Chapter 457: The Hunt Across the Peaks

Old Goat, Xia Qing and the three wolves have left Section Three and entered Section Four. In the monitoring room, Hu Zifeng spotted Xia Qing and the Wolf Pack on the cameras and immediately reported it to Yang Jin.

Yang Jin, who was on the phone with Xie Yu, glanced up to see Xia Qing and the three wolves sprinting across the surveillance screen. Xia Qing still couldn’t keep up with their pace, so the leading wolf held back, running a stretch before turning to check on her, clearly waiting for her to catch up.

The other two wolves flanked Xia Qing, one in front and one behind, slowing down to accommodate her. It was obvious now—Xia Qing was being protected by the Wolf Pack. They already saw her as one of their own. Yang Jin smiled, already thinking about working with Xia Qing’s new ‘combat team.’

Noticing Old Goat’s expression, Hu Zifeng stopped petting his cat. His eyes widened slowly—he looked like he’d just stumbled onto something huge!

“Meow~”

Little Five, the evolved tabby perched on Hu Zifeng’s shoulder, stared at the screen and let out a low, soft cry.

“Hungry, Little Five?” Without hesitation, Hu Zifeng pulled out some jerky made from Yellow Lantern bamboo rat, always kept on hand, and handed it over.

After the Azure Dragon Squad took over Hill Forty-Nine, they caught sixteen Yellow Lantern evolved bamboo rats and four Green Lantern ones from the bamboo grove. They fenced off an area on the mountain to raise them.

Bamboo rats breed fast. A female can have three to four litters a year, each with three to eight pups. Each rat can grow to five or even ten catties in weight, making them one of the main animals raised at the Safe Zone Breeding Center.

But the bamboo rats on Hill Forty-Nine weren’t very resistant to the Devastation Element. Raised from spring till now, three Green Lanterns had built up so much Devastation Element they turned into Yellow Lanterns, and half the Yellow Lanterns turned into Red Lantern ones. That meant, for now, the best food Hu Zifeng could offer Little Five was Yellow Lantern jerky.

Little Five grabbed the jerky, hopped onto the table, eating while following Xia Qing and the Wolf Pack as they moved from one surveillance screen to the next. With the jerky in his mouth, he walked over to continue watching.

“Er, stop.”

Just as they were about to leave Hill Forty-Nine, Xia Qing called out to Er Gou, pausing to catch her breath and scanning the valley, Hill Fifty, and the sky above.

All three wolves hunkered down with Xia Qing behind thick shrubs, watching the path ahead.

A lone crow circled above the pine forest on the mid-slope of Hill Fifty’s Third Peak. Its flight path was anything but normal. The Third Peak was exactly where Xia Qing needed to go.

Once she’d gotten her breath back, Xia Qing called Xin Yu, Hu Zifeng and Tan Junjie to confirm the crow wasn’t a surveillance bird from Territory Eight, Territory One, or the Inspection Team. Then she told the three wolves to stay hidden and wait while she set off alone, leaving Hill Forty-Nine.

Xia Qing hiked through the valley toward Hill Fifty’s Second Peak, pretending to search for medicinal herbs in the Evolved Forest while keeping a close eye on the crow circling above Third Peak. From its height and position, it was clear the bird was scouting near the bear cave.

Soon, the bird spotted Xia Qing, swooping down from Third Peak and drifting closer, drawing nearer by the second.

One thousand meters… five hundred… two hundred. Close enough!

Xia Qing crouched on the ground, pretending to dig up herbs, then quickly raised her gun. Bang!

Boom!

The crow dropped less than three meters before it exploded in midair, flesh spraying downward while feathers spun and danced on the wind. The massive blast and shockwave rattled Xia Qing—her ears rang as a flock of woodland birds took off in fright. The explosive power packed by this surveillance bird’s payload was at least three times bigger than the ones sent by Territory Two.

This must’ve been a surveillance bird from Territory Nine. No wonder Tang Zhengsu was convinced Territory Nine’s bird killed Xu Pin.

“Shit!”

Inside Territory Nine’s surveillance room, Captain Jiang Fuqiang, who’d been left in charge by Dan Ying, slammed the table and pointed at the screen, voice sharp with disbelief. “That looked like a woman! Since when does the Azure Dragon Squad have a female sniper this good? Who is she?”

Assistant Xiao Liu pushed her glasses up. “No idea.”

Already fuming, Jiang Fuqiang exploded. “You’ve worked this territory for a year and you still don’t know all the faces?!”

Xiao Liu wiped away Jiang Fuqiang’s spit from her face, lifting her chin just enough for the glare of her glasses to block her eyes. “I’m a lab assistant. I know every formula in the lab backward and forward—maybe you’d like me to test some out on you?”

Jiang Fuqiang instantly quieted down. “Carry on, I’ll ask someone else.”

Xiao Liu plunged her hand into her lab coat pocket, voice slipping to an emotionless customer-service tone. “The ‘Evolved Forest Safety Regulations’ state that surveillance birds are not allowed to approach non-team personnel without permission. Otherwise, those individuals may treat them as a threat and destroy them on sight. I don’t go into the Evolved Forest much—shouldn’t you know what counts as ‘approaching,’ Captain Jiang?”

Jiang Fuqiang gritted his teeth. “Two hundred meters.”

“Two hundred meters, huh? The 195.83 meters displayed just now was a bit small—anyone would miss it without glasses.” Xiao Liu pushed her glasses up again, hands in her pockets as she turned and left. “That person came from Hill Forty-Nine. Captain Jiang, you might want to think about how you’re going to compensate the Azure Dragon Squad for their losses.”

With Yang Jin being the stickler he is, he’d definitely demand compensation for his bullets, sniper rifle wear and tear, maybe even lost wages! Jiang Fuqiang furiously scratched his head.

A surveillance squad member zoomed in on camera and reported, “Captain! That’s a CM82 heavy sniper rifle. Based on our data, only two people in this territory own a CM82: Luo Pei from the Azure Dragon Squad and Xia Qing, the lord of Section Three.”

Jiang Fuqiang immediately relaxed, breaking into a wide grin. “Xia Qing must have exited through the Northern Gate to hunt and forage at Hill Fifty. She definitely brought the wolves. Notify the trapping team! Once we catch those wolves, we’ll head back to Fire Mountain!”

“Roger!”

Hill Fifty, Second Peak.

Xia Qing put away her gun, checked there were no people or surveillance birds nearby, then whistled. The three wolves, hiding in the bushes on Hill Forty-Nine, sped over to rejoin her.

Without even being told, the Wolf Pack snaked through the dense forest, knowing how to avoid the airborne surveillance birds.

Reaching the base of Third Peak, Xia Qing called to Er Gou, “Careful—there are aggressive vines and a giant evolved lizard ahead. Let me lead the way.”

The lizard ought to be hibernating by now, but the vines could still attack. Xia Qing didn’t want to waste bullets or break a sweat fighting trees on the way.

But before she could take point, Alpha darted nimbly past the vines, standing tall and alert by the pond.

Xia Qing stared in silence.

“Outstanding! All hail Queen—no lizard hunt today. Don’t go near the pond; giant lizard meat tastes awful and the skins are useless too.”

Man and wolf crossed the vine zone with ease. Unlike Xia Qing, who stayed tense, Crippled Wolf still found time to catch a rabbit and offered it up as a gift.