Chapter 954: Hidden Valley Encounters

“Balding Weasel? White Weasel? Are you home?”

“Hey, Balder! White Weasel! Are you there?”

…

Xia Qing and Little Shiyi squatted outside the weasel family’s den halfway up Third Peak on Hill Fifty, repeating their call for over a minute before Balding Weasel finally appeared at the entrance, eyeing Little Shiyi warily.

Little Shiyi’s big eyes were shining with excitement. She’d called out at this very spot in the Hidden Valley, food in hand, so many times before but never managed to coax out the weasels.

Aunt Qing really is amazing!

Xia Qing pulled out a fresh pack of freeze-dried meat from her pocket, tore it open, and set it at the den entrance. “Balder, things were hectic yesterday. I didn’t have a chance to say hi. Here’s a new batch of jerky I just made—try it and see if you like it.”

Balding Weasel sniffed the air and quickly dragged the bag of freeze-dried meat inside. Xia Qing then took three eggs from her backpack and stuffed them into the den. “These are for you too! Thanks to you and White Weasel for looking after the Hidden Valley.”

It had been a while since Xia Qing had seen White Weasel and the weasel pups. She actually missed them.

When Xia Qing left after dropping off the food, Little Shiyi jumped up to follow, asking, “Aunt Qing, why don’t you want to call the weasels out to play?”

Xia Qing explained patiently, “When the sun’s this bright, weasels can’t tell their surroundings as well, so they like to come out more at dusk or in the evening. Plus, we’re about ten times bigger than them—it’s natural for them to be nervous around us.”

Little Shiyi gazed up at Xia Qing with admiration. “Aunt Qing, you know so much! Did you learn all this at school?”

With Zhang Shi’s guidance, this kid had gotten a lot more talkative. Not wanting to discourage her from chatting, Xia Qing replied kindly, “A little bit from school, but mostly I picked it up from books, videos, and tagging along with team members during missions.”

“Mom and I have stood on the summit of First Peak, Hill Fifty, and looked into the Ninth Planting Center’s school. There are a ton of human kids playing inside.” Little Shiyi nimbly caught a centipede and slipped it into her covered basket. “Aunt Qing, what do they study at school?”

While searching for bugs, Xia Qing answered in a way Shiyi could understand. “Mainly reading, math, disaster preparedness, and sometimes drawing or music.”

Xia Qing didn’t ask if Little Shiyi wanted to go to school. Her mother was a rare and precious Recovery Evolutionary, still a top-priority fugitive after six years on the run. Without asking Zhang Shi directly, Xia Qing guessed Little Shiyi probably shared that gift—her face, neck, arms, and hands didn’t have a single scar. If her ability was discovered, the best-case scenario would be a life of confinement, worst-case… she’d end up like her mother, locked in a dark underground lab as an experimental subject.

“Aunt Qing, look at that little squirrel up in the tree! Isn’t it cute?” Little Shiyi whispered.

Xia Qing turned and looked up, spotting a snowfield squirrel on the pine branches. She dropped her voice too. “I think snowfield squirrels are the prettiest out of all the squirrels here. Their eyes are the biggest, their noses don’t stick out much, and their little ears and round heads are adorable.”

Unlike Crippled Wolf, who cared about how thick and fluffy an animal’s fur was, Xia Qing, as a human, judged an animal’s looks mainly by its features.

“Yeah!” Little Shiyi’s eyes sparkled. “I used to have a pet mouse. It was really pretty. But Uncle Ye Yang is funny—he thinks all small animals look the same.”

Xia Qing didn’t ask what happened to the mouse. Still catching bugs, she replied, “I used to think all animals of the same kind looked alike too, but that was just because I was too busy to really watch them. Uncle Ye Yang used to be a soldier—he had to protect the base and people, so he had no time for animal watching either.”

Little Shiyi nodded, understanding. “When he gets better, I’ll take him out to spot small animals.”

