Chapter 801: The Hunt in the Evolved Forest

The Handsome Huge Wolf shook a few times but couldn’t throw Xia Qing off. After a few silent seconds, it finally picked up the pace and started running. Yang Jin, who’d been holding his breath and ready to rush in, had complicated feelings and quickly matched their speed.

A search party—one wolf, two people—headed west, crossing Hill Forty-Nine and skirting the outskirts of the old troop encampment on Hill Forty-Eight, pushing southwest for over twenty minutes before coming to a stop.

The Handsome Huge Wolf shook itself, hinting at Xia Qing to hurry up and get off its back.

Xia Qing hopped off and stretched her aching legs. While smoothing the wolf’s fur, she lowered her voice to ask, “Thanks for the hard work, Big Wolf. So, where’s the human we’re after?”

“He’s in that mountain crevice over there—set up a tent too.” With a lot of experience in the Evolved Forest, Yang Jin had already spotted the target. He pointed it out to Xia Qing. “But it doesn’t seem like just one person. Looks like a whole mission squad. This should be the Silver Moon Combat Team, here for a post-Devastation Rain assignment in this sector. Let me confirm it.”

Yang Jin found a shadowed spot, pulled out his phone and contacted the mission squad.

Xia Qing overheard the voice on the other end, confidently reporting, “Yeah… it’s just the eight of us at the base of Second Peak on Hill Forty-Eight… No drifters spotted. About two hours ago, right after dark, we saw a patrolling soldier… Right, wearing a level-four digital desert camo protective suit, about 185 tall… He went back to the old headquarters. Jin, we didn’t provoke the wolves, really no idea why they’re howling.”

“The wolves are hunting. Just stay in the cave and you’ll be safe,” Yang Jin replied, then hung up and looked toward the Huge Wolf on Xia Qing’s left. “That lone soldier in the mountains is most likely the defector from Territory Seven. What now?”

Was the entire wolf pack really this clever now, or did the ‘handsome’ Huge Wolf just get lucky by stumbling onto a lead Xia Qing pointed out?

“Let me ask.” Xia Qing gently pleaded with the Huge Wolf, speaking soft and sweet, coaxing it into conversation.

The Handsome Huge Wolf lifted its head and howled a few times, communicating with other wolves on the nearby peaks. Then it readied itself to run again.

Without a word, Xia Qing clambered onto its back. “Big Wolf, you’re incredible. Seriously, thanks, Wolf Bro!”

“I…”

Yang Jin had just managed to raise his courage to speak when the Handsome Huge Wolf suddenly sped up. Carrying the frail human on its back who refused to budge, it dashed southwest.

Yang Jin clamped his mouth shut and accelerated to keep up.

A person and a wolf raced over thirty li, entering Hill Forty-Seven. Xia Qing could tell—they’d just crossed into Western Wolf Pack territory.

When the Handsome Huge Wolf finally stopped, tongue lolling as it panted hard, Xia Qing quickly handed it a large bottle of Pure Spring Water, fed it a handful of freeze-dried meat, and stroked its fur.

Busy tending to the wolf, Xia Qing discussed things with Yang Jin, who was also breathing hard: “The Western Wolf Pack has a terrible relationship with humans. If the defector came here, he must have an ulterior motive.”

Yang Jin had come to the same conclusion. “He probably realized wolves were on his trail, so he slipped into the Western Wolf Pack’s turf to hide. Should I go with the wolf to nab him, then circle back and pick you up?”

“Works for me.” Xia Qing signaled to the Huge Wolf, explaining in gestures that the human was likely bad news for the pack, and teamed it up with Yang Jin to catch him.

Without Xia Qing—finally relieved of its ‘baggage’—the Huge Wolf and Yang Jin doubled their pursuit speed, disappearing in a blink.

Left alone in the unfamiliar, pitch-black Evolved Forest, Xia Qing sighed, thinking the Handsome Huge Wolf really wasn’t as considerate as Alpha or Crippled Wolf. Those two, at least, would’ve sent another wolf to keep her safe before chasing after the enemy.

Even a Yellow Weasel would’ve been nice. Out in this pitch-dark wilderness, with two aggressive Devastation Evolution plants nearby and what sounded like a snake slithering close, it was hard not to get nervous.

Xia Qing scrambled up a tall cypress, pressed herself tight against the trunk, clutched her gun, and unleashed all four of her powers, keeping sharp watch for the slightest movement.

