Chapter 338: The Wolf Carrying Supplies

Chapter 338: Chapter 338: The Wolf Carrying Supplies

After leaving, Broken Waist Wolf didn’t bring back the Head Wolf. Instead, it returned with a Yi Stone the size of a pigeon’s egg. It placed the stone before Xiaqing, gesturing that its Protective Suit was torn and it needed a new one.

From Broken Waist Wolf’s expression, Xiaqing could tell it didn’t understand how potent the Injuring Snake’s venom was.

Or perhaps it did know, but assumed the human standing before it was formidable enough to neutralize the poison, which would explain why it was so relaxed.

With mixed feelings, Xiaqing took out the sealed Injuring Snake and showed it to Broken Waist Wolf. "You can exchange your Protective Suit for a new one, but it’s going to take some time. Snakes with this kind of bump on their heads are called Injuring Snakes. They’re highly venomous. If you get poisoned, I can’t guarantee I can cure it. From now on, you must never let one bite you."

Upon hearing it could get a new Protective Suit, Broken Waist Wolf narrowed its eyes and opened its mouth, revealing the two small, snow-white tips of its upper fangs in a smile.

Xiaqing...

’This is exhausting. I’m not saying any more. I need to go out and see why the Queen still hasn’t come in, then I’ll pack up and leave.’

When Broken Waist Wolf saw that Xiaqing wasn’t taking the Yi Stone, its smile vanished, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

"I’m not taking the Yi Stone right now. I’ll exchange it with you when I get the wolf-sized Protective Suit," Xiaqing explained, shouldering her heavy backpack. "I’m leaving?"

At the mouth of the cave, Xiaqing greeted the giant wolf resting nearby, the one that had painstakingly carried her all this way. "Big Guy, I’m off. If your wound splits open, you can come find me in my territory to have it treated."

’As for the broken leg wolf? That rascal had bounced off to who-knows-where a long time ago.’

Broken Waist Wolf didn’t stop Xiaqing from leaving the cave. Sick Wolf limped after her, apparently intending to return to her territory with her. Xiaqing smiled. No matter how brutal last night’s battle had been, or how many casualties there were, the wolves she cared about were still alive. The wolves she was familiar with were still alive, and the Wolf Group had successfully reclaimed Mountain No.60 from the Pythons. That was something worth celebrating.

How did Xiaqing know Mountain No.60 had been occupied by Pythons? Because she had just found a shed snakeskin in a rock crevice inside the cave. Plus, the cave was dark and damp—exactly the kind of environment snakes prefer.

After the Natural Disasters, the autumn and winter temperatures on Blue Star had dropped. In the last few days, the nighttime temperature at Hui San Base had already fallen below 15°C, and last night it hit a low of 6°C.

When temperatures drop below 10°C, snakes become less mobile. The Wolf Group’s decision to ambush the Snake Group now was perfectly timed.

As for the bear—whether it had heard the battle between the snakes and wolves and rushed over from Mountain No.61 to assist, or if it had been living high up on Mountain No.60 all along—Xiaqing currently had no way to tell.

But one thing was certain: there had to be something special about this mountain for three different types of creatures to fight so fiercely over it. Xiaqing suspected the mountain might contain a Pollution-free Spring Water source and a Yi Stone Mine.

So as she walked out of the cave, Xiaqing kept her eyes wide open, observing everything carefully.

The sky was completely bright by now. Outside the cave, the snake and bear carcasses had already been butchered and cleared away. Only the blood that had soaked into the soil, along with the broken trees and shattered rocks, remained, reminding Xiaqing of...

Hmm...

Huh?!!!

Xiaqing blinked, her eyes fixed on one of the toppled trees. The egg-sized, ridged, green-skinned fruits on its massive crown... why did they look so familiar?

’Aren’t those... mountain walnuts!’

Xiaqing was ecstatic. She didn’t even see the Queen and the giant wolf behind her approaching slowly. She rushed over to the fallen tree, whipped out her Harmful Element Detector, and tested the tree’s Harmful Element level.

