Chapter 1067: Why Have You Come?

"Buzz—"

Inside the Number Three Territory laboratory, the phone in Xia Qing's pocket rang. She pulled off her sterile gloves and picked up the phone. "Third Brother, you're not resting yet?"

Zhang San asked, "What's the situation at Mountain Forty-Nine?"

Xia Qing gave a brief account. "When I played the video of that evolved wolf being blown up during the beast tide, the old wolf recuperating in my territory recognized this wolf as its companion. Only after confirming its companion was already dead did it howl a few times. Don't worry, the situation is under control."

Zhang San was surprised. "This old wolf is from the western wolf pack?"

"Not necessarily. Once we finish interrogating the wanderer, we'll know where this old wolf came from." The evolved forest where its companion was captured was the place where Fourth Brother used to live. Taking advantage of her idol calling, Xia Qing seized the chance to ask a professional question. "Third Brother, are the brain structures of humans and wolves the same?"

Zhang San paused for a moment, then answered, "Overall they're similar, but there are differences in the relative proportions of certain cell types in some brain regions, as well as in the way these cells express genes…"

Her idol's answer was too technical; Xia Qing couldn't quite follow, so she kept asking. "After the cerebral cortex is removed, why doesn't a person die?"

Zhang San gave a professional answer. "Your question isn't rigorous enough. If the entire cerebral cortex is removed, the individual will fall into a prolonged coma or vegetative state. The body can't carry out normal conscious activity, can't take care of itself, and that will lead to death."

Xia Qing understood this time. "Third Brother, a vegetative state is when the brain is dead but the body is still alive, right?"

Xia Qing, who had been nudged by the Broken-Waist Wolf, saw the fellow pointing with its large gloved paw at the scar on the brain of the evolved wolf's corpse, and added, "Could you lend me some materials on brain surgery research?"

The Broken-Waist Wolf bared its lips, showing the little tips of its fangs.

Zhang San was silent for a few seconds, his voice chilly. "Who are you with?"

The Calamity Rain Season had just ended, and Xia Qing, whose head was full of farming, wasn't hurrying to rest or tidy up her greenhouse—she was actually watching neurosurgery videos. Zhang San didn't need to think to know something was going on over there!

Her idol was unhappy. Xia Qing didn't dare hide anything. "To get the evolved wolf to deliver medicine to the injured evolved tiger in the western evolved forest, I showed them the video Yang Jin sent. Now the lead wolf and the old wolf have gone to deliver the medicine, and the Broken-Waist Wolf wants to know why this wolf, which had its prefrontal cortex removed, could be controlled by humans…"

What Xia Qing said was clearly human speech, but Zhang San, an advanced brain-domain evolver, took a full dozen-plus seconds to process what she was saying. He replied coldly, "Fifteen minutes, Beimen."

"Yes!" Xia Qing let out a huge sigh of relief and gave the Broken-Waist Wolf's big head a hard pat. "I took a risk getting these materials for you. I almost made Third Brother angry. You owe me half a bag of Green Lantern Mountain walnuts as compensation!"

The Broken-Waist Wolf slowly bared its lips, showing the little tips of its fangs, in agreement.

"Remember, you now owe me a total of five and a half bags of Mountain walnuts."

Xia Qing timed her arrival at the Beimen. After clearly seeing the person getting out of the vehicle, her eyeballs nearly popped out in fright.

Zhang San, wearing the Hui Three Special Ops Team protective suit, gave Xia Qing a look. "Open the gate."

Xia Qing swiped open the Beimen to greet him, lowering her voice to ask, "Why did you come in person?"

The wolves in your territory have started researching neurosurgery—how could I not come?! The moment Zhang San stepped into Number Three Territory, his foot slipped and he lost his balance. Xia Qing and Zhang Jingwu, standing nearby, both reached out to steady him at the same time.

Xia Qing cautioned, "The path is slippery. Please take your time."

Zhang San irritably shook off Xia Qing's hand. "You call this a path?"

Compared to Number Seven Territory, Xia Qing's path was indeed far inferior. She meekly nodded to the Zhang Jingwu squad waiting outside the gate, and while escorting her idol down the slope, explained in a low voice, "This path used to be quite easy to walk. The day before yesterday, after the passage in our territory was occupied by aggressive Calamity Grass, I had to widen the path to drive my off-road vehicle out through this gate. I haven't had time to tidy it up yet."

When she discovered the aggressive Calamity Grass growing on the passage the day before yesterday, Xia Qing had been about to drive over to deliver roasted lamb to a good friend. Later the passage was covered in red reagent. To save time traveling back and forth to the Ninth Center, Xia Qing had no choice but to widen the mountain road from the North Buffer Forest to the Beimen, and with the help of people like Guan Tong, drove her off-road vehicle out through the Beimen.

Right now, her off-road vehicle was still parked outside the Beimen.

Zhang San's face was dark as he stumbled down the slope, crossed the slippery stone slab bridge, and walked along a long stretch of squelching mud-and-Calamity-Grass path before finally entering Xia Qing's courtyard.

Seeing the bird droppings under the eaves of Xia Qing's house and the broken door propped up with two wooden sticks, Zhang San couldn't hold back any longer.

"Aren't you afraid a few evolved poisonous bugs will crawl in at midnight and bite you to death? What are you saving the few million credits you earned for? Producing offspring?!"

That door really was a sight. Xia Qing explained, "This door was just broken an hour ago. The baffle above that blocks the bird droppings was also shaken down. I haven't had time to clean it up yet. I'll definitely fix it tomorrow…"

"Moo!"

Hearing the intruder scold its little boss, the Sheep Boss inside the house was furious. The Broken-Waist Wolf, which had been doing research in the second-floor laboratory, also hobbled out to see what was going on.

"Boss, don't be afraid, I'm fine."

Xia Qing was afraid the Sheep Boss would knock the door down again and hit her idol. With one hand on the door frame and the other pushing open the creaking door, she said, "Boss, look, it's Third Brother here. Third Brother, please change into these new straw sandals. Let's talk inside."

Zhang San took off his protective boots, caked with ten jin of mud, changed into straw sandals, and walked inside. After removing his protective mask, he glanced at the Green Lantern fat sheep standing inside the door and the two dopey squirrels in the cage in the corner, before beginning to take in Xia Qing's living environment.

The outside of the house was a wreck, but the interior was clean and tidy, showing that Xia Qing regularly cleaned and disinfected. Zhang San's expression had just begun to ease when he looked up and saw an evolved wolf with a snow-white sterile rubber glove on its paw standing on the staircase, grinning at him.

Xia Qing, who had changed shoes and entered the house and carefully closed the door, also saw the pitiful Broken-Waist Wolf. She tried to salvage the situation. "The Broken-Waist Wolf and I were examining that evolved wolf's corpse. I put the glove on it to keep it from picking up bacteria."

Zhang San steadied himself and asked calmly, "Upstairs?"

Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief. "The laboratory is upstairs. For watching videos, we can use the computer or the TV. What would you prefer…"

Zhang San hung his protective mask on the coat rack by the door, took off his protective suit, and walked toward the evolved wolf that had already completely exceeded the normal range. Xia Qing immediately followed, with the Broken-Waist Wolf hobbling along behind.

Seeing her idol enter the laboratory and stare at the CT scanning bed, Xia Qing understood with eerie clarity what he was thinking and explained futilely, "I saw the inner body bag was very clean, so I didn't lay down another sterile barrier pad…"

Sterile barrier pads also cost credits to buy. Xia Qing had indeed earned several million credits, but she had many places to spend them, so she saved wherever she could…