Chapter 1308: Off to Territory Seven

With a solemn expression, Lao Si shifted his gaze from Xia Qing's face to the screen, watched the video very, very carefully twice, then moved his body aside to reveal the dirty pouch he'd been hiding beneath him, fished out the black-gold card he'd just exchanged with Xia Qing, and pushed it in front of her.

"Good choice, Lao Si is truly wise — worthy of a brain-evolved wolf standing at the very top of Blue Star's pyramid! Once those sturdy fangs grow in, Lao Si will definitely reclaim the throne of Southern Wolf King!"

Seeing that Lao Si hadn't brought a card reader, Xia Qing pulled one out of her own backpack, inserted Lao Si's Supreme Black-Gold Card, and the display showed the card's balance:.

That number was entirely within expectations.

Now that Lao Si had agreed to the deal, Xia Qing began quoting in detail. "The medication and treatment fee for one fang is 80,000 points. Once those 80,000 points are handed to Third Brother, he'll use them to purchase the drugs and perform the surgery on Lao Si. During the treatment period — that is, from the extraction of this loose fang until the new one grows in — Lao Si will need precise supplementation of calcium, phosphorus, fluoride, protein, and vitamins A, B, and D, so during this time you'll need to stay within my territory and eat the food I prepare for you. That portion costs 20,000 points. 80,000 plus 20,000 — the total for a new fang is 100,000 points. Lao Si, I'm swiping the card now?"

After Lao Si nodded, just as Xia Qing pulled out her utterly unremarkable points card and inserted it to key in the numbers and swipe the points, the old wolf raised his big paw and pressed down on hers.

Xia Qing glanced up and immediately understood. She withdrew her paw and handed the card reader to the old wolf. "Fine, Lao Si can swipe it himself. Does Lao Si know how many zeros come after the '1' in 100,000 points?"

The moment they heard a test question, Broken-Waist and Little Wolf Bro immediately crowded over, staring at the card reader eager to try. The old wolf shifted his body to block Broken-Waist, and Scarface Little Wolf also turned sideways to block Little Wolf Bro. Broken-Waist tilted his head, and Little Wolf Bro simply climbed onto Scarface Little Wolf's back to peek.

Using the sharp claw of the second digit — the index finger — of his right forepaw, the old wolf skillfully tapped the number keys on the card reader and briskly swiped 400,000 points over to Xia Qing!

Fangs are the core weapon of an evolved wolf — to once again possess healthy, sharp fangs, the stingy Lao Si will spend every last point!

Xia Qing fell silent. Broken-Waist seemed lost in thought.

"Awooo!" Little Wolf Bro noticed the old wolf had swiped the wrong amount and howled with a fierce-yet-cute fury, drawing Little Wolf Sister over as well.

Xia Qing asked, "Lao Si wants all four fangs replaced with new ones?"

Lao Si bared his lips, revealing yellowish fangs.

This one… Xia Qing really couldn't decide. "Let's call Third Brother and ask, shall we? I'm not sure if all four can be replaced."

Her idol should have finished dinner by this hour. Xia Qing organized her words, steeled her emotions, forced the corners of her mouth up, and dialed.

Zhang San, who was eating, saw that Xia Qing had called via video. He picked up his phone, returned to the lab, closed the door, and only then pressed answer. Seeing a new human and an old wolf with grey-white fur who looked even more composed than she was appear on the screen, Zhang San took a screenshot before speaking.

"Talk."

Seeing her idol's expression wasn't great, Xia Qing didn't get nervous — because the matter of replacing Lao Si's teeth had been raised by her idol herself. She asked brightly, "Has Third Brother eaten dinner yet?"

"Eating now."

Xia Qing was just about to say to let her idol eat first and she'd call back later, when her idol cut her off coldly: "You've got ten seconds. Make it quick."

"Yes! Lao Si wants all four fangs replaced with new ones — do you think that's possible?"

Zhang San was silent for a full ten seconds before asking the old wolf, "Little Four, the process of extracting a tooth and growing a new one will come with obvious pain. Did Xia Qing tell you that?"

