Chapter 201: Chapter 187: You Want to Cooperate With Him?
KNOCK KNOCK—
Early in the morning, Gu Ning and Barto were woken by a knock at the door. They both burrowed deeper into the blankets, not wanting to get up.
The knocking stopped for a moment, then resumed.
"Cook, you get the door." Gu Ning nudged the big, fluffy dog beside her and pulled the blanket over her head.
She’d been up filling out application forms until three or four in the morning and could barely open her eyes.
From the familiar sound of the knocking, she could tell it was probably the young wolves bringing them breakfast.
"Woof..." he responded sleepily, nuzzling his head against her neck.
’He was also very sleepy. He didn’t want breakfast; he just wanted to sleep with Ningning.’
After knocking twice and waiting a moment, Seth heard none of the usual sounds from inside. He knocked a little harder and leaned against the door to ask, "Little Boss, Cook, are you awake?"
"Stupid dog, get the door." Barto’s ears flattened, and he curled up even tighter.
Cook flicked his tail but didn’t move. ’If Ningning is still sleeping, I’ll sleep a little longer too.’
Hearing Seth’s voice and the urgent knocking, Gu Ning sat up, dark circles under her eyes. She glanced at the little fox and the big dog, who seemed to be hibernating. Deciding not to change, she pulled her mask from under the pillow, put it on, wrapped a blanket around herself, and shuffled out of bed to get the door.
Gu Ning jogged to the entrance, but before she could even put her hand on the doorknob, Seth forced the door open from the outside.
...
She stood there stunned, staring blankly at Seth as he poked his head inside.
"S-sorry, Little Boss!" Seeing her at the door, Seth was suddenly flustered. "I was just thinking that Cook and Barto’s mutation values are really high, and I got worried about you all..."
"I’ll fix the door right now!" He set down the breakfast he was carrying and hurried to fix the lock.
Seeing how flustered he was, Gu Ning reached out, gave his arm a little tug, and gestured for him to come inside.
The door was only enough to stop her; for a Beastman, it was merely decorative.
Seth: "...I can come in?"
Gu Ning: "In or out?"
Seth immediately slipped inside, carefully closed the door, and dutifully picked up the breakfast from the floor, intending to place it on the table for Gu Ning.
"Little Boss, why are you all sleeping over by the wall?" Seth noticed the living room layout was different and wasn’t sure where to put the breakfast. "Where do you eat?"
’The table in the middle of the living room is tiny. It doesn’t look like it’s for eating.’
Only then did Gu Ning remember that she hadn’t taken down her photography set. The thought jolted her, and she felt much more awake.
She had let Seth in because she wanted to ask about the state of his wolf pack. Ever since they went to the West Wall, Seth had stayed in his beast form. Even after they returned to this residence, it was always the other young wolves who delivered their meals. This was the first time she’d seen him in his human form again.
"Eat here?" Not paying much mind to the living room’s arrangement, Seth spotted the low table Gu Ning usually ate at and helped move it beside her nest.
’Little Boss gets cold so easily, she has to eat right by the heater.’
Cook listlessly walked over and sat down beside Gu Ning. He sniffed Seth’s scent, then leaned against Gu Ning.
He seemed to be thinking of himself as a "puppy" and didn’t hold back his strength. Caught off guard by his leaning, Gu Ning nearly fell over, but Seth reacted quickly and steadied her.
As Gu Ning stumbled forward, so did Cook. He staggered for a moment before steadying himself.
The little incident woke him up considerably. He gently nudged Gu Ning with his head, then lay back down beside the nest, watching her with wide, worried eyes.
"Their mutation values are too high." Seth knew something was wrong just by looking at Cook’s condition. Still, he tried to comfort Gu Ning, saying, "I heard the Boss say that secondary mutation can cause them to be unwell from time to time. As long as they get their Inhibitor shots on time, it can be stabilized."
Gu Ning remained silent. She was with Cook every day; she was the one most aware of the changes in his condition.
’He’d always been clingy, but before, he still had some "human" ways of thinking. Now, there’s almost no trace of that left in his behavior.’
"I brought hot water," Seth said to Gu Ning, holding up a thermos.
.
When Gu Ning came out of the bathroom after washing up, Seth had already laid out all the food on the table.
Seth was measuring Cook’s mutation value while talking to him.
"I brought you some roast chicken. When you’re done eating, I’ll take you out to play."
Cook perked up a little, snatching the roast chicken from the table and carrying it over to his nest to eat.
He tore off both drumsticks, carrying one over to place in Gu Ning’s bowl and putting the other in front of Barto. He then ate the rest of the chicken himself.
"Stupid dog!" Barto suddenly threw off his blanket, grabbed the drumstick, and shoved it back into Cook’s mouth. "No eating in the nest!"
"Honestly, you’re getting grease all over the blanket."
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