No Beast Girls on the Western Front

Page 83

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"

Payne: "..."

Unable to attack the system, he could only glare at Frederick with disdain.

After sending the blond-haired guy back to work with a look, Ruby, having quickly finished her inspection, reported some speechless news:

"I was in a hurry when I left, and I forgot what I packed inside. But judging from the weight, nothing should be missing."

Okay, as long as it's not bad news.

Chapter 129 CXXVIII. Going to the Market

Because Payne had been leading the beast girls and several new recruits in a fierce competition, the other soldiers in B Company eventually felt a little embarrassed.

So one day at the end of August, B Company collectively persuaded Payne and his men to leave the construction site, saying that they had done all their work these past few days and hadn't even had a chance to see the city.

The project is almost finished now, so take this opportunity to relax for a day. We'll take care of your workload, so please don't be ungrateful.

Having said all that, Payne really didn't know how to refuse.

So the orc squad was given a day off.

But Payne didn't dare to slack off at all. Before leaving the construction site, he hurriedly asked his brothers about fun places nearby.

We can't let Xiao En have any free time. Even if she goes on vacation, it has to be a special forces-style vacation!

However, the places they can go are very limited:

Animal girls can't drink alcohol, so bars are definitely out of the question;

A market? That might be an idea; we could buy some small things for the beast girls.

A circus? That's possible, but some places might not allow animal girls in. And animal girls watching animal girl performances...that's weird...

A racetrack? If there are races featuring female horses, perhaps we could test Stephen's abilities...

Red-light district... cross that out.

Just kidding, if you wanted to do that, you could just take the beast girls to a hotel room... Oh wait, there aren't any beasts at the branching device right now, and most inns don't allow beast girls in guest rooms...

That said, sheep's divergence period is quite long, lasting from July to January of the following year, with the peak periods being August and September.

What's going on...? It's already the end of August, and Xiao En still doesn't seem to be reacting at all?

Thinking this, Payne turned his head to look at Xiao En, who was following behind him, but he couldn't see anything unusual on her face.

At this very moment, the man and his four beasts are on their way to the market.

Since almost all the beast girls are loaded onto trucks and taken directly to the training base after coming out of the breeding chamber, just like real animals, they have basically never seen a city.

Ruby had only ever seen large plantations;

Xiao En was probably always kept on a ranch;

Lacey used to work as a gatekeeper, so she must have seen the city, but she certainly didn't have the opportunity to walk around freely like this.

Stephen's activities were limited to mines and racetracks, so she probably didn't have any experience walking around the city.

Indeed, all four beasts were looking around curiously, like newborn babies. If they hadn't been well trained beforehand, they might have already disappeared by now.

Even Xiao En showed a look of surprise that she hadn't seen in a long time. She looked up at the four- or five-story building one moment and then followed the cars running on the street the next.

The fact that she's become interested in this city suggests she's slowly coming out of her shell.

Pine was quite pleased.

However, he cannot focus all his attention on Xiao En at the moment, because he still has to keep an eye on Lexi from time to time to prevent her from smelling passersby on the street.

For dog lovers, being sniffed by a dog is obviously no big deal, but it's a different story for animal girls.

Moreover, there are plenty of people who don't like dogs.

"Hey, Master, is this how all of Dexter's cities are?"

Just as Payne was closely watching the dog's actions, she suddenly leaned over and asked this question.

"Well... that's a long story..."

After thinking for a moment, Payne found an entry point: "You should know that you were created to replace the ubiquitous tool beasts, right? Have you seen any tool beasts in this city?"

The four furry creatures looked around at the scenery and reminisced—buildings, streetlights, cars, trams, animal girls pulling carts, shops along the street, pedestrians, traffic police on duty at the intersection…

“Right, it seems we didn’t see any tool beasts.” they all said.

Then Payne continued to explain:

"As I told you before, those man-made tool animals have a very strange characteristic: when faced with a huge stimulus, they will fall into a state of rigidity or even stress, and this situation cannot be desensitized through training."

"This is precisely why we are sending you to the front lines, even though you don't see any tool beasts there."

"It's not just the sounds of gunfire on the front lines; in peacetime, noises such as gas explosions, traffic accidents, and even train noises are all strong stimuli for the tool beast."

"However, there aren't that many stimuli during peacetime, so an occasional stimulus won't have a significant impact on the overall operation of society."

"As for why tool animals cannot be desensitized, the scientific community does not have a unified opinion and can only temporarily attribute it to the unique defects of man-made objects."

"Minston is a border city, and many Fasforo people came here to do business and travel before the war. Therefore, the city combines Fasforo's mechanical technology with Dexter's biotechnology."

"Before the war, you could see carriages and cars running on the streets at the same time, cranes and crane elephants working together to build houses, and people using high-speed birds and wired telephones to transmit information... Of course, you certainly won't see that now."

"Fortunately, this is a border city. Even though the war has spread outside the city and all the tool beasts have been withdrawn, the city can still function normally thanks to Fasfulo's mechanical technology and the beast girls that have been brought in."

Although there was a lot of information, fortunately there was nothing difficult to understand, and after a little thought, the four beasts digested all of it.

"Oh, I see. I'd like to visit cities in inland China if I have the chance; I'm sure I'll see different scenery there," Gouzi said.

