Chapter 123: Injured

Anyone who dares to seize her territory—even if they're Old Sheep's friend—Xia Qing will kill them without hesitation!

She slowed her breathing, steadied her heartbeat, and carefully observed the wolf pack outside the courtyard.

The fur on the lead wolf was soaking wet, and through her night-vision goggles, Xia Qing couldn't tell whether the moisture on its body was blood or water. The two wolves being carried on the backs of the wolves behind the lead wolf had their legs and heads drooping—clearly injured.

After clearly seeing the composition of the wolf pack, Xia Qing judged they definitely weren't here to fight over territory. Because wolf packs are very united and intelligent; they wouldn't bring the wounded with them when contesting territory.

The other side had many wolves; she was alone. Xia Qing first softly called her companion back, "Boss."

"Mee~~"

Old Sheep's eyesight was poor at night. Only upon hearing Xia Qing's voice did it realize she'd come out, and it bleated once in response.

That bleat was as excited as could be, as happy as could be.

The wolves outside the courtyard gate stared at Xia Qing while Old Sheep nuzzled and rubbed against them, its snow-white wool smudged to the color of mud.

The corner of Xia Qing's mouth twitched slightly—no need to guess now. These five bedraggled evolved wolves were definitely Old Sheep's friends.

"Mee—"

Old Sheep trotted back to Xia Qing's side and nudged her, using gestures to indicate she should follow it outside the courtyard.

Xia Qing stared at the lead wolf, unmoving.

Old Sheep ran back to the lead wolf and nuzzled it, signaling the lead wolf to come into the courtyard.

The lead wolf stared at Xia Qing, also unmoving. If the lead wolf didn't move, the two wolves behind it didn't move either.

Old Sheep, whose efforts had been in vain, got temperamental. It turned around, went back to Xia Qing's side, and gave her a hard shove, making it impossible for her to maintain her heroic and mighty defensive stance.

Which side is this cowardly yet idiotic creature on anyway? Xia Qing grabbed Old Sheep's horns to stop it from being stubborn, and spoke first, "You've barged into the territory of me and Old Sheep. What do you want?"

The lead wolf seemed to understand Xia Qing's question and led the way into the courtyard.

Xia Qing gripped her handgun, every muscle in her body taut, ready to leap onto the roof at any moment. For safety, she'd chopped down all the big trees around the house, so the only high point she could quickly climb was her small building.

The lead wolf stared at Xia Qing, walked step by step to the very center of the courtyard, lowered its head, and used its mouth to pull something from its body, placing it on the ground.

After seeing clearly what it was, Xia Qing's eyes went wide.

Though filthy beyond recognition, this was undoubtedly the pouch Xia Qing had made for Old Sheep to hang on its body and hold compressed rations. So the pouch hadn't been lost—it had been given by Old Sheep to the wolves!

Seeing that Xia Qing didn't move, the lead wolf picked up the pouch in its mouth, shook it, and dumped the contents onto the ground. Then the lead wolf turned, sniffed the two injured companions behind it, and looked back at Xia Qing.

Only then did Xia Qing notice that the light in the lead wolf's eyes in the darkness wasn't green, but yellow-green.

After locking gazes with the lead wolf for a few seconds, Xia Qing eerily read its meaning, "You want to use these things as a trade, to have me treat the injured wolves' wounds?"

Though the lead wolf didn't move, Xia Qing felt its gaze conveyed exactly that meaning.

Xia Qing felt like she was dreaming.

She'd long known this evolved wolf was very intelligent, but she hadn't expected it to be terrifyingly intelligent.

Xia Qing did indeed want to trade with the wolves, but trading was one thing, and saving wolves to increase their combat strength was another—they couldn't be conflated.

Just as Xia Qing hesitated, the lead wolf whined twice. The two wolves behind it lay down, gently lowering the wounded wolves they'd been carrying on their backs to the ground, then followed the lead wolf away. Seeing the wolf pack leave, Old Sheep also bleated and followed.

The lead wolf turned its head and growled lowly, and Old Sheep immediately stopped its hooves and stood still. Getting stubborn Old Sheep this obedient couldn't have been trained in just a day or two.

Through her night-vision goggles, Xia Qing saw the three wolves hadn't left—they'd only retreated to the ruins of the houses south of her home.

They withdrew to put her at ease while treating the injured wolves?

