Chapter 77: Chapter 77: I’m Keeping Your Tab

Gu Ning was hugging a warm "pot" to stay warm, snacking on dried meat with Cook. When she saw Barto had replied, she immediately messaged back: [I didn’t see you, so I already came back.]

A few minutes later, Barto dragged his slightly weary body back to their residence.

"I got held up with something today." Barto shook the snow off himself at the door, then closed it and looked at Gu Ning.

Gu Ning grabbed a blanket to dry the melted snow from his head and handed him a note: It’s fine. I can come back by myself from now on.

Barto watched Gu Ning crouch in front of him, diligently drying his fur. He shoved a bag of Crystal Stones into her hands, then, looking a bit awkward, clutched the blanket and walked over to sit by the heater. He turned his head and his eyes met Cook’s, who was already enormous.

"Woof?" Cook offered the snack in his hand to Barto, grinning at him.

Barto: "...This guy, how did he get bigger again?"

He took out a Detection Device, pricked Cook’s hand, and took a small blood sample for testing.

Gu Ning sat down beside him, and they waited for the test data together.

After less than half a minute, the data appeared: 65%

Gu Ning frowned, her eyes filled with worry. ’He’s regressed another 1%.’ At this rate of increasing by 1% a day, Cook wouldn’t last much longer.

She took two stones from the bag Barto had given her and held them to Cook’s mouth.

Cook obediently opened his mouth and ate them.

Barto pulled a glass tube filled with a pale blue liquid from his pocket and injected it into Cook’s arm. "I could only buy one Advanced Inhibitor. In his condition, one won’t be enough to get him through the winter."

Gu Ning wrote: Can’t he just eat more Crystal Stones?

Barto said, "If the mutation value is under fifty percent, Crystal Stones can stabilize it. Combined with a highly concentrated inhibitor, you can even slowly push the value back down a little. But once it’s over fifty percent, Crystal Stones can only slow the rate of mutation. Now, only better Inhibitors can stabilize him. One Advanced Inhibitor will last about three to five days."

Gu Ning did the math. If they were to stay in Zone 19 for a month, Cook would need at least six more Advanced Inhibitors.

She asked: Are Advanced Inhibitors hard to buy?

Barto replied, "Do you know how many Mixed Breeds like us there are in Zone 19? And it’s not just us who need Inhibitors; those Beastmen need them too."

Gu Ning was confused.

Barto continued, "Mutant Species cause a Beastman’s mutation rate to skyrocket. Inhibitors help them prevent mutation."

"Besides, there’s some kind of connection between Mutant Species and Crystal Stones. The closer they are to us, the less effective the Crystal Stones become."

After explaining, Barto asked Gu Ning, "Do you still have money?"

Gu Ning nodded.

The tips on her latest video had maxed out. Ten million Beast Coins in donations, halved, plus what she already had, left her with a total of over seven million. It should be enough for them.

"The power and internet will be shut off in a few days. We need to convert all the money in our accounts to cash and Crystal Stones." Barto said, "Give me however much you have on hand."

Gu Ning thought for a moment, then transferred seven million to Barto, leaving a little over six hundred thousand in her account.

When Barto saw the transfer notification, the corner of his mouth twitched.

’At this point, even if Gu Ning gave him another ten million, he wouldn’t be surprised.’

’Thinking about how attentive Alex was to him, he guessed Gu Ning must be from the Second District, or maybe Zone 3 or 4.’

’To have so much money right as winter started in Zone 19... his relatives must still care about him to some extent. They haven’t abandoned him completely.’

’That’s good, too.’

’Better than my situation.’

"You need a test, too." Barto snapped out of his thoughts and aimed the Detection Device at Gu Ning’s arm. Gu Ning quickly dodged aside, waving her hands at him.

She scribbled a note and tossed it over: I already got tested at Alex’s! My mutation value is 25%.

Barto picked up her note, his gaze sweeping over her face, which was covered by a black hood. Seeing her resistance, he said, "Fine. You let him do everything for you, huh."

Hearing this, Gu Ning quickly wrote another note: It was a routine check at the worksite.

