Chapter 953: A Night in the Territory: Hunts, Rewards, and Rank

Crunch—crack!

After smashing into a giant tree, the massive wild boar was surrounded and brought down by three huge wolf cubs. The lead cub threw back its head, about to howl in triumph, when suddenly the mother giant wolf leaped into the valley and cut its celebration short.

A few minutes later, four non-giant wolf pups managed to kill the half-grown boar they had been attacking.

Comparing the two, it was obvious that the giant wolf cubs fought much better than the regular cubs, but that gap shrank as the smaller wolves grew and their evolutionary abilities improved. For instance, even a non-giant Alpha with top-tier speed evolution could suppress the handsome huge wolf.

With their training over for the night, the young wolves dug in and enjoyed their fresh kills.

Tang Huai listened, disappointed not to hear the wild boars’ dying squeals. ‘Did Qinglong Squad really take them down that fast? Their fighting power’s impressive.’

Once the wolf cubs were full, Alpha jumped down to eat, and Black Wolf carried over the injured four-eyed wolf cub. The little guy looked sluggish, but still managed a dozen bites of meat. As long as it could eat, Xia Qing felt more at ease.

When the adult wolves finally finished eating, the whole pack, little ones in tow, marched off in grand style. That left Xia Qing with a still-breathing Green Lantern wild boar and a large, half-eaten Yellow Lantern boar that had been hollowed out inside.

Happy with her haul, Xia Qing slung the three boars on her back and headed home. She called Er Yong over, and together they spent some time butchering the wild boars.

Er Yong was especially excited this time around since Xia Qing had managed to bring back live wild boars—meaning a whole basin of fresh pig’s blood!

During the Calamity Years, the air was thick with harmful bacteria and Devastation Element was everywhere. To keep things fresh, Er Yong called his dad for tips, then added Green Lantern salt and a little vinegar to the pig’s blood before simmering it gently to help it set. Once it had fully coagulated, Er Yong happily swapped two pounds of blood tofu and over twenty pounds of Yellow Lantern pork.

Xia Qing sliced off a piece of blood tofu for Idol, added a rack of Green Lantern ribs, and delivered them to Territory Seven. She also brought along more than a hundred pounds of Yellow Lantern pork for freeze-drying.

After selling some of the Yellow Lantern and Green Lantern pork to their allies, Xia Qing sent what remained—the Yellow Lantern pig’s head, feet, and bones—off to the Ninth Center’s cafeteria to give the staff a rare treat of meat.

Most of the Green Lantern pork and all the cleaned innards went into her fridge and Broken Back’s fridge. Tonight, Broken Back feasted on piping hot Green Lantern pig liver while Xia Qing enjoyed a spicy stir-fry.

By now, her cabin was filled with the mouthwatering aroma of simmering pig’s head stew. Just the smell left Xia Qing feeling blissful. Hoping for even more happiness, she asked, ‘Broken Back, can I hunt wild boars in the valley for myself?’

Broken Back, who’d been watching TV to learn about fungi, turned his head and gave Xia Qing a very serious look.

‘No?’

Xia Qing turned, gesturing as she asked Alpha, who’d just stopped by to check on sick family, ‘If I want pork, can I talk to Queen first? If she’s okay with it, then I can hunt one—is that right?’

Alpha gave Xia Qing a quick head bump, and Broken Back flashed a mouthful of small, sharp white fangs in agreement.

‘Got it! Queen, you’re the best!’ Xia Qing grinned. ‘And Broken Back, that shaved patch of fur on your head just makes you look even cooler!’ Her status in the wolf pack really had gone up!

Of course, higher status meant more things for Xia Qing to worry about.

She quickly dug through her videos and found a documentary on Green Lantern animals reproducing for the two clever wolves to watch. ‘Queen, Broken Back. We have to keep the Green Lantern sows and boars, give the wild boars top-notch feed, and protect them during Devastation Rain. That’s the only way their piglets will be Green Lantern type.’

