Chapter 411: The Howl in the Forest: Crisis on Hill Fifty

Even with the wind making things tricky, Xia Qing was still able to pinpoint the refugee squad’s location with her enhanced hearing—southwest, two hundred meters in a straight line.

Southwest, two hundred meters away…

Xia Qing made a quick decision. She led Er Gou back ten meters, telling him to hide behind a thick tree and stay still. Xia Qing slipped on her cat’s claw climbing shoes, scaled up to six meters, pulled out her silenced sniper rifle and took aim.

Once the six armed refugees stepped into her chosen spot, she squeezed the trigger and struck a vine a hundred sixty meters out.

Making it to the tenth year after the cataclysm wasn’t luck. Back when she was weaker, Xia Qing moved cautiously, always weighing every step. Even now, stronger than ever, she never let her guard down. If she weren’t completely confident, she wouldn’t have risked bringing Er Gou into Hill Fifty, knowing there were refugees hunting there.

Every time she made a move forward, she’d survey her surroundings and constantly think about how to use the creatures of the Evolved Forest to her advantage in case trouble broke out.

Right now, the same mutated vines that had trapped falcons and centipedes, and the evolved giant lizards lurking in the pond, all became her ‘allies.’

As soon as the vine was shot, it lashed out in a frenzy, sending chaos across a forty-meter radius. The animals hiding in or near the area scattered in panic. Over by the pond, the giant lizard pack began to hunt. Their chosen prey, of course, was the largest target: the six humans.

From the way the refugees fought back and worked together, Xia Qing could tell this squad was tight-knit and experienced. In twenty minutes tops, they’d shake off both vines and lizards.

But twenty minutes was all she needed.

Xia Qing hopped down, stowed her climbing shoes, and led Er Gou out of Hill Fifty the same way they’d come. They returned to Section Seven of Hill Forty-Nine—firmly Azure Dragon Squad turf. Safe and sound.

She let the Huge Wolf rest under a tree, then scampered up a towering pine with her cat’s claw shoes to keep an eye on the fighting back in Hill Fifty.

Once the refugees drove off the lizards, they completely ignored the corpses and kept moving. When Xia Qing saw they weren’t heading for the crevice with Green Lantern peanuts, she radioed Hu Zifeng to let him know she was safe. After that, she and Er Gou snuck across Hill Forty-Nine in the dark, finally circling back through the north gate to Section Three by eight at night.

As soon as Er Gou made it back to the village, Xiao Jiang hurried over and asked, “Sister Qing, any luck?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Sort of. Time was tight so I couldn’t nail down the exact spot.”

Xiao Jiang was just as thrilled for her. “After tailing Red Squirrel for so long, we’re finally onto something! When are you heading out tomorrow, Sister Qing?”

Xia Qing shook her head. “Probably not tomorrow. Refugees from Territory Two are already heading for Hill Fifty’s Third Peak. My guess? They’re after the evolved bear.”

“No way…”

“Roooaaar—”

Before Xiao Jiang could finish, an angry bear’s roar thundered across the night. There was no more doubt—those Territory Two folks were gunning for the evolved bear.

“Damn it!” Xiao Jiang cursed, bolting for the north gate. “Sister Qing, I’m heading out!”

“Baa——”

“Boss, I’m back!” Xia Qing heard Old Goat’s anxious call and shouted back, running toward him.

Before she got there, she spotted Er Gou dashing at breakneck speed, launching himself at a tree as thick as a grown man’s thigh just two meters from the iron mesh wall, then rebounding neatly over the four-meter-high fence into Section Three’s Wolf Den—heading straight to protect his injured sister, Lame Wolf’s little sister.

Watching this, Xia Qing realized Er Gou was even smarter than she’d thought.

“Rooooaar——”

A second, even angrier bear roar cut through the distance as Xia Qing reunited with her teammates at the village entrance. While she stroked Old Goat’s fur as he stuck close to her legs, Xia Qing listened intently.

As soon as she heard gunshots, Xia Qing’s expression turned grim.

With temperatures close to freezing, evolved bears would normally be holed up in their warm dens. So, those people must have barged into the bear’s lair first and picked a fight.

If they kill the bear in its own den, there’s a good chance they’ll enrage the two Brain-Evolved Bear leaders up on Hill Sixty-One. If those monsters decide to lash out, this human settlement without walls will be first in line.

Shit!

“ROAR!”

This third roar was nothing like the other two. The second evolved bear had been stirred up and the gunfire was getting heavier.

“All Territory Lords or agents from One to Ten, report immediately. Is any of your team still inside Hill Fifty’s Evolved Forest?”

Hu Zifeng was the first to respond. “No one from Territory One.”

Xia Qing waited a few seconds, but nobody from Territory Two spoke up. She pressed the walkie-talkie. “Section Three is all accounted for.”

Zhao Ze’s Mother chimed in right after. “Everyone from Section Four is inside the territory.”

……

When even Shizhong had reported in and there was still nothing from Territory Two, Captain Tan spoke up directly. “Territory Two, please respond.”

Tang Zhengbo replied calmly, “Captain Tan, Territory Two’s agent Tang Huai was sent to Territory Seven for treatment. Before leaving, he handed over all duties—Territory Two is currently under the temporary leadership of Zhou Xun.”

Captain Tan replied, “Received. Zhou Xun, acting agent for Territory Two, please report.”

After ten seconds, Zhou Xun finally snapped back, “Captain Tan, a squad of ten refugees from Territory Two was attacked by mutated beasts in Hill Fifty. Only four have returned so far—the other six are still missing and their status is unknown. I’ve already tried hailing them; their walkies aren’t responding.”

“Territory Two, report which weapons the missing six were carrying,” Captain Tan’s voice stayed icy and sharp.

Two minutes later, Zhou Xun finally answered. “They set out with four homemade pistols and twenty grenades. Today’s mission was hunting grass-eaters, so the bear attack must’ve caught them off guard.”

“Copy that. Nobody from Territories One to Ten is to leave the perimeter. Keep your walkies on at all times.”

After Captain Tan’s order, Section Eight’s acting head, Zhou Zhaoping, spoke up. “I heard there are Brain-Evolved Bears deep in the northern forest?”

Hu Zifeng confirmed, “Yes, at least two full-grown ones have been spotted over sixty miles north inside the Evolved Forest.”

Zhao Ze, pale at this, stammered, “Are those the same bears that led a swarm of evolved giants and wiped out over ten thousand at Base Four in the fourth year after the cataclysm? You’re telling me there are TWO like that right on our doorstep? My god—”

“That’s right,” Hu Zifeng said. Then he pressed the issue with Territory Two: “Territory Two, was this crucial intel not passed on to your hunters before they left?”