Chapter 1162: The Bird Storm Approaches

When the raptors took flight, it made everyone in Section One of the North even more anxious than when wild beasts attack. These massive birds, with wingspans over six or seven meters, could reach their territory overhead in just minutes. So as soon as the warning came, the territory lords armed themselves and stood guard at the edge of the fields, preparing for the worst.

The Northern Wolf Pack and the Bear Pack watched from their own territories, keeping an eye on the flocks clashing in the northern and northwestern skies. On Hill Forty-Nine, the Azure Dragon Squad’s bird-hunting team methodically sorted their latest catch, hauling birds back to the food depot for cold storage.

Yang Jin, directing onsite, paused and tapped the touchpad on his Bluetooth headphones. “Teacher Tan?”

Tan Junjie answered, “It’s me. The Inspection Team’s drone 23 was attacked by birds and is now offline. Before the second drone arrives, can the Azure Dragon Squad provide us with real-time intelligence on the migrating flocks?”

“Of course. I’ll have Xuanyu contact Su Ming and get you live updates.” Yang Jin ended the call and looked to his teammate Li Xuanyu.

Li Xuanyu, the team’s Level 6 Auditory Evolutionary who handled reconnaissance, intel analysis and comms, nodded right away and dialed Inspection Team’s Su Ming.

Just as the territory lords began to feel uneasy from the lack of live updates and were about to ask for news, Tan Junjie’s calm, steady voice rang out again. “Attention, everyone—the mallard flock is locked in combat with the raptors and has slowed its advance. Meanwhile, a group of at least 2,000 Bai Liu plovers and iron-billed plovers will cross our skies in ten minutes at an altitude of 3,000 meters.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the news. In Territory Eleven, the brain-evolved veteran Di Ming spoke up. “Plover species like these are small birds native to Bai Liu. They’re not very aggressive, but their endurance is remarkable. With a 3,000-meter flight path, they don’t mean to land here.”

“Hearing Mingzi say that, I feel a lot safer,” Kuang Qingwei from Territory Six chimed in. Having a brain-evolved ally really put him at ease.

As the temperature steadily climbed, Wen Nengjie in Territory Seventeen looked worried about disaster if the mallards drew the wrong kind of attention. “Captain Tan, what if the mallards and raptors bring their fight over to us?”

Zhu Li couldn’t take it, “Jie, can you wish for something good for once?”

“Seriously!” Tang Huai added right after.

“Bzzzt—”

“Incoming video call from your buddy, Broken Back.”

When Xia Qing answered, she didn’t just get an eyeful of the Crippled Wolf’s big nose—Alpha’s stern warning echoed loud and clear, along with a chorus of frantic bird calls. She hugged Er’s neck to calm him, then asked, “Broken Back, did the raptors make it into your territory’s skies?”

Crippled Wolf glanced up, then down at the phone. After a thoughtful pause, he gripped the phone’s clear bag with his teeth, propped it up on a rock, and adjusted the angle so Xia Qing could watch the aerial battle for herself.

“Broken Back, you really are the smartest wolf at the top of the food chain. Setting the phone up like this lets me see the mallards and the raptors perfectly.” As Xia Qing praised Crippled Wolf, she peered through his filthy screen at the black shapes circling the two raptors like tornadoes.

Despite being attacked by raptors, the mallard flock didn’t scatter—instead, they fought back. Xia Qing asked in surprise, “Broken Back, are there Evolved fighters among these mallards?”

Crippled Wolf’s serious face filled the screen, baring a tiny fang at Xia Qing. Then he lifted a massive paw for emphasis.

The chaos overhead didn’t faze the wolf pack much, but after watching countless videos, Crippled Wolf understood just how much harm birds could do to human farmland. That’s why he called Xia Qing again.

