Chapter 428 - 378: You Can Also Ride Us

Chapter 428: Chapter 378: You Can Also Ride Us

It all happened so suddenly that no one reacted at first.

Gu Ning tried to peek out and see what was happening, but Barto pushed her back down.

The security team members froze for a moment. They started to move forward to help, but their leader held up a hand to stop them.

The team members were about to demand why the Birdman was attacking one of their own, but then they saw the stupid Alaskan Malamute struggling with his butt in the air. One by one, they covered their faces or slapped their foreheads, unable to watch.

’That stupid dog. He went stark naked in front of the female without so much as a "hello." Her partners are right here! If her partners didn’t act, we would’ve had to. He’s so embarrassing he’s going to make us lose all our face.’

The Alaskan Malamute was pinned firmly under Philinos’s foot, the tip of a scabbard pressed against the vulnerable back of his head. If he struggled, it felt like the force from the scabbard would be enough to crack his skull. He didn’t dare move again. He just raised one hand from the snow and shouted, his voice muffled, "I... I just wanted... to take a picture! I didn’t mean to offend the female!"

’The other team members are in human form, so I have to be in human form for the picture, too. Otherwise, the female won’t even recognize me.’

"Philinos." Gu Ning, clinging to the little fox’s arm, peeked her head out from behind him and waved at the Little Fairy Bird. "Let him go."

’If this little dog meant any harm, Cook would have already charged him.’

After what happened before, she was worried about starting a conflict with the security team.

Philinos pressed down hard one last time and said coldly, "Get dressed before you get up."

The Alaskan Malamute sat up, his head covered in snow. He looked at his team leader. "Boss, give me some clothes."

The leader smacked him on the head. "You just had to be a show-off. No clothes for you. Change back!"

"Oh."

The Alaskan Malamute rubbed his head and changed back into a large dog. He then plopped down in front of his teammates, blocking most of them from view.

The team members: "..."

Seeing the dog transform back, Barto stopped blocking Gu Ning’s view. "Go on, take the picture."

’He didn’t like dogs, with the sole exception of Cook. Actually, he didn’t like Cook either, but he was one of their own, so Barto had no choice but to put up with him.’

The security team members each gave the Alaskan Malamute blocking them a playful punch and stepped in front of him.

Gu Ning saw the scene and the big dog’s indignant expression. She pursed her lips into a smile and raised her camera. "Okay, I’m taking the picture now."

Hearing that, the team members quickly squeezed together, throwing their arms over each other’s shoulders and flashing big, toothy grins for the camera.

"All of you, act professional," the leader hissed, glancing at his unruly subordinates.

The team members immediately retracted their toothy grins and straightened their backs.

However, Gu Ning had already pressed the shutter, capturing that first candid moment. After taking a few more shots, she and Alex’s group prepared to head back to their vehicle.

"Young lady, are you heading to the Inner District?"

The leader stepped forward to ask, stopping a respectful two meters away from Gu Ning.

Gu Ning and Alex exchanged a glance, and she nodded.

"Here’s the thing," the leader said with a polite smile. "If you don’t mind, we could escort you into the city."

"Security in the 12th District has been tightened recently." The leader then turned to Alex and explained, "If you enter the Inner District with us, you can bypass some of the more tedious checkpoints. The young lady’s pass only exempts her from inspection, not the rest of you."

Alex exchanged a look with Barto and the others.

Gu Ning said, "There’s no room in our vehicle."

The leader replied, "There’s room to stand on our sled." He paused, then added earnestly, "If you don’t mind, you could also ride us."

Barto cut him off. "We mind."

「Five minutes later...」

Gu Ning stood on the speeding sled, her heart pounding with excitement. She couldn’t help but let out a whoop of joy, and Cook, beside her, happily yipped along.

Alex stood behind Gu Ning, his arms wrapped around her waist to keep her steady. He looked down at her joyful expression, a smile blooming in his own eyes.

Lanuo drove their vehicle, following the sled. Barto sat in the passenger seat, his arm resting on the open window as he watched them. Hearing Gu Ning’s cheers, the corner of his mouth twitched up. "Is it really that fun?" he murmured.

"Are you this harsh with everyone?" Lanuo asked, glancing over at him.

Barto ignored him, lazily raising his pinky finger in his direction.

Lanuo just chuckled. "I’m curious, how exactly do you maintain such a stable human form? I’ve never seen a second mutation result in a form as stable and perfect as yours."

Barto continued to ignore him.

Lanuo watched the young female ahead of them, her arms spread wide. "Ningning likes you so much. You must have put a lot of effort into that, huh?"

Barto shot him a sidelong glance. "What, you want to learn how?"

Lanuo said, "That won’t be necessary. I’m a professional. Ningning is my patient, and my duty is to look after her physical health."

Barto’s tone was laced with mockery. "If you were such a professional, you wouldn’t be calling her Ningning. What, don’t you know her full name? And even if you don’t, you should at least address her as ’young lady.’"

"Stop putting on an act in front of me, you damn dog."

Lanuo: "..."

After a two-second silence, Lanuo suddenly slammed on the brakes.

Barto, who wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, nearly smashed into the front windshield.

He grabbed the overhead handle and glared at Lanuo. "What the hell are you doing?! You were the one who was asking for it, and now..."

Lanuo was already turning the steering wheel, his expression grim as he stared straight ahead. "He jumped off."

"Who?" Barto paused. Following Lanuo’s gaze, he saw that the sled ahead had stopped. Through the swirling mist of snow, he heard Gu Ning shouting, "Cook! Come back!"

"..."

Cook had run off.

"That stupid dog, where does he think he’s going?" Barto frowned as he watched, then a thought seemed to strike him. He urged Lanuo, "Speed up, let’s follow him."

Seeing Cook run off, Gu Ning grew anxious and was about to jump off and chase after him.

"Don’t worry." Alex pulled her back onto the sled. "We’ll go get him," he soothed.

With that, he leaped onto the back of the large dog pulling the sled, patting its back. "Go after him."

"WOOF!" Alaska reacted, turning around and charging after Cook.

Cook ran for a short distance after jumping off, but stopped when he heard Gu Ning’s voice. He paced anxiously in place, looking back toward her, then toward a wooden cabin in the distance. Seeing that both the sled and Barto’s vehicle were following, he seemed relieved and continued running, glancing back every so often.

The sled quickly caught up to Cook. Gu Ning gripped the edge and shouted, "Cook, where are you going?!"

Cook let out a couple of excited "AWOOS!" in response and ran even faster.

"Stupid dog! You’re still running!" Barto shouted as their vehicle pulled up alongside.

The more they yelled, the more excited Cook seemed to get, and the faster he ran.

Seeing this, the security team members prepared to jump off and intercept him.

’Their leader had offered to escort the young lady’s group partly because he’d noticed they had such a conspicuous Mixed Breed with them.’

’It wasn’t unusual for a female’s household to include a Mixed Breed, but their unstable temperaments were an unpredictable factor. It was best to keep an eye on them.’

’Case in point: one second this Mixed Breed was happily howling along with the young lady, and the next he’d leaped off the sled and bolted. It was a good thing they’d decided to tag along.’

Just as the security team members leaped from the sled to grab Cook, he skidded to a halt. He’d been running so fast that he couldn’t stop his momentum, tumbling several times in the snow. He rolled right up to the door of an old wooden cabin, finally stopping when he crashed through its fence.