Chapter 945: Monkey in the Cotton Field

After Xia Qing demonstrated twice, the Monkey instantly got it. Grabbing the basket, it burrowed into the meter-high cotton field. Zhang Song immediately flattened himself at the field’s edge, using his camera to capture every move of this advanced brain-evolved White-faced Snub-nosed Monkey, nicknamed Monkey by Xia Qing.

All of this footage was precious material for analyzing the species.

Once Xia Qing was sure Monkey was doing fine, she circled to the other side to snap off wild branches growing on the cotton plants and pinch the tops. The fallen cotton bolls on the ground were separated into two types. Black bolls held cotton fiber inside; these could be dried and the fiber picked out and sold. The bad bolls without any fiber inside were useless, but leaving them would let them rot and breed bacteria.

Xia Qing knew Monkey was smart but didn’t have it sort the bolls—she could do that herself in a moment anyway.

There weren’t many fallen bolls this season, so the little Monkey crawled all over the field for quite a while before finally filling its basket and delivering it to Xia Qing’s feet.

She picked out the black bolls to toss in the crate and stuffed the bad ones straight into a bag. Then she handed Monkey two piping hot breadworms, fresh from roasting.

Monkey took them and immediately stuffed them into its mouth, then grabbed the small basket to hunt for more bolls. It had learned by now—not to eat anything unless Xia Qing gave it, for fear she’d chase it away.

Zhang Song stopped filming Monkey’s repetitive activities and walked over to ask, “Sister Qing, did you trade for these breadworms with Territory Two?”

Everyone in Section One up north knew Tang Huai raised insects.

Xia Qing nodded. “Yes. The chickens, swallows, and monkeys in my Territory all love these.”

“Breadworms are rich in protein, amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, all sorts of vitamins and minerals—a quality food source.” Zhang Song asked, “Can I take a picture of them?”

The breadworms raised with Pure Spring Water in Section Three were only slightly higher in quality compared to other Territories, but the nutrients were the same. Xia Qing handed him a small packet to photograph as he liked, then asked, “Brother Song, what’s Hui Six Number Eight mean?”

“It’s a brain-evolved rhesus monkey.”

Xia Qing kept probing, “So Number Eight means it’s the eighth brain-evolved rhesus monkey Hui Six caught?”

Zhang Song recorded data as he answered, “Hui Six’s relationship with the rhesus troop deteriorated, and it’s not just because the monkeys stole human food. Hui Six caught a lot of monkeys for cruel live experiments, so the escapees now harbor deep hatred for humans.”

Xia Qing left that topic and asked about the situation on Hill Sixty-Two. “Brother Song, you installed lots of cameras on Hill Sixty-Two?”

He nodded. “At the start I set up over thirty, now just four left in hidden spots—the rest were all wrecked by animals. The animals these days are not just smarter, their sense of territory is so strong that they’ll actively destroy anything in the mountains that doesn’t belong.”

Curious, Xia Qing asked, “So, what damaged them? Monk-faced monkeys? Bears?”

“Mainly bears, and some birds too.” After finishing his pictures, Zhang Song returned the breadworms to Xia Qing and began explaining White-faced Snub-nosed Monkey habits. “They’re the smallest monkey species in their genus. Timid by nature, they live up in the treetops and roam only small areas, rarely coming down. Monkey crawling through the cotton field with a basket because you asked, instead of swinging from branches, is totally at odds with the species’ natural habits.”

Xia Qing explained, “It used to try jumping. After a few lessons from me, it stopped.”

Zhang Song was intrigued. “What kind of lessons?”

“Just grabbed it by the neck and warned it a bit.”

Zhang Song eagerly wrote that down. “That just means Monkey’s got excellent comprehension, top-notch adaptability, and complex social skills—truly an advanced brain-evolver.”

Xia Qing thought… Sure, whatever you say.

“Baa—”

From the Northern Buffer Forest, Old Goat let out a disgruntled bleat after seeing his little buddy disappear into the shed for ages.

Xia Qing put down her work at once. “Brother Song, you keep watching the monkey—I’ll go check up on the hillside.”

But as soon as she stepped out, Monkey couldn’t sit still. Clutching its little basket, it took off after Xia Qing as fast as it could, not wanting to be stuck alone with Zhang Song.

Zhang Song, of course, didn’t try to stop the monkey. He just kept recording from a distance. Following Xia Qing’s instructions, he didn’t intrude on Old Goat’s territory in the Northern Buffer Forest, but settled on a stone beside Greenhouse Six instead, observing the monk-faced monkey’s behavior through video, photos, and notes.

This mobile, close-up monitoring beat sitting back in Territory Seven peering through the handful of leftover cameras by a mile.

“Moo!”

On the high slope, Old Goat’s bleating turned furious, and he started pawing the ground before charging straight downhill. Looking back, Xia Qing saw Zhang Song had planted himself on the very stone Old Goat liked to nap on.

She couldn’t blame Zhang Song—she’d never actually told him not to sit there.

So she hurried over and wrapped her arms around Old Goat before he could teach Zhang Song a lesson. “Old Goat, that human’s my friend. He’s here to study Monkey…”

The moment Zhang Song saw Old Goat coming for him, even if he wasn’t sure why, he quickly retreated to the shed, watching Monkey, the Evolved Sheep, and Xia Qing interact through the insect net from a safe distance.

Just as Xia Qing was coaxing Old Goat, Er Yong, stationed at Hill Forty-Nine, rang her up.

“Sister Qing, Alpha just led two huge wolves into Section Six of Hill Forty-Nine—they’re moving fast!”

“Alpha must be in a hurry,” Xia Qing replied immediately. “Could you help watch the Territory for me, and make sure the researcher from Territory Seven, Zhang Song, gets out safe?”

“Copy that, we’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Boss, Queen’s here. Want a hand? Should we head back?”

Xia Qing hoisted Old Goat over her shoulder and raced downhill, calling out to Zhang Song in Greenhouse Six, “Brother Song, I’ve got an urgent matter. Hu Zifeng’s Squad will cover the Territory for me and see you out safely. Wait in the shed until then.”

“Alright.” Much as Zhang Song wanted to stay in Section Three, the Territory belonged to Xia Qing, so he had to listen.

After Xia Qing took off with several hundred pounds of Evolved Sheep in tow, Zhang Song watched Monkey scramble back up the hillside, only to crawl back down again, and realized his research subject had it pretty rough here in Section Three.

Xia Qing sprinted home at top speed, suited up in her Special Protective Suit, grabbed her backpack and weapons, and just as she finished packing, Alpha appeared right in front of her. The wolf dropped a walnut-sized Yi Stone from its mouth onto the floor, gesturing for her to follow without delay.

“Got it! Let’s go! Old Goat, Er, keep the Territory safe—I’m heading out!”

Xia Qing stuffed the Yi Stone into her backpack and dashed off after Alpha. When the fastest wolf in the pack showed up with the Yi Stone in person, that meant it was urgent—so she wasted not a second and bolted.

Watching from the cotton greenhouse, Zhang Song saw Xia Qing and Alpha—the wolf with the torn ear from the Northern Wolf Pack—race past. He felt more than ever that he simply couldn’t keep up with how fast the animals on Blue Star were evolving.