Chapter 1154: Aftermath under the Toon Tree

“Thank you, Sister Qing!”

Zhu Zhenming hadn’t seen how Xia Qing drove off the wolves, nor did he care where they went. All his focus was on the top-tier sniper lying motionless ahead, blood seeping from his neck. After thanking her, Zhu Zhenming dragged his injured leg over, bound the sniper’s arms, turned him over, removed the protective mask, and checked his breathing. “It’s Phantom! He’s still alive—barely. Maybe we can save him!”

He quickly injected a sedative and began emergency care while calling Military Command, urging them to send a helicopter and military doctors right away. Then he turned to Xia Qing: “Sister Qing, do you have any miracle medicine?”

Catching a top-tier sniper alive was worth far more than a dead one. Without hesitation, Xia Qing pulled out an injection and a special coagulant, both traded from her Idol, from her shoulder bag, then moved to help Zhu Zhenming save Phantom.

After that, Xia Qing stood and glanced down the hillside where Xie Yun was tending to the other wounded. She then walked to Tang Zhou and helped treat his injuries.

While binding his own leg, Zhu Zhenming couldn’t fight his curiosity. “Sister Qing, of the two Evolved Wolves just now, which one was Number Four?”

Xia Qing answered calmly, “The wolf that recovered in my territory was Number Four. I thought it was him who showed up.”

With Captain’s gag order forbidding any mention of Section Three to outsiders, Tang Zhou came to Xia Qing’s rescue. “Sister Qing is just worried, that’s all. Your territory’s over three hundred miles from here. No old wolf could make it that far. Those two wolves only wanted to kill Phantom. They pinned Zhu just to stop you from rescuing him.”

“I guess that adolescent wolf just lacked experience. That’s why Phantom’s still breathing.” Zhu Zhenming quickly finished bandaging his leg, then pressed his walkie-talkie. “Teams, report your casualties.”

In this battle, Hui Three’s thirteen-person squad lost two and had five wounded, but took down nine intruders and captured four alive.

Half an hour later, Xia Qing boarded a military helicopter, flying back to the bird-hunting site on Hill Sixty South of Hui Three, picking up the sniper mission where she left off.

At six the next morning, Luo Pei arrived by helicopter for the shift change. Smiling with relief, he gave her left shoulder a reassuring pat. “Go home and get some rest. You’re off tonight.”

According to plan, Xia Qing would’ve returned for bird-hunting duty that night. Worried Luo Pei was concerned for her injuries, she volunteered. “Luo, I’m fine. I can come back tonight.”

Luo Pei grinned. “You not showing up is more intimidating than you being here in person.”

News of Xia Qing, Hui Three’s top sniper, had already spread. Her absence tonight meant she could be lurking anywhere, ready to snipe anyone sneaking into Hui Three Base. That alone made troublemakers even more wary.

Xia Qing got the idea. With Zhang Ling, she boarded the helicopter, flying against the stream of migratory birds back to Section One of the Northern Territory.

Flathead still hadn’t returned from his snake-hunting trip to Hill Sixty. Quietly, Xia Qing made her way through Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine, scanned herself in at the territory gate, skirted the Wild Grass Wall, and spotted smoke curling from the kitchen chimney by the fields beyond the hill. Morning mist and autumn air blended, infusing the whole scene with a unique peace.

Flocks of migrants flew overhead, birds of prey circled and swooped above, yet Xia Qing felt a deep sense of peace unique to her territory.

“Clop-clop-clop—”

At the base of the Toon Tree, Old Goat caught the scent of his companion coming home and charged over in a huff. Er was quicker, arriving at Xia Qing’s side and sniffing her glove curiously.

Er’s sense of smell was far too sharp.

“You’re right, I did meet Number Four in the Evolved Forest. He’s made a full recovery.” Xia Qing stroked Er’s dew-soaked fur, then pulled a freshly cut bundle of Green Lantern grass from her backpack and happily held it out to Old Goat. “Here! I found you some premium forage! Try it!”

Old Goat evaded her dirty hand, bit down on the fresh grass and started eating.

“Did you two sleep under the Toon Tree last night?” Xia Qing asked, handing out grass while leading her two soggy companions down the slope.

Old Goat focused on eating, Er just grinned, neither bothering to answer. Xia Qing didn’t need words; their soaked fur and muddy protective suits were answer enough.

It was migratory bird season. Since Xia Qing was gone the night before, Old Goat—so protective of his turf—couldn’t defend the whole region, so he settled for guarding the Toon Tree. She’d reminded Er to protect the house, the injured wolf in the den, and Old Goat, so Er had stayed nearby in the Buffer Forest.

Heading down the hillside, Xia Qing checked on the Green Lantern Bees in the flower shed, fed the Black-Maned Geese and breadworms in the greenhouse, then strolled past the greenhouses to the meeting room kitchen where the smell of roasted meat greeted her. There she found Captain Yang, apron on, making breakfast.

What Yang Jin saw was a very different picture: Xia Qing in protective gear, sniper rifle slung on her back, a bundle of grass in one hand, an Evolved Sheep grazing behind her and a wolf baring its teeth at him in front.

Xia Qing might look calm, but Yang Jin sensed the change in her, and he understood why. But now wasn’t the time. “I pilfered a handful of celery from your place for breakfast. We’ll eat in half an hour. Go wash up first, Sister Qing, then we can talk over breakfast.”

Xia Qing nodded, led her buddies home, cleaned up, changed, made breakfast for the pair, then fed the chickens and the calf before hurrying out to the little house by the fields.

Yang Jin placed a huge platter of golden meat pies on the table. “I hunted a flock of wild geese on Hill Forty-Nine at dawn. I used Green Lantern meat and celery for the filling. Give it a try, Sister Qing. See how it tastes?”

“Let me boil these eggs first. I also brought my own tea soup; you just add hot water to drink it.” Xia Qing set four eggs to boil and poured hot water over her tea soup for Yang Jin, then offered an apology. “I shouldn’t have put Tang Zhou’s team on the task last night. How much are the medical bills for the wounded and funeral expenses and stipends for the fallen? I’ll pay.”

If she hadn’t insisted, the Base Director wouldn’t have sent Tang Zhou’s team to intercept the intruders. Sun Si, the mid-level sniper, and another teammate wouldn’t have died. Four more from Tang Zhou’s squad wouldn’t be wounded either.

Azure Dragon Squad’s fifth-ranked team lost or injured six people in one go. Xia Qing had every reason to apologize and compensate Captain Yang Jin.

Yang Jin had guessed from Tang Zhou’s casualty report that Xia Qing would blame herself. That’s why, after a nearly 20-hour mission, he dropped by to cook and talk with her over breakfast.

During the Calamity Years, everyone danced on a knife’s edge and saw too many die. Xia Qing was resilient, but this time was different.

This was her first mission as a top sniper. Though all thirteen intruders were caught and Phantom taken alive, the loss of seven teammates weighed heavily on her.

Yang Jin knew that feeling inside out. He was well aware that Xia Qing, used to surviving on her own for years, would work through her pain eventually. But he still couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

He had plenty of experience dealing with this sort of thing. At the very least, he could help Xia Qing sort through her feelings.