Chapter 227: Whose Subordinate Is This?

Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Whose Subordinate Is This?

The Weasel looked timid and cowering, yet it had a face that seemed permanently fixed in a smile. Its appearance, its gaze, its movements—Xiaqing couldn’t have been more familiar with them.

Ding.

Yang Jin sent another message: Is this Weasel a companion of the Head Wolf Que’er?

Xiaqing’s forearm and upper arm were red and swollen. It wasn’t noticeable when she was doing manual labor, but such a delicate movement as tapping on the small on-screen keyboard proved difficult.

With slightly trembling fingers, Xiaqing tapped out her reply one letter at a time: Confirmed, it’s a companion of the Head Wolf. This Weasel often follows the Wolf Group to my territory to pluck chicken feathers. The Head Wolf hasn’t appeared since seeing the picture from Zhang San. It probably went into the mountains to gather herbs, and this Weasel has also been gone for a few days.

A bold idea began to form in Yang Jin’s mind, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Inside the narrow, dark cave, Yang Jin’s eyes, hidden behind his Protective Mask, glowed in the light of his phone screen. He quickly tapped a few words on his phone and handed it to Yan Long.

In the surrounding caves, over a dozen experts from four different teams were hiding. Even the quietest whisper could be detected.

For Yang Jin to risk discovery by contacting the outside world, it had to be for something important. After reading it, Yan Long tapped out two lines:

If that wolf is nearby, eighty percent chance. If not, certain defeat.

Yang Jin tapped a few more words and showed them to Yan Long, who nodded in agreement.

Yang Jin then quickly typed out three lines and solemnly pressed send:

The Wolf Group might deliver the herbs Brother Luo needs to you today or tomorrow. Once you receive them, please get them to Zhang San as soon as possible.

After receiving the message, Xiaqing had to read it three times to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

’The incredibly proud Head Wolf is going to cooperate with Yang Jin to gather herbs? How did those two even connect? And what does the Weasel have to do with it?’ There was too much to even begin to question, but Xiaqing knew how dangerous the Evolution Forest was. She didn’t ask a single thing, only replying with trembling hands:

Okay. As for the Head Wolf’s cut, we can discuss it when you get out.

The Head Wolf was leading its subordinates—even bringing the Weasel along—to brave the Harmful Rain and gather herbs to treat the Sick Wolf. It teamed up with Yang Jin believing the medicine was for the Sick Wolf. The Head Wolf thought this because Xiaqing had pointed to the picture and told it so.

Yang Jin must have chosen to cooperate with the Wolf Group because gathering the herbs was fraught with danger. The Top Level team assembled by Azure Dragon had no guarantee of success, so they needed to borrow the Wolf Group’s strength.

’Business is business, and friendship is friendship.’ The Head Wolf had essentially been hired by her to gather the herbs. If it really managed to bring them out, the Green Dragon Team ought to pay for them.

No matter how smart the Head Wolf was, it was no match for an Iron Rooster like Yang Jin. Therefore, Xiaqing had to be the one to represent the Wolf Group and negotiate the deal with him.

Seeing Xiaqing’s message, Yang Jin smiled to himself and replied with a single word: "Okay."

’Whatever the reason, she’s waiting for me back in the territory. I have to get back as soon as possible.’

Yang Jin gestured for Yan Long and the other four to gather. Using a combination of written messages and hand signals, he quickly laid out their battle plan.

Back in the Third Territory, Xiaqing slept until two in the afternoon. When she woke up, the swelling in her arm and shoulder had subsided significantly, though she hadn’t fully recovered.

Outside the window, the Harmful Rain continued to fall steadily. The few green beans under the small rain shelter on the windowsill were still there, and the spring water in the jar hadn’t diminished. The Red Squirrel was hiding in its nest and hadn’t come over for a drink.

’That little guy stole over ten pounds of shredded tobacco and has a lot of food stored up, so it can hide from the Harmful Rain in its burrow without a care.’

Xiaqing was not only envious, she also wanted to go raid its stash.

