69novels Page 38
Page 38
Although he had attended university in this world and was already considered a social elite, no matter how you look at it, a young college student majoring in "bioengineering" would not have such novel and radical views on the sociological level.
Each time, Pine would vaguely say it was "a chance discovery while browsing the library," but Miss Mary clearly didn't believe him.
Payne knew why she didn't believe him—
From her every move, Payne could tell that she was a very well-mannered girl, perhaps even the daughter of a wealthy or noble family, who was out experiencing life for some reason.
Given her interests and family background, she must have read extensively on sociology, political science, and philosophy.
Dexter is an imperial country, and it has always been very stable. She certainly knows better than most people that reading books alone would not produce such unorthodox ideas.
Payne's reluctance to reveal his past has created a bottleneck in the progress of their relationship.
But he didn't care; all he needed were the beast girls.
He was also worried that his background would become known and he might encounter some unforeseen events.
He didn't believe he could change the world with his current abilities, so he simply shared his limited understanding with Miss Mary, believing that this clever child would surely be able to put it into practice and find the right path.
Let those things be done by someone as ambitious as her; he just wants to take care of his beast girls right now.
But the little squirrel beside him didn't appreciate it. Ruby simply turned her face away and said in a deliberately feigned resentful tone:
"Yes, yes, no matter what, you're still human. In the end, you'll definitely marry a human girl. I'm just a little squirrel that humans don't like. How could I possibly catch your eye?"
Payne had no interest in comforting someone who wouldn't even bother to play the victim properly. Instead, he grabbed her tail again, placed his notebook on top of hers, and continued writing.
"Ouch—be gentle! Do you know how much it hurt when you pulled me last night..."
Ruby gave Payne a light tap on the head, while rubbing the base of his tail with her other hand.
Without looking up, Payne said, "What if I said I wanted to marry you? Would you say yes?"
Even in the splitter, such insincere words failed to stir any emotion in Ruby: "I vaguely remember that the Dexter Empire only allowed monogamy."
"so what?"
"So if you really marry me, how are you going to appease the other beasts? Won't you have to marry them all too? And it's not like a church would officiate at such a wedding..."
"Why don't you cut off your tail and ears, and pretend to be a human to marry me?"
"...Get out of here! You heartless human!"
Pine let Ruby perch on his head and start nibbling. He waited for a while, but the Depressing Joke System did not appear.
Okay, this isn't really depressing, nor is it funny.
Payne shrugged, brushed the ungrateful little squirrel off him, and prepared to continue writing his letter.
But he soon noticed that Ruby wasn't the only one who didn't know how to be grateful; there was also Lacey.
He had clearly told the three beasts to study the gun's structure on their own. Grace and Shawn were confused about "why the disassembled gun can't be put back together," but Lacey had actually fallen asleep on the haystack without permission, and even covered herself with a layer of hay, looking quite comfortable.
The horse next to her would occasionally peek out from the fence and scratch Lacey's head, and Lacey would respond by twitching her ears.
When did she become so close to this group of military horses?
Payne was puzzled until he saw the horse scratch her head and then casually nibble on the hay on her body...
It turns out to be a mutually beneficial relationship.
But Payne didn't care about that. He got up with a dark face and walked over, intending to teach this lazy dog a lesson.
But just then, Lacey's ears suddenly perked up and twitched, and then she raised her head and stared wide-eyed at the outside of the stable.
Payne also turned to look outside. The area was very empty under the midday sun, with only one soldier hurrying past.
He intended to scold Lacey for trying to escape punishment, but then he saw Lacey suddenly drop to all fours, her tail and ears standing up high, baring her teeth and emitting a low growl.
Chapter 57 LVII. Paw Patrol Catches a Spy
As Lacey's low growl rang out, the other three beasts looked at her with some suspicion, and the horses in the stable also became restless.
Fortunately, Lacey's voice was relatively low, and the soldiers passing by outside did not notice.
Payne quickly went over and smacked her on the head, hissing, "What's wrong with you?! Are you out of your mind?!"
Lacey then toned it down a little, but explained, "He's French!"
“French?” Payne was taken aback. “How did you determine that?”
“I could smell a stench from a distance… the stench of French cheese.”
French cheese, a common food among the Fasforo people, has a strong flavor that the Dexter people find less palatable.
B Company once captured a large piece of French cheese, but nobody wanted to touch it.
Payne had thought he could give it to Lacey, who wasn't a picky eater, but even she wouldn't eat it and instead covered her nose and ran away.
Considering the rat infestation in the trench at the time, Payne placed the cheese on the ground, hoping to save his bread by sacrificing the cheese.
The mice accepted everything offered and carried away the entire huge piece of cheese that very night.
But the bad news is that Payne still couldn't save his bread.
In short, generally speaking, a Dexter doesn't smell like French cheese.
Moreover, the soldier not only walked very fast, but also looked around frequently, and his uniform looked somewhat bulky.
The war had only been going on for a little over two and a half years, and the light industry of the Dexter Empire was not yet so badly damaged that it could not even produce properly fitting military uniforms.
Based on this, it seems highly likely that he is indeed a spy!
He wouldn't do something as stupid as bringing French cheese around here; it's likely that he picked up a bit of the smell while eating, and Lacey noticed it.
Dogs have a keen sense of smell, though Payne and the other three beasts couldn't smell anything.
