Chapter 829: After the Rain, Sunshine on the Wilds

Xin Yu, following Xia Qing’s example in dealing with evolved animals, gradually relaxed her control over the three tamed birds. Now that Jasmine had left Territory Eight, she didn’t need a camera anymore—just a tracking anklet.

Just like with the squirrels and yellow weasels in Section Three and the cats from Territory One and Seven, Xin Yu issued a notice: if her tamed birds caused any losses in another territory, she’d pay triple compensation; but if anyone dared harm or capture them, she’d throw a bomb right at them.

Chonglian had built an iron mesh wall around Section One of the North for free. The lords here were grateful to Xin Yu and wouldn’t pick a fight with her over three birds. Anyway, the tamed birds from Territory Eight never landed elsewhere.

Even Tang Huai, Xin Yu’s good neighbor from Territory Two, couldn’t tempt them away with a whole plate of breadworms.

Jasmine, the brain-evolved crow, used to go to Section Three every now and then to peck at toon sprouts. This was actually the first time Xia Qing saw it hunting in the wild—a rare sight that just had to be recorded.

Xia Qing shot a few minutes of video and sent it to her friend Xin Yu, leaving a short message:

“Gua Gua is awesome.”

The moment Xin Yu saw the video, she immediately called. Since there were ground base stations in the territory, they could video chat now.

Xia Qing knew her friend too well and aimed the camera straight at the food scuffle by the pond.

But Xin Yu couldn’t pick Jasmine out of that blurry feed—she only recognized the honey badger with a white patch on its back and asked, “Is that the honey badger that’s always fighting Old Goat?”

Thanks to the wolf pack’s tireless efforts, there were more and more honey badgers living in the Northern Evolved Forest. Even Hill Forty-Nine, now occupied by the Azure Dragon Squad, had four honey badgers in residence.

Honey badgers are fiercely territorial. These days, Flathead not only tussled with Old Goat and Xia Qing, but also fought with other badgers over turf. But it was young and not that tough, so it only managed to claim a small patch near the iron mesh wall in Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine—a spot with little prey that no other badger wanted.

“Yeah, I was worried it might wander and get caught by someone from Fire Phoenix, so I let it stay in Wild Boar Valley. You don’t need to prep food for Gua Gua anymore—it can feed itself.”

“Alright, I’ll just give it some vitamins and supplements from now on.” Xin Yu beamed with pride at her bird getting such praise—so much that Xia Qing felt the urge to reach through and pinch her cheeks.

Xin Yu asked, “Deng Yufeng didn’t give you any trouble, did she?”

Tang Huai had been howling in the Lords’ channel like Xia Qing just beat up Deng Yufeng, but Xin Yu knew her friend would never be that reckless.

Xia Qing patiently recounted her conversation with Fire Phoenix, hoping to hear her friend’s take.

Before the disaster, Deng Yufeng was a sales rep at a Chonglian subsidiary, sharp enough to become a star salesperson in three short years. Even after the disaster—and before ending up in the underground lab—she still hustled Chonglian’s goods for a living. After breaking out and founding Fire Phoenix, she kept working with Chonglian.

Which means Xin Yu knew her pretty well.

After listening, Xin Yu gave her verdict: “She’s trying to win you over—either for the Blazing Fire Squad or as her undercover. Those tricks she pulled today, she’s used on others, even Li Si.”

“She draws you in by sharing her hardships and injuries, making you empathize, bridging the gap. Then she highlights the quiet good deeds she’s done so you feel like she’s got her own code and won’t bully the weak or hurt women. That approach made her really popular at Hui One Base.”

Xia Qing leaned on Er, thinking about Fire Phoenix’s good deeds. She’d heard that Fire Phoenix tested medicines on people in Hui One’s outer city who couldn’t afford treatment, and hired people down on their luck in her shops—or found them work elsewhere. According to Hu Zifeng’s squad, many who’d benefited from Fire Phoenix had become eager test subjects and informants.

Jasmine, the well-fed brain-evolved crow, flew over and settled on a branch behind Xia Qing—it must’ve come after hearing Xin Yu’s voice.

It spread one wing, grooming its feathers, which shimmered blue and violet in the sunlight. This metallic look, called ‘structural color,’ comes from light scattering on dark crow feathers—Xia Qing knew that fact, and so did Broken Back, who watched videos all day.

Even Broken Back, who always watched those animal videos, was familiar with this little science tidbit.

Xia Qing turned the camera for Xin Yu to admire her beloved bird up close.

With the clearer view, Xin Yu immediately laid on the praise: “Gua Gua got to the meat, that’s amazing! Those feathers are beautiful…”

Xia Qing…

Why did that tone sound so familiar?

Finished praising her bird, Xin Yu changed the subject: “By the way, did you recognize those two bodyguards from Fire Phoenix today?”

“It was Huo Lei and Huo Ting from the Hui One combat ranking.” Xia Qing didn’t care much about rankings, but she always kept up with the strongest at each base.

“Exactly. And I noticed their protective suits got upgraded. I’m going to ask Uncle Huo to analyze their suit materials, see what they’re packing. Also, your new phone is already in Red Two’s warehouse—it should arrive by the day after tomorrow at the latest.”

Xia Qing’s phone was so bad the feed looked like static, making it impossible for Xin Yu to properly admire Gua Gua.

Once the brain-evolved crow flew off, Xia Qing ended the call. She lay down on a sun-warmed boulder, sunlight dappling over her as she snuggled up to Er for a nap.

She hadn’t slept well after the medicinal bath last night, and facing Fire Phoenix this morning was even more exhausting than working a whole field. She needed a break.

The shade from the tree gradually slid off Xia Qing and Wolfdog Number Two, letting bright sunlight splash their faces. Er raised a heavy paw to shield his eyes as Xia Qing turned over.

Then the shadow from a bigger tree slowly stretched over them, covering them again—just as Xia Qing’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

Her Idol was calling, asking her to drop by.

Xia Qing first hauled Flathead—who refused to let go of a wild boar bone—out of the valley, then walked Er back to Section Three before heading through the north gate into Territory Seven and on to Idol’s lab.

Noticing Idol’s sour mood, Xia Qing cheerfully asked, “What’d Third Brother have for lunch? Was the duck I brought any good?”

Just two nights before, three evolved wolves delivered three Green Lantern wild ducks—Xia Qing roasted one for the Queen, sent one to Idol, and kept the last for herself.

Mentioning food lifted Zhang San’s spirits. “The beer duck was pretty decent.”

Wait, what?

There was actually Green Lantern beer in Idol’s territory? That’s—

No—makes sense. Idol worked so hard, it was only right for him to have a drink and relax.

Xia Qing quickly replied, “I’ll ask the wolves where they caught those ducks and get some more for you tonight.”

Zhang San looked even happier, then pulled out a blood collection needle from the drawer, tearing open the packet. “Arm out.”