She held her position for six hours straight. Not until the eastern sky began to lighten did Xia Qing spot Yang Jin, hauling someone over his shoulder, and finally breathe easy—they’d caught their man.

All those hours shivering in the mountain wind hadn’t been in vain!

The Handsome Huge Wolf really was the coolest and most reliable wolf in the whole universe!

And Yang Jin, dangling a defector over his shoulder, looked amazing too—no matter how she looked at it.

Yang Jin, still carrying the defector and stunned by Xia Qing’s smile, finally snapped back to reality and managed a hoarse, tired laugh. “Sister Qing, since I helped you catch this defector, how about you lower my compensation fee?”

What?!

Just as Yang Jin predicted, Xia Qing’s smile grew even brighter.

“Let me clarify three things for you, Captain Yang. First, you and the Huge Wolf both worked with me to catch this defector. Second, catching him won’t undo the damage already done to Hill Fifty, so we gotta stick to the contract we signed. Third, Ji Li’s the one who wants this guy—so let’s go ask him for payment. You look wiped out. Just put him down and I’ll carry him back.”

Business is business, friendship’s friendship. Xia Qing could tell Yang Jin was exhausted, so she reached out to take the captive from him.

Yang Jin obediently handed over the man. “Do we interrogate him ourselves first, or just send him straight to Ji Li?”

This guy’s from the Hui One military. He might be acting on direct orders, maybe even from Ji Li’s superiors. Xia Qing didn’t want to get dragged into it. “Want to handle the questioning?”

Yang Jin was on the same page. “Nope. I’ll just call Ji Li and handle the price talk.”

“Sounds good. Go for as much as you want.” Xia Qing pulled out some bindings, expertly wrapped up the unconscious defector—his mouth already sealed with tape—strapped him onto her back like a bundle, and headed back toward their territory.

The sky was growing light, but the Evolved Forest post-Devastation Rain was still trackless and incredibly dangerous.

The Handsome Huge Wolf took less than an hour to run here. Xia Qing and Yang Jin trudged three hours on foot before finally reaching Hill Forty-Nine.

Yang Jin stayed in Hill Forty-Nine while Xia Qing entered Section One of the North through the Northern Gate. Ji Li was already waiting inside. He took the bundled-up defector from her, gave a formal thank you, and headed back to Territory Seven.

After facial recognition let her back into her own base, Xia Qing called Zhang Shi and Hu Ningsheng at the Hidden Valley. Then she sent a message in Tang Huai’s Northern Alliance group chat: The fugitive from Hill Fifty has been caught. Everyone can get back to business as usual.

Right after she posted, Xia Qing was showered with an onslaught of ‘like’ emotes. Even Xin Yu—who’d never sent a single message before—gave her a thumbs up.

Almost instantly, Tang Huai messaged Xia Qing with a flurry of questions.

Xia Qing ignored him, dragged her tired legs home, fed the chickens and insects, took a shower and collapsed in bed, falling asleep on the spot.

Out in the Buffer Forest, Old Goat stomped around looking for bugs, basket in mouth and grumbling to himself. Meanwhile, Red Squirrel hopped onto Xia Qing’s windowsill, rubbing its little paws and swishing its big tail as it peeked inside. When no one came to feed it, it finally dashed off to the Northern Buffer Forest to hunt for food.

Not long after the Red Squirrel mom left, a baby red squirrel—with fuzzy tufts sticking out from one ear—jumped onto Xia Qing’s windowsill. When it saw its own reflection in the glass, its fur bristled in fright and it bolted with a squeak.

From inside, Xia Qing heard the baby’s startled cry, got up, opened the window for a look and realized the baby squirrels were finally starting to venture outside. She yawned, shut the window and went back to sleep.

That little hideaway, home to a person and a baby red squirrel, really caught the attention of a young red squirrel perched on a branch. His wide eyes watched every detail with fascination.

A harrier hawk, gliding low into Section Three, silently flitted through the branches, drew up close to the big tree where the baby red squirrel was hiding, then suddenly swooped in and snatched its tender prey, soaring high into the sky.

“Squeee—!”

The baby red squirrel let out a sharp, panicked cry for help. Out in the Buffer Forest, Red Squirrel heard her baby being taken by a predator and screamed in utter despair.