Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Little Cub
Lu Xia’s words brought a cold sweat to the receptionist’s brow. There were countless transport companies at Victoria Star Port, and of course, they had heard of Mingtang Transport Company. But since their fees were so exorbitant, very few people used them for shipping.
After all, not everyone was willing to splurge on transport fees.
But clearly, the distinguished female before him was no ordinary person.
’Who would have thought she would choose Mingtang Transport Company of all companies?’
In fact, if they hadn’t been so completely focused on swindling people, they would have noticed the name of the transport company. All this information was clearly stated on the shipping manifest.
The fact that they were only finding out now proved one thing: no one had even bothered to look at the manifest.
That was why Lu Xia mentioning Mingtang Transport Company now put them in such a bind.
Seeing his silence, Lu Xia smiled and continued, "As it happens, I’ve already contacted Mingtang Transport Company. The surveillance videos should have been sent to you by now. I trust your facility has a system to verify their authenticity, right? Then please have someone look at them quickly. My time is limited, and I can’t waste it all here."
The receptionist was at a loss for words. He stood and nodded. "Please wait a moment. I’ll take care of it immediately."
After leaving the room, the receptionist ran to the office director’s office yet again. When he explained the situation, the director’s expression soured. "She can afford Mingtang Transport Company, but she’s going to make a fuss over this little bit of money? Females are so damn dramatic. Who is she? What’s her identity?"
"I-I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to look her up. Should I?"
"Of course! How are we supposed to know what to do next if you don’t? Go, now!"
The receptionist had no choice but to rush out and investigate Lu Xia’s identity. It wasn’t a difficult task; after all, Lu Xia’s status had always been public record.
But when the receptionist discovered that Lu Xia was a Duke, he knew they had picked a fight with the wrong person.
Hearing this, the office director couldn’t sit still. "A Duke? A noble with more money than she could ever spend, and she’s messing around with a company? Isn’t she just making trouble for the sake of it? Come on, I’ll go with you. We need to get rid of her, now!"
Before long, the reception room door was pushed open again. A short, stout male walked in, followed by the receptionist who had been serving them. He smiled and said, "My sincerest apologies, Duke. My subordinate handled this poorly and made a mistake. We’ve re-inspected your shipment and found no contraband whatsoever. We can dispatch it for you immediately. We’re so sorry to have delayed you for these past few days. Why don’t we do this: our office will cover the cost of the shipment for you."
As soon as Lu Xia heard this, she understood. They were trying to sweep the whole thing under the rug.
"Is that so? How surprising. I had no idea your inspections were so efficient."
"It’s our duty, our duty. We’ve caused you so much trouble, and for that, I am truly sorry. How about this? Please allow me to treat you to a meal to make amends?"
"A meal won’t be necessary. Just make sure my cargo is shipped safely," Lu Xia said coolly. "There won’t be any more problems, will there?"
"No, no, absolutely not! I’ll oversee it personally and guarantee it goes off without a hitch. I’ll go make the arrangements right now. I promise it will be sent out today."
"Hmph. Fine. Make sure you keep the surveillance footage from Mingtang Transport Company safe, just in case there are any disputes later. Oh, and by the way, do I still need to pay that fine?"
"You must be joking! You haven’t broken any laws. Why on earth would we charge you a fine!"
"So, I don’t need to? All right, then." At this, Lu Xia let out a sneer. "It must be easy working here. Whether something passes or fails is entirely up to you. Well, since everything is settled, we won’t linger. I hope you don’t ’make a mistake’ again. I have no desire to go through this song and dance a second time."
"Rest assured, we won’t. May I see you out?"
"That won’t be necessary. Stay here." With that, Lu Xia took Smelian’s arm again, and they left the office.
Once they were outside, Lu Xia gripped Smelian’s arm. "Smelian, I think I’m going into labor. We need to find a place."
Smelian froze. He never would have expected this. Lu Xia had seemed so full of life and energy back in the office. ’Was it all an act?’
"I’ll make the arrangements immediately." As a doctor, he had handled his fair share of emergencies. The most important thing was not to panic.
Smelian immediately used his optical computer to book a private research lab that was available for public use.
He then took Lu Xia and boarded a public levitating vehicle, heading straight there. In a situation like this, only a public-access private research lab could meet their needs. Plus, Doctor Eugene definitely wouldn’t be able to make it in time.
He was the only one who could deliver Lu Xia’s baby.
At that moment, Smelian was immensely grateful that he was a doctor and that he had accompanied Lu Xia on this trip.
In contrast to Smelian’s forced composure, Lu Xia was relatively calm. ’I may not have firsthand experience, but I’ve seen it happen before.’ She knew that the onset of labor didn’t mean the baby would arrive immediately. They had enough time to prepare.
After they arrived at the private laboratory, Smelian immediately went to make preparations while Lu Xia drank some of the Spiritual Spring Water.
After a little while, her contractions finally began in earnest. Lu Xia got up and looked at Smelian. "Don’t worry. Get everything ready. I think it’s time!"
With that, she went into the bathroom provided by the research lab. Smelian didn’t think much of it, assuming she just wanted to wash up before the birth.
But ten minutes later, her voice called out from the bathroom. "Smelian, come in here."
Smelian didn’t hesitate. He opened the door and went straight in. He saw the young female, Lu Xia, lying in the bathtub, cradling a newborn cub. The baby had black, translucent scales on its exposed shoulders, and a matching black, translucent tail emerged from its coccyx, complete with a sharp tip.
Smelian’s golden pupils dilated and contracted in an instant. "You... you’ve given birth?"
"Yes, it went very smoothly. Take him and get him cleaned up. I need to clean up here as well. Don’t worry, I’m fine." ’Perhaps it’s because my body was transformed by the Spiritual Spring, and I drank the Spiritual Spring Water just before... the birth wasn’t difficult at all. I didn’t even feel any pain; the baby just came out.’
The only thing that had caught her off guard was giving birth to her little cub in a place like this.
Lu Xia quickly rinsed off in the bathroom and changed into clean clothes. By the time she came out, Smelian had already finished busily washing the little cub and had wrapped him in some of his own clothes.
All the clothes they had prepared for the baby were back home; they hadn’t brought any on the trip. For now, he had to use his own.
The little cub was soft and pale, sleeping soundly with his eyes closed. He didn’t cry or make a fuss; he was exceptionally well-behaved.
Holding the baby, Smelian could clearly sense Graces’s aura on him. Furthermore, the little cub had been born in a semi-beastified state. One could only imagine that his gene fusion degree was by no means low; he might even possess a Beastification Gene that was close to one hundred percent.
