Chapter 1077: Rescue and Escape from the Strangers’ Den

Xia Qing immediately stopped Elder Wolf from lunging at the scavenger. “Number Four, don’t kill that human. Keep him alive—he can help us catch more of their crew.”

Elder Wolf skidded to a stop and turned, racing to the other side of the cave where a rusted iron cage was fixed firmly against the stone wall.

Xia Qing pulled out a sterile glove, slipping it over her dark snakeskin glove. Only then did she open her waist pouch, take out two antidote pills, feed one to Black Wolf and walk over to the iron cage to shove the other into Number Four’s mouth.

Based on their skin tone and the double shoulder bags at their waists, Xia Qing was certain these two blue-skinned scavengers were the same group as those from Hill Thirty-Seven. The blue coating on their skin was poisonous, and since Black Wolf and Elder Wolf had bitten them, both needed the right antidote.

Then, using an iron bar from the cave, Xia Qing jammed the iron door shut and confirmed with Alpha that aside from five giant lizards locked away in a side cave, there were no other living things inside. She walked towards the iron cage.

Inside the cage lay two fully alert adult wolves and a half-grown wolf that had fallen unconscious. Their coats were filthy and matted, bellies sunken and lower bodies coated in filth, but at least their heads were unscathed. Not yet sent to the operating room to have their brain cortexes sliced off—a small mercy in a streak of misfortune.

The two adult wolves inside the cage clearly recognized Elder Wolf. Despite their weakness, they tried to crawl closer, flashing their fangs at Xia Qing as she approached. Even lying down, with jaws and whiskers trembling, their gazes were fierce and unyielding.

Elder Wolf let out a few urgent howls at the wolves, then turned back, looking hopefully at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing finally opened the cage and dragged the three wolves out to inject them with the antidote.

By now, Idol had already analyzed the drugs found in the blue-skinned scavengers’ shoulder bags and created an effective antidote.

The three wolves were so weak because they’d been dosed with a muscle-weakening agent. Once the antidote was in, they’d recover their strength in about half an hour.

But Xia Qing couldn’t wait that long. The five giant lizards in the cave meant these scavengers had ridden them there. That also meant there could be three more scavengers waiting outside.

Xia Qing had only managed to subdue two of them by catching them off guard.

Even with a suppressor on her gun, there was a good chance the people outside heard something and were now on alert. This was scavenger territory—who knew how many traps or poison pits might be hidden nearby.

Every extra minute in this cave raised the danger level for Xia Qing and the wolf pack.

She carried the three wolves over to the stove, assigning quickly with gestures. “Queen, take this one. Black Wolf, grab this one. Little Wolf’s little sister, you take this one. Number Four, you get the bad guy. We’re crawling out of the cave to hide—move, they’re about to break in!”

Xia Qing had no clue what was happening outside the cave’s iron door, but with Broken Back Wolf and Handsome Huge Wolf keeping watch at the smoke vent exit and making no noise, things seemed normal out there. So Xia Qing decided to retreat through the smoke vent.

Alpha leapt down from a rock several meters high, backing into the pitch-black smoke vent. He gripped the throat of the largest evolved wolf Xia Qing handed over, dragging it quickly backward.

Little Wolf’s little sister copied the move, picking up the half-grown wolf and backing into the cave. Black Wolf followed with the second adult wolf, and finally, Elder Wolf dragged along a human prisoner.

Left at the rear, Xia Qing wasn’t wasting a moment.

Relying on a decade’s worth of experience scavenging after the disaster, she dashed for the clean, tiger-skin-covered bed on the left of the cave. Swiftly, she reached beneath the wooden boards, pulling two heavy little packs from a hidden compartment and stuffing them into her own bag.

On her way to the other side of the cave, Xia Qing grabbed a handful of white, evolved grass roots from the bamboo frame near the stove and tossed them in her bag. Then she ran toward the giant lizard cave and used a stick to bang against the stone wall.

Aside from the wooden bed on the left, the whole cave was filthy and chaotic. The iron cages and the lizard cave hadn’t been cleaned in at least two days—but the ground outside the lizard cave was spotless.

What did that mean?

It meant there was something suspicious going on. The people here had cleaned that spot so no one could track their footprints to their stash.

