Chapter 313: Wolf Blood

Chapter 313: Chapter 313: Wolf Blood

"This wolf is just recuperating in my territory," Xiaqing explained. "It might return to the Evolution Forest once it’s recovered, so I’m not going to register it for now."

If you wanted to bring an Evolved Beast into a Safe Zone, especially a large predator that could threaten human safety, you had to register it as a tamed beast and brand it with an official number in a visible spot.

Once certified and registered, a tamed beast was considered the personal property of its tamer. No one else could seize or hunt it; otherwise, they would face legal consequences.

Conversely, if a tamed beast injured someone or damaged public property, its tamer would be held legally responsible.

That was why Xiaqing didn’t want to get the Sick Wolf certified as a tamed beast until she was sure it would stay in her territory. Otherwise, if its pack howled for it one day and it left with them, and that Wolf Group happened to clash with some team, people would trace its number back to Xiaqing and hold her legally responsible.

She might even have to forfeit her territory, so she had to be extremely cautious.

What about the Sheep Leader?

He couldn’t be registered.

Because to get a tamed beast certification, you had to demonstrate to the relevant authorities that the animal obeyed its master. In the Sheep Leader’s eyes, Xiaqing was his subordinate. He would never pass the test.

Just as Xiaqing was about to return to her territory, she heard someone reporting to Xie Yu over the phone:

"We’ve captured Qian Lin’s squad and the two squads lying in ambush. We found several types of illegal drugs on them used for luring wild animals. Their plan for tonight was for Qian Lin to provoke the Wolf Group into a frenzied attack on the territory. Then, the two hidden squads would use the chaos to sneak into No.1 Territory and blow up the building Brother Luo is in."

Xie Yu gave a calm order, "Find out what the powders are for. Deal with the men cleanly."

"Yes."

After Xie Yu hung up, Xiaqing said a quick goodbye and returned to her own territory.

During the first nine years of the severe Natural Disasters, Beast Tides and other calamities were frequent. Teams from the same base had to work together and divide tasks to defend the Safe Zone. So, although there was friction and conflict between teams, neither side would go for the kill and cripple the other’s main fighting force.

But in the tenth year of the Natural Disasters, humanity entered a phase of recovery and expanding production. Even though the fight against the calamities wasn’t completely won, impatient people had already started scrambling for the spoils of victory.

To grab a bigger slice of the cake that was already on the table, you had to take away a few chairs. The teams began to fight and kill each other. The Su Feng Team, ranked first in Hui San Base, struck the first blow against the second-ranked Green Dragon Team.

Since that first strike, as far as Xiaqing knew, the two sides had clashed openly and secretly no less than ten times over the past year, each sustaining losses. Once Yang Jin returned with the herbs and completely purged the Qiang Synthesized Poison from Luo Pei’s body, Green Dragon’s retaliation would be even more vicious.

Xiaqing couldn’t wait for Green Dragon to be more ruthless, to slice away Tang Zhengsu’s minions one by one. Then, she could finally get her revenge.

"Sister Qing."

Xiaqing hadn’t walked more than a few steps before Xie Yu called out to her again.

Xie Yu waved his phone, its screen full of text, and walked over to Xiaqing. With a hint of laughter in his voice, he said, "Xu Pin gave Tang Huai a mission: mess up things between you and Hu Zifeng, and pull you over to Su Feng’s side."

’So that’s why Tang Huai offered to trade me an oil press? And with that over-the-top acting...’

Xiaqing nodded, showing that she understood.

After Xiaqing returned to her territory, Jing Kuan and his men didn’t leave immediately. Instead, following Xie Yu’s orders, they stood guard over the Third Territory all night.

Before Xiaqing even reached the village, she received a message from Xie Yu: No.1 Territory has entered into a cooperative relationship with Tang Zhengpo. Sister Qing can be a little nicer to Tang Huai, to make Tang Zhengsu and Xu Pin think he still has value. This will keep him in the Second Territory.

