Chapter 45: The Garbage Heap

The male who returned first waited for more than ten minutes without seeing Jiang Qin and Fox Ear come back, but he didn't care.

He simply assumed Fox Ear had taken the little female somewhere.

There were no beasts in the entire shack, let alone S-rank males, so here, no one was a match for Fox Ear.

However, his companion who had stayed behind with him returned, and his expression changed immediately upon not seeing Jiang Qin. "Where's the little female?"

"Fox Ear is watching her. They went to the restroom."

Hearing this, the man relaxed. "Fox Ear came back so quickly?"

"His beast form is fast."

The man thought about it and realized it made sense, so he didn't dwell on it.

"No one should have found their way over here yet. I just went to check, and there's nothing unusual."

"Mhm."

The two waited for another ten minutes or so.

The male who returned later grew somewhat puzzled. "Where did Fox Ear take the little female? Why aren't they back yet?"

The male who modified machinery also stopped what he was doing and hesitated. "Do you think... he wouldn't do anything to the female, would he?"

The two looked at each other in dismay.

Although Fox Ear had never shown any interest in the captured females before, who could guarantee he wouldn't suddenly take a fancy to this one?

"Should we go look for them?"

"Forget it, I wouldn't dare provoke Fox Ear. He even kills his own people. Besides, as long as that little female is still alive, that's all that matters. Our mission is just to bring the living little female back."

So neither of them mentioned looking for the missing pair again, wanting to avoid interrupting whatever Fox Ear might be up to.

They didn't have to wonder for long, however, because a few minutes later, Fox Ear returned.

He pulled back the door curtain with a beaming smile and called out the moment he stepped inside, "Little cutie, I'm back. Did you miss me~~?"

Yet that spot was empty.

Fox Ear's expression darkened as he looked at his two companions.

The other two were dumbfounded.

"Fox Ear, where's the little female?"

"Heh, you're asking me? I should be asking you two! Didn't I tell you to watch the little female and not leave her sight for even a single step?"

The mechanic male froze. "But just now outside the restroom, I handed the chains directly to you. You even told me to go back and keep working while you brought the little female back."

"You're saying you saw me?" Fox Ear's expression at that moment was terrifyingly grim.

In a flash, he appeared right in front of the male, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground.

"Are you an idiot? I appeared out of nowhere, and you didn't have even a shred of suspicion?"

The other male quickly tried to intervene, "Fox Ear, let go of Zeb first, he's barely breathing. You know how it is, mechanics don't deal with people much, so it's normal that he didn't recognize you."

Fox Ear sneered as he turned his gaze to glare at him. "And what about you? You're not a mechanic, why are you just as stupid?"

"I... I went to check the surroundings for anything unusual, afraid someone might find this place, or that those half-beasts would discover something..."

"So you left the shack? Did I not say that none of you were allowed to leave the little female alone for even half a step?"

Molik moved his lips, unable to offer any further excuse.

Fox Ear tossed Zeb aside and sneered, "You'd better pray you can catch the little female and bring her back, or else prepare yourselves to face the punishment when we return."

Both beasts turned pale at the mention of punishment.

"What are you standing around for? Tell the others to come and help search for her, you two idiots!"

After cursing them out, Fox Ear left the shack.

Standing at the entrance, he sniffed the air and immediately took off following the scent.

Only to end up at the restroom.

There lay a large scrap of torn fabric from the clothes Jiang Qin had been wearing.

Logically speaking, he should have been able to pick up the scent of the skunk pill, but today the weather was somewhat windy.

Moreover, with the mixed odors of the shack area, it was difficult for him to pinpoint the exact direction.

Calculating the little female's movement speed, he simply sprinted quickly along every path tainted by her scent.

...

Nothing. There were no traces in any direction.

Meanwhile, his companions were currently searching through the shack area.

Those who resisted were beaten and thrown out, though most of the half-beasts were cooperative.

Every single female was ordered to wash her face and stand out for inspection.

Before long, Jiang Qin heard the commotion outside as someone began rummaging through the pile of garbage.

At that moment, her heart leaped into her throat.

Someone suspecting the garbage heap was actually within her expectations, but they certainly wouldn't dare use high-powered explosives to destroy it.

Nor would they use sharp objects to blindly poke around inside the trash mountain.

After all, they wanted her alive.

Thinking of this, Jiang Qin genuinely felt like swearing. She had never imagined that singing a few songs in the interstellar era could cost her her life.

Truly, she had never been valued to this extent before.

"Little female~~ You're in here, right?"

Fox Ear's haunting voice rang out outside.

"I know you're in here. Didn't I tell you not to try to run? Why are you being so disobedient?"

"If you come out now, I can let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, when I have my men clear out this entire garbage mountain and you finally come out then, I won't guarantee whether you'll be missing both legs. After all, all we need is your brain and your mouth—missing your hands and feet doesn't matter at all~"

Jiang Qin didn't move, holding her breath so quietly.

A few minutes later.

She heard Fox Ear's chilling tone say, "It seems the little cutie really doesn't care much about her own body. Never mind, I'll call people over right now to empty this place out, and once I break your legs, you won't be able to run ever again~"

The signal here had long been blocked by that mechanic, and Fox Ear and his men weren't wearing optical communicators.

Jiang Qin guessed that for him to "call people," he likely had to go fetch them himself or send someone else.

After all, things like signal flares couldn't be casually discharged.

They couldn't afford to draw too much attention either, and searching the shack area would inevitably arouse the suspicions of the half-beasts.

To be safe, they would probably need to assign men to keep those half-beasts under unified confinement temporarily.

With such a big commotion, it was entirely possible that someone might come looking for her eventually.

However, she couldn't afford to pin her hopes on others, so she continuously racked her brain for a way out.

Even though she heard Fox Ear's retreating footsteps, she didn't dare to move.

After waiting for a long time, there was no further sound.

Yet Jiang Qin knew that Fox Ear likely hadn't left at all; he was probably hiding in the dark to observe.

Since he suspected she was here, he wouldn't leave until he was certain, and he wouldn't clear out the garbage heap immediately—he would likely wait at least until noon to take action.

Because he firmly believed a little female couldn't run far, and right now was the prime searching window.

Therefore, he wouldn't waste time gathering people to clean out the garbage pile just yet.

Only after searching everywhere else and confirming she wasn't there would he mobilize his forces.

The manpower he had at his disposal was certainly limited.

As for those half-beasts, he couldn't boss them around arbitrarily; their men could at most control the half-beasts to keep them from leaving the shacks temporarily.

If they pushed things too far, with so many half-beasts around, a rebellion wasn't out of the question.