Chapter 1066: The Wrong Path

"Wooo—"

The old wolf bared its sharp fangs and growled low, telling Xia Qing to let go of its leg immediately, or it would bite off her arm the next second.

"Wooo—" Xia Qing, holding the wolf's leg with her left hand, used her right hand to turn her phone screen toward the old wolf, letting it see the footage she had just recorded.

In the video, the old wolf was growling, snarling at Xia Qing to release its leg. Seeing itself in Xia Qing's hand, the old wolf froze.

Xia Qing immediately connected her phone to the TV and played the video on repeat for Wolf Lao Si, explaining in a slow tone what the video was about. Once Wolf Lao Si understood, Xia Qing stood up. "Wolf Lao Si, let's go. I'll take you to meet your companion."

Xia Qing turned and headed outside. Wolf Lao Si immediately followed, and the head wolf and the broken-back wolf followed too.

Sheep Leader, who wasn't wearing night-vision goggles, panicked. Just as it opened its mouth to cry out, it heard its little brother say, "I'm going to run an errand to Mountain Forty-Nine. I'll be back soon. Boss can protect our home, right?"

Sheep Leader immediately closed its mouth and lifted its head.

"Good, I knew Boss was the most amazing. When I come back later, I'll bring Boss delicious fresh lettuce leaves." Xia Qing smiled at her companion, gently closed the door, and left her territory with the three wolves. Entering Zone Three of Mountain Forty-Nine, she opened the black body bag placed on the rock.

After confirming that the dead evolved wolf was Wolf Lao Si's companion, Xia Qing messaged her idol, asking him to deliver the evolved wolf's corpse to the designated location as soon as possible.

The idol standing at the pinnacle of Jin Zita never drops the ball.

After Xia Qing opened the cold, damp body bag, the old wolf following behind rushed over, eagerly sniffing the evolved wolf's corpse inside the bag, nudging its stiff head again and again with its own. A few minutes later, this old wolf, who had no idea where it came from, raised its head and let out a long wolf howl.

"Awooo—wuuu—"

Xia Qing, the head wolf, and the broken-back wolf did not stop it. Tang Huai in Territory Two, listening to this mournful cry, raised his head and quietly gazed at the fluorescent light in the insect-rearing shed.

The walkie-talkie crackled with Hu Zifeng's voice. "Captain Tan, all lords, Blue Dragon Squad Team Ten is conducting night training. The evolved wolf howling is our tamed beast. Please do not panic."

Patrol team member on duty Yuan Rui replied, "Patrol team copies. Stay safe. Do not let the tamed beast enter the territory."

Hu Zifeng responded, "Copy that."

Kuang Qingwei immediately followed up, "Don't worry, Captain Hu. Other animal calls might give folks a scare, but a wolf howl won't."

Shi Mu, who had a divine wolf portrait hanging at home, also quickly chimed in with her take. "That's right. Hearing the wolf howl, my heart feels completely at ease."

At ease?

Hu Zifeng's squad, on full standby, certainly didn't feel that way.

Hu Zifeng got through to Xia Qing on the phone. "Sister Qing, an evolved wolf just entered Zone Six of Mountain Forty-Nine. After hearing the wolf howl, it sped up. It should be heading your way."

"Copy that. The one coming from Zone Six of Mountain Forty-Nine is a wolf from the Northern Wolf Pack. There won't be any uncontrollable situations." The king of the Northern Wolf Pack was right here, so Xia Qing wasn't afraid of wolves coming from the north. She had Hu Zifeng's squad prepare because she was worried about fierce beasts from the west charging over.

After the old wolf howled a few times and Hu Zifeng didn't report any danger, Xia Qing felt a little more at ease and continued analyzing the current situation. "The human who injured this wolf has been caught by us and will definitely be killed. But his companions are still out there. The Evolution Forest isn't safe."

