Chapter 1263: Beast Tide

Through the No. 1 camera in the territory, Xia Qing saw Sheep Lao Da standing at the sheep pen door and Wolf Lao Er standing at the chicken coop door, both staring at the sky. Unlike Lao Er's fierce expression, Sheep Lao Da was pressed flat against the sheep pen wall, clearly terrified that the raptors overhead might spot it.

Xia Qing tapped her phone screen to switch cameras and saw the little yellow ox lying in the sheep pen without chewing its cud—clearly nervous too. A long ground anchor still hung from the rope tethering the little yellow ox, showing that Lao Da and Lao Er had noticed something was wrong and brought the little yellow ox, which had been grazing outside, back home. Not a single chicken was in the chicken run either; she couldn't tell whether they'd run back into the coop on their own or been driven in by Lao Da and Lao Er.

Xia Qing was just about to contact Er Yong and Dajiang, who were guarding her territory, to ask whether there were raptors above the territory, when she heard the howls of the wolf pack on Mountain 29 change.

The Cui Yan Wolf King wants to fight!

Xia Qing's nerves instantly pulled taut. She immediately dialed Lao Si's number; after the phone rang for over a dozen seconds with no wolf answering and hung up automatically, she immediately pressed the walkie-talkie button. "Lao Si, Lao Si, can you hear me? Give one howl if you hear me."

Unable to reach the Wolf Queen by either phone or walkie-talkie, Xia Qing immediately sent a message to her idol.

She wasn't the only one who could roughly understand the meaning of the wolves' howling. Reports from the disaster-mitigation assistant, carrying roughly the same meaning as Xia Qing's, reached Disaster-Mitigation Commander Zhang San's eyes and ears one after another.

Zhang San immediately gave the order: "Order everyone in Containment Zone Five to hold position and strengthen defenses. If the wolves attack, you may use tranquilizer darts—try not to hurt the pack. Sniper Xia Qing, if the wolves enter Containment Zone Five and attack humans, open fire immediately to drive them off."

"Copy." Xia Qing stood up, aimed her sniper rifle north at Mountain 29, and said, "Brother Peng, watch the other directions."

"Understood."

At that moment, the reconnaissance plane at two thousand meters reported the beasts' movements: "Commander, twelve evolved wolves on Hui-3 Mountain 22 and three evolved tigers on Hui-3 Mountain 36 are running south at full speed."

Why would evolved tigers move together with wolves? Everyone in the helicopter cabin felt their hearts leap into their throats.

"Commander, message received from the garrison in northern Hui-3 Base. Raptors from northern Hui-3 are moving south and have invaded the airspace of the western tiger territory. Over thirty evolved wolves from the northern wolf pack are moving north, and the northern bear group is also moving west."

"Commander, the twelve evolved wolves on Hui-3 Mountain 22 have joined up with the three evolved tigers on Hui-3 Mountain 36, bypassed Containment Zone Three, and continue south. They've nearly reached the base boundary line."

"Commander, sixteen evolved wolves on Hui-1 Mountain 29 are running toward the southwest—looks like they're heading to join up with the tiger-wolf group moving south."

"Commander, the western wolf pack in Hui-1 is running east."

"Commander…"

The howling stopped. At the best sniping position atop the sinkhole in Containment Zone Five, only the whoosh of wind and the roar of the high-altitude helicopter remained.

The sudden silence from the wolves made Peng Jian feel things were taking a bad turn. "Sister Qing, why did the wolves stop howling?"

Xia Qing held her sniper rifle steady and answered calmly, "They're heading to the battlefield."

Peng Jian's nerves instantly pulled taut. "Are the wolves coming this way?"

"Don't know. You watch that beast trail to the west." If any wolves charge the sinkhole, Xia Qing must open fire to stop them.

"Yes."

"Xia Qing." The earpiece-style walkie-talkie Xia Qing wore crackled with the voice of her idol, Zhang San. "Aerial reconnaissance analysis shows the beast tide is charging toward southern Hui-1. The destination is very likely Liehuo Mountain. The helicopter will reach your position in one minute. Board it immediately and head to Liehuo Mountain to protect the disaster-mitigation personnel there together with Luo Pei."

"Copy."

Xia Qing shouldered her rifle and stood, handing over the guard duty here to Peng Jian. When the military helicopter flying in from the north hovered above the sinkhole and lowered the rappel rope, she grabbed the rope's carabiner, quickly secured herself, then signaled upward.

The helicopter reeled in the rappel rope; Xia Qing rose higher and her field of view broadened. Just as she was about to board, she saw the wolf and tiger packs racing through the evolved forest below.

Tigers and wolves moving in formation terrified the herbivores in the surrounding evolved forest, sending them fleeing in all directions—only to be intercepted and driven south by the fan-shaped advance of the tigers and wolves. The beast tide had already taken shape!

Leading this beast tide at the very front were the brown-gray-furred Lord Cui Yan and the gray-furred Lao Si.

Xia Qing looked away, slung the sniper rifle across her back, reached up to grasp the hand extended by a disaster-mitigation soldier inside the cabin, and climbed aboard. After picking up the top sniper, the helicopter immediately accelerated and climbed, heading for Liehuo Mountain.

Xia Qing thanked the military disaster-mitigation soldier who had pulled her up, then took the initiative to greet the red-haired pilot.

Jiang Ting, a pilot in the Hui-3 Helicopter Squadron, responded. She often flew missions near the Northern Zone One territory to spray insecticide and weed killer, so she and Xia Qing were familiar faces.

Jiang Ting, seated in the pilot's seat, asked, "Director Xia, can we seize this chance to wipe out Liehuo?"

The twenty-plus soldiers in the cabin all looked at Xia Qing. Everyone knew this straightforward top sniper was the person Commander Zhang trusted most in Hui-3 Base.

Xia Qing's eyes behind the protective visor remained calm. "The commander will act strictly in accordance with the law and disaster-mitigation procedures. Whether Liehuo can be wiped out depends on how great their crimes are."

The others immediately got fired up. "Director Xia, when we get there, we'll tear the place apart!"

"Exactly! Liehuo's been up to no good all these years—there must be evidence of crimes in their base!"

Xia Qing quietly watched the wolf and tiger packs being overtaken by the helicopter, and only spoke after everyone had finished. "We're here to protect the inspection team. Executing the disaster-mitigation mission is the priority. Everyone, stay safe."

Feeling her phone buzz in her pocket, Xia Qing pulled it out and saw the message from her idol. She paused a few seconds before replying: Lao Si didn't bring a walkie-talkie or phone, so I can't contact it. I didn't order the southern wolf pack to attack Liehuo Mountain, but Lao Si overheard my calls with you and Yang Jin, so it should already understand that the people of Liehuo Mountain killed its companion.

After reading the message on his phone, Zhang San calmly gave the order: "Order all containment zones to speed up disaster mitigation. Order the Liehuo Mountain disaster inspection team to report their inspection results immediately."

As the disaster-mitigation assistants relayed the commander's orders, Zhang San watched the beast tide running south through the reconnaissance plane's footage. Seeing that the beasts showed no sign of turning to attack the Hui-1 safe zone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Commander, the Liehuo Mountain inspection team requests to speak with you."

"Put them through."

On the helicopter heading for Liehuo Mountain, after replying to Er Yong's message, Xia Qing received a message from Tang Huai: Sister Qing, the northern wolf pack, bear group, and raptors have started fighting!

Xia Qing read the message twice, then replied: Protect our territory well.

Tang Huai: Understood! The Territory Alliance will win!