Chapter 695: A Night of Little Lives and Big Hopes

It was already past midnight. Xia Qing couldn’t just call Chang Li or her Idol for advice over five baby rabbits, so she stuck to the methods she’d learned from books to care for the litter.

She fed the mother rabbit, who had just given birth, some Greenlight Alfalfa. Once the mother finished eating and drinking, Xia Qing gently lifted her into a bamboo basket.

The mother rabbit sniffed at her babies in the basket and tried to start licking them. Xia Qing quickly held her by the neck and helped her lie on her side, then placed the babies against her belly. The mother’s milk was essential for the kits’ growth and strength—it was the only way these babies would gain any immunity in the Territory. So, to keep the five kits alive, they had to be nursed.

Newborn mammals are born with the instinct to suckle. As soon as the injured baby rabbits were close to their mother’s belly, they found their target and began to feed. The mother rabbit twisted her body and gave a few powerful kicks with her hind legs, but her strength was nothing compared to Xia Qing’s steady hands.

Once the kits were all full, Xia Qing put the mother back in her rabbit cage and carried the babies home.

“Baa.” Old Goat called out from the tatami, asking why Xia Qing had taken so long.

Xia Qing explained, “Our big rabbit had babies tonight. Take a look, Old Goat.”

By the dim nightlight in the living room, Old Goat glanced at the tiny wriggling bundles in the basket. Once he confirmed they weren’t food, he lost interest.

“Don’t fall into too deep a sleep tonight, Old Goat. Keep an ear out for anything outside and wake me if something happens.” After reminding Old Goat to stay alert on night watch, Xia Qing carried the basket upstairs. She took a sample of blood from the kits’ wounds to test their quality.

All five baby rabbits were the same quality as their parents—Yellow Lanterns. Even better, one of them showed a Devastation Element Content three points lower than its parents, an optimizable breed with an 8‰ rating.

Maybe this was because she’d fed the mother plenty of Green Lantern plants. Xia Qing had to raise this one well—once grown, its offspring would be top-notch too.

Well… at this size, it was impossible to tell the babies’ gender. She’d just pretend it was a girl for now.

From storage she found a rabbit skin with good fur and placed it in the little basket to keep the babies warm. All these rabbit skins had been properly disinfected and the kits’ wounds had been dabbed with coagulant.

She’d done everything she could. Whether this litter survived was up to fate.

With a yawn Xia Qing did a quick wash before collapsing onto her bed, falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Once things went quiet upstairs, Old Goat below finally closed his eyes and drifted off too.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”

Roosters had an uncanny sense of time. A little after four in the morning, with the sky just starting to lighten, the Black-Feathered Rooster in the chicken house woke up and crowed loudly, flapping its wings.

Xia Qing rolled over and pulled the pillow over her head.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo—!”

Back in the chicken house, the Black-Feathered Rooster had to declare this was its territory and warn any other roosters not to trespass. The crowing was also meant to show off for the hens.

But, for crying out loud, it was the only rooster in the place! Who was it warning or impressing? With her ears ringing, Xia Qing grabbed her quilt and pressed it down over her pillow.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo—!”

On the third crow, Old Goat trotted out and gave the chicken house door a solid kick.

“Cluck-cluck-cluck—!”

“Cock-a-d—”

The hens scattered and shrieked. The Black-Feathered Rooster went hoarse at the sight of Old Goat and wisely shut up. Xia Qing let out a long sigh and went back to sleep.

At around five thirty, there was a faint sound outside—Red Squirrel had come for water.

Already shaped like a ball as it was, Red Squirrel had grown even rounder during pregnancy. Yet she was still nimble, darting and jumping outside Xia Qing’s window. As soon as Xia Qing opened the window, she leaped to the rooftop, her tiny claws gripping the eaves as she peeked down.

Xia Qing left some water and a few mung beans on the windowsill, then closed the window again. Only after that did Red Squirrel leap down to drink and snack, her beady eyes never leaving Xia Qing’s movements.

Whenever Xia Qing looked out, Red Squirrel wiggled her fluffy, beautiful tail and rubbed her little paws, staring back up at her.

