Chapter 127: Yishi

Evolved humans had huge appetites, and the two of them quickly finished every last bit of food on the table; while clearing up, they heard a sound in the yard.

Luo Pei looked out through the window and saw the wolf with the broken leg in the yard dragging its two splinted hind legs, crawling toward the sheep pen.

Spotting Luo Pei watching it, the broken-legged wolf glared viciously at Luo Pei, wishing it could rush over and tear him apart on the spot.

This wolf must have had a vicious fight with humans, otherwise it wouldn't have that look. Luo Pei asked in a low voice, "Are you planning to keep these two wolves inside the territory?"

Xia Qing hadn't originally intended to keep the wolves either, but plans can't keep up with changes. "The broken-legged one is one thing, but the one with the fractured spine—after the surgical incision starts healing, it'll need its dressing changed. In ten days, Territory Seven will send someone over for a follow-up check. Once it no longer needs dressing changes, I'll let it go."

As for the one crawling in the yard that wished it could bite her to death on the spot—even if it crawled into the sheep pen, Xia Qing wouldn't keep it. She'd have the alpha wolf take it away later; it could take it wherever it liked.

Luo Pei sat back down in his chair and noticed Sheep Boss squinting at him, still looking very displeased. Luo Pei gave Sheep Boss a friendly smile and continued asking Xia Qing, "Why did you save these two wolves?"

In front of Luo Pei, Xia Qing said whatever was on her mind. "Trading for supplies is secondary. The main thing I was thinking is that with the wolves fighting the snake groups and Xiong Qun, the injured ones definitely aren't limited to these two. The alpha wolf took a risk bringing them to human territory for treatment, which means they must be important members of the pack. Heal them, and our territory will be that much safer."

After the Catastrophe and the great evolution of Blue Star's organisms, there were no small number of radicals among humans who advocated using biological weapons to wipe out dangerous evolved creatures.

In the second year of the Catastrophe, during the early stage of the great biological evolution, in a certain superpower in southeastern Huaguo, a safe zone with a population of three million, while under attack by evolved rat swarms, made extensive use of biological weapons to exterminate the evolved rats.

Although the evolved rats were wiped out, it caused a common pathogen to undergo great evolution and become a super-pathogen. All living things—including humans—were corroded by the super-pathogen, and in just three days, over half of the three million people were dead.

That great power dropped two atomic bombs before they managed to curb the spread of the super-pathogen, but the dire consequences of the excessive radiation have still not been eliminated to this day.

It wasn't only biological weapons—Blue Star's nations using chemical weapons or even heavy firepower all triggered adverse chain reactions, and malicious incidents where humans ended up suffering backlash were too numerous to count.

Therefore, at the present stage, using the newly constructed food-chain dependency relationships among evolved creatures to keep them in mutual check is an important means by which each nation responds to the threat of evolved organisms.

This is also the main reason why humans, despite possessing an excess of modern advanced weapons, still had not reclaimed dominion over Blue Star by the tenth year of the Catastrophe.

Just as it was now—if the wolf pack were wiped out or weakened and left the territory, allowing Xiong Qun and the snake groups to grow strong, a series of chain reactions might occur.

The fact that Xia Qing could think about things beyond farming pleased Luo Pei greatly. "You're absolutely right. If through this incident we can figure out a way to coexist peacefully with the wolf pack, it would be a good thing not only for our territory but for the entire Huicheng Base. But right now we've only just taken the first step, and whether this step is right or wrong is still hard to judge, so the fewer people who know there are evolved wolves in your territory, the better."

"Third Brother definitely won't spread it around. Last night's wolf howls weren't loud, Tang Huai of Territory Two couldn't have heard them either. I'll have a word with Tan Junjie on my side. Make it clear to the alpha wolf—don't let them disturb humans in other territories, or we'll have to send them away immediately."

"Understood." The alpha wolf was very smart; this much Xia Qing could still make clear to it.

Luo Pei asked again, "Can you manage alone? Shall I have Chang Li come over to help you? She's a core member of the Azure Dragon Squad—she can be trusted."

Xia Qing wanted to try it herself first. "The assistant said changing the dressing is pretty simple. I'll give it a try first, and if I can't handle it, I'll ask Dr. Chang to come help."

After Luo Pei finished asking about the situation and was about to leave, Xia Qing suddenly thought of something. "Brother Luo, wait a moment."

Xia Qing opened the desk drawer, took out the satchel the alpha wolf had carried in, and pulled out a pigeon-egg-sized stone.

Before Xia Qing could say what it was about, Sheep Boss, who had been lying nearby, walked over and stared at the satchel in Xia Qing's hand.

Xia Qing immediately took the things out of it and hung the satchel around Sheep Boss's neck. "This is your bag—don't lose it again or give it away."

Sheep Boss was satisfied, went back to lie down, and continued chewing cud. Watching the way Xia Qing and Sheep Boss interacted, Luo Pei found it quite interesting.

"Look at this stone—is it useful?" Xia Qing wiped the mud off the stone and handed it to Luo Pei.

Then, for the second time, Xia Qing saw a clearly excited expression on Luo Pei's face.

The first time was four months ago, when Xia Qing proposed that she had enough spring water to provide to Luo Pei for detoxing. So this stone was very useful?

Luo Pei's gaze moved from the stone to Xia Qing's face. "This stone is very, very, very useful."

After saying that, Luo Pei handed the stone back to Xia Qing, then pulled out the round pendant hanging from his own neck, pressed open the pendant's outer shell, and revealed the small jade piece inside.

This jade was composed of irregular black-and-white striped patterns; Xia Qing had seen it more than once. "Tang Lu also wears a heart-shaped pendant made of this kind of jade. When the Fire Phoenix of the Blaze Squad last came to our safe zone, she was also wearing a bracelet made of this jade."

Only then did Xia Qing notice that although the stone the wolf had brought wasn't as pretty as the jade piece Luo Pei wore, once wiped clean, one could still see a bit of black-and-white spiral-patterned striping exposed where the brown surface layer was missing.

She got excited. "Is this a rough jade stone?"

Luo Pei shook his head. "This isn't jade—it's just a stone."

Xia Qing……

"Its full name is Yishi. As the name suggests, it's a stone rich in Yi elements—a precious resource that appeared after the great evolution of Blue Star's organisms, and it's even more valuable than uncontaminated spring water."

Xia Qing's eyes went wide at once. "Brother Luo, what are the uses of Yishi?"

Luo Pei, who had been about to leave, sat back down and explained to Xia Qing in detail. "Once the surface layer of a raw Yishi stone is broken open, it continuously releases Yi elements outward, reducing the concentration of Qiang elements in the air near the stone. Yishi is one of the reasons evolved creatures in the Evolution Forest can maintain their rationality and not lose control during high-concentration Qiang rain."

Hiss—

Xia Qing drew in a sharp breath. "So, in places in the Evolution Forest where higher evolved creatures gather, there's a chance of finding Yishi? Can humans use Yishi too?"

Such an important matter, such a precious resource—how had she not heard a single word about it?

Luo Pei continued to explain. "Besides Yishi, evolved creatures have other methods to counter Qiang rain, so even in places where higher evolved creatures gather, there isn't necessarily Yishi."

"The conditions for Yishi's formation are the same as those for uncontaminated spring water—they have not yet been discovered by humans. If a person wears a Yishi stone that is still within its effective period of releasing Yi elements, even in a red-level Qiang rain environment they can go without a protective mask, as long as they make sure not to get rained on."

Holy—! Xia Qing was stunned after hearing this.