Chapter 171: Midnight Bargains and a Wolf in Need

Thinking she finally understood the Alpha Wolf’s intentions, Xia Qing perked up and launched into an over-the-top round of flattery.

“Catching a giant python—that’s nothing for you, Your Majesty! Strong, beautiful, and totally unstoppable! You’re making history for Evolved Wolves here on Blue Star, opening a whole new era for your kind!”

But even after her shower of praise, the Alpha wouldn’t lift her paw. Xia Qing yawned. “Sis, are you giving me this snake or not? If not, I’m going back to bed.”

The Alpha Wolf, seeing Xia Qing didn’t get it, turned and dragged the water basin over, set it in front of her, then pressed a paw down on the snake’s tail again.

At last, Xia Qing understood—and felt a little annoyed herself. “Sis, wasn’t this python supposed to be rent for your buddies? Since when did we switch to medical exchanges?”

The Alpha didn’t budge, just stared right at her. Considering how strong this wolf was, Xia Qing could only agree. “Fine, I’ll swap medicine. You’ll have it after sunrise.”

Only then did the Alpha Wolf move her paw aside, signaling Xia Qing to take the snake.

Hauling the python back inside, Xia Qing checked it with the Greenlight. After confirming, she skinned it, sliced off a portion, then fired up the food dehydrator to start drying the snake meat.

A forty-plus-pound python and her little dehydrator? There was no way she’d process it all in time. Gritting her teeth, Xia Qing sent Ji Li a message.

She’d wanted to wait until dawn, but after two hours, the snake meat wouldn’t be nearly as fresh. Given how picky Zhang San was, there was a real chance he’d back out of the trade.

It was like Ji Li never slept. Despite Xia Qing messaging in the middle of the night, she got a quick reply:

“No need to wait until five. Deliver it to Territory Three’s North Barrier within fifteen minutes. Include the snake’s skin and gall bladder, too. Thanks. 976 354.”

With Ji Li’s answer, Xia Qing packaged the snake up, put on her night vision goggles, and hurried to the North Barrier of Territory Three. She gave the code, handed over the goods, and made the exchange.

Afterwards, she finally slept until sunrise, stretching in pure satisfaction when she woke up.

Thanks to locking the chicks and goslings in the cellar last night, there was finally peace—no four a.m. chirping to wake her up. After getting up, Xia Qing made her usual rounds, then juiced thirty milliliters of spinach for the wolves.

There was a new wolf lined up for spinach juice this morning. The Alpha claimed her share first, as always, then a gaunt, rib-counting wolf Xia Qing hadn’t seen before stepped up. It wasn’t just thin—the poor thing’s eyes were so swollen it could barely open them.

Was this the same wolf that’d helped drag the python over last night? Xia Qing realized she hadn’t paid attention to which wolves had brought up the rear.

Even though this newcomer was a stranger, Xia Qing felt zero fear. The wolf looked so frail, with cloudy eyes and no threat at all.

So, the pack really believed in the spinach juice’s “medicine”—enough to bring in their sick members for a dose.

This was a very, very good sign. Xia Qing’s eyes gleamed, already picturing endless Yi Stones raining her way.

After their “medicine,” the sickly wolf followed the pack to rest in the sheep shed. Xia Qing scrubbed the basin, filled it with fresh water, then switched on the lord’s walkie-talkie. “Captain Hu, are you there?”

Hu Zifeng answered, “I’m here.”

Xia Qing put on her best worried tone. “I’ve been trying to call but couldn’t get through. Is Dr. Chang in the territory? My evolved sheep isn’t eating this morning and looks all wrong. Could you ask Dr. Chang to take a look? I’ll pay for the visit and any medicine.”

Hu Zifeng, currently trying to win Xia Qing’s favor, immediately agreed. “She’s here—I’ll send her right over. Don’t worry.”

After Xia Qing thanked him, Qi Fu popped online, sounding a little stronger than before. “Xia Qing, could your sheep have been hurt by that ultrasonic attack?”

Xia Qing pressed the button. “It lost its spirit after that, but it could still eat, so I didn’t think much of it.”

Tang Huai chimed in, “Ultrasound hits the ears, brain, and gut. Slow symptoms are pretty normal.”

Kuang Qingwei added, “Don’t you have herbs in your territory? Try feeding it some, see if it helps.”