Xia Qing tapped her stick from left to right, searching for a hidden stone chamber. Soon enough, she found a patch of wall beside the giant lizard cave, at least ten centimeters thick, plastered with cement and disguised as stone.

Should she waste time searching for a keyhole, a key, or some other secret mechanism?

No chance—no time for that!

As a Strength-Based Evolver, Xia Qing kicked open the wooden door. After confirming there was no one lying in ambush, she rushed inside to quickly gather supplies.

Sacks of grain and canned food? Leave them behind.

Jars filled with unidentified chemicals? Leave them.

Three homemade firearms? Not worth it.

Half a box of ammunition? Taking that!

A wooden box of Yi Stones? Now we’re talking—grabbed right away!

Judging by how long she’d taken, Elder Wolf at the rear was probably about to drag the hostage out of the vent as well.

Xia Qing gave up searching for more supplies, squeezed into the smoke vent, dragging her bag out after Elder Wolf. Once clear, she crammed everything into her backpack and hoisted the unconscious hostage. “Number Four, lead the way. Let’s get out of here and find a safe place to hide!”

Elder Wolf dashed ahead, Xia Qing close on his heels. “Queen, keep up!”

Handsome Huge Wolf, Broken Back Wolf, and Black Wolf followed behind her, each carrying one of the still-weak rescued wolves. Alpha and Little Wolf’s little sister covered the rear—the group began their retreat.

After sprinting over two kilometers through the gorge, Elder Wolf scrambled diagonally up a nearly vertical rock face, carrying a wolf. The rest of the Northern Wolf Pack quickly followed, then Xia Qing with the hostage, followed by Alpha and Little Wolf’s little sister.

After climbing twenty to thirty meters diagonally, Elder Wolf led everyone into a small cave tucked in a fissure in the rock wall.

Once she got inside, Xia Qing realized the cave was shaped like a gourd: narrow at the entrance, but spacious within. There was a wind tunnel inside, hinting at another exit.

Seeing Xia Qing finally arrive, Elder Wolf nudged her over beside their three recovering companions.

Xia Qing listened carefully and checked outside the mountain fissure. Once sure there were no scavengers nearby, she knelt by the three wolves, feeling for broken bones and other wounds. Finding none, she rubbed antiparasitic powder onto the two adult wolves—both still baring their teeth at her—and the unconscious half-grown wolf, then dripped repellent onto the back of their necks.

Once a helicopter thundered overhead, Xia Qing pulled out her phone, locked onto a satellite signal and called Yang Jin.

She quickly and succinctly explained the situation, then asked, “Are there any Azure Dragon Squad members at the border of Hui One and Hui Three?”

Yang Jin understood her meaning. “Xie Yu’s team is in the Hui One, Mount Twenty-Nine area. Where are you right now?”

Xia Qing wasn’t about to reveal her exact location before terms were set. “Captain Yang, get Captain Xie over here to catch the Magnetic Sense Evolver and any scavengers lurking outside the cave. Their gear is yours. Whatever’s left inside, let’s split eighty-twenty—eighty for me, twenty for you.”

Yang Jin laughed, his raspy voice tickling her ears. “Sister Qing, I bet you’ve already taken all the valuables from that cave. Whatever’s left, let’s do a seventy-thirty split.”

“Eighty-twenty,” Xia Qing insisted. “These scavengers have high-grade Yi Stones—I’m sure the cave still holds more. If you won’t agree, I’ll just team up with the wolves for a raid instead.”

With unknown numbers and gear, not to mention the threat of scavengers tracking them down in the gorge at any time, Xia Qing preferred to cooperate with the Azure Dragon Squad over trusting only the wolf pack.

Last winter, her overconfidence led her to fight the Fire Phoenix hunting squad with Alpha, Broken Back Wolf and Er. They all ended up poisoned, nearly wiped out, and Zhang He is still working with the research group to clear the gases from Hill Fifty-Five.

Now Xia Qing was stronger—and much more cautious. These scavengers had plenty of tricks and experience dealing with large beasts. They were tight with Fire Phoenix and always had a dozen different beast-specific chemicals in their packs.

So, rather than risk the wolves, Xia Qing was willing to give up twenty percent to work with Xie Yu’s team.