Chapter 170: Lighting up the Witness Card

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Lighting up the Witness Card

After they exchanged the Green Light Seeds and wheat, Shi Du took out her phone. "Sister Qing, I recorded a video of how to retract the greenhouse’s rainproof cloth. Did you bring your phone? I can send it to you."

"I did."

Xiaqing knew Shi Du’s main reason for visiting was to send her the video on how to use the retractable rainproof cloth—the technique she’d traded her water caltrop plants for. Once the video transferred via Bluetooth, Xiaqing saw how much thought Shi Du had put into it. The video was five minutes long, with Shi Zhong standing by the greenhouse, explaining loudly as he taught Xiaqing how to operate it.

Xiaqing thanked her sincerely. "Thank you both for your trouble."

"No trouble at all. We were happy to," Shi Du’s eyes crinkled into a smile behind her protective face shield. She lowered her voice and asked, "Sister Qing, are your goslings still alive?"

Xiaqing also lowered her voice, but made sure it was loud enough for Tang Huai to overhear. "Don’t even ask. The Green Light and Yellow Light ones died. Only a Red Light one is still alive."

Shi Du sighed. "At least one of yours is still alive, Sister Qing. Both of mine died. When we heard there was going to be an ultrasound attack, my mom even hid the goslings under the blankets, but it didn’t save them."

Xiaqing shared her experience. "I was planning to store seed potatoes, so I dug a cellar. During the ultrasound attack, I put the goslings in there, and surprisingly, it actually worked."

At that, not only Shi Du, but Tang Huai’s ears perked up too.

Shi Du asked for advice, "Sister Qing, how deep does the cellar need to be to work?"

Xiaqing continued explaining, "I originally dug it three meters deep, but I didn’t think it was enough. I figured deeper would definitely work, so this morning I dug down almost another two meters. I just brought the bricks home and was about to line the bottom..."

The more Tang Huai listened, the less human Xiaqing seemed. She was like an ox, a tireless old workhorse.

Shi Du nodded repeatedly as she listened. "Okay, I’ll go home and dig one too. It’ll definitely be useful in the future."

After their exchange, Shi Du left with the wheat, and Xiaqing passed through the Wild Grass Wall to return to her territory. ’Perfect.’ Her primary witness, the one who could prove she hadn’t left her territory this morning—Tang Huai from the Su Feng Team—had now been successfully handled.

VMMMM—

She hadn’t gone far when she heard a phone vibrating, and she stopped in her tracks.

"Captain Xu, yes, I’m currently on surveillance duty. ...What? Pangolins? I haven’t heard anyone mention them. Okay... Okay... Understood."

After hanging up, Tang Huai said to Zhou Xun beside him, "Xu Pin said our team lost two Pangolins north of Mountain No. 49. Since when did our team have Pangolins?"

Zhou Xun replied, "I haven’t heard anything either. Did the vice-captain tell us to go find them?"

Tang Huai answered, "Not exactly. He said he’ll send people over to search and told us to arrange for their lodging and prepare food. Dammit, how long has it been since the team sent us supplies? Where are we supposed to get food from?"

Zhou Xun reminded him, "Then why didn’t you ask the vice-captain for some just now?"

Tang Huai paused for a few seconds. "He sounded like he was about to kill someone, so I didn’t want to push my luck. Let’s go, back to eat. Dammit, why the hell did it have to rain? It’s keeping me from digging for bugs..."

After they left and she had confirmed the Pangolins were indeed tamed beasts belonging to the Su Feng Team, Xiaqing cheerfully bundled the grass she had just gathered. She placed it on Sheep Leader’s back. "Come on, Chief, let’s go home. Once this grass dries, I’ll weave you a new pillow."

"Maa," Sheep Leader bleated, ambling along behind Xiaqing.

After returning home, the first thing Xiaqing did was report the news she’d overheard to Luo Pei.

Luo Pei replied quickly: The Su Feng Team has sent twelve search parties out of the city. Until they pull back, you are to train within your territory. Don’t even go to Zone 3. Covering the Wolf Group’s tracks to and from Mountain No. 49 each day will be Hu Zifeng’s responsibility.

