Chapter 1074: Wolf Pack Night Run

Thud!

Awooo!!!

The sharp sound of glass being knocked and the deep roar of the Handsome Huge Wolf rang out one after another. Lying in bed on the second floor, Xia Qing snatched up her night vision goggles, slipped them on, rolled out of bed, landed with her right knee and left hand on the floor, and drew her homemade pistol from her waist with her right hand.

Awooooo—

Number Four let out an urgent low howl and scraped fiercely at the cement drying stand under the eaves, making a harsh grating sound.

“Awoo!” Little Wolf’s little sister let out a young but fierce snarl.

“Number Four, I heard you,” Xia Qing called back, standing up and quickly pulling on her protective suit before heading downstairs. The automatic operating room door slid open, revealing Number Four and the Handsome Huge Wolf with Little Wolf’s little sister, each poised for battle on opposite sides of the yard, while Er tried to mediate. Alpha, Crippled Wolf, and Black Wolf watched from beneath the eaves, making no move to join the fight.

The moment Xia Qing appeared, Number Four, clad in a protective suit, ignored the Handsome Huge Wolf and Little Wolf’s little sister and let out an anxious howl at her, then turned to urge her to follow.

It was four thirty in the morning—the darkest hour before dawn. For Number Four to be this desperate to come for her, he must have found something important.

“Number Four, I’ll go with you. But first, have some nutrient shake.” Xia Qing hurried inside, grabbed a handful of nutrient shakes and half a bucket of pure spring water, and dropped a shake into a basin. “Drink this, Number Four. It’ll help you regain your strength.”

Number Four came over and, with Little Wolf’s little sister still snarling in the background, quickly finished the basin of nutrient shake and pure spring water, then barked softly at Xia Qing, urging her to hurry.

Xia Qing wanted to move faster too, but she had only her own two feet to rely on. So, she poured another huge basin of water, added four more nutrient shakes, and brought it to the North Wolf Pack, barely visible in the darkness. “Queen, you all should have some too. It’ll boost your strength. Then let’s follow Number Four together.”

Number Four’s heavy breathing said it all—the place he needed Xia Qing to reach was somewhere she could never get to quickly on her own two legs. This time, teaming up with the Handsome Huge Wolf was a must.

Seeing Alpha unmoved, Xia Qing pointed to the still-snapping Little Wolf’s little sister. “Queen, Handsome Wolf, let’s bring her along. It’s time she saw a bit of the world.”

Alpha finally lowered his head to take a few sips of nutrient shake. Crippled Wolf, Black Wolf, and Little Wolf’s little sister followed suit. Only the Handsome Huge Wolf, silver-grey fur gleaming in the night, stayed perfectly still.

Xia Qing gently carried the basin to tonight’s main force, soothing him in a soft voice: “Come on, Big Wolf, have some too. Afterwards, you’ll be even stronger. I know you’ll beat the Western Wolf King one day.”

Crippled Wolf watched Xia Qing, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The Handsome Huge Wolf kept a stone-cold face, unmoving. Even when Er came over and brushed up against him, he stayed put.

Number Four kept urging softly. Xia Qing didn’t hold back, pushing the basin right to the deaf-acting wolf’s nose. Only then did the Handsome Huge Wolf open his mouth and finish off the shake.

Xia Qing set the basin aside, quickly packed her backpack, and grabbed her Black Blade, sniper rifle, and homemade pistols. She called out to her teammates, “Er, you and Old Goat are in charge at home. The Queen and I are heading out with the others—we won’t be back until daylight.”

Er beamed, flashing a wide, happy grin.

Xia Qing patted his unscarred forehead, then took off northward with Number Four. The four wolves of the North Wolf Pack all looked over at Alpha. When the ‘beep’ of the northern gate sounded, Alpha, with a chunk missing from his ear, finally stretched long and lazily before running out. The pack followed right away.

While running, Xia Qing connected with Hu Zifeng’s Squad, instructing them to guard her territory. Then she took off at top speed after Number Four.

