Chapter 1281: The Airsick Wolf

"Queen, my lord!" Xia Qing jumped down from the tree and greeted the wolf pack members one by one. "Broken-Waist, Broken-Leg, Black Wolf Bro, Little Wolf Sis, Little Four-Eyes…"

Of the thirteen wolves that came, only Broken-Waist and Broken-Leg responded to Xia Qing. Broken-Waist grinned, and Broken-Leg ran over then backed away, lifting a paw to bat at its nose.

To enter the chestnut grove and catch giant bees, Xia Qing had sprayed her protective suit with insect repellent. The smell of this repellent made the keen-nosed evolved wolves feel uncomfortable in the nose, and it was perfectly normal for them to be unwilling to come close.

After tossing Broken-Leg a piece of freeze-dried meat, Xia Qing beamed and negotiated with the two wolf pack leaders. "Queen, my lord, Handsome Wolf Bro, are you still hiring me this winter to raise the wild boars in this valley?"

Broken-Waist held its breath and turned sideways, signaling Xia Qing to reach into the side pocket of its protective suit and pull something out.

Xia Qing immediately stepped forward, eagerly brushing off the grass leaves clinging to Broken-Waist's protective suit and picking off the sticky burr seeds before unzipping the side pocket of its protective suit. She pulled out a pigeon-egg-sized mid-grade yi-stone and a walnut, then stepped back a few paces and asked in a gentle voice, "Handsome Wolf Bro wants to use this yi-stone as payment for me to help you raise the wild boars, right?"

Broken-Waist revealed its snow-white little fang tips.

"No problem, leave it to me. I guarantee that this winter, not a single wild boar in this valley will starve, freeze, or die of illness!"

Xia Qing beamed as she tucked the yi-stone into her own pocket, then held up the walnut and asked, "Handsome Wolf Bro, the walnuts on Mountain Sixty are ready to be picked, right?"

Broken-Waist revealed its little fang tips again.

Xia Qing was overjoyed. "Excellent! Queen, my lord, Handsome Wolf Bro, can I go pick walnuts today?"

The alpha wolf had no objections, and Broken-Waist raised a paw.

"Yes, of course, let's take the helicopter to pick them!" Xia Qing immediately called Watching Huo Zhun. "Brother Huo, are you there?"

Watching Huo Zhun, who had returned to the territory with Yang Jin the day before, answered immediately, "I'm here, I'm free now, we can set off anytime."

"Great, let's meet at the helipad on Mountain Forty-Nine in half an hour."

"Got it!" After hanging up, Watching Huo Zhun beamed. "Dad, Sister Qing invited me to team up for a mission."

Lord Huo Lei, who was leveling the field with a flat rake, instructed, "When you go, don't talk too much. Do whatever Xia Qing tells you to do."

"Okay!"

Wu Lianmin also wanted to tag along, but Xia Qing hadn't invited him, and the ground in the greenhouse needed to be turned over and planted with vegetable seeds as soon as possible. If he left, there'd be no one to do the work.

Watching Huo Zhun arrived at the meeting point, boarded the helicopter, and greeted his teammates one by one. "Sister Qing, Queen, my lord, Broken Bro…"

…The two extra wolves are…

Xia Qing introduced them. "This is Black Wolf and Broken-Leg. Brother Huo, you fly the helicopter. We're heading to Mountain Fifty-Nine."

"Black Bro, Leg Bro, I'm Watching Huo Zhun, please take care of me from now on." After cheerfully greeting his two teammates, Watching Huo Zhun skillfully piloted the helicopter into the air.

Black Wolf stood beside the alpha wolf, looking fierce, while Broken-Leg bared its fangs and growled softly.

But when the helicopter engine and rotors made a tremendous noise and the helicopter began to sway as it left the ground, the two evolved wolves, riding a helicopter for the first time, were startled and about to lunge at Watching Huo Zhun. The alpha wolf, sitting in the co-pilot seat, turned its head and let out a commanding roar.

