Chapter 173: Chapter 161: He’s Crazy, Actually Thinking It’s a Female
Gu Ning was startled and looked up at the person holding her.
A handsome, refined face came into view. It looked slightly familiar.
"Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you."
Mingxi spoke softly, carrying the small female as he strode quickly toward their car.
When Gu Ning heard his voice, she immediately remembered. He was the employee from the deli she had visited the other night when she was looking for Barto.
That place was a front for capturing Mixed Breeds, and he was in league with Kuinan!
Alarm bells screamed in Gu Ning’s mind, and she started to struggle violently in his arms.
When Mingxi saw the little female struggling so fiercely, he tightened his grip slightly and tried to placate her. "It’s too dangerous here. I’ll get you out of—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a giant wolf came roaring out of the fog and lunged at him.
Mingxi reacted quickly, rolling on the ground while holding the small female, dodging the giant wolf’s attack.
But then another giant wolf pounced from behind him, sinking its teeth into his shoulder.
Mingxi had no choice but to let go of Gu Ning. He pried at the wolf’s mouth with all his might, twisted his head, and yelled in a certain direction: "Belial!"
Just as the giant wolf had tackled Mingxi, a lion appeared from nowhere and pounced on it. The two wolves and the lion became a whirlwind of fangs and claws, sending flurries of snow into the air.
Gu Ning took advantage of Mingxi letting go and scrambled away from under him.
However, the snow was too deep, and she couldn’t get any purchase, failing to get up for a long moment.
"Belial, hold them off."
As Mingxi spoke, he grabbed the arm of the small female who was floundering in the snow. Just as he was about to pull her up, a figure appeared behind him, grabbed him by the collar, and violently dragged him back before landing a heavy punch.
After knocking the man down, Cyril aimed his gun at the Beastman’s leg and pulled the trigger.
The Crystal Stone bullet hit the Beastman, bursting with a pale blue light before shattering and scattering.
Cyril’s expression shifted slightly. ’A Crystal Stone defender? He’s with the military?!’
Mingxi flipped to his feet and came face-to-face with Cyril.
"..."
"I’m here on a mission from the Beast Alliance."
Seeing Cyril’s attire, Mingxi knew he was with the military. He quickly stated his affiliation to avoid an unnecessary fight.
After speaking, he turned his head, searching for the small female.
In the blink of an eye, the small female had vanished.
Mingxi’s eyes darted around the area. Not seeing any sign of the small female, he frantically began digging through the nearby snow, afraid she’d been buried.
At this point, Cyril couldn’t be bothered to verify the man’s identity either. The priority was to find the small female.
Chaos reigned all around. The low growls of beasts and the crack of gunshots echoed relentlessly through the fog.
"..."
"Let me go!"
Gu Ning grabbed the thick arm wrapped around her and kicked her legs with all her might.
"It’s me." Leighton carried Gu Ning into the car and pulled the door shut. He fumbled to press the little figure—who was thrashing on him like a startled rabbit—down onto his lap.
Gu Ning stopped struggling, met his eyes for a second, and then lunged for the car door.
Leighton hauled her back and pinned her on his lap again. "Don’t run, don’t run..."
Gu Ning shoved at his head and kicked him.
Leighton once again fumbled to hold her down. "You don’t even recognize me?"
Of course Gu Ning recognized him.
She just hadn’t expected to run into this Beast Police officer here. She didn’t care what he was doing here or why he was trying to grab her again; all she knew was that she absolutely could not let him drag her back to the police station right now.
Gu Ning struggled for her life, but Leighton didn’t dare use too much force on her, so for a moment, he couldn’t restrain her.
Gu Ning found an opportunity to grab the door handle. Just as she was about to push the door open, Leighton wrapped an arm around her waist, hauled her back, and pinned her hands behind her back with a pair of handcuffs.
With her hands restrained, Gu Ning planted her feet on the seat for leverage and tried to headbutt him.
