Chapter 1321: Little Yi Snakes

"Gah—gah—"

Above the hot spring came the low, intimidating cry of a golden eagle, flying at an altitude of only two hundred meters.

Sniper Xia Qing immediately raised her rifle, just about to aim at the blurry figure sweeping overhead based on the sound, when the lead wolf beside her raised a large paw and pressed it down on her arm.

Xia Qing obeyed the command and slowly lowered her rifle, then noticed that besides the lead wolf raising its paw to stop her, the southern wolf pack on the left, the western tiger group, and the troop of baboons on the right were all glowering at her.

She opened her mouth, wanting to explain that she had no intention of sniping that golden eagle—she had only sensed danger approaching and, on a sniper's instinct, drawn her weapon.

But she said nothing and closed her mouth again.

Although a golden eagle's hearing isn't outstanding among raptors, not a single animal here was making a sound—even the chatty broken-leg girl was keeping quiet—which meant that making noise at the hot spring lake would bring danger.

Besides, even if she opened her mouth to explain, how many animals could understand human speech?!

So, explaining was less useful than doing something practical. Xia Qing slung her rifle, pulled little Feimao—who was fussing with food—from her pocket, held it in her palm, and gently smoothed its fur.

What are you looking at? You all brought your cubs here, and so did I!

The lead wolf silently turned its gaze away and continued watching the sky; the other animals also looked away one after another, no longer paying attention to Xia Qing.

Xia Qing let out a breath of relief and quickly began preparing to enter the water.

She took out an extra-large packaging bag, packed her backpack inside it, then carried it on her back. Although her backpack was waterproof, if she needed to unzip it in the water it could let water in, so she had to take precautions.

Leaving her backpack and weapon on the rocks while she went into the water—Xia Qing would never do that. In the Evolution Forest, weapons and supplies had to stay on her person!

Feimao's selected rainforest plant fruits were also packed away by Xia Qing and put into the backpack, swapped out for green-light peanuts.

The handgun, bullets, and grenades didn't need handling, because when she'd confirmed she was entering the rainforest, she'd already packed her weapons in waterproof bags.

Xia Qing had just finished preparing when the leaders of the four animal groups stood up at the same time and slowly entered the hot spring.

After Broken-Waist Wolf and Handsome Giant Wolf entered the water, Xia Qing placed little Feimao—who was eating peanuts—on her shoulder, laid her sniper rifle across the top of her backpack, and entered the water as well.

The hot spring water's temperature exceeded human body temperature, probably around 40°C; Xia Qing felt it quickly, but didn't find it uncomfortable.

Little Wolf Bro, Little Wolf Sis, and Little Four-Eyes stopped moving forward once their backs were submerged; the two giant wolf cubs went another two meters before stopping.

The lead wolf, Broken-Waist Wolf, Handsome Giant Wolf, and Xia Qing still stood at the outermost edge, watching the predators on both sides and the activity in the air; the remaining main force of the wolf pack protected the wolf cubs in the middle.

The Plucking-Feather family also entered the hot spring, huddling together in the shallow-water area; the southern wolf pack, the western tiger group, and that troop of baboons also stood silently in the water. Relying on her hearing, Xia Qing judged that there were other large animals in the mist, but visibility here was too low for her to see what they were.

Although soaking in the hot spring, Xia Qing noticed that the dead leaves and pollen stuck to her protective suit and the wolves' fur hadn't fallen off, which made her breathe a sigh of relief. Because this meant that when the wolf pack returned, they also wouldn't be attacked by the rainforest's countless poisonous insects and venomous snakes.

This also let Xia Qing understand that the wolf pack, tiger group, and baboon troop chose this time to soak in the hot spring for three reasons: first, because the temperature gap with the outside had widened now, increasing the mist's density, which could protect the predators from being spotted by aerial hunters; second, the predators could use the dead-leaf flowers' pollen to resist attacks from poisonous insects and venomous snakes.

Third, if this really was Xiong Qun's territory, the lower temperatures would make Xiong Qun prefer to stay in their caves sleeping, relaxing their patrol of the territory, giving these predators a chance to invade Xiong Qun's domain.

A hot spring that could attract large predators must be beneficial to the animals. After taking a sample of the hot spring water, Xia Qing gripped little Feimao standing on her shoulder and slowly lowered it into the water.

As a human without fur protection, Xia Qing couldn't take off her protective suit to soak in this hot spring, but the squirrel kit she'd brought could.

The little squirrel, which had only taken a medicinal bath last night, was terrified of water, but its mouth was pinched shut by Xia Qing, so it couldn't make a sound at all.

Xia Qing pinched the little squirrel in her hand, but her eyes were fixed on Broken-Face Little Wolf's dad, fifteen meters away.

Although she didn't know why these two wolf packs, which had cooperated several times, still had to watch out for each other, Xia Qing didn't dare relax in the slightest, because behind her were five wolf cubs and two little yellow weasels soaking in the hot spring.

The lead wolf heard the movement, quickly turned its head to glance at Xia Qing, saw that although she was up to her little tricks, she hadn't forgotten her task, then turned back and continued watching the water ahead.

"Splash—"

The lead wolf suddenly flicked its wet tail, making a sound of cutting through water. Although Xia Qing didn't know what it meant, she still raised her alertness to the fullest, watching her not-far opponent—Broken-Face Little Wolf's dad. But less than ten seconds later, Xia Qing's pupils trembled and she looked at the lake surface in disbelief.

Inside the hot spring lake, a gentle Yi-element magnetic field blew toward her like a light breeze!

Although she couldn't see it, Xia Qing knew what it was—Yi Snakes!

The lead wolf quickly lowered its head, then flung backward; several nearly colorless, transparent, palm-length little snakes, along with water