Glancing at the yard, which had once again become overgrown with grass, Xiaqing washed her face and went to the underground storeroom to get the animal organs for the Sick Wolf. The Harmful Rain had been falling for over fifty hours, but the basement remained dry and cool. The grains, rations, and meat stacked neatly on the shelves were all perfectly intact. The more Xiaqing looked, the more satisfied she felt. She suddenly thought she and the Red Squirrel could bond over the joy of hoarding food.

Xiaqing opened an exquisite storage box on the shelf closest to the Yi Stone and took out eleven tubes of Special Level Nutrient Liquid. This morning, when she was juicing spinach for Luo Pei, she had plucked some extra leaves, added a few drops of medicine, and sealed them in the special plastic bags used for Special Level Nutrient Liquid.

The Harmful Rain wouldn’t end for another fourteen hours. During this time, a third wave of red Harmful Rain could fall at any moment, and the probability of medium-risk or higher Qiang evolved creatures appearing in the territory was high.

Hu Zifeng’s team had been guarding the territory for over fifty hours, and they were mentally and physically exhausted. Only Special Level Nutrient Liquid could help them quickly return to peak condition.

To others, a Special Level Nutrient Liquid cost two thousand points, but to Xiaqing, it was just a matter of a handful of spinach leaves and a few drops of medicine. She could afford it.

Since it had only been a dozen hours or so since she last drank spinach juice, Xiaqing only consumed half of her own portion. She then placed the small pouch of nutrient liquid into the designated slot inside her Protective Mask, just in case.

After putting the organs on to cook for the wolves, Xiaqing put on her Protective Suit, picked up a few pounds of sealed fresh meat, and left the house. In the sheep pen, three wolves and a sheep, all wearing Protective Masks, turned to look at her in unison.

After confirming the air was free of toxins, Xiaqing waded through the calf-high Injurious Grass into the sheep pen. She removed the Protective Masks from the four creatures, let them drink some spring water, and gave medicine to the Sick Wolf and the Broken Waist Wolf.

Then, Xiaqing held up the meat and asked, "Hey, Broken Waist, and you with the broken leg. Are you two hungry?"

The two wolves, their stomachs empty, tracked the meat in Xiaqing’s hands with their eyes, clearly hungry.

Xiaqing tore open the package and put the fresh meat in a basin. "Go on, eat."

As the Broken Waist Wolf started to eat, the Sheep Leader protested, nudging Xiaqing with its head. "BAA—"

Xiaqing rubbed its head. "I know, I know. I’ll go make your food now. Second’s meat is already cooking."

Before the rain, Xiaqing had cut two armfuls of pasture grass and stored them in the garage’s underground storeroom. After checking that this storeroom was also undamaged, Xiaqing brought the grass back up, prepared a special feed for the Sheep Leader, and mixed feed for the chicks and goslings.

When she went to the tool shed to feed the chickens, she was nearly pecked by the Black Feathered Rooster. The drab-looking bird puffed up its neck feathers and flapped its wings at Xiaqing, looking for all the world like it wanted a fight, which made her laugh.

"What, upset I won’t let you out?" Xiaqing said as she refilled the water trough. "With that scrawny body of yours, even if you managed not to go crazy after ten minutes outside, you’d be too ruined to even be worth cooking." She shoveled some dirt over the chicken droppings under the coop, then tossed a few grasshoppers and crickets she had just caught into a bucket.

The incredibly ferocious, evolved Spring Water Fish thrashed wildly as they snatched at the food, splashing water everywhere and drenching the Black Feathered Rooster. The sight made Xiaqing burst out laughing.

After finishing her chores around the house, Xiaqing had a simple meal of some dried meat and a bowl of tea. She put the Protective Masks back on the Wolf Group and the Sheep Leader, then started up the mini-tiller and headed for the farmland, cutting the grass as she went.

Over fifty hours of Harmful Rain had turned the human territory into a world of Injurious Grass. Xiaqing switched on the Lord’s intercom, connecting to the territory’s network.