This lead wolf's IQ is probably no lower than a ten-year-old child's. Too terrifying—the evolved creatures of Blue Star after the Great Evolution are truly terrifying. Such formidable wolves actually lost to snakes and bears—doesn't that mean snakes and bears are even more terrifying?

If the wolf pack is finished, who will keep the snake colony and Xiong Qun in check? The Azure Dragon Squad? Her?

Xia Qing quickly made up her mind and turned on her flashlight to illuminate what the lead wolf had brought.

A plant with roots and soil, one she didn't recognize. There seemed to be two or three small stones in the dirt, probably brought up with the roots.

Xia Qing turned her flashlight toward the two evolved wolves lying on the ground. The beam revealed not only the blood and grime on their bodies, but also that one wolf's two hind legs were twisted unnaturally, while the other lay with its eyes closed. If its belly weren't still rising and falling slightly, Xia Qing would have thought it was already dead.

When Xia Qing tentatively stepped forward, the wolf with the broken hind legs immediately opened its eyes, bared its fangs, and glared viciously at her with a low growl.

Xia Qing stepped back, and Old Sheep immediately rushed over to stand in front of her, pointing its spiral horns at the wolf on the ground.

Old Sheep's protective posture toward her made Xia Qing feel gratified.

"Woo—"

The lead wolf on the ruins outside the courtyard issued a low command, and the injured wolf immediately retracted its fangs and lay flat on the ground, though those green wolf eyes still glared fiercely at Xia Qing.

The other wolf still had its eyes closed, showing no movement. But Xia Qing inexplicably felt that this motionless wolf was more dangerous than the one baring its teeth.

Even with the lead wolf keeping order, Xia Qing didn't dare approach the two fierce beasts.

She went inside, took three Soothing Capsules and put them in a clean basin, poured in half a basin of uncontaminated spring water, and, under those eerily green wolf eyes, set it near them. Then she retreated to the doorway and loudly negotiated with the lead wolf outside the courtyard, "Let these two injured wolves drink the medicine water. I'll examine their wounds before I know whether I can treat them."

Old Sheep, thinking Xia Qing was calling it, immediately clip-clopped over to the injured wolves. "Mee."

The injured wolf didn't give face and didn't move.

"Mee—" Old Sheep called again. The wolf still didn't move.

Just as Xia Qing thought Old Sheep was about to lose its temper, the creature actually obediently retreated and nudged her, telling her to go herself.

Xia Qing...

The lead wolf understood. It rose and leaped from the ruins straight to the water basin's edge. That jumping power, that speed—Xia Qing was shocked.

Yang Jin had said this wolf's speed was about the same as his, so this was the speed of a Level Ten Speed Evolver?

Too fast.

If she fought this lead wolf, Xia Qing was certain she couldn't seize the high ground before the wolf and use firepower to lock down its attack. It would be far more reliable for her to retreat indoors and call for reinforcements.

The lead wolf used its head to push the water basin in front of the two injured wolves. Without it needing to make a sound, both wolves moved. The wolf with the broken hind legs propped itself half up on its front legs to drink, and the wolf with the faint breathing also opened its eyes, using its front legs to support its body while drinking. But the difference in their injuries was obvious—this wolf with the faint breathing couldn't move its hindquarters, and its front legs were trembling too. Its spine was probably fractured.

A leg fracture she could still manage to splint, but a spinal fracture—how could Xia Qing possibly treat that?

Both wolves were thirsty and drank more than half the basin before stopping. Just then, the wolf with the broken spine raised its head and met Xia Qing's eyes.

Xia Qing immediately recognized it—this was the wolf she'd encountered in Area 3 of Hill 49 when retreating after the second hunt at the Wild Boar Breeding Center.

It, too, was a Brain Domain Evolver.

The eyes and movements of brain-domain evolved animals differ from ordinary animals, and Xia Qing couldn't describe it accurately in words. If she had to say it, the eyes and movements of brain-domain evolved animals both reveal a gleam of intelligence.

The soothing capsules worked quickly, and the two wolves collapsed unable to move. After getting the alpha wolf to withdraw from the yard, Xia Qing went forward to examine them. The wolves' injuries were external wounds plus fractures—she had medicine for the external wounds, but fractures she couldn't handle.

Xia Qing negotiated with the alpha wolf outside the yard, "I can't heal their injuries. We need to find someone, find a doctor, understand?"

The alpha wolf stared at Xia Qing without moving—clearly it wasn't yet smart enough to fully understand human language.

Thanks to reader 4084 for the tip, have a nice weekend.