Keeping Tang Huai in the Second Territory was beneficial for Tang Zhengpo, for No.1 Territory, and for Xiaqing herself. If Su Feng sent a replacement, there was no guarantee they’d be as "unprofessional" as Tang Huai.

After replying to Xie Yu, Xiaqing called out to the Sheep Leader and the Sick Wolf, who were lying on a haystack near the chicken coop. "We have people guarding the territory tonight. Why don’t you two come sleep inside?"

The Sheep Leader immediately got up and followed Xiaqing back, but the Sick Wolf remained on the haystack.

Xiaqing went over and ruffled the patient’s fluffy head. "You plan on sleeping out here tonight?"

The Sick Wolf stared at Xiaqing with eyes that glowed faintly in the dark, then pressed his head down onto the haystack.

Xiaqing understood. "Alright, sleep here if you want. Protective Suit on or off?"

The Sick Wolf rolled over on the hay, belly up, and held out his two front paws to Xiaqing. Xiaqing took off the boots on his front paws, and the Sick Wolf then offered his hind paws for her to do the same.

After the boots were off, he didn’t ask Xiaqing to remove the Protective Suit, so she didn’t press the issue and went home with the Sheep Leader to sleep.

「The next morning」

Xiaqing was woken by the Red Squirrel.

Xiaqing opened her eyes, sat up, and watched the Red Squirrel drinking water through the gap she had deliberately left in her curtains.

The Red Squirrel lapped up water with its tongue, just like a cat, dog, or wolf. After it finished drinking, it didn’t hurry off. Instead, it perched on Xiaqing’s windowsill and started grappling with the two Soybeans she had placed there.

The Soybeans Xiaqing harvested were extremely hard, and the Red Squirrel couldn’t crack them with its teeth. So, it simply stretched its neck and swallowed them whole. Then it started dipping its paws in the spring water and giving its little face and big tail a good scrub.

The Red Squirrel was tiny, so everything it did looked adorable. Xiaqing couldn’t help but want to snatch the little critter up and give it a good cuddle-squeeze.

After watching her fill, Xiaqing finally climbed out of bed and began her busy day.

’The missing Qian Lin squad? Nothing to do with me. I’m just a Lord, quietly farming my land. I don’t know anything about what happens outside.’

First thing in the morning, a very energetic Tang Huai was pestering Hu Zifeng about the wolf howls from the previous night.

Hu Zifeng was beaming. "What else could wolf howls be? They came from a wolf, of course."

"Did you get your runaway tamed wolf back?"

Hu Zifeng retorted, "Isn’t that obvious? If we hadn’t gotten it back, how could you have heard such clear howling last night?"

Tang Huai pursed his lips. ’Yeah, right. You guys don’t have a wolf. It must be Xiaqing’s wolf that came back!’

"Xiaqing, you there?" Tang Huai stopped bothering with Hu Zifeng and started calling for Xiaqing with great enthusiasm. "I hear your chickens crowing again! How many roosters is that? Up for a trade?"

Xiaqing pretended not to hear, turned off her walkie-talkie, and went out to inspect her territory.

When Chen Zheng saw Xiaqing come out, he shared the intel he’d received the night before. "Their initial plan was to use the flammability of the Qiang Evolution cotton to start a fire in the Third Territory. Then, when No.1 Territory sent people to help, they would find an opportunity to infiltrate No.1 Territory. They only changed their plan to luring the wolves to attack the territory after Sister Qing cleaned up that area."

Xiaqing asked, "For such an important mission, why would Su Feng put Qian Lin in charge?"

"Because Qian Lin is familiar with how the Jiang Bear Squad uses their medicines. Oh, right, the wolf howls from the loudspeaker were Qian Lin’s idea. It was a recording of a wolf captured by the Jiang Bear Squad."

Xiaqing pressed, "Is that wolf still alive?"

Chen Zheng was furious. "It’s already dead. The medicine Qian Lin used to lure the wolves to attack the territory last night was made with that wolf’s blood. If Sister Qing hadn’t had Wolf the Second persuade the Wolf Group to retreat, they would have advanced, smelled the blood, and gone into a rage to take revenge on humans."