Chapter 1072: This Won't Do

"Waist-Snapper, this door wastes electricity—can you play with it a few times less?"

When Waist-Snapper Wolf walked through her newly installed front door for the twentieth time, Xia Qing, holding a food bowl, truly couldn't take it anymore. "Queen, my lord, can you rein in Waist-Snapper? Bugs are flying in!"

The lead wolf lay lazily on the sofa, not even lifting an eyelid.

Waist-Snapper Wolf, who had just come inside, bared its cute little fang tips at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing refused flatly. "That won't work—I only have one of those too. If your place gets a door like that, it'll attract a whole bunch of humans to come check it out."

Hearing Xia Qing's words, the lead wolf lifted its eyes to look at the heavy door. Waist-Snapper Wolf shut its mouth and stared thoughtfully.

Xia Qing placed Wolf Eldest's food bowl on its low table and spoke very seriously to Waist-Snapper Wolf. "Waist-Snapper, don't you think this door looks awfully familiar?"

Before changing the front door, Xia Qing felt that the one that had been rammed and trampled on several times was both a safety hazard and an eyesore—that broken door no longer matched her house.

After switching to the current door, the safety hazard was gone, but it still wasn't attractive—because the style didn't match!

What she wanted was the warehouse door from Territory Seven that looked like a front door, with a face-recognition smart lock. What her idol had someone send over wasn't that, but rather…

Seeing that Waist-Snapper Wolf couldn't recall, Xia Qing pointed to the top of the door and said, "If you hang a 'Surgery in Progress' sign up here, it'll look exactly like the door to the room where Third Brother did your waist surgery."

The period when its waist was injured was probably the most unforgettable and difficult time in Waist-Snapper Wolf's wolf life. It stared solemnly at Xia Qing's newly installed door, deep in thought.

Xia Qing brought her own food over, sat at the table, and continued while gnawing on a fragrant big steamed bun she'd traded from Territory Seven. "If you install a door like this on Mountain Fifty-Five, it'll make humans think Mountain Fifty-Five is a secret research lab humans built in the Evolution Forest. A lot of people will try to get in to check, and that'll cause danger."

After eating, Xia Qing laid the lab blueprints and budget list in front of Waist-Snapper Wolf. "Waist-Snapper, our lab has five rooms total. This one holds your CT machine, this one holds your CT machine monitor, this one holds your magnifying glass and my Yi Element detector, this one is our changing and sterilization room, and this one I'll use for cultivating plants. The total cost for materials and construction is 850,000—you need to pay me two walnut-sized Yi Stones."

Seeing Waist-Snapper Wolf seriously staring at the budget list, Xia Qing strongly suspected this clever wolf might recognize some characters, because the videos it learned from all had subtitles.

Before Xia Qing could open her mouth to ask, the north door beeped once—the old wolf, who'd been out all day, was back. Wolf Lao Er heard the old wolf's footsteps, jumped down from the hanging chair Xia Qing had just made for it, and went out to greet him.

Xia Qing stood up too, carrying the dinner she'd saved for Wolf Fourth, and walked to the surgery-room-style front door. The smart lock recognized Xia Qing, and the door slid open to the right automatically. Three seconds after she stepped out, the microwave sensor switch activated, and the door slid silently back into place, closing with a perfect seal.

She had to admit, this door was far more convenient than the front door she'd modified herself before.

Waist-Snapper Wolf stared at the door for a few seconds before lowering its head again to study the blueprints and quote sheet. The lead wolf raised a big paw and pressed the button on the TV remote, turned on the TV, and picked an animal video it found interesting to watch.

The old wolf, returning to the territory, first sniffed Wolf Lao Er in greeting before walking up to Xia Qing and raising its head.

"Wolf Fourth isn't going out tonight?" Xia Qing asked casually, then reached up to remove its protective suit. These past two days, the old wolf had been leaving early and coming back late. Xia Qing had no idea where it went or what it was doing—she could only guess it was searching for its companions or enemies.

From the night before last, when Blaze and Doomsday went to war, until now, the news Xia Qing had gotten from Yang Jin and other channels indicated that some Blaze and Doomsday members had fled into the Evolution Forest.

Currently, Hui Three's side had stepped up patrols in the Evolution Forest areas neighboring Hui One. Xia Qing was afraid the old wolf would run over there, so this morning she made a point of getting up early and having Wolf Lao Er persuade this stubborn old wolf to put on a canine protective suit.

This protective suit was something Xia Qing had just traded with Tang Huai. She hadn't expected that Tang Huai, who didn't keep dogs in his territory, still had two canine protective suits in storage.

After the protective suit was taken off, the old wolf shook its body vigorously several times, then lowered its head to drink water and eat. Xia Qing checked its tail and head, confirmed there were no large parasites, and stood up. "Wolf Fourth, go rest after eating. Take your medicine an hour later. Wolf Lao Er, carry the food bowl back inside later."

Wolf Fourth buried its head in its food, while Wolf Lao Er opened its mouth wide and grinned happily at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing rubbed its head, went back inside, and came to Waist-Snapper Wolf's side to explain the items on the quote sheet in detail.

She hadn't expected that after studying the quote sheet, this guy would only agree to put up one walnut-sized Use Yishi!

Xia Qing of course disagreed. "One walnut-sized Use Yishi is currently quoted at 420,000 on the market. Our lab needs 850,000, so you need to put up two walnut-sized Yi Stones."

Waist-Snapper Wolf raised a big paw and pressed down on the room with grass growing in it on the lab blueprints.

"Right, this cultivation room is mine." Xia Qing explained seriously to Waist-Snapper Wolf. "But this is my territory. The lab is built in my territory, and I'm the one protecting the lab's safety. The water, electricity, disinfectant, and protective suits are all provided by me, so you need to put up two Yi Stones."

Waist-Snapper Wolf stared at Xia Qing, deep in thought.

Xia Qing backed off a step. "How about this—you put up one walnut-sized Use Yishi and one pigeon-egg-sized Use Yishi, totaling 660,000. I'll put up 190,000, but I also have to be responsible for protecting the lab's safety, plus the disinfectant and lab consumables from now on. How about it?"

Seeing Waist-Snapper Wolf still silent, Xia Qing continued reasoning with it for a while, making it understand that the Yi Stones the wolf pack possessed were like the pollution-free spring water Xia Qing possessed—they could only be traded with a fixed partner, namely her, or else it would bring deadly trouble.

Back in the day, when Yang Jin traded pollution-free spring water with her, the price was eighty percent of market rate. Xia Qing didn't give discounts—she traded with the wolf pack straight at market price, so she was the finest human trading partner on Blue Star!

After more than half an hour of negotiation, Waist-Snapper Wolf finally bared its little fang tips.

"Excellent, Handsome Wolf Brother, you're so wise." Xia Qing put away the quote sheet and blueprints, sincerely feeling that Waist-Snapper Wolf was getting shrewder and shrewder, and that negotiating with it took more and more energy. "Queen, my lord, don't forget to bring Giant Wolf Brother over for a medicinal bath tomorrow; Waist-Snapper, bring your notebook back tomorrow—I'll load some new videos onto it. Third Brother wants us to study them."

Incidentally, Xia Qing was going to export the viewing history from the video player on Waist-Snapper Wolf's notebook and send it to her idol.

In order to guide Waist-Snapper Wolf back onto the right path, her idol, besides having Xia Qing lead it in studying the lab safety management system, also had it study an abridged medical ethics course—and after finishing, it had to take an exam personally hosted by her idol…

Xia Qing had no idea what Waist-Snapper Wolf was feeling right now, but she herself was under quite a bit of pressure.