Chapter 61: Chapter 61: A Bit Too Protective of This Little Mixed Breed?

Gu Ning was taken aback by Alex’s actions.

The work uniform, still warm from Alex’s body, instantly dispelled her chill.

"Put it on." Alex unclipped the secondary rope connecting them, straightened her collar, and said, "Your body temperature is dropping. You’ll get sick."

A gust of cold wind whistled into the tunnel entrance. Gu Ning shivered, snapping back to her senses, and slid her arms into the sleeves.

But the uniform was far too big for her. She lifted her hands, and the overly long sleeves dangled down.

A hint of a smile crossed Alex’s eyes as he watched her dazed, adorable appearance. He knelt in front of her, unfastened the safety harness under her clothes, zipped up the uniform for her, and then refastened the harness over it around her waist.

Gu Ning lowered her hands and looked down at Alex.

Having given her his uniform, Alex was left wearing only a form-fitting, long-sleeved black shirt. It was thin, and she could see the defined lines of his muscles. His hands, long and strong, were busy adjusting the gear on her.

Gu Ning stared at him for a moment, her ears inexplicably growing hot. She subconsciously went to touch her nose, only to realize her hands were lost inside the sleeves.

A sense of awkwardness and unease crept over her, and she took a step back to put some distance between herself and Alex.

"Don’t move. I’m not done," Alex said, grabbing her waist and pulling her back.

Gu Ning had no choice but to stand still, her eyes darting elsewhere.

Many Beastmen were working in the tunnel, casting curious glances their way.

"See? I told you that little Mixed Breed must be one of Alex’s relatives. He keeps her with him all the time, never letting her out of his sight."

"No kidding. He’s got her bundled up like a penguin. What kind of Mixed Breed is that scared of the cold? He’s spoiling her rotten."

Gu Ning: "..."

"No way. If she’s a relative, why bring her to Zone 19? Isn’t Alex from Zone 5? Wouldn’t life be better for her in Zone 5?"

"Probably can’t rest easy. Afraid someone might bully her."

Listening to the Beastmen’s whispers, Gu Ning thought, ’It seems Alex really is being a little *too* nice to me. He’s even made the other Beastmen mistake me for his relative.’

’But this is good, too. At least no Beastman will dare to cause trouble for me.’

’I don’t want a repeat of that prank from the first time I went down to the outer wall.’

"All set."

Alex finished adjusting Gu Ning’s safety harness and then helped her roll the sleeves up to her wrists.

He squeezed her small hand. It wasn’t as icy as before, but it still felt cool to the touch.

He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Why is her body temperature so low?’

Her personal file said she was from the Wolf Clan, and the genetic test report confirmed it. The body temperature of a Wolf Clan member shouldn’t be this low.

He had never seen a Wolf Clan Mixed Breed who was so sensitive to the cold. ’Is there something wrong with her health?’

’Or perhaps...’

Seeing Alex warming her hand in his, Gu Ning felt a little embarrassed and pulled it back.

"Wait here a moment." Alex stood up and walked deeper into the tunnel.

Gu Ning watched him rummage through a pile of toolboxes up ahead. After a moment, he returned with a pair of work gloves.

"If you’re cold, put these on," Alex said, handing the gloves to her.

Gu Ning looked at the large, thick gloves, then took her pen and paper out of her tool pouch. She drew a picture of a glove and wrote next to it: *Work?*

’There’s no way I can do anything with these gloves on.’

"You have a new work assignment." Alex pressed the gloves into her hand and clipped the safety line from her harness onto the safety cable running along the side of the tunnel.

Hearing this, Gu Ning stood there obediently, waiting for him to assign her work.

Two minutes later, Kloer’s figure appeared in the tunnel.

"Boss, what is it?"

Kloer was walking briskly, his shoulders and hair still dusted with snowflakes.

Alex grasped Gu Ning’s shoulders and pushed her in front of him. "You’ll take her. For the next week, you two will be in charge of inspection duty inside the tunnel."

"Huh?" Kloer looked down at Gu Ning, their eyes meeting, before they both turned to look at Alex with puzzled expressions.

Alex: "Any objections?"

Kloer saw Alex narrow his eyes slightly, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile. He shook his head and said loudly, "None!"

Alex’s gaze shifted to Gu Ning, his tone gentle. "Is that okay?"

Gu Ning nodded vigorously.

’How could it not be okay! Working inside the tunnel is so much better than being out in the freezing wind. And the job is just inspection—I won’t have to haul things around or repair complicated instruments. All I have to do is follow Kloer like a little shadow.’

’The other Beastmen are afraid of Kloer, but they aren’t afraid of a little Mixed Breed like me. This is Alex giving me special treatment, letting me openly slack off.’

’Alex was probably afraid I’d freeze to death outside, so he arranged this job for me.’

Gu Ning once again marveled at what a considerate and excellent boss Alex was.

Alex took off his own ID badge, hung it around her neck, and patted her hard hat. "Go on, get familiar with the job with Kloer."

...

After handing off his previous duties to another foreman, Kloer began his inspection tour of the tunnel with Gu Ning in tow.

Gu Ning followed quietly behind Kloer, content to be a little shadow and not add to his workload.

Kloer dealt with work files on his terminal as he walked, glancing down from time to time at the little Mixed Breed beside him. She was dressed in Alex’s oversized uniform, and no matter how fast or slow he walked, she kept up, looking like a clumsy but cute little penguin.

Kloer caught a whiff of Gu Ning’s scent and his brow furrowed.

The little Mixed Breed’s Dog Clan scent was almost completely masked by Alex’s.

Although he could no longer smell her unpleasant heat-scent, smelling Alex’s scent on her gave Kloer a strange, indescribable feeling.

’Isn’t the scent on the Boss’s clothes a bit too strong? It’s even a little aggressive.’

’The Boss is being way too protective of this little Mixed Breed, isn’t he?’

’And she’s a little liar who tricked us.’

"Get out of the way! Don’t block the path."

A shout from up ahead broke Kloer’s train of thought. He looked toward the sound and saw a Beastman and a Dwarf hybrid in a dispute, on the verge of coming to blows.

Kloer strode forward, grabbing the Beastman’s shoulder to pull him away, then seized the back of the Dwarf hybrid’s collar as he lunged to fight the Beastman.

The Beastman was about to start cursing, but when he turned and saw it was Kloer, he immediately backed down.

"What’s the problem? Tell me," Kloer said.

The Beastman gave a sheepish grin. "It’s nothing, Kloer. This guy was just trying to snatch my stuff."

"ARF! ARF! WOOF!" The Dwarf hybrid pointed accusingly at the Beastman, and as he vocalized, he tried to lunge again, only to be yanked back by Kloer.

Gu Ning almost burst out laughing when she heard the little dog-like yelps.

Kloer held on to the irate Dwarf hybrid. "What stuff are you talking about? Explain it properly."

The Dwarf hybrid struggled in his grasp, constantly kicking his legs toward the Beastman, his cries echoing through the tunnel.

Seeing the Dwarf hybrid growing more and more agitated, Gu Ning patted Kloer, slipped a piece of paper into his hand, and then pointed at the toolbox full of materials in the Beastman’s hand.