vncnus Page 117
Page 117
Xiao En's condition has been getting worse and worse lately, and he has gradually stopped being able to break through the 100-meter mark.
Moreover, the sheep and the horse were busy delivering intelligence today and weren't with Payne and the others.
After looking around, Payne found that only the new beastman Ella, whose skills were not yet very proficient, could throw grenades more than 150 meters away.
However, this was barely enough, as the no-man's-land on this front was only about 100 meters wide.
Yesterday, he made the beast girls work overtime to move all of B Company's supplies to their destination in one go. Then, he had them work overtime with two dogs last night, thinking that they would be more comfortable today and could save their energy to mess with the French with grenades.
Thinking about what happened last night, Payne felt a wave of exhaustion.
The two dogs had indeed put their old grudges to rest, but new grudges soon resurfaced as they fought over Payne!
Presumably guessing that Alpha would be unable to resist waiting at the door, Lacey deliberately raised her voice from the beginning to ensure that she could still hear her without disturbing the neighbors;
Alpha also showed no mercy to Lacey. When it was Lacey's turn, Alpha immediately attacked her, twisting her arm and pinning her to the ground until she begged for mercy.
As a further act of retaliation, Alpha deliberately increased the force and intensity of his movements to ensure that the loud creaking of the wooden planks could reach Lacey's ears outside the door.
After Alpha ended, Lacey deliberately messed with her mindset, telling Payne in a coquettish voice that she hadn't had enough fun and wanted to play a little longer;
At this point, Alpha started to defend its leader, stopping Lacey and saying that the leader was already very tired and needed to rest, and that there would be a lot of work to do tomorrow, etc...
You almost broke the bed frame just now, and you didn't even show any concern for me!
I feel like I'm not the leader at all, but just a pawn in your power struggle!
Therefore, as punishment for the two dogs' fight, Payne ordered them to sleep peacefully on the bed that had almost collapsed, while he took Shawn's arm and went to sleep on her bed.
This soft, gentle sheep is still the best.
Don't these two dogs know how to save their trainer some trouble in situations like this?!
Lacey is one thing, she's always been rather emotional, but how did she manage to affect the composed Alpha as well?!
Although Pine did have a lot of fun last night...
And at least there's some good news: although the two have had a fierce argument, they don't seem to hold grudges, or rather, they seem to be able to prioritize.
During today's bombing raid, the two birds, though they rarely communicated, coordinated perfectly, as if nothing had happened last night.
Judging from the current situation, it should be time for these two to go back to the rear to rest before the splitters are finished.
In other words, they had to participate in the planned offensive operation under these circumstances.
If the two of them had a disagreement in the back, Payne probably wouldn't have any objections, and might even have thought it was nice to try something new every now and then.
But now, an attack that could launch at any moment hangs over everyone's (and the beast's) heads.
Although these two performed reasonably well, it's still a bit worrying...
However, Payne would soon find out that he had much more to worry about.
Just as he closed his notebook, intending to check the results of the three dogs' harassment, he saw Xiao En staggering towards him from not far away.
Payne waved. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Xiao En remained silent, simply shaking her head as she continued walking towards him.
Payne frowned and went to meet him. "Are you here to deliver orders? Where's Stephen?"
Xiao En remained silent, and at this moment, Payne could clearly see her abnormally red face.
Could it be...?
Payne deliberately avoided thinking about that terrible possibility, and instead held Xiao En in his arms, touching her forehead. "You're a little hot. Have you been tired these past few days and gotten sick?"
"It...it shouldn't be..."
Xiao En shook her head, then looked up at him expectantly: "I...I think it's time for me to...split generator again..."
Payne: "..."
It's like what I feared most has come true...
……
Therefore, by nightfall, the number of animals that went out for exercise had decreased to three.
Inside the sheltered trench, one person and three animals occupied four positions on a bed as if they were about to play cards.
Xiao En lowered her head deeply like a child who had made a mistake, while Lacey and Alpha were looking at her with intense, brooding eyes.
The air was filled with a sharp, pungent smell, a mixture of pheromones and gunpowder.
Pine felt that if he hadn't been there, the two dogs would have been baring their teeth at each other.
Payne scratched his head, somewhat resigned, and said, "Alright, I called you here not to stare at each other, but to solve a problem."
“My idea is simple: Lacey arrived first, followed by Shawn, and Alpha last, so the three of you should also arrive in that order.”
"I've finished speaking. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"
Lacey naturally had no objections;
Although Alpha seemed somewhat dissatisfied, he didn't dare to speak up because he agreed with Payne's reasoning.
As for Xiao En, who remained silent, she probably wouldn't dare to have any objections...
