Chapter 1055: Pull the Tube

"Xia Qing, where are you?"

On the phone, her idol's voice was low, accompanied by the beeping of instruments in the operating room, which gave Xia Qing a very bad feeling, "In Territory Two, planning to head back to Territory Three. Third Brother, should I come over now?"

"Good."

Tang Huai, who was holding an umbrella for Xia Qing, volunteered, "It's so late at night, don't keep Third Brother waiting. Want me to drive you over?"

Xia Qing quickened her pace, "My car is inside Territory One. Tell Third Brother for me—if he says you can go, then drive and follow me."

Tang Huai, who had been on Zhang San's blacklist for nearly two years, immediately fell in line, "Then after Sister Qing checks on the wounded, give me a call? If Third Brother is looking for you because of the points issue, let Iron Rooster give up trying to save this evolved wolf—whatever the points cost, you take it on. Its surgery and follow-up medical fees are all on me."

Xia Qing nodded, passed through Territory Two into Territory One, greeted Yin Jie, the Territory One agent, then drove her own off-road vehicle out the west gate of Territory One into the quarantine belt, and at top speed rushed to the north gate of Territory Seven, where she saw Hua Yang of the Azure Dragon Squad standing outside the gate.

Hua Yang was Chang Li's bodyguard; his being here meant Chang Li was inside Territory Seven. Xia Qing told him to wait in the car, then went through security and entered Territory Seven.

After full-body disinfection and putting on surgical scrubs, Xia Qing entered the operating room, bright as day, and met Chang Li's bloodshot eyes.

Having known her for two years, this was the first time Xia Qing had seen Chang Li show such strong emotion.

Xia Qing, who was already half a doctor, called out "Third Brother," then looked at the data on the cardiac monitor beside the operating table and found that this evolved wolf's heartbeat was slowing, its blood pressure and blood oxygen were very low, and it was having difficulty breathing. She turned her gaze to the operating table, looked at the charred skin on the evolved wolf's neck and the already sutured blood vessels and muscle, and asked softly, "Third Brother, it's beyond saving, isn't it?"

"The collar explosion damaged its cervical vertebrae and trachea. I can keep it alive, but I can't make it stand up again." Zhang San finished speaking, then pointed at the nine CT films hanging on the rack beside him, "Take a look yourself."

Medical imaging was a course Xia Qing and the Broken-Waist Wolf were currently studying. She walked over to the nine brain CT scan images hanging by the operating table, illuminated by the light, and quickly spotted the problem, "Where's this wolf's prefrontal cortex?"

Chang Li's voice carried barely suppressed fury, "It was cut out."

Xia Qing's brow furrowed slightly. She turned to look at the evolved wolf's head, lying quietly on the operating table, and quickly found the arc-shaped scar on its forehead. Someone had opened this evolved wolf's skull and cut out its prefrontal cortex.

Zhang San's voice was low, "The prefrontal cortex is the region of the brain closely associated with higher cognitive functions. Removing this area may lead to a significant decline in the evolved wolf's judgment, purposeless behavior, and weakened impulse control. After the prefrontal cortex is removed, inserting a low-voltage command device into this evolved wolf's collar can achieve the goal of controlling it and making it carry out human orders."

"In this wolf's bodily fluids, I found an agent that accelerates the burning of Yi elements within the body. Its composition is identical to the agent used by the wanderers in the West District Evolution Forest, but at four times the dosage. The side effects caused by this dosage are even more severe than those of the Yi Element Stimulant."

Zhang San raised a hand in sterile gloves, pushed his glasses up with his wrist, and brought up the reason he'd called Xia Qing over, "Letting this wolf go on living would be torture for it."

Chang Li stared with reddened eyes at Xia Qing's expressionless face, her lips tightly pressed together behind her mask, her jaw clenched.

Xia Qing understood, "Third Brother, preserve the data and evidence well. Pull the tube. Can this wolf's body be frozen and stored first, and I'll take it away after the Calamity Rain?"

