Chapter 897: A Risky Encounter in the Leopard’s Territory

Of the three leopards in front of her, only the adult female in the middle posed any real threat to Xia Qing, but she didn’t dare let her guard down. She decided to grab her samples quickly and retreat from the leopard’s territory.

Leopards are fiercely aggressive ambush predators, masters at lying in wait before striking in a flash. In a direct fight, an ordinary leopard is even more formidable than a common wolf.

What’s even more dangerous: leopards, once solitary hunters, evolved to cooperate after the massive Star Beast evolution. When threatened and unable to fend off danger alone, a leopard can call out, summoning others nearby to join the fight.

Usually, a female leopard will pick territory right next to or overlapping a strong male’s range — this boosts the survival rates for her cubs.

For all Xia Qing knew, a powerful male could be hidden on a branch overhead or crouched in thick brush nearby, ready to leap at any moment.

And it wasn’t just other leopards. This female might even call for a wolf pack. During the spring beast tide, leopards had been seen working with the Western Wolf Pack. It looked like these local leopards were allies with the wolves—and Xia Qing had a complicated relationship with that pack.

To show she meant no harm, Xia Qing holstered her weapon, dropped her hands to her sides and slowed her speech, trying to sound friendly as she addressed the adult female. “I’m just looking for plants—see that one behind you?”

Of course leopards can’t understand human words, but animals communicate with howls and growls anyway. It’s not what they say, but the emotions in their voices that count.

“Awoo—”

“Awoo—”

“Awoo—”

The adult and the two cubs roared loudly. Maybe they recognized the danger she posed and decided not to rush her.

“I’ll be out of your way in a minute,” Xia Qing said, raising her hand to gesture near the female’s feet as she took a cautious step forward. “Just let me get my phone.”

“Awoo—”

The mother leopard let out another roar, then, either by accident or on purpose, took another swipe at Xia Qing’s already busted, punctured phone before nudging her two cubs back a couple of steps.

“Thanks, Big Sister Leopard.”

With the leopards backing off, things got a lot easier. Xia Qing breathed a small sigh of relief and took a step forward. She stopped in front of her phone and bent to pick it up, casually reaching for a big tree covered in vines.

The move looked casual, but Xia Qing had planned it all out. She used plenty of force and picked her spot carefully. Just by brushing the tree, she could “accidentally” scrape off a chunk of bark, a fistful of vines, and a clump of mistletoe.

She’d bring these samples back for Idol, and with Idol in a good mood, maybe get some top-notch medicine to trade with Handsome Huge Wolf.

Just as she was about to succeed, she heard a gust of wind behind her—some predator had been hiding, waiting for her to bend down before striking!

Xia Qing snatched up her phone with her left hand and drew her blade with her right, feigning a counterattack. She sliced off some bark, a piece of vine, and two big clusters of mistletoe, her gaze fixed on the leopard lunging at her.

It was a male leopard with a distinctive, finger-length black scar above his left eye—he looked fierce, like a seasoned street fighter.

Xia Qing had seen this guy before while moving around Hill Fifty and Hill Fifty-Two. They’d only ever sized each other up from a distance—this was their first real clash.

“Hey, Brother Leopard, we meet again. You sure get around.”

While keeping track of the female sneaking behind her, Xia Qing kept her eyes on Scarface in front. As she tried to strike up a conversation, she used her left hand to stuff the broken phone into her pocket, fished out a bag, shook it open and used it to scoop up her precious samples—clumped together with some soil—and tucked them into her backpack’s side pocket.

As soon as Xia Qing finished collecting samples and pretended to get up, the mother—now up in the tree—sprang down to attack. At the same time, Scarface pounced from the front.

One bite could spell disaster. Even if a leopard’s sharp fangs couldn’t penetrate Xia Qing’s protective suit, the crushing force of their jaws and collision could snap her bones.

But Xia Qing was ready. She punched the mother out of the air with her right fist, planted her left hand on the ground and whipped her right leg like a lash, sweeping Scarface away.

Both leopards recovered mid-air, landing on all fours and studying her warily. Their reactions told Xia Qing they weren’t as smart as brain-evolved beasts but still plenty intelligent.

Her mission complete, Xia Qing started slowly backing away, repeating that she didn’t want a fight.

Sure enough, the leopards held their ground. Xia Qing had used only seventy percent of her strength to knock them back—any less and she wouldn’t have managed at all.

Once she reached a safe distance, Xia Qing gave them a friendly farewell. “Brother Leopard, Sister Leopard, I didn’t know this was your territory—sorry for the intrusion. Until next time.”

Given the unusual Evolution Element plant growing here, she knew Idol would probably send her back for more samples—hence ‘until next time.’

Of course, she’d make sure both leopards were far away before she came back. How would she know?

She had a helicopter and her friend had a tamed bird—keeping an eye on the leopards from above was no problem.

After waiting a few minutes back at her starting point, Xia Qing saw Xiao Jiang fly over in the helicopter. He dropped down a rope ladder, and once Xia Qing climbed aboard, she glanced down. The leopards were nowhere in sight—they blended into their surroundings all too well.

Removing her protective mask, Xia Qing asked, “Luo, can I borrow your phone to call Third Brother? Mine’s busted.”

“Had a run-in with the leopards, huh?” Luo Pei pulled out his phone, dialed Zhang San’s number and handed it over.

“Yeah, I accidentally entered the heart of their territory and got ambushed.” Once the call went through, Xia Qing immediately reported to Idol. “Third Brother, it’s Xia Qing. I’ve got the samples. I’ll bring them over once I get back.”

Zhang San acknowledged her. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“Nope, don’t worry.”

As she handed Luo Pei’s phone back, Xia Qing explained, “There’s a mistletoe in the Evolved Forest below I’ve never seen before. I called Third Brother to ask about it and he told me to dig it up.”

Luo Pei nodded. Plants in the Evolved Forest could be all sorts of strange—Zhang San was an expert with medicine, and it only made sense he’d want samples.

Chen Cheng gave Xia Qing a big thumbs up, impressed she’d dared to contact Zhang San while he was napping. Only someone from Section One of the North, like Xia Qing, could get away with it.

After Luo Pei gave her some helicopter flying tips, Xia Qing went back to her own territory. She swapped the sim card from her broken phone into Crippled Wolf’s pink new phone, then hurried over to Territory Seven.

She decided again to abandon exploring that Evolution Element plant—still blocked by those three leopards.