“Or, if you have any other ideas, you can share them and we can discuss them,” Payne added.
Chapter 184 CLXXXIII. Making empty promises is bad for your health.
To be honest, a wicked thought even popped into Paine's head:
He now prefers that the three beasts each have their own plans, and that no matter how they try to negotiate, they can't reach an agreement and end up fighting each other, so that they won't have time to worry about the Divergent.
Three! That's a whole three beasts!
Just looking at those two dogs and a sheep makes Payne feel his legs cramp.
Although there's a saying that a man shouldn't admit he's incapable, sometimes you have to admit defeat, otherwise you won't even know how you died...
What a terrible coincidence... the three beasts' branching devices ended up overlapping...
What's worse, the attack plan was announced at this crucial moment...
Why do these kinds of rushed situations always happen...? They turn a perfectly good brancher into a burden...
Fortunately, Alpha is a thoughtful and considerate big black dog. When she saw Payne's tearful expression, she took the initiative to say:
"Chief, I know it's tiring to deal with three beasts a day. How about this, you can take one beast at a time today, and we'll figure out how to handle the rest ourselves."
"Well... this..."
After hearing this suggestion, Payne fell into deep thought.
He didn't agree immediately because, although Alpha showed concern and care, he could guess that the big black dog had its own ulterior motives.
She's a fierce dog, with plenty of energy.
Unfortunately, because she was a junior in the team, she could only be ranked at the back.
After Payne dealt with Lacey and Shawn, she certainly wouldn't have much energy left, and she was naturally not satisfied with this situation.
However, she also agreed with Payne's rule of ordering by seniority, and it was not appropriate to suggest cutting in line at this time, so she made this suggestion, hoping that Payne would give her more attention.
It's really hard to keep everyone's opinions balanced...
Given the current situation, Payne was quite supportive of the suggestion. He even went up and hugged Alpha, saying, "You really understand the leader's feelings! I'm so touched..."
As for Lacey and Shawn, they didn't seem to have any objections—or rather, they didn't dare to have any.
Even now, gunshots still occasionally ring out outside.
At this time, refuting Alpha's proposal to conserve the leader's energy would give people (and the beast) the impression that he cannot distinguish right from wrong.
These Frenchmen have some serious energy; it's almost midnight, and they're still relentlessly firing and testing people's mental fortitude...
But for veterans who could even fall asleep amidst the rumble of artillery fire, this was clearly no big deal.
"So, if everyone has no objections, let's settle on this for now."
As he said this, Payne asked Alpha with some unease, "Are you really not worried about only doing it once?"
Alpha was very magnanimous: "I don't mind at all, there's nothing to mind. Before we met you, didn't we all have to find our own way or ask our compatriots for help?"
Since she had said that, Payne could only chuckle awkwardly, "Haha, I feel a little bad that you've gotten so used to relying on me and now I'm making you figure things out yourselves..."
Xiao En, who had been silent until now, spoke up: "No... don't feel bad... to be honest, the reason I've put you in such a difficult position is still my fault..."
Once the attention of both the human and the beast was drawn to them, Xiao En sighed softly, her tone filled with sorrow: "It's my fault... I have to blame my splitter for coming at such an inopportune time..."
"Otherwise, I won't bother you. I'll just find a secluded spot and take care of it quietly..."
"Alpha is right, we've always done it this way..."
"Ah, of course... if you could lend me your coat, Payne, that would be even better..."
As the sheep said this, the two dogs' eyes showed no sympathy whatsoever; instead, they grew increasingly eager, as if encouraging her to voluntarily withdraw from the competition…
Seeing that things were about to take a strange turn, Payne quickly interrupted her:
"Hey, hey, stop for a second. Don't be so formal. We're a team, so of course we should solve any problems together."
But this did not save Xiao En from her depression. She still said in a dejected tone, "Sigh, I know you are a good person, and I know you would be happy to play with us, but... this time is really not the right time."
"The offensive is truly imminent now, you shouldn't waste your energy on...this kind of thing..."
"If...if you insist on helping me, I...I will feel uneasy instead..."
"In case... in case you make a mistake in battle because you're not in good spirits, I... I..."
Yes, here we go again, the depressive mood of the splitter.
This sheep is really difficult to handle.
And the fact that she would worry about me in something like this shows that I haven't been assertive enough as the leader.
Payne, you need to step up! Don't let your beast girl worry!
Thinking this, Payne shook his head helplessly and interrupted Xiao En again:
"Alright, alright, you don't need to be so sensitive. It's as if my slightest help to you would affect the war effort."
"Although I am strict with you during regular training, and that knowledge can indeed save your lives, now that the battle is approaching, we don't need to worry about so much at this time."