As they spoke, the man and his four beasts arrived at the market. Even though the morning sun was shining brightly, the market was still packed with people, like a giant beehive made up of crowds, stalls, sounds, and smells.

Housewives, deliverymen, and various animal girls working in the corridors surrounded by vegetable stalls, bakeries, and fresh food stores are constantly jostling each other. Light linen clothes rub against stiff woolen skirts, making a rustling sound of complaints.

The sweltering air was thick with the smells of human sweat, livestock, earthy vegetable odors, and the pungent odor of cheap tobacco.

The vendors lured customers with their hoarse, short voices, interspersed with the rhythmic clanging of blacksmiths hammering iron.

Despite the bustling scene, Payne felt an unusually oppressive and somber atmosphere—and it wasn't because of the hot weather.

The battlefield was just outside the city. Those who did not flee had to continue working and living in the city, but they were also worried that the enemy would come to their doorstep tomorrow. Therefore, everyone maintained a state of vigilance and busy life.

Under the influence of this tense atmosphere where the threat is imminent yet uncertain, people unconsciously become more polite than ever before, and even bargaining is less confrontational.

However, these little things obviously didn't affect the four beasts' mood. Before the group (and the beasts) had been strolling around for long, Lacey pointed to a stall and said, "I want to eat this!"

Payne took a look and, sure enough, it was a barbecue stall.

Chapter 130 CXXIX. The World's Diversity

Dexter's traditional roasting method is somewhat like shawarma on Earth, where the chef stacks marinated meats like a tower and puts them into a vertical oven heated by charcoal.

If a customer makes a purchase, the already grilled outer part is cut off, exposing the meat inside which is then heated further.

Payne wanted to carefully count the money he had before deciding whether to buy it for the beast girl, but after standing in front of the stall for less than half a minute, he was already drenched in sweat—physically drenched in sweat.

The combination of four factors—sunlight exposure, crowds, poor air circulation, and traditional charcoal grilling—has caused the temperature near the shop to soar to an unbelievable level.

The extreme heat had robbed him of his ability to think clearly; all he could think about was, "If the child wants to eat this, I'll buy it for her, and then I need to get out of this awful place as quickly as possible." So he directly told the stall owner:

"Give me one, and put less salt and seasoning."

Payne felt that this dark-skinned stall owner had evolved into another kind of creature. Working on such a hot stall, although his face was covered in sweat, his expression remained calm and composed. He skillfully caught the cut pieces of roast meat in a flatbread, sprinkled some seasoning on them, wrapped them in newspaper, and handed them to Payne.

But as the vendor swiftly sliced ​​off pieces of meat from the huge chunks of meat and placed them on the flatbread, Payne didn't see a mouthwatering delicacy.

He blinked, and it was as if the stall owner in front of him had turned into a French soldier, and the contents of the scones in his hand had turned into the bloody bits of meat that had been stuck to his clothes that day...

In that instant, he didn't know how much effort he had put into controlling his expression, but then he immediately realized an even more serious problem: Was Xiao En alright?!

He immediately turned back—thankfully, although Xiao En's face was pale and her body was trembling slightly, she was still able to stand there with Stephen's support.

I was careless; I was so focused on feeding Lacey meat that I forgot about the sheep.

Let's get out of here as soon as possible.

Payne turned back to take the roti roll, but just then he saw the dog take it from the vendor without permission and happily take a big bite.

He didn't think much of it, but noticing the stall owner staring at him and then at Lacey with wide eyes, he explained, "I bought it for her. See you later, Lacey."

"Woo woof~"

Before his gaze left the stall owner, he clearly saw the entire process of the other person's expression changing from one kind of shock to another:

It was as if he first said, "Holy crap?! You're treating orcs this well?! I can't even bear to eat the food I make myself!" and then added, "It has to be the military lord, so generous..."

Indeed, this is true. In the Dexter Empire, city dwellers consume less than 100 grams of meat per day, let alone small vendors who run small businesses. They probably wouldn't even eat meat once a week.

Many people who join the army don't have any complicated thoughts; they just want to be able to eat well and be full.

After all, even if it's just the local garrison troops, they get 200 grams of meat to eat every day, as well as other supplies like cigarettes, alcohol, and snacks that they wouldn't normally even dare to dream of.

However, frontline combat troops are rationed 500 grams of meat per day—provided, of course, that they are alive to eat it.

"Sorry, I forgot about your situation. Let's go." Payne pushed Xiao En's back while his mind wandered.

"I'm...I'm sorry..." Xiao En apologized softly.

"no need to say sorry."

……

After browsing through a few more stalls, since Xiao En's condition showed no signs of improvement and Stephen and Ruby looked rather pale, Payne had no choice but to leave the market and rest for a while on a bench by the roadside.

He even arranged for Lacey to sit on the far left of the chair and Shawn to sit on the far right, acting as a divider to separate the carnivores from the herbivores.

The moment they settled into the benches with their good views, he felt countless eyes on them:

These four orcs are crammed onto a chair with their trainer?! Shouldn't they be standing at the back?!

And this trainer even bought meat rolls and pancakes for that canine beastman?!

If the gazes cast by humans were merely one of shock, then the working beast girls passing by held nothing but surprise and deep envy in their eyes.