Chapter 582: A Midnight Task: Wolves, Monkeys, and Deadly Fungi

Inside the Greenhouse on the lower slope, Section Three, Northern Section One, Hui Three, Xia Qing finished watching the video by the Pure Spring and quickly dialed Idol’s number.

“Third Brother, have you heard about the outbreak of a highly-evolved pathogenic fungus in the monkey troop’s territory in the Eastern Evolved Forest at Hui Six Base?”

“Cut the small talk,” Zhang San replied, sounding exhausted. His mood was clearly foul, probably due to another allergy flareup.

“Alright.” Xia Qing got straight to the point. “That group of monkeys infected with the fungus stormed the Western Wolf Pack’s territory at Hui Three and failed. Dozens were killed. Third Brother, how can I completely eradicate this fungus? What medicine should I give to the wolves that fought the monkeys to prevent or cure a fungal infection?”

The wolves that fought the monkeys might already be infected.

Zhang San’s mood soured even more after hearing all this. “Who told you to take this on? You’re a territory lord who grows crops. This has nothing to do with you, so quit sticking your nose in it.”

Honestly, Xia Qing didn’t want to meddle either, but she said, “I just want to be prepared, just in case. I think Broken Back will come looking for me and ask me to deal with it.”

That’s because the science videos Broken Back kept studying always said that you should call in professionals when you discover animal bodies infected with evolved microorganisms.

Back when they watched that video, Broken Back hadn’t really understood. Xia Qing had paused it twice to explain why eating animals that died of disease was a horrible idea—then taught it how to handle corpses: dig a deep pit and bury them or come get her for help.

So Xia Qing figured the Northern Wolf Pack was guarding the monkey corpses in the Western Evolved Forest waiting for Broken Back.

Either Broken Back was already on the way to dig a pit or on the way to get her help dealing with the bodies.

It was freezing out. Given how clever Broken Back was, Xia Qing doubted it’d actually bother digging by itself in this cold. She needed to be ready—no way did she want to get dissed by the same wolf twice in one day.

After Xia Qing finished explaining, Zhang San fell into a long silence.

“Beep.”

When Xia Qing heard the chime from her phone, her heart skipped a beat.

“Beep.”

The second chime made Xia Qing feel a little relieved, like a stone dropping to the ground.

“Beep.”

When the phone chimed a third time, Xia Qing closed her laptop.

The moment Broken Back pushed open the security door but didn’t come in to wash its feet, just stared at her with those amber eyes, Xia Qing immediately knew why it’d come.

Want her to handle the bodies? No problem at all.

In her most pleasant tone, Xia Qing asked, “Handsome Wolf, did the battle between your pack and the monkeys end? Did you need something from me?”

Broken Back tossed its head toward the door, signaling for Xia Qing to come out. When she stepped outside, it turned sideways so she could reach into the pocket on its flank.

With her heart pounding, Xia Qing reached into Broken Back’s fur pocket and pulled out a walnut-sized Yi Stone. Her hands were shaking.

It had been two months. She hadn’t received a single Yi Stone from the wolves in all that time. No wonder she got emotional!

So emotional, her voice nearly floated away. “Handsome Wolf, what do you want for this Yi Stone?”

Broken Back took a few steps forward and glanced back at her.

“You want me to come with you?”

Right now?

Seriously? Does it really expect her to trek through a pitch-black Evolved Forest in the middle of the night just to burn monkeys a hundred kilometers away? Can’t this wait till morning? The monkeys are frozen solid—it won’t make a difference.

Broken Back bared just the tips of its fangs: Yes.

Gripping the Yi Stone worth three hundred thousand credits, Xia Qing tried reasoning with it. “Handsome Wolf, is this going to be dangerous? I run slow—I can’t keep up with you.”

Personal flight gear? That thing can only go ten kilometers per trip—plus it’s got a low weight limit. Even if Broken Back carried extra fuel for her, thirty kilometers was the max. She’d have to run the other seventy on foot?

Traveling seventy kilometers at night, through the Evolved Forest, tailing an evolved wolf—sure, winter was the safest season, but for a human it was still insanely risky.

Broken Back trotted forward a bit more and looked back at Xia Qing again.

Alright then…

“Let’s go. Time to move out.” Xia Qing swung her backpack on—thank goodness she kept her supplies packed or she’d be scrambling right now. She called Hu Zifeng to send someone to watch over her territory, messaged Yang Jin, and after giving Old Goat a pep talk, set off with Er Gou, following Broken Back.

It wasn’t that she wanted to bring Er Gou—it just wouldn’t let her go alone.

This was the second time today she’d crossed Hill Forty-Nine and the swamp. By the time they reached the base of Hill Fifty-Two, Xia Qing was already panting a little. But the sight of four huge wolves waiting in the snow made her sigh in relief.

Riding on a wolf was a lot easier than running, that was for sure.

Er Gou stepped forward, sniffing and greeting the four huge wolves. A brown-gray wolf approached Xia Qing, looking down at her with its bright green eyes.

Standing tall, this wolf was even bigger than Xia Qing, who was bent over, hands on her knees, catching her breath.

Xia Qing straightened up and beamed. “Big Guy, long time no see. Sorry in advance—another rough night for you.”

Then, as if she’d done it hundreds of times, Xia Qing climbed onto the huge wolf’s back and hugged its neck. The brown-gray wolf raised its head, shook it out, and set off with the pack toward the Western Evolved Forest.

Lying flat against the wolf’s back, Xia Qing used this rare chance to practice her magnetic sense. As the pack charged deeper into the forest, the number of Devastation Evolution plants noticeably increased, but the wolves knew the route by heart and avoided every dangerous one.

After running more than twenty li, Broken Back came to a stop. It took a few stern growls before another huge wolf reluctantly let Xia Qing hop on and carried her the rest of the way. With a heavy human rider to slow them down, the wolf pack needed two hours to reach the Western Wolf Pack’s territory.

The presence of a human incited furious howls from the Western Wolf Pack.

Chest out and head held high, Xia Qing stood between Broken Back and Er Gou, locking eyes with the Western pack’s Alpha. She trusted Broken Back but had zero faith in a group that had just killed dozens of monkeys.

She carried a sniper rifle and brought over thirty grenades and ten tranquilizer rounds. If the Western Wolf Pack attacked, she wouldn’t hesitate to fight back—even if it meant killing wolves.

Sure, it was the humans who’d killed the wolf pups first—but it wasn’t her. No way would she let anyone pin that on her.

“Awoo—woo—”

Broken Back’s solemn howl broadcast its displeasure.

“Awoo—woo—woo—”

The Handsome Huge Wolf near the dead monkeys joined in with an authoritative howl, and twenty or so wolves from the Northern Pack followed suit.

The sound sent a thrill through Xia Qing’s blood. If she weren’t worried that a bad accent might cause trouble, she’d have howled along too.

The Western Wolf Pack finally retreated, and only then did Broken Back lead Xia Qing over to the mound of dead monkeys.

Looking them over, Xia Qing saw some monkeys had been killed by wolf bites, others ripped open at the throat or belly by sharp claws. All the bodies were frozen stiff, their ragged fur dusted in white frost.

Monkey faces look so much like human ones. Seeing so many monkey corpses brought back memories of the Safe Zone after that swarming insect attack.