Chapter 1014: Apprentice Weasel Cub

Peng Lin, along with Zhang Kui and Chen Xia from the Ninth Center, were tightening their surveillance on her. Whenever she went to the Ninth Center office to handle work, one of the two—Chen Xia or Zhang Kui—was guaranteed to be within thirty meters of her; whenever she left the Ninth Center to return to her territory, Peng Lin would find a way to loiter around Territory Three.

Following the plan she had worked out with Yang Jin, Xia Qing pretended not to notice these flies, letting them feed her detailed daily itinerary to Hui Yi or Liehuo behind the scenes, proving she had no contact whatsoever with the Hui Eight Doomsday Cult.

These flies won't be hopping around much longer. Because the ice-seeded red-veined stone, regarded as a holy stone by the Doomsday Cult, will soon appear before the cult's leader through a Heaven-ordained divine bestowal, and Liehuo will immediately become the target of this mad cult leader's revenge.

Once Liehuo is blasted flat and the Liehuo remnants no longer have the energy to keep their vast intelligence network running, that will be the day Hui Three's Northern District One territory closes the net and swats the flies.

After Little Crew Cut was beaten by Ram Boss and lay on the ground unable to get up, Xia Qing gave it a yellow lantern fish, thanking it for its daily "friendly" interactions with Ram Boss.

Xia Qing didn't know whether pre-catastrophe honey badgers ate fish, but the honey badgers raised by the wolf pack did. After catching the scent of food, Little Crew Cut, who had been sprawled on the ground slacking off, immediately scrambled up, clamped the fish in its mouth, and trotted off with a swagger.

Xia Qing followed the victorious Ram Boss back to the territory, picked up two green lantern fish, and drove toward Territory Eleven.

At six the next morning, Xia Qing handed the territory over to Guan Tong, packed plenty of weapons and gear, and first went to Forty-Nine Mountain Wolf Valley to confirm that all the team members had arrived. After that, she drove to the north gate of Territory Seven to meet up with the other human team member for today's mission—the idol, Zhang San.

Because she had arrived ten minutes earlier than scheduled, Xia Qing got out of the car, greeted Zhang Jingwu, and then stood quietly on the northern isolation strip waiting.

In a casual tone, Zhang Jingwu said to Xia Qing, "Miss Xia, the land we stand on is a magical one."

Xia Qing looked up expressionlessly at the captain of Hui Three's Special Ops Team Three.

"Looking across the long river of history, in the five thousand years our people have survived on this land, at every critical juncture, no matter how chaotic every trade and profession in society became, there would always emerge one key figure after another to keep the Huaxia people multiplying on this land."

Zhang Jingwu dropped his smile and looked at Xia Qing seriously. "Right now, our people are facing the greatest catastrophe in history. The Lord of Territory Seven and you are both key figures who have stepped forward in this catastrophe. Miss Xia, I'm counting on you."

After such a long detour, so that was what he wanted to say. The idol was certainly a key figure in this catastrophe; she was nowhere near worthy. Xia Qing nodded in acceptance. "You're too kind, my lord. Just call me Xia Qing."

A burst of light footsteps came, and Zhang San, wearing a special protective suit and a jet-black single-sided light-transmitting protective mask, walked out through the wild grass wall and asked in Zhang Song's voice and tone, "Sister Qing, you came early?"

The idol had prepared thoroughly for this mission, but Zhang Song's walking rhythm wasn't like this.

After the idol got in the car, Xia Qing drove back to Gao Po on the north side of Territory Three and parked the car by the territory's north gate. After she and Zhang San left, Er Yong would come out and drive the car back into the territory.

After entering Mountain Three Area Forty-Nine and confirming they wouldn't be spotted, Xia Qing finally said with a smile, "I thought you'd be wearing a hermetically sealed protective suit and carrying a big case."

That was exactly Zhang Song's getup every time.

"I'm going to dig bamboo shoots, not handle hazardous chemicals." Zhang San unfastened the hidden cuff clasp of his protective suit and pulled it up, revealing his gear—vials of chemicals strapped to his wrists. "These chemicals are enough to take down every animal within two hundred meters, big or small, including humans wearing high-grade protective masks."

"I…"

"Special-use chemicals, per regulations, cannot be exchanged with outsiders."

…Fine.

Xia Qing made use of the time to brief the idol on the precautions for interacting with the wolf pack:

"Today, five evolved wolves and one weasel came in total. From now on, you need to keep your emotions as stable as possible. The wolf pack's sense of smell and perception are both very sharp; if your emotions fluctuate too much, it will alert the pack."

"The pack's Head Wolf, Broken-Waist Wolf, and Handsome Giant Wolf all recognize your voice. When you speak later, use your own voice, and let the pack see your eyes. Eye contact is an important way evolved wolves exchange information and display power. When making eye contact, don't overthink it—just keep your heart calm. Can the black film on your protective mask be removed? If not, you can switch to the spare protective mask in my backpack."

Xia Qing was a wolf pack research expert, and Zhang San followed her advice, pressing a button on his protective mask to switch to a transparent visor, then raised a question. "Why did so many evolved wolves come? Is the weasel the one that can release ultra-powerful toxic gas?"

Why so many? Because there was a shrewd wolf who wouldn't part with a single hair, and after carefully analyzing the terms of this exchange, figured that bringing more wolves on the mission meant paying Xia Qing one less Yishi stone.

Xia Qing also felt that having a few more wolves provided better security, so she agreed to Broken-Waist Wolf's proposal.

Trading Yishi stones with the wolf pack was Xia Qing's secret, one she couldn't reveal even in front of the idol. "Yes, that's the weasel. Everyone here today is an elite of the northern wolf pack. With them, plus Beard-Feng's squad and Huo Zhun's protection, we can raise this mission's safety rating to the highest."

The wolf pack knew Beard-Feng's squad and Huo Zhun, so teaming up for the mission wouldn't cause any conflict.

"Queen, Handsome Wolf, Giant Wolf, Black Wolf, Big Guy, and the Plucker—sorry to keep you waiting. This is the human you need to protect on this mission—Third Brother."

Zhang San had indeed had contact with these evolved wolves before, but every previous encounter had been with wolves anesthetized and laid out on an operating table—he had been the one holding the scalpel, the master of their fate.

This was his first time facing evolved beasts of Blue Star head-on in the dangerous evolved forest. When the two giant wolves, each a head taller than him, and the three fierce evolved wolves, each about his height, looked his way, Zhang San's first instinct was to press his wrist and knock them all out.

He quickly adjusted his emotions, and after Xia Qing introduced him to the northern wolf pack, he spoke calmly. "Sorry to trouble all of you today."

Broken-Waist Wolf recognized not only that voice but also that face. It tucked away its fangs and gazed at Zhang San thoughtfully.

The Head Wolf, seeing Zhang San for the first time, was still bristling with killing intent. Handsome Giant Wolf, Black Wolf, and the brown-gray giant wolf all matched the Head Wolf's stance, bristling with killing intent.

The plucked-fur weasel poked out a small head from a distance, and beside it was an even smaller, round head. This fellow had even brought its own cub along on the mission for on-the-job training.

If Zhang San weren't here, Xia Qing would definitely have made things clear to Broken-Waist Wolf in advance: a weasel cub on observation doesn't count as combat power, so absolutely no more haggling on the price.