Chapter 35: Chapter 35: What Clan Are You From?

Gu Ning and Kloer circled the office desk.

After she had thrown something at Kloer, he wore an infuriated expression and tried to catch her.

He already looked a bit fierce, and as he pointed at her menacingly, demanding she come to him, he seemed even more so.

Although Gu Ning didn’t think he was a bad person, she didn’t think he was necessarily a good Beastman either. At the very least, he wasn’t acting like a good-tempered one right now.

He seemed like the type who could pick her up and slam her on the ground.

Naturally, she didn’t dare get close to him.

The two of them played a game of cat and mouse around the desk. Kloer tried to lunge over the table several times, but Gu Ning dodged him each time.

Everything on the desk was swept to the floor, making a mess.

Gu Ning knew she probably couldn’t outrun Kloer. He was so tall, with such long legs, that one of his steps was equal to three of hers.

So, she decided to use the desk as a shield.

But clearly, she had underestimated Kloer.

Kloer, after being led around in circles for a while, grew impatient and simply flipped the entire desk over.

The space in front of Gu Ning was suddenly empty. There was nothing left between her and Kloer.

She froze for a moment, then turned to run, but before she could take two steps, Kloer grabbed her from behind by both arms and lifted her up.

"..."

Gu Ning’s feet dangled in the air. She kicked her legs, but when she found she couldn’t break free, she tried to grab the electric shock gun from her pocket.

But Kloer’s hands gripped her arms tightly, pinning them to her sides, making it impossible for her to reach into her pocket.

Kloer was clearly experienced in dealing with Dwarf hybrids. He held Gu Ning at arm’s length and pinned her against the wall.

Gu Ning: ’...’ ’Damn it!’

"Behave." Kloer pressed her against the wall, not too gently and not too hard. "Or I’ll throw you on the ground so hard you won’t even be able to crawl."

As Kloer spoke, he was wondering to himself.

’Why is this little Mixed Breed so light?’

When he’d just lifted her, he had used too much force and actually staggered back a few steps, almost falling over.

It was like seeing a bucket of water and anticipating its weight, only to lift it and find it empty.

Light as she was, he didn’t dare let his guard down.

When Dwarf hybrids got agitated, they went completely berserk. Words were useless, and fighting them only enraged them further.

You either had to subdue them quickly or run away.

So Kloer kept Gu Ning pinned, wary of her suddenly attacking or biting him, and gave her time to calm down on her own.

Gu Ning, her face pressed against the wall, took a deep breath. She desperately wished she were a real Mixed Breed right now; then she might have enough strength to throw him to the ground or take a vicious bite out of him!

She struggled a couple of times, but Kloer’s hands held her like iron clamps. She couldn’t move her upper body at all; only her feet could still move.

When she realized Kloer wasn’t going to do anything else to her, she stopped moving.

Seeing that she had stopped, Kloer waited a moment before speaking. "Ready to listen to me now?"

Gu Ning nodded.

Kloer: "Let me introduce myself. My name is Kloer. From this day forward, you need to remember my name. From now on, I’m not just in charge of your work, but I’m also in charge of your meals. As long as you don’t attack me, I won’t beat you. Understand?"

Gu Ning nodded again.

Kloer breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good, this one can be reasoned with.’

"I’m going to let you go now. But we have an agreement: if you attack me even once, I’ll immediately slam you on the ground like a pancake. Got it?"

Gu Ning nodded repeatedly.

Kloer slowly relaxed his grip and set her down on the floor, then took two large steps back.

The moment Gu Ning’s feet touched the ground, she immediately retreated to a corner.

Her movement startled Kloer, who also jumped back and assumed a defensive stance, afraid she was about to attack him.

At that moment, they were both afraid of each other.

"Don’t move," Kloer said, holding a hand out toward her.

Seeing his posture, Gu Ning squatted on the floor to show she wouldn’t attack him.

Seeing this, Kloer finally relaxed.

He righted the overturned desk and began picking up the scattered documents on the floor.

After a moment’s hesitation, Gu Ning also came forward to help pick up the documents.

Kloer was watching her constantly. The moment she moved, he would put distance between them.

Gu Ning glanced at him, then stopped being wary and focused on picking up the documents.

’If Kloer had wanted to beat me, he would have done it already. His reaction just now was probably because he thought I was going to attack him.’

’And I did strike first.’

’But I can’t be blamed for that. He snuck up on me without a sound and startled me. My reaction was pure instinct.’

Most of the time, she was in a state of high-strung, stressed-out vigilance.

Only when she was with Cook could she completely relax.

Kloer saw that the little Mixed Breed’s mood had stabilized. He slowly closed the distance, and they tidied up the desk together.

"Your name is Cook, right?"

Kloer started trying to make conversation with him.

Gu Ning paused in her tidying and nodded.

Kloer: "Was the food good earlier?"

Gu Ning nodded.

Kloer moved closer to her. "From now on, you’ll be with me and the boss—that’s Alex, you know the name, right? Stick with us, and you won’t have to worry about food or drink anymore."

Gu Ning nodded and nodded.

Watching him respond so obediently, Kloer felt he had changed back into the polite, even slightly cute, little Mixed Breed from before.

He was no longer wary of him. He pulled over a nearby chair and sat down next to him, so he wouldn’t have to constantly look down at him.

"Tell me, how did you end up with my boss, Alex?"

Seeing him leaning so close, Gu Ning edged away slightly. She took a pen and paper from the desk and wrote: He helped me

Kloer took the paper she had written on and laughed. "You learn fast. You already know how to write."

"..." Gu Ning didn’t want to explain.

Kloer was about to ask her another question when he suddenly stopped. He sniffed the air in front of him, his expression turning a little strange. He asked Gu Ning, "What clan are you from?"

Gu Ning put her hands behind her back and fiddled with her fingers, not answering.

Kloer waited patiently for a moment. When he saw no indication that she was going to write an answer, he assumed she didn’t know many words and started guessing himself. "Lion Clan? Cat Clan? Or Tiger Clan?"

As he spoke, he mimed the characteristics of each clan he mentioned, and his actions softened the fierce look in his eyes.

Gu Ning pressed her lips together, still not answering him.

Kloer said tentatively, "I remember, you seem to be..."

DING! A message popping up on his terminal interrupted Kloer’s questioning.

Kloer saw it was a message from Alex and opened it:

[Have you brought him over yet?] 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Kloer glanced at the time. It was already 1:10.

[Coming now,] he replied.

Alex: [Did something happen?]

Kloer: [Nah, just got caught up talking with him and lost track of time.]

Alex: [Don’t scare him. He’s very wary.]

Kloer: [Relax, boss. I’ve worked at the Mixed Species Management Center, after all. Coaxing a little Mixed Breed is no problem for me.]

After sending that message, Kloer glanced at the little Mixed Breed, who was tidying the desk, and typed to Alex: [Boss, this Mixed Breed has a really weird scent. I remember he seemed to be from the Dog Clan before, but I can smell other clans on him too. And there’s also a hint of...]

Kloer stared at the input box, hesitated for a second, then deleted the message he had just written.