still planned to kill him, the little fox struggled even more frantically, muffled whimpers escaping his mouth.
Gu Ning pinched the back of the little fox’s hand, then shot a glare at Bartok. ’That’s not what I meant!’
She showed Bartok the fake autographed photos she had confiscated. "We take his stuff, teach him a lesson. That’s it."
’No need to kill the little fox over this.’
Bartok ruffled her hair, then started rummaging through the little fox’s stall. He pulled out more photos of various sizes, badges printed with Yuanbao’s face, and other items.
Gu Ning stared, dumbfounded, as Bartok unearthed an entire box of "Yuanbao" merchandise.
The stack of "autographed photos" in her hand seemed paltry in comparison.
’This little fox! He was using the grilled sausage stand as a front to secretly make money off Yuanbao merchandise!’
The little fox, who had just been struggling and begging for mercy, saw all his money-making wares being plundered by that damn humanoid fox. He leaped up from the ground in a rage and lunged at him.
The moment he leaped, Vine snatched him, lifted him by the collar, and tossed him into one of the rear vehicles. "Hand him over to the Zone 15 Security Department."
But Bartok pulled the little fox right back out. "Give him to me first."
Vine frowned. "We still have a mission. We can’t keep it with us."
Gu Ning nudged Bartok’s arm, questioning him with her eyes. ’Bartok isn’t the type to meddle. Sure, this little fox was selling fake Yuanbao autographs and merchandise, but they saw stuff like this all the time in Zone 19. A scolding or handing him over to the proper authorities should be enough. Thinking of how Bartok’s temper had grown more violent and extreme lately, she worried he might actually kill the little fox. She was even more worried that exposure to this kind of thing would make his Mutant Value rise. It was already unstable after his second mutation. She’d felt something was off about him since the night he opened fire.’
"He definitely has more," Bartok said flatly, holding the little fox by the back of his collar. "I need to find out the source of the goods, and if there’s a supplier. This stuff is being sold without going through the proper channels. For you..."
Bartok glanced at Vine and paused before continuing, "Don’t worry. I’ll let him go as soon as I have my answers. I won’t delay the convoy."
*
By the time Gu Ning and the others reached their lodging, it was already past four in the afternoon. Forget lunch; it was almost time for dinner.
The convoy stopped in a quiet alley. Gu Ning and the others filed into a five-story building there.
The tallest buildings in Zone 15 were less than ten stories high, but their overall proportions made them seem large.
This building didn’t even have an elevator. Gu Ning had only climbed two steps before Vine scooped her up and started striding up the stairs.
"Wolf Team, I can walk myself," she said, pushing against his shoulder.
Vine glanced at her. "We’re staying on the fifth floor."
’The fifth floor, huh.’
’For me, that’s like climbing ten floors.’
Gu Ning shut her mouth. ’Better not make things harder for myself.’
Seeing that the little female had gone quiet, Vine adjusted his hold, settling her more comfortably on his arm.
Feeling her feather-light weight, he said, "You need to exercise more."
His expression was always stern. With his face now so close, his equally stern tone sounded to Gu Ning like a reprimand for her lack of stamina.
Her body went rigid as she tried her best not to look so slothful.
’I should have just climbed the stairs myself,’ she thought. ’No, I should have found Seth and the others. Being with Vine feels like I’m constantly about to be reprimanded.’
Vine pushed open a door on the third floor.
Gu Ning saw the number 302 on the door. "This is... the third floor."
"Mm," Vine said, carrying Gu Ning inside. "We’re staying on the third floor."
Gu Ning: ’Didn’t he say the fifth floor?’
Vine set her down. "It was a last-minute decision. The third floor is better."
Gu Ning: ’...Why do I get the feeling Wolf Team did that on purpose?’
’But given his personality, it’s unlikely.’
’Whatever, I’m not going to think about it.’
Gu Ning turned her attention to what would be her lodgings for the next two or three days.
The room was quite spacious, its layout a bit different from the houses in Zone 19. The furnishings were simple, but the space was bright and clean.
To her pleasant surprise, there was a heater that looked like a standing air conditioning unit, and it was blowing warm air that kept the entire room toasty.
"This is a... ta..." Gu Ning thought for a long moment before finally recalling the word. "A tavern?"
Vine looked down at her. "A tavern? You want a drink?"
Gu Ning scratched her cheek and simply used her terminal to translate the word. She found the entry for "inn."
Vine understood then. "It’s not an inn," he said. "Inns are too crowded, too many prying eyes. This is Admiral Andrew’s house."
Gu Ning was surprised. "The Admiral’s house?"
Vine said, "Mm-hmm, this whole street. But they’re rentals."
Zone 15 had been expanding for the past few years, so renting was easy. Buying property, however, was a hassle in any zone. If you owned a house in one zone, you weren’t allowed to buy property in another.
’This Admiral is really thoughtful,’ Gu Ning thought. ’He rented out an entire street of houses for our team.’
’With this many buildings, there’s more than enough room for everyone to have their own place.’
Gu Ning was secretly delighted. ’This way, I can just share a place with Bartok.’
Before they left Zone 19, Bartok had made the journey sound incredibly difficult. She had been prepared to rough it the whole way, so she never expected to stay in such a comfortable house.
Seeing a bathroom, Gu Ning trotted inside.
It had a sink and even a separate enclosure for the shower.
Visible hot water pipes ran along the wall to the shower and sink,
Gu Ning’s eyes lit up. She expertly located the hot water valve beneath the showerhead and turned it on. Steaming water sprayed out.
’AAAHHH, I can finally take a proper shower! A city in the Central District really is different. Look at how well-equipped this bathroom is!’
"Eat first," Vine said, standing in the bathroom doorway. "You can shower after dinner."
.
"The convoy has entered the alley. Looks like they’re stopping to rest."
On the roof of a tall building diagonally across the street, a masked, green-eyed Beastman was observing the building in the opposite alley through the scope of his sniper rifle.
Just then, a voice came through his earpiece. "It would be best to complete the mission in Zone 15."
"The timing isn’t your call," Wanai said. He took a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it one-handed, and popped it into his mouth, his eyes never leaving the convoy. "This is an elite unit from the Military Department. The most I can guarantee is completing the mission before they enter Zone 5."
The voice in his earpiece paused for a moment. "Move up the timetable, and we’ll double your pay."
Wanai shifted the barrel of his rifle. "I’m the one who decides whether the pay gets increased, too."
The voice on the other end was tinged with irritation. "You’re not the only mercenary we hired. If one of the others completes the mission before you, we won’t be paying you any bonus."