’Good thing it was just a scan.’

Barto asked, "Did he walk you back today?"

Gu Ning didn’t answer, afraid Barto would get inexplicably angry again.

She suddenly thought of something and wrote on a note: Barto, what’s your mutation value right now?

Seeing that Gu Ning had finally asked about him, Barto quirked his lip. "It’s fine. I can keep it stable."

Gu Ning relaxed. ’If Barto were also regressing badly, that would be a huge problem.’

’She was starting to rely on Barto for a lot, whether it was for his connections to Crystal Stones and Inhibitors, looking after Cook, or eventually leaving Zone 19. She needed his help for all of it.’

With that in mind, she wrote: Barto, I’ll cover all the Crystal Stones you need.

Barto’s expression soured after reading it. "What do you mean by that..."

"Forget it." Barto noticed his own emotional shift and waved a hand at Gu Ning before turning to make dinner. "Don’t worry, I’m keeping a tab for you."

...

After dinner, Gu Ning brought out a tape measure to get Cook’s measurements, took a photo, and recorded his state of regression.

"Are you done yet?" Barto stood next to Gu Ning’s stool, holding one end of the tape measure for her.

Gu Ning patted Cook’s shoulder to get him to stand straight. She held her hand flat on top of his head, pinched the tape measure at the correct height, and looked closely: 215 cm.

"..."

He was 5 cm taller than yesterday.

Seeing that Gu Ning was finished, Cook lifted her down from the stool and nuzzled her affectionately.

Gu Ning looked at the big, furry Cook and felt a little worried.

His face was now covered in a layer of fur, making him look just like an oversized, half-beast stuffed animal.

His facial features hadn’t changed, though. Other than that, he was almost like Barto now—a dog that could walk upright.

Even Darwin would have been left speechless.

She asked Barto: At this rate, he’s not going to keep growing, is he?

’If he gets any bigger, how long will it take to blow-dry his fur after a bath?’

Barto looked at the regression data she’d recorded. "If his regression can’t be stopped, at this rate, he’ll grow into a giant Mixed Breed."

Gu Ning was very surprised, and her pen flew across the paper: He can turn into a giant Mixed Breed?

"It’s possible for a Mixed Breed to mutate again," Barto said after a pause. "But it only happens once. It’s like with him—the mutation value gets too high, the Mixed Breed genes in his body become disordered, and it triggers a second mutation."

Gu Ning thought, ’Then it’s better if this second mutation never happens.’

She shifted her gaze to Barto, holding her hand above his head to size him up.

Barto stared at her. "What are you doing?"

Gu Ning wrote: I feel like you’ve gotten a little taller. Your frame seems a bit bigger, too. Are you going to have a second mutation?

’But his growth rate was nothing compared to Cook’s; he was only a tiny bit taller.’

"I’m a throwback fox," Barto said. "How am I supposed to get through the winter if my fur doesn’t get thicker?"

Gu Ning: Ohh~ so it’s just your fur getting thicker. I thought you’d actually gotten taller.

After reading it, Barto crumpled up her note and grabbed her hand. "A Mixed Breed like you who doesn’t grow fur or put on fat is going to freeze to death this winter."

"Not... die..." Cook pushed Barto away and gave Gu Ning a bear hug from behind. As long as he was here, he wouldn’t let Ningning freeze to death.

"Go take a bath."

Barto kicked Cook’s leg. "How many days has it been since you washed? You stink."

Cook let out an "AWOO" and obediently followed Barto to the bathroom.

"What about you?" Barto asked Gu Ning before leaving.

Gu Ning once again politely declined Barto’s invitation to bathe.

Barto caught the wolf scent on her, one that even Cook’s smell couldn’t cover up. He snorted. "You reek. You stink worse than Cook."

’Whatever,’ Barto thought. ’In three days, he’ll be done working Cook’s hours anyway. I’ll figure out what that Alex’s deal is then.’

It was still early, so the public bathhouse was empty. Barto led Cook over, and just as he turned the hot water valve, a message popped up on his terminal:

[It’s been snowing for days. Where’s the merchandise I ordered?]