Chapter 1195: Negotiation

Compared to the plucked brat lying on Xia Qing's protective mask with a strip of fur shaved off the back of its neck, the state of Little Fifth—confined in a cage with an Elizabethan collar around its neck—looked far more serious.

Its eyes were wrapped in gauze, and all the fur from below the eyes down to under the chin had been shaved off, smeared with a purplish-red medicinal ointment. This shaved area must have been directly sprayed by the plucked brat's venom, which had seeped into the skin, hence the need to shave the fur for treatment.

Seeing that the tabby cat that had hurt the plucked brat was already half-dead, the alpha wolf turned its gaze toward Whiskers Feng, who was holding the cat, and let out a roar; the wolves' furious howling shook the heavens.

Whiskers Feng, who needed to take responsibility for this incident, stood with head lowered and shoulders slumped in the posture Xia Qing had told him to use; Little Fifth, weak in the cage with impaired vision and damaged sense of smell, heard so many wolves howling and instinctively bristled, opening its shaved mouth to bare its fangs.

Yang Jin, who had brought neither weapon nor protective mask, stood with head raised and chest out, gazing at the awe-inspiring combat strength of this northern wolf pack on the mountaintop.

Judging by her position, Xia Qing held no low status among the wolves; Yang Jin felt both proud and stirred.

Broken-Waist Wolf stared at Little Fifth for a while, then raised a paw to bat at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing turned her head and answered in a low voice the question from this clever wolf.

"Yes, it was Third Brother who treated Little Fifth after it was sprayed by the venom. The human next to Whiskers Feng—you've seen him many times—he's Yang Jin, the leader of the human Azure Dragon Squad. Whiskers Feng is his team member. If Handsome Wolf Bro and Queen my lord want to resolve this conflict, just talk directly to the human Yang Jin."

Though he couldn't hear what Xia Qing was saying to that brain-evolved wolf, Yang Jin felt more at ease inside. With Xia Qing here, no matter how the negotiations turned out, there definitely wouldn't be a fight today.

After displaying sufficient strength, the alpha wolf stopped howling and stared murderously at the human leader Yang Jin, whose combat strength was extremely high.

All members of the wolf pack—including Little Wolf Bro, Little Wolf Sis, Little Four-Eyes, and the three half-grown giant wolves—fell silent along with it, striking attack postures and waiting for the alpha wolf to give the signal to begin.

Even the plucked family of three hiding behind the rocks poked their heads out.

The red fox family and the leopards? In the shadows.

Following Xia Qing's instructions, Yang Jin locked eyes with the alpha wolf and began competing with it in presence.

As man and wolf silently vied with each other, Xia Qing, standing among the wolves, couldn't help giving Yang Jin a thumbs-up. Worthy of being top-tier combat strength of Hui-3—his aura is fierce enough!

After three minutes, Yang Jin judged the timing was about right, then pointed at Little Fifth, who could no longer hold on and had collapsed in the cage, and began the negotiation: "This time it was my people who failed to keep watch over the tabby cat in the squad, causing it to attack a weasel cub in the wolves' territory. I'm willing to compensate."

The tabby cat belonged to Whiskers Feng, and Whiskers Feng belonged to the Azure Dragon Squad. After discovering that Whiskers Feng was keeping the tabby cat behind Mount Forty-Nine, Yang Jin had reminded him to keep the cat in check and not cause unnecessary conflicts.

Now that a conflict had occurred, Yang Jin would not push the blame onto his own team member at the negotiation site—he admitted the mistake directly.

Because he was the captain of the Azure Dragon Squad; when a team member had a problem, it meant the captain's management was lacking.

Yang Jin was the first to rein in his killing intent; the alpha wolf also relaxed and gave its tail a flick. The wolf pack withdrew its offensive, and Broken-Waist Wolf immediately patted Xia Qing.

Xia Qing didn't know what it wanted, and asked in a low voice, "Broken-Waist, what do you want to say?"

Broken-Waist Wolf raised a paw and batted at her backpack; Xia Qing understood at once, immediately pulling out the prepared picture book from her backpack and flipping through it quickly on the ground.

This picture book was made by Xia Qing; every page was color-printed and laminated, with pictures including all kinds of sparkly, pinkish supplies Broken-Waist Wolf liked, various animals, herbs, and maps of human territory and the Hui-3 Evolution Forest.

When Xia Qing flipped to the terrain map of Mount Forty-Nine, Broken-Waist Wolf pressed its big paw down on it and looked toward Yang Jin.

