Chapter 1142: A Feast of Harvests and Hidden Skills

This time, the eleven-person team came back from their bird-hunting expedition with two Red Lanterns, one Yellow Lantern, and three live crocodiles—a combined weight of 2,545 jin. They also netted 145 live birds weighing 5 to 9 jin each, plus 155 dead birds. The total included 24 Green Lanterns, 59 Yellow Lanterns, and 217 Red Lanterns, all together weighing 2,367 jin.

With this haul and such a high proportion of edible game, the team was over the moon. Even Di Ming and the other territory members who’d come to watch were left speechless.

The large quantity was thanks to this time’s team—everyone’s strength evolution was on the high side, so they could carry much more back.

And the high rate of edible prey? First, because Xia Qing had pinpointed accurate hunting spots ahead of time from Crippled Wolf. Second, Xin Yu’s C-class Magnetic Sense meant she could sort the best prey from the rest.

Of course, Xia Qing would never reveal either of those reasons. Her only plan was to quietly hand Xin Yu the extra share she’d earned, after all the loot was divvied up.

Xin Yu didn’t lack for points, but it was a matter of principle—she got what she earned, no more, no less.

By contribution, Xia Qing carried out most of the work—scouting, defending, and hauling—so naturally she got half of the total supplies and first pick.

She took four Green Lantern black-maned geese, one Green Lantern wild duck, and 120 jin of Yellow Lantern crocodile meat. That wasn’t quite her full share of the value, but after other team members made their selections and the rest was changed into points, someone would bring Xia Qing her Points Card for the balance.

Xia Qing didn’t interfere with whether teammates took raw game or points instead.

She left all 120 jin of crocodile meat in Territory Seven, freeze-drying it so the group could eat it later. She also set aside a Green Lantern goose and a Green Lantern duck for Idol, eagerly inviting him for iron-pot-braised goose at her place that evening before dashing off to her own territory.

That afternoon, the kitchens of every Alliance member’s territory were filled with mouth-watering meat smells and the Lords’ channel buzzed with laughter and chatter. Wen Nengjie from Territory Seventeen had traded for a Yellow Lantern goose too, chatting excitedly with others about cooking the perfect goose as he plucked feathers.

Besides the two Green Lantern birds Xia Qing sent to Territory Seven, Zhang San had also traded a few Green Lantern birds with other lords and happily joined the lively debate about how to take the gaminess out of wild meats and unlock their flavor.

Only two weren’t online: Xin Yu, who didn’t like to talk, and Xia Qing, who was still handling team business.

Even though she was offline, Xin Yu’s kitchen in Territory Eight still smelled delicious. Meanwhile, the kitchen in Section Three was eerily quiet—not a whiff of smoke or scent in the air.

Out in the yard, three black-maned geese with clipped wings raised a ruckus from their cage, so loud that Xia Qing shot to her feet mid-study from the nineteenth episode of her Medical Ethics course.

Er, who’d already started nodding off, thought something bad had happened and leapt off the sofa in a fighting stance. Old Goat, pedaling the generator bike, didn’t even slow down—he just kept going full speed.

“Er, it’s fine. Go back to what you were doing,” Xia Qing called as she dashed outside, grabbed the cage, and hauled the three geese straight into the breeding greenhouse, right up to the insect racks.

She couldn’t stand the noise, but the bugs sure didn’t care.

Back inside, Xia Qing settled at the table and resumed her studies.

“Baa~”

Old Goat hopped off the generator bike and walked over, nudging Xia Qing with his big head. Er, who’d been watching TV with her and dozed off, also looked up sleepily.

“Old Goat, Er, you’re hungry, aren’t you? I’ll make something.” Xia Qing cranked the video volume, then headed to the kitchen to prepare a feed mix for Old Goat, plus a pot of rabbit meat with spinach leaves and poached eggs.

When the eggs were done, she set aside three for Er and ladled some broth into his bowl, adding seasonings last. Carrying the little pot, she plopped down in front of the TV to eat and watch at the same time.

No way around it—she had to squeeze in study time, so there was no fancy cooking today.

