dmims Page 74
Page 74
"...For me?" he asked hesitantly.
"Mmm!" Stephen nodded vigorously, then handed the apple forward further. "I just helped unload a truckload of goods for the field hospital, and this is a reward from the nurses!"
Pine, who was almost shoved in the face by an apple, quickly blocked it with his hand. "You still have the energy to help others with their work?"
"Yes yes yes!"
Payne paused for a moment, then slowly pushed the apple back. "Well, you should keep it for yourself."
"Huh? Why?" Stephen tilted his head.
Payne said slowly, "Because judging from your performance, I'm increasingly convinced that what you said about your achievements is true."
“If you are truly a fine horse, then you must have a large appetite. I don’t want to hold you back because of this war.”
"The food prepared for you at the front is already scarce, so eat it while you can."
"Heh heh~ Now you believe what I said is true, right?~~" Stephen immediately showed a smug expression.
But then, a few seconds later, she seemed to realize something, and her expression turned displeased. "Huh?! So you didn't believe what I said before?!"
Payne ignored her comment and continued, "I know Ma really likes apples, and fresh fruits and vegetables are hard to come by at the front, so eat them while you can if you find any."
"You...you even know this?"
Seeing Stephen's slightly shocked expression, Payne smiled coolly, "This just happens to be something that happens to be in my field."
But after a few seconds of shock, Stephen struck Pine in a direct and unexpected manner:
"...Ah, I remember now, I seem to recall hearing other beastmen say that you're a beastman expert? If that's the case, how could you not see my abilities?"
Payne: "..."
His research on horse girls during his university years can be summarized as follows:
He randomly gathered a few female horses, randomly measured some data, and then used some formulas of dubious origin to perform some inexplicable calculations, resulting in a data table that was completely worthless. Then, his supervisor used it to fool the clueless leader and swindle funding.
If you were to ask Pine why he was so unserious about academic research, he could only say that the few female horses his advisor had bought were so thin they were practically just skeletons. Forget about doing any running tests, Pine would be grateful if they could even live a few more days.
He didn't want to work for free for a supervisor who was obsessed with embezzling research funds, so after a brief hesitation, he gave up the idea of using his meager research funds, which had been embezzled to the point of being almost gone, to buy ready-made data from his colleagues. Instead, he used the money to buy hay for his horse.
Then, he let the female horses run around a couple of steps, filled in some data casually, and that was it.
It seems that no matter the world, there are always rotten people like this in universities.
Even now, he can only use the data of real horses to judge whether a female horse is excellent or not.
Therefore, when faced with a supermodel like Stephen, the previous reference data is clearly insufficient.
If his mentor hadn't been so strict with the testing schedule back then, he would have had to go to the racetrack to measure the data on-site.
Of course, the most crucial problem now is that he doesn't know how to explain the complicated details to Stephen...
Chapter 115 CXIV. Searching for Alpha
Although Stephen didn't quite understand human society, technology, education, universities, and the like, after Pine roughly recounted his experiences to her, she miraculously stopped worrying about the issue and instead said:
"Ah...so you mean because you haven't seen many horse girls, and they're generally weaker, you don't know how capable I am, right? Hmm..."
"However, even though you don't understand data, you do know what we like to eat."
"Moreover, you trusted my abilities completely on the battlefield and led us out of danger."
"So... you're a good person! A good leader!"
"In that case, you must eat this apple!"
After being so firmly given the "friend zone" card by the enthusiastic Stephen, Pine finally couldn't refuse the apple offered to him anymore. He could only take it, muttering to himself, "Not just me, you've helped us a lot too..."
Soon after, inspired by his own words, he didn't rush to take a bite. Instead, he held up the apple and said:
"Gentlemen, the fact that we survived this battle is not due to the efforts of any one person or beast, but rather the result of our unity."
"Therefore, every beast deserves a bite of the apple!"
As he said this, Payne took the lead and took a bite, then his eyebrows twitched violently.
Why is it so sour?! Is this a lemon or an apple?!
Luckily, I only took a small bite...
But since he had already said those encouraging words, Payne didn't want to look too embarrassed, so he just grimaced and chewed, handing the apple to Lacey who was closest to him.
The silly dog was completely unprepared and immediately took a big bite with a "crunch". After chewing several times, it took her an incredibly long reaction time to realize what she had eaten. Her face immediately scrunched up like an orange peel, and the fur on her ears and tail stood on end.
Seeing that she was about to vomit, Payne grabbed her mouth, "This is proof of solidarity! Don't vomit!"
Although he felt a little sorry for the dog's teary-eyed expression, Pine could only supervise Lacey as she swallowed the sour apple so as not to disappoint Stephen's good intentions.
Seeing the dog's reaction, the cows, sheep, and squirrels became much more cautious while eating, each taking only a small bite, justifying it by saying, "The animal that actively shares deserves the largest portion..."
