Chapter 580: Striking Deals and Warnings Among Wolves and Humans

Yang Jin took a step back as Xia Qing stepped forward, greeting the two evolved wolves who’d made it down the mountain first. “Handsome Huge Wolf, Er, you two worked hard. Thirsty? Want some water?”

Handsome Huge Wolf kept his eyes locked on Yang Jin, ready in case he tried anything. Er Gou trotted over to Xia Qing and grinned wide, laughing joyfully.

Xia Qing reached out and patted Er Gou’s head, pouring a little water for him. Then her gaze wandered to Handsome Huge Wolf—tall, strong and striking—she really wanted to ask about his relationship with the Alpha of the Western Wolf Pack.

Handsome Huge Wolf noticed Xia Qing looking his way. His icy blue eyes flicked over for just a moment before snapping right back to watch Yang Jin.

Honestly, with the Queen and the Crippled Wolf gone, Xia Qing felt a little uneasy around this wolf. Right now, he and Yang Jin were locked in a silent stare-off, so she shut her mouth before she could even ask her question.

When Broken Back made it down as well, the wolf howls nearby finally began to quiet. Xia Qing dropped her voice and asked gently, “Handsome Wolf, did you pass on the news about the monkey troop planning to invade our territory?”

Broken Back tilted his head, lips pulling back to show off two small, sharp white fangs. He grinned.

Yang Jin blinked in surprise, realizing that after spending so much time with Xia Qing, even this wolf was starting to smile a little like she did.

It was… honestly kind of charming, made you want to give him all your best treats.

Sure enough, Xia Qing couldn’t help herself.

She bent down, ruffled the wolf’s head, then pulled a big handful of roasted jerky out of her backpack and stuffed it into both side pockets of Broken Back’s protective suit. “Thanks for the hard work, Handsome Wolf. That’s some roasted jerky. Bring it back to the Queen and Handsome Wolf—chew on it when you want a snack. Once you run out, just come back to me for more.”

Yang Jin was speechless.

Broken Back flashed Xia Qing another smile, then snapped his jaws shut and glanced at the still scowling Yang Jin in the distance, before turning to head home with Handsome Huge Wolf.

Yang Jin walked Xia Qing back to Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine, but didn’t go any farther. “I need to hurry back to the Safe Zone. Once I get the microscope and seeds, I’ll bring them straight over.”

When she heard Yang Jin was rushing back, Xia Qing held off inviting him in for tea or asking about the Sufeng Squad, and instead went right to the point with a proposal.

Just in case anyone was listening, Xia Qing typed a single line on her phone and showed it to Yang Jin:

“If you go after Tang Zhengsu, count me in.”

If Tang Huai was telling the truth, then Tang Zhengsu might try to escape punishment by fleeing, and Yang Jin would never let an opportunity to hunt him down slip by.

Neither would Xia Qing. She wanted to put a bullet right between Tang Zhengsu’s eyes.

Yang Jin knew exactly why Xia Qing was bringing this up. He nodded solemnly, then watched as she and Er Gou entered Section Three, before spinning around and leaving at once.

Back inside her territory, Xia Qing went back to sorting out the Hilltop Greenhouse.

Meanwhile, the lords on the channel were all buzzing about the commotion the wolves had stirred up. Tang Huai also messaged Xia Qing to ask why Er Gou hadn’t joined in with the howling inside Section Three.

Tang Huai hadn’t spent much time with wolves, and since Xia Qing had run off north with Er Gou for more than a dozen miles, he couldn’t recognize from the howls echoing from Hill Fifty-Two that one of them was Er Gou.

Before Xia Qing could reply, her phone rang—it was Xin Yu. “Xia Qing, what happened?”

Xin Yu knew better than anyone about Xia Qing’s bond with the wolf pack. So instead of sending a surveillance bird, she just called Xia Qing directly the moment she heard the wolves howling.

Xia Qing explained in detail, “There’s a troop of over two hundred monkeys deep in the eastern Evolved Forest at Hui Six. Their territory’s got infected by a high-level mutated pathogen, so they can’t survive there anymore. They’re eyeing the wolf pack’s territory and want to seize it while the Western Wolf Pack is away taking revenge on Hui Three Base’s Safe Zone. The northern wolf packs used their howls to send a message—warning the Western wolves to come back and defend their land.”

