Chapter 1165: The Math-Whiz Wolf and the Duck Dilemma

After double-checking his count, Broken Back Wolf dug three bold numbers into the muddy bank by the pond with his massive paw, brimming with confidence.

108.

“That’s right, eighteen ducks in total. Handsome Wolf, you really are the smartest wolf on Blue Star, practically the founder of advanced wolf math. Can I have these ducks, Handsome Wolf?”

Broken Back Wolf, who’d just flashed his baby fangs, quickly closed his mouth and glanced at Xia Qing before dropping three Yellow Lantern Ducks at her feet.

Xia Qing asked, “Handsome Wolf, are these three ducks for me too?”

Broken Back Wolf stared at Xia Qing, deadly serious.

No? Xia Qing pressed on, “So, Broken Back, you want to stash these three in your fridge?”

Broken Back Wolf grinned, revealing two adorable snowy white fangs.

Xia Qing decided to tease him. “But you’ve still got duck, rabbit, and chicken frozen in your fridge—you haven’t even finished those yet. There’s no room. How about I put these three in the lab’s sample freezer?”

Broken Back Wolf instantly shut his mouth and gave Xia Qing a stern look.

“Alright, I’ll freeze them somewhere else for now, not in the lab.” Xia Qing had never brought Broken Back Wolf to Section Three’s underground food storage, so the clever guy had no clue her food warehouse could store plenty of frozen meals.

Broken Back Wolf flashed his little fangs again, then turned and left with Black Wolf and Lame Wolf, who were already full. They each carried the remaining seven Yellow Lantern Ducks and two Red Lantern Ducks away.

Hauling her three Yellow Lantern Ducks, Xia Qing approached the Alpha, pointing to the Red Lantern Ducks on the ground as she asked, “Does the Queen still want those Red Lantern Ducks?”

“Awoo, woo-woo—” The Alpha howled twice, and as soon as he did, Lame Wolf—locked in a scuffle with Flathead—darted over with another wolf. Together, they snatched six Red Lantern Ducks.

“…Alright, Queen—I’ll head back to the territory now.”

Xia Qing waved to Er, who was stuffed from lunch, and checked on the two wounded wolves. Then she took her ducks and left the valley, contacting her Idol along the way. “Third Brother, I got two Green Lantern mallards. Should I bring them to you now?”

Zhang San’s voice sounded gentle as ever. “Out of all those ducks, you only managed to get two?”

Xia Qing answered straightforwardly, “Yeah, the wolves guarded them and wouldn’t let us hunt. I picked up four that died when they hit the water, and two have to go to Azure Dragon Squad.”

The leader of the Azure Dragon Squad had personally come out with his team, piloting a helicopter to intercept the raptors and mallards, so Xia Qing needed to give half her haul to him.

When he heard Xia Qing had only two ducks left and was willing to hand both over, Zhang San’s voice became even more kindly. “Just give me one. I’ll have Zheng Chen come get it.”

No matter how impressive you are as the Squad’s Speed Evolver, once you step into Territory Seven, you pick up an extra job—courier.

After ending her Idol’s call, Xia Qing got in touch with Yang Jin. “The Alpha won’t let us hunt the mallard flock. A few died when they fell in the water, and I got four Green Lantern ones. Two are for you.”

Xia Qing’s voice sounded normal now, so Yang Jin’s did too. “Great. Salted duck, beer-braised duck, braised duck, or roast duck—what sounds good to you?”

Every time Yang Jin suggested a recipe, Xia Qing pictured a delicious dish. Given how close they’d gotten and the fact they’d worked a mission together that morning, sharing lunch just made sense. So she picked her craving, “Salted duck.”

“Perfect. I’ll put all four ducks in the little kitchen for now. I’ll come by later to clean and marinate them. They’ll be ready to cook tomorrow. If we can’t finish them, we’ll just pop the rest in the fridge.”

Since it only needed marinating, Xia Qing figured she could handle it herself. “You’ve still got missions—let me marinate them. It’s just salt, right?”

“Not quite. You have to add and stir-fry spices in the brine too. I don’t need to watch them non-stop. Your territory’s close enough to the hunting grounds. If anything comes up, I can get there in no time.”

Fair enough. You’re the Speed Evolver—you win.

