Chapter 458: Secret of the Verdant Gorge

After checking over the rabbit caught by Broken Back, Xia Qing realized it was a Red Lantern. Still, she quickly sealed it in a bag and tucked it into her backpack.

A Green Lantern rabbit would be better for trading supplies with Zhong Tao.

Half an hour later, the group reached the rocky crevice where Red Squirrel was injured. Xia Qing asked, “Your Majesty, Broken Back, Er, can you smell any bears, wolves, or other big predators or raptors inside?”

Alpha stayed back, Broken Back sniffed around thoughtfully, and Er Gou did the same but didn’t seem to pick up anything.

It looked like there was nothing inside dangerous enough to scare the Wolf Pack. Still, something down there had caught Broken Back’s interest.

Xia Qing looked up at the massive fractured boulder rising over thirty meters and nearly vertical. “Let’s climb up and see if we can spot an entrance to the peanut growing area.”

When it came to climbing, evolved wolves with sharp claws had a huge advantage over humans, who lacked them.

It took Xia Qing more than thirty meters with a climbing rope to realize the boulder was taller than she thought. The upper part sloped, but the crevice was just as wide as below, so she had to keep going up.

After climbing over a hundred meters, Xia Qing finally reached the top of the crack. This was already the slope of the Third Peak. The fissure stretched east to west for four or five hundred meters—at its widest over a meter, at its narrowest less than ten centimeters. The uneven widths came from the mountain rock splitting off and falling into the dark depths below.

Fissures like this one started appearing in the early days after the cataclysmic tectonic shifts. Some of those splits were still slowly shifting even now.

These cracks had mosses growing over most of their walls. Looking down, there was no bottom in sight.

To Xia Qing, it looked plain and ordinary—nothing that would interest a foraging team seeking edible plants.

Peering into the sunlight below, Xia Qing spotted a patch of stubborn weeds down at the base, sending a chill down her spine.

Peanuts were sun-loving plants. While not especially demanding about light, lack of sunshine would stunt their growth. By rights, Green Lantern peanuts shouldn’t be growing in a place like this—unless this was a variety that had evolved past the need for constant sunlight.

Could it be that Green Lantern peanuts didn’t actually grow here and Red Squirrel only took a shortcut through the crack while gathering them?

Xia Qing shook her head. That couldn’t be it.

Crevices like these were playgrounds for creatures like snakes and bats that loved darkness. Red Squirrel was timid—if peanuts weren’t growing inside, he’d never risk venturing in. Xia Qing picked up a fist-sized rock and threw it down. After a little over four seconds, before five seconds had passed, she heard it hit the bottom. That meant the crack had to be nearly a hundred meters deep.

And that wasn’t all…

Xia Qing tossed rocks from other spots and listened closely. Her conclusion was, “This isn’t just a fissure—there’s some huge open space underneath. No way you’d get an echo like that otherwise. Come on, let’s follow the crevice and look for a safer way in. Going down from here is way too dangerous.”

Spotting Xia Qing’s hesitation to enter the fissure, Alpha stretched lazily and dashed ahead. Broken Back set off in a different direction to scout, while Er Gou, nestled in his protective suit, nudged Xia Qing’s leg before sprawling on a rock to bask in the sun.

With the two brain-evolved wolves out scouting, Xia Qing didn’t stand idle. She kept walking along the crack, tossing rocks every few steps to check the depth and listening for any signs of movement inside.

It didn’t sound like any big animals were flying or moving around inside.

Alpha returned soon after and signaled for Xia Qing to follow.

She considered asking, “Shouldn’t we wait for Broken Back to finish scouting the other side?” but figured it was unnecessary. Obediently, she followed Alpha, with Er Gou close behind. They wound through turns and slopes for a full twenty minutes, finally arriving at a hidden bear cave about halfway up the mountain.

Xia Qing paused. “Your Majesty, Broken Back, are you saying… that crevice connects to this bear den?”

Broken Back grinned, flashing adorably sharp fangs.

Alpha headed in first, with Xia Qing strapping on her headlamp to light up the cave interior.

The bear den sloped downward and was barely ten meters deep. It was simple—no other exits or tunnels inside.

Broken Back and Alpha stopped before a slab of rock taller than a person. Broken Back went to sniff it and then glanced back at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing moved in for a closer look and her eyes lit up. After clearing away the rubble, she rolled up her sleeves and announced with confidence, “Let me handle this heavy lifting!”

This boulder weighed at least three tons—impossible to even budge, let alone lift, but with the strength of a level-six Strength Evolution, Xia Qing could push it aside.

When she rolled the boulder away, a half-man-high tunnel appeared behind it. Xia Qing couldn’t help marvelling, “Did the evolved bear put this here? That’s one clever animal!”

Alpha shot Xia Qing a quick look with those flashy gold eyes.

Xia Qing instinctively responded faster than she could think, launching into flattery. “Your Majesty, you traced that crevice from the mountaintop all the way here—amazing! You’re the king of all wolves, way smarter than any evolved bear!”

Alpha took the lead and slipped into the tunnel while Broken Back gave Xia Qing another glance.

She understood and crawled in behind Alpha, with Er Gou after her and Broken Back bringing up the rear. At first Xia Qing had to duck, but a few meters in, she couldn’t even touch the ceiling when she stretched up.

Twenty meters later, they emerged from the tunnel—and what Xia Qing saw left her stunned. For a moment she wondered if she’d slipped through a time portal, leaping from Blue Star’s Evolved Forest straight into a dreamlike world.

A valley, twenty meters wide and stretching endlessly east to west, opened before them. Sunbeams sliced down from the sky, bathing the lush plants below.

No doubt about it.

Unlike the battered, wind-blasted Evolved Forest outside, this hidden valley was still a thriving green oasis. After checking her air toxin detector to make sure the air was safe, Xia Qing took off her protective mask and glanced at her companions, who looked equally amazed.

Warm, humid air rolled over her—outside, it was deep winter, but here, it felt like spring.

Was this even possible?

After ten years of disasters, Xia Qing had never seen anything so magical. She fell in love with the place instantly.

“Handsome Wolf!”

Broken Back, who’d been exploring the area, turned back to look at Xia Qing.

Her eyes sparkled. “Handsome Wolf, you’re so smart. I bet you can figure out a way to keep those two bears from ever coming back. This place is ours now, isn’t it?”

Wait—hang on!

“You all rest here. I’ll spray some deodorizer and block up the entrance so no one from Territory Nine finds this place.” Xia Qing hurried back to the bear den, sprayed deodorizer inside and out, then rolled the giant stone back in place to seal the connection. Returning to the valley, she saw Er Gou dashing over with a big rabbit clamped in his jaws, tail wagging furiously.

A rabbit—alive!

“Er, you’re amazing!” Xia Qing cheered.

She quickly took the squirming rabbit from him and checked the bite mark on its neck.

Yellow Lantern! Female! That was perfect—just what she needed for a pair with the one at home. Xia Qing cheered and immediately applied sedative and special hemostatic, then bagged the rabbit.

Now, it was time for the main event—searching for the mysterious Green Lantern peanuts growing somewhere in the valley.