Gu Ning held Cook’s furry hand, following Barto into the Central District.
Cook looked all around, sniffing the air constantly.
He had been in this state of high alert ever since they entered the Central District.
Gu Ning rubbed his back from ti to ti to calm him down.
She guessed Cook was acting so anxious because he was in an unfamiliar environnt.
The Central District was strictly controlled, and Beastman security guards would occasionally walk past them.
As Gu Ning and the others were about to pass through the barrier of a residential area, two Beastman security guards stopped them.
"Hey, you."
One of the Beastman guards frowned and sized them up. "Mixed Breeds? What are you here for?"
Gu Ning had thought the Beastman guard was about to chase them away, but to her surprise, he didn’t. He only asked their purpose for being there.
She was a little surprised.
In Zone 19, the attitude toward Mixed Breeds on many streets and in malls was terrible. They were usually chased off on sight, and those with worse tempers might even get violent.
Yet here in the Central District, which seed even more tightly controlled, the attitude toward Mixed Breeds was actually better.
"Alright, go on in."
The Beastman guard questioned Barto for a bit. After Barto explained their purpose, showed so proof, and slipped sothing into his hand, the guard let them pass.
Gu Ning took out a pen and paper to ask Barto a question.
Barto plucked the note from her fingers, glanced at it, and said, "There are a few areas in the Central District where you can live as long as you have money. But it’s very expensive. When you have the money, rember to give it to ."
Gu Ning acknowledged this internally. ’Expensive is fine,’ she thought. ’As long as it’s safer than where we’re living now. And I have money now!’
’But why do I feel like this place is even farther from my workplace?’
Gu Ning gazed eastward. The sky was pitch-black, and the buildings here were taller. She couldn’t see the high wall to the east, but she could vaguely make out the one to the north.
She held Cook’s hand, surveying their surroundings as they walked. This residential area was clean and spacious, with streetlights at regular intervals, but it had almost no extra decorations. There were none of the flowerbeds or lawns you’d find in a human residential complex.
Rows of gray-white buildings stood in neat lines. Compared to human architecture, these structures seed stretched wider and taller to Gu Ning, possessing Zone 19’s characteristic heft. Their solemnity was tinged with a sense of the grotesque.
Lights dotted the buildings at irregular intervals, and occasionally, the silhouette of a Beastman could be seen passing by a window.
These faint yellow lights were the only color in Gu Ning’s world.
Seeing this scene, an inexplicable panic welled up inside her, a feeling she couldn’t quite na.
Cook seed to sense her emotions and huddled close against her.
"This is the place."
Barto stopped in front of a tall building.
"Wait a second, I’ll call the landlord." He tapped his terminal to contact him.
After two or three minutes, a Beastman landlord erged from the building.
"Follow ." The tall Beastman landlord stood at the entrance and gestured with his chin.
Barto tugged on the corner of Gu Ning’s clothing, as she was standing there motionless. "What are you spacing out for? Let’s go, let’s go see the apartnt."
Gu Ning paused for a mont, then followed.
The three of them followed the landlord straight into the elevator.
Gu Ning quietly observed the building’s environnt. The hallways were bright and tidy, with no clutter piled up. It seed there was so kind of property managent.
Even the elevator was a bit larger than the one where she lived.
"What kind of group are you three?" the landlord, Sate, asked as the elevator ascended, eyeing them.
All three wore black raincoats with the hoods pulled up. Gu Ning also wore a face mask and windproof goggles, completely obscuring her features.
Sate wasn’t curious about what they looked like. He could tell from their body types at a glance that one was a reverted Mixed Breed and the other two were Dwarf hybrids.
It wasn’t that other Mixed Breeds didn’t live in this area, but they were usually normal Beastn with a single Mixed Breed relative.
Gu Ning remained silent and squeezed Cook’s hand, signaling for him not to engage with the landlord.
Cook pressed closer to Gu Ning, glaring fiercely at the landlord.
"None of your business," Barto said.
The Beastman landlord chuckled. "Fine."
He didn’t want to ddle; it was just the first ti he’d seen three Mixed Breeds moving in together, especially a reverted Mixed Breed with two Dwarf hybrids.
If the reverted Mixed Breed hadn’t paid enough money—and if Sate hadn’t sowhat recognized him—he never would have rented the place to them.
The elevator stopped on the seventh floor.
The landlord took out his keys as he led them toward the room Barto had picked out.
"I don’t care what you’re up to, but one thing: no fighting or causing trouble here. Otherwise, I’ll imdiately take back—"
The landlord’s voice suddenly cut off. Then he asked in astonishnt, "What are you doing here?"
Gu Ning looked over. Four or five burly Beastn were standing in the middle of the hallway. One of them was holding a key, about to open a door.
"Yo, Sate, you brought people to see an apartnt too?" the Beastman with the key said.
Sate strode forward, frowning. "This one’s already rented."
"Rented?" Ruth dangled the key in his hand. "I’ve had several groups asking for this place. Highest bidder gets it. You’re too late."
Sate’s fists tightened. He was about to argue with Ruth, but then he caught sight of the tattoos on the Beastn behind him and hesitated.
’It’s the crew from the Underground Arena,’ he thought. ’They’re bad news.’
Gu Ning watched the standoff between their landlord and the other group. The scene was not unfamiliar to her.
’Isn’t this just two agents showing the sa apartnt to different clients at the sa ti?’ she thought.
She quickly scribbled a question on the paper and handed it to Barto: *Didn’t you already pick this one out? You didn’t pay?*
Barto said, "I paid a deposit. Wait here, I’ll go ask."
With that, he walked over to the landlord, Sate, and asked, "What’s going on? I already paid for this apartnt."
"Where’d this little Mixed Breed co from?" Ruth looked down at the short Barto and sneered, "Get lost, or we might step on you."
The thing Barto hated most was people mocking his height. He looked up and bared his teeth at Ruth.
Sate bent down slightly and pulled the back of Barto’s collar. "I’ll show you another apartnt."
He had to get the three of them out of there quickly to avoid a conflict with these Beastn.
Those Beastn were staring at Gu Ning and Cook. One of them whispered sothing in the leader’s ear, and then they started walking toward the pair.
Seeing them approach, Cook imdiately went on the defensive, shielding Gu Ning and letting out a low growl.
Barto saw that the situation was turning ugly. His gaze swept over the Beastn, and he noticed the crossed-blade tattoos on their necks and hands.
"..."
He cursed inwardly. ’To run into this crew even here... what rotten luck.’
"Gu Ning, Cook, run!"
Barto leaped onto one Beastman, kicking him into the wall. He then lunged at two others, knocking them both down before grabbing Gu Ning’s hand and sprinting for the elevator.
Gu Ning was nearly pulled to the ground.
"Get them!"
The lead Beastman clutched his face, which Barto had scratched and drawn blood from, and roared.
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