Because Chang Li and the surgical assistant were present, Zhang San didn't ask Xia Qing what she wanted the wolf's body for, "This was captured by the Azure Dragon Squad. Talk it over with Yang Jin; it's not my call. Xiao Sun, pull the tube."

Xia Qing called Yang Jin right there in the operating room. After getting his consent, she asked, "Captain Yang, can you give me a copy of the footage from your mission in the West District Evolution Forest today?"

Yang Jin's voice came with the rustle of rain, "Of course. After the Calamity Rain, I'll send it over to you."

Xia Qing hung up, then discussed with her idol, "Third Brother, can you give me a copy of the video and test results from this wolf's surgery and examination?"

Zhang San shot Xia Qing a look, turned, and walked off, "Get it from Xiao Sun."

"Alright, thanks so much, Third Brother. It's getting late; you should get some rest early." After seeing her idol off, Xia Qing turned and asked Chang Li, "Sister Li, where are you headed later?"

Chang Li's voice was hoarse and exhausted, "My mission's over. I'm going back to Territory One to rest."

"Then let's head back together. I drove over." Xia Qing waited until all the readings on the cardiac monitor had flattened to lines and zeros, then walked over to the operating table, "Brother Sun, I'll take it from here."

Zhang Sun, the surgical assistant, whose mood was also very low, didn't stand on ceremony with Xia Qing. Once Xia Qing was holding the evolved wolf's body, he led the way toward the cold storage room.

Xia Qing had held many wolves before—big ones, small ones, old ones, injured ones, sick ones. This wolf wasn't heavy; having just died, its body was still soft, yet Xia Qing felt it weighed the most in her arms.

After placing it in the freezer compartment, Xia Qing left Territory Seven with Chang Li and got into the off-road vehicle.

Hua Yang, who had been waiting in the car, saw the state Chang Li and Xia Qing were in and knew without asking that the wolf hadn't made it. He obediently sat in the back without a word.

The 10-kilometer-long North Quarantine Belt of Northern District One was overgrown with Calamity Grass, rising and falling with the terrain.

The off-road vehicle rolled over gravel and Calamity Grass, bumping along with the terrain. When the car descended from the hillside into the valley again, Chang Li spoke, her voice hoarse, "When I was at Huiyi Base, I saw a person who'd had the same surgery."

Xia Qing asked calmly, "The underground experiment?"

Chang Li shook her head, "No. In the fourth year of the Catastrophe, I was interning at the outer-city hospital of Huiyi Safe Zone at the time. That person lost control, killed someone, and was shot dead—less than one meter right in front of me. Later, when I heard the Azure Dragon Squad was leaving Huiyi, I joined the squad without hesitation and came to Huithree with them."

Xia Qing acknowledged, tightened her grip on the steering wheel, and stared straight ahead.

Hua Yang, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere in the car any longer, spoke up with a smile, "Sister Qing, Yanlian brought gifts for you and Tan Qi. They're on the helicopter. Today was too rushed—I forgot to bring them down. I'll send them over after the Calamity Rain."

Chang Li also forced herself to rally, "I traded for two big bags of pearls for you. I'll send them over together."

"Alright." Xia Qing smiled, "Once these few days are past, you all come to my territory. We'll have roasted sweet potatoes and beggar's chicken."

Hearing that Xia Qing had invited him too, Hua Yang, who had never been to Territory Three, was overjoyed, "Thank you, Sister Qing. I brought back some crop seeds from Lanwu—I'll bring you some of each."

Xia Qing dropped them off beside Territory One. Just as she turned the car around to head back, she got a call from Tang Huai.

Tang Huai asked impatiently, "Sister Qing, I heard your car. So how is it? Where's this wolf hurt? Is the injury serious?"

Xia Qing answered calmly, "It's already dead."

Tang Huai was stunned for a few seconds, then asked in a raspy voice, "Will the surrounding wolf packs retaliate against our territory because this wolf died?"

"It's not clear yet which pack it belongs to. Don't say anything to the outside."

This Calamity Rain period was already chaotic enough.