Chapter 335: Riding a Wolf

Chapter 335: Chapter 335: Riding a Wolf

For the Broken Waist Wolf to look that anxious, a key member of the Wolf Group had to be injured—and with a wound so severe they couldn’t be moved to human territory for treatment.

If she hadn’t spent months nursing injured wolves and learning first aid from Chang Li, Xiaqing wouldn’t have had the confidence to follow the Broken Waist Wolf. "Okay, I’ll grab the medical bag. We’ll leave immediately."

As she ran back, Xiaqing called Hu Zifeng. "Captain Hu, I’m about to leave the territory, and only Sheep Leader will be here to guard the place. Could you please send someone to help keep watch for a while? I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."

Mountain No. 60, the site of the battle between the Wolf Group and the Bear Group, was sixty li away as the crow flies. An Evolutionary Wolf in peak condition could make it in half an hour. But Xiaqing was no Speed Evolver. It was night, it had just rained for three days straight, and her destination was deep within the Evolution Forest. The journey would force her over mountains and across rivers and swamps; the terrain was incredibly complex. Factoring in all the difficulties, a round trip would take her at least a full day.

Xiaqing wasn’t afraid of the difficult journey, only that she would arrive too late—that the Queen or Sick Wolf might not be able to wait for her.

Hearing that Xiaqing was leaving the territory now, Hu Zifeng felt something was very wrong. "It’s very dangerous outside right now. How about I take a few people and go with you?"

"Don’t worry, Captain Hu. This trip isn’t dangerous for me." ’The Wolf Group was asking her to come to Mountain No. 60. That was a sign of trust from the Head Wolf and Broken Waist Wolf. Anyone else who tagged along likely wouldn’t make it out alive.’

Back home, Xiaqing first poured a basin of water for the two wolves to let them rest. She then ran upstairs to quickly pack her supplies, even bringing a container of spring water and packing more than enough for her gun and Bullets.

Descending the stairs fully armed, Xiaqing instructed her companion, "Leader, I’m heading out with Broken Waist. Captain Hu’s people will be watching from outside, so I’m leaving the house in your care. Don’t forget to feed the chickens, fish, and rabbits after sunrise. You don’t have to worry about the snakes in the Snake Box; I’ll feed them when I’m back."

The Broken Waist Wolf’s urgency was contagious, and Sheep Leader felt it too. It nudged Xiaqing, urging her to hurry. Xiaqing patted Sheep Leader’s neck, telling it not to worry. ’The more critical the moment, the more important it is not to panic.’ In the Disaster Years, a single moment of confusion or one mistake could be fatal.

"Broken Waist, Big Guy, let’s go."

The Broken Waist Wolf didn’t move. Instead, it pushed Xiaqing toward the giant wolf and let out a low growl.

’What does that mean?’ Xiaqing was baffled.

The Broken Waist Wolf pushed her again, more urgently this time, shoving her right up against the giant wolf with a low whine.

The giant wolf glanced at Xiaqing and slightly lowered its body.

Xiaqing thought the Broken Waist Wolf wanted her to give her pack to the giant wolf to carry. She shook her head. "No need. I’m a Strength Evolver. The weight of this backpack is nothing to me. Let’s go."

With an insistent grunt, the anxious Broken Waist Wolf gave her a hard shove, urging her to get on.

Xiaqing...

’So the Broken Waist Wolf wants me to... ride the wolf? Can you even ride a wolf? Can it carry my weight? It still has two wounds on its body. Won’t they tear open and bleed?’

"BAA!"

Seeing Xiaqing just standing there looking foolish, Sheep Leader got angry. It charged forward and butted her right onto the giant wolf’s back.

The giant wolf, which had clearly been waiting for this moment, let out a deep growl. It shot to its feet and took off, nearly flinging the human on its back to the ground.

Xiaqing instinctively threw her arms around the giant wolf’s neck. In her nervousness, she didn’t gauge her own strength, and she squeezed so hard the giant wolf’s eyes nearly rolled back into its head. It gave its neck a violent shake.

"Sorry about that." Xiaqing quickly loosened her grip, clinging to the giant wolf’s neck and lying flat on its back.

"WHOOSH—"

With a rush of wind, the giant wolf carrying Xiaqing effortlessly leaped across the river into the Buffer Forest, sprinting wildly after the Broken Waist Wolf.