Its mouth spoke for Xia Qing: "Captain Yang, the wolf pack wants you humans—that is, the humans of the Azure Dragon Squad—to withdraw from the Third Peak of Mount Forty-Nine."

The Third Peak is in the northeast of the Mount Forty-Nine area, adjacent to the Mount Fifty-Two area, covering roughly a quarter of Mount Forty-Nine's area. In Xia Qing's view, the wolf pack's demand this time wasn't excessive.

If one hadn't seen it with one's own eyes, who would dare believe a human could communicate with a wolf pack so fluently.

Yang Jin nodded without changing expression: "That works. However, there's a large shed for breeding bamboo rats at the base of the Third Peak; we'll need time—we can only completely move out before dark."

The area where the northern part of Mount Forty-Nine's Third Peak meets the southern part of Mount Fifty-Two is covered by a large bamboo forest; this bamboo forest has adapted to the post-catastrophe climate and is of very good quality.

After Xia Qing moved into her territory last spring, the first time she teamed up with Whiskers Feng's squad to dig bamboo shoots in the Evolution Forest, they went to that bamboo forest; later, when she discovered hardness-evolved bamboo and teamed up with Zhang San to dig shoots, that was also in a different area of that same bamboo forest.

After the Azure Dragon Squad took Mount Forty-Nine, they didn't just build a training ground—they also used the mountain's quality resources to run side businesses; raising Green-Light bamboo rats with local materials was one of them.

Hearing Yang Jin's words, the alpha wolf and Broken-Waist Wolf simultaneously bared their fangs, and the wolf pack members roared in unison.

Xia Qing explained loudly: "Captain Yang, what Queen my lord means is that the supplies and bamboo rats within the Third Peak also belong to the wolf pack."

The alpha wolf sheathed its fangs; Broken-Waist Wolf flashed the tips of its little fangs at Xia Qing, indicating she was right.

Yang Jin's highly developed brain domain spun at high speed, and he began to negotiate: "Queen, the shed at the base of the Third Peak is raising over a thousand bamboo rats. If they're all left behind with no humans to feed them, these bamboo rats will starve to death very quickly."

Ov... er a thousand? All edible?! Xia Qing looked at Broken-Waist Wolf—this guy must have gone to check out the Azure Dragon Squad's bamboo rat place; quite the appetite!

How does the wolf pack plan to raise bamboo rats?

Xia Qing sensed something bad and asked, "Broken-Waist, you want me to raise the bamboo rats?"

Broken-Waist Wolf bared the tips of its little fangs.

Xia Qing……

You're amazing, truly a big shot, the client! Damn it, to you I'm basically a jack-of-all-trades!

"Right now four humans are feeding the bamboo rats; Sister Qing is only one person, she can't raise that many bamboo rats." Xia Qing was already very busy—where would she find the time? Yang Jin explained, then proposed cooperating with the wolf pack.

"Queen, Broken-Waist, how about this: the four humans in my squad who raise bamboo rats and the three humans who protect the bamboo rat shed will stay on the Third Peak to feed and protect the bamboo rats. Other members of the Azure Dragon Squad, without the wolf pack's permission, will no longer enter the Third Peak. The profits from raising the bamboo rats will be split between the Azure Dragon Squad and the wolf pack."

The alpha wolf and Handsome Giant Wolf stared intently at Yang Jin; Broken-Waist Wolf thought for a few seconds, then looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing, using gestures and words, expressed Yang Jin's meaning in a language the alpha wolf and Broken-Waist Wolf could understand.

After confirming they understood, Xia Qing stated her own difficulty: "Queen my lord, Broken-Waist, I have to look after my own territory, and I run very slowly too—I can't run over here every day to raise bamboo rats."

As for whether the wolf pack wanted to cooperate with Yang Jin, Xia Qing wouldn't interfere; this matter was for the wolf pack to decide.

Broken-Waist Wolf thought for a moment; the alpha wolf, very decisive, looked at Whiskers Feng.

Xia Qing was briefly surprised, then conveyed the alpha wolf's meaning to Yang Jin: "Captain Yang, Queen my lord agrees to let Whiskers Feng's squad raise the bamboo rats."

"Grr—" the alpha wolf let out a low growl, and the wolf pack and the little weasel on Xia Qing's head growled right along with it.

Xia Qing added calmly: "But Little Fifth cannot stay on Mount Forty-Nine, cannot stay within the wolf pack's territory."