Chapter 838: The Battle for the Helicopter

Six giant bears and over forty evolved wolves—if they really go at it, this mountain will be ruined. Xia Qing decides to move today’s most important loot—the helicopter—out of harm’s way first.

But what about the prisoners and their weapons and gear?

The four poachers Xia Qing shot at the start have already been moved onto the enemy’s helicopter. They should still be alive. As for the six-man squad that fought Xia Qing, it’s unclear how many survived; she’ll have to wait till the wolf pack and bear pack finish negotiating to find out.

Xia Qing shifts her gaze from the Handsome Huge Wolf, now reunited with the Alpha, and calls out, “Huo, can you fix that helicopter down there?”

Every time Huo Lei sees Xia Qing, he can’t help but praise his son—even if the guy’s a troublemaker, he does have some real skills. Xia Qing remembers that fixing helicopters is one of them.

Sure enough, Huo Zhun nods and flashes her an OK sign.

“There must be spare parts on that helicopter. Let’s go down there and get it fixed up so we can fly it out. The last thing we need is the wolf pack and bear pack wrecking it in the crossfire.” Xia Qing pulls up her black facemask to hide her features—she definitely doesn’t want anyone in the enemy chopper getting a good look at her.

She straps on a protective mask and grabs her backpack, then turns to Yan Long. “Sister Yan, drop a little altitude so Huo can get me down.”

Xia Qing can’t fix helicopters, but if she doesn’t go too, Huo Zhun wouldn’t even get close—the chopper is surrounded by the wolf pack.

The evolved bears that are so fast—they’re only after the tranquilized bear. Lucky for Xia Qing, the helicopter isn’t in its path.

Xia Qing’s never tried parachuting, but Huo Zhun definitely has. He’s an evolved fighter with both strength and elasticity, plus a Special Forces background. Carrying someone while parachuting is probably nothing for him.

Yan Long doesn’t lower the helicopter. “If we descend further, the noise might provoke the evolved bears or wolves. This height should be fine for Huo Zhun to get you down safely. Just relax and don’t fight him.”

“Got it.” Xia Qing reads Xin Yu’s message, then heads over to Huo Zhun, who’s already suited up in a flight suit and strapped into a parachute.

Before Xin Yu can even get close, Zhang Song efficiently straps Xia Qing to Huo Zhun in front.

Then Zhang Song claps Xia Qing’s shoulder encouragingly so she won’t be scared, and teases Huo Zhun, “Huo, next time let me try a flight too, yeah?”

“If the boss agrees, sure.” Huo Zhun replies, opens the cabin door, and jumps right out.

The Alpha glances at Xia Qing and Huo Zhun as they leap from the helicopter, then carries on howling.

Crippled Wolf only glances her way before turning back to watch the giant bear charging in.

The Handsome Huge Wolf? Sees them but pretends otherwise.

The massive bear gallops to a halt, breathing hard, eyes lingering on the humans in the air for a few seconds before it takes off running again.

The little bear in the stone nest can’t see a thing with all those rocks in the way.

Monkey sprawled on the ground just keeps staring up at the sky, eyes blank.

Only Wolfdog Number Two bolts directly under the falling Xia Qing, ready to catch her.

Falling with a person strapped to you is nothing like piloting with a personal flight device. As Xia Qing clings to her backpack, only one thought fills her head: she has to learn to parachute, fast. Next time, she wants to jump on her own.

“Boom!”

At about four hundred meters off the ground, Huo Zhun pops the parachute. The canopy snaps taut and jerks them out of freefall.

The wolves and bears all look up. Wolfdog Number Two lets out a worried howl, afraid for Xia Qing.

“Don’t worry, Er, I’m fine! All good!” Xia Qing shouts down as loudly as she can, her heart turning warm at the sight of Number Two craning up at her.

When they’re just ten meters above a huge tree, Xia Qing unbuckles herself and hops down to join Number Two on a big branch. Huo Zhun packs up the parachute and follows.

By now, the lead bear has reached the stone nest and found its cub. The Alpha stands atop a tall rock, watching as the clumsy little bear crawls from between the stones. The giant bear noses its cub gently, then lets out a roar, and the distant bear pack—hearing it—slows their advance.

The two humans and one wolf reach the massive banyan tree propping up the helicopter. Huo Zhun ignores six snarling evolved wolves and whistles at the chopper. “Can’t believe it landed in a banyan—whoever flew this really knows their stuff.”

If it had been a spiky tree, the fuselage would’ve been scratched up for sure.

Number Two sniffs around with the six wolves guarding the helicopter, and once that’s done, they stop blocking the humans. Xia Qing raises her sniper rifle and keeps it trained on the cowering poacher inside the cockpit, who has his hands up in surrender. Huo Zhun covers him as well, motioning for the poacher to open up.

Turns out the only poacher left is actually the pilot, and he’s terrified—probably because of the bear that just barreled past. At this point, he can’t wait to be hauled back to the human base by these two; stay here any longer and the bears will rip him apart for sure.

Huo Zhun climbs into the cockpit and quickly subdues the pilot. Once he’s questioned the guy about the chopper, he ties him up, gags him, bags his head, and tosses him beside the four unconscious poachers. Then he waves Xia Qing over.

Number Two stays with his friends below while Xia Qing boards the chopper. Huo Zhun types on his phone: The pilot already swapped out the main rotor hub, just hadn’t reinforced it yet. That was close. Give me fifteen minutes. I’ll reinforce it and swap out the warped tail rotor blade—then we’re good to fly.

Xia Qing flashes an OK sign and uses the time to tie up the four wounded poachers in the cabin, then gives her helicopter a good once-over. The more she looks, the happier she gets.

It’s maybe fifty percent new, the cabin’s big enough for fifteen people—way bigger and newer than the chopper she used fighting the Giant Raptor last time.

After a quick survey, she leaves the cockpit and heads out to chop down tree branches in the rotor’s path.

While they’re fixing the helicopter, five giant bears catch up and join the lead bear, forming a protective circle around the cub as they start roaring back at the wolf pack.

The wolves’ howls aren’t so bad, but the bear roars are like a fist slamming into your chest. Huo Zhun finds it unsettling and glances enviously at Xia Qing, who’s busy hacking at branches as if nothing’s out of the ordinary. Once the repairs are done, Huo Zhun rushes back to the cockpit, starts the chopper, checks it, and gives Xia Qing a signal.

Xia Qing nods, about to tell Number Two she’s taking off, when the six wolves around the helicopter suddenly turn and dash toward the battlefield. No question—the fight’s heating up and the Alpha is calling for backup. But Xia Qing’s ears are still ringing, so she can’t hear much. At least the actual battle hasn’t erupted yet, since she doesn’t see any wolves or bears leaping at each other.

“Awoo—” Number Two calls to Xia Qing, runs a couple of steps, then stops and looks back to make sure she’s following.

She doesn’t know exactly what Number Two wants, but this whole mess started because of human poaching. Both the injured bear and the monkey are marked by human scent. Just because the wolves are helping out doesn’t mean people can walk away now and dump the mess on them.

Xia Qing waves for Huo Zhun to fly the chopper out first. She’ll follow Number Two to the negotiation site and see if she can find a way to calm the evolved bears’ rage.