Chapter 279: The Wolves’ Howl and the Migrating Geese

Xia Qing knew better than to provoke them lightly, but she couldn’t deny that the meat of evolved geese was delicious. If it were a flock of only twenty or thirty, she’d have started shooting without hesitation. Hundreds though? No way.

Xia Qing didn’t dare, but someone else did.

After more than ten days of silence in the Lord’s Channel, Zhang San suddenly spoke up. “Territory One, are you going after those two flocks of geese or not?”

“We are,” replied the team stationed in Territory One. “If we bag any Green Lantern Geese, we’ll send them over to you, Brother San.”

“Thanks. I’ll buy however many you catch—at a price ten percent above Safe Zone rates.” Zhang San sounded completely satisfied.

Xia Qing let out a soft breath. She wanted a taste too, hoping at least a few might escape the Azure Dragon Squad’s hunting grounds, fly over her territory, and be the edible kind.

The one who replied to Zhang San earlier was Tang Zhou, an evolved jumper from Azure Dragon Squad. His squad ranked fifth in the team, even four spots ahead of Hu Zifeng’s group, making them a real force to be reckoned with.

Not long after the gunshots in the north of Hill Forty-Nine, Tang Zhou made an announcement: “One flock, about two hundred evolved geese, wasn’t lured by the fishmeal and is now flying over Hill Forty-Nine.”

“Copy that,” Tan Junjie responded calmly. “Evolved geese aren’t afraid of predator-themed kites or bear roars, so start blasting wolf howls over the speakers—crank the volume all the way up.”

“Awooo—”

“Awooo—”

Wolf howls had just begun echoing from the loudspeakers in various territories when Xia Qing quickly called out, “Stop! Everyone, shut them off! Those are the cries of captive, tormented wolves—they won’t scare the evolved geese at all.”

The moment Xia Qing’s order was given, the wolf howls in Territories Three, Four, Five, Six, and Ten came to an abrupt halt. Thirty seconds later, the howls stopped in Territories Eleven through Twenty-Eight, further south as well.

With kites and wolf howls both failing, Zhao Ze grew anxious. “What now, Xia Qing?”

Xia Qing stayed calm and turned to Zhang San first. “Brother San, are you going for these geese?”

Though Zhang San was picky about food, he knew when to draw the line. “Not these. My territory’s already sprayed with bird repellent, so the geese won’t land. Do what you want with them.”

“Copy,” Xia Qing immediately contacted Hu Zifeng. “Captain Hu, can we play the Azure Dragon Squad’s wolf howl broadcast to drive the birds?”

Hu Zifeng instantly caught her drift. “No problem, I’ll get on it right away.”

Once she was done talking with Hu Zifeng, Xia Qing took off her protective mask and gave a quick pat to the usually stern-faced Crippled Wolf beside her, who’d been listening to the howls. Holding out a second strand of pink pearl necklace, she said, “Hey, handsome Crippled Wolf, howl a few times to scare off the geese and I’ll give you this necklace.”

Crippled Wolf, already wearing a strand of pink-and-white pearls around his neck, just kept staring seriously at the loudspeaker hanging from a tree by the reservoir, as if he hadn’t even heard Xia Qing.

Xia Qing quickly swapped tactics, digging into her protective suit to pull out a glitzy gold chain. “Look at this, Crippled Wolf! Doesn’t it match the Queen’s eyes? She’d love it, I bet. Howl a few times and it’s yours.”

Crippled Wolf eyed the gold chain for a moment, then stood up, tossed back his head, and began to howl.

“Awooo—ooo—”

“Awooo—ooo—”

As soon as he started, Lame Wolf and Black Wolf from Section Three rushed up the slope into Section Three’s high ground to join in, adding their own howls. Er Gou lifted his head and howled too.

The geese were certainly fierce fighters in the air, but if they landed, they’d be no match for a pack of wolves.

