Chapter 237: Wolf? Dog? Wolfdog

Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Wolf? Dog? Wolfdog

"Wolves are carnivores," Zhang San explained lazily, "but that one is a wolf-dog. They’re omnivores."

Seeing the dumbfounded look on Xiaqing’s face, just as he’d hoped, put Zhang San in an even better mood. "I’ll have someone put together a diet plan and send it to you later. I’ll deduct the medical fees directly from the points you got for the herbs the wolves gathered."

"Thank you, Brother San." After thanking him, Xiaqing asked, "Do you have any kind of potion I can spray on myself to repel insects in the Evolution Forest? I plan to check out the outer perimeter for a few kilometers tomorrow."

Ji Li, who was carrying the refrigerator on his back while escorting Xiaqing to the Third Territory, saw her silently cradling the wolf-dog and assumed she was still mulling over the matter. "In the first two years of the Natural Disaster, many domestic dogs were forced into the Evolution Forest and became wild animals. It wasn’t uncommon for them to team up with wolf packs to survive. After all, they’re distant relatives."

Cradling the wolf-dog, Xiaqing mused, "This wolf has wagged its tail at me several times. I thought it was some kind of genetic mutation, but I guess its bloodline just awakened."

’Bloodline awakening?’

It took Ji Li a moment to process before he reminded Xiaqing, "It wags its tail at you because it likes you and wants to curry favor. Wolf-dogs possess the fierceness of a wolf and the loyalty of a dog. Most Evolution Military Dogs are descendants of wolf-dogs. But those were all raised and domesticated by humans, so they’re dependent on people. The one you’re holding grew up with a wolf pack in the Evolution Forest. Its wolf nature is stronger than its dog nature. If you succeed in taming it, it will become your capable assistant and loyal partner. If you fail, it will abandon you and return to the Evolution Forest. Don’t be too extreme in your methods. Wolves are very vindictive animals. This wolf-dog may be weak right now, but its companions are very strong."

’Extreme methods?’ Xiaqing lowered her head and stared into the Sick Wolf’s clear eyes. "I accepted supplies from the Wolf Group, and I’m helping treat its illness in return. I have no plans to tame it. Whether it leaves or stays after it recovers, I won’t interfere."

’It wasn’t that Xiaqing didn’t want to keep Second, who was not only attentive but also stood watch at night. It all depended on whether the wolf-dog was willing. If it wasn’t, Xiaqing wouldn’t dare force it to stay. Otherwise, the Head Wolf could kill her a thousand times over.’

Seeing how much Xiaqing cared about the Wolf Group, Ji Li had thought she wanted to tame the pack and keep them as helpers. He never expected this was her plan.

After a long pause, Ji Li finally said, "That’s good."

Humans are clever, and greedy. After the final wave of red Harmful Rain from the third Harmful Rain of the year began, the outskirts of the Safe Zone descended into chaos. Many people faked going berserk, pretending to have lost their minds, and used the opportunity to plunder survival supplies from others with extreme cruelty.

During this Harmful Rain, the deaths and injuries caused by the infighting surpassed those caused by the rain itself, but in the end, they were all attributed to the "Natural Disaster." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

This was humanity’s natural disaster, born from the collapse of order.

「Back at the Third Territory, Xiaqing placed the two wolves in the sheep pen, leaving them in the Head Wolf’s care. Then she hauled the refrigerator upstairs and set it down next to the Yi Element Detector.」

There was no special reason for it, other than the fact that there were already wires and an outlet there, saving her the trouble of new wiring.

The refrigerator was brand new, with a total capacity of three hundred liters split between a refrigeration compartment and a freezer compartment. This functional division was the same as pre-Disaster refrigerators, but its design was blocky and utilitarian. It had no logo, lacked refinement, and had thick outer panels—clearly a post-Natural Disaster product at a glance.

According to the instruction manual, the refrigerator consumed one kilowatt-hour of electricity per day. The two temperature and humidity control systems in her cellar used a total of five kilowatt-hours per day at the current temperature. On top of that, she also needed to charge her phone, radio, and walkie-talkie, and power her lights and electric kettle. She was lucky to have eight solar panels; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to run so many appliances.

On overcast or rainy days, the power generated by the eight solar panels wasn’t enough to run so many appliances, requiring her to supplement the power with a diesel generator.

If it weren’t for the Pollution-free Spring Water and Green Light Spinach in her territory, Xiaqing would never have dared to acquire so many electronics.

’Such a luxury.’