The whole territory had network coverage now, but data fees were still steep. So, Xia Qing’s big TV, just like her laptop, was only for watching videos and research saved on the hard drive. That might be why Broken Back, already a computer owner, thought the TV wasn’t even worth a single Yi Stone.

With the two wolves busy learning new things at home, Xia Qing donned her protective suit and went to look for Monkey to take on patrol—only to find he was just as glued to the TV.

Not wanting to disturb him, she set off to patrol the territory on her own.

Er had always made his rounds day and night, but he’d left. Broken Back’s legs were still hurt, Alpha had too much pride for her to boss him around and Old Goat’s night vision wasn’t the best. That left patrol duties entirely on Xia Qing’s shoulders.

Section Three now had surveillance coverage everywhere, so Xia Qing could watch the security wall for updates from all over. But she never fully trusted the cameras. Instead, she strapped on her night vision goggles and patrolled while training.

She had to see and hear for herself that every corner of the territory was safe before she’d rest easy for the night.

When training wrapped up around eleven, Xia Qing returned home, switched off the TV for the still-studious Broken Back and Monkey, then coaxed Old Goat, who was still generating power, to head up to the hammock chair and get some sleep.

Alpha? Who knows when he slipped out.

The next day, Xia Qing stopped by the Wolf Den to give Lame Wolf’s sister her medicine while she grumbled. Then Xia Qing drove Zhao Ze, Qi Fu, Huo Zhun, and Shi Du straight to Hill Fifty.

She needed Zhao Ze to survey the site with the plans Territory Seven had provided, so he could come up with a detailed construction plan. Only then could she hire a crew.

She brought Huo Zhun along to watch Zhao Ze’s back, and Qi Fu and Shi Du to scout the terrain and see where Red-leaved Bamboo could be planted. Xia Qing’s plan was to expand the bamboo groves before the third Devastation Rain, so they could harvest a good batch of seeds during the next downpour.

Once everything was arranged, Xia Qing headed for the Hidden Valley to deliver Green Lantern sunflower seeds, wheat, corn and rice she’d traded with Zhang Shi.

No matter the turmoil outside, the peace and calm inside Hidden Valley never changed.

Inside Territory Fifteen, in the valley, one severely injured person passed away while another recovered enough to go home. That left four gravely wounded, one guard from Territory Fifteen and Zhang Shi with her child.

Zhang Shiyi, who’d moved in four months ago, had clearly grown taller and her cheeks were fuller. Spotting Xia Qing, she ran over and called out softly, ‘Aunt Qing.’

Xia Qing patted her on the shoulder. ‘Shiyi, what are you up to?’

‘Weeding.’ Little Shiyi pointed to Ye Yang and Yu Shou, who were busy in the fields. Looks like she’d been interacting a lot more with Territory Fifteen’s people lately.

‘How’s the folding stool, Ye Yang?’ Xia Qing greeted him. Ye Yang used to be a squad leader in Yue Haiying’s unit. He’d suffered spinal injury from a Devastation Evolution plant during a mission and used to rely on a wheelchair. Now, he could sit on a folding stool and join the weeding—his recovery was obvious.

The folding stool Ye Yang was using had just come out from the Alliance Research Institute. With a backrest and a seat that could swivel 360 degrees, plus front and back wheels, it made moving along the rows easy. Weeding and tending seedlings no longer meant squatting or bending over all day.

Thanks to Kuang Qingwei’s energetic marketing, these stools were selling like hotcakes—over 300 units at 80 credits each, for a net profit of 7,200 credits after costs. Everyone involved in designing, producing, and selling the stools had made a tidy sum.

‘It’s awesome—super easy to move around. The wheel design is genius.’ Ye Yang’s smile was brighter than ever, now that he could get involved and contribute real value. His face had filled out, and he looked full of life. ‘Stay for lunch, will you? We caught a Yellow Lantern wild boar yesterday—let’s do a stew for lunch.’

Little Shiyi’s eyes shone as she turned to Xia Qing, and Xia Qing nodded. ‘Sure! I brought sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. Perfect for another dish.’