Leighton grabbed the back of her collar and, with his arm looped around her, pulled her down, robbing her of her momentum.
Provoked into a fury, Gu Ning used every last ounce of her strength to surge upward a few times, but Leighton easily held her back each time.
After a long moment, Gu Ning ran out of energy and leaned against his chest, panting weakly.
Seeing that the little one had finally tired herself out, Leighton breathed a sigh of relief. "You’re assaulting an officer, you know that?"
Gu Ning: "I didn’t... do anything... wrong!"
Leighton raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. "I’m not here to arrest you."
Gu Ning rattled her cuffed hands and glared up at him.
’If you’re not here to arrest me, then why the handcuffs?’
"If I didn’t cuff you, you would’ve clawed my eyes out." Leighton chuckled. "Who taught you to fight like that? All eye-gouging, nose-poking, and hair-pulling."
Gu Ning was in no mood, nor could she easily explain things to him properly. She said, "Let go. I... won’t run."
Hearing her speak one word at a time, Leighton couldn’t help but grow suspicious again. He gently pinched the small female’s cheek, tilting her little head up to study her. "You don’t look like a Mimic Mixed Species, though."
Gu Ning took a deep breath, lifted her foot to kick the car door, and yelled, "Cyril! Cyril!"
Leighton turned her around so she faced the passenger seat. He planned to take her back to the station first; with an unknown number of factions clashing outside, it was too dangerous to leave her here.
Seeing him start the car, Gu Ning panicked and kicked out at the steering wheel.
Leighton pressed her leg down with his right hand while steering with his left. "Don’t move, unless you want me to cuff your feet too."
"Save him! Must save him!" The more anxious Gu Ning got, the worse her speech became. She squirmed down, kicking relentlessly at the steering wheel. She couldn’t let Leighton take her away, no matter what.
As she thrashed about on top of him, Leighton’s expression suddenly contorted.
He slammed on the brakes, let go of the steering wheel, and lifted the small female completely into the air.
"Alright, alright, we’re not going." Leighton’s tone was resigned. "Are you a rabbit? You’re so jumpy. Who do you need to save?"
Seeing that he was finally listening to her, Gu Ning stopped struggling and quickly said, "Barto. Save Barto. Officer. Good person. Help."
As she spoke, she rattled her cuffed hands again. "No run. Save person."
Leighton listened to her awkward, strange pronunciation, paused for a moment, and then started to undo her handcuffs. "I don’t know if Alex has lost his mind, or if I have."
’If this little one is really a female, then Alex is insane for daring to sneak her into Zone 19.’
’Even if he wasn’t the one who brought her, he’s still suspected of hiding her.’
’But if Gu Ning is a Mimic Mixed Species, then I’m the one who’s insane for thinking she’s a female.’
After uncuffing Gu Ning, Leighton was about to ask for more details about who needed saving when a tall figure lunged at the front of his car. Before he could see who it was, the person shattered the front windshield with two thunderous punches.
"WOOF!"
"Cook!"
Gu Ning looked delightedly at the small dog perched on the hood of the car.
When Cook saw Leighton, he bared his teeth and was about to pounce and fight him, but Gu Ning held out a hand to stop him. "No fighting. Let’s go, we have to find Barto."
Cook let out a warning growl at Leighton, then lifted Gu Ning out of the car.
Leighton reached out to grab Gu Ning. The moment he touched her, she reacted uncontrollably, like a knee-jerk reflex, and kicked him hard in the face.
Her kick had considerable force. While it wouldn’t cause much harm to a strong, sturdy Beastman like Leighton, it was enough to make him reel backward.
Leighton: "..." ’She really is a rabbit, isn’t she?!’
After Cook lifted her from the car, Gu Ning quickly climbed onto his back. Cook moved in perfect sync with her, carrying her as he sprinted toward the underground Beast Fighting Arena.
Leighton quickly got out of the car, gun in hand, and followed them.