Black Wolf lay down on the spot and stayed still. Broken-Leg crawled over to Xia Qing—who had changed into another protective suit—and whined "ow-woo, ow-woo" to show its unease. Xia Qing, who was messaging Yang Jin, put down her phone, covered Broken-Leg's ears, and stroked its fur stroke by stroke. "Brother Huo, try to keep it as steady as possible. It's Black Wolf and Broken-Leg's first time in a helicopter."

"Got it."

After quickly climbing to altitude, Watching Huo Zhun maintained a steady, even speed. The straight-line distance of sixty li took only fifteen minutes.

The helicopter landed, and once the cabin door opened, Black Wolf was the first to dash out, shaking its head to steady itself.

Broken-Leg was still lying on Xia Qing's lap, ears pinned back, muscles trembling slightly, drooling nonstop. This was the first evolved wolf in the northern wolf pack to get airsick.

Xia Qing carried it off the helicopter and set it on a rock, stroking its belly stroke by stroke. After the alpha wolf and Broken-Waist jumped out of the helicopter, they sniffed Broken-Leg and walked away.

Watching Huo Zhun, who had seen military dogs get airsick before, explained to Xia Qing, "Leg Bro here is airsick. The symptoms are moderate, not serious, it'll recover in a bit. If it's going to ride helicopters in the future, Sister Qing should prepare noise-canceling ear muffs for it and do a period of gradual training."

Xia Qing nodded. She felt the alpha wolf wouldn't let Broken-Leg ride helicopters again in the future.

Broken-Leg recovered quickly and was soon pawing at Xia Qing's pocket again, begging for treats. Xia Qing rubbed its head, squeezed out a tube of X nutrient liquid for it, and then hurried off to Mountain Sixty to pick walnuts.

Just as she descended from Shanfeng, Xia Qing received a call from Does Daigua.

"Eh?"

Seeing that Does Daigua wasn't wearing Dai Maozi, Xia Qing asked, "Did Daigua see the helicopter? I've flown the helicopter to Mountain Fifty-Nine. Do you want to come to my territory?"

Does Daigua, up in the tree, immediately bared its teeth.

"Okay, I'll go to Mountain Sixty to pick walnuts first, and I'll call Daigua when I leave. Can Daigua bring along that crystal pillar you used to trade for the phone and power bank?"

"Ah!" Does Daigua bared its teeth and called out.

After hanging up, Xia Qing followed Broken-Waist to a walnut tree whose leaves had already fallen, and saw Handsome Giant Wolf. So this fellow had been sent to guard the walnut tree.

"Giant Wolf Bro, long time no see, thanks so much for guarding the walnuts for me." Xia Qing greeted it and looked up.

The rachises and long narrow leaves on this tree had already changed color and fallen, piling up on the ground. The four-ridged outer husks of the walnuts had also become withered, hanging on the branches one after another.

Normally, when walnuts ripen, the green husk of the fruit should turn from green to yellow, split open, and the nut should fall naturally. Then, two to four weeks later, the leaves begin to fall. But this evolved Green-Light walnut tree is exactly the opposite—its leaves have all dropped but the fruit hasn't fallen yet. This kind of evolution is quite interesting; no wonder Broken-Waist told her to come pick the fruit now.

Xia Qing pulled out the ten-meter-long telescoping iron pipe she had custom-ordered from Lord Huo Lei from her backpack, extended it, tightened it, then gestured and asked, "Handsome Wolf Bro, can I use this iron rod to knock the walnuts down?"

Broken-Waist, who had been observing the iron pipe, revealed its little fang tips, indicating yes.

"Thanks, Handsome Wolf Bro."

Xia Qing spread out a bundle of old waterproof cloth she had carried on her back beneath the tree, then raised the rod with full vigilance and struck the first blow.

Ten minutes after the fruit began to fall, no evolved burning insects flew over, so Xia Qing dared to confidently increase her force and bring the rod down a second time. The walnuts came tumbling down with a clatter.

The few wolves lying on the mountaintop watched for a while and lost interest, but Broken-Waist found it quite entertaining.

It turned around, took a sparkly pink phone out of the side pocket of its protective suit in its mouth, tapped open the camera with its nose, and took a photo of Xia Qing knocking down walnuts.