At five in the afternoon, Crippled Wolf showed up at Section Three right on time for the lab inspection and the Medical Ethics exam.

Why so punctual?

He’d pestered Xia Qing with three video calls all afternoon just to double-check the exam time, to the point she nearly blocked him.

Maybe Crippled Wolf sensed her annoyance, because he brought three walnuts as a meeting gift. After handing them over, he flopped onto the sofa, watched Xia Qing muttering her notes for a bit, then turned on the TV to watch a program about bird migration.

Xia Qing sighed. “Crippled, you sure you’ve learned all your Medical Ethics? Third Brother’s coming to check what we know.”

Crippled Wolf just bared his pearly little fangs at the TV, looking smug as could be.

Xia Qing felt even less certain, grabbed her laptop and rushed upstairs to cram notes on the second floor behind a closed door.

By six o’clock she was back in the kitchen, fishing well-soaked goose chunks out of the pure spring water to blanch and drain. Following Yang Jin’s recipe, she first stir-fried the goose in a dry pot to get some oil, set the meat aside, then fried up the green onion, ginger, garlic, star anise, bay leaves, and chili in the rendered fat, added yellow bean paste, and finally put the goose back in to finish browning.

With the smell of meat filling the kitchen and a basin of Green Lantern hazel mushrooms, potatoes, and wide noodles soaking nearby, Xia Qing finally felt a little more confident. If not for Idol coming, she’d never have splurged on such rare ingredients.

By six-thirty, Xia Qing was at the Section Three North Gate to welcome Idol.

Wearing Hui Three Special Forces gear and a one-way protective mask, Zhang San stepped into Section Three. He walked the neatly carved mountain path down through the buffer forest, first stopping to check out Xia Qing’s bee box, then inspecting the sprouting Green Lantern fig cuttings she’d planted. Only after Xia Qing’s enthusiastic invitation did he head to the sweet potato greenhouse, digging up two Green Lantern sweet potatoes himself before finally making his way to the lab.

Zhang San pulled off his gloves, dug out a disinfecting wipe, and cleaned his hands. “Where’s Crippled?” he asked.

“He’s studying in the house. Want me to call him?” Xia Qing replied instantly.

But before she could call out, Crippled Wolf—who’d heard the voices—had already opened the door and strode over, taking a serious stance behind Xia Qing and eyeing Zhang San suspiciously.

With Zhang San’s eyes hidden behind the one-way protective mask, Crippled Wolf felt a surge of danger.

He needed no prompting—Zhang San took off his mask, pulled a bag from his backpack, and dumped a Red Lantern goose carcass onto the ground. Following the familiar code Xia Qing and Crippled Wolf used, he pointed first at Crippled Wolf, then at the goose, then at the lab door.

“Crippled, take this goose into the lab and scan it with the CT unit.”

Perfect!

Xia Qing let out a huge sigh of relief. No written exam from Third Brother—only a practical. Way easier!

Crippled Wolf glanced back at Xia Qing.

Before Xia Qing could react, Zhang San sternly repeated, “Crippled, you need to carry it yourself. Xia Qing can’t help.”

Xia Qing…

So strict…

Nerves crept in again…

She suddenly felt the urge to hit the restroom…

Crippled Wolf paused, then twisted to pry open a pouch on the back of his protective suit, pulled out a bag with his teeth, opened it up with his claws, stuffed the goose inside, and zipped it tight.

With all the skill in the world, Crippled Wolf held the bag in his mouth, nudged open the lab’s screen door, carefully washed his paws in the basin at the threshold, wiped off on the straw mat nearby, then stood up and tapped the six-digit passcode on the entry pad with his front paw—smooth as silk—and strode inside with the goose.

After the evolution events on Blue Star, in this eleventh year of catastrophe, an evolved wolf with memory and situational learning on par with humans—no, greater—stood right here. He could even remember a six-digit code!

He was rewriting the history of Blue Star’s evolution.

While Crippled Wolf pressed ahead inside, Idol just stood outside the door, unmoving. Xia Qing gathered her courage and quietly urged, “Third Brother, aren’t you coming in?”