After plugging it in and waiting for the temperature inside to drop, Xiaqing took a small piece of Yi Stone out of its protection shell and placed it in the refrigerator. Only then could the fridge shield against the Harmful Element and become truly useful.

Once the atmospheric concentration of the Harmful Element returned to normal levels, Xiaqing collected the Yi Stones from the sweet potato field, the Green Rice paddy, the chicken coop, and the two injured wolves’ necks, returning them to the Yi Stone Protection Shell. Only the Yi Stone in the Green Light Spinach patch continued to release the Yi Element, protecting the most important plants in her territory.

She, Sheep Leader, and the Sick Wolf were still wearing theirs. Xiaqing would never neglect herself, nor would she neglect her only partner. The Sick Wolf was weak and also needed special protection.

Once the refrigerator’s temperature had dropped, Xiaqing brought up fresh rabbit meat from the underground storeroom and stuffed it into the freezer. She also placed the Sick Wolf’s probiotics and capsules, along with the Broken Waist Wolf’s medicinal plaster, in the refrigeration compartment. Even after putting these items in, the fridge was still mostly empty. On a whim, Xiaqing put in a few bottles of spring water. Once they cooled down, she would have ice-cold water to drink.

’Chugging a bottle of ice-cold water after finishing work on a hot day is the perfect way to beat the heat and cool down.’

Pleased with her new major appliance, Xiaqing hummed a little tune as she went downstairs. After greeting the Head Wolf and Sheep Leader, she began preparing to harvest chestnuts the next day.

After learning that Yan Long wasn’t available, Xiaqing decided not to look for anyone else.

Unlike the Safe Zone, where you could post a mission in the administration hall to form a team, things were different in the territories. Among the people Xiaqing could contact directly, there were five Olfactory Evolvers, but only two were High Level: Yan Long and Chang Li.

Why did she have to choose a High Level Evolver? Because the Red Squirrel was extremely clever. It was rubbing all sorts of things on its body every day, causing the scent of the Tracking Potion to grow fainter and fainter.

Xiaqing had asked Chen Zheng, a Level 5 Olfactory Evolver, to try, but he could no longer track the Red Squirrel by smell. Now Yan Long was unavailable, and Chang Li, a Level 9 Olfactory Evolver, was a team doctor and couldn’t join a team.

So, Xiaqing decided to go by herself. Using the locator on the Red Squirrel, she had already pinpointed the approximate location of the chestnut trees. The area was still within Zone Three of Mountain 49.

In other words, the chestnut trees were growing within her private training grounds. Xiaqing decided to simply classify this gathering expedition as a training exercise.

The Evolution Forest was indeed very dangerous after a Harmful Rain, but with Xiaqing’s current strength and equipment, the worst-case scenario for entering the mountains was coming back empty-handed. Self-preservation was absolutely not an issue.

Xiaqing had seen chestnut trees in the Evolution Forest during previous missions. Some were short, five or six meters tall, while others were over ten meters high. The chestnuts were encased in a spiky burr with very hard spines, and some of the trees were even aggressive.

Back then, Xiaqing was an auxiliary support staff member. Once the main combatants of the squad confirmed it was safe, her job was to quickly knock the chestnut burrs down with a stick, gather them into a sealed bag, and carry them back to the Safe Zone.

’No need to prepare a stick; the forest has plenty of those. I need to bring the potion I just got from Zhang San, and I should sharpen the pole pruners. They might come in handy...’

BZZZT—

Her phone rang. Xiaqing, who had been in the middle of thinking about what gear to bring, picked it up and answered immediately. "Captain Tan."

"Sister Qing, it’s Jiang Hu. I’m borrowing the captain’s phone to call you."

Recognizing Hu Zi’s voice, Xiaqing asked, "Is it time to go harvest the pine nuts?"

A while ago, Hu Zi had made plans with Xiaqing to go to Mountain No. 50 after the Harmful Rain to pick Green Light Pinecones. Xiaqing figured the time was about right.

"No," Hu Zi said apologetically. "The Safe Zone is short-staffed right now, so our team was transferred over. We won’t be back until the end of the month. I can give you the location, and you can form a team with other people to go, okay?"

In late September and early October, large flocks of evolved migratory birds would fly over Hui San Base. These birds might attack the Safe Area Planting Center, and the ferocious beasts and raptors drawn by them would also prey on humans. Therefore, if they wanted to harvest the pinecones, they had to do it before then.

Xiaqing jotted down the location Hu Zi gave her. "When we get the pinecones, we’ll give you your share."

According to the rules, the person who discovers a resource gets ten percent of it. Someone who discovers it and also leads the way gets at least twenty percent.