Chapter 1160: The Qiang Snake Appears Again

Although Xia Qing always had "the top of the pyramid" on her lips, that was just a figure of speech. But standing in her small living room right now, looking at the brain-domain evolved wolf squatting by the low table with a pencil on its right paw, its face deadly serious as it wrote numbers in a grid notebook, Xia Qing realized for the first time that this might really be a wolf standing at the top of Blue Star's pyramid—one that could even open a new page in the history of biological evolution on Blue Star.

Because this was a wolf that was learning human civilization, and in the not-too-distant future could use written words to accurately convey wolf thoughts to humans.

This historic moment must be recorded!

Xia Qing held up her phone and snapped pictures from every angle, then scooted over to the broken-waist wolf to take a photo with it. Because Xia Qing knew her place very well—a perfectly ordinary human like her only had one chance to appear in Blue Star's evolutionary history, and that was—hitching a photo op!

The broken-waist wolf, who was studying seriously, used its left paw to push Xia Qing aside, telling her not to get in the way.

Xia Qing grabbed the broken-waist wolf's big paw to take a satisfying photo before standing up. "Broken-waist, you write properly. I'm going to patrol the territory. I'll bring you a cucumber when I get back."

The nights of migration season were not quiet. Flock after flock of migratory birds flew overhead, and the lords encouraged each other over the walkie-talkies, telling everyone not to get drowsy and to protect the farmland. Nominally, Xia Qing was already out on a mission tonight, so she listened in silence for a while, then checked her phone to confirm everything was normal, patrolled the territory once, swiped open the north gate, and went to Wolf Valley to see Wolf Lao Er.

Because Xia Qing was home tonight, the boss didn't need Wolf Lao Er to look after it, so it had run off to Wolf Valley to protect the two wolves still recovering from their injuries. Xia Qing fed medicine to the two injured wolves, then spent a while grooming Wolf Lao Er. When she left Wolf Valley to return to the territory, her keen hearing caught the sound of a small animal running fast in the Evolution Forest behind her.

That sound…

Xia Qing stopped and turned, peering carefully through her night-vision goggles at the Evolution Forest behind her. Toward the rock where the sound had stopped, she asked softly, "Plucker, is that you?"

"Little Bai Mao?"

"Plucker?"

After Xia Qing called out a few times, a small head—smaller than Plucker the weasel's, topped with two round little ears—peeked out from behind the rock and peered at her, trembling.

"Little Plucker, how did you end up over here?" This little fellow had actually left Mountain Fifty to come to her territory—it must be something important. Xia Qing kept her voice gentle and waited for the brain-domain evolved little one to express its intent.

Little Plucker stared at Xia Qing for a few seconds. After ducking back behind the rock, it poked its head out again—and this time it was holding a snake in its mouth.

Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief, dug an egg out of the foam in her backpack, and gestured as she communicated with the little one. "Little Plucker, you want to trade the snake for an egg?"

When Little Plucker saw the egg, its head immediately poked out a little further. Once Xia Qing saw clearly what kind of snake it was holding, her eyes went wide. Damn—this little fellow had actually caught a Qiang Snake!

A Qiang Snake appearing on Mountain Forty-Nine meant the emergency disaster-eradication procedure had to be activated by regulation. Right now it was migration season—the inspection teams, the Ninth Center, and every territory were already exhausted handling migratory birds around the clock. Who had the manpower and energy to comb the mountains searching for Qiang Snakes that had already hidden away to hibernate…

Little Plucker keenly sensed the change in Xia Qing and immediately pulled its head back.

Xia Qing steadied her emotions and spoke gently to the brain-domain evolved little one. "Little Plucker, you actually found a Qiang Snake?! You're amazing. You're a weasel standing at the top of Blue Star's pyramid. I'll give you this egg—give me the Qiang Snake, okay?"

It wasn't that Xia Qing didn't want to reward it with more; the truth was the little fellow's mouth was too small and its courage was too small. If Xia Qing took out two eggs, it couldn't carry them off and wouldn't dare eat them here, and it would only get more nervous. This was the offspring of a poison-gas evolved weasel—Xia Qing didn't dare let it get nervous.

"Little Plucker, are you still there?"

"Little Plucker…"

Xia Qing called out several times before the little one, trembling, poked its head back out with the snake still in its mouth.

"This egg is yours." Xia Qing set the egg on the ground, stepped back five meters, stood still with her hands at her sides, and waited calmly.

Little Plucker stared back and forth between the egg and Xia Qing for a full half minute before darting out, dropping the snake, opening its mouth as wide as it could, and running off with the egg.

"Little Plucker, if you catch this kind of snake again in the future, you can come trade with me." Xia Qing hurried forward, carefully picked up the dead snake on the ground, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the bulge on its head was undamaged. Then she called Hu Zifeng.

After confirming that Liangzi was in charge of the Mountain Forty-Nine monitoring room tonight, Xia Qing first called Liangzi to check the surveillance, then contacted Zhang Jingwu inside Territory Seven and asked him to check the surveillance for the Mountain Fifty danger zone. Only then did she dial her idol's number.

Qiang Snakes were high-danger creatures. By regulation, the appearance of a Qiang Snake on Mountain Forty-Nine had to be reported immediately to the only big shot in North Sector One qualified to serve as disaster-eradication commander.

After the call connected, Zhang San's voice came through with great irritation. "This better be important."

"It's important." Xia Qing explained the Qiang Snake situation. After pausing three seconds and hearing no response from her idol, she continued laying out the current situation. "Based on the surveillance from Mountain Forty-Nine and the Mountain Fifty danger zone, this Qiang Snake was discovered by the little weasel in the area north of Mountain Fifty's Third Peak, then carried it all the way from Sector Six into Mountain Forty-Nine and reached Sector Three. The area north of Mountain Fifty's Second Peak is already more than five li from our territory. Third Brother, what do you think—no need to activate the disaster-eradication procedure, right?"

Inside the brightly lit laboratory in Territory Seven, Zhang San—who had watched on video just two hours ago how Xia Qing used two eggs to chase off two wolves—pressed his forehead and asked coldly, "You bring eggs with you when you patrol the territory at night?"

This time it was a coincidence. "No, I came over to check on the recovery of the two injured wolves in Wolf Valley, so I brought a few."

Xia Qing had brought four eggs in total. She gave three to the wolves, and the remaining one had originally been meant for Little Flat-Top. When she crossed through Sector Three to return to the territory this morning, she had spotted honey badger activity traces under a tree, so she grabbed an extra egg on the way.

Eggs when going on a mission, eggs when visiting injured wolves in Wolf Valley, eggs when trading with a weasel for a snake, and eggs when coming to find him too!

When he had traded green-light chicken with her for spinach, how could he have imagined things would develop to this point? Zhang San hung up directly, not wanting to hear Xia Qing's voice anymore.

Her idol hanging up meant there was no need to activate the disaster-eradication procedure. Xia Qing felt relieved. She had only taken a few steps back when she heard the familiar huffing and puffing of running from behind her.

She turned and saw Little Flat-Top, who had gained two whole sizes, baring its tiny teeth as it charged at her. Xia Qing, who had already used up her eggs, immediately pulled a pack of yellow-light freeze-dried treats from her pocket, tore it open, and tossed it to the little fellow, then sprinted back to her own territory.