Chapter 670: An Urgent Cure and Lessons in the Wild

“Xia Qing, the blood samples you sent contain the high-level evolved aspergillus fungus—the same fungus found in the Evolved Forest of Hui Six and the one carried by those invading monkeys from the Monkey Troop in the western Evolved Forest of Hui Three. Where are those three wolves now?”

Xia Qing’s heart skipped a beat. “They’re in a cave in Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine. Third Brother, what should I do now?”

Back in late January, before Crippled Wolf dragged her off to deal with the monkey troop bodies in the western Evolved Forest, Xia Qing had carefully reviewed the info on evolved fungi Zhang San gave her.

This high-level evolved aspergillus that cropped up in Hui Six’s Evolved Forest can spread and reproduce rapidly on food or organic matter, producing toxins that spoil food. Animals who eat anything contaminated with it show infection symptoms, grow weak, and could even die.

A huge swath of Hui Six’s Evolved Forest has already had its ecosystem wrecked by this high-level evolved fungus. Since the western Evolved Forest of Hui Three connects directly to the eastern Evolved Forest of Hui Six, these three wolves might’ve eaten infected animals in the forest and ended up catching it themselves.

The upside is, as fast as this evolved fungus spreads, it won’t kill right away. Zhang San’s already developed medicine to prevent and treat these fungal infections.

So his tone wasn’t nearly as heavy as when they’d discovered the Devastation Snake the other day. “Do you still have any of the antiparasitic pills I gave you? If so, go feed those three wolves now. Give them three days of pills and their symptoms should get better. Just make sure to disinfect any areas they’ve been, especially where they’ve gone to the bathroom—we cannot let this high-level fungus spread.”

“There’s plenty of pills left for the three wolves,” Xia Qing replied at once. “I’ll go medicate them and handle the disinfection right away.”

“Before you medicate them, can you draw another tube of blood from each wolf and collect some saliva samples? In the blood you sent, I found trace antibiotics that actually suppress this evolved fungus.”

Worried Xia Qing might not follow, Zhang San added more detail: “What I mean is, the evolved wolf you drew blood from has already produced antibodies to the high-level evolved aspergillus. Those antibodies could be crucial for preventing and treating this fungus in Hui Six. If we get enough samples, I can figure out how these antibodies form and maybe make a better, cheaper fungicide.”

“Understood, I’ll get it done.” Although Xia Qing didn’t have much of a science background, after swapping for loads of knowledge and info from Yang Jin, she’d worked hard to catch up. She knew how valuable natural antibodies were.

Right now, humanity’s biggest enemy on Blue Star isn’t giant beasts, but fast-mutating microbes.

The plants and animals in the Evolved Forest serve as a shield between humans and these microbes. If Third Brother can harness the antibodies from the three sick wolves, it could halt the spread of this evolved fungus and help repair the broken shield.

Xia Qing’s way of handling things—no dragging her feet, always getting things done—pleased Zhang San to no end. “Those three wolves are at a critical stage. Their guts have three common types of infection; raising their diet quality will help them recover and make even more antibodies. Do you have any freeze-dried meat left? Want me to get Ji Li to send you some?”

Xia Qing wasn’t about to refuse her idol’s offer. “I only made four pounds of freeze-dried meat last time—not enough for three wolves. Could you have Ji bring some over for me? For the credits—”

Zhang San sounded almost grandfatherly, his mood obviously improved. “Forget the credits, consider this jerky an advance. Once I’ve developed and mass-produced the new fungicide, Hui Six will definitely buy plenty. When we make a profit, you get twenty percent of the credits.”

Wait, what?

Was this for real?!

Third Brother really does live up to being the world’s top-tier idol!!!

When Xia Qing hung up, grinning ear to ear, she noticed Crippled Wolf wasn’t watching the video—he was eyeing her thoughtfully.

Evolved wolves have excellent hearing, but Xia Qing wasn’t sure how much this clever brain-evolved wolf actually understood.

She walked over and pulled up a picture on her laptop, using gestures to explain. “Crippled Wolf, look—these three wolves you brought back are infected with this fungus. Remember this image? That was a monkey lung we found when we cleaned up the bodies in the Western Wolf Pack’s territory…”

After a detailed explanation and making sure Crippled Wolf basically got it, Xia Qing left Old Goat in charge of the home and teamed up with Crippled Wolf to medicate the three sick wolves and collect blood and saliva samples.

“Once we develop the new medicine, not only will fewer animals get sick, but the credits will let you buy stuff you like. I’ll get you an even bigger mirror—a huge one! Sound good?”

Crippled Wolf fixed Xia Qing with a pensive stare, not looking too enthused.

She had no choice but to bring out her secret weapon. She dragged the microscope down from upstairs, set it on the table, and opened her computer. “Look, Crippled Wolf! This is a real microscope—just like the one in the computer. It’s all yours—you can use it to check out microbes yourself! So, do you like it?”

Crippled Wolf shifted his gaze back and forth between the real microscope and its digital image. Then, at last, he grinned, revealing those small but sharp fangs.

Success!

“Let’s go, time to give your three friends their medicine and collect some samples.”

As Xia Qing and Crippled Wolf crossed the stone bridge over the river, he stopped short, sniffed the air, then suddenly let out a roar and shot off into the Buffer Forest. He didn’t even bother with his favorite door, just leapt straight out.

Something was definitely up!

Xia Qing sprinted after him. When they reached Wolf Valley, she was stunned too.

The three sick wolves, probably feeling a bit better after their medicine, had grown hungry. Instead of hunting elsewhere, they’d caught themselves a wild boar right there in the valley.

Crippled Wolf’s fur bristled as he bared his fangs and let out a low growl, occasionally delivering a swat to the three troublemakers. Xia Qing had never seen him so angry.

The three wolf patients, blood still smeared around their mouths and tails tucked, lowered their heads in shame. After Crippled Wolf knocked them down, they didn’t dare get up, just rolled over and exposed their bellies.

The belly is a wolf’s most vulnerable spot—showing it is a sign of surrender, meant to avoid more fighting and injury.

They’d dared to hunt wild boar in the valley without Crippled Wolf’s okay. No wonder they deserved a scolding—and a beating.

From up by the cave, Xia Qing even wanted to yell at them herself. Who gave you the guts to touch wild boar old lady here guarded all winter?!

After disciplining the three wolves, Crippled Wolf grabbed the boar’s carcass in his jaws, scaled the cliff, and dropped the almost-hollowed-out animal in front of Xia Qing.

Xia Qing blinked. Wait—was he giving her the boar?

Crippled Wolf, seeing Xia Qing still frozen in place, glared up and growled at her.

“Understood! I’ll take it! Crippled Wolf, keep an eye on those three and don’t let them cause more trouble.” Xia Qing stuffed the wild boar into a bag, slung it over her shoulder, and left Section Three for the northern gate of Section Three to wait.

Wait for who?

Ji Li, of course.

After receiving the jerky and disinfectant meds Ji Li delivered, Xia Qing handed over the wild boar. “Couldn’t get the samples. I need to disinfect tonight—Ji, can you take this wild boar the wolves killed, have it sterilized, and make it into freeze-dried meat? I’ll pay fifty credits for deboning and sterilization, does that work?”

Ji Li was visibly confused but didn’t ask anything. He nodded, took the heavy bag, and headed back to Territory Seven.