Chapter 127: The Wolves in the Territory

With the appetites of Evolvers, the two of them quickly polished off every bit of food on the table. As they were clearing up, noises drifted in from the courtyard.

Peering out the window, Luo Pei spotted the one-legged wolf dragging its bound hind legs as it crawled toward the sheep shed.

When Luo Pei’s gaze landed on it, the stubby-legged wolf glared right back with a vicious look like it wished it could leap up and tear him to pieces.

This wolf must’ve been through serious fights with humans, otherwise it wouldn’t have that kind of look in its eyes. Luo Pei lowered his voice, “So, are you planning to keep these two wolves on the territory?”

At first, Xia Qing hadn’t planned on keeping them, but plans couldn’t keep up with changing circumstances. “The one with the broken leg isn’t much trouble, but the one with the fractured spine still needs its surgical wound tended while it heals. Someone from Territory Seven will be back in ten days to check up on it. Once it doesn’t need fresh bandages, I’ll let it go.”

As for the one crawling in the yard, the one that looked like it would kill her if it could, even if it managed to get into the sheep shed, Xia Qing wouldn’t keep it. She’d have Alpha Wolf take it away later—wherever it wanted was fine.

Luo Pei sat back down and noticed Boss Sheep squinting at him with a very dissatisfied look. Smiling kindly at Boss Sheep, Luo Pei turned to Xia Qing, “Why’d you save these two wolves, anyway?”

Xia Qing never hid her thoughts from Luo Pei. “Trading supplies was part of it, but mostly, I figured the fights between the wolf pack, the snake colony, and the bear clan must’ve left more than just these two wolves injured. Since Alpha Wolf risked so much to bring them here for treatment, they must be important. If we help them recover, our territory will be safer.”

After the cataclysm and Blue Star’s round of mass evolution, plenty of extremists among humans argued for wiping out dangerous evolving creatures with bioweapons.

In the second year after the cataclysm, early in the great evolution, a superpower in southeastern Hua Nation had a Safe Zone with three million residents. When a wave of evolved rats attacked, they unleashed a barrage of bioweapons to wipe them out.

The rats were eradicated, but that triggered a common bacterium to evolve into a superbug. All living things—including humans—fell prey to it. In only three days, over half of those three million people were dead.

The superpower dropped two atomic bombs to halt the outbreak, stopping the superbug, but the massive radiation brought its own disasters that haven’t been cleaned up, even now.

It isn’t just bioweapons—even chemical and heavy weapons set off chain reactions. Case after case, attempts to wipe out mutant beasts wound up hurting humanity even worse.

That’s why, now, the top strategy is to use the new food chains built by evolving creatures to keep everything in check. Letting them balance each other is the best way for countries to deal with the evolutionary threats.

It’s also the key reason that, even after a decade of disaster and humanity holding advanced modern weapons, they still haven’t taken Blue Star back.

Right now, for instance, if the wolf pack gets wiped out or driven off, snakes and bears will take over. That’d set off a domino effect across the territory.

Seeing Xia Qing think about more than just farming made Luo Pei genuinely happy. “You’re absolutely right. If we can find a way to live in peace with the wolves through this, it’ll be good for our territory and the whole Huicheng Base. But it’s just the first step, and whether it was right or wrong remains to be seen. So, the fewer people who know about evolved wolves in your territory, the better.”

“Third Brother won’t spread word. The wolves weren’t too vocal last night, so Tang Huai in Plot Two won’t have heard anything. I’ll talk to Tan Junjie myself. Make sure Alpha Wolf understands—these wolves can’t scare folks from other territories. If that happens, they have to go, no questions asked.”

“Got it.” Alpha Wolf was a clever one, and Xia Qing would have no trouble getting that across.

Luo Pei continued, “But are you sure you can handle this? Want me to send Chang Li over to help? She’s a core member of the Azure Dragon Unit and someone you can trust.”

Xia Qing wanted to try first on her own. “The assistant said changing the bandages is pretty simple. I’ll try it myself, and if I mess it up, I’ll ask Dr. Chang for help.”

Once Luo Pei understood, he was about to leave when Xia Qing suddenly remembered something. “Hold on a second.”

She opened the drawer at her desk, pulled out the pouch Alpha Wolf had brought, and took out a stone about the size of a pigeon egg.

Before Xia Qing could say anything, Boss Sheep walked over and stared intently at the pouch in her hand.

Xia Qing immediately took everything out and slung the pouch around Boss Sheep’s neck. “It’s your pouch. Don’t lose it again or give it away.”

Satisfied, Boss Sheep went back to chewing cud. Watching Xia Qing and Boss Sheep’s odd little routine, Luo Pei found it quite amusing.

“What do you think this stone is? Is it worth anything?” Xia Qing wiped the dirt off and handed it to Luo Pei.

For the second time, Xia Qing saw true excitement on Luo Pei’s face.

The first was four months ago, when Xia Qing revealed she had a steady supply of Spring Water for detoxifying Luo Pei. So, this stone… could it be just as valuable?

Luo Pei’s gaze flicked from the stone to Xia Qing. “This stone is very, very, very valuable.”

After speaking, Luo Pei returned the stone and lifted the round pendant he wore from his neck, pressing open its case to reveal a small piece of jade inside.

The jade was streaked with irregular black and white patterns—Xia Qing had seen it before. “Tang Lu has a heart-shaped pendant made from this kind of jade, and when Huo Fenghuang from the Blazing Fire Unit visited our Safe Zone, she wore a bracelet made of it, too.”

Only now did Xia Qing notice—the stone delivered by the wolf wasn’t as beautiful as Luo Pei’s pendant, but cleaned up, you could still spot a bit of spiral black-and-white striping beneath the brown outer layer.

Her excitement was obvious. “Is this raw jade?”

Luo Pei shook his head. “It isn’t jade, just a stone.”

Xia Qing was speechless.

“Its full name is Yi Stone. Like the name suggests, it’s rich in Yi element. After Blue Star’s mass evolution, it became a rare resource—more valuable than pure Spring Water.”

Xia Qing’s eyes flew wide. “Luo Pei, what’s Yi Stone actually used for?”

Luo Pei, who’d been getting ready to leave, sat down again to explain in detail. “When the surface of raw Yi Stone is broken, it slowly releases Yi element, which lowers the Xiang element concentration nearby. Yi Stone is one reason why evolved creatures in the Evolver Forest stay clear-headed in thick Xiang Rain.”

Hiss—

Xia Qing drew a sharp breath. “So, in places where high-level evolved creatures gather in the Evolver Forest, there’s probably Yi Stone around? And people can use it too?”

How could something so important—such a precious resource—be something she’d never even heard about?

Luo Pei went on, “Besides Yi Stone, evolved creatures have other ways to resist Xiang Rain, so just because strong evolvers gather somewhere doesn’t mean Yi Stone must be present.”

“Yi Stone forms under the same mysterious conditions as pure Spring Water, still unknown to humans. If a person wears Yi Stone while it’s still releasing Yi element, you could actually be fine in even red-level Xiang Rain areas without a Protective Mask—as long as you don’t actually get rained on.”

Oh my god! Xia Qing’s jaw dropped in shock.