Chapter 966: Negotiations and Upgrades in Section Three

Inside the sheep shed of Section Three, Zhang Song used the equipment Xia Qing had helped bring in to check on the Elder Wolf’s condition.

Standing beside him, Xia Qing asked, “Brother Song, can you accurately determine this wolf’s age?”

Zhang Song replied, “After the great evolution on Blue Star, even animals of the same species can show wildly different characteristics depending on how much they’ve evolved. Humanity’s research into various evolved creatures—especially the powerful beasts on the Do Not Provoke list—is still in its infancy. So examining appearance, doing blood tests, checking cranial suture fusion or pulp chamber closure—none of those methods reliably reveal a wolf’s age anymore.”

“From what I know, the only viable way is to analyze bone rings—basically taking a thin slice of bone from the wolf and observing its growth rings under a microscope to estimate age.”

Xia Qing shook her head. “Then let’s forget about it.”

Zhang Song just smiled and kept examining the scrawny wolf with his handheld X-ray scanner.

As an animal researcher, being able to touch an evolved predator like this made it almost impossible for Zhang Song to contain his excitement.

If word got out, his former colleagues at Red Eleven would never believe it: he’d only been in Hui Three and Section Seven for a year and a half, yet this was already the sixth evolved wolf he’d examined up close!

Besides those six, he’d also handled blood tests for three wolves infected by parasites and five pregnant wolves! The super bacteria pesticide Hui Six is using now was a result of his work with Third Brother!

Zhang Song quietly took a deep breath, forcing down his excitement. He had no choice—last time he slipped up, he’d lost his chance for close observation with Little Monkey. If Xia Qing thought he was weird again, Third Brother might look for someone else.

After all, he wasn’t the only evolved animal researcher in Section Seven.

Once he got his nerves and his facial expression under control, Zhang Song looked up at Xia Qing with the exam results. “This wolf’s main problems are an evolved liver fluke infection and ear mites…”

After walking her through the wolf’s illnesses and the medicines required, he cautioned, “With so many parasites attacking it, its immune system’s extremely weak. Like that mother wolf last year that had parasites, this one can’t have raw meat for the next couple of months and should only drink filtered water…”

After explaining the care requirements, Zhang Song switched to a casual tone. “Sister Qing, after this one recovers, will it return to the pack too?”

Ever since she woke up this morning to find Er gone with the pack, Xia Qing had a nagging feeling. She figured Er left the Elder Wolf with her on purpose. Once it was healthy, it would probably stay with her too.

But she had no intention of telling Zhang Song, whose eyes always lit up around evolved animals. She just replied without showing any emotion.

Zhang Song looked a little disappointed but didn’t push. Instead, he asked about the other patients. “What about that wolf with the hurt front leg and Little Wolf? How are they doing?”

Xia Qing answered, “They’re both doing fine, but they’re not on the territory anymore.”

Not on the territory? Where’d they go? Did they, like Little Monkey, go back into the Evolved Forest?

Knowing to leave it at that, Zhang Song asked Xia Qing to help carry his equipment and left Section Three. “Sister Qing, I’ll have Zheng Chen bring the medicine for you.”

After seeing Zhang Song and Zheng Chen off, Xia Qing pretended not to notice hurried footsteps leaving Territory Two and heading outside, locked the South Gate, and returned home.

Tang Lu, who had rushed out, paused in front of Section Three’s locked main gate. She turned back and waited inside the simple air-conditioned hut by the Wild Grass Wall, brushing her long hair and checking herself in the small mirror, waiting for Zheng Chen to deliver medicine to Xia Qing.

But she kept waiting, nearly until noon, and Zheng Chen never showed up again!

Meanwhile, Xia Qing had already picked up the medicine from Section Three’s North Gate and used it on the Elder Wolf back home.

Right now, she was locked in negotiation with a clever wolf playing innocent.

“You broke my hair dryer. Now you need to pay me back with a whole bag of hickory nuts.”

Crippled Wolf planted its stiff, lame leg on the wriggling bag and stared at Xia Qing. All those insects in the bag—it had worked hard to catch them on Hill Forty-Nine!

“No deal. A bag of bugs isn’t going to get you a hair dryer. That thing’s an electric appliance.”

Crippled Wolf thought quietly for a moment, then ignored Xia Qing and tried to head home to enjoy the air conditioning.

Without missing a beat, Xia Qing dumped the bugs into the fish pond, picked some greens for home, and went on cooking while continuing her haggling with Crippled Wolf.

In the end, Crippled Wolf grumpily agreed to hand over a bag of hickory nuts as compensation. It then dragged the hair dryer into its basket, making it clear that the thing was now its property.

Xia Qing was speechless.

Well played. You’ve outdone yourself.

At lunch, thanks to the Elder Wolf, Crippled Wolf got to feast on boiled meat and eggs. Since the Elder Wolf’s teeth were worn down, Xia Qing cut the meat into small pieces. Crippled Wolf ate happily and the Elder Wolf tucked in with his head down, barely coming up for air.

After Xia Qing gave the wolf its medicine, it could already feel the difference—it really needed the nutrition.

That afternoon, Xia Qing began replacing the arched supports, roof beams, and side beams in the greenhouses.

It was a major project. Aside from the two steel-framed greenhouses, all thirteen wooden structures needed replacement. So Xia Qing hired eight members of Hu Zifeng’s squad, who had just returned from their mission, to help with the work.

Hiring people from Territory Fifteen or Seventeen to work cost five credits a day. Hu Zifeng’s squad charged five times that.

But Xia Qing didn’t mind. A few hundred credits are nothing compared to her territory’s safety and she knew what was more important.

Aside from Hu Zifeng’s squad, she didn’t want anyone else knowing what she grew in those greenhouses or how well they were doing.

After three days, all thirteen wooden greenhouses in Section Three had their supports replaced with tough, flexible red-leaved bamboo slats. Not only did the safety rating climb two whole levels, the greenhouses would now last much longer.

With Hu Zifeng’s squad finally leaving, Xia Qing stood on the hillside and gazed at her revitalized greenhouses, feeling more than satisfied. Just then, Yang Jin called.

Yang Jin said he was coming to deliver supplies and pick up a leaf from the Devastationweed.

When he arrived, Xia Qing accepted three big boxes of Lan Five Green Lantern specialty food, paid the full amount plus the agent fee, then asked, “Captain Yang, has something happened at Lanwu in Death Sea?”

Yang Jin nodded gravely. “The three Devastationweed seeds I planted by the Pure Spring all lost viability. We still haven’t figured out why.”

To better hide Section Three’s unpolluted spring and the Devastationweed, Yang Jin had taken six seeds harvested in Section Three and planted them near the Pure Spring at Lan Five Base in Death Sea.

This time, when Yang Jin went to fetch water, he found all his seeds had died.

Xia Qing asked, “How did you check if the seeds were still viable?”

Yang Jin pulled out his phone and showed Xia Qing a video. “Look, the surface of the seeds hasn’t changed, but they’ve gone soft.”

In the video, Yang Jin used a little wooden stick to nudge a seed wrapped in a pale shell. The shell broke, and a colorless, clear liquid spilled out from inside.