Chapter 1055: The Wolf’s Fate After Midnight

“Xia Qing, where are you?”

Her idol’s voice came through the call, low and somber, layered over the steady beeping of medical machines in the operating room. A bad feeling settled in her chest. “I’m at Territory Two, about to head back to Section Three. Third Brother, I’m on my way now.”

“Alright.”

Tang Huai quickly volunteered, holding an umbrella for Xia Qing. “It’s late—let’s not keep Third Brother waiting. I’ll drive you over.”

Xia Qing picked up her pace. “My car’s parked inside Territory One. Let Third Brother know. If he tells you to come with, you can drive and follow me.”

Tang Huai, who’d been on Zhang San’s blacklist for almost two years, straightened up right away. “Qing, when you finish treating the wounded, give me a call. If Third Brother is reaching out because of credits, and Iron Rooster decided not to save that Evolved Wolf, no matter the credits needed, just say yes. I’ll cover all the surgery and follow-up medical costs.”

Xia Qing nodded, crossed Territory Two into Territory One, exchanged a nod with the acting agent Yin Jie, and then drove her off-roader through the west gate out into the barrier. She rushed as fast as she could to Section Seven’s north gate, where she spotted Huayang from the Azure Dragon Squad waiting outside.

Huayang served as Chang Li’s bodyguard. With him standing guard, it meant Chang Li was in Section Seven. Xia Qing sent him to wait in the car and passed security to enter.

After disinfecting and changing into scrubs, Xia Qing stepped into the starkly bright operating room and met Chang Li’s bloodshot eyes.

In two years of knowing Chang Li, this was Xia Qing’s first time seeing her so emotionally shaken.

Considered half a doctor by this point, Xia Qing greeted Third Brother, then glanced at the heart monitor by the operating table. The Evolved Wolf’s heartbeat was slowing, blood pressure and oxygen critically low, breathing shallow. She looked closer at the table—the wolf’s neck was scorched black, and the blood vessels and muscles had already been stitched up. Softly, she asked, “Third Brother… There’s nothing that can be done, is there?”

“The collar exploded. Its cervical vertebrae and windpipe were badly damaged. I can keep it alive, but it will never stand again.” Zhang San finished, gesturing to a rack holding nine CT scans. “See for yourself.”

Xia Qing and the Crippled Wolf were both studying medical imaging. She stepped to the illuminated row of nine CT scans at the head of the table. It didn’t take long to realize something was wrong. “Where’s the wolf’s prefrontal cortex?”

Chang Li’s voice trembled with barely contained anger. “It was removed.”

Xia Qing’s brows narrowed. She turned to the wolf lying silently on the table and quickly spotted a curved scar across its forehead. Someone had opened its skull and cut out the prefrontal cortex.

Zhang San’s voice was heavy. “The prefrontal cortex handles higher cognitive functions. Removing it will make the Evolved Wolf’s judgment plummet. It’ll act without purpose, unable to control impulses. After the cortex was cut out, they fitted it with an embedded weak-current controller to force it to follow human commands.”

“I found fluid in this wolf’s body containing a drug that speeds up Evolution Element consumption. It’s the same cocktail used on Scavengers in the Evolved Forest in the West, but at four times the dose. The side effects at this level are worse than the Evolution Element stim shake.”

Zhang San, hands gloved and sterile, pushed up his glasses with his wrist and explained why he’d called Xia Qing. “Keeping this wolf alive would just be torture for it.”

Chang Li fixed her red, tear-filled eyes on the blank-faced Xia Qing, lips tight behind her mask, jaw clenched hard.

Xia Qing understood. “Third Brother, preserve all the data and evidence. Go ahead and pull the tube. We’ll store the body in cold storage for now. After the Devastation Rain, I’ll take it with me. Is that alright?”

Since Chang Li and the surgical assistant were there, Zhang San didn’t ask why Xia Qing wanted the wolf’s remains. “The Azure Dragon Squad captured it. You’ll have to clear it with Yang Jin. It’s not my call. Xiao Sun, pull the tube.”

Xia Qing dialed Yang Jin from inside the operating room. After getting his approval, she asked, “Captain Yang, can I have a copy of your team’s mission footage from the Evolved Forest in the West today?”

Yang Jin’s voice crackled through rain. “Of course. After the Devastation Rain, I’ll send it over.”

Xia Qing hung up and turned to her idol. “Third Brother, could I also get the surgical and exam videos, and the lab results for this wolf?”

Zhang San shot Xia Qing a look and turned to leave. “Ask Xiao Sun for those.”

“Alright, thanks, Third Brother. It’s late, you should get some rest.” Once her idol left, Xia Qing turned to Chang Li. “Li Jie, where are you headed after this?”

Chang Li’s reply was hoarse, drained. “My task’s done. I’m heading back to Territory One to rest.”

“Let’s go together then, I drove over.” Xia Qing waited by the table until the heart monitor lines ran flat, then stepped forward. “Sun, let me handle it.”

Surgical assistant Sun, equally downcast, didn’t stand on ceremony. He led the way to the cold storage as Xia Qing cradled the wolf’s body.

Xia Qing had carried many wolves—big and small, old, hurt, or sick. This one wasn’t heavy, and its body was still soft with recent death, but it felt heavier than any she’d ever held.

After placing the corpse in the freezer, Xia Qing took Chang Li and left Section Seven, getting back into the off-roader.

Huayang, waiting in the car, took one look at their faces and didn’t even need to ask—the wolf hadn’t made it. He quietly sat in the back, not saying a word.

A full ten kilometers of the Northern Barrier in Section One was covered with Devastation Grass, rising and falling with the mountains.

The off-roader jostled over gravel and Devastation Grass along the rolling slope. As the vehicle passed from hillside into valley, Chang Li finally spoke up, gravel-voiced. “Back at the Hui One Base, I saw people operated on just like that wolf.”

Xia Qing calmly asked, “You mean during the underground lab incident?”

Chang Li shook her head. “No, it was the fourth year after the disaster. Back then I was an intern at the Outer City Hospital by the Hui One Safe Zone. The person lost control and killed someone—right in front of me, less than a meter away. Not long after, I heard the Azure Dragon Squad was leaving Hui One. I didn’t hesitate: I joined them and came out to Hui Three.”

Xia Qing gave a quiet response, tightening her grip on the steering wheel, eyes forward.

The tension in the car finally got to Huayang, so he spoke up with a smile. “Sister Qing, Yan Lian brought gifts for you and Tan Qi—they’re in the helicopter. Today was such a rush I forgot to grab them. I’ll bring them after the Devastation Rain.”

Chang Li mustered up some energy, too. “I traded for two big bags of pearls. I’ll bring them by as well.”

“Sounds good,” Xia Qing replied with a smile. “Once things calm down, you two come to my place—we’ll have roasted sweet potatoes and Beggar’s Chicken.”

Hearing Xia Qing invite him too, Huayang, who’d never visited Section Three before, lit up. “Thanks, Sister Qing. I brought back some seeds from Lan Five’s crops. I’ll bring you a little of everything.”

After dropping them by Territory One, Xia Qing turned the car around—just as Tang Huai called.

Tang Huai asked at once, “Qing, I heard your car. How did it go? Was the wolf badly hurt?”

“It’s already dead,” Xia Qing replied calmly.

Tang Huai paused for a few seconds, then asked with a hoarse voice, “Will the pack nearby retaliate against our territory because of its death?”

“We’re not sure which pack it belonged to yet. Don’t tell anyone about this for now.”

This Devastation Rain season was chaotic enough already.