Chapter 1018: The Silly Monkey with the Little Backpack

When Zhang Song handed the underwater robot to Xia Qing, he saw she was in a good mood and took the chance to ask, "Sister Qing, any news about the little monkey lately?"

Xia Qing answered calmly, "Last time I followed the Azure Dragon Squad's helicopter to patrol the northern Evolution Forest, I ran into it and brought it back. Song Ge, if you're free the morning after tomorrow, you can come by my place to see it."

"I'm free! Sorry to trouble you, Sister Qing…"

Zhang Song excitedly stepped forward and bumped into the instrument case.

Xia Qing quickly raised her hand to hold him back, afraid he would smash the equipment.

Huiyi Special Operations Squad had already withdrawn from Territory Seven. The two special ops squads now stationed inside Territory Seven were only responsible for protecting the territory and personnel safety; they did not supervise or restrict Zhang San's freedom.

Therefore, when Xia Qing entered Territory Seven, she still had to go through security checks to confirm she wasn't carrying any dangerous goods or weapons, but when she left, whatever she took with her, the special ops squads had no right to inspect.

Xia Qing carried the two instrument cases out of Territory Seven, loaded them into the car, took the packed meal Daye had prepared for her, and on the drive back to her territory, she couldn't help humming a little tune.

Because Daye had packed not just soup, but also dishes and a staple — she wouldn't have to fire up the stove and cook for herself tonight!

In a great mood, Xia Qing drove into her courtyard. Seeing the light on in the room on the west side of the second floor, she knew Duan Yao had arrived.

Because that room was the shared laboratory for one person and one wolf.

She went inside and upstairs, and seeing Duan Yao standing in front of the CT machine's display, seriously studying the scans, Xia Qing fell silent.

Has this guy Duan Yao gone astray?

Duan Yao, who had long heard Xia Qing return, tilted its head toward the display, indicating Xia Qing should study the scans with it.

A wolf studying medicine can detect anomalies in the Evolution Forest in time and warn humans — it's good for both wolves and people, not going astray!

Xia Qing walked over and studied the skeleton on the display. "This evolved rabbit's cervical vertebrae and scapula are both broken. Did you bite it?"

Duan Yao flashed its little fang tips at Xia Qing, indicating she'd guessed right, then pointed at the rabbit's belly.

Xia Qing adjusted the angle of the scan and studied it carefully for a while, but couldn't see anything. She began communicating with Duan Yao. "You suspect this rabbit has parasites in its belly?"

Duan Yao flashed its little fang tips again.

Xia Qing took a textbook from the bookshelf, flipped to the relevant section, and read it aloud to Duan Yao. "CT examination has a certain diagnostic value for lesions caused by parasites, but it is not an effective method for directly detecting parasites in the intestines. Because…"

After reading, Xia Qing discussed with Duan Yao, "Parasites require stool and blood tests. Our Yi Element Detector can only test material composition — it can't detect parasites."

Duan Yao seemed to think for a few seconds. Seeing Xia Qing still couldn't figure it out, it could only run downstairs, pull open a drawer, carry the territory map upstairs in its mouth, and press one big paw on Territory Seven.

Xia Qing…

"You mean, send the stool and blood samples to Territory Seven and have Third Brother test them?"

Duan Yao flashed its little fang tips.

Xia Qing…

It's gone off the rails, completely off the rails — it dares to boss Third Brother around into doing work for it!

Xia Qing looked at the solemn Duan Yao and asked seriously, "Does it absolutely have to be tested?"

Duan Yao flashed its little fang tips.

"…Fine, but using the instruments in Third Brother's territory to test samples costs money. You have to give Third Brother twenty green-light hickory nuts." After setting the price with Duan Yao, Xia Qing took a sample of the rabbit's stool and contacted her idol.

Why not draw blood? The rabbit had been dead too long — the blood had already coagulated.

After handing the sample to Zheng Chen at the North Gate, Xia Qing picked up food for Boss Yang and Daigua along the way, went home and made dinner for her three companions, then opened the insulated box Daye had packed for her, ready to eat.

Tomato-braised beef brisket, poached chicken, stir-fried lettuce, a cold platter, pork rib and bamboo shoot with kelp and dried shrimp soup, and four steaming big steamed buns — covering a whole table.

This food was a thank-you gift from Daye, thanking Xia Qing for protecting Zhang San while she went out for a spin.

Sincerity, absolute!

Perhaps today's food smelled and tasted too different from usual, Boss Yang and Daigua both stopped eating, and even Little Feimao in the wooden nest on the wall poked out its little head.

"This is food from Third Brother's territory. Smells great, right?"

Xia Qing didn't want to eat alone, so she broke off a small piece of bun and put it in Boss's food bowl. "Buns are starchy food — if Boss eats too much, its belly won't feel good. Just a taste."

Boss Yang sniffed it, ate it in one bite, and continued eating with a blank expression. Apparently the bun held no appeal for it.

Then she broke off an equally sized piece and handed it to the little monkey sitting at the same table as Boss Yang. "Daigua, try this bun too. It's way better than the ones I steam."

Daigua liked it very much, grabbed the bun and started eating, very fast.

Xia Qing also gave Little Feimao a little piece. "Feimao, try it too. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."

Little Feimao held the bun with its little paws, sniffed it, and started eating.

Xia Qing opened the door to the courtyard, put a small piece in Fourth's food bowl. "Fourth, try it. This has no salt or additives — a little bit is fine."

Fourth only sniffed it, wasn't interested, and continued eating freeze-dried food.

If it doesn't like it, it doesn't have to eat it. Xia Qing picked the bun back out and gave it to Daigua the monkey when she went inside.

Duan Yao? Studying upstairs, not interested in her food — otherwise it would have come down long ago.

Xia Qing packed the tomato-braised beef brisket and two buns into the fridge, and stuffed the rest into her own belly.

Xia Qing, sprawled in her chair, really wanted to call her idol and ask if she could pay some points to join in at Territory Seven.

In terms of cooking, Chef Ge of Territory Seven is roughly equal to two and a half Eryong, or six of her!

The sample sent to Territory Seven quickly produced results — that rabbit was infected with evolved coccidia. This is a parasite that mainly lives in rabbits' gastrointestinal tract and can cause severe diarrhea or even death.

After telling Duan Yao the test results, Xia Qing disposed of the rabbit carcass and began studying the two machines — one large, one small — she'd brought back from Territory Seven.

Duan Yao, watching videos on the TV on the first floor, heard the unusual sounds from upstairs and immediately ran up to check.

Seeing that spherical thing about the size of its paw could not only roll around but also extend two little claws, Duan Yao's eyes instantly went wide.

A few seconds later, deep in thought.

Xia Qing immediately cut off its thoughts. "This belongs to Third Brother — it can't be traded. When we need to use it, we can only borrow it, and return it when we're done."

After explaining the meaning of "borrow" to Duan Yao in detail, Xia Qing learned to operate the two machines, then packed them back into their cases. Duan Yao stared at the cases for a long time before leaving Territory Three and returning to Mountain Fifty-Five.

The next day, after eating early, Xia Qing prepared to set out for Mountain Fifty-Five, only to find Daigua with its washed little backpack on its back, wearing a little hat, squatting at the door and staring at her.

Xia Qing asked, "Daigua, are you going back to your own territory?"

Daigua opened its mouth and said, "Ah."

Xia Qing...