Xia Qing took out her phone and showed the three brain-domain evolved wolves the video of the injured evolved tiger. "Queen, Broken-Back, Wolf Lao Si, there are still many bad people out there. We have to save the injured tiger in that Evolution Forest, let it hold onto its territory. Only then will our place be safer."

After saying that, Xia Qing took out the medicine prepared by her idol. "Queen, Broken-Back, could you go deliver the medicine? I can't leave the territory right now, and I can't use the helicopter…"

Xia Qing stopped mid-sentence, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "Wolf Lao Er!"

Wolf Lao Er, the wolf-dog, walked out of the qiang grass without a protective suit, its whole body dripping wet, and nuzzled Xia Qing's protective mask with its head.

Xia Qing threw her arms around Wolf Lao Er's neck. "Wolf Lao Er, Wolf Lao Er! It's so good that you're okay!"

Every time Xia Qing saw this evolved wolf with its prefrontal cortex removed, wearing a collar, she would think back to how Wolf Lao Er looked the first time it entered her territory last year, and how Shan Ying stood outside the gate of Territory Three in a lofty, icy tone, trying to buy Wolf Lao Er off for twenty thousand credits.

If things had gone just a little differently, the gentle-natured Wolf Lao Er, who loved raising fish and caring for cubs, would have met the same fate as this cold corpse.

As the human and wolf were interacting affectionately, the old wolf picked up the medicine in Xia Qing's mouth and looked toward the head wolf of the Northern Wolf Pack.

Xia Qing, still hugging Wolf Lao Er, also looked at the head wolf. "Queen, please go with Wolf Lao Si. If that injured tiger recovers its health and fighting strength, our place will be safer."

Seeing the head wolf crouching motionless on the ground, Wolf Lao Er walked over, sniffed it, and nuzzled its neck with its head.

Seeing the head wolf stand up, Xia Qing immediately took the medicine the old wolf was holding in its mouth and explained to the head wolf, "Thank you, Queen. This bag is water, this bag is medicine. Pour the medicine into the water and let the tiger drink it."

After saying that, Xia Qing stuffed both the water and the medicine into the pockets of the head wolf's protective suit. "Thank you for your hard work, Queen, Queen…"

Before Xia Qing could finish, the head wolf shot out, and the old wolf immediately followed. Wolf Lao Er nuzzled Xia Qing once more, then ran after them. Only Xia Qing, the broken-back wolf, and the cold wolf corpse on the ground were left at the scene.

The broken-back wolf pawed at the body bag and looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing understood. "You want me to take this wolf's corpse back to the territory for examination?"

The broken-back wolf grinned, solemnly flashing the little tips of its fangs.

"Alright." Xia Qing wrapped the wolf's corpse in the body bag, carried it back to the Territory Three laboratory, and placed it on the scanning bed of the portable CT machine she shared with the broken-back wolf. "Broken-Back, this wolf is already dead. The cells inside its body are no longer active…"

Xia Qing, who was putting on sterile gloves, stopped mid-sentence, looked down at the broken-back wolf's big paw stretched out in front of her—damp from being rinsed but still with mud in the nail gaps—and after a few seconds of silence, slipped a glove onto it as well.

Human hands and wolf paws differed greatly. To make it easier for the broken-back wolf to move, Xia Qing could only secure the glove with a rubber band. She then watched this wolf hold up its gloved paw, hobble over to the scanning bed on three legs.

Then, this brain-domain evolved wolf pressed its left front paw on the scanning bed, and with its gloved right front paw, gently pawed at the knife scar on the dead evolved wolf's head. It bared its fangs and let out a few sad, low, mournful growls before turning to look at Xia Qing, puzzled as to why she hadn't come over yet.

Xia Qing was shocked, then felt like she was in a fantasy, then went numb. She walked over and stood beside the broken-back wolf, her mind echoing with her idol's words—telling her to guide it properly, not to let this smart wolf go astray.

It hasn't gone astray, right? Right?!