Chapter 174: Chapter 162: Isn’t That the Pervert Beastman Who Lives Across From Her?
Cook, carrying Gu Ning on his back, ran into a building and stopped at the entrance of a pitch-black stairwell.
Gu Ning gazed down the staircase. ’This is the place.’ She jumped off Cook’s back and drew the gun strapped to her thigh.
Cook paced for a moment, looked at Gu Ning hesitantly, and whined softly at her.
Gu Ning wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her forehead against his. Encouraging him, and herself, she said, "Cyril and the others are holding Kuinan back. Don’t be afraid."
Cook licked her face, then picked her up and headed down.
After a few flights of stairs, a half-open door appeared before them.
A sliver of light seeped from behind the door, illuminating the space before them.
The area was quiet. Aside from Cook’s footsteps and the thumping of her own heart, Gu Ning couldn’t hear anything else.
She tightened her grip on the gun, swallowing hard. ’Please let Cyril and the others find us soon,’ she prayed, ’and please don’t let there be too many of Kuinan’s men inside.’
Gu Ning checked Cook for a reaction. He had stopped, staring at the large door ahead. He sniffed the air, his wary expression slowly turning to confusion. He turned to Gu Ning. "Bar..."
With her in his arms, he strode quickly through the doorway.
The moment they entered, the familiar sight of the Beast Fighting Cages greeted Gu Ning’s eyes. Her heart lurched, and she felt an instinctive urge to flee.
However, the place lacked its usual noisy chaos; it was so quiet it was unnerving.
Gu Ning gripped Cook’s arm tightly for a moment. After steadying herself, her gaze swept across the dimly lit underground Beast Fighting Arena. She could only see a few scattered figures of Beastmen, all lying motionless and silent on the ground.
Cook barked, "WOOF!" toward a certain spot, wagging his tail. Instead of moving forward, he took a step back with Gu Ning in his arms, his posture wary.
Gu Ning didn’t see any moving figures. She stroked Cook’s back to soothe him and asked in a low voice, "Cook, do you see Barto?"
’If Barto were here, Cook should be able to smell him.’
A strange syllable rumbled in Cook’s throat, but Gu Ning couldn’t understand it.
Just then, a flash of red by a Beast Fighting Cage in the center of the arena caught her eye. A figure with a red back was slowly getting to its feet.
"Barto?!"
Stunned, Gu Ning jumped out of Cook’s arms and ran toward the red figure.
"Don’t go—" Cook tried to pull Gu Ning back, but suddenly sensed a dangerous presence approaching. His fur bristled instantly, and he spun around, baring his teeth—
Gu Ning was halfway there when a loud CRASH from behind made her stop in her tracks. She looked back to see a winged Bird Clan Orc grab Cook by the throat and slam him hard onto a gambling table.
Cook scrambled back to his feet, roaring as he threw himself at the Bird Clan Orc.
Gu Ning recognized the Bird Clan Orc as one of Kuinan’s subordinates.
After a moment of shock, Gu Ning immediately raised her gun and aimed at the Birdman.
But Cook and the Birdman were locked in a fierce struggle. Gu Ning fired twice in a row but missed both times. She’d only just learned to use a gun and her aim was poor. The weapon was heavy, and the recoil sent her stumbling backward, her hand numb from the shock.
Gu Ning had no choice but to run a few steps forward, getting closer to them. Just as she was about to fire a third shot at the Birdman, that nightmarish figure appeared in her line of sight.
The Beastman was half-hidden in the darkness, his sinister gaze fixed on her.
Her expression one of sheer terror, Gu Ning fired without a second thought.
"BANG!"
The recoil threw Gu Ning backward, her gun pointing at the ceiling. The moment the shot rang out, the figure flashed before her and pinned her to the ground.
"Trying to kill me?" Kuinan gripped Gu Ning’s neck, his one good wing smashing her gun to pieces. His single eye stared coldly at her. "Not anymore, little thing."
Her face flushing red, Gu Ning clawed at his wrist, beating at it before trying to pry his fingers away.
But his hand was like an iron clamp; she couldn’t move it an inch.
Kuinan’s grip wasn’t too tight, nor too loose; he wanted to savor the sight of his prey struggling for life.
But a moment later, his prey stopped struggling.
Gasping for breath, Gu Ning stared up at Kuinan. She let her hands fall limply to her sides, her posture defiant, as if to say, ’Go on then, kill me if you have the guts.’
A glint in his eye, Kuinan looked down at her. "Still trying to trick me with that pitiful act?"
He leaned closer, sniffing at her before frowning. "Why do you smell like so many different people?"
’These scents... they aren’t like the ones it gives off after devouring a Beastman.’
’And a Mimic Mixed Species couldn’t fake this many scents at once.’
’I thought it was strange when the military tracked the little Mixed Breed here. Has the little fox been cooperating with them?’
’The Mutant Species haven’t been cleared out yet, and with four King Seeds this time—more than ever before—the military couldn’t possibly spare the resources to deal with me right now.’
Several thoughts ran through Kuinan’s mind, but soon, the sweet scent wafting from the little Mixed Breed interrupted his doubts.
Smelling this intoxicating scent that haunted his dreams again, Kuinan’s mouth couldn’t stop watering.
He swallowed hard, moving closer to Gu Ning’s face, the suspicion in his mind growing stronger.
Kuinan took a deep sniff. The sweet scent seemed to penetrate his very flesh and blood. ’A Mimic Mixed Species... could it really fake a scent like this...?’
Gu Ning watched Kuinan’s every move, slowly bending one leg, her hand creeping toward the dagger strapped to her thigh.
"BANG!"
A streak of blue light shot from behind Kuinan, hitting him in the head.
The Crystal Stone Bullet shattered against the back of Kuinan’s head. Although his defenses blocked it, the impact was enough to knock him off Gu Ning.
Gu Ning’s vision filled with the scattered light of the Crystal Stone. By the time she scrambled to her feet, Kuinan was already entangled in a fight with another Beastman.
The Beastman wielded a long, silvery-white blade. His figure was slender and agile, his slashes clean and decisive, leaving streaks of silver light in the air.
Seeing his face, Gu Ning froze.
’Isn’t that the pervert Beastman who lives across the hall from me?!’
At that moment, several more Beastmen rushed in and joined the fray.
One of the Beastmen spotted Gu Ning and immediately charged toward her.
Gu Ning snapped back to her senses and retreated. She looked for her gun, only to find it smashed by Kuinan. She had no choice but to draw the dagger from her thigh and hide behind a nearby gambling table.
Just as the Beastman reached Gu Ning, he was hit in the head by a bullet from behind.
A normal bullet wasn’t enough to kill a Beastman instantly. He staggered, then spun around fiercely.
Gu Ning followed the Beastman’s gaze and saw Leighton standing at the entrance, gun raised.
Leighton fired several more shots at the Beastman, every one hitting a vital point.
The Beastman’s tough body kept him on his feet. Roaring, he charged toward Leighton.
Cook knocked down Wind Blade, then leaped through the air to pin him down, tearing out his throat with his teeth.
After finishing off the Beastman, Cook snapped his head up and started growling at something behind Gu Ning.
Just as he was about to leap toward the space behind Gu Ning, Wind Blade—the very foe he had just taken down—lunged at him again, re-engaging him in a fight.
Leighton, now pinned down by Kuinan’s men, couldn’t get away. He yelled to Gu Ning, "Hide!"
Gu Ning glanced around. With no time to worry about the others, she scrambled to find Barto.
Soon, she found the red figure. It was still there, standing motionless.
"Barto!" Gu Ning sprinted toward it.