Xia Qing replied, “The chicken-vine was flattened by hail and hasn’t bounced back yet, but I’ll give it a shot. Thanks, Qingwei.”

Dr. Chang arrived quickly at Xia Qing’s place, and the two couldn’t help laughing when they met.

“Li, sorry to trouble you again today.”

Dr. Chang had just traded for scales to detoxify her squad’s Third-in-Command. She was too grateful to Xia Qing to ever mind helping. “The wolves’ trail—including across the Barrier—is all cleaned up. Captain Hu and I will take care of the traces inside your territory. You just do your thing.”

And Xia Qing really did have work to do. Her underground food storage room still wasn’t finished.

Even though her hand was injured, she’d spent the whole day lining the cellar walls under the tool room with bricks.

Originally, she’d meant to build a cube-shaped storage room underground, but flat-topped cubes made it hard to apply bricks well, so she switched plans and bricked the ceiling into a sturdy arch instead.

Once the brickwork was done, Xia Qing lit a pile of wood underneath to smoke and bake the cellar walls, then took the opportunity to tidy up the ruined village’s cellar.

Even with the construction frenzy, Xia Qing didn’t slack off on the training routines Luo Pei had assigned—she followed them to the letter.

Since she couldn’t train at Mountain 49’s Area Three, Xia Qing did her outdoor drills—frog jumps, sprints, and more—right here in her own territory. While she hopped, Boss Sheep lounged beside her, chewing cud with lazy interest.

When she ran, Boss Sheep ran, too.

Meanwhile, Tang Huai, who’d been driven half-mad by the Safe Zone’s squad, had had enough. “Xia Qing, didn’t you say your sheep was sick? Why are you thumping around like that again?”

Hearing Tang Huai complain, the lords listening in on the walkie-talkie started counting down in their heads.

One, two, three, four, five.

Time’s up. Tang Zhengbo began lecturing his son. “Tang Huai, what did I warn you about?”

The lords, hearing this oh-so-familiar sound of a dad scolding his son, let out delighted laughs across their territories.

Tang Huai protested, “Dad, I wasn’t spying on the neighbors! I’m just worried about Xia Qing—and her evolved animals!”

Wiping sweat from her brow, Xia Qing replied coldly, “Exactly—it’s because my sheep’s sick that it needs exercise.”

Tang Huai was speechless. “Is Dr. Chang really a pro? What kind of treatment is this? After an ultrasonic attack, it should be on strict rest!”

No need for Xia Qing to respond—Hu Zifeng jumped in. “So when you get hit with ultrasound, you need bed rest, but if a sheep gets hit, exercise is wrong? Are you a sheep or is the sheep you?”

Tang Huai, annoyed and fed up, shot back instantly. “Are you nuts? Picking a fight with me again?”

Once again, the Lord’s Channel devolved into a shouting match between the two. Xia Qing, walkie-talkie still on, kept up her training. Luo Pei had drilled it into her—she needed to stay focused even in the middle of chaos.

For the next two days, the wolf pack kept up their routine, dropping off prey around one or two in the morning. Whether sick wolves brought wild chickens or rabbits, the Alpha swapped Greenlight pythons for spinach juice with Xia Qing every time.

To get more spinach juice, the Alpha never brought her a light python. Xia Qing no longer doubted the wolves’ hunting skills—at this point, she started wondering if they were at war with pythons.

Greenlight meat fetched 150 points a pound in the Safe Zone, even if dead. The prey the Alpha brought ballooned from a few pounds to dozens. The excess was enough to trade for two portions of premium nutrient solution.

But there was no way Xia Qing could process all that meat—she had to run to the North Barrier every night.

Nights found Xia Qing busy making dried meat; her days went to building another cellar under the ruined village. Two days later, the new cellar was dug out. The walls of the main underground pantry had finally dried, so she installed a vent, coated the walls in cement mortar, smoothed it out, and layered on insect-proofing.

Once the surface was done, construction was finished. A seven-day cure, and as long as the walls didn’t crack, food could be stored there at last.

After the final coat, Xia Qing started monitoring temperature and humidity inside the cellar daily—only to discover it was harder than she’d thought to control the environment of an underground pantry.

One evening after dinner, just as she was stressing about cellar matters, Tang Huai brought up the pangolin again in the Lord’s Channel.