Chapter 173: Searching the Territory

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Searching the Territory

Xiaqing suppressed her anger, hooked the grenade back onto her belt, and extended her left hand to the Sheep Leader. "Sheep Leader, I’ve already refused this trade. Give me the python."

The Sheep Leader opened its mouth, handing the heavy python to Xiaqing.

Xiaqing grabbed it and viciously swung it toward the injured Brain Domain Evolution Wolf.

The Head Wolf and the two wolves that had carried the snake moved in a flash, shielding the two injured wolves behind them and forming an offensive fan formation in front of Xiaqing.

SLAM!

The python was heavy and Xiaqing was strong. She slammed it into the ground with enough force to gouge out a rut, sending dust scattering in the lamplight.

Since coming to her territory, Xiaqing had never, ever been this furious.

She gripped her handgun so tightly that the wound on the web of her right thumb split open again, filling the air with the scent of blood. "What? You start a fight, piss me off, and then you think you can just fob me off with a piece of meat? Who the fuck do you think you’re insulting?"

"This piece of junk would sell for 7,500 points at most in a human Safe Zone! And you lot have been drinking my medicine for four days straight—that’s 12,000 points worth!"

After chewing out the Wolf Group, Xiaqing pointed at the Sheep Leader, who was pawing the ground and showing off its spiral horns as if it wanted to fight her. "Whose fucking side are you on?!" she roared. "Get your ass inside and go to sleep, or you can forget about ever eating another bite of my rations!"

The Sheep Leader’s eyesight was poor, and in the dim light of night, it couldn’t see Xiaqing’s expression, but it could sense her fury. It stopped pawing the ground and showing off its spiral horns. With a clatter of hooves, it trotted forward to stand by Xiaqing’s side.

Seeing the Sheep Leader choose to stand with her in the face of the powerful Wolf Group, a sliver of Xiaqing’s anger subsided.

As for the immense anger that remained, that, of course, had to be vented on the Wolf Group!

"Cut the fucking mind games! You drag a dumb sheep into a dispute between humans and wolves, putting it in an impossible position, and you call yourselves friends? You’re a piss-poor excuse for friends! If you want to keep getting treatment, then tuck your tails between your legs and lie the fuck down. If you don’t, then get the fuck out. Scram the same way you came!"

With her rant over, Xiaqing slammed the security door shut with a CLANG that made the whole house shudder. Seeing the Sheep Leader beside her raise its head to look at her, Xiaqing pulled a compressed ration from her pocket and stuffed it into the pouch hanging around its neck. "You’re injured. Get some sleep."

Now in possession of a compressed ration, the Sheep Leader trotted back to its pen and settled in for a peaceful sleep.

Back in her bedroom, Xiaqing bolted the door. Both the Sheep Leader and the wolves could open the main security door, and she wouldn’t feel safe if her bedroom door wasn’t locked.

After messaging Ji Li to say she had no meat to trade today, Xiaqing turned on the light, took off her gloves, treated the reopened wound on her right hand, and then collapsed into bed.

The more tense and difficult the times, the more crucial it was to conserve one’s strength and energy. This was a rule of survival proven by the countless lives lost during the Natural Disasters.

When she got up the next morning, Xiaqing discovered the Sheep Leader was no longer in the house. The Green Light Python was still lying in the rut she had slammed it into. The Head Wolf was gone, but the two injured wolves and one Sick Wolf were lying in the sheep pen. A swarm of large, evolved flies was buzzing madly around the stinking python and the pool of blood outside the pen.

The broken leg wolf’s gaze was still utterly feral, but the injured Brain Domain Evolution Wolf now looked at her with a new wariness.

’And the Sick Wolf? What about its gaze? Its eyes were so injured it could barely open them; what kind of look could it even have?’

’Did it look pitiful?’

Yes.

’Did she feel sorry for it?’

No.

In the ten years since the Natural Disasters began, Xiaqing had seen countless creatures—humans included—in states infinitely more pitiful than this wolf. She was like a clay figurine trying to cross a river—barely able to save herself, let alone anyone else. It was all she could do to survive; she had no power to save all living beings.

Over fifty pounds of Green Light meat, wasted just like that. Xiaqing felt a pang of regret for the loss, but not for her actions.

When she was wronged in the Safe Zone, Xiaqing had no power or influence. She could only swallow her anger and plot her revenge in secret. But now, in her own territory, why the hell should she hold back?

Xiaqing doused the python in diesel and set it on fire. Spoiled meat had to be destroyed completely and as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it wouldn’t just breed Super Evolution Fungus; it could also attract Evolved Fierce Birds.

After dealing with the python, Xiaqing returned to the house and went down into her cellar. The chicks and goslings were chirping and squawking. Not a single reading on the thermo-hygrometer hanging on the wall was within the acceptable range.

