Chapter 1068: What Lies Beneath

Year eleven of the Cataclysm. Xia Qing had spent most of her life in the Safe Zone. Zhang San could picture the hardship and frugality she endured, and he understood her careful mindset all too well. But seeing her pinch pennies even when she absolutely shouldn’t made the veins in his forehead bulge and his head throb.

You save one sterile mat but end up contaminating the CT scanner. Do you even have enough credits left to buy disinfectant?

Wait—knowing her, she probably wouldn’t even want to use disinfectant. After moving the wolf carcass, she’d just wipe the scanning bed with a rag or a tissue and call it a day.

Without thorough and regular sterilization, the damp, stuffy lab could easily become a breeding ground. The bacteria, viruses and evolved microorganisms lurking inside might mutate again, spreading throughout the whole building and even the entire territory.

Is the food she eats every day actually clean?

What about the supplies she took to Territory Seven? And the fruit I had for lunch—where did she get it, and what did she wash it with?

Senior Expert’s scowl grew darker. He shot Xia Qing a glare that could kill and honestly wanted to crack her skull open to see what bizarre genes she was hiding in there!

“Awoooo!!!”

Sensing Zhang San’s hostility, the Crippled Wolf—hobbling on three legs—lunged forward, all four paws braced between Xia Qing and the threat. Its claws dug into the wooden floor as it bared its fangs, growling at Zhang San with a murderous glint.

Even while growling, this Evolved Wolf—talented at group combat—used its bushy tail to nudge Xia Qing’s leg, telling her to grab a weapon, and fast.

And what was Xia Qing’s weapon? A gun.

The Crippled Wolf’s first instinct was to protect her, and that touched Xia Qing. But when the wolf wanted her to pull a gun on Third Brother, guilt and dread washed over her.

She decided that after Third Brother left, she’d need to have a serious talk with the Crippled Wolf about who he really was among humans. Without Third Brother, none of them—Er, Four-Eyes, Elder Wolf, or the wolf at her side—would have survived this long.

Besides, Third Brother might look fragile, but his combat abilities were anything but. The ring of pesticide on his wrist could drop any living thing within two hundred meters—except himself—at a moment’s notice.

“Broken Back, it’s fine. Third Brother won’t hurt us. He’s just furious because our lab is a dump and he’s worried we’ll catch evolved microbes. That’s all.” Xia Qing comforted her companion first, then tried to appease her Idol. “Third Brother, the Crippled Wolf is really sensitive to emotions. Be mad all you want, but please don’t start thinking about killing…”

“If I killed you now, maybe I’d live a few years longer.” Zhang San forced down his anger and studied the wolf—nearly as tall as Xia Qing. “It’s a Magnetic Sense Evolver too?”

Xia Qing shook her head. “I’m not sure if you’d call this magnetic sense. Animals in the Evolved Forest are just extremely alert to any danger nearby.”

That’s how nature works—survival of the fittest. If an animal can’t sense danger, it doesn’t live long enough to pass on its genes.

With his ruff bristling, the Crippled Wolf kept his amber eyes locked on Zhang San, radiating killing intent. Zhang San made himself slow down and stay calm.

They stared each other down—man and wolf—for a long stretch. When the Crippled Wolf finally sheathed his fangs little by little, Zhang San pointed at the scanning bed, specifically at the wolf corpse’s head. Calmly, he asked, “Broken Back, why are you interested in studying its brain?”

The Crippled Wolf couldn’t talk, and the Idol couldn’t read wolf expressions, so Xia Qing stepped up to translate. “He wants to know how the skull was cut open.”

Zhang San kept his gaze on the wolf. “And what will you do with that knowledge?”

Xia Qing hadn’t asked, but she understood the Crippled Wolf’s way of thinking—and she knew why Third Brother was asking. “He doesn’t want to learn the surgery. He just wants to figure out why a wolf whose head was split open didn’t die, could still stand up, and ended up under human control. Isn’t that right, Broken Back?”