’Green Light. This was a huge tree of delicious, thin-shelled, meaty Green Light Mountain Walnuts! Damn, this trip was so worth it!’

"’Handsome Bro—’"

Holding a mountain walnut, Xiaqing turned her head and saw the Queen approaching, soaking wet. The giant wolf that had stood atop the mountain last night, its howl intimidating the entire Wolf Group, now stood silently five meters away. In the distance, a dozen or so other Evolutionary Wolves were roughhousing.

That wolf was a size larger than the brownish-gray giant wolf that had carried Xiaqing here, and it was remarkably good-looking. Xiaqing felt the word ’handsome’ suited it far better than it did Broken Waist Wolf.

Its coat was slightly longer than the other wolves’. The fur on its back was a mix of gray and black, while its underbelly and limbs were predominantly white. This coloration made it conspicuous, and also gave it a clean, distinguished air.

Its face had the same color scheme. Two distinct black lines, like eyeliner, divided its face into upper and lower sections. The fur above its eyes was a mix of black and gray, with some transitional gray around the lower lids, and its muzzle was snow-white. It was quite a sight.

The giant wolf sensed Xiaqing’s stare and lifted its pale blue eyes to lock gazes with her.

Meeting the handsome wolf’s gaze, Xiaqing’s heart gave a jolt. ’This one... is powerful. Incredibly, incredibly powerful.’

’I can’t mess with this one. I definitely can’t afford to mess with him.’

Xiaqing averted her gaze. First, she led the Head Wolf into the cave to re-dress and bandage its four bloody legs. Since they would have to travel sixty li through the damp Evolution Forest to get back to her territory, Xiaqing used waterproof bandages again.

Then, Xiaqing went back outside, picked up a mountain walnut from the ground, and proposed a trade. "Queen, I’d like all the fruit from this tree. Can we make a trade?"

This was territory the Wolf Group had fought tooth and nail to reclaim; every plant and tree here belonged to them. If Xiaqing wanted the fruit, it was only natural that she would have to trade for it.

Wolves are carnivores and have no interest in mountain walnuts, so Xiaqing felt there was a high chance she could strike a deal with the Wolf Group.

Although the Head Wolf’s brilliant golden eyes weren’t as bright as usual, they were still sharp. It glanced toward the cave, then turned back to stare at the walnut in Xiaqing’s hand.

"Yes, when the wolves inside need their dressings changed, the Queen can bring them to my territory," Xiaqing immediately agreed. Then she reached out, making a gesture to pick the walnuts. "So these fruits are mine now? I’ll start picking?"

Seeing no objection from the Head Wolf, Xiaqing immediately pulled out a large, heavy-duty collection bag and began rapidly picking the Green Light Mountain Walnuts.

Sick Wolf, accustomed to farm work in the territory, wanted to help, but Xiaqing stopped it. She pulled out a piece of dried meat and handed it to the wolf, saying softly, "The outer husks of these fruits are poisonous. I’ll pick them myself. You eat this and rest for a while. We have a long way to go later."

Seeing that there was dried meat to be had, the broken leg wolf, who had been roughhousing with its companions, immediately bounded over to Xiaqing, getting in the way of her harvesting.

Xiaqing sent it away with another piece of dried meat and continued picking.

The tree was at least twenty meters tall. If its crown hadn’t been snapped off, sending it crashing to the ground, picking the fruit wouldn’t have been nearly this easy for Xiaqing.

After stripping the entire tree, Xiaqing had harvested a full six large bags of mountain walnuts. Including the husks, they weighed at least eight hundred jin, far exceeding her expectations.

These mountain walnuts, added to the supplies in her backpack and the firearms she was carrying, totaled over a thousand jin. Even if Xiaqing could manage to lift the load, she didn’t have enough Strength to carry a thousand-plus jin of supplies over mountains and across sixty li of the Evolution Forest.

She would need the wolves’ help to haul the supplies.