Chapter 593: Riding the Handsome Wolf Home

Xia Qing spoke softly, lowering her voice as she tried to negotiate. “Handsome Wolf, will you give me a ride? Take me back to Section Three. I have to be home tonight. Old Goat and Er Gou are waiting for me in the territory. I’m way too slow on my own. If you don’t want to, you could just call a few wolves to take me instead.”

The Handsome Huge Wolf stood there, his icy blue eyes staring at Xia Qing, completely expressionless.

“What’s up?”

“Just because you’re good-looking doesn’t mean you get to ignore a human who’s trying to ask for help!”

Time was tight, so Xia Qing ditched the reasoning. She clambered right onto the wolf’s back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and announced her decision. “Thanks for giving me a lift, Handsome Wolf. Once I’m home, I’ll give you a brand-new quilt. Softer than the one Broken Back Wolf got!”

The Handsome Huge Wolf shook his neck, then shook his body harder, but no matter what, he just couldn’t dislodge Xia Qing. He stood there a little while longer before setting off with her, racing west.

As soon as they started, Xia Qing realized this wolf was even sturdier than the grey-brown huge wolf and all the others. He ran steady and fast, clearing ravines several meters wide with just a single bound.

Xia Qing decided she needed to get on this wolf’s good side in the future—riding him was way better than being carried by someone else or even riding any other wolf.

But after five minutes of running, Xia Qing started to get anxious. “Hey, Big Wolf, are we heading the wrong way? Aren’t we supposed to be going back to Hill Forty-Nine, to my territory…?”

The Handsome Huge Wolf seemed deaf to Xia Qing’s muttering and just kept running straight ahead with unwavering determination.

Now Xia Qing’s heart was in knots. Did this wolf really not understand her? Was he taking her back to the Western Wolf Pack’s den?

No way!

If she didn’t make it home tonight, someone would show up at Section Three in the morning and Chang Li wouldn’t be able to cover for her. If folks found out she’d been involved tonight, the Su Feng Squad remnants wouldn’t risk revenge on Qinglong—but they’d definitely show up in her territory to cause trouble.

Her revenge was already accomplished. She was done with Su Feng drama. All she wanted now was to live quietly and farm in peace.

What should she do? The only way she could contact the outside world was with her walkie-talkie. She didn’t even have a photo to show the Handsome Huge Wolf her destination.

If they went much farther, the walkie-talkie would be out of range.

Xia Qing patted the wolf’s neck, signaling him to let her down. If you’re not willing to give me a lift, I’ll just turn back to Section Seven and contact Yang Jin to send someone for me.

But the Handsome Huge Wolf ignored her, running a bit farther before finally letting her down. Then he started pawing at the snow and stones on the ground. In no time, he’d dug quite a deep pit and dug up a…

A human’s backpack?

Surprised, Xia Qing quickly stepped back with the wolf, hid behind a big tree, grabbed a rock, and tossed it at the pack a few times. After making sure the stuff inside was just hard and not a bomb or anything dangerous, she jumped down into the pit and fished out the backpack. She opened the bag inside, then another bag within that. What she saw next left her stunned.

Yi Stones. An entire backpack full of Yi Stones!

Xia Qing immediately pulled out a large bag from her waist pouch and started piling the Yi Stones in piece by piece, her grin stretching all the way to the back of her head.

Big and small, there were 80 Yi Stones in total! No wonder Tang Zhengsu risked everything to rush here—there was real hard currency in this place!

But were these just Yi Stones? No, this was her spoils of war. Her very own New Year’s treasure haul!

She quickly stuffed the loaded bag into her own backpack with bullets and grenades.

That backpack on the ground? Who knows if there’s a tracker or some kind of locator on it! Burn it, then collect the ashes and take them away.

Evidence or footprints? Cover them up!

Lingering scents? She pulled out the Idol’s scent-blocker and sprayed it everywhere.

The pit? Get the wolf to fill it back in, then add a little more spray!

Only when everything was cleaned up did Xia Qing, now carrying several kilos of Yi Stones, climb back onto the Handsome Huge Wolf’s back. Her voice was gentle as water. “Big Wolf, did you build the Blue Star Pyramid? You’re amazing! Hey, you got any more of these backpacks? Want to keep digging?”

The Handsome Huge Wolf gave his neck another shake and broke into a run.

With the Yi Stones strapped on, Xia Qing looked up, checking their direction by the stars. She realized the Handsome Huge Wolf was heading north. So this really was a one-time New Year’s gift—now he was taking her home.

Half an hour later, Xia Qing noticed the wolf was starting to tire.

Yang Jin had given her a protective suit that came with a water bottle—there was still water inside.

Xia Qing had the wolf put her down. She quickly used a small bag as a cup, poured out the water, added a premium nutrient shake, and offered it to the wolf. “Big Wolf, have some water. There’s a nutrient shake in here that’ll help you recover your strength. You’ll feel much better after this.”

The Handsome Huge Wolf might not have understood her words, but he was definitely thirsty. He sniffed the bag and gulped the mixture down, then looked up at Xia Qing with his icy blue eyes.

“Still thirsty? No problem!” Xia Qing poured in the rest of the water from her bottle.

Once the wolf was satisfied, Xia Qing didn’t pour out what little was left. She waited for it to freeze, packed the ice away, and made sure not to leave any obvious traces as they traveled.

With Yi Stones worth millions of credits on her back, Xia Qing wasn’t about to get careless.

After drinking his quick-recovery nutrient shake, it didn’t take long for the Handsome Huge Wolf to bounce back. He looked at Xia Qing’s hand with those blue eyes.

Xia Qing, who’d spent a lot of time with wolves, got the message right away. She pulled out the soft plastic bottle from the nutrient shake and demonstrated slowly. “This is called a premium nutrient shake. Drink it, and you’ll have energy for the whole day with almost no side effects.”

“Only one per day, though. Any more and it’s not good. Handsome Wolf, whenever you want another, just come find me in Section Three. No need to trade—I’ll give it to you for free.”

After all, for today’s haul of Yi Stones, even if the Handsome Huge Wolf brought his whole extended family to drink premium nutrient shakes, Xia Qing wouldn’t mind a bit.

Soon, with the high-evolution spinach being grown all over Hui Three, the cost of premium nutrient shakes would drop dramatically.

For Xia Qing, that basically meant picking a few spinach leaves from the fields and adding a drop or two of pesticide.

Even though the wolf drank a nutrient shake, Xia Qing still insisted he rest for ten minutes after every thirty-minute run. Around three in the morning, the pair finally reached the northern slopes of Hill Fifty-Two, where the wolf refused to go any farther.

Xia Qing hopped off his back, smoothed down the fur along his back and neck, and thanked him sincerely. “Thanks, Big Wolf, bringing me all this way. I know it was tough. I’ve got a quilt for you—want to take it now?”

The Handsome Huge Wolf didn’t seem interested in the quilt. He turned and ran off. From the direction, it didn’t look like he was heading back to Hill Sixty but retracing the route to the Western Evolved Forest. Could it be he and the twenty-odd wolves under him had all joined the Western Wolf Pack and weren’t going back to Hill Sixty?

With the Queen about to give birth—or maybe she already had—losing members now was far too dangerous for the pack.

Only after watching the Handsome Huge Wolf vanish into the endless snows did Xia Qing, backpack full of Yi Stones, hurry across Hill Forty-Nine. She swiped her way through the Northern Gate of Section Three and set foot in her own territory. There, inside the gate, Er Gou was waiting. She bent down and hugged him tight. “Er Gou, I’m home!”