"What’s so interesting about this?" Barto sat down beside Gu Ning, handing her a cup of water.
Gu Ning pointed at Deviant in the video. "Him. An actor. I never would’ve guessed."
’He’s actually pretty good.’
Barto said, "He wasn’t in it for more than two episodes."
Gu Ning turned to look at him. ’Two episodes?’
’So Barto has seen the show Deviant was in?’
’Oh, right. They’re working with Deviant, so Barto must have looked into his and Idelos’s work.’
Gu Ning took a couple of sips of hot water and turned her attention back to the video.
The plot had just reached the part where Deviant’s character arrived at a banquet with his young nephew, both holding flowers.
Little Idelos was holding a smaller bouquet similar to his uncle’s. His serious, unsmiling face was a stark contrast to the boisterous, laughing crowd around them.
Deviant chatted with the surrounding guests while leading his young nephew through the crowd. He was trying to get closer to the female at the center of the banquet. Just as he finally managed to push through to the innermost circle with his nephew, a smile on his face as he prepared to greet her, two water balloons hit the unlucky uncle and nephew one after another.
The elegantly dressed pair were soaked to the bone, their hair dripping wet.
They both wiped their faces at the same time and turned to look for the culprit.
The camera followed their gaze to a figure about the same size as little Idelos, standing in a dimly lit part of the crowd. The figure was tossing another water-filled balloon in their hand, a mischievous grin on their face.
Seeing this, the sleepy look in Barto’s eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a sharp clarity.
He reached out, about to turn off the video, but Gu Ning pushed his hand away. "Hey, don’t block my view."
Barto opened his mouth to say something but stopped. Seeing how engrossed she was—even Cook’s eyes were wide and round—he scratched his head and decided to drop it.
What followed was a chaotic chase scene.
Gu Ning giggled as she watched. She wanted to get a clear look at who the naughty child was, but the episode ended and the closing credits began to roll.
Barto breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Ning’s curiosity was piqued and she wanted to watch the next episode, but Barto turned off her terminal. "Time for bed. It’s late."
Gu Ning checked the time and forced herself to go to sleep so she wouldn’t mess up tomorrow’s schedule.
Still, she was inexplicably curious about the young Beastman whose face was never clearly shown. After lying down, she pulled up the cast list for the episode she had just watched. She scrolled through it twice but only saw Idelos listed as a child actor in the main credits for that episode.
’Maybe in the next episode?’
A wave of drowsiness washed over Gu Ning. ’I’ll watch it next time I have a chance,’ she thought vaguely.
.
At 5:30 in the morning, Gu Ning was woken by a knock on the door.
"It’s me, Alex."
The Beastman outside heard Gu Ning getting up and spoke, his voice close to the door.
Gu Ning, her eyes half-closed, crawled out of her warm bed and stumbled to the door.
When she opened the door, Alex was standing there holding a bag.
He was wearing a high-collared black windbreaker and exuded a chill, with snowflakes still clinging to his hair. It looked like he had been outside for a long time and just returned.
Gu Ning’s sleepiness began to fade.
"Didn’t sleep well?"
Alex looked at the young woman’s sleepy face, stepped inside, closed the door, and took her by the wrist. He led her back to the living room, guiding her into a seat at the dining table.
"Eat breakfast first. If you’re tired, you can catch up on sleep in the car." He took the breakfast items out of the bag one by one.
Gu Ning yawned and lifted her wrist to check the time on her terminal.
Just then, Alex lifted the hair from her left ear and tucked a new earphone into it. "It’s a translation earphone. Connect it to your terminal."
Gu Ning paused, touched the earphone, then skillfully connected it via her terminal.
"Don’t take it off on the road." Once Alex confirmed that the earphone was connected and translating through her terminal, he patted her head, smoothing down her messy bedhead. "You’ll need the translation for now. Once we’re safely back in Zone 5, we can properly practice the common tongue."
Gu Ning nodded. "Okay."
’There could be unexpected situations on the road. I need to be able to communicate properly with Alex and the others.’
As she spoke, she turned her head to look at the little pup and little fox who were still lying down.
They were awake, but they looked even more tired than she did. Still, it was impressive they managed to get up at this hour at all.
She roused herself, went to wash up first, then changed out of her pajamas and got fully dressed before going to eat breakfast.
Barto came out from washing up with Cook behind him. He checked their luggage to make sure no necessities were left behind, then sat down beside Gu Ning.
"Is your team ready?" Barto asked when he saw Alex was there.
Gu Ning took a bite of her egg and looked at Alex with the same questioning gaze.
Alex had said yesterday that he was assembling the team. He seemed to have a lot to do, but he looked full of energy—in much better spirits than the three of them.
"All ready," Alex said.
Hearing this, Gu Ning quickly started stuffing food into her mouth.
"No rush." Alex placed a glass of milk he’d heated in the microwave in front of Gu Ning. "I came to get you a little early. The other teams haven’t boarded the vehicles yet."
Barto watched him use their things so familiarly and twitched the corner of his mouth slightly.
After breakfast, Gu Ning had Cook put on a waterproof hooded jacket and helped him with his backpack.
Cook hadn’t worn so many layers in a long time and moved his arms and legs a bit awkwardly.
’At least Ningning didn’t make him wear shoes.’
Alex came up behind Gu Ning, placed a thick, black fleece hat on her head, and tucked her low ponytail inside her jacket.
Gu Ning touched the hat. It was much more comfortable than her heavy work helmet.
Alex then carefully wrapped a gray scarf around her neck.
Standing next to them, holding Gu Ning’s scarf in his hand, Barto was speechless. "..."
Gu Ning turned and saw Barto rolling his eyes. She suppressed a smile, took the scarf from his hand, and said, "Lower your head, Barto."
Barto didn’t lower his head. Instead, he crouched down, tilting his chin up to glare at Alex.
Alex turned to get their luggage, not even giving him a second glance.
Barto: "..."
"What’s with you?" Gu Ning saw Barto grinding his teeth at Alex’s back. She draped the scarf around Barto’s neck and gave it a little tug to get his attention.
"What do you think is with me?" Barto clutched the scarf. "I knitted this for you, and you’re not wearing it?"
Gu Ning looked down at the scarf around her own neck and said, "Want to trade?"
Barto: "...Who wants to trade with you." ’I’m not wearing a scarf that reeks of wolf.’
Gu Ning smiled. "Then wear it well. It’s yours."
"Here." Barto opened his palm, revealing a black earphone. "Wear this. We’ll solve your language problem once we settle down in Zone 5."
Gu Ning was silent for a moment, then she pulled her hat up a bit to reveal her ear. "I already have one."
Barto saw the black and gold earphone in her ear. He took a deep breath, stuffed his own earphone back into his pocket, and muttered dejectedly, "Why does he get to do everything?"
Gu Ning smiled again. "Where’s my mask? Can you help me find it?"
"Right here." Alex picked up the mask she had left on the table and handed it over.
Before Gu Ning could reach for it, Barto snatched it away.
’This damn wolf is so annoying!’