Chapter 752: Pearls, Panthers, and the Joy of the Hunt

After wrestling the giant crocodile into unconsciousness, Xia Qing collapsed onto its soft belly, panting and smiling with exhaustion.

“That felt incredible!”

She couldn’t help but grin—what a rush.

Standing on the riverbank, Tan Qi looked even more excited than Xia Qing. “Sister Qing, look this way! Let me take a photo!”

Xia Qing wiped the water from her diving mask, then turned and flashed a victory sign for the camera.

With the crocodile down, their special training ended early, more than an hour ahead of yesterday’s schedule.

As they left Hill Fifty-Two and neared Hill Fifty, Tan Qi suggested tentatively, “Aunt Yan, Sister Qing, there’s a stretch of river ahead—wide, slow current, and soft fine sand on both sides…”

Just as Xia Qing thought the kid wanted to haul a bag of sand back to Territory, she heard Tan Qi say, “I think there might be mussels around there. Our teacher says big river mussels can have pearls inside, and pearls can be traded for credits.”

Pearls could be used as medicine, but they weren’t irreplaceable, so the price was low. Plus, mussel meat was considered dangerous—even the ‘green lantern’ ones needed special processing to be safe to eat. No team would waste time in the Evolved Forest searching for mussels, hunting for pearls, or collecting meat.

But Xia Qing caught the hope in Tan Qi’s voice and chimed in, “Sister Yan, we’ve got empty hands, why not look for some mussels to bring back? If we strike it lucky and grab a handful of pearls, we could string up a nice bracelet.”

Hunting for pearls in mussels? Even if Yan Long and Xia Qing were strong enough to handle themselves, there wasn’t much point in tempting big predators with an open mussel hunt.

Seeing the sparkle in Tan Qi’s eyes, Yan Long nodded seriously. “Tan Qi, you’re leading. Full speed to the mussel spot!”

“Yes!” Tan Qi cheered and dashed ahead.

The three of them reached the riverbank, took turns standing guard, and dug for mussels. Xia Qing spotted that familiar leopard again.

For several seconds, both sides stared each other down, then the leopard turned and sauntered off.

Tan Qi, cold sweat sticking to her back, asked in a whisper, “Do we keep digging?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Keep going. That leopard’s not hostile.”

Yan Long asked, “How can you tell when an animal is hostile or not?”

“Its eyes and expression,” Xia Qing replied. “What about you, Sister Yan?”

“Same thing. Still, I don’t think the leopard left because it wasn’t hostile—just that it figured it couldn’t take us, and it’s not hungry right now. If Tan Qi were here alone, it’d pounce for sure.”

Xia Qing nodded. That made sense. After a few run-ins, she knew this leopard was pretty smart.

After digging for a while, the three returned to the Third Peak of Hill Fifty and drove back to Territory.

“Xia Qing, let me get the gate for you!” As they reached the south gate of Section Three, Tang Huai ran over from Territory Two.

Xia Qing handed him the keys, and as Tang Huai unlocked the gate, he asked, “So, what did you guys catch today?”

“Mussels,” Xia Qing replied calmly.

Tang Huai was stunned. “Catch what?”

Xia Qing drove in. “River mussels.”

“What?! You didn’t fight crocodiles today? No way! I’m coming with you next time!” Tang Huai groaned in frustration.

Xia Qing took the keys back. “That’s not up to me. You’ll need Sister Yan’s approval.”

Ask Yan Long for approval?

…Nope. Not happening.

After returning, Xia Qing drove straight to the reservoir and messaged her friend. “Xin Yu, are you busy? Want to come open some mussels? I brought a huge bag, no clue on quality, don’t know if there are any pearls, either.”

Xin Yu soon arrived in Section Three, curious as ever. “Weren’t you guys supposed to be training today?”

Xia Qing told her how their day shifted from pounding crocodiles, to sneaking into the python’s home, to brawling with the python, then outsmarted by its escape, then finally taking down the giant croc—and somehow ending up digging for mussels.

She even showed Xin Yu the photos she’d snapped throughout the day.

Tan Qi’s phone was old. The shots she took were blurry with bright streaks, but the size of that crocodile stood out nonetheless.

Xin Yu zoomed in, jaw dropping. “That’s wild… kind of awesome.”

Xia Qing cracked open a mussel, checked—red lantern, no pearl—then tossed it into the pond to feed the fish. “Want to go again tomorrow?”

Xin Yu shook her head, busy opening mussels with her knife.

Xia Qing had once tried persuading her to join the special training, and Xin Yu was tempted. But in the end, she always backed out—Yan Long’s aura was simply too intense.

It wasn’t that Yan Long wanted to harm her, but every time there was even a slight disturbance nearby, Yan Long would catch on instantly, reacting in a flash. In that moment, her presence felt like hundreds of fine needles stabbing straight at Xin Yu’s forehead.

So teaming up with Yan Long wasn’t fun for Xin Yu—it was a kind of torture. That overwhelming sense of danger didn’t just come from Yan Long; it came from the giant python, the crocodile… all of it.

Xin Yu was working through research institute training methods to slowly raise her resistance to intense magnetic sense. Maybe next year, she’d be ready for Yan Long’s special training. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“Find a fast river and learn how to survive in rapids and whirlpools.”

After opening over fifty mussels, the two managed to dig out just one tiny, misshapen pearl—smaller than a soybean. On the bright side, they got three ‘yellow lantern’ and one ‘green lantern’ edible mussels.

Pearl formation was tricky, so wild river pearls were rare. Farmed mussels were loaded with pearls mainly because growers implant the seeds for them.

Even with four edible mussels, neither of them dared eat them without special processing. Xia Qing stashed them in a net bag and dropped the lot into the reservoir, planning to exchange them for credits when Zhong Tao came by.

With another day of training tomorrow, Xin Yu didn’t stay for dinner. After changing back into her protective suit, Xia Qing made a quick patrol around the territory before dusk. That’s when she received a message from Yan Long.

All the medicinal herbs they’d harvested today had been turned in to Third Brother, earning 310,000 credits in total. According to their prearranged split, Yan Long took 60%—186,000, Xia Qing got 30%—93,000, and Tan Qi received 10%—31,000.

That haul was a jackpot!

Xia Qing hummed a tune, happily clearing weeds near the patch of white-haired chicken manure vine.

Polishing a tiny pearl, Tan Qi glanced at her phone then bolted from Territory, running all the way to the Inspection Team dorm. She dove into her dad’s arms.

His daughter was getting more lively—and finally started acting more like a kid. Tan Junjie grinned. “What’s got you so excited?”

“Dad!”

Tan Qi took off her facemask, beaming wide. “I teamed up with Aunt Yan and Sister Qing at noon. We dug up rare herbs and I made 31,000 credits!”

Tan Junjie’s first reaction was worry—herbs that valuable definitely didn’t grow in easy places. He didn’t mention it, though. Instead, he slipped off his gloves, fished a little comb from his pocket, and straightened her messy short hair. “Qi Qi, you’re getting more capable every day.”

“Yup! Once I save up enough credits, I’ll buy you a special protective suit just like Sister Qing’s!”

Tan Junjie shook his head. “My suit is fine. Don’t worry about me. You keep those credits for yourself. I just swapped for a laptop from the Safe Zone—a couple days and it’ll be here. Then you can study with it.”

Elementary school during these disaster years wasn’t just math and language—it had physical training and classes about evolved creatures, too. So beside studying math and language with Zhao Ze’s mother, Tan Qi also needed to take other classes online.

With a new laptop coming, she wouldn’t have to use the Inspection Team’s public computer for online learning anymore.