After replying that she’d received the message, Xiaqing put away the Green Light Seeds. She finished lunch and then ran out to the yard to communicate with the Head Wolf, who was sleeping in the sheep pen.

"Queen, those animals you caught today, the two Pangolins, they have an owner. The owner has sent many humans to search the area. You need to be careful when you’re out and about for the next few days, Queen. Don’t let the humans find you."

The Head Wolf, who had laid down to sleep in the sheep pen after drinking spinach juice, twitched its ears slightly but had no other reaction. The broken leg wolf stared warily at Xiaqing’s gesturing hands, while the injured Brain Domain Evolution Wolf watched Xiaqing calmly, as if trying hard to understand what she meant.

So, Xiaqing switched her focus to the injured Brain Domain Evolution Wolf and continued, "The prey you used to trade for medicine with me this morning—it has an owner, and they’ve come looking for it. For the next few days, that mountain over there..."

Xiaqing raised her hand and pointed north, making a sweeping gesture. "In that whole mountain range, there will be a lot of humans. They have weapons, and they’re very strong, looking for their prey. Tell your packmates to be careful when they’re out and about, and not to run into the humans."

When she finished, Xiaqing stared into the wolf’s eyes for a few seconds, unable to tell if it had understood. So she called Sheep Leader over and explained it all again. "Chief, tell your wolf friends to be careful."

After speaking, Xiaqing stuffed a bar of compressed rations into the pouch hanging around Sheep Leader’s neck. "Go on."

Sheep Leader clip-clopped into the sheep pen, lay down beside the Head Wolf, and began chewing its cud with half-closed eyes, showing no intention of communicating with the Wolf Group.

Xiaqing sighed. ’I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to chance. Time to get to work.’

It went without saying that with the Su Feng Team searching for the Pangolins near Mountain No. 49, Hu Zifeng’s team’s plan to catch geese and gather edible water caltrops would have to be postponed. Xiaqing needed to use these next few days to finish building her cellar and store her food inside.

Xiaqing first changed the dressing on her right hand, then carried cement out from the warehouse, mixed mortar, and started lining the cellar walls.

Animals like rats, mole crickets, ants, and even Pangolins were all skilled diggers, and evolutionary microbes would thrive in the damp soil. Without proper protective measures, the cellar couldn’t be used to store food.

Because she was working alone and with an injured hand, Xiaqing hadn’t even finished lining the six sides of the underground storeroom after half a day’s work, and night had already fallen.

Although she was anxious, she didn’t turn on a light to keep working. When it was time to rest, she rested, and when it was time to train, she trained.

A little after two in the morning, Xiaqing heard a familiar sound from the yard. She immediately got up and went down to check, discovering that the Wolf Group had delivered food two hours earlier than usual.

’It seems they understood me after all,’ Xiaqing thought, breathing a sigh of relief. She immediately informed Hu Zifeng that the Wolf Group had come to deliver prey.

"The cameras on Mountain No. 49 caught traces of the Wolf Group. The Su Feng Team’s search party returned to the Second Territory this evening. We’ll clean up the tracks before dawn. We’ve also coordinated with the Danger Investigation Team; they’ll be spraying medicine in the quarantine zone this morning to cover the scent. After sunrise, have Chang Li go into the territory to help you. Just say the word in the channel."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work," Xiaqing said.

Hu Zifeng chuckled. "Hard work? We couldn’t be happier."

Seeing his rival team scrambling like ants on a hot pan after losing the expensive Tamed Beast they had bought made Hu Zifeng thrilled. As for the Wolf Group that had pulled off this great feat, he now found them more and more agreeable.

Covering their tracks was nothing. If he had to, he could even start singing the praises of the "Queen" in all sorts of flowery ways, just like Xiaqing. He could do that.

After hanging up, Xiaqing sighed as she looked at the Python the Head Wolf had placed in front of her. "Queen, is it that all the prey has run off because of the humans stirring up trouble in the mountains, so you could only catch a snake to make do? You’ve worked hard, Queen."

’Otherwise, why did the Sick Wolf get a wild pheasant, while I got a Python?’

Although Xiaqing didn’t like eating snake, Green Light meat could never be wasted. She bent down to pick up the Python in front of her, but to her surprise, the Head Wolf lifted a large paw and pinned down the snake’s tail.