Seeing the amount of food in the pot, Gu Ning knew Vine had probably only made a portion for her. She had observed the other vehicles in the convoy from a distance and hadn’t seen anyone else cooking. They were all eating the same pre-packaged food Vine had given Cook.
The convoy seemed to be in a hurry. The Beastmen from the other vehicles had gotten out for a breather, finished their meals, and returned to their trucks one by one. There weren’t many people outside anymore.
Not wanting to delay their progress, she quickly began to eat.
But the pot of food was still a little too much for her. She glanced at Cook, who was drooling as he stared at the pot, then at Vine, who was leaning against the vehicle chewing on some jerky. She hesitated before speaking up, "Captain Vine."
Vine lowered the jerky and looked at her. "Not to your liking?"
’The ingredients aren’t exactly fresh,’ he thought. ’And I don’t even know what tribe this female is from, let alone what kind of food she prefers.’
’Andrew and Alex didn’t give me any clear details.’
Gu Ning said, "It’s too much food. We should share."
"It’s for you," Vine replied. "We have our own food."
He added, "Fill your own stomach first before you worry about anyone else."
Hearing the resolve in his voice, Gu Ning had no choice but to start eating. As she ate, she used her terminal to message Barto, asking where he was and telling him to hurry over and get something to eat. ’Who knew when they’d get another hot meal on this journey.’
By the time Gu Ning was done eating, Barto still hadn’t replied.
She’d eaten until she was mostly full, but with more than half the food left, she really couldn’t take another bite. Since Barto wasn’t around, she let Cook finish it off to avoid wasting it.
’She would never dare ask Vine to eat her leftovers.’
Vine watched the little female let out two small burps. He didn’t stop Cook from taking the pot and eating from it. ’Her appetite is tiny,’ he thought. ’No wonder she’s so small.’
’And no wonder Cook is so well-fed,’ he added to himself. ’She shares all her food with him.’
After finishing the rest of the pot, Cook also let out a long, satisfied burp.
"You ate so much!" Barto appeared, walking over from the roof of the truck. He leaped onto Cook’s shoulder and smacked him on the head. "You’re just going to puke it up again later."
"It wasn’t that much," Gu Ning said.
’Not for Cook’s usual appetite, anyway,’ she thought.
She was about to ask the little fox if he’d eaten, but he spoke first. "You only ever care about him."
Hearing Barto’s tone, Vine shot him a sideways glance.
’This fox... his personality is a little different in his human and beast forms. Just as I’d expect from a Mixed Breed. Even when they take human form, they’re still influenced by their Mixed Breed genes.’
Gu Ning, however, was used to the little fox’s occasionally strange and resentful way of speaking. Since Vine was there, she didn’t press him about where he’d been or if he’d seen her message. Instead, she tapped the pot and played along. "Next time, I’ll call you."
Vine’s brow furrowed when he heard that. "He’s a fox with a perfectly sound mind. Can’t he get his own food? Even Cook knows how to forage." ’How can she spoil him like this?’ he thought. ’No wonder he’s so arrogant.’
Barto shot back, "What’s it to you?"
"I wouldn’t care if you ate shit," Vine said coldly. "But as long as I’m the one who cooked it, you won’t be getting a single bite."
’The little female may spoil this fox, but I sure as hell won’t.’
Perched on Cook’s shoulder, Barto retorted without missing a beat, "Who’d want to eat the shit you cook—"
"..." Gu Ning thought. ’I really, really wish I couldn’t understand what they were arguing about.’
"Get back in the truck," Vine barked.
’Once we get to Zone 5, I’m really going to teach this fox a lesson,’ he fumed.
’I was already fuming after Alex’s message.’
"You think you can tell me to get lost and I’ll just—"
"Barto!" Gu Ning cut him off with a sharp hiss. Once Barto started arguing, he got completely carried away. He refused to back down and always had to have the last word.
Vine was already rolling up his sleeves, his expression even colder and more severe than usual. He looked like he was about to devour someone.
Gu Ning was genuinely terrified that he was about to smash his fist into Barto’s face.
"Go." She gave Cook a gentle push. "Cook, go find Seth."
’I can’t let Barto and Vine stay in the same place,’ she thought frantically. ’If a fight breaks out, I’ll be completely unable to stop them.’
To Barto’s ears, her blunt command carried a tone of reprimand and favoritism.
He wanted to argue, but with Vine right there, he couldn’t take it out on her. Instead, he vented his frustration on Cook, yanking his ear. "Let’s go! I’m surprised you didn’t eat until you burst!"