Xiaqing, looking rather undignified on the wolf’s back, felt like she was in a dream.

Having lived to twenty-five without ever even riding a horse, she was now actually riding a wolf in the tenth Disaster Year. This was something she had never even dreamed of.

As Visual Evolver Peng Jian crossed from Zone Three of Mountain 49 into the Northern Isolation Zone, just about to enter the Third Territory, he saw two wolves flash past and couldn’t believe his eyes. "Boss! J-j-just..."

"Wolves just ran past," Olfactory Evolutionary Chen Zheng stated. "It’s the smell of wolf, and blood. One of them must be injured."

"No, that’s not..." Peng Jian turned to look at Hu Zifeng, who was also a Visual Evolver. "Boss, the wolf... on the wolf’s back..."

Visual Evolver Hu Zifeng couldn’t believe his own eyes either, but as the captain, he couldn’t afford to panic. Especially when it came to Xiaqing, he had to strictly adhere to the chief’s gag order. "It was just two wolves. Nothing else," he said firmly. "Peng Jian, patrol the territory with me. Chen Zheng, go to the cabin for medicine and tools, then spray Deodorant to eliminate the Evolutionary Wolf’s scent."

As a Strength Evolver, Xiaqing was experiencing the pleasure and pain of a Speed Evolver for the first time.

It was incredibly fast, and incredibly dizzying.

It wasn’t that she was "wolf-sick"; the dizziness was visual—a result of the giant wolf’s high speed and the jarring, unfamiliar sensation of the scenery blurring past.

In that moment, Xiaqing became absolutely certain of one thing: a High Level Speed Evolver’s vision had to be superior to a normal person’s. Otherwise, they’d constantly be crashing into obstacles while moving at high speeds.

Or, to put it another way: any Speed Evolver whose vision hadn’t also evolved would either be unable to move that fast, or they would have already crashed and died. Any skilled Speed Evolver still alive had to have excellent eyesight.

Speed Evolvers can see their surroundings clearly during high-speed movement. Of course, a Level 9 Visual Evolver like Xiaqing could too!

She lifted her head, seizing this rare opportunity to train her eyes, to practice tracking objects while in rapid motion.

The moment her vision adjusted and she could see clearly, Xiaqing broke out in a cold sweat.

’Fuck! That three-meter-wide ditch the giant wolf just jumped over was bottomless!’

’Holy shit! That writhing mass that just tried to attack us—were those snakes or some kind of aggressive vines?’

’And what the hell were all those shining things in the big tree over there? What kind of animal’s eyes were they, and why were they so terrifying?’

But the shocks along the way were nothing compared to the scene Xiaqing saw when the giant wolf finally stopped running.

Before her, a vast swath of the mountain forest was devastated, littered with shattered rocks and splintered trees. Over twenty mangled Giant Pythons lay in a chaotic heap on the muddy ground. Four evolved brown bears, each the size of a small hill, and at least eight Evolutionary Wolves were strewn across the earth, their limbs mangled and twisted. They were clearly dead.

On the slopes and the peak of the hill, dozens of pairs of green-glowing wolf eyes were fixed on the human on the giant wolf’s back.

’Just how many followers does the Queen have?!’

If the Sick Wolf, clad in its Protective Suit, hadn’t come limping out of a nearby cave, Xiaqing would have raised her submachine gun and opened fire.

"AWOOO—"

A giant wolf on the mountaintop threw back its head and let out a supremely majestic howl. In response, most of the menacing, green eyes that had been fixed on Xiaqing turned away.

Seeing this unfamiliar giant wolf that could command most of the other wolves, Xiaqing became even more nervous.

’Where’s the Queen, the leader of the Wolf Group? Who is that big lug on the summit? It’s only been a few hours. Don’t tell me the Wolf Group already has a new Head Wolf!’

"AWOOO—"

The Broken Waist Wolf let out its own majestic howl. The remaining wolves that had been staring at Xiaqing immediately bowed their heads, and the green glow of their eyes vanished.

The giant wolf carrying Xiaqing shifted, prompting her to dismount. Her feet sank into the soft mud as she frantically scanned the area, searching for the Queen and the broken leg wolf.