Seeing the old wolf on the screen nod solemnly, Zhang San took two seconds to adjust, just about to speak, when another brown-grey wolf head popped up between Xia Qing and the grey-white old wolf, followed quickly by a small brown-grey wolf head, and one more that couldn't squeeze in simply rested its forepaw on Xia Qing's shoulder, showing half a head above hers.

Zhang San paused for a second, decided to handle business first. "Bring Little Four over. I'll take a dental X-ray and check his physical condition before I can determine how many teeth to replace."

Before Xia Qing could speak, Broken-Waist, wedged in the middle, tapped Xia Qing's arm with a paw. So Xia Qing could only ask, steeling herself: "Third Brother, could the dental X-ray be taken at the lab on my end?"

Broken-Waist immediately bared his lips, revealing a tiny tip of a snow-white fang.

How on earth did those two oddballs agree without moving their heads?! Zhang San reined in his rising temper and answered expressionlessly: "The one you've got is a standard portable CT scanner. With slice thickness greater than 0.4 millimeters, its resolution for fine dental structures is insufficient — it can't clearly display root morphology, nerve canal pathways, or trabecular bone structure."

Broken-Waist shut his mouth, looking thoughtful. Xia Qing nodded. "Understood, Third Brother. Should I bring Lao Si over after you've finished eating?"

You squeezed into a pack of wolves to make this absurd call — how the hell am I supposed to finish eating?!

"Come now. Sneak in through the north gate and go straight to the examination room next to the operating room. If you can keep him under control, no anesthesia will be needed."

"Understood…" Xia Qing paused, then asked carefully, "Third Brother, can Broken-Waist come along too?"

Zhang San blew up. "If you can keep them under control, you can bring the whole pack!"

The screen went black. Xia Qing told Broken-Waist and Lao Si, "You two can both go, but you'll have to stay still inside packaging bags. I'll carry you both over. Once we're there, no howling, no attacking humans — otherwise you'll be sedated and I'll have to haul you in. Can you do that?"

Both wolves nodded in unison. Broken-Waist pulled his cub Little Wolf Sister over, indicating for Xia Qing to look at her teeth. Held down by her father, Little Wolf Sister didn't dare dodge, and Xia Qing pried open her mouth with a fierce-yet-cute fierceness to examine her teeth.

"I see — one of Little Wolf Sister's lower incisors grew in crooked." Xia Qing pulled out her phone, quickly snapped a dental photo, then released Little Wolf Sister and discussed with Broken-Waist: "This time we'll see Lao Si first, then we'll show Third Brother the photo of Little Wolf Sister's teeth. If Third Brother says she needs treatment, we'll bring Little Wolf Sister over next time?"

Incisors are an important tool wolves use in the initial processing of food during feeding, and also a tool for grooming their fur. A crooked incisor affects feeding and isn't aesthetically pleasing either.

Crooked-toothed evolved wolves are rarely seen in the Evolution Forest because wolves with dental problems are eliminated in the fierce survival competition there — which is why Broken-Waist cares so much about his cub's teeth.

Broken-Waist showed a tiny tip of fang, indicating agreement.

"Giant Wolf Bro's medicinal bath is done, time to come out. Giant Wolf Bro's medicinal bath is done, time to come out…"

Just then, the bathroom alarm went off, and every wolf turned to look at the bath. A full half minute later, the alarm in the bathroom stopped, and the sounds of dripping water and fur-shaking came, then a giant wolf with damp silver-grey fur and ice-blue eyes walked out of the bathroom, ignoring everyone — human and wolf alike — and clip-clopped straight through the living room, swiped the door open, and walked out.

Xia Qing…

Broken-Waist looked at his other cub. Little Wolf Brother immediately scampered into the bathroom and plunged into the tub with a splash — "Splash—" the sound of hitting water came from inside.

Xia Qing sighed, stood up, went to the bathroom to turn off the alarm, added some warm water to the tub, then returned to the living room. "Your Majesty, Eldest, Wolf Lao Er, I'm leaving the house to you. Lao Si, Broken-Waist — let's go, to Territory Seven."