Chapter 176: Wolf Aftermath and the Mad Sheep’s Rampage

After hauling the ‘Mad Sheep’ home, Xia Qing was just about to clean up the sheep shed when Boss Sheep charged at her full force.

Xia Qing dodged, grabbed Boss Sheep’s twisted horn with her left hand and stopped him from smashing up the shed. “Looking for a fight, huh?”

“Baa!” Boss Sheep struggled wildly, furious that Xia Qing had the Wolf Pack sent away. Anger meant it was time to throw down!

Xia Qing met him head-on. “Fine, let’s go! Come on!”

A good brawl would prove just how crazy he really was.

But fighting couldn’t happen at home—no way she was rebuilding everything after. With Xia Qing running ahead and Boss Sheep chasing, they tore out of the village. The second they hit open ground, woman and sheep went at it. Both sported injuries—one had a scratched-up face, the other a banged-up hand—but they made a proper scene.

Watching them crash into each other and trade blows, Chen Cheng whispered, “Bro, so what do we do?”

Chen Zheng just kept walking into the village. “What do you mean, do? Are you strong enough to separate two fire-tempered Strength Evolvers? Of course we stick to the mission!”

Chen Cheng hummed in agreement, then turned to Guan Tong. “Tong-ge, you sure you don’t want to join the fun?”

Strength Evolver Guan Tong shot Chen Cheng a withering glare.

‘You think I’m in their weight class? You can’t tell by looking? Sounds to me like you just want to watch me get smacked around!’

“Yeah, the Evolved Sheep is attacking the Lord of Territory Three. It’s loud. Got it, we’re moving in now.” Sufeng Squad members posted outside Territory Three waved, signaling the others to follow.

“You call that loud?”

Tang Huai, having eaten her fill and back in Territory Two, rolled her eyes hard. Today, that woman and her sheep were already keeping it down—clearly the sheep was losing it, and Xia Qing couldn’t bear to go too far.

Following Xia Qing’s orders, Hu Zifeng locked the three wolves inside the Breeding Center’s abandoned cave, set up cameras, then left Zone Three.

Not long after the Alpha Wolf reached the cave, it smashed the cameras in a single swipe. Hu Zifeng quickly reported back to Xia Qing. “The Wolf Pack has regrouped with the injured wolves. Right now Sufeng Squad only left someone outside Territories Three, Seven, and Nine, and they’re all pros at eavesdropping. Watch your back—be careful with what you say and do.”

“Understood. Thanks, Captain Hu.” Having just flattened Boss Sheep, Xia Qing worked with the Scent Evolver Chen brothers to rid the shed and its surroundings of any lingering wolf scent. She then filled a basket with vegetables and escorted the boys out of Territory Three through the West Buffer Forest.

On the way, Guan Tong asked quietly, “Qing-jie, is your right hand okay?”

Xia Qing had used her left for everything, and it hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Don’t worry, it’s just sore from the workout. Nothing serious.”

Of course, Xia Qing wasn’t about to mention she’d been hurt. Even if the Scent Evolvers were good, with her Protective Suit and gloves, there was no way they’d pick up the smell of blood.

Heading back after seeing everyone off, Xia Qing overheard Sufeng Squad members whispering from atop the Barrier. “Hu Zifeng’s squad of seven left Territory Three. There are only three of his people and the Lord left inside.”

“Don’t do anything stupid. Hu Zifeng’s no slouch with a gun, and the Lord’s got firearms and grenades. She could kill us all in her territory and it’d be totally legal.”

“Of course. What else do women rely on to have men work for them and guard their homes?”

A filthy laugh followed. He didn’t bother lowering his voice.

Xia Qing didn’t react, just kept walking.

After the disaster, society’s rules fell apart. With morals gone, the strong did as they pleased, the weak just got trampled.

If she got mad at every insult and lost her cool, she wouldn’t have lived this far.

Xia Qing had always known most of Sufeng Squad weren’t worth respecting. She had a blood feud with Tang Sufeng. Until she got strong enough to kill him, she kept her head down. Once she could, she’d strike him dead, then vanish and stay quiet living her life.

The wolves were gone, the spring was sealed up, and the territory was spotless—Xia Qing didn’t care about surveillance. After taking the chicks and goslings home and locking them in the cellar, she went about dinner like always, listening to the radio for weather and farming tips, then opened the Lord’s Channel. The other Lords were all talking about how polite Sufeng Squad seemed while looking for the pangolin today. She answered some of their questions too.

“Yeah, my sheep’s a bit rattled. It got spooked and isn’t too stable right now, but I’ve given it medicine.”

Zhao Ze sounded worried. “Xia Qing, your sheep isn’t going to lose it and rush into my territory, right?”

Xia Qing replied, “I’ll keep it under control. If it makes it into Territory Four by accident, please let me know right away. I’ll pay you back double for any damage it causes, just don’t hurt my sheep.”

Before Zhao Ze could say more, Tang Huai chimed in. “Xia Qing, you treat your crazy sheep like a treasure, but we lost two precious pangolins and we’re going out of our minds! Give us permission to enter Territory Three and search for our pangolins.”

Xia Qing’s tone went ice-cold. “However much you value your pangolins has nothing to do with me. My sheep’s been driven half-mad by you people and you think I’ll just let you into my territory? If a single person tries, I’ll kill them. If two come, I’ll kill them both!”

Tang Huai fell silent…

Everyone else went quiet…

Switching off the walkie-talkie, Xia Qing glanced at Boss Sheep sprawled on the tatami, facing the wall and ignoring her. She had to laugh. “Big guy, you’re several hundred pounds already, but you’re still acting like a kid.”

Boss Sheep didn’t move, still sulking. Xia Qing walked over and rubbed his head. “Relax, I keep my word. I won’t break a promise.”

Hu Zifeng, still monitoring the Wolf Pack from Mountain 49, sent an update. “The Wolf Pack hasn’t moved the three injured wolves. They’re still in the Area Three valley.”

Two of the wolves still had splints, and now there was another one on the edge of death. Xia Qing wasn’t surprised the Alpha Wolf wasn’t moving them.

“I’ll need Brother Feng at the farm shed in Territory Three tonight for security. At two in the morning, I’ve got to go treat the wolves in the valley.”

Seriously, does she really need to change the medicine tonight?

Hu Zifeng paused, then answered, “Alright, we’ll be back in Territory Three within half an hour.”

Two a.m.—the hour when humans sleep the deepest.

With her medicine and weapons ready, Xia Qing headed downstairs and said to Boss Sheep, “I’m going to check on the injured wolves. Big guy, keep watch. Don’t let anyone in, okay? Can you handle that?”

“Baa.” Boss Sheep answered and got up, nuzzling Xia Qing’s leg, his call full of excitement.

“You, do wolves really mean that much to you?” Xia Qing chuckled, pulling on her night vision goggles and securing her protective mask. She unlocked the security door and stepped outside.

A single fight with the flock of Evolved Birds had cost Xia Qing three protective masks—Boss Sheep had smashed one, and the wolves’ masks had gotten so filthy they were unusable. The mask she wore now she’d just swapped for with Yang Jin; it was even better than the last—no glare, perfect for stealth missions.

Tonight, Xia Qing’s mission was pure stealth.