Chapter 447: A Wolf’s Return and a New Evolution

Xia Qing waved goodbye to Hu Zifeng’s Squad, hefted her big sack, and headed for Section Three on Hill Forty-Nine to collect boar manure. Along the way, she planned to remove Lame Wolf’s little sister’s protective gear and check on her healing leg. If things looked good, the wolf could finally go back to Hill Sixty-One.

After Hu Zifeng confirmed there were no ambushes in Section Three’s northern barrier and no cameras were flying overhead on Hill Forty-Nine, Xia Qing left Er Gou and Old Goat to guard the territory, then made her way to Wolf Valley alone.

She’d originally considered sedating Lame Wolf’s sister before removing the gear and checking her recovery, but as luck would have it, the Alpha was here today.

Alpha was busy eating boar. She didn’t bother checking, but Xia Qing figured he was feasting on the Green Lantern or Yellow Lantern wild boar.

So, instead of rushing to collect manure, Xia Qing started gathering fallen leaves around the valley, stuffing them into her big sack to take back for filling the windbreak trench. The wind had been fierce these last couple of days, blowing a thick layer of leaves into the valley.

Collecting these leaves wasn’t without risk. Poisonous bugs and small critters liked to hide in the piles to stay warm—a careless hand might end with a bite or a scratch.

Even though she wore snakeskin gloves enhanced with Hardness Evolution, Xia Qing didn’t let down her guard. She swept through the leaves with her long blade first. The evolved trees’ leaves came in all sorts of colors, not just the usual dead yellow. Black, purple, red, and yellow mixed together—a mess of color, banded like a wild oil painting, and honestly a little intimidating.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long for Xia Qing to disturb a massive hedgehog balled up tight. The hedgehog, either trusting its disguise or its spines, played dead, pretending to be nothing more than a harmless ball.

Its meat was lousy anyway, so Xia Qing didn’t bother checking it. She flicked it into a crack between some rocks and kept going. Suddenly, a little snake, emerald green from head to tail with bright red eyes, launched straight from the leaves—aiming right for her neck.

In a flash, Xia Qing slammed her knife down, pinning the snake in place, then took a closer look.

Most snakes went for whatever they could reach—feet or legs, usually. But this one ignored her legs and struck right for her neck. What did that mean?

It probably meant she’d found a snake with Brain Evolution.

After almost a year managing her territory, Xia Qing had killed at least three hundred snakes—maybe even five hundred. Yet she’d never run across a single brain-evolved snake. All these years surviving the Cataclysm, she’d started thinking maybe snakes just couldn’t evolve that way.

Now, faced with a likely candidate, she was fascinated.

For other animals, Xia Qing could sometimes read Brain Evolution from their faces. Not so with snakes—just a smooth head and two eyes, about the size of a Green Lantern’s. No expression at all. Xia Qing honestly couldn’t tell if this meter-long snake was a Brain Evolution type or not.

Just then, Alpha finished his meal and trotted over. Xia Qing scooped the little snake up and stashed it in the pouch at her waist. She greeted him, “Queen, had your fill?”

Alpha stood beside her and shook out his thick fur. He’d only had a medicinal bath two days ago—his coat was fluffy, glossy, and irresistibly soft. Xia Qing couldn’t help but reach out, kneading a couple of handfuls. Pure bliss.

He shot her a look, then hopped up onto a rock to soak up the sun. Lame Wolf’s sister came out of the cave and dug into her meal. Even with her splints still on, she managed to stand and eat meat. After a month recuperating with a herd of wild boars, her waist was visibly thicker.

Xia Qing kept collecting leaves. Only when Lame Wolf’s sister’s belly was bulging did she go test the wild boar scraps left by the two wolves. Sure enough, it was a Yellow Lantern. Xia Qing quickly sliced away the parts where the wolves had chewed, sealed up the clean meat in a bag, and stuffed it into her backpack. She had Green Lantern python meat at home, but if the meat was edible, she’d never let any go to waste. Both she and Er Gou were big meat eaters—they went through a lot.

Alpha and Lame Wolf’s sister didn’t seem to mind her taking what was left. They’d eaten their fill and wouldn’t need food again for at least two days. With Er Gou still inside her territory, someone else would put the meat to good use.

Once the meat was packed, Xia Qing asked Alpha to use his presence to keep Lame Wolf’s sister calm and swiftly removed the splints from her hind legs, giving them a thorough check. Satisfied, she clapped her hands. “All healed up. Take it easy…”

But before she could finish, Lame Wolf’s sister zipped away, tearing around Wolf Valley like a furry rocket—leaping and bouncing everywhere, scaring wild boar and sending snowbirds shrieking. Going wild with excitement, she even outpaced Lame Wolf at his craziest.

Watching the familiar scene, Xia Qing grinned. “Queen, this one’s Lame Wolf’s real sister, isn’t she?”

Queen fixed her gaze on Lame Wolf’s sister for a moment, clearly pleased with her recovery, then lowered her head closer to Xia Qing.

Xia Qing knew what she wanted. She took off her protective mask and leaned in, gently bumping heads—a small celebration for the wolf’s recovery. Then, pointing at the still-crazy wolf, she told Alpha, “Nine nights from now you can bring her over for a medicinal bath. That’ll help her bones finish healing.”

Xia Qing had no idea how to explain the passage of nine days to a wolf. After a bit of thought she pulled out her phone, checked the lunar calendar—November 29 was the 19th day of the 10th lunar month—then scrolled to a photo she’d taken of the August 19 full moon. She showed it to Alpha. “That’s the moon. The one in the sky.”

Alpha seemed intrigued by the picture. He sniffed at the phone, circled to check out the back, peered at the screen again, then lifted his head and searched the sky—as if looking for the real thing.

“Right, that’s the moon up there.” Xia Qing beamed. She felt like she’d finally found a way to talk time with the pack. “When you see the moon looking like this, just after sunset, bring Lame Wolf’s sister to my territory for her medicinal bath.”

Alpha studied the photo a while longer, then lost interest and bounded off after Lame Wolf’s sister. The two of them tumbled through the valley, chasing, wrestling, and roughhousing.

The cameras in Wolf Valley had long since been smashed to bits by the pack, so nobody would see anything here. Xia Qing let them play, turning her attention back to leaf collecting.

Once the wolves had worn themselves out, Alpha circled back to Xia Qing, pacing around her in a farewell loop—letting her know he was headed out.

Xia Qing stopped him. She pulled out a strip of python jerky and offered it. “Queen, that python you all brought me last time was a top-grade evolved animal. Eating its meat is good for you. Want to try the jerky?”

Alpha sniffed the jerky and walked away, uninterested. Lame Wolf’s sister drifted over, took a few sniffs, and her ears perked up. Xia Qing tossed her the jerky, and the young wolf snapped it from the air, gnawing on it like a chew toy.

Xia Qing had fully expected this outcome.

In this pack, food always went to the strongest first, the rest got what was left. Queen ruled over Evolved Forest, with endless hunting ground and first pick after every kill. She didn’t lack for Green Lantern meat, and she’d probably eaten plenty of top-grade evolved meat before. More high-grade python would do nothing for her evolution now.

She always preferred her meat tender and juicy anyway, and tough python simply wasn’t worth her trouble.

“If Queen isn’t interested, then Er Gou and I will eat the rest.”

Er Gou used to be strong too, probably tasted top-grade evolved meat before. But that nasty parasite infection meant he wasn’t back at his peak just yet—he needed all the high-nutrition food he could get to recover his strength and resistance.

Xia Qing couldn’t help looking forward to seeing what Er Gou would be capable of once he was back in top form.