Cook glanced between Gu Ning and Vine, mumbled something under his breath, and reluctantly led Barto away to find Seth.
.
The convoy set off again.
Gu Ning was slumped in the passenger seat, sipping hot water to soothe her stomach.
Just as she put down her flask, Vine suddenly spoke. "Do you have a problem with me?"
"..." Gu Ning turned to look at him, baffled.
’Is he still angry from his fight with Barto and now he’s going to settle the score with me?’ she wondered.
She glanced at the empty back seat, cleared her throat, and sat up straight.
Vine kept his eyes on the road as he drove. "If you have an issue, tell me directly."
Gu Ning’s lips twitched into a tight smile. "I have no issues, Captain."
Vine asked, "Then why did you complain to Alex?"
Gu Ning: "..."
She risked a glance at Vine’s expression. He didn’t look angry; rather, he seemed to be asking her a serious question.
’I’m not sure,’ she thought. ’I need to ask Alex what he said to him.’
She discreetly opened her terminal, but just as she was about to message Alex, Vine spoke again. "You’re contacting him again. Just talk to me directly."
Gu Ning instantly covered her terminal.
’This wolf’s hearing is one thing, but does he have eyes all over his head? I didn’t even see him turn.’
When Gu Ning didn’t answer after a long moment, Vine finally turned his head to look at her.
Their eyes met, and Gu Ning’s mind raced to organize her words. "Captain, I have no issues. Really, I don’t."
Vine recalled what Alex had said. He took a deep breath and softened his tone. "If there’s something I’m not doing right, you can tell me directly. Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to eat you."
’Alex isn’t here, so what good would telling him do anyway?’ she thought.
"Understood," Gu Ning said.
’I can’t just tell him he’s too serious and should smile more and talk less, can I? Or that he needs to be more patient with Barto, because that’s just his stinking attitude.’ she thought. ’I have a feeling he wouldn’t be able to do any of that even if I told him.’
Hearing her stiff, formal reply, Vine knew he needed to take things slow so as not to frighten her. He suppressed the inexplicable frustration welling up inside him and said, "Until we reach Zone 5, you’re assigned to my team. Alex has his own mission. You’re with the Military Department too, didn’t Andrew tell you? As a member of the Military Department, you have to obey orders and stick to your assignment."
Gu Ning nodded. ’Just keep nodding, that’s the right move.’
Vine asked, "Do you still want to switch vehicles?"
Gu Ning nodded, then, realizing what she’d done, frantically shook her head.
’I never should have brought it up.’ Gu Ning mentally smacked her own face.
’Not only did I fail to switch cars, but I got a scolding for my trouble.’
Seeing the little female’s vexed expression, the corners of Vine’s mouth twitched. "Alex didn’t tell me you wanted to switch vehicles," he said.
Gu Ning: Huh?
Vine continued, "From the moment you got in, your entire posture has been screaming, ’I don’t want to ride in Captain Vine’s truck.’"
"N-no." Gu Ning fidgeted, her face burning with embarrassment as she stammered out a lie. "The heater... is too hot. I just thought... Captain... you... it’s hard work... so... so I wanted to switch."
"It’s true you felt sorry for Cook and that fox, though."
Vine said bluntly, "Just say what’s on your mind. You don’t need to lie. I’m not going to eat you."
Hearing him repeat that line with such a straight face gave her a terrifying sense of humor.
’He’s a wolf, after all.’
Vine pulled a pen and paper from the glove compartment and placed them on her lap.
"If you can’t say it, write it down." Seeing her struggle to get the words out was making him anxious.
Gu Ning stared down at the pen and paper on her lap. ’Maybe I should just ask to switch trucks again,’ she thought. ’Or I could just pretend to faint.’
’Vine’s direct, almost aggressive way of talking was going to make her faint for real. He didn’t give her any room to maneuver.’
’There was absolutely no buffer zone when talking to him.’
"Captain, please focus on driving. I’m sleepy," Gu Ning wrote on the paper.
Vine took the note she handed him. After reading it, he was silent for a moment before saying, "Go ahead and sleep. I won’t disturb you."
Gu Ning let out a sigh of relief and turned to face the window, though inwardly she was a mess. ’This is going to be a long trip.’
Just then, a message from Andrew popped up on her terminal:
"How is the journey going? Is anything making you uncomfortable?"
The moment she saw Andrew’s message, Gu Ning’s urge to vent hit an all-time high.