Stephen was already quite satisfied to see that each animal (and human) had taken a bite of their apple. She happily took back the apple, which was now a mess of bites, and began to devour it.
Payne carefully observed her expression and confirmed that she wasn't trying to play a prank on everyone while suppressing her sour feelings—such behavior was indeed out of character for her.
It seems this horse has some issues with its sense of taste.
Before his time travel, Pine had watched some videos of feeding lemons to horses. Most horses showed great disgust, but a few actually seemed to like them. It seems Stephen belongs to the latter group.
Of course, there's also a small group of cheeky horses that will deliberately chew a couple of times and then spit it on the ground...
However, although he was quite sarcastic, it was a good thing that he was able to get closer to Stephen and also unite the beasts.
Moreover, the tangy flavor actually brought a unique sense of pleasure, and incidentally stimulated the already hungry stomach.
Payne immediately led the beast girls to find Tomato Head, got their food, and began to feast.
While eating a thin pancake roll with a fried egg and drinking cloyingly sweet industrial orange juice, Payne looked at the five beasts surrounding him and suddenly burst out laughing.
The little squirrel was the first to notice the barely perceptible laughter, and immediately squinted its eyes to ask, "What are you laughing at?"
Payne still had a smile on his face. "Haha, you're all better now."
"What's getting better?" she then asked.
But Payne didn't answer. He just shook his head with a sigh and continued eating.
“…The Riddler.” Ruby pursed her lips and didn’t pursue the matter further.
Payne deliberately didn't make things clear for a reason—he didn't want to set a flag.
After two tough battles, his beast girl squad suffered no losses, and he brought all the beasts back with him.
Before this, he had fought more than ten battles in a row, losing one or two beast girls in each battle.
He felt things were gradually getting better.
Although reason tells him that this war will continue for a long time, and that more beasts will surely leave him during this period, that is a matter for the future. At least for now, these beasts can stay with him for a while longer.
Of course, given the veteran's usual superstition and caution, Payne did not speak of these things.
He didn't want to ruin this fleeting happiness with just a few words.
After a pleasant meal, Laisie, infected by her master's good mood, jumped into his arms, exclaiming, "Master, Master, let's play!"
"Yes, after sleeping for so long and eating so much, it's time to get some exercise."
Payne rubbed the dog's head, stood up and stretched his arms and legs. "We should probably go and bring Alpha back."
One person and six beasts make up a complete orc squad.
……
After asking at the nearby field hospital, Payne learned that F Company had retreated to another hospital, which was half an hour away from here.
The weather was clear and sunny, and although the sound of cannons still echoed in the distance, it did not dampen Payne and his men's spirits in the slightest.
The man and his five beasts strolled and chatted as if they were going for a walk, passing through two groves of trees and a meadow, before arriving at the hospital where F Company was located.
This place looks much more advanced than the field hospital set up in tents at B Company's base. A two-story building whose original purpose is unclear has been requisitioned as a hospital, with soldiers, doctors, and nurses coming and going. Even the open space around the building is filled with hospital beds.
It seems this is indeed a fierce battle.
Payne circled the building and called out to Alpha twice, but received no response from the big black dog.
He then asked several wounded soldiers and doctors, but the answer he received was that none of them had seen any orc wounded.
At this moment, Payne became somewhat worried—could those two BYD medics have taken bribes and abandoned Alpha halfway through the journey?
No, Alpha's injuries aren't serious. Even so, she should be able to move back on her own by slowly moving around.
Or was my judgment wrong, and Alpha couldn't hold on?
But she was clearly in good spirits at the time, and her cardiopulmonary function was perfectly fine...
After asking Lacey for help, she just shook her head: "There are so many people coming and going here, the smells are too mixed up, I can't smell anything."
Payne originally wanted to go straight into the building and split up to find the orcs, but this hospital was just like F Company; the nurses at the entrance resolutely refused to let the orcs into the hospital. Payne had no choice but to ask Lacey and the others to wait outside while he went in to look for them.
Chapter 116 CXV. Payne's Remorse
"Alpha! Alpha, are you there?!"
……
"Alpha! Answer me if you hear me!"
……
"alpha!!"
"Dude, you're so noisy. And who would name someone Alpha, such a weird name?"
Payne searched the entire first floor of the building and called out no less than ten times, but all he heard in response were the groans and coughs of the wounded soldiers.
Not only that, after persistently making a commotion for several minutes, he finally got complaints from the wounded soldiers.
However, the injured person should rest and recuperate, and Payne, knowing he was in the wrong, couldn't refute it.
All the rooms and corridors on the first floor were filled with hospital beds, making it difficult to even step. There was nothing to obstruct the view, so if Alpha were here, he would definitely be able to see everything.
After confirming that Alpha was not on the first floor, Payne stepped onto the stairs where a stretcher was also placed, went up to the second floor, and continued to search for Alpha in a low voice.
"Alpha? Are you here?..."