Chapter 409: A Squirrel’s Winter, A Wolf’s Scent

The Red Squirrel living in Section Three on Hill Forty-Nine was big for its kind, but still barely longer than thirty centimeters and weighed only about two jin. When Xia Qing pulled it out of its tree hollow, it felt impossibly light in her hands.

Life in the Evolved Forest was harsh for every creature. Yet this little squirrel, always hurrying about, had already hoarded more than thirty jin of food.

Usually, twenty jin was enough for a squirrel to survive winter, but it never stopped. Day after day, it dug up corn and sunflower seeds from Xia Qing’s yard, grabbed mung beans she’d left on her windowsill, and foraged all over the Evolved Forest, hauling every scrap back to its den.

As long as the weather wasn’t cold enough to trap it inside, the squirrel kept working. Xia Qing understood its obsession—she felt that same fierce drive for food, even if they weren’t the same kind.

She took off her protective gloves, pulled a medical kit from her backpack, disinfected her hands, then slipped on sterile gloves. With practiced care, she checked the wound on the Red Squirrel’s belly.

Just one look and Xia Qing knew exactly what had hurt the Red Squirrel.

The injury was from a Green Lantern peanut plant. Its roots had sprung out violently, stabbing needle-like veins into the squirrel—six of them were still embedded in its wound. If the Red Squirrel hadn’t evolved for speed, that scratch would have been much worse. The plant’s roots could have pierced all the way through its skin and drained its blood.

“If you didn’t live next to me, you’d be dead by now,” she muttered.

Muttering as she worked, Xia Qing swiftly plucked out each peanut leaf vein, then shaved away the bloodstained white fur with her knife. She cleaned and disinfected the wound, stitched it up, and finally fed the Red Squirrel a strong anti-inflammatory medicine from Territory Seven.

She brought the squirrel home, placing it on a dry haystack in the sheep shed, then turned to Old Goat. “The Red Squirrel is hurt. Keep an eye on it for a while. Once it wakes up, let it go wherever it likes—don’t worry about it after that.”

If not for the blood scent clinging to the squirrel—easy bait for small predators—Xia Qing would never have brought it home.

“Baa.”

Surprisingly, even without her offering a ration bar as a reward, Old Goat simply agreed and curled up next to the Red Squirrel.

Looks like they knew each other well. Xia Qing raised an eyebrow, then fished out some beef jerky and waved it in front of Er Gou. “Er, how about we track the trail of blood Red Squirrel left behind? If you’re in, this jerky’s yours.”

With those vein needles stuck in its fur, there was no doubt the squirrel’s blood had dripped all the way from the Green Lantern peanuts’ patch to Section Three. This was Xia Qing’s best shot at finding where they grew.

Actually, Xia Qing would have rather teamed up with Yan Long, the high-level Scent Evolutionary from Territory Seven. But since the Blazing Fire Squad had arrived in this area and Yan Long was tasked with keeping Zhang San safe, there was no way she could leave her territory now.

Other than Yan Long, only Chen Zheng and Chen Cheng, both ordinary Scent Evolutionaries, could go into the Evolved Forest on a mission.

But the squirrel moved too fast, leaping high into the trees, sometimes leaving a huge gap between drops of blood. The Chen brothers’ evolution level was low, so tracking by scent would take far too long. It was already two in the afternoon—only three hours till sunset. There just wasn’t enough time.

Wolves, even before evolution, had amazing noses. After they evolved? Even those with just basic abilities could outsniff any high-level human Scent Evolutionary. That’s why Xia Qing decided to team up with an evolved wolf with a sharp nose.

The moment Er Gou spotted her holding the jerky, he wagged his tail—not once, but twice. He’d never done that before. Clearly, he was a fan of beef.

Xia Qing zipped Er Gou into a protective suit, slid the jerky into his side pocket, then led him straight to the spot in Section Three where she’d first found the wounded squirrel.

Er Gou sniffed the blood left on a branch, then lifted his nose and sorted through the jumble of scents. Within moments, he’d locked onto the Red Squirrel’s blood and trotted off northwest, following the valley out of Section One.

Xia Qing ran right after him, giving it everything she had.

It was about five degrees. Cold-blooded animals and insects had all gone dormant. Only bare trees remained, their branches loaded with every size of fruit.

Hunting and gathering was at its peak. The Evolved Forest was giving humans their one shot at stocking up for winter. If this hadn’t been the Azure Dragon Squad’s training ground, plenty of other teams would be scouring these hills—for sure, someone would have spotted a wolf in a protective suit and a person chasing after it.

Months of hard training had Xia Qing running at the level of a third-tier evolutionary, but she still trailed far behind Er Gou.

When Er Gou noticed her lagging, he slowed down, too. Together, they crossed from Section One of Hill Forty-Nine into Section Six, Xia Qing never once asking him to stop.

She’d already handed over enough credits to Yang Jin to roam all corners of Hill Forty-Nine this winter, free to join the Azure Dragon Squad’s training. Once they found where those Green Lantern peanuts grew, figuring out how to split the spoils with Yang Jin could wait.

But Xia Qing hadn’t expected this—Green Lantern peanuts weren’t even planted on Hill Forty-Nine.

“Er, stop.” Xia Qing called out as the wolf was leaving Hill Forty-Nine. After catching her breath, she pointed across the valley at Hill Fifty. “Does the blood scent lead over there?”

Er Gou panted, tongue lolling, and cocked his head at Xia Qing—a sure sign he agreed.

Xia Qing hesitated just a moment, then pulled out her phone and called Hu Zifeng. “Captain Hu, I’m right at the edge of Section Six, Hill Forty-Nine. I want to head into the Evolved Forest below the third peak of Hill Fifty. Any idea where Territory Two’s refugees are camped right now?”

Hu Zifeng glanced at the monitor showing a person and a wolf. Instead of asking why Xia Qing was going, he just replied, “I’ll check. Two minutes.”

“Got it, thanks.”

Hanging up, Xia Qing took out two premium nutrient shakes. She downed one herself and motioned for Er Gou to lift his head, squeezing the other straight into his mouth.

Jing Kuan winced. “Sister Qing is actually feeding a premium nutrient shake to a wolf…”

Guan Tong was more puzzled by something else. “Two hours till sunset. Can Sister Qing really make it back in time? It’s way too risky to run around the Evolved Forest alone after dark.”

Sure, Xia Qing’s marksmanship was sharp and her combat skills had improved fast, but in Guan Tong’s eyes and the others’ too, she was just another Strength Evolutionary who happened to be good with a gun. No way should she be out there solo at night.

Meanwhile, the tabby cat poked its head out of Hu Zifeng’s protective suit, round eyes locked on the monitor—watching a wolf in clothes, tipping its head back to drink, and a human hand gently wiping its mouth.

“Alright Er, take a break, too.” With that, Xia Qing pocketed the empty bottles, sat back on a rock to rest, and let the wolf keep watch, its back to her, ears alert for any danger.