Chapter 66: A Taste of Strawberry and Secrets

After making her rounds across the territory, Xia Qing stopped by the Breeding Center for wild boars to greet Da Jiang outside the wall, then led Boss Sheep back home. She timed her departure and headed out to the second floor basement in the ruined village at the southwest edge of Territory Three for firearm lessons.

Today was Xia Qing’s first official day of training under Luo Pei. She took her apprenticeship gifts seriously, presenting two cucumbers and two strawberries to mark the occasion.

Finally, thank goodness, she’d managed to coax her strawberry plants into ripening two bright red fruits. Right now, this was the best food she could offer. After a disaster, gifting someone your best harvest was a true sign of sincerity.

Completely absorbed in learning, Xia Qing lost track of time. Two hours flew by as she repeatedly took apart and reassembled the sniper rifle, getting familiar with its parts. That wrapped up today’s lesson. Luo Pei, still full of anticipation as he cleaned the gun oil from his hands, grinned. “I haven’t tasted fresh strawberries at all this year. I bet the ones you grew taste even better than those from the Safe Zone’s planting center.”

It wasn’t thanks to her skills—she had a secret gardening cheat. Xia Qing was secretly proud but kept her tone modest. “Honestly, I haven’t tried them yet myself, so I can’t promise, but the Xiang element content in the strawberry plant is down to just 0.3 parts per thousand. They shouldn’t taste bad.”

The lower the Xiang element in the fruit, the better it tastes. Luo Pei hadn’t expected the strawberries to have such little contamination. “If that’s the case, it’s not just ‘should’—they’re guaranteed to taste amazing.”

The two of them returned to the first basement floor and found Yang Jin already seated in the living room, sipping tea. On the table was a dish showing off two crisp green cucumbers and two vibrant red strawberries. The red and green stood out like fireworks against the mostly white décor.

Seeing how unsurprised Luo Pei looked, Xia Qing broke out in a cold sweat. She’d been so focused on practicing in the soundproof room that she hadn’t noticed anything happening outside. If an enemy had come instead, she probably would’ve been dead before she even knew.

After exchanging greetings, the three of them gathered around the table for tea.

Luo Pei asked Yang Jin, “No luck catching it?”

Xia Qing wasn’t the least bit surprised that Yang Jin let it slip away—it was the pack leader, after all.

Yang Jin explained, “It was a wolf that evolved both mentally and in speed. It took off for Mountain 55 and I didn’t keep up the chase.”

To the north of Territory Three was Mountain 49, and beyond that Mountain 52, with Mountain 55 further northeast, deep within the Evolver Forest. Giving up the pursuit at that point was the wisest move Yang Jin could’ve made.

Luo Pei asked, “Is that wolf really that fast?”

“Its speed is almost the same as mine. It’s got loads of fighting experience, knows how to dodge bullets, and is really familiar with the Evolver Forest.” Yang Jin glanced at Xia Qing. “It’s grayish-brown, with a notch on the edge of its left ear.”

Xia Qing answered right away, “Last year’s pack leader that wiped out the Fengyun Unit was brown, but it also had a notch on the left ear and was incredibly fast.”

“Sounds like the same one. Wolves molt, so a change in color is normal.” Luo Pei turned to Yang Jin again. “Was there just one wolf?”

Yang Jin nodded with certainty. “Just one. Zhang San’s guess was pretty solid—the wild boars in the valley are probably food it’s been raising for itself.”

Xia Qing asked, “Captain Yang, do you think that wolf will come back?”

Yang Jin shook his head. “Hard to say for sure, but even if it does return, it won’t be a major threat to our territory.”

Xia Qing wanted to be clear. “So you mean it’s already gotten its revenge and probably won’t challenge us again?”

After years of fighting, humans and evolved wolves had reached an understanding—so long as neither provoked the other, no real attacks would happen. That land had been cleared out—no large herbivores left, so the wolves had nothing to fight for.

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

Yang Jin hadn’t slept in over a day. His eyes were bloodshot but his smile was still dangerously charming.

Xia Qing quickly looked away and fixed her gaze on the strawberries. Yang Jin only grinned wider, and Luo Pei just sat back with a knowing look, saying nothing.

Xia Qing shared her biggest worry. “I don’t know if the spring on my territory means anything to the wolves.”

Luo Pei reminded her, “It’s possible the evolved wolves don’t even know about the spring.”

Xia Qing shook her head. “My sheep probably knows that wolf that hunted the wild boar—maybe even pretty well. So I suspect that wolf does know about the spring.”

Yang Jin divided the strawberries and cucumbers evenly onto three white porcelain plates and handed them out. “So your sheep wasn’t visiting the wild boars to bring food… it was meeting up with the wolf?”

Luo Pei looked surprised. “Xia Qing, is your sheep a brain-evolved animal?”

Without so much as a look between them, Luo Pei and Xia Qing both avoided saying Boss Sheep’s name in front of Yang Jin—though Yang Jin definitely already knew.

Xia Qing couldn’t see why Luo Pei was asking and shook her head. “I’ve never seen any other brain-evolved sheep, but I don’t think mine is all that smart.”

After the creatures of Blue Star evolved, lots of animals got smarter—there were talking mynahs and parrots, monkeys that could wield guns and crossbows, and wolves that fought in coordinated teams.

But Boss Sheep was nowhere near that kind of clever evolved animal.

Luo Pei crunched a slice of cucumber before finally explaining, “Even among brain-evolved creatures, there are many types. Take humans: there are five known brain evolutions—intelligence, observation, memory, reasoning, and emotional sensing. So your sheep not being bright doesn’t mean it isn’t brain-evolved.”

Brain-evolved individuals were considered special talents and scooped up by research institutes. That’s why Xia Qing rarely encountered them and had no clue there were different types.

Luo Pei’s explanation got Xia Qing thinking. “I can leave it anywhere in the east of the territory and it’ll remember, and if I show it how to do something a few times, it catches on quick. So maybe its memory and observation have evolved? But why did Luo Ge figure it was brain-evolved just because it knows that wolf?”

Luo Pei smiled and motioned for her to try the strawberry. “Have a bite and let’s talk—these smell way too tempting.”

“Okay.” Xia Qing picked up a strawberry the size of her thumb and bit in. The slightly tangy sweetness exploded on her tongue and she was so happy she could cry. “So good! Captain Yang, Luo Ge, you have to try these!”

You could tell from her face how delicious it was. Luo Pei had mentally prepared himself, but one bite of the pure strawberry flavor still amazed him. “It really is fantastic. Way better than any I’ve had before. Jin, where did you get this sapling?”

Yang Jin tasted the strawberry and gave a simple reply. “Traded for it at the planting center. Didn’t even cost many points—just got lucky I guess.”

Top-quality Green Lantern strawberries like this don’t just show up because you’re lucky.

Yeah, sure, you expect me to really believe that?

Luo Pei shot Yang Jin—a man completely absorbed in enjoying his strawberry—a meaningful glance, then turned to compliment Xia Qing, who looked utterly blissed out from the happiness her strawberries brought her. “You must’ve put a lot of effort into growing these—they’re fantastic.”