Chapter 604: A Shelter for All: New Lives and Old Friends

“Well, if Er thinks it’s good, then it’s good.” This house Xia Qing built for Old Goat has sheltered injured wolves, recovering wolves, and even injured squirrels. Now, a pair of weasels with their pups are moving in. At this rate Xia Qing might as well call it a zoo.

Once the weasel couple wakes up, they’ll probably leave her territory soon and return to the Third Peak of Hill Fifty.

Xia Qing peeled off the foil wrapped around the cardboard box, then carefully lifted the lid. She discovered not only were the weasel parents sound asleep, but five little weasel pups were nestled between them, all dozing peacefully.

Some pups sprawled on their mother, some on their father, while others clung to their siblings, all sleeping soundly. It was a stark contrast to the three little corpses lying in the corner of the box.

Er Gou stuck his head in to sniff the little weasels and stared at them with rapt attention.

Sitting on the pile of straw, Xia Qing recounted everything to Er Gou. “Lucky that the balding one came to find us, or there would’ve been even more dead weasel pups. That white one nearly didn’t make it at all.”

The albino weasel lay there, its fur pure and flawless, exuding a tranquil air that felt almost otherworldly. It was so beautiful Xia Qing couldn’t help wanting to give it a pet.

Too bad she couldn’t.

“Zhang He said it’s the white weasel’s first time having pups, so it’s probably only a year old. Which means the balding one’s into younger weasels, huh? With such a pretty mate, maybe Balding is actually a catch among weasels. Is he some kind of alpha?”

Xia Qing was certain Balding Weasel wasn’t one of last year’s spring pups. After all, late last July the Alpha had brought him to Section Three to get plucked, and by then he was already an adult.

Newborn weasel pups are long and pink, the sight of them made Xia Qing’s heart melt. She didn’t feel that way at all when she saw freshly hatched Yellow Lantern Mealworms.

With the mealworms, she saw chicken and fish growing fat for her table. But looking at the weasel pups made her genuinely happy—she wanted to watch them grow up bit by bit.

Even knowing they’d probably start to stink soon, Xia Qing just wanted to reach out and give them a gentle pat.

But sadly, that wasn’t an option either.

Balding Weasel’s eyes and paws twitched—looked like the anesthetic was finally wearing off.

Er Gou poked his head in again, giving it a soft sniff. Seemed like he was trying to soothe its nerves. Er Gou really was the caretaker of the evolved wolves.

Xia Qing spoke gently: “Balding, you awake? Your wife had eight pups, but three didn’t make it. I’ll leave it to you to handle them however you see fit.”

Finishing her words, Xia Qing took out two necklaces she’d prepared, each holding a Yi Stone, and fastened them around the necks of both Balding and the albino weasel. “You both picked a tough time to have a litter—it’s almost time for the year’s first Devastation Rain. Consider these two Yi Stones a gift from me. Here’s hoping your whole family gets through the season safe and sound.”

The albino weasel had just had a C-section and was still nursing. The newborn weasel pups were all fragile—protection from the Yi Stones would be essential.

Balding Weasel was also an important defender of Xia Qing’s hidden cave, so he needed protection too.

Of course, if Xia Qing hadn’t just come into a windfall, there’s no way she’d use rare Yi Stones on two weasels—even if they were just small pieces she’d split off.

Balding Weasel shakily lifted his naturally smiling face, whiskers trembling, and gazed at Xia Qing with watery eyes. The sight made her heart soften.

Of course, the watery eyes were really because Xia Qing had put medicinal drops in them. After taking the sedative, weasels lose the ability to blink, and without the drops their eyes dry out, risking ulcers and worse.

She patted the clever little head and said in a warm voice, “Don’t worry now—it was smart of you to come here for help. Your wife and five pups made it through. You did great.”

In the Evolved Forest, wild animals don’t get protective masks or medicine—they’re on their own against disasters and evolved microbes. Survive, or die.

Those adaptable to Blue Star’s evolved environment thrive and multiply; those that can’t are weeded out and disappear. That’s survival of the fittest.

If Balding Weasel hadn’t come for Xia Qing’s help, he’d have lost not just his pups but his mate as well.

This weasel had evolved to be smarter, to judge danger, and to figure out who to seek help from. Because of that, his mate and pups survived. That, too, is survival of the fittest.

Xia Qing gave his clever little head another scratch, then grabbed a small camera and installed it in the sheep shed. She still had some left from when Zhang San put up cameras all over Hill Fifty—he’d just handed her the extras for fun.

Now, finally, they’d come in handy.

Once she’d finished setting everything up, Xia Qing was out of time for weasel-watching—countless tasks still awaited her in the territory.

First thing after coming inside, she checked the kitchen and bathroom drains—no bugs crawling out this time. She reapplied insect repellent for good measure, then gave her protective suit a quick rinse, pulled out her Air Toxin Detector, carefully scanned her suit and gloves, and only removed her protective mask once she was sure there was no trace of ethyl mercaptan left.

Thank goodness—she made it through without picking up that awful stench this time.

When Xia Qing went to change in the bedroom, the freeloading red squirrel was already perched on her windowsill, waiting for dinner.

Xia Qing opened the window and poured out some spring water, but no food. “Hey freeloader, winter’s over and you’ve puffed up into a ball. Time for you to head back to your own territory and hunt for food yourself.”

The red squirrel didn’t get it. After drinking, it just rubbed its tiny paws, wagged its bushy tail, and fixed those beady black eyes on Xia Qing, begging for food.

Xia Qing firmly shut the window. She’d just spent all night working, and she was starving—there was no time to waste on a spoiled squirrel.

When it realized Xia Qing wasn’t giving up anything, the red squirrel scampered off, grumbling under its breath.

Xia Qing headed for the kitchen, got a pot of Green Lantern Rice steaming, then strapped on her sprayer and went to spray repellent along the Wild Grass Wall to keep crawling pests at bay. With the weather warming up, snakes, rats, centipedes—the lot would soon start popping out. Without the spray, her territory would be crawling with critters in no time.

Once she’d finished, she slogged through the mud over to the planting greenhouse, snipped some alfalfa for the mealworms and rabbits, and grabbed a handful of perilla for the Green Lantern Chicken. On the way home she brought four eggs and a basket of fresh veggies.

Seeing Er Gou still in the sheep shed watching over the weasels, Xia Qing left her be and went inside to start dinner.

Steamed Green Lantern Rice with three Green Lantern eggs and a handful of green onions made for a quick fried rice. The snake meat got rolled into meatballs and tossed into a pot of spinach and meatball soup.

Breakfast for Er Gou was a boiled egg and half a pot of snake meatball soup. Old Goat got his special Greenlight Alfalfa blend.

Once everything was ready, Xia Qing opened the back window and called out toward the high slope in a clear voice, “Old Goat! Come home for breakfast!”