Xin Yu pressed on, “So where exactly is the Western Wolf Pack right now?”

“In the Evolved Forest south of the Safe Zone,” Xia Qing understood what Xin Yu was getting at. “Turns out the wolves’ howls can send more information, over a greater distance than I ever imagined.”

“Hopefully the Western Wolf Pack can keep the monkeys out,” Xin Yu said. “If humans had monkeys for neighbors, there’d be endless fights over food—never mind that they’re carrying a virus. How far is their territory from us?”

Xia Qing answered, “According to the map, it’s well over a hundred li from here.”

With her own map in front of her, Xin Yu roughly pinpointed the area where the Western Wolf Pack’s territory lay and sighed, “My surveillance bird can’t fly that far.”

If it could go a hundred kilometers, that’d be unreal. Xia Qing smiled. “As long as it covers our territory, that’s already a huge help. The Military’s using drones to track the monkey troop. If I hear anything new, I’ll let you know.”

Xin Yu replied calmly, “Alright. I’m going to go make some bombs now.”

Why make bombs? Knowing Xin Yu, she was bracing for the wolf pack’s defeat.

And if the wolves did lose? Then they’d just have to blow up some monkeys.

If those monkeys dare rush into this territory, then—it’s war.

After hanging up, Xia Qing had just picked up her pliers when Wen Nengjie called out to her on the lords’ channel. “Sister Qing, are you there?”

Xia Qing hit the walkie-talkie, “Yeah, I’m here.”

Wen Nengjie sounded desperate. “My territory’s greenhouse and the main structure are mostly destroyed. The winter wheat and all the veggies froze to death. If we don’t find a way to earn some money soon, we’re going to be eating grass roots. If there’s work we can do on Hill Fifty, could you bring us along?”

Xia Qing asked calmly, “I’m currently installing cameras. Are there any electricians in your territory who can set up solar equipment and network connections?”

If they could, they’d never have been stuck doing corpse-carrying and cremation jobs back in the Safe Zone. Wen Nengjie replied, “No, we don’t know how, but we can help carry stuff and learn on the job. Is that okay?”

Xia Qing refused, “Nothing’s that heavy. I can handle it myself. Once the snow melts and it’s time to transplant saplings, I’ll put out a call on the channel.”

Wen Nengjie quickly thanked her, “Okay, got it! Thank you, Sister Qing. So, what are you working on now? Need a hand?”

Of course Xia Qing said no. “No need.”

After she set down the walkie-talkie and took a thank-you call from Kuang Qingwei, she heard Qi Fu ask on the lords’ channel, “Xia Qing, are you still going to install cameras this afternoon?”

Qi Fu asking about cameras was really his way of checking if they were heading to Hill Fifty in the afternoon.

Today Yuan Yan and Madam Shi had gone to Territory Seven to learn about preparing soil for sprouting. Now, with new techniques in hand, they were eager to check the valley’s soil for pH and trace elements. That way, they’d know what kind of fertilizer was needed.

Xia Qing replied, “We’ll head out at 7 a.m. tomorrow.”

As soon as Qi Fu confirmed, Tang Huai posted on the channel about the monkey troop’s attempt to invade Hui Three Base’s Evolved Forest, sparking another round of heated debate.

After patching up the greenhouse, Xia Qing spent some time clearing snow around the greenhouse and main structure. She took her two animal companions home for lunch, but kept an eye on her phone, waiting to hear from Yang Jin.

At the same time, the Red One Investigation Team had finished checking the losses and talking to everyone in Section One of the north. They were on their way to the Safe Zone to meet up with the team interrogating the prisoners.

Deep in the northern Evolved Forest, the Alpha—his belly swollen—and Broken Back stood on a mountain overlooking Handsome Huge Wolf and a pack of more than twenty wolves setting out into a sea of snow, heading for the Western Evolved Forest.

On the neighboring mountain, two massive bears stood shoulder to shoulder on a fog-shrouded peak, gazing off into the west.