Chapter 65: Crazy Blue Star

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Crazy Blue Star

Xiaqing was a little confused by Sheep Leader’s actions. She flipped over the basket lid to catch the dried bamboo shoots Sheep Leader held in its mouth. "Second, you want to trade this with Brother San?"

"BAA."

Sheep Leader bleated urgently, picked up the basket, and headed north.

Xiaqing hurried to follow. "Don’t just baa like that, you’ll attract wolves. We agreed to trade with him under the signpost south of the territory. You’re going the wrong way; it’s dangerous over there."

Sheep Leader continued north with clear determination. Xiaqing frowned, her voice low. "Second, what are you trying to do?"

Sensing Xiaqing was unhappy, Sheep Leader turned and nuzzled against her, then gestured with its eyes for her to follow.

Xiaqing looked at the abnormally-acting Sheep Leader, and a terrifying thought suddenly popped into her head. "You’re taking food to find a wolf... You’re not going to fight it? What’s your relationship with that wolf?"

Sheep Leader continued up the slope. Xiaqing followed behind, her mind racing:

’Besides being predator and prey, could a sheep and a wolf have any other kind of relationship?’

’Is that even possible?’

’Based on Sheep Leader’s clingy habits, I’ve always suspected it had a companion before it met me. Seeing how it’s acting now... could it be that it and that wolf were... companions?’

’If a wolf and a sheep could be companions, then that would mean the evolved Blue Star was just too damn crazy.’

’If that Head Wolf and Sheep Leader were companions, and I’m Sheep Leader’s companion...’

’Then wouldn’t that mean... I might be able to coexist peacefully with the wolf... and even trade supplies with it?’

’I really want to get my hands on some Green Light Chickens, ducks, and geese to raise for eggs and meat!’

The more Xiaqing thought about it, the more impossible it seemed, yet she couldn’t help but hope this low-probability event was real. She quietly asked Sheep Leader, "Leader, are you and the wolf friends? That’s amazing! If we’re giving a gift, do Yellow Light Bamboo Shoots seem a bit insincere? We still have Green Light Bamboo Shoots and bamboo rat meat at home. Should I go back and get some? Wolves eat meat, right?"

Sheep Leader ignored Xiaqing and continued climbing the slope, heading toward the buffer zone between the Third Territory and the Wild Boar Breeding Center.

"Isn’t that Sheep Leader? What’s it doing here? What’s that in its mouth?"

Xiaqing heard Hu Zifeng’s voice and quickened her pace to enter the buffer zone. "Captain Hu, Sheep Leader heard the wild boars screaming and insisted on coming to take a look."

Hu Zifeng was very glad he was wearing a Protective Mask, so Xiaqing couldn’t see his jaw drop in surprise. "Sheep Leader and the wild boars in the valley are on... good terms?"

’I can’t just say it might be on good terms with the wolf that killed the boars, can I?’ Xiaqing said vaguely, "I just found out myself. Sorry to cause you trouble, Captain Hu."

"No trouble." Hu Zifeng stared at the soaked, dried bamboo shoots on the basket lid, his face a mask of confusion.

’A sheep visiting a pig, and it even knows to bring a gift...’

’Are ordinary Evolutionary Sheep this smart? Could it be that Sheep Leader didn’t just evolve its Strength, but its brain domain as well?’

’Are those wild boars also brain domain-evolved animals?’

Watching Sheep Leader cross the buffer zone and walk up to the isolation fence of the Wild Boar Breeding Center, Xiaqing’s heart leaped into her throat.

Sheep Leader put down the basket and began to call out, "BAA— BAA—"

Hearing this enthusiastic call, Xiaqing wished she could just knock Sheep Leader out and drag it home.

The area had already been checked and confirmed to be clear of wolves, so Hu Zifeng wasn’t alarmed by Sheep Leader’s bleating. Instead, he grew even more curious about its behavior. It was the first time he’d ever seen such an intelligent Evolutionary Sheep. "Is it calling for the wild boars?"

Xiaqing couldn’t bear to watch. "Maybe..."

"The breeding center was attacked by wolves, so all the boars have been locked up." Hu Zifeng looked at the persistent Sheep Leader and, in a rare moment of helpfulness, offered, "I can have someone take it inside for the sheep? But, I can’t guarantee it’ll be fed to the boars."

Xiaqing spouted nonsense with a straight face. "Thank you, Captain Hu, but the Wild Boar Breeding Center must be in chaos right now, so we shouldn’t cause them any more trouble. Sheep Leader just wanted to show it cares. Whether the boars receive the gift or not, its good intentions have been delivered."

