Chapter 1054: Rainfall, Losses, and the Wolf with a Collar

After the great evolution on Blue Star, every animal’s evolution has been tightly linked to its environment.

Wild animals captured from the Evolved Forest rarely survive or breed successfully inside human Safe Zones or Territories. That’s mainly because, once removed from their native environment, their resistance drops and the balance of vital elements inside them collapses. They get sick easier, and their evolution often goes haywire.

Take the rabbit Xia Qing brought back from the Evolved Forest last year. No matter how carefully she raised it, this spring, the pregnant doe developed a nasty habit—she started eating her newborn kits. With no time to watch over the rabbits day and night, Xia Qing traded them to Section Four. She and Zhao Ze returned to the spot where they’d caught the rabbits, hauling back bags of original soil and wild Green Lantern grass from that area to feed the rabbits.

Once they had the native soil and plants, the mother rabbit showed clear improvement; when she gave birth to her second litter in May, the kitten-eating almost stopped. Five out of seven rabbit kits survived, so now Section Four has nine rabbits, big and small.

To keep these rabbits alive, Zhao Ze invited Shi Du, Tang Huai, and Yuan Yan to team up and, at the start of the month, rented Xia Qing’s off-roader for another soil and turf run to the Evolved Forest.

By comparison, the Green Lantern chickens Xia Qing exchanged with Territory Seven are considered a success in domestic breeding. They’re no longer dependent on their original diet or habitat—their only flaw is a terribly timid nature.

Tonight, eight chickens died—two crashed into things and died, six simply died of fright. What hurt Xia Qing most was that five of the eight were hens.

After sealing the dead chickens in bags and hauling them inside to stash in the Crippled Wolf’s double-door fridge, Xia Qing’s face was dark with murderous intent.

When she left home to make her rounds, Xia Qing listened to the three Inspection Team captains report losses in their territories. She also got word from Yue Haiying about losses at the Ninth Center, all while allies vented heartbreak in the Lords’ channel about their own losses. With every report her fury grew.

But after finishing the rounds, Xia Qing joined Guan Tong in the greenhouse to pull out some Scourge Grass. By then, her expression had settled back into calm. Rain began to patter steadily just as they finished.

It was a yellow-grade drizzle, nothing too dangerous. So Xia Qing and the eight squad members from Hu Zifeng’s Squad gathered in the meeting room, eyes glued to the screen as they ate. No need to leave anyone guarding the greenhouse tonight.

The roast lamb from Territory Seven had been warmed up on the grill, and Er Yong’s four vegetable dishes reheated. The smell of good food even managed to overpower the stench in the meeting room. Laughter and cheerful voices rang through the house.

After the ordeal with aggressive Scourge Grass and the bird swarm, anyone still in one piece and able to enjoy a decent meal tonight was lucky. In just the last two hours, Section One of the North had lost nine people, twenty-six were injured, and sixty-eight greenhouses were damaged.

Thanks to Hu Zifeng’s Squad, Ninth Center staff, plus the guards from Sections Two and One, Section Three suffered the least of all the territories. Fourteen also did relatively well.

Territory Fourteen lost two greenhouses—one hundred percent of theirs. One person was injured—fifty percent of their people.

Mouth full of meat, Liangzi pointed to one of the upper-left monitors. “Camera 45 in the Western Lands just spotted a plant shooting up at lightning speed.”

Before Xia Qing could respond, Jing Kuan was already on his feet. “I’ll go deal with it.”

It was ten at night. As planned, Er Yong’s group would rest after dinner and take over in the wee hours.

Xia Qing, who was scheduled to stand watch with Jing Kuan and the others through the first half of the night, stood as well. But before she could grab her protective mask, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Yang Jin sent her a photo and then called immediately.

“Xia Qing, I just caught a Speed Evolved Wolf in the Western Evolved Forest. It’s got a collar and scent markers—someone’s been using it to steer the beast hordes. The wolf’s neck is badly injured. If we don’t act fast, it’ll die. Do you want to save it?”

Xia Qing stared at the photo—a brownish-gray Evolved Wolf, its neck torn and bloody. “How did it get hurt?” she asked.

Yang Jin replied, “When I captured it, someone detonated the collar on its neck. Chang Li has given it first aid, but the muscles, blood vessels, and nerves took heavy damage. We just can’t treat it any further over here.”

Xia Qing made up her mind. “Send me your location. I’ll take the helicopter and come right over.”

“No need. I’ll have the helicopter bring it to you.” Yang Jin’s calm voice was sharp with killing intent. “I’ll stay with my team in the Western Evolved Forest and hunt down the intruders hiding here.”

“Alright, stay safe.” Xia Qing ended the call and contacted her Idol immediately.

Zhang San, already sprawled on a plush bed, paused for a few seconds before asking, “Is it a wolf you know?”

“Can’t tell just from the picture. Once you save it, I’d like you to check how it got controlled—that way we can stay ahead of future trouble.”

Zhang San, grumbling, hiked up his price. “My fee is three rare medicinal herbs.”

“Deal. Thank you.” Xia Qing agreed on the spot.

When the rain paused again, Xia Qing heard the approaching roar of helicopter blades outside Ninth Center. Looking up, she saw the flashing red lights in the night sky.

Soon, Tan Junjie’s voice came over the Lords’ channel: “Attention, all Lords. The helicopter above has clearance to enter Section One of the North, so no need to panic. Keep patrolling your territories and report urgent situations as needed.”

“Copy that.” Tang Huai’s hoarse, weary voice came through. “Captain Tan, the helicopter’s dropping off a patient, right?”

Tan Junjie sounded just as serious. “That’s not public information.”

Helicopters showing up at this hour usually meant someone was badly hurt. Zhao Ze fretted, “If the helicopter’s going to Territory Seven, it must be someone important and seriously injured.”

Normal folk with minor injuries wouldn’t dare disturb a Senior Expert in the middle of the night.

Xia Qing watched as the helicopter landed in Area One of Hill Forty-Nine, north of Sections Five, Six, and Seven, in the Evolved Forest. This zone borders human territory, and to avoid misunderstandings, the Azure Dragon Squad never holds training there.

This was the very first time the Azure Dragon Squad’s helicopter had landed in that zone—the closest spot to Territory Seven’s northern gate. It spoke volumes about the severity of the wolf’s wounds.

When the helicopter passed overhead, Tang Huai called Xia Qing at once. “Sister Qing, what’s going on? Why is Yang Jin’s helicopter here? Who’s hurt?”

Tang Huai knew it was Yang Jin’s helicopter and not the one parked on Hill Forty-Nine because, despite their identical models, the one on Hill Forty-Nine had two massive talons strapped to the landing gear.

Those talons belonged to the Giant Raptor Xia Qing shot down on Hill Fifty-Nine. They were lashed to the helicopter at the Alpha’s request.

Just like Xia Qing’s personal flight gear, Alpha insisted that anything flying in the sky needed those menacing talons to look dominant—and to put other birds in their place.

There was no need to keep it secret, so Xia Qing was blunt: “The Azure Dragon Squad intercepted the beast horde in the Western Evolved Forest and captured an Evolved Wolf. It’s badly hurt. Now you know, but don’t go spreading it around.”

The words ‘Evolved Wolf’ made Tang Huai’s tired voice jump an octave. “Sister Qing, can I keep that Evolved Wolf on my territory? Name your conditions!”

Xia Qing answered coolly, “It was the Azure Dragon Squad that caught the wolf—I don’t get to decide where it belongs.”