The thought of the walking medals dangling before his eyes made Payne rub his hands together excitedly. He leaned close to the dog's ear and whispered:
"Do you remember what I taught you? Stay quiet, be fast, and if he notices you, get out of his line of fire first, then bite down hard on the hand holding his weapon, understand?"
"understand!"
“Okay, go ahead! Grace, you follow behind and help. Shawn and Ruby, go and call for help.”
Lacey immediately transformed into a true wild dog, silently charging towards the spy.
As expected of a spy, the moment he heard the rapid footsteps behind him, he turned around and instinctively reached for the gun at his waist.
Lacey was only slightly shorter than Payne, and the imposing presence she exuded when she charged was like that of a Tibetan mastiff. As expected, the spy was taken aback and pulled out his pistol without even aiming before pulling the trigger.
Fortunately, Lacey, trained by Payne, anticipated the spy's movements and dodged the bullet with a quick movement. The bullet narrowly struck the ground not far behind her, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Woof woof woof!" After letting out a few threatening barks, Lacey opened her blood-red mouth and bit the spy's arm hard, knocking him to the ground.
"Holy crap!..." the other party cried out in pain.
To prevent him from drawing the dagger with his other hand, Grace pounced on him and slammed his hand to the ground with a force that could almost break bones.
"Don't move, stay still." Payne was the third to rush over, pulling out his pistol and pointing it at the spy's head.
Despite having injured both arms, the spy still looked quite energetic and said menacingly, "Go ahead and have your fun, you don't have many days left to live anyway."
"In less than a week, your master will launch a massive offensive, and none of you will survive."
"You pathetic creatures, the emperor's lackeys, you might as well give your lives for your master's greedy desires!"
Payne listened patiently to his speech, then said, "Generally speaking, I agree with what you said. However, I can return what you said verbatim; you'd better think about who you're working for..."
But the spy was clearly not one to listen attentively, and immediately interrupted him with a loud shout: "Stop talking! Get your beast to let go! It hurts so much!!"
Upon hearing this, Payne immediately retracted his previous statement, "Alright, Lacey, stop biting, it hurts to watch," and resent, "Lacey, don't let go, bite me hard."
These words completely baffled the spy. It wasn't until Lacey tore at his arm even harder that he finally spat angrily at Payne—but Payne was standing far away and was unharmed.
"Serves you right for talking so much." Payne shrugged indifferently, because he had already seen Ruby and Shawn arriving with a large group of people.
The spy tried to continue cursing, but the soldiers quickly gagged him and dragged him away, leaving only a trail of blood on the ground.
The commotion finally subsided, and Company Commander Belyink greeted him with a broad smile, patted Payne on the shoulder, and said, "Not bad, kid, you actually caught us a spy."
"I didn't do anything, it was all thanks to Lacey."
Payne handed the water bottle to Lacey, whose mouth was full of blood. "Here, rinse your mouth. I don't want you to smell like French cheese when you lick me. You'd better brush your teeth before bed."
So, Lacey, who was happily wagging her tail and begging for a pat, suddenly turned into a sour face, "Ugh... I don't want to brush my teeth..."
"Be good, and I'll give you a big bone to eat tonight."
"Yeah!~"
Then Payne turned to him again, "Is everything alright?"
"No problem! Of course, no problem!" The company commander patted his shoulder heavily a few more times. "Such an important matter can't be dismissed with just a meal. I'll apply for a medal from the higher-ups. Just wait for my good news!"
It seems the company commander was indeed very happy. You know, he's usually a very calm person, and he rarely gets this excited.
After receiving a pack of cigarettes as a reward for his efforts, Tomato Head perfectly carried out the company commander's order and brought over two kilograms of fresh meat. Lacey ate it with great relish, her tail wagging non-stop.
Although Payne repeatedly claimed that he hadn't done anything, the company commander still brought out his treasured wine, saying that he was going to get him drunk that day, and even the four beasts couldn't escape the fate.
As a result, dogs, cows, sheep, and squirrels with no alcohol tolerance soon lay sprawled on the ground, and Payne, who had little alcohol tolerance, also quickly fell into a daze.
Looks like there's nothing I can do today; after dinner, all I can do is sleep.
But when he thought about what the spy had said, he couldn't put his mind at ease.
Even though it might spoil the cheerful atmosphere, he still secretly told the company commander, "If that guy's skills are reliable, maybe... the higher-ups will launch an attack within a week."
The company commander was taken aback for a moment, but quickly laughed again: "They actually gave us such a long leave? Did the higher-ups have a change of heart?"
Payne grinned. "What I'm worried about now is that now that we've caught the spy, the higher-ups will definitely be concerned about the risk of leaks, and they might launch an attack sooner rather than later..."
The company commander shoved a bottle into his mouth. "Alright, stop talking. Your job today is to drink until we have to carry you back."
...Yeah, what's a common soldier worrying about? Whether it's sooner or later, this battle is bound to happen sooner or later.
Thinking this, Payne became completely drunk.
Chapter 58 LVIII. Playing with the Dog
Payne rarely indulged himself like this; he drank himself into oblivion and had no recollection of what happened after lunch.
His comrades carried him back to the tent, and he slept soundly for what seemed like forever. He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes again, he saw only a faint ray of light shining through the tent.