Chapter 950: Return of the Sky Raptor

The Giant Raptor was no fool. That’s why it drove away or killed all the other raptors here, claiming the treetop nest that the Evolved Wolves couldn’t reach. It wanted to become the airborne overlord of this region, just like the raptors among the limestone pillars of Section Seven. It hoped to reign in the sky while keeping the wolves beneath it, letting them survive as hyenas did under the raptors’ rule.

But it underestimated the strength and ferocity of the Northern Wolf Pack. Even without Xia Qing, the wolves could have taken it down under the Alpha’s lead—they’d just pay a steeper price to do so. That’s why, at the most critical moment, the Alpha was willing to trade a Yi Stone to bring Xia Qing into the eagle-hunting squad.

Xia Qing wouldn’t tell Huo Zhun that one of the raptor talons in her bag was spoils from her own hunt, while the other was a gift from the Alpha. As for what she planned to do with them, she knew exactly what she was after.

“Tie it to my personal flight gear. Good for scaring off birds,” the Alpha had always looked down on Xia Qing’s personal flight device. Now that they had an off-roader and a helicopter, even Xia Qing was starting to get annoyed by its loud noise and high fuel consumption.

Er Yong… Sister Qing, are you actually serious about this?

Huo Zhun’s eyes lit up. “Great idea!”

Zhang Song, still busy working, chimed in, “Birds judge each other’s threat level by size, feather color and flight posture. Just strapping the Giant Raptor’s talons onto your flight pack won’t really spook them.”

Huo Zhun groaned. “If I’d known, we should’ve collected all those giant feathers and stuck them on the machine!”

Zhang Song just stared at him….

Er Yong: No wonder your dad scolds you every day…

Huo Zhun continued his questions. “Sister Qing, was that the Giant Raptor from Gui Five Base you killed back there?”

“Its coloring looks about right, but we’ll have to compare photos when we get back to be sure.”

Er Yong, piloting the helicopter, answered, “I’d bet on it. I used to fly patrols over this Evolved Forest and never saw a raptor that huge before.”

“Raptors like these hide as soon as they hear a helicopter. No way you were going to spot one.” Huo Zhun pulled out his phone and started carefully comparing the reward post with Xia Qing’s headless bird photo.

Zhang Song, who’d just finished injecting medicine into Little Wolf, leaned over to check too and nodded confidently. “It’s the same one.”

Zhang Song was an expert. If he said Xia Qing killed the raptor from Gui Five, then she definitely did.

Scoring sixty-five thousand credits made Xia Qing quietly happy. She took back her phone with a calm expression.

After handing Xia Qing her phone, Huo Zhun glanced down and sent out a message. “The two rogue Giant Raptors—Night Heron from Azure Dragon took one, and Sister Qing bagged the other—finally dealt with the threat. I’ll let Yan Long know so she can stop worrying.”

Just yesterday, Yan Long had sent Huo Zhun a reminder to keep everyone on guard against surprise attacks from the Giant Raptors.

Xia Qing reminded him, “Don’t say I was the one who killed it, Huo.”

Yan Long’s phone was probably under surveillance, just like Ji Li’s. Xia Qing didn’t want any extra attention—less trouble is always better.

“Got it. I’ll say it was the Azure Dragon Squad. The team’s new top sniper, Night Heron, took out the raptor at two thousand fifty meters. How far was your shot, Sister Qing?”

Xia Qing calmly brushed it off. “Not as far as Night Heron’s.”

“Sister Qing, give it one more push—you’ll have us racking up three top snipers at Base soon!”

Er Yong, flying the helicopter, kept his gaze straight ahead, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing.

Xia Qing didn’t respond. She just kept her head down, carefully studying how to set a fractured wolf’s leg.

“All done.”

After splinting Broken Back’s injured leg, Zhang Sun explained the daily care to his handler. “All six claws on this wolf’s forepaw are broken and bleeding. I’ve wrapped it in gauze to keep it from licking the wound and risking infection. When you change the dressing, Sister Qing, be careful not to…”

While Xia Qing listened closely to the care instructions, she felt the wolf’s ear twitch in her palm. The dose of sedative Broken Back swallowed wasn’t high and he was already starting to wake up.

The helicopter wasn’t that loud inside, but even so, the sensitive-eared Evolved Wolf was clearly uncomfortable. Xia Qing lifted his head onto her lap and gently covered his big ears with her hand.

Being up here, away from the ground, surrounded by the constant hum and the shaking of the helicopter, hit Broken Back hard as he woke. Instinctively, he pressed close to Xia Qing, seeking comfort from his companion.

Cradling Broken Back, Xia Qing glanced out the window. “Er Yong, land on Hill Forty-Nine first. I’ll get off there.”

“Roger that.” Er Yong sped up for the landing pad at the top of Hill Forty-Nine.

Zhang Song turned to Xia Qing. “Sister Qing, mind if I take the raptor talons back with me? Aside from checking them for microbes, I want to measure and scan their dimensions.”

After Blue Star’s wild evolutionary surge, the state poured mountains of resources into bionic robot research, hoping to cut down on human casualties.

Zhang Song believed the raptor talons could be incredibly valuable—if he could get detailed data from them, he could use it for biomimetic robot birds.

“Of course. Keep them as long as you need, Brother Song.”

When Xia Qing got off the helicopter at the northern slope of Hill Forty-Nine, she carried Broken Back home. She cleaned the blood from his head and neck, gave him some pure spring water and turned on the air conditioner.

Er followed anxiously beside her, sniffing at Broken Back’s wound then at Xia Qing’s hand, let out a low, mournful howl, and turned to leave.

She must’ve smelled another wolf’s blood on Xia Qing’s hand and wanted to check back in with the pack. Broken Back opened his mouth, trying to call her back, but the sedative hadn’t fully worn off—no sound came out.

Xia Qing didn’t stop Er. She was part of the pack too. After what happened, wanting to return and check in was only natural.

Xia Qing checked on the wolf the Giant Raptor had killed, the one with its brain scooped out and its eyes and organs eaten. It was a big-boned, gentle female. Xia Qing had seen her before, handing out antiparasitic pills to the pack last year on Hill Sixty. This wolf filled a role similar to Er’s in the pack and was likely about the same age—she’d probably been Er’s close friend.

“Broken Back, get some rest at home, don’t worry—you’ll heal up in half a month.” Once Er left, Xia Qing rubbed the uninjured spot on Broken Back’s head, reminded him not to chew on his bandages or the splint, then turned to the companions in the hanging chair and said, “Old Goat, I’m off to Section Seven to pick up Little Black Wolf. I’ll leave Broken Back and the territory to you. Monkey, don’t run off!”

Old Goat squinted but said nothing.

After Xia Qing left, Old Goat wandered over to the tatami, sniffed at Broken Back’s paw, and flopped down beside him. It was cozy and safe here with a friend standing guard. Broken Back, exhausted, quickly drifted off.

Monkey crouched in the corner atop the clothesline, staring blankly at Broken Back’s smooth, white leg.

Xia Qing headed into Section Seven, waiting outside the operating room for Little Black Wolf’s surgery to finish so she could bring him back to Section Three.

Little Fei Mao was seized by a hawk eagle—his intestines ruptured, kidneys bruised. Little Black Wolf was grabbed by the Giant Raptor—intestinal perforation and a ruptured liver. His injuries were even worse than Little Fei Mao’s, leaving everyone worried sick.