Gu Ning stared at the Beastman standing in front of her, slightly startled.
’Barto? Didn’t I tell him to wait for me in the lounge?’
’Why did he change into his human form?’
Gu Ning knew that the genes of a Mixed Breed who had undergone a second mutation were very unstable. Barto’s mutation value would rise whenever he shifted to his human form, and she couldn’t help but worry.
"And who are you?"
Belial glared unhappily at the red-haired Beastman before him. He and Ming Ze stepped forward to flank Mingxi.
"Who am I?" Barto narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the three golden-haired Beastmen. His nostrils flared as he scented them, his expression growing increasingly hostile.
He recognized them.
On the night he was set up by that damn leopard, he had seen these lions’ faces and smelled their scent before he lost consciousness.
’Great. They just walked right into my hands.’
"Please step aside." Mingxi didn’t recognize the red-haired Beastman, assuming he was either the little female’s bodyguard or an admirer.
Barto glanced back at Gu Ning, then crossed his arms, refusing to budge.
Seeing this, Mingxi’s gaze went past him to the little female peeking out from behind.
Mingxi offered her a gentle smile and took a step forward. "Hello, Miss Female, I’m..."
Barto shoved Mingxi hard again. "Get lost, little blondie. Are you deaf?"
’Miss Female... ’
Hearing that term of address, he instantly understood why that leopard had used him to lure Gu Ning out last time.
The leopard was a mercenary who had taken a job from the Beast Alliance to investigate the smuggling of female-related goods. He was always hanging around, and Gu Ning was always with him, so that damn leopard must have mistaken Gu Ning for a Mimic Mixed Species.
He had also just taken a mission from the Beast Alliance, so he probably passed the information on to them to make some extra money on the side.
These blondies in front of him must be the investigators from the Beast Alliance. Their appearance here, and the fact that they were from the Lion Clan, meant they were undeniably connected to Andrew.
"I wasn’t talking to you." Belial was getting annoyed at the red-haired man’s rudeness, but seeing the little female beside him, he forced himself to hold back his temper. "Please step aside. We have something to say to this Miss Female."
Barto pushed Gu Ning’s head back behind him.
"..."
Gu Ning gently poked Barto’s back, then tugged at his wrist. ’Barto probably doesn’t know who they are yet. If a fight breaks out here, my little fox won’t have the advantage. I’ll explain it all to him when we get back.’
"We mean no harm." Mingxi saw Barto had no intention of engaging with them. He knew their previous actions had caused a misunderstanding and was anxious to explain.
Gu Ning, however, was afraid they would bring up Barto’s past. She pulled on him, trying to leave.
Barto grabbed her wrist in turn and started leading her toward the stairwell on the right.
Just then, Ming Ze, who was closest to Gu Ning, reached out and grabbed the strap of her shoulder bag.
Gu Ning was walking quickly to keep up with Barto’s long strides. Even though he pulled lightly, she was jerked backward.
Ming Ze immediately let go.
Barto bared his teeth slightly. He let go of Gu Ning, clenched his fist, and turned to stride toward Ming Ze.
Mingxi stepped in front of Ming Ze, and Barto’s fist connected with his face.
’I didn’t even want to hit them, but they were just asking for it.’
Seeing Mingxi get hit, Belial and Ming Ze’s expressions turned cold. Belial moved to retaliate, but Mingxi stopped him.
Barto: "Get lost!"
’If I didn’t know they were from the Beast Alliance, I’d have already beaten them to a pulp.’
He wasn’t just furious that they’d conspired with that leopard to set him up. More importantly, they were trying to capture Gu Ning, treating her like a Mimic Mixed Species.
’Even though I know few people in this place would see Gu Ning as a normal female, she clearly doesn’t want to talk to them. These clueless idiots still tried to approach her. They deserved a beating.’
"Barto," Gu Ning called out softly, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back, afraid he would be at a disadvantage in a three-on-one fight.
"Miss Female," Mingxi said, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Please listen to our explanation. What happened last time wasn’t intentional."
Hearing him dare to bring up the past, Barto glanced at Gu Ning and lunged forward to throw another punch. "Piss off—"
Mingxi caught Barto’s incoming fist. "I don’t care who you are to her, but if you attack again, I won’t be so polite."
’I didn’t dodge that last punch out of respect for Miss Female, and to let her vent some anger.’
But he could see this fox... this Beastman... clearly had no intention of reasoning with them. Letting him attack again would only escalate the conflict.
Seeing them at a standoff, Gu Ning sighed inwardly.
’Knowing the straightforward nature of Beastmen, even if I avoid them this time, they’ll just come looking for me again.’
Just as she was about to step forward, the shadow of a dog shot out from behind her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and lifted her up, charging toward the conference room.
"Damn wolves! Old lion! You can’t play favorites!"
By the time everyone reacted, Leo had already kicked open the conference room door with Gu Ning tucked under his arm.
Barto and Mingxi rushed to rescue Gu Ning, charging forward and tackling Leo to the ground.
"What the hell, who are you guys?!"
Leo had just managed to sneak into the conference building. Furious, his only thought was to file a complaint. When he saw the little Mixed Breed, he grabbed her without a second thought, ignoring everyone else.
Seeing them coming to snatch her away, he acted on instinct and tried to hide her under his body.
Gu Ning was almost crushed breathless by the dog.
As Mingxi pulled him up, she lifted her leg and kicked him.
Leo’s face twisted slightly from her kick, not because it was unbearably painful, but because...
"Where... where are you kicking?" Leo stammered, looking down.
Gu Ning pushed herself up on her hands and looked up. The dog-man before her was stark naked.
"..."
’Does this dog have some kind of fetish?! Even Barto knows to wear pants when he changes into his human form!’
"You mutt! You’re dead!"
Barto grabbed Leo by the neck and slammed him against the wall.
The two of them were instantly grappling with each other.
"Are you all right, Miss Female?" Mingxi helped Gu Ning up from the floor, dusted off her clothes, and told Ming Ze and Belial to go help Barto.
Gu Ning watched the three-on-one fight. The dog-man surprisingly wasn’t being pinned down; he was holding his own against them. ’This dog is really tough,’ she thought. ’He just got ganged up on by a pack of wolves outside, was beaten black and blue, and was even limping, but he can still fight.’
"Stop!"
Cyril, who had just arrived, pulled them apart one by one.
Gu Ning also took the opportunity to grab Barto’s hand and pull him to the side.
The people involved in the brawl just before had all been punished with toilet-cleaning duty. She had wanted to use the excuse of them "keeping her company" to get Cook and Alex out of it, but Cyril had only let Barto go with her. She couldn’t let her little fox get punished for this as well.
Seeing the newcomer, Belial and Ming Ze obediently stopped fighting. Leo still wanted to go on, but a low voice growled in his ear, "What is the meaning of this?"
Hearing this voice, Leo’s belligerence deflated. He turned to look at the conference room entrance. "Old lion, if you don’t give me an explanation, I quit—"
Before he could finish, Andrew threw a jacket at his face. "Put some clothes on. If you wander around naked like this again, you can forget about being a squad leader."