Chapter 227: A Bold Proposal and Rainy Day Negotiations

This yellow weasel looked all timid, yet its face seemed frozen in a lopsided grin. It looked for all the world like it was smiling. The look, the eyes, the way it moved—Xia Qing couldn’t help but feel it was all too familiar.

“Ding.”

Yang Jin sent another message: Is this yellow weasel a companion of the Alpha Wolf with the torn ear?

Xia Qing’s forearm and upper arm were swollen and red; it didn’t matter when she was doing heavy chores, but tapping the tiny keyboard on her screen took effort. Even those delicate movements were a struggle.

With shaky fingers, Xia Qing typed out letter by letter: Confirmed—this yellow weasel is the Alpha Wolf’s companion. It often comes with the wolf pack to my territory to pluck chicken feathers. After Alpha Wolf saw the photo Zhang San gave him, he stopped showing up, probably went off to the mountains to gather herbs. This yellow weasel hasn’t been seen in days either.

A daring idea took shape in Yang Jin’s mind, growing more feasible the more he thought about it. Inside the cramped, shadowy cave, his eyes glowed behind his protective mask, lit by his phone screen. He quickly typed a few words and showed the phone to Yan Long.

Hiding in the surrounding caves, more than a dozen elite members from four squads were lying in wait. Even the slightest whisper could easily be picked up.

For Yang Jin to risk contacting the outside now, it had to be something huge. After reading the message, Yan Long tapped out a reply:

If that wolf is nearby, we have an eighty percent chance; if it isn’t, we lose for sure.

Yang Jin then tapped some words for Yan Long to see. Yan Long nodded in agreement.

Yang Jin swiftly typed out three lines and sent them, his expression solemn:

The wolf pack might deliver the herbs Luo Ge needs today or tomorrow. Once you get them, please pass them to Zhang San as soon as possible.

Xia Qing read the message three times, just to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

The proud Alpha Wolf was teaming up with Yang Jin to gather medicinal herbs? How did the two of them end up working together? And what was up with the yellow weasel? There were too many questions, but Xia Qing knew how dangerous Evolver Forest could be. She didn’t ask. Instead, her trembling hands sent back a few words:

Alright, we’ll talk about Alpha Wolf’s share when you get back.

Alpha Wolf led his pack—including the yellow weasel—braving the Xiang Rain to gather herbs for the Sick Wolf’s treatment. He agreed to work with Yang Jin because he believed those herbs were for the Sick Wolf. It was Xia Qing, pointing at the photo, who’d convinced him.

Yang Jin choosing to ally with the wolf pack meant harvesting herbs was truly perilous. Even Qinglong’s elite squad couldn’t guarantee a win; they needed the pack’s strength.

Business is business, friendship is friendship. Alpha Wolf was technically Xia Qing’s hired help for the herb mission. If he really brought back those herbs, the Azure Dragon Unit should pay him.

Clever as Alpha Wolf was, he still couldn’t outsmart Iron Rooster Yang Jin. That’s why Xia Qing had to represent the wolf pack and do the negotiating with Yang Jin.

Yang Jin saw Xia Qing’s message and silently replied with a simple, “Okay.”

Whatever the reason, she was waiting in the territory for his return. He had to get back as quickly as possible.

Yang Jin signaled Yan Long and the other four to gather, and together they used hand signs and written notes to rapidly set up their assault plan.

Back in Territory Three, Xia Qing slept all the way till two in the afternoon. When she woke, the swelling in her arm and shoulder was much better, but not fully gone.

Outside, the Xiang Rain was still drumming down. The little rain awning over the windowsill sheltered a few mung beans, still sitting there, and the jar of spring water hadn’t run dry. The Evolved Squirrel was holed up in its nest and hadn’t come down to drink.

That little guy had swiped over ten pounds of tobacco leaves and stashed plenty of food, so it could safely hide from the Xiang Rain.

Xia Qing wasn’t just jealous—she was tempted to pull a little heist herself.

She glanced at the yard, now back to a patch of grass, washed her face, then headed straight for the cellar to grab animal organs for the Sick Wolf’s meal. The rain had lasted more than fifty hours, but the basement was still dry and cool. Grains, rations and meats were all neatly stacked on the shelves and untouched. The more Xia Qing looked, the more satisfied she grew. She started thinking maybe she and the Evolved Squirrel could bond over the joys of stockpiling food.

She opened the storage box closest to the Yi Stone and took out eleven vials of premium nutrient solution. That morning, while juicing spinach for Luo Pei, she’d plucked a few extra leaves and dripped medicine into them, storing everything in a special plastic pouch for the nutrient solution.

There were still fourteen hours left before the Xiang Rain ended, and with the risk of a third wave of red Xiang Rain at any moment, there was a high chance of powerful Xiang-evolved creatures appearing in the territory.

Hu Zifeng’s squad had been garrisoned in the territory for over fifty hours. They were running on fumes, both mentally and physically. Only premium nutrient solution could snap them back to fighting form.

For others, premium nutrient solution cost two thousand points a bottle. For Xia Qing, though, it was just a handful of spinach leaves and a few drops of medicine—totally affordable.

Since it had only been a dozen or so hours since her last spinach juice, Xia Qing only drank half her serving and stored the rest in the mask’s built-in compartment, just in case.

After boiling up the wolf’s meal, Xia Qing suited up in her protective gear and carried a few pounds of sealed fresh meat outside. In the sheep shed, three wolves and one sheep all stared at her from behind their protective masks.

After making sure the air was toxin-free, Xia Qing stepped through the shin-high Xiang Grass into the sheep shed. She took the masks off her four companions and let them drink spring water, then gave medicine to the Sick Wolf and the Wolf with the Spinal Injury.

Then Xia Qing waved the meat and asked, “You two, the one with the bad back and the one with the bad leg, hungry yet?”

The two wolves’ bellies were flat as pancakes. Their eyes followed the meat in Xia Qing’s hand: Starving.

She tore open the packaging and dumped the fresh meat into a bowl. “Go ahead, eat up.”

When the Wolf with the Spinal Injury started eating, Boss Sheep wasn’t having it. He nudged Xia Qing with his head. “Maa—”

Xia Qing rubbed his forehead. “I know, I’ll get your meal ready. Number Two’s meat is already on the stove.”

Before the rain, Xia Qing had cut two armfuls of pasture grass and stashed them in the garage cellar. After confirming this storage area was also fine, she brought the grass back, made a special blend for Boss Sheep, and mixed up feed for the chicks and goslings.

When she went to feed the chickens in the tool shed, she nearly got pecked by the Black-feathered Rooster. This dusty, gray thing puffed out its neck feathers, flapped its wings and looked ready to start a fight, which made Xia Qing laugh out loud.

“Annoyed that I won’t let you out? Those scrawny wings—you’d end up back in the pot before you even went crazy out there,” Xia Qing teased as she topped up their water, shoveled several loads of dirt over the chicken droppings, then tossed in the grasshoppers and crickets she’d just caught into a bucket.

The fierce spring-water fish leapt out, snapping up the bugs, splashing water all over the Black-feathered Rooster and soaking it through. Xia Qing couldn’t stop laughing.

After bustling around the house, Xia Qing settled for a few pieces of dried meat and a bowl of tea soup. She masked up the wolf pack and Boss Sheep, then hopped on the rotary tiller to mow grass and head out to the fields.

More than fifty hours of Xiang Rain had turned human territory into a world of Xiang Grass. Xia Qing turned on the territory walkie-talkie and connected to the whole settlement.