This meant her experiment in cooling and dehumidifying the cellar had failed again. Controlling the temperature and humidity of an underground storage space was proving more difficult than she had anticipated.

Xiaqing sighed, carried the cages back to the surface, and went to the backyard to let the birds out. As she passed the sheep pen, she was surprised to see the Sheep Leader lying next to the emaciated Sick Wolf, leisurely chewing its cud.

The Sheep Leader was a complete sycophant, only ever staying near the strongest. ’Could it be that this wolf used to be powerful, too?’ Xiaqing wondered.

’Doesn’t matter how powerful it was before,’ she thought. ’It’s on its last legs now.’

Xiaqing inspected the coop, and only after confirming the fence was undamaged did she let the chickens and geese in. Then, she sent a message to Chang Li.

Chang Li soon arrived at the Third Territory with two Olfactory Evolvers from Hu Zifeng’s team to begin the scent-clearing work.

Even though Xiaqing hadn’t accepted the python from the Wolf Group last night, the wolves had still brought prey into her territory, leaving a scent trail that had to be eliminated.

Upon entering the Third Territory and seeing the two guns, three knives, and a full ring of grenades hanging from Xiaqing’s waist, Chen Zheng didn’t think anything of it. He was simply envious.

The Su Feng Team was scheduled to search the adjacent Territory No. 4 today. As the Lord who had refused them entry, Xiaqing naturally had to be ready for a fight.

He envied her great strength, which allowed her to carry so many weapons while remaining in peak combat condition.

Chen Cheng was curious about the food the wolves had been delivering. "Sister Qing, why did the Wolf Group switch to bringing snakes the last couple of days?"

The previous night, Hu Zifeng’s team had already cleared the Wolf Group’s trail outside the Third Territory. As an Olfactory Evolver, Chen Cheng knew that what the wolves had brought Xiaqing was a snake.

Chang Li also found the wolves’ behavior strange. "Wolves like to eat organs and soft meat. Snakes have few organs, their flesh is tough, and they’re full of bones. They aren’t a primary food source for them."

’If they don’t like eating snakes, why bring one to me?’

A thought suddenly struck Xiaqing. ’Snakes are kind of similar to pangolins in a way. Don’t tell me the Wolf Group saw how much I liked the Pangolin and caught a snake to trade for more medicine?’

’It really is...’

’...a real possibility. Otherwise, why would the food they brought for her be different from what they brought for their own injured?’

The thought left Xiaqing with complicated feelings.

Just as they finished cleaning the Third Territory, Tang Huai’s voice crackled over the Lords’ channel on the walkie-talkie. "Zhao Ze, you there?"

"Brother Huai, I’ve been waiting! What time do we start?" Zhao Ze replied instantly, his voice filled with an excitement that was clearly due to the wheat the Su Feng Team had promised him.

’See? That’s the attitude a normal person should have. Xiaqing and Xin Yu are just not normal!’ Tang Huai thought, pressing the button. "We have a lot of territories to inspect today. We’ll head to yours at six-thirty, alright?"

"Of course, you can." With the wheat on his mind, Zhao Ze agreed readily.

It was already six o’clock, so the three of them immediately picked up the pace.

After the cleanup, Chang Li returned to Territory No. 1. Hu Zifeng’s entire team, armed with live ammunition, arrived and deployed along the Wild Grass Wall that stretched for more than two thousand meters along the creek separating the Third Territory and Territory No. 4.

Hu Zifeng told Xiaqing, "We’ll hold this position. You look after the animals in your territory and maintain constant contact."

Xiaqing gave Hu Zifeng five grenades before heading back. On her way, she bundled up some sun-dried grass and carried it to the two-story storage building east of the main house. Only then did she go to check on the sheep pen.

The four creatures inside were in the same state as when she had left. Xiaqing ignored the broken leg wolf staring fiercely at her and the emaciated wolf resting with its eyes closed. She looked directly at the Brain Domain Evolution Wolf. "Hostile humans have entered the adjacent territory, so I have to close the pen door. You all just rest. Sheep Leader, are you staying in or coming out?"

When the Sheep Leader, still lying down and chewing its cud, didn’t move, Xiaqing decisively shut the pen door. She then sat down in the courtyard to weave grass mats in the sun.

With sheep, chickens, and now wolves to look after, her consumption of moisture-absorbent grass mats was huge.

Hu Zifeng’s voice came through her headset:

"Xiaqing, Captain Tan and a six-man squad from the Su Feng Team have arrived at the sign for Territory No. 4. The Su Feng Team is going in; Captain Tan is holding his position outside. The Su Feng squad isn’t carrying heavy weapons. Tang Huai is leading them. Team members include one Level 6 Strength Evolver, one Level 7 Olfactory Evolver, one Level 5 Speed Evolver, one Level 5 Visual Evolver, and one other person whose identity and abilities are unknown."