Chapter 676: Fish Eggs and Hidden Dangers

“Lame Wolf, go back and tell Er that the fish we’ve been raising have laid a ton of eggs. In a few days, we’ll move the big fish into the new pond.”

That evening, it wasn’t Crippled Wolf who brought the three sick wolves to get their medicine—it was Lame Wolf instead.

Honestly, sending Lame Wolf on an errand just proves these three sick wolves don’t matter much to Crippled Wolf.

Lame Wolf must’ve dashed here at top speed. The three sick wolves were sprawled out by the rock wall, tongues lolling, panting hard, while Lame Wolf bounced around Xia Qing full of energy, unable to hide its excitement.

Xia Qing was glad to see it. After giving the three sick wolves some pure spring water, she pulled out a pack of freeze-dried meat for Lame Wolf. Only when it finally settled down to eat did she get a chance to talk.

“Lame Wolf, have you seen Er lately?”

Lame Wolf scarfed down the handful of freeze-dried meat in just a few bites, then hopped over and started pawing at Xia Qing again.

“Er? What’s that? Can I eat it?”

Xia Qing played with it for a bit. When half an hour had passed—time to collect saliva samples—she pulled out a piece of roasted jerky to distract Lame Wolf, then went to give medicine and take samples from the three sick wolves.

Today she only needed saliva, no blood drawn.

The three exhausted sick wolves snapped to attention and bared their teeth the moment Xia Qing approached, lining up in defensive stances.

“Awooo—”

With a single gulp, Lame Wolf swallowed the jerky and charged over, quickly taking down all three wolves with a few swift moves. Then it looked back at Xia Qing, proud.

It was the first time Xia Qing had seen Lame Wolf act this reliable. She gave it a thumbs up. “Lame Wolf, you’re amazing! Such a badass!”

With Lame Wolf standing guard, Xia Qing easily collected saliva samples from the three wolves. After handing out antiparasitic pills, she slipped one to the ever-reliable Lame Wolf as well. “You can take them and go now, Lame Wolf.”

But Lame Wolf wouldn’t leave, still bouncing around wanting to play with Xia Qing.

She tried to convince it, but it just kept hopping about.

“Alright, play as long as you want. I’ve got to turn in these samples and then head back to guard the territory tonight.” Xia Qing gave up trying to reason with this guy and left Wolf Valley, making her way toward Territory Seven.

Yu Dongming and his bodyguards had already left by helicopter, and the northern barrier’s iron mesh wall was finally completed. Xia Qing left Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine, used the facial scanner to enter through the gate in the northern iron mesh wall, and walked east along the barrier on the southern side.

A sturdy wall brings people peace of mind. Walking beside it, Xia Qing felt much more secure.

She’d heard from Xu Juan that this morning a transport plane from Red One Base landed at the Hui Three Safe Zone airport, dropped off and picked up a batch of supplies, then took off with the Investigation Team sent to probe the poison gas incident at Hill Fifty.

Red One’s plane must’ve delivered Devastationweed leaves, so Xia Qing wanted to see what other people’s leaves looked like—and to discuss a few things with her Idol.

After examining them, Xia Qing was brimming with pride. “Their leaves aren’t nearly as good as mine.”

Zhang San shot her a look. “They’re not stupid. Of course they’d use the low-quality leaves for trades.”

As expected of her Idol, he always got straight to the point. Xia Qing quickly changed her tune. “You’re right, Third Brother. But honestly, even the worst leaves on my Devastationweed plant are higher quality than these.”

Zhang San guessed, “Maybe it’s because you’ve been nourishing the plant with Yi Stone fragments.”

Curious, Xia Qing asked, “Third Brother, what else can you do with spent Yi Stone that no longer gives off Evolution Element?”

Zhang San listed them off. “There are four main uses: one, just like you, to cultivate plants; two, medicinal—powdered Yi Stone can treat several common illnesses caused by excess Devastation Element; three, making high-grade filter cartridges; four, jewelry. Next time bring over a couple of your spent stones and I’ll add them to your protective mask’s filter. It’ll boost the quality.”

“Will do. Thanks, Third Brother.” Xia Qing had another question. “Can I try mixing Yi Stone fragments into the soil where I’m growing high-evolution spinach?”

“Go for it. Whatever pops into your head, give it a shot.” Zhang San really thought Xia Qing had a gift for growing things, never standing in her way.

After that, Zhang San brought up the Devastation Snake. “Initial research suggests that female Devastation Snakes only secrete the special scent that draws in males when their pheromones are triggered by Evolved Pythons. And those pheromones are only found in the pythons living north of the lake between Hill Fifty-Five and Hill Sixty.”

So Evolved Pythons from other Evolved Forests across the country don’t have that trait. No wonder the Devastation Snake population here is booming—this is a serious issue.

Xia Qing asked, “So, Third Brother, what do we do now?”

Zhang San slumped back into his chair, looking drained. “I just finished a video meeting with the country’s top snake experts. We’ve decided to just observe for a year before taking action. As long as Devastation Snakes aren’t attacked they won’t spray their venom, so for now the Safe Zone and Territories aren’t at risk.”

Observe for a whole year?

Xia Qing asked, “Can I tell the Wolf Pack about this?”

Zhang San had no objections. “If you can make it clear, go ahead. But the Wolf Pack’s territory borders the Evolved Pythons’, so they probably already know about the symbiosis between the two. However they respond, just don’t interfere too much.”

“Got it. I’ll keep growing Devastationweed just in case.”

After finishing up with the Devastation Snake, Xia Qing brought up something else. “Last time I left Territory Seven, I happened to run into Yu Dongming and his group. I noticed one of your bodyguards acting a bit strange. I suspect he might be in contact with someone from Chonglian.”

Zhang San wasn’t surprised one bit. “I’ve got more than just Chonglian spies here. There’re ones from Hui One, Hui Three, even Red One. This is the P3 Lab—no way they’d let it run without some of their own people in place. Get rid of this one and they’ll just plant someone new or buy off a rookie. Just pretend you didn’t see anything. Once you leave this room, be extra careful with everything you say and do.”

Xia Qing squared her shoulders. “Understood. Third Brother, how about we build a pharmaceutical factory?”

That got Zhang San interested. “What made you want to start a drug factory?”

Xia Qing explained, “Now that you aren’t working with Hui One Military, you need a new source of research funding. Relying on the crops we produce just won’t cut it. If we set up a factory to make your new medicines, we could use the profits to fund your research—what do you think?”

Zhang San grew serious. “We can’t do it alone, we’ll need partners.”

“I checked—besides the tech, facilities and equipment, we’ll also need official licenses and drug patents. But that’s not the real problem. The main challenge will be the competition and sabotage from Hui One Pharmaceutical. So I think we should look for reliable partners…”

An hour and a half later, Xia Qing left her Idol’s lab with the special medication Zhang San had prepared for Zhang Hongda and vaccines for the chicks. She headed back to Wolf Valley in Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine and saw that Lame Wolf had already left with the three sick wolves.

She hadn’t had a chance to pass on the news about the Devastation Snake to Lame Wolf, but then again, Lame Wolf wasn’t a Brain Evolution user—this stuff was probably too complicated for it anyway. She’d have to explain everything to the Queen or Crippled Wolf in person.