Chapter 850: Predawn Intruders in the Territory

The Eurasian lynx, also known as the short-tailed cat, belongs to the feline family. Since they’re not top predators, when these two lynxes slipped from Hill Fifty into Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine, the Azure Dragon Squad’s patrol completely missed them.

Though smaller than the red fox, lynxes have sharper hunting skills. They also boast a trick canines lack: the ability to climb trees.

They climbed over the human-built iron mesh wall without breaking a sweat, slipping into the quiet Section Three. Tracking the scent of prey, they found themselves deep inside the ruins on the east side of Xia Qing’s yard.

“Beep.” The camera picked up the intruders and triggered an alert.

The new phone on Xia Qing’s nightstand lit up, but with her hearing still dull she slept right through the warning.

The ruins reeked of wolf, making the lynxes hesitate, but the abundance of prey smells was just too tempting. They crept wordlessly to the top of the rubble.

Poking their heads out, they caught sight of a towering Evolved Wolf standing in front of the Sheep Shed and Chicken House. Both lynxes’ ears instantly went flat against their heads.

“Grrr—”

Wolfdog Number Two bared its fangs and let out a low growl.

The hungry lynxes huddled in the weeds, listening. After making sure there was only one lone wolf, their hunting instincts kicked in again.

One lynx crept soundlessly south, hoping to snatch prey from behind. If it moved fast enough and dragged the catch up a tall tree, the wolf wouldn’t be able to get it back.

Sensing the lynx’s intent, Er darted into the Sheep Shed, grabbed Monkey by the scruff and placed him on the living room floor. Then with a swift leap, he was on top of the Chicken House blinking down at the intruders.

The lynx that had almost reached the Chicken Yard—just two meters away—immediately skittered back over twenty meters, hiding again in the thick grass.

Er lowered his head, fixing the two feline trespassers with a menacing glare from atop the roof. If they dared inch closer, he’d go right for them.

The two starving lynxes were here to hunt, not fight a wolf. They might not lose in a tussle, but there’d be a high chance of injury.

An injury meant weakened strength, a harder time hunting, and a path straight to weakness and death.

After glaring each other down for a few minutes, the lynxes had to admit defeat and retreat.

Once out of the wolf’s territory, the hungry cats followed the sweet scent of piglets all the way to a wild boar den in Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine.

They caught the scent of several strong adult boars and dared not enter. Instead, they waited silently above the cave, planning to pounce when a piglet ventured out.

But before a piglet could appear, someone else noticed the lynxes.

Flathead, another hungry wanderer, followed his nose and found the two little creatures crouching ahead. Without hesitation he charged.

The lynxes sprang into action, scrambling up a nearby tree. Flathead stared after the fleeing prey and grumbled, annoyed.

Spotting the chubby little Honey Badger who’d chased after them, the lynxes instantly changed targets and prepared to pounce.

Honey Badger fluffed up his fur and tail, letting out a sharp, defiant cry. Tiny fangs bared, he braced himself for a fight—he wanted some meat too.

The lynxes got spooked and sprang away, sizing up this feisty little badger with wary eyes.

Denied his meal, Honey Badger threw a fit, digging angrily at the rocks with his claws.

Such behavior wasn’t very badger-like at all.

The lynxes grew even more cautious, preferring not to leap down from their perch.

Just over two meters above them, a whole family of red squirrels huddled together in a tree hollow, shaking with fear.

On Hill Fifty-Five, two clever wolves stood at the edge of Python Pond, staring intently at the water as ripples spread across the surface.

Deep inside a bear cave on Hill Sixty-One, a little brown bear stirred in its sleep. It opened its eyes and, seeing it was safe, the fear in its gaze slowly faded.

The dense fog shrouding the Evolved Forest began to dissipate as sunlight crept up from the east, painting the trees in their original vivid hues.

Smoke rose gently from the chimneys of human houses. In the Chicken House in Section Three, after the Black-Feathered Rooster let out a piercing crow, several three-month-old cockerels stretched their necks and replied with their own shrill, youthful calls.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo—cock-a-doodle-doo—”

“Doo—”

“Doo—”

Old Goat, who’d been sleeping under the eaves, stormed over and pushed open the Chicken House door. The flock inside was so frightened not a peep came out.

Old Goat squinted inside for a moment before lifting the divider to the Chicken Yard. The White-Feathered Hen was the first to shoot out, flapping her wings and clucking away.

Old Goat then opened the little divider so the chicks could pour into the yard, eager for the early worms.

Satisfied that all was in order, Old Goat strolled off. Wolfdog Number Two hopped down from the Chicken House roof, did a quick sweep inside, and after making sure there weren’t any intruders, set his eyes on the eggs in the nests.

After a short while, Er actually grabbed the small basket hanging on the wall and placed it by the nest. Then, with surprising tenderness, he picked up an egg in his mouth and carefully placed it in the basket. Upon finding the egg unharmed, Er wagged his tail in delight.

Upstairs in the bedroom, Xia Qing had heard the morning crowing. Eyes still closed, she quietly checked her symptoms. Her tinnitus had faded compared to last night, her fists tightened and legs stretched. Even the pain in her body felt fainter.

Sitting up, Xia Qing looked at her arms—both covered in bruises. She grabbed her neatly folded summer clothes and used them to cover the worst of it.

Today would be another energetic, productive day. Another chance to gobble up plenty of Green Lantern meat and get even stronger!

After cheering herself up, Xia Qing glanced out the window and noticed something strange—the freeloading red squirrel was nowhere to be seen.

This oddity made Xia Qing instantly wary. Only after checking that all her greenhouses looked untouched did she finally relax a little.

She picked up her phone to check the camera feeds for any strange activity, and instantly saw a string of intrusion warnings from the Surveillance Camera app, all sent during the dead of night.

Because her brand-new phone still wasn’t debugged for loud alerts—and since she’d slept like a log last night—she’d heard nothing at all.

She opened the camera feed to find the intruders were two short-tailed cats—Eurasian lynxes. A cold sweat broke out all over her.

Lynxes are crazy strong. Was Old Goat or Er, neither of whom had their Protective Suits on, hurt?

Xia Qing quickly checked the Pasture Shed and found Old Goat happily munching on grass. But there was no sign of Er in his usual bug-hunting spot!

Grabbing her gun, Xia Qing opened her bedroom door—only to be hit by an overwhelmingly foul stench.

She rushed downstairs, saw Monkey sprawled miserably on the living room floor, having another bout of diarrhea, and, oddly enough, felt relieved.

Er had the presence of mind to bring the defenseless Monkey indoors during the lynx invasion. What a smart move!

But where was Er? Was he hurt?

Xia Qing couldn’t worry about cleaning up after Monkey. She bolted outside, frantic to find her friend.