Chapter 205: Morning Gifts and Fortress Bonds

At five fifteen the next morning, Xia Qing carried spring water into Plot Forty-Nine Area Three. She’d barely waited a couple minutes before Yang Jin showed up.

Yang Jin had a long wooden case slung over his shoulder, his protective mask hooked on his belt. The first rays of sun slipped through the leaves, lighting up his thick, jet-black hair. Oddly, his protective suit didn’t reflect any light at all. It was a color and style Xia Qing had never seen—obviously high-end, probably the best of the best.

Was this the latest from the Research Institute? Who knew how many points one of those cost. Did they even sell them to outsiders? Xia Qing couldn’t help wanting a set herself.

Seeing Xia Qing watching him—her gaze lingering on his suit behind her protective mask—Yang Jin’s eyes crinkled in a smile. He handed her the grenade launcher. “Here, the grenade launcher from our last trade. The shells, Hu Zifeng will bring over in a bit.”

“Thanks, Captain Yang.” With him heading out for a mission soon, Xia Qing didn’t ask the price or dig for details about his gear. She took the grenade launcher, then handed over the Yi Stone Protective Shell. “The rope is made from evolved snake skin, so it should help keep bugs away.”

Yang Jin took off his gloves, accepted the walnut-sized shell, then pulled a Yi Stone from his pocket and fit it inside, snapping it closed.

The shell took a bit of work to open and shut, but it was solid and polished with a substantial heft—felt plenty sturdy. Two hundred points was a bargain. Yang Jin tucked the protective shell into the side pouch on his belt and reminded Xia Qing, “We don’t have a lot of shells left. Use them sparingly.”

“Understood.” She wouldn’t use the grenade launcher often, but it served as a major insurance for her territory. With it around, their safety just jumped a notch. Slinging the launcher over her shoulder, Xia Qing walked a little taller. “Captain Yang, hope your team finishes the mission safely and all make it back in one piece.”

Once Yang Jin left, Xia Qing hauled the hefty wooden case back home, weaving between trees with the fifty-pound load on her shoulder. Doors and windows shut tight once she returned, she opened the case, shouldered the grenade launcher and, looming over Boss Sheep, said, “Boss, what do you think? Pretty intimidating, right?”

Boss Sheep was busy nosing through the straw lining in the case, checking if it was edible. Didn’t even bother to look up.

Xia Qing turned to the sick wolf. “Hey, Second, do I look cool or what?”

The frail wolf looked up, and to Xia Qing’s surprise, there was a hint of caution in its usually clear eyes. Xia Qing understood instantly. “Have you seen humans use weapons like this before? Or maybe your wolf pack’s tangled with people carrying weapons like these?”

Of course the sick wolf didn’t answer, but Xia Qing’s sharp ears caught the sound of its claws digging into the floor. The grenade launcher had set it on edge. The wolf was definitely nervous.

Worried the stress might upset its stomach and spark another round of vomiting and diarrhea, Xia Qing quickly pushed aside Boss Sheep’s digging hooves and put the launcher back in its wooden case. She soothed the wolf in a soft voice, “Easy, Second. It’s my weapon, just to keep the territory safe.”

The sick wolf tensed up all over, staring at the wooden case like it wanted to rip it apart. Boss Sheep, oblivious as ever, finally noticed its friend’s odd behavior and came over to nuzzle its neck.

Xia Qing took the wooden case upstairs, put it away, grabbed the newly made pouch for Boss Sheep, and came back down. She hung it around the sick wolf’s neck and slipped a piece of dried roast meat inside. “Don’t be nervous, Second. I’ve put the weapon away. You and Boss Sheep should go patrol and catch bugs for the fish. Once you’re done, we’ll eat.”

With the pouch and treat, the wolf wasn’t just calm again—it even wagged its droopy tail.

That single wag made it look bizarrely dog-like, leaving Xia Qing momentarily speechless.

“Baa—”

“Thunk!”

Boss Sheep was jealous, bleated loudly and scraped the floor with its hooves, itching to pick a fight.

Xia Qing immediately pulled out a compressed ration and tucked it in Boss Sheep’s pouch, smoothing its wool as she coaxed, “This one’s for you, Boss. Yours is bigger than Second’s, and your basket’s bigger too. If you didn’t work so hard every day, our fish would’ve starved long ago. Boss Sheep—you really are the king of the pyramid, pioneer of Blue Star’s evolved sheep history…”

Boss Sheep, fed and satisfied, stopped scraping its hooves and gave Xia Qing a sideways glance.

“Got it! I’ll go fetch your basket right away.” Stifling a laugh, Xia Qing hurried to hand over Boss Sheep’s basket. “You’ve worked hard. Our whole territory depends on you.”

Boss Sheep took the basket in its mouth, trotted to the door and delivered a solid kick to the security door before heading out to catch bugs for the fish.

Xia Qing didn’t say a word but her shoulders shook with silent laughter.

When she saw the sick wolf still squatting next to her, Xia Qing handed it a small basket too, coaxing gently, “You go catch bugs too. Let Boss Sheep take the tricky evolved insects—you go after the slow and clumsy ones. Careful not to get bit. When you finish feeding the fish, I’ll cook up spinach and dried meat for you.”

The sick wolf, too weak to match Boss Sheep’s agility, still took its job seriously. Boss Sheep’s idea of feeding fish was to dump the contents of its basket by the pond—most of the evolved bugs tumbled into the water, but some landed at the edge, easy pickings for the lurking crows and magpies waiting for scraps.

When Xia Qing noticed, she’d swing by and sweep the missed bugs into the pond or take them home to feed the snake. After watching her a few times, the sick wolf took on that job willingly—now, it would toss some bugs in the pond and stash the rest in its basket, waiting by the pond for Xia Qing’s return.

But the birds up in the tree weren’t happy about losing their free feast, and one day a magpie cursed and bombed the sick wolf’s head with droppings.

How the mighty had fallen—a sick wolf bullied by birds not even the size of a hand.

But this was no ordinary sick wolf. It was the SSVIP guest of Territory Three!

After Xia Qing taught the rude birds a lesson with her slingshot and some stones, she used her machete to chop down a big tree by the fish pond. She dried the trunk and made wider wooden boards for the sleeping mats, giving Boss Sheep and the sick wolf a more spacious bed. Then she noticed—the sick wolf’s gaze now looked even clearer.

After a morning where a dangerous human weapon had left it on edge, the sick wolf, now comforted with gifts and reassurance, bounced back and picked up its basket to head out for work—letting itself out the door.

Xia Qing simmered meat and bones in the big iron pot, letting them stew slowly. Slinging on her medicine pouch, she set out to deliver supplies to the injured wolves in the abandoned cave in the valley of Area Three.

On the way, Xia Qing pulled out her phone to check on the Evolved Squirrel’s position. The map app showed only a green dot for her phone and a red arrow pointing away, meaning the squirrel with the tracker was now over four kilometers distant. Early morning was squirrel rush hour, so it must’ve gone out to forage.

The arrow showed the last location before the tracker signal broke off, so Xia Qing rotated her phone, watching the arrow adjust—always pointing northeast. That whole region was part of Plot Forty-Nine, so there wasn’t much risk.

She put her phone away, and after dropping off the medicine for the wolves, planned to run a quick circuit to the northeast before heading home for breakfast.