Chapter 842: Wolves, Weapons, and the Monkey’s Price

Xia Qing slept for two hours and woke up to realize she’d already missed lunch.

She stayed in bed for a while, quietly testing her hearing. It had improved since she fell asleep. Besides the ringing in her ears, she could make out cicadas buzzing, hens clucking, little swallows chirping, and—

—the sound of a video playing nearby.

No surprise there. It had to be Crippled Wolf again.

She didn’t expect the ringing to linger even after a nap. This time, her hearing loss was much worse than after the bat bomb incident. But thinking about it, it made sense. Last time, only a single bomb went off by her ear, while this time she’d been blasted over a dozen times.

Raising a hand to her forehead, Xia Qing couldn’t help but smile.

Sure, the meds meant her medicinal bath from the last two days was wasted, and yes, she was bound to get scolded for bringing that dopey monkey to Territory Seven—but to her, it was worth it.

After all, she’d scored herself a helicopter and a batch of weapons!

Temporary hearing loss? No problem. She had someone she could trust—Er.

Sensing Xia Qing was awake, Crippled Wolf dashed up to the living room on the second floor, swung open the double-door fridge, and greeted her with a beaming, toothy grin, showing off his snowy white, adorable little fangs.

Inside, nestled among the green veggies and still dripping with blood, was a half-meter-long baby crocodile. Xia Qing laughed. “So this is a gift for me? Thanks, Handsome Wolf. You really know your stuff—even put the catch straight in the fridge.”

If it had been fully drained and put in a bag first, it would have been perfect. But then again, you couldn’t expect too much from a wolf.

A quick scan confirmed the croc was the Green Lantern kind. Xia Qing was just about to message Idol when Crippled Wolf came trotting over again, this time with a walnut-sized Yi Stone in his mouth.

Her smile blossomed. “Handsome Wolf, you want me to save that silly monkey, huh? Don’t worry! With this Yi Stone, its life is as good as saved.”

Crippled Wolf set the stone down, lifted his head to meet her eyes, and didn’t crack a smile.

Xia Qing understood. One dopey monkey, handed over from the Bear Pack, definitely wasn’t worth something this valuable. After all, even Alpha only forked one over back when he needed Er saved.

She asked, “Handsome Crippled Wolf, what trade do you want in return?”

Crippled Wolf turned and motioned for her to follow.

Xia Qing remembered—when Alpha left the Bear-Wolf standoff, he’d made the same gesture. Looks like the Wolf Pack had some job for her, but nothing urgent.

She scooped up the Yi Stone, then tried to communicate with the clever wolf, gesturing, “Where do you want to take me, Handsome Wolf? My ears are injured, so I’m not great at picking up subtle sounds. Going into the Evolved Forest right now could be dangerous.”

Crippled Wolf considered her ears for a moment, then shifted his gaze to her hand.

That made Xia Qing think of the Handsome Huge Wolf. “Yeah, I’ve taken premium nutrient shake and my meds, but recovery takes time.”

Seeing that he still wanted her to go, and after receiving a Yi Stone worth 350,000 credits, Xia Qing couldn’t refuse. Still, she needed to check her hearing loss at Territory Seven first.

After working things out with Crippled Wolf, Xia Qing messaged Idol:

“Third Brother, I got my hands on a Green Lantern crocodile. Should I bring it over now?”

Zhang San replied promptly: “Bring that ugly monkey of yours over too.”

Sure enough, with Green Lantern meat on offer, Idol was quite agreeable. Though to be honest, that ugly monkey really wasn’t hers.

Xia Qing quickly suited up in her protective gear, packed the baby croc in a bag and stuffed it in her backpack, then headed downstairs. Crippled Wolf was still watching videos. She called out, “Handsome Wolf, I’m taking the dopey monkey to Territory Seven for treatment. You stay at home and wait for me.”

Crippled Wolf’s gaze lingered thoughtfully on Xia Qing’s backpack.

She pulled out the crocodile and explained, “I need this croc to pay for the monkey’s treatment. Okay with you?”

Crippled Wolf bared his teeth—clearly, even he didn’t think the dopey monkey was worth that much.

Xia Qing gave his waist a playful pat. “Remember, Third Brother at Territory Seven once did surgery on you and fixed your back. The croc is for him.”

That settled, Xia Qing stashed the croc back in her pack, hauled the still-dopey monkey from the sheep shed, loaded it onto the off-roader, and hit the road for Territory Seven. Ji Li dropped her off at Zhang San’s office.

Fearing the monkey might lash out at Zhang San, Xia Qing had Ji Li disinfect it after they arrived. Only then did she transfer it into a chicken cage for Xia Qing to carry.

Normally, Yan Long would’ve taken care of this. But with her hearing off, Xia Qing skipped the usual chat with Ji Li. Still, she couldn’t help noticing the guards at Territory Seven looked troubled.

What happened to give them such sour faces? Did it have something to do with the helicopter sent out today?

Carrying the monkey, Xia Qing pasted on her brightest smile once she saw Idol. “Third Brother, I’ve given the croc to Da Ya. You’ll be feasting on croc for lunch today for sure.”

“That monkey is ugly as sin,” Zhang San commented, picking up his phone and turning the screen to Xia Qing: “Quiet down, it’ll hurt my ears. Now haul your ugly monkey and follow me.”

“Yes sir, I can still hear you, just got a bit of ringing,” Xia Qing replied, lowering her voice and heading to the examination room. She took off her protective suit and metal-buckled mask, then obediently lay down on the MRI bed.

The MRI could show the structures inside her ears in clear detail.

Once Zhang San confirmed there was no visible barotrauma to her eardrums from the explosions, he relaxed and told her to tie the monkey onto the exam bed for its turn.

When the tests finished, Zhang San couldn’t be bothered to say much. He just tossed Xia Qing a report.

The results weren’t much of a shock. The tranquilizer dart in the monkey was actually intended for brown bears, so by monkey standards, the dosage was massive.

If Zhang Song hadn’t given it emergency first aid, the monkey would’ve died from an overdose and respiratory failure. Even so, the leftover sedatives in its system had dulled its brain, messed with its heart, blood vessels, liver, and kidneys—no wonder it was still out of it.

Zhang San lazily asked, “How much do you want this monkey fixed?”

If keeping it alive was all she wanted, it wouldn’t cost much. But a full recovery? That would get expensive.

Xia Qing was clear on her goal. “The Bear Pack’s brain evolutionist really values this monkey. If we nurse it back to health, it could be just the chance we need to smooth things over with their group.”

Zhang San didn’t ask what would happen if that attracted the Monkey Troop as well. He just gave her a slow quote: “Two months’ treatment—it can’t stay in Territory Seven. First stage testing and treatment, forty thousand, your share is twenty-two hundred.”

“Understood.”

Good thing she’d sold a few Devastationweed leaves a while back and cut a credits deal with Yang Jin for spring water, or she’d be deep in debt again.

Xia Qing carefully swiped her points card and asked Idol, “Third Brother, I just took a medicinal bath a few days ago, then this happened. Would you mind making me up another batch of medicine?”

Zhang San…