Gu Ning made it back to her place, rattled but unharmed. She swore she would never go to the public bathhouse again.
"Ning..."
Cook, who had been waiting anxiously at home, saw Gu Ning return. He limped over to her on his injured leg and threw his arms around her.
"Ning... Ning..." He sniffed at her scent uneasily, a garbled, hoarse cry rumbling in his throat.
Having spent so much time with Cook, Gu Ning could now understand his meaning from his expressions and tone.
He was asking why she had taken so long to come back.
"I took a shower at the public bathhouse," Gu Ning said.
Cook immediately grew agitated. His big, fluffy tail thudded against the floor, and a puppy-like whimper escaped his throat. He licked her neck and cheeks, covering her in his own scent.
"I won't go again." Gu Ning stroked his back to soothe him. Once he had calmed down, she took off her damp, heavy work clothes and changed into something dry.
Gu Ning took the washed clothes to the window to hang them to dry. After she had hung up everything, she realized her underwear was missing.
She looked down at the empty bucket, then searched the small room, but the pair of floral-print underwear she had been wearing when she transmigrated was nowhere to be found.
After searching the hallway outside twice to no avail, Gu Ning realized she must have left her underwear at the public bathhouse. She felt a part of her die inside.
That was her most comfortable pair. The others were all cheap Beastman models that she'd had to alter just to make them wearable.
She didn't dare go back to the public bathhouse to look for them now; she could only go check again later.
Gu Ning wrapped an old blanket around herself and pulled an iron box out from under the sofa.
Inside the box was the money she had earned recently. Besides working at the construction site, she would also go to the junkyard to scavenge for parts to sell, just as Cook used to do.
She hadn't gone today because she'd gotten off work late. Zone 19 was several times more dangerous at night than during the day, and she didn't dare linger outside.
Gu Ning sat cross-legged on the floor, opened the iron box, and put the Beast Coins she had earned today inside.
After a moment's thought, she emptied all the money from the box and counted it again.
The largest denominations were the ten one-hundred-Beast-Coin bills she had brought back today. The rest was all one- or two-coin pieces, along with some smaller change.
After a careful count, her total savings came to 1,229.76.
This wasn't even enough to buy a ticket to Zone 15.
She had been pinching pennies all this time, saving up for the travel and living expenses to get to Zone 15.
Zone 15 was a C-level city. She'd heard its public safety was better than the E-class Zone 19, and that Mixed Breeds were treated better there, too. All things considered, it was the best city she could hope to get to.
Zone 19 was a border industrial city. Its outskirts bordered the dangerous No Man's Land, where some military bases were stationed.
The construction site where she worked was building defensive fortifications.
Occasionally, she could hear the distant rumble of artillery fire.
Whether for her own personal safety or for a better life in the future, she had to get Cook out of Zone 19.
But at her current rate of saving, she would have to slave away at the construction site for at least another half a year to have enough for her and Cook to get established in Zone 15.
But in this past month alone, she and Cook had run into one problem after another. This time, Cook's injuries were so severe that she thought she was going to lose him.
She wasn't sure if she and Cook could safely make it through the next six months.
Thinking about what had happened at the public bathhouse tonight, Gu Ning knew she couldn't wait another six months. She had to leave Zone 19 as soon as possible.
But leaving required more money. She didn't just need to save for travel and living expenses; she also had to buy a weapon for self-defense.
Gu Ning picked up her terminal, opened a browser, and went online.