The normally stern Crippled Wolf turned to Xia Qing and flashed his tiny, sharp fangs—a look that was oddly adorable.

Zhang San fished a disinfecting wipe from his pocket and carefully cleaned his hands before walking over to a shabby bookshelf. He pulled down a book, quickly found a diagram of the human nervous system, and held it out for the other two to see.

“Animal death means the essential features of life have permanently vanished—body integrity destroyed, all cell activity stopped. Here’s the human nervous system. This is the brain—the most advanced control center in the human body.”

Flipping ahead three more pages, Zhang San found a full-color, full-page diagram of the human brain. With his pale, slender finger, he precisely pointed out different parts, slowly explaining, “The brain is divided into the cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum, midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata. The cerebrum’s broken into… here’s the prefrontal cortex… and the cerebral cortex is the thin gray layer on the brain’s surface…”

After having all that technical jargon dumped on her, Xia Qing fought to hide a yawn as her eyes began to water. At her side, the Crippled Wolf crouched with bright amber eyes, focused intently on the images Zhang San was pointing at.

“…So, precisely cutting out a small part of the prefrontal cortex can interfere with thought, emotion, and memory in people—or Evolved Wolves—but it doesn’t stop them from moving.”

When Zhang San finished, Xia Qing’s eyes lit up. Her Idol was worthy of being at the top of Blue Star—how did he cram that much knowledge into his head?

Zhang San shot Xia Qing, full of idle thoughts, a look, then locked eyes with the Crippled Wolf, curious how much the wolf had actually understood.

The Crippled Wolf glanced between the book and his fallen kin on the bed, lost in thought.

Xia Qing quickly reached out. “That book’s heavy, Third Brother—let me hold it for you?”

It really was. Zhang San handed over the book, then returned his scrutiny to the rough-and-ready lab. The bookshelf and portable CT scanner had come from his own territory, the Evolution Element Detector was a trade with Luo Pei, but that optical microscope—who’d they swap with for that?

Wolf fur clung to the microscope’s eyepiece, focus knobs, and stage. The floor under the table was peppered with claw gouges.

Clearly, the microscope—with the CT unit beside it—was being used mainly by the Brain-Evolved Wolf. Zhang San’s mind raced, his face growing more and more serious.

Just then, the Crippled Wolf—studying the brain diagram—looked up at Zhang San. His ruff bristled slowly.

Xia Qing wanted to warn her Idol not to overthink things in front of the Evolved Wolf, but Zhang San’s solemn expression gave her pause. As he noticed the wolf bristling, Zhang San quickly reset his attitude and emptied his mind.

The Crippled Wolf let out a few low, disgruntled growls at Zhang San before raising his paw and pointing at the prefrontal cortex on the diagram. He looked at the fallen wolf on the bed, then at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing dropped her voice. “Broken Back, do you want to know more about the prefrontal cortex?”

Zhang San, blanking his mind, silently watched how Xia Qing interacted with the wolf.

She asked, “Are you wondering how the prefrontal cortex gets removed?… No? Then what is it… Third Brother, what’s wrong?”

After a few moments of thought, the Crippled Wolf—its gloved paw limping—walked over to the scanning bed, pointed to the dead wolf’s brain, then at the page in Xia Qing’s hands.

That big paw landed exactly where Zhang San had earlier explained—the prefrontal cortex. That single movement showed just how rare and advanced this individual was: a Brain-Evolved Wolf with extraordinary command of human language, sharp observational skills, advanced reasoning, and a memory to match.

If anyone posted footage of this wolf—or even proof of its existence—it would send every animal researcher on Blue Star into a frenzy.

The person and wolf whispered and gestured back and forth for a while. Once Xia Qing finally understood what the wolf meant, she answered quietly, “No way. That’s impossible.”

The Crippled Wolf fixed Zhang San with his serious gaze and pointed a paw at him, as if—ask him!

Seeing Xia Qing falter, Zhang San spoke up. “What exactly does it want to know?”