Xia Qing had just finished a medicinal bath, her joints practically humming with energy like well-oiled gears. Now she was running nearly as fast as a Fifth-Rank Speed Evolver. She couldn’t help but smile.

Awesome!

The rush of wind in her ears, the feeling of sprinting through the Evolved Forest—nothing beat it!

But once they left Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine and plunged into the thick unknown forest, Xia Qing slowed down. Number Four doubled back several times to spur her on, and Little Wolf’s little sister—teaming with Xia Qing for the first time—howled at her over and over. When that didn’t change how slow she was, the little wolf lost its temper and lifted a paw, ready to give her a beating.

This was the first North Wolf Pack wolf ever to try and strike Xia Qing. Just as Xia Qing drew her blade to give the wolf a swat, Crippled Wolf and Alpha both jumped in, blocking her and the wolf, putting a stop to the squabble.

By the time they reached Hill Forty-Eight, Xia Qing was out of steam, stumbling forward while struggling to steady her breath and hammering heartbeat, desperate to ease the fire in her lungs.

Training had made her quicker, but she wasn’t a Speed Evolver. Long-distance sprinting burned through her energy, hitting her muscles, joints, heart, lungs, and nerves hard. She had to slow down or risk new injuries—and all the pain from that bath a few hours ago would have been for nothing.

Old Wolf had already pulled ahead but soon did a loop back, circling Xia Qing with restless energy. After a moment to recover, Xia Qing fished out a restraint harness and tried to negotiate with the Handsome Huge Wolf. “Hey, Big Wolf, can you carry me for a bit? I really can’t run anymore.”

The Handsome Huge Wolf acted like she was invisible, still standing in the middle of the pack. But as Xia Qing approached with the rope, he bared those snowy white fangs in warning.

Grr—

Before he could snarl, Alpha shut it down with an authoritative growl. The Handsome Huge Wolf snapped his mouth shut and glared at Xia Qing with ice-blue eyes full of murderous intent—anyone else would think he might tear her apart.

“Thanks, Big Wolf. Once we finish this mission, I’ll get you some tasty food and a power-up agent,” Xia Qing said, unfazed by his tantrum. She quickly caught his two front legs, looped the harness on, and climbed onto his back.

She hadn’t even settled in before the Handsome Huge Wolf shot forward—Xia Qing almost toppled off but clung to his neck just in time. The whole pack surged forward at full speed.

Once Xia Qing caught her breath, she noticed that Little Wolf’s little sister, running just behind Alpha, matched his posture and build exactly—a smaller version of Alpha himself.

Well, would you look at that!

Turns out, Alpha and Crippled Wolf’s pup had both brain domain and speed abilities—a dual-system evolver! If nothing went wrong, in a year or two, this little one would be a backbone of the Northern Wolf Pack. Might even grow up to be the next Wolf King.

After half an hour sprinting at full tilt, the pack had run more than sixty miles, cutting diagonally across Hill Forty-Seven into Hill Forty-Five, then on to Hill Forty-Three. Both the older wolf and the Handsome Huge Wolf (carrying Xia Qing) were starting to tire, so the pace eased.

Alpha halted, signaling the pack to rest. He shot a glance at Xia Qing, sniffed noses with Crippled Wolf, and then climbed onto a nearby mountain peak to scout out the terrain.

By now, the sky was paling in the east and the sun was creeping up. Xia Qing pressed a button on her protective mask to retract the night vision lenses, gave the Handsome Huge Wolf a drink of water, and then went over to Old Wolf, who was resting on a stone nearby, to massage his spasming limbs.

There was no need to ask—Xia Qing had a pretty good idea where Old Wolf was taking her. It was the same route the invaders from the Ninth Center Magnetic Sense Squad took as they fled during the first Devastation Rain attack.

Later, Xia Qing and Xin Yu had analyzed it together. It was a path that avoided the core territories of nearby large predators, a secret passage through the Evolved Forest to reach the Hui One Base.