Chapter 1072: A Door Too Familiar

“Broken Back, this door uses too much power. Could you please stop playing with it so much?”

By the twentieth time Broken Back Wolf strutted in through her brand new front door, Xia Qing had reached her limit. Carrying the food bowl, she called out, “Queen, can you do something about Broken Back? Even the bugs are getting inside now!”

Alpha lay lazily on the sofa, not even bothering to lift an eyelid.

Just inside the door, Broken Back Wolf grinned at Xia Qing, flashing its adorable little fangs.

Xia Qing said firmly, “No way, I only have one of these. If your pack installs a door like this, it’ll draw a crowd of humans here to check it out.”

Alpha finally glanced over at the heavy door when he heard Xia Qing, while Broken Back went quiet, deep in thought as it stared at the doorway.

Xia Qing set Old Goat’s food bowl on its low table and said seriously to Broken Back Wolf, “Doesn’t this door look kind of familiar to you?”

Before the new door, Xia Qing felt the old front door—with all its cracks from being bumped and stomped on—was both unsafe and ugly. That battered thing just didn’t match her house anymore.

The new door solved her safety issues, but honestly, it wasn’t much to look at either—the style just clashed!

What she wanted was the kind of front door Territory Seven had—the one that actually looked like a front door, complete with facial recognition smart lock and warehouse security. What her Idol had sent, though, wasn’t anywhere close to that. Instead, it was—

Seeing Broken Back Wolf couldn’t place it, Xia Qing pointed up at the door. “If we hung up a sign that says ‘Surgery in Progress’ here, this would be a dead ringer for the door to the operating room where Third Brother did your spine surgery.”

That injury had probably been the toughest, most unforgettable chapter in Broken Back Wolf’s life. It stared at Xia Qing’s new door, expression serious and thoughtful.

Xia Qing brought her food over, sat at the table, and started munching on a fragrant, fluffy mantou she’d traded from Territory Seven. She went on, “If you put a door like this on Hill Fifty-Five, people would think it’s a secret human lab hidden in Evolved Forest. They’d find ways to break in, and that’s dangerous.”

Once she’d finished her meal, Xia Qing placed the lab design diagrams and budget list in front of Broken Back Wolf. “Broken Back, our lab will have five rooms: this one’s for your CT unit, this one for your CT display, this one’s for your magnifying glass and my Evolution Element Detector, this is our changing and disinfection room, and the last one is for me to grow plants. Total costs for materials and construction come to 850,000—your share is two walnut-sized Yi Stones.”

Watching Broken Back Wolf study the budget, Xia Qing couldn’t help but suspect it recognized some of the words—it had been watching all those subtitled videos, after all.

She was about to ask when she heard the Northern Gate beep. The Elder Wolf, gone all day, had finally returned. Hearing its footsteps, Er hopped off the new hammock chair Xia Qing had set up and bounded out to greet him.

Xia Qing stood up too, carrying Old Four’s dinner. She walked over to the operating room-style front door. The smart lock recognized her, the door slid silently open to the right, and as soon as she stepped out, a microwave sensor closed it again behind her—sealing shut with barely a whisper.

No question about it, this door was way more convenient than the one Xia Qing had rigged before.

Broken Back Wolf stared at the door a moment longer, then turned back to studying the photos and price list. Meanwhile, Alpha lazily pressed the TV remote with his big paw and started flipping through animal videos.

Elder Wolf and Er sniffed each other in greeting before Elder Wolf made his way over to Xia Qing, lifting his head for attention.

“Old Four, you’re staying in tonight?” Xia Qing asked casually as she helped him out of the protective suit. Lately, Elder Wolf had been coming and going from dawn to dusk. She had no idea what he was up to—tracking friends, hunting rivals—she could only guess.

Since the battle between Fire Phoenix and Apocalypse two nights ago, Xia Qing had picked up word from Yang Jin and other sources that some members of both Fire Phoenix and Apocalypse had fled into Evolved Forest.

Right now, Hui Three’s side had stepped up patrols along their border with the Evolved Forest beside Hui One. Xia Qing worried Elder Wolf might wander over there, so she’d gotten up early and asked Er to persuade the stubborn wolf to wear a protective dog suit today.

Those suits had just been traded from Tang Huai. Funny enough, for someone with no dogs in his Territory, Tang Huai still had two protective dog suits lying around.

Once the suit was off, Elder Wolf gave himself a hard shake, then tucked into food and water. Xia Qing checked his tail and head, making sure there weren’t any big parasites, then stood up. “Old Four, eat, then get some rest. You can take your meds an hour from now. Er, take his food bowl inside later, okay?”

Old Four kept eating while Er beamed at Xia Qing, grinning wide.

She ruffled Er’s head, then went back inside to sit next to Broken Back, giving it a detailed rundown of the items on the quote.

She was surprised when, after all his study, the wolf only wanted to pay a single walnut-sized Yi Stone!

Xia Qing shook her head at that. “A walnut-sized stone is only going for 420,000 on the market. This lab costs 850,000, so you owe two of them.”

Broken Back Wolf put a massive paw right on top of the room in the design covered in sprouts.

“Right, that grow room is for me,” Xia Qing explained patiently. “But this is my territory. The lab’s here, so I’m responsible for keeping it safe. I provide the water, power, disinfectant, protective suits, everything—so that’s why you need to pay two Yi Stones.”

Broken Back locked eyes with Xia Qing, pondering.

Xia Qing gave in a little. “How about this? You give me one walnut-sized Yi Stone and one pigeon egg-sized Yi Stone—total investment, 660,000. I’ll cover the remaining 190,000, plus handle security and all the future disinfectant and lab supplies. Deal?”

When Broken Back still said nothing, Xia Qing went on, spelling it out. The Yi Stones the wolf pack possessed were just like the Pure Spring Water Xia Qing herself traded—only safe for transactions with a fixed partner, namely her. Otherwise, someone might end up dead.

Back in the day, when Yang Jin traded her Pure Spring Water, he’d given her a 20% discount. Xia Qing wasn’t that generous—she dealt with the wolves at full market rate, making her the best human trading partner on Blue Star!

After more than half an hour of bargaining, Broken Back finally flashed that tiny sharp fang again.

“Perfect—Handsome Wolf, you’re something else.” Xia Qing packed up the quote and blueprints, genuinely impressed by how sharp Broken Back was getting. Negotiating with him took more and more effort. “Queen, don’t forget to bring Big Wolf tomorrow for the Medicinal Bath. Broken Back, remember your laptop—I’ll put some new videos on it. Third Brother wants us to learn them.”

While she was at it, Xia Qing planned to export the video playback records from Broken Back’s laptop and send the data to Idol.

To help steer Broken Back to the right path, Idol had Xia Qing teach him the lab safety rules and even a streamlined course in medical ethics. When they finished, he’d be taking a hands-on evaluation with Idol himself…

Whatever was going through Broken Back’s mind now, Xia Qing had no idea. At any rate, she felt a lot of pressure herself.