Chapter 575: An Unexpected Interview on the High Slope

“From what I’ve gathered, Ms. Xia, you were the first to spot and take down the Evolved Bat, right?” Peng Zhen, team leader of Red One’s field investigation squad, stood politely on the high slope of Section Three and turned to Xia Qing.

Standing beside him was a recorder, head down and pen poised. The more Xia Qing learned about Magnetic Sense, the less she underestimated these seemingly inconspicuous staff members. Some of them could be Evolutionaries with Magnetic Sense or similar abilities, able to detect the bioelectric fields and emotional fluctuations in a person as they heard or answered questions—judging if someone was nervous.

Even in the unremarkable Section One of Hui Three’s northern territory, there were already three Magnetic Sense Evolutionaries squeezed in. No surprise that the Red One team was stacked with talent—having Evolutionaries even stronger than Xin Yu wouldn’t be strange at all.

Xia Qing nodded calmly. “Yes.”

After taking down the bat, she’d put out a public notice in the Inspection Team’s channel. There was no hiding it.

The recorder jotted it down. Peng Zhen pressed on, “Where were you when you fired?”

Xia Qing led Peng Zhen to her sniper spot. Snow still covered the hillside—clear marks from that night when she and Er Gou had been there.

Peng Zhen had his people measure the straight-line distance from her position to the explosion site, snap photos and take notes. Then he asked, “That Evolved Bat was nearly silent in flight, and I heard the bats that broke into our territory were using stealth coating so you couldn’t catch them with night vision. How did you figure out where the bat was and bring it down?”

Xia Qing explained, “It was actually the Evolved Wolf recuperating in my territory who noticed the bat first. I aimed at the sky based on its abnormal behavior. It took me three shots, but I finally hit the Evolved Bat.”

Even with stealth coating, no bat could hide from an Evolved Wolf’s sharp nose, ears, and eyes.

“Landing three shots in those conditions—that’s impressive. That bat seemed to be heading straight for your hiding spot. Any closer and you might’ve been hurt.”

Xia Qing didn’t acknowledge the compliment, just addressed the main point. “After the bat exploded, I had a strong case of acoustic shock. For a while, I couldn’t hear any orders or updates over the walkie-talkie.”

Peng Zhen nodded—he’d seen that in other teams’ reports. “Your symptoms were pretty severe, but less than ten minutes later you could hear again and give precise replies. Did you take or use any medicine you’d prepared in advance?”

Xia Qing calmly explained, “I hadn’t prepared anything. After the explosion, I used oral and topical medicine from Territory Seven I’d just gotten, plus some acupoint massage to quickly reduce the ringing in my ears.”

Peng Zhen pressed, “Did someone from Territory Seven deliver those to you?”

With her sensitive hearing, Xia Qing caught the subtle difference in Peng Zhen’s tone. Seemed like he thought this question mattered. But Xia Qing stayed completely calm. “At the time, I couldn’t hear. I’m not sure if my people fetched the medicine or someone from Territory Seven dropped it off.”

Peng Zhen asked, “Could you confirm that now?”

Now? Sure.

Right in front of Peng Zhen, Xia Qing got in touch with Hu Zifeng. Turns out Ji Li had called Hu Zifeng, who sent Speed Evolver Jing Kuan to pick up the meds.

The recorder scribbled away. Peng Zhen followed up, “Is that sick wolf still in your territory?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Yes. It can only eat cooked food now, so it’s still recovering in my territory.”

Peng Zhen asked, “Are you keeping it in a cage or…?”

Xia Qing explained, “I saved its life, so it won’t hurt me. There’s a wall around my territory, but since it could still threaten others here, I keep it free-range inside. It’s extremely wary of strangers though, so for now I’ve shut it inside my house.”

Peng Zhen got the gist and let the issue drop. “Do you have any pictures of the wolf?”

Xia Qing found two photos on her phone: one of the wolf looking pitiful right after Alpha brought it into her territory, and another of how it looked now.

The recorder peeked over curiously. Side by side, the two photos made the contrast obvious.

Peng Zhen smiled. “That’s a wolfdog, probably descended from a herding dog and an Evolved Wolf in Evolved Forest a few years before the Cataclysm. Friendlier than a pure Evolved Wolf, I’d guess. On the night of the beast tide, over on the Third Peak of Hill Fifty, the local wolf pack howled to block other wolves from driving the beast tide into our territory. Did that have anything to do with your sick wolf?”

Xia Qing stayed perfectly calm, providing only what she knew. “My wolf was howling along with the others that night, but I can’t say if there was any connection.”

Peng Zhen nodded, then asked, “Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Xia. Would it be possible for us to check out the tracks that wolf pack left on the Third Peak of Hill Fifty?”

Xia Qing didn’t answer directly. “Third Peak has high-risk areas. I can’t give permission for that. You’d have to ask Territory Seven’s leader personally.”

Peng Zhen kept things polite. “Could you contact the leader now? Our investigation is on a tight deadline—we need to finish our surveys quickly.”

These people clearly weren’t giving her any chance for private talks, Xia Qing thought as she nodded and contacted Ji Li right in front of Peng Zhen.

Ji Li answered promptly, “Third Brother isn’t up yet. You’ll have to wait until he wakes.”

“Alright.” Xia Qing hung up and looked at Peng Zhen.

Peng Zhen just smiled. “Oh well—can’t help it. We’ll check out Territory Eight first and wait to ask Territory Seven once their leader’s up. Ms. Xia, you must know who Territory Seven’s leader really is, right?”

Xia Qing nodded but didn’t say a word. No way was she going to spill anything about her Idol now.

Peng Zhen seemed to get the message and switched to making small talk about how crops were growing in the territory and how the local climate compared to Red One’s.

Once they’d finished inspecting the explosion site and collecting samples, Peng Zhen led his group off. Unlike last time, they left through the Northern Gate. “We’re heading to the explosion site in Section Four—taking the Northern Gate is shorter than leaving through the refugee area.”

Xia Qing didn’t care either way.

After following Xia Qing out the Northern Gate, Peng Zhen glanced at the freshly cleared path leading from Section Three’s Northern Gate to Hill Forty-Nine. He asked casually, “Ms. Xia, does someone keep this path tidy all the time?”

“Yes.”

Every time wolves passed through, this road got a careful cleaning—any trace of Evolved Wolf footprints or scent wiped away.

Of course, that wasn’t the public reason for it. Xia Qing added calmly, “Hu Zifeng says having a path like this makes it feel more like home.”

The whole investigation team, forced to swallow a mouthful of dog food, drifted off toward Section Four. Not long after, Tang Huai also wandered over from the west, equally force-fed by this slice of domestic bliss.