Hu Zifeng paused, then suggested to Xiaqing, "Since the gesture has been made, Miss Xia, you should take it back. Even though there are no wolves around here, it’s not good for Sheep Leader to attract too much attention."

Xiaqing didn’t want Sheep Leader to be in the spotlight either. She walked over, placed the dried bamboo shoots from the basket lid on the ground, and negotiated with Sheep Leader as if it were a person. "I’ll put the dried bamboo shoots here. Your friend can get them when they come by. Shall we go back?"

Of course, the stubborn Sheep Leader had no intention of going back and continued to baa for its friend. Xiaqing gave up, grabbed the basket in one hand, tucked the sheep under her other arm, said goodbye to Hu Zifeng, and returned to her territory.

Maybe it was because the gift had been "delivered," or maybe it was because its calls went unanswered for so long, but Sheep Leader didn’t make any more fuss after they got down the mountain and went off to graze. Xiaqing took two jin of Green Light vegetables and traded them with a burly man sent by Zhang San for thirty jin of deodorant concentrate and a spray bottle.

Xiaqing wasn’t about to stop taking precautions against wolves just because she suspected Sheep Leader might be on good terms with one. Ten years into the Natural Disaster, she had long since learned to always plan for the worst-case scenario. Even if that Head Wolf and Sheep Leader really were friends, it didn’t mean the wolf wouldn’t harm her, nor did it mean other wolves wouldn’t see Sheep Leader as food.

Xiaqing took out a sprayer and diluted the deodorant concentrate with water according to the ratio on the handwritten instructions from Zhang San. The concentrate was surprisingly odorless. That alone made it superior to the deodorizers sold in the Safe Zone.

’As expected of Zhang San’s products, they’re always top-quality.’

The instructions said the Deodorant was harmless to humans and Evolutionary Sheep on contact, so after diluting it, Xiaqing started spraying from inside the house. Although Sheep Leader didn’t relieve itself indoors and was bathed every few days, and Xiaqing couldn’t smell any sheep odor in the house, she wasn’t an Olfactory Evolver. Just because she couldn’t smell it didn’t mean a wolf couldn’t.

Xiaqing sprayed until dark, covering the entire territory. After returning home, she gnawed on a compressed ration and collapsed on her bed, too exhausted to move. Still, she kept her promise to Sheep Leader and prepared its favorite refined feed.

Afterward, Xiaqing became completely absorbed in the crazy idea that Sheep Leader’s friend might be a wolf. She didn’t even hear the broadcast, and she didn’t even open the Lord channel.

Early the next morning, Sheep Leader brought the basket to her again. Xiaqing packed a small bag of dried Green Light Bamboo Shoots and a small bag of dried Green Light bamboo rat meat, personally escorted it to the iron fence outside the Wild Boar Breeding Center, and asked Hu Zifeng’s team to keep an eye on it. She then returned to her territory to patrol and clear out any snakes, insects, rats, and ants.

On this patrol, Xiaqing was pleasantly surprised to find that the number of insects swarming outside her vegetable garden fence was less than half of what it was yesterday. ’I didn’t expect Zhang San’s Deodorant to have this effect too. Looks like I’ll have to trade for a few more barrels to keep in stock.’

"Holy crap, isn’t that Sister Qing’s sheep? How did it get out?!" The inspection team was passing the Wild Boar Breeding Center when they saw Sheep Leader standing outside the iron fence. Su Ming’s mouth was wide enough to fit an egg.

Hearing the approaching humans shouting, Sheep Leader nudged the basket closer with its hoof a few times, narrowed its eyes, and took a battle stance.

Su Ming saw the contents of the basket, and his mouth gaped even wider. "Holy crap, what is Sheep Leader trying to do? Brother Jiang, what’s going on here?"

Da Jiang from Hu Zifeng’s team first saluted Tan Junjie before answering Su Ming. "This sheep came to visit its wild boar friends who are locked up in the Wild Boar Breeding Center. It’ll be returning to the Third Territory in a little while."

Let alone the others, even the ever-calm Tan Junjie was stunned.

Su Ming’s eyes bulged as he asked, "Are you serious?"

Da Jiang shrugged. He didn’t believe it either, but the facts were plain to see. It wasn’t the sheep’s first time here.

Tan Junjie asked Da Jiang, "Has your Captain Yang returned yet?" ℴℴ𝘮

"Not yet."

Tan Junjie nodded and led his team to continue the patrol. Behind him, Su Ming, who was already in a daze, stumbled along unsteadily.