Chapter 989: Warm Nights, Wild Companions

“Number Four, don’t kill Flathead. He’s our companion—he can help us get rid of the snakes on this mountain.” Xia Qing stepped in to keep the Elder Wolf from finishing off Flathead. After half a month on medicine and two rounds of medicinal baths, the Elder Wolf’s health was clearly improving. Even his teeth were stronger. He finally had the strength to take down Flathead.

The Elder Wolf had known for a while that the honey badger and fox here on Hill Forty-Nine, Section Three, were off-limits. Still, he couldn’t stand letting that little honey badger challenge his authority. Once he’d put the honey badger in its place, the Elder Wolf picked up the rabbit, lifted his head and walked to the automatic door, heading back into the territory.

No sooner had Elder Wolf left than an angry Flathead charged right at Old Goat, and the two were wrestling again.

Xia Qing cheerfully took the two fat rabbits from Elder Wolf’s jaws. “Number Four, you really are amazing. You were only out for a bit and caught two plump rabbits! Do you want boiled rabbit tonight?”

“Not boiled? How about freeze-dried rabbit then?”

“No freeze-dried? What about roast rabbit?” Once Elder Wolf finally gave her a sign, Xia Qing grinned. “Alright, roast rabbit for Number Four tonight!”

How did Elder Wolf give his answer?

It turned out he and the Alpha in the Northern Wolf Pack had the same style. If he agreed, he just gave you a look. Xia Qing, still beaming, cheered on Old Goat as she set up a medium-sized bag on the high slope and started checking the rabbit’s quality, skinning it and cleaning out the organs.

The smell of fresh meat spurred Flathead on, and he fought with even more gusto—he even managed to knock Old Goat down twice! But in the end, he still lost to Old Goat’s stamina and tough hooves.

After returning to the territory with an air of victory, Old Goat glanced over at Elder Wolf, but seeing Elder Wolf ignore him, he looked away and turned to Xia Qing.

“Old Goat, you were incredible today! No wonder you’re the leader of our territory, the very top of the evolutionary pyramid…”

That made Old Goat happy. He signaled for Xia Qing to come home—it was almost dark.

As they walked, Xia Qing chatted with Elder Wolf. “Number Four, let’s feed the red lantern rabbit’s organs to the fish, okay? The Devastation Element content in them is too high—they’re bad for your health.”

Elder Wolf had spent some time in Section Three and knew that organs could be boiled and eaten. But when Xia Qing opened the bag by the fish pond, he grabbed the rabbit liver she’d set aside for the fish and tucked it in with the other organs they were taking home.

Xia Qing didn’t bother putting it back but still gestured carefully, making sure Elder Wolf understood. “Alright, you can have the rabbit liver cooked at home. Just so you know, rabbit liver has a lot of cholesterol, and your cholesterol is already a bit high. Eat too much, and here… here… and here will start to hurt, and your vision could get blurry too.”

She patted Elder Wolf’s head, then his chest, then his belly, finally resting her hand on his eyes to make her point about high cholesterol. Only then did she say, “So Number Four, you only get a bit of liver tonight. The rest I’ll freeze for next time.”

Xia Qing kept some of the red lantern rabbit’s organs and from the yellow lantern rabbit she saved the liver, heart, kidneys, and spleen. The rest of the organs went into the fish pond. Then, with Old Goat and Elder Wolf at her side, she headed back home, stuffed one red and one yellow rabbit into the oven, and started boiling the organs.

She sliced up some cooked organ meat, mixed it with high-evolution spinach, and set it in front of Elder Wolf. “Eat up, Number Four. It’s fresh.”

Next, Xia Qing pulled out the roasted yellow lantern rabbit and set it in front of Elder Wolf. “The meat on this one smells amazing. All yours, Number Four.”

After finishing the organs, Elder Wolf ate only the steaming roast rabbit, then took the second one in his mouth and carried it off to his den on the high slope among the house ruins.