Xia Qing opened the window and tossed out a few kernels of corn. “Since you’re pregnant, I’ll give you a little extra this morning. When are you going to—”

Before Xia Qing could finish, Red Squirrel had already grabbed the corn and zipped away.

Ungrateful little moocher! Xia Qing closed the window with a blank face and went to check on the baby bunnies in the upstairs living room—only to find that two were already dead. The remaining three were searching everywhere for milk. At least, the optimized litter kit was still hanging on.

Xia Qing gathered up the dead kits, gave the survivors a fresh nest, then carried them to the breeding greenhouse and gently pressed the mother so they could feed.

Once the babies were full Xia Qing put their mother back in her cage, then set one of the babies in with her.

Newborn rabbits can’t relieve themselves on their own—the mother needs to lick them to get their reflexes going. Books also explained that the mother’s secretions could offer some extra nutrition and protection.

The mother rabbit sniffed at the naked kit and gave it a lick or two before suddenly tensing up. Xia Qing quickly pressed down on her head, saving the little one’s life.

It looked like trusting this rabbit wasn’t going to work. Xia Qing pressed her walkie-talkie and asked, “Section Four, Teacher Wang, are you there?”

She needed a proper “caretaker” for the rabbits. The best candidate in the Lords’ Alliance was Zhao Ze’s mother from Section Four. Section Four didn’t have any evolved fighters, and unlike Section Six’s Kuang Qingwei, they couldn’t trade supplies for credits—so they needed the opportunity the most.

Zhao Ze’s mother replied quickly, “I’m here, Qing. Why are you up so early today?”

“I’ve got something to ask you. Are you free now?” Xia Qing asked.

“Of course,” she answered right away. “Should I wait for you outside Section Three’s north gate?”

“No need, I’ll meet you by the buffer forest outside Section Four.” Taking both adult rabbits and the remaining three baby bunnies, Xia Qing set off from the Territory.

“Sister Qing!” Zhao Ze, running out of the northern buffer forest with his mother, spotted Xia Qing turning the corner and waved, calling out.

When mother and son saw the rabbit cage Xia Qing was carrying, their eyes lit up.

Xia Qing set the cage on the ground and explained why she’d come so early: “These are two adult Yellow Lantern rabbits—the buck’s an evolved breed, so he’s a little bigger, and the doe is a normal rabbit. This basket holds the baby rabbits their mother gave birth to just after eleven last night…”

After sharing what happened, Xia Qing offered her deal: “I really can’t care for them and it would be such a waste if the last three kits died like this, so I’m offering you a proposal. If you’re willing to raise them, any surviving baby rabbits will be mine, and you keep the two big rabbits. If all three babies die…”

“If I can’t keep the three kits alive, I’ll give the adults back to you. Thank you, Qing.” Zhao Ze’s mother understood immediately and thanked Xia Qing sincerely, not needing any more explanation.

“There’s a slim chance the three will make it, so you might spend a month for nothing.” Xia Qing handed the kitten basket to Zhao Ze, then dug a water-damaged rabbit breeding manual from her pocket. “Take this too—it might help.”

Zhao Ze’s mother held the book tight in her only hand. “It isn’t a waste of effort. If I can raise them, my son and I will have a new way to make a living.”

Zhao Ze was bubbling over with excitement. “We’ll definitely keep them alive. I raised a little bunny myself when I was a kid—it survived for years!”

After seeing Xia Qing off, mother and son headed home with their rabbits, smiling from ear to ear.

Xia Qing, not far away, heard Zhao Ze’s mother ask, “That rabbit from your grade school days—you consider that one yours?”

Zhao Ze argued, “You fed it, but I cleaned the droppings!”

Her mom’s professionalism kicked in. “Only cat droppings are ‘scooped.’ Rabbit droppings are ‘collected.’ And how often did you clean them? Six out of seven days, your dad did the work.”

Zhao Ze grinned, “Okay, okay, I get it. Just watch your step. You can read the book after we’re down this hill. No need to rush.”