Chapter 66: A Deal with a Wolf?

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: A Deal with a Wolf?

After patrolling her territory, Xiaqing went to the wall of the Wild Boar Breeding Center to greet Da Jiang. She then led Sheep Leader home and arrived right on time at the second floor of the basement in the Deserted Village on the southwest side of the Third Territory for her gun training.

Today was the first day of Xiaqing’s formal training with Luo Pei. To mark the occasion, she formally presented him with two cucumbers and two strawberries as a gift for her new teacher.

’Thank goodness, thank the heavens. Two of her strawberries had finally ripened.’ This was the best, most presentable food she had. After the Natural Disaster, offering one’s best food was the greatest sign of sincerity.

Time flew by while she was completely focused on her training. The lesson for the day concluded after two hours of repeatedly disassembling and reassembling the sniper rifle to familiarize herself with its structure. Luo Pei washed the machine oil from his hands, full of anticipation. "I haven’t had any fresh strawberries this year. The ones you grew must taste better than those from the Safe Area Planting Center."

’It wasn’t that her skills were good; it was that she had a cheat-like tool for planting.’ Pleased with herself, Xiaqing replied modestly, "I haven’t tried them myself, so I can’t guarantee they’re good, but the Harmful Element content in the strawberry plants is already down to 0.03 percent. The taste shouldn’t be too bad."

The lower the Harmful Element content, the better the fruit tastes. Luo Pei hadn’t expected the strawberries’ Harmful Element content to be so low. "It’s not ’shouldn’t be,’ it’s ’definitely won’t be.’"

The two returned to the first basement level and found Yang Jin already sitting in the living room, sipping tea. On a plate on the table were two vibrant green cucumbers and two bright red strawberries. The red and green combination was incredibly eye-catching in the predominantly white room.

Seeing Luo Pei’s unsurprised expression, a wave of retrospective fear washed over Xiaqing. She had been so focused on her practice in the soundproof room that she hadn’t noticed any movement outside. If an enemy had come, her body would be cold by now.

After exchanging greetings, the three of them sat around the table drinking tea.

Luo Pei asked Yang Jin, "Didn’t catch it?"

Xiaqing wasn’t surprised that Yang Jin had failed. After all, it was a Head Wolf.

Yang Jin explained, "It’s an Evolutionary Wolf with both brain domain and speed evolution. It ran into Mountain No. 55, so I didn’t continue the pursuit."

North of the Third Territory was Mountain No. 49. North of Mountain No. 49 was Mountain No. 52, and to the northeast of that was Mountain No. 55. That area was already deep within the Evolution Forest. Yang Jin’s decision to give up the chase for the Head Wolf was a very wise one.

Luo Pei asked, "Was the wolf extremely fast?"

"Its speed is about the same as mine. It’s experienced in combat, knows how to dodge bullets, and is very familiar with the Evolution Forest." Yang Jin looked at Xiaqing. "It’s grayish-brown, with a notch on the outside of its left ear."

Xiaqing immediately replied, "The Head Wolf that wiped out the Wind and Cloud Team last year was brown, but it also had a notch on the outside of its left ear and was very fast."

"It’s probably the same one. Wolves shed their fur, so a color difference is normal." Luo Pei then asked Yang Jin, "Was it just the one wolf?"

Yang Jin confirmed, "Just one. Zhang San’s speculation is very credible. The wild boars in the valley are likely its penned-up food source."

Xiaqing asked, "Captain Yang, will the wolf come back?"

Yang Jin shook his head. "It’s hard to say, but even if it does return, it won’t pose a major threat to the territory."

Xiaqing sought confirmation from Yang Jin. "You mean it’s already gotten its revenge, so it won’t come looking for trouble anymore?"

Through years of fighting, humans and the Evolution Wolf Groups had developed a certain understanding. As long as one side didn’t provoke the other, the other wouldn’t launch a real attack. This farmland had been cleared, and there were no large herbivores left, so there was no need for the wolves to contest it.

"That’s exactly what I mean."

Yang Jin, who hadn’t slept for a day and a night, had bloodshot eyes, but his smile was still devastatingly handsome...

Xiaqing averted her gaze and stared at the strawberries, but Yang Jin’s smile only grew wider. Luo Pei watched them with a grin, saying nothing.

Xiaqing voiced her biggest worry. "I’m not sure how important the spring in my territory is to the wolf."

Luo Pei reminded Xiaqing, "The Evolutionary Wolf might not know about the spring."

Xiaqing shook her head. "My sheep probably knows the wolf that hunts the wild boars. They might even have a good relationship, so I suspect the wolf knows about the spring’s existence."

Yang Jin divided the strawberries and cucumbers into three equal portions, placed them on three small white porcelain dishes, and passed them to Xiaqing and Luo Pei. "So, your sheep wasn’t taking food to visit the wild boars, but to find the wolf?"

Luo Pei was surprised. "Xiaqing, is your sheep one of the brain-evolved animals?"

With a tacit understanding, neither Luo Pei nor Xiaqing mentioned Sheep Leader’s name in front of Yang Jin, even though he almost certainly already knew it.

Xiaqing didn’t understand why Luo Pei asked that and shook her head. "I haven’t seen other Evolutionary Sheep, but I don’t think mine is very smart."

After the evolution of life on Blue Star, many animals had become smarter. For example, the myna birds like Eight Brother and parrots that could speak human words as if they were possessed, monkeys that could use machine guns and crossbows, and wolves that formed teams for group battles...

Sheep Leader was simply not in the same league as these types of intelligent Evolutionary Animals.

Luo Pei took a bite of a crisp cucumber slice before clearing up Xiaqing’s confusion. "Brain domain evolution is also divided into many types. Take humans, for example. The currently discovered types of brain domain evolution include intelligence, Observation, Memory, Thinking Power, and Emotion Capturing Ability. So, just because your sheep isn’t smart doesn’t mean it’s not a Brain Domain Evolver."

Brain Domain Evolvers were all considered special talents and recruited by the Research Institute. That’s why Xiaqing rarely came into contact with them and didn’t know that brain domain evolution was divided into so many categories.

After hearing Luo Pei’s explanation, Xiaqing had a new assessment. "It remembers wherever I hide things, and it learns simple tasks after I do them a few times, so could it have Memory and Observation evolution? But why did you think it was one of the brain-evolved animals, Brother Luo, just from hearing my sheep might know the wolf?"

Luo Pei smiled and gestured for her to try a strawberry. "Let’s eat while we talk. The aroma is too tempting."

"Okay." Xiaqing picked up a thumb-sized strawberry and took a bite. Her taste buds were instantly awakened by the sweet, slightly tart flavor. She felt so happy she could cry. "Delicious! Captain Yang, Brother Luo, you have to try them."

Just from her expression, they knew it was delicious. Mentally prepared, Luo Pei still took a bite of a strawberry and was stunned by its pure flavor. "It really is delicious. The taste is so much better than any I’ve had before. Ah Jin, where did you get these strawberry seedlings?"

After tasting the strawberry, Yang Jin explained nonchalantly, "I exchanged for them at the Planting Center. The points cost wasn’t high. I just got lucky and happened upon them."

’Top-grade Green Light Strawberry seedlings, how could you just get lucky and happen upon those?’

’Yeah, right!’

Luo Pei shot a meaningful glance at Yang Jin, who was focused on savoring the strawberry, before turning to praise Xiaqing, who was completely immersed in the bliss of the fruit. "To grow strawberries this well, you must have put in a lot of effort."