Xia Qing didn’t try to stop him. Hunting rewards go to the hunter. Besides, by catching bugs for her chickens and fish, Number Four didn’t need her to supply him with food. She was more than happy—plus, now she had two fine rabbit skins.

“You’ve had a long day, too, Old Goat. Here’s your dinner.” For Old Goat, Xia Qing prepared a big bowl of pure green lantern grass mixed with ration bar. She herself made a plate of stir-fried green lantern celery with meat, eating while listening to the news.

“Thanks to tireless efforts across the country and the unity of Lan Five’s people, the concentration of Devastation Element-48 in the Safe Zone’s atmosphere has finally dropped to a safe level. As of 6:30 this afternoon, disaster protocols have been lifted. The Safe Zone is back to normal, and residents are free to come and go…”

While the Lords of Section One were discussing on the Lords’ channel how many died of starvation during Lan Five’s nineteen-day disaster response, Xia Qing received a message from Zhang Shi, asking about the date for little Shiyi’s school enrollment checkup.

Xia Qing replied: August 14.

This time there were eight kids, including little Shiyi, scheduled for the checkup. If they passed, their names would go up to the Education Bureau. As soon as the funding and materials arrived, it’d be late August, and time for school to begin.

Not long after, Zhang Shi messaged again: Could Sister Qing check with Azure Dragon Squad if their helicopter would be sending supplies to Lan Five in the next day or two?

Zhang Shi was coming back.

Xia Qing got in touch with Yang Jin right away and sent Zhang Shi a message: At noon on August 13, Azure Dragon Squad’s helicopter will arrive at the Lan Five Oilfield. On its way back, it’ll unload some cargo on Hill Forty-Nine first. I’ll meet you at the helipad.

Two evenings later, Xia Qing met Zhang Shi at the helipad on the mountaintop. She took the large suitcase from her and, once they were back in Section Three, quietly asked, “Are you heading home tonight, Shi?”

Zhang Shi asked in a low voice, “Could I stay inside your territory tonight? I’ll go back to the valley tomorrow.”

“Of course.” Xia Qing led her through Section Three, made sure the Inspection Team wasn’t nearby, then slipped through two doors straight into her territory and over to the meeting room by the fields.

First she pulled the curtains closed and flipped on the lights, then explained, “I’ve got a rather temperamental evolved sheep at home and an evolved wolf that’s still recovering. You can rest here, Shi. There’s a bedroom, and over there’s the bathroom and kitchen. Take a break and I’ll make you something to eat.”

Members of Hu Zifeng’s squad would be spending the night here, which is why there were beds in the left room and two newly built small rooms on the right—one kitchen, one washroom—everything you could need.

Zhang Shi didn’t stand on ceremony. “Could you make something easy to digest? I brought a child back with me.”

A child?!

Xia Qing watched in shock as Zhang Shi opened the suitcase, revealing a little girl curled up inside. Not bothering to ask why, Xia Qing sprang into action. “I’ll go home for white flour and eggs. We’ll have tomato, egg, and spinach noodles tonight. Shi, put her on the bed in the back room and let her sleep flat.”

When Xia Qing returned with the ingredients and some freshly picked spinach leaves, Zhang Shi had already wiped the child’s sweat away and settled her on the back room’s bed, having changed into some indoor clothes herself. “She’s had a sleeping pill. At the fastest, she won’t wake for another hour.”

Xia Qing nodded. “Rest for a bit, Shi. I’ll get the noodles going.”

While Xia Qing mixed the dough, Zhang Shi took vegetables from the basket and put them in the wash basin. “Is this X-2?”

“Yeah,” Xia Qing explained. “Everyone eats a bit of X-2 every day now to boost immunity.”

The widespread use of X-2 was making everyone healthier. You could tell just from this policy that Hui Three’s Base Director was way ahead of the directors at Huicheng and Hui One. No wonder Azure Dragon Squad and Fu Tianfeng had both relocated to Hui Three.

As she washed tomatoes and spinach, Zhang Shiyi told Xia Qing why she’d brought a little girl back with her.