Watching the migratory bird storm draw closer, Xia Qing got his message right away. “Thanks, Handsome Wolf. I’ll tighten up our defenses and protect the crops. If things get out of hand, I’ll use the helicopter to fight back. You need to…”

She hadn’t even finished the sentence when she saw Yang Jin’s call come in. Xia Qing ended the chat with Crippled Wolf and was about to call Yang Jin back, but Er, still in her arms, had already spun around and started howling north.

The moment Xia Qing turned—wow, Yang Jin in a special protective suit had casually vaulted her 250,000-credit wall and landed in front of her in a blink. “The mallard flock and two giant raptors are flying straight for us. The helicopter’s ready on the pad—Sister Qing, come with me, we need to intercept the birds in the air.”

“Got it. Old Goat, Er, I’m leaving the territory to you!” Xia Qing nuzzled Er, slapped Old Goat on the side, and then sprinted with Yang Jin toward Section Three’s northern gate.

Once past the northern barrier, Yang Jin stopped. “Hop on, I’ll carry you.”

“Okay!” Xia Qing leaped onto Yang Jin’s back. In just three minutes, the two of them darted across Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine, straight to the already-lifted helicopter.

After boarding, Azure Dragon Squad’s Li Xuanyu reported, “Captain, Sister Qing—if the mallard flock keeps up this pace, they’ll reach Hill Forty-Nine in eight minutes.”

Yang Jin gave his orders. “Helicopter heads for Territory Twelve. Sister Qing, contact Third Brother, ask to deploy Territory Seven’s laser cannon. I’ll reach out to Teacher Tan, and we’ll sync our ground defenses. Together, we’ll protect the territory.”

“On it.” Xia Qing acknowledged and immediately contacted her Idol.

With the chopper over Territory Twelve, all four snipers on board, including Xia Qing, prepared to link firepower with the laser cannon in the northeast corner of Territory Seven, the Inspection Team, and any available anti-air crews. With this, Section One of the North could achieve blanket air defense.

Soon, Inspection Team members and local Evolved fighters rushed to their posts while civilians in every northern territory retreated to bunkers. Ninth Center School students ducked under their desks, bracing for the incoming bird assault.

No teacher needed to tell them—every kid clung to their book and quietly curled up under the desk, eyes wide as they watched the skies beyond the window. They’d learned early—the first basic survival skill of any child born during the Calamity Years was to find solid cover fast. It was now a survival instinct buried deep to the bone.

Territory Seven’s anti-air cannons deployed, barrels angling up as they targeted the northern sky.

“Bzzzt—”

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and Xia Qing heard the voice prompt over her Bluetooth headset: “Incoming video call from your buddy, Broken Back.”

Lining up her sniper rifle on the northern sky, Xia Qing didn’t bother pulling out her phone. She simply pressed her Bluetooth headset with her left hand and listened to the mingled howls and bird calls before speaking quietly. “Brother Duan, I’m already in the helicopter, heading up to intercept the bird flocks. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. I’ll call you again once the fight’s over.”

Huh?!!!

The five Azure Dragon Squad members in the chopper immediately swapped glances at how much softer Xia Qing’s voice sounded than usual. They all looked at their boss without thinking.

Who was this ‘Duan’? Was there an Evolved fighter named Duan up north? Could it be Duan Ziyang from the Aurora Squad?

No way! Is Duan Ziyang really trying to win Sister Qing’s favor right in front of the boss? Guy’s got a death wish!

Helicopter pilot Hu Zifeng just kept his expression neutral. From her tone alone, he could tell Xia Qing was talking to an animal. Of all the creatures who visited Section Three, the only one she’d ever call Brother Duan was that brain-evolved wolf, the one that carried a laptop everywhere.

Now it had a laptop, so having a phone was no surprise.

Yang Jin shot a piercing glare at the distracted squad before settling his gaze on Xia Qing. Now that the wolf pack had a phone, their bond with Xia Qing grew even closer. Northern Section One’s safety level had just gone up a notch—a definite plus.

But which phone was Crippled Wolf using anyway—and what’s the number? Who pays for the minutes?