The chorus of howls from those four evolved wolves made the geese—exhausted from two or three days of nonstop flight and just about to land—spread their wings and push higher, abandoning both rest and food, searching instead for a safer stopover.

When the geese had finally flown off, things fell silent in the Lord’s Channel for a moment until Kuang Qingwei spoke first.

“The recorded wolf howls from the loudspeakers just don’t compare to the Azure Dragon Squad’s. I got duped this time! Thanks for the heads-up, Xia Qing. And thank you too, Captain Hu. I should’ve checked when I bought these high-powered speakers—everyone who got theirs from me, I’ll refund ten points each.”

Zhao Ze jumped in, “It’s not your fault, Qing. I’ve used those wolf-howls-on-tape before and they sound creepy enough, just didn’t expect the geese wouldn’t care. Lucky Xia Qing caught it.”

Xia Qing explained, “I’ve run into wolf packs a few times, so I can tell when something sounds off.”

Playing predator sounds from loudspeakers to drive away birds and animals was a trick the Safe Zone had used for years without a hitch. Xia Qing hadn’t thought to double-check the recordings one by one, just gave the wolf pack a heads-up so they wouldn’t be startled by the howls from the speakers.

Good thing Crippled Wolf was on site and could scare off the geese with his own howl—otherwise, Xia Qing’s oversight might’ve turned into a major loss.

Tang Huai piped up with a question. “Hey Hu, just how many tamed wolves do you really have?”

Hu Zifeng stared him down, lying without shame. “Just one. The rest were recordings.”

Tang Huai, with his keen sense of hearing, was furious. “I don’t buy that for a second!”

“Doesn’t matter if you buy it, even if you swear on your own toes, it’s got nothin’ to do with me,” Hu Zifeng shot back.

Tang Huai, by now worked up, snapped, “You damn liar, Hu! Want a fight? Why don’t you let me come up to Hill Forty-Nine and check myself? No way you’ve only got one wolf!”

Just as it seemed the Lord’s Channel was about to become their personal battleground, Tan Junjie intervened, voice stern. “Keep the Lord’s Channel quiet—there’s an emergency going on.”

Over in Territory Two, Tang Huai flung his walkie-talkie down and cursed, “Damn, this whole mission’s a mess! One minute I’m howling like an idiot, the next I’m stuck arguing—I’m about to go nuts!”

Tang Heng tried to comfort his brother. “Anyone with half a brain can figure out what’s going on. Just hang in there. Once the wheat in our territory’s harvested, we’re out of here.”

When would the wheat be ready? End of May or maybe early June. Still months to go. With a forced calm Tang Huai sent his brother away. “Real wolf howling and those recordings are worlds apart. I’m not the only one who can tell, there’s no way to keep this under wraps—it’ll need to be reported. Go patrol the territory, I’ll make a call.”

After Tang Heng left, Tang Huai sat with his head in his hands, silently growling for a bit before finally calling Xu Pin.

On the high ground of Section Three, Lame Wolf and Black Wolf gnawed at the big chunks of jerky Xia Qing had given them, while Crippled Wolf, still all business, motioned for Xia Qing to tuck the gold chain into his protective suit’s pocket.

She obliged without hesitation, then tried to reason with him. “Hey, handsome Wolf, why not let Lame Wolf and Black Wolf head back first? The three of you hanging around together is just too conspicuous.”

Once he’d gotten his prize, Crippled Wolf was easy to persuade. He signaled for the other two wolves to retreat, leaving only Er Gou by Xia Qing’s side, still chewing away at jerky.

When the other two wolves had left, Xiao Jiang hurried over to compliment Crippled Wolf. “Brother, your howl’s got serious bite! You must be top dog in the pack. Much respect, much respect.”

Chen Cheng chimed in too, talking a mile a minute. “Brother, that protective suit of yours is awesome. And those shoes let your claws poke through—you can run over all those rocks without hurting your paw pads…”

Crippled Wolf, who’d remained serious all this time, bared his gleaming fangs and let out a low warning growl when he noticed the two armed humans trying to approach.