Virtual Idol in the Beast World: Five Clans Fight Over Me

"It’s you?"

Having found his target, Leo strode toward Alex.

Kloer glared at the Zone 19 higher-ups who were trying to pass the buck. "Is this Alex’s problem too? He came here to build your fortifications, not to be your daddy. He’s cleaned up so many of your messes, but I haven’t heard any of you call him ’Dad’ yet."

Upon hearing Kloer’s words, a variety of expressions flickered across the higher-ups’ faces.

"Him."

Just as Leo approached, Alex raised a hand and casually pointed at a higher-up who looked particularly displeasing to him.

Leo stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and bared his teeth.

"Ah, me?" The higher-up was stunned for a moment. Seeing Leo draw his blade, he immediately grabbed another manager responsible for the matter. "He’s in charge of this! It has nothing to do with me!"

Leo strode forward, kicked the man to the ground, then grabbed the other manager by the back of the neck and slammed him onto the conference table.

"Our men have been digging damn tunnels for five days! Hunting damn Mutant Species everywhere in those tunnels! Five days! With no food! And no water!"

With each phrase, Leo slammed the manager’s head against the conference table, which resounded with a series of loud THUDS.

"Find us a place to stay, and get us some decent food. Otherwise, we’ll eat you. Got it?!"

The manager: "Got it, got it!"

Leo wiped the mud from his hands onto the man’s suit, then snorted coldly and threw him aside. "Scram. Go get our team some food first."

The manager scrambled out of the conference room. The moment he was gone, the crowd heard his miserable cries and a series of muffled, fleshy thuds.

"Tsk, ouch... They’re really laying into him."

Kloer stretched their neck to look outside, inwardly cheering at the satisfying scene.

Once the noise outside died down, Andrew glanced sideways at the zone director next to him, shaking his head and sighing. "Young people... so impatient."

The zone director’s mouth twitched. He gave a couple of dry laughs and offered a few pleasantries, and the atmosphere eased slightly.

"Give up your seat." Leo shoved aside a Zone 19 higher-up and plopped down brazenly in his spot, casually dusting the mud off his clothes.

Sitting next to him, Philinos expressionlessly raised one of his wings to block the dust.

Leo noticed the movement, narrowed his eyes, and pretended to stretch. His hand nonchalantly brushed against the white wing, leaving behind a black streak.

’Such a pretentious damn bird.’

"Oh, whoops. My bad." Leo grinned, revealing a row of pearly whites. "Look at these big wings of yours. You should really tuck them in. They take up so much space."

The moment he finished speaking, Philinos’s face went cold, and he swung a wing straight at him.

Leo was prepared and dodged to the side.

The immense force from Philinos’s wing sent his chair flying into the wall, where it shattered to pieces.

The adjutant watched this and thought to himself, ’Looks like there’s going to be another good show.’

’This dog even dares to mess with the Bird Team.’

"Ahem." Andrew coughed and tapped the table. "You mutt. If you want to get some decent food anytime soon, behave yourself."

Leo scoffed, then snatched another chair from a Zone 19 higher-up and sat down.

The higher-up whose chair was stolen dared to be angry but not to speak.

’Are they afraid of this mad dog? It’s obvious the one in charge is deliberately letting him off the leash to bite people.’

"Everyone has worked hard clearing out Mutant Species on the way to Zone 19 these past few days."

Andrew returned to the topic at hand. After a moment of consideration, he said, "Those without lodging should temporarily bunk with other teams. Our front line is basically at the defense wall. The vanguard teams will be housed near the wall, which means we need to free up more residences over here at the construction site. As it happens, the work on the fortifications is complete. Aside from combat personnel, everyone else can be scheduled for evacuation."

After he finished, the people in the conference room began to converse in low voices.

Andrew: "Any objections?"

The zone director chuckled, "No—"

Andrew ignored him and looked toward the Beastman at the head of the conference table. "Alex."

The zone director’s smile froze on his face.

In an instant, all eyes in the conference room fell on Alex.

Alex didn’t answer right away.

Andrew’s request was reasonable, and there were no issues with the battle plan.

The only problem was...

Alex’s hand swept over his terminal, and he flipped through the documents on the table.

The Mutant Species army was already gathering outside the defense wall. Winter had come too early this year, and both Zone 19’s defenses and the military district’s offense were a step behind. The vanguard teams were already exhausted from fending off the first scattered waves of Mutant Species, and the main force was still on its way.

The King Seed could command the Mutant Species to attack again at any moment. They couldn’t wait any longer.

"Alright," Alex said, giving Andrew a slight nod as his gaze darkened.

...

...

At ten in the morning, Gu Ning lazed in bed for a while before finally getting up to wash.

She opened her bedroom door, first peeking her head out to scan the living room. After confirming no one was there, she went into the bathroom.

Standing on a step stool, Gu Ning texted Barto to check on him and Cook while she brushed her teeth.

After she finished washing her face, Barto sent her a picture of Cook.

Cook was sleeping on the floor, hugging a piece of clothing she had worn.

Gu Ning’s heart softened at the sight. She hadn’t been back to their place for several days. As soon as her period was over, she would go see Cook immediately.

Gu Ning dried the water from her face with a towel and looked in the mirror.

Today was the third day of her period. Under Alex’s care, her sickness had passed, and some color had returned to her face.

Gu Ning looked at her reflection in the mirror and touched her face. The black mark on her cheek was gone, and the machine oil on her hands had been washed off at some point, restoring their long-unseen fairness.

After washing up, Gu Ning returned to her bedroom, got dressed, put on her head covering, and then went to the living room for breakfast.

Although she had already revealed her identity to Alex, he was still the only one who knew. She couldn’t let anyone else see her true self before leaving Zone 19.

Breakfast had been brought by Seth half an hour ago and was still warm in its insulated container. There was also a note on the table, reminding her to find him if she needed anything, as he was right outside the door.

Gu Ning glanced at the door and pulled the oversized jacket she was wearing tighter around herself.

It was Alex’s jacket. He said it would mask her scent and that she had to wear it whenever she left the bedroom.

She wouldn’t cause trouble for herself by leaving this apartment before her period ended.

After breakfast, Gu Ning went back to her bedroom to lie down again.

Since she couldn’t go out, all she could do was go online.

Gu Ning opened PawPress and logged into her main account, Gu Demiao Ning.

It took a while for the login to go through.

The network had been very unstable the past two days. Zone 19 could lose its connection at any moment, so she wanted to use it as much as she could while it was still up.

Gu Ning clicked on her latest video about a female of the Cat Clan and started scrolling through the comments.

The comment section was the same as her previous videos: a mix of praise and criticism.

The praise was for "Yuanbao"; the criticism was for Gu Demiao Ning.

Gu Ning sighed as she scrolled through the comments. ’It’s all me, anyway.’ She just wished the donation limit wasn’t maxed out. Neither the praise nor the criticism felt particularly satisfying.

After scrolling through the comments for a while, Gu Ning typed into a search engine: Zone 5—Fertile Forest Land

She couldn’t film any new videos for the time being, but she still had to think about the future.

After all, she wasn’t a... Beastman of this world. Even if her identity could be safely established in the future, she first needed a job to support herself and get on her own two feet.

This was the perfect opportunity to use her free time to learn more about Zone 5 in advance.