Once she handed one duck off to Zheng Chen, Xia Qing swiped her keycard at the iron mesh gate and returned to her territory. She stored the three Green Lantern Ducks in the little kitchen, took the three Yellow Lantern Ducks home, and put them away. Then she and Old Goat led Little Yellow Calf to the pasture shed to eat. By that time, Yang Jin had already swiped into Section Three through the north gate.

Xia Qing greeted him before heading off to guard the fields, where flocks of migratory birds soared overhead. Trouble could break out at any moment, and she wasn’t at ease unless she kept watch.

Yang Jin prepped and marinated the ducks in the little kitchen, tossing the inedible innards into the fish pond. Then he came to find Xia Qing. “Are you keeping the marinated ducks in your fridge at home?”

“Yep.”

Xia Qing, busy pulling weeds, agreed. Then Yang Jin asked, “I trimmed off some duck bones to make soup—how about duck blood vermicelli soup for lunch today?”

Grrrrrrr—

“Yes, please.” Xia Qing was just thankful the birds overhead were noisy and Tang Huai was chattering over the walkie-talkie, both covering up the embarrassing rumble of her stomach.

Yang Jin pretended not to notice. Naturally, he took the hoe from Xia Qing, and only when she left the greenhouse did a bright grin break out on his face.

By the time Xia Qing stashed the duck in her fridge and soothed her grumbling stomach with a handful of dried fruits, she returned to the fields to find that top-notch Speed Evolver Yang Jin had already weeded every last fig seedling row.

Speed Evolvers might just be the best farmers around.

As he gathered up the clumps of weeds he’d pulled, Yang Jin chatted with Xia Qing. “Of these 115 fig branches, 86 have sprouted now, about the same as in Territory One. The greenhouse there gets even better results, right?”

Those Green Lantern fig cuttings were collected by both Xia Qing and Yang Jin together, so plenty had been planted in Territory One as well. Xia Qing answered, “We planted ten in the terrace at Greenhouse One—eight have sprouted, though the Devastation Element content’s a bit lower than here.”

After the fig branches in this southern greenhouse by the reservoir sprouted, their Devastation Element content ranged from 3.6 to 5.5 per mille. In contrast, the cuttings in the breeding Greenhouse One had levels between 2.3 and 2.5 per mille, almost identical to the original tree in Section Eight’s Stone Forest.

That’s because Xia Qing had used Yi Stones to block exposure to the Devastation Element for the Greenhouse One cuttings. She hadn’t used Yi Stones for this batch—these eighty-plus fig seedlings were all meant for trading. As long as they kept Green Lantern quality, there was no need to waste any Yi Stones.

“That High Evolution Element Soil really is better than the regular stuff for quality crops.” Yang Jin tossed the collected weeds into a basket. “Our squad’s growing team says we can control the height of fig trees by pruning. What’s your plan for trimming them?”

Xia Qing didn’t expect the squad leader to care about plant cultivation, but she crouched beside seedlings already a dozen centimeters tall and pointed to the base. “Sister Tao says you can prune every two or three years—just cut them off right here, leave two or three buds, and new shoots will grow from the base. But after pruning, the plants get unstable. If you don’t care for them properly, their Devastation Element content rises fast.”

Xia Qing didn’t have to worry about that in her territory—she had two hundred Yi Stones to block the Devastation Element.

Seeing Xia Qing’s pleased expression, Yang Jin quickly guessed what was on her mind. He leaned in and whispered, “Sister Qing, when are we heading to Mountain Nineteen?”

The quicker they got more Yi Stones, the more and better crops Xia Qing could grow.

Xia Qing, who’d already agreed to team up with Yang Jin, said directly, “I’m waiting on the Base Director’s call. If I don’t hear from him by tomorrow, we’ll just go the day after.”

Yang Jin looked surprised. “I thought we’d wait for the migratory bird season to end before heading out.”

“The sooner we get them, the sooner I can relax.” Xia Qing would have preferred to wait as well, but Broken Back Wolf was pressing her to reexamine Scarface Wolf, so she needed those Yi Stones urgently. No point sharing that detail with Yang Jin though.

Yang Jin didn’t care when they left. “Day or night? There’s a mission team stationed at Mountain Nineteen. I’ll need to swap them with our people if we go.”

“Night. Number Four is the lead for tracking Scavenger supply caches, and it’s easier for Evolved Wolves to operate after dark.”