Ye Yang had injured his lower back. He could barely move his legs, so walking through the Evolved Forest again was nearly impossible. Xia Qing didn’t explain this to a five-year-old, just kept catching bugs.

“Shhh—rustle, rustle—”

Xia Qing heard the sound of a large animal pushing through grass and leaves coming from the Evolved Forest up ahead. There were cameras set up near the High-Risk Area of Third Peak, Hill Fifty-Five, but this spot was outside the surveillance zone—a dense, overgrown area where big animals roaming was pretty normal.

The animal was still far off, so Little Shiyi didn’t notice the noise. She went on happily catching bugs back-to-back with Xia Qing. Xia Qing didn’t betray any nerves; she kept catching bugs while listening for signs from the Evolved Forest.

When the animal closed to about twenty meters, Little Shiyi finally heard the movement and pressed up against Xia Qing’s back. “Aunt Qing, there’s something out there.”

This kid wasn’t a hearing evolutionary, but her hearing was pretty sharp. Xia Qing lowered her voice. “Let’s stand up together. Don’t be scared, just see what kind of animal it is first.”

A few seconds later, the big brown-gray head of an evolved wolf poked out from the grass and stared at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing’s tense hand relaxed on her gun holster. “Lame Wolf? It’s been ages! What brings you here?”

Lame Wolf stood still in the grass, scrutinizing Little Shiyi behind Xia Qing. Xia Qing pulled Shiyi out into the open. “This is my friend, Little Shiyi.”

Even knowing Xia Qing was strong, Little Shiyi was nervous standing so close to an evolved wolf. She stared at its paws, ready to scramble up the nearest tree if it lunged.

Lame Wolf sized up Shiyi’s combat ability, glanced at Xia Qing, then retreated into the undergrowth and headed on its way.

Judging by its direction, it was probably going to see Balding Weasel or White Weasel.

Normally, when the Wolf Pack wanted the weasel family, all it took was a couple of howls. For Lame Wolf to make a special trip like this was definitely odd.

With the language barrier, Xia Qing couldn’t figure out what the wolf wanted. Once she and Little Shiyi had caught enough evolved insects and Green Lantern peanuts, she delivered Shiyi back to the valley and joined Zhao Ze and the others in the Medium-Risk Area before heading home for lunch at noon.

She was greeted at the tent by Little Shiyi, who dragged her inside for lunch. On the stone table sat a pot of braised pork ribs, a bowl of pork bone and corn soup, a huge platter of tangy shredded potatoes, and a plate of stir-fried eggplant. Steamed mantou rounded out the meal.

As soon as Xia Qing removed her mask, the aroma hit her. “Wow, that smells amazing!”

Ye Yang, grinning with the spatula still in his hand, said, “Sister Zhang brought some fine white sugar from Territory Seven, so I could make proper braised pork ribs. Eat up, Sister Qing.”

“I’ve never smelled food this good!” The wounded veteran in a wheelchair nearby—with only a left arm and a right leg—shifted over on his wooden stool and waved Xia Qing over. “Sister Qing, come sit!”

Zhang Shi adjusted her glasses and offered a gentle smile.

“Ye Yang’s cooking is out of this world,” Xia Qing thought as she ate her fill. She was genuinely tempted to haul Ye Yang back to her own territory and pay him a fortune just to cook for her.

Ye Yang explained, “I worked in the mess hall for three years before the calamity. After I awakened my evolution ability, I got moved to a combat squad.”

Xia Qing had heard from Yu Shou that Ye Yang had Level 5 Stamina and Level 4 Vision Evolution, but never knew he once served as a cook—which explained his incredible food.

After their meal, Zhang Shi invited Xia Qing into her log cabin and quietly asked, “Ye Yang had an older brother who disappeared after the disaster. I want Little Shiyi to go with Ye Yang to Territory Fifteen as his niece so she can enroll in the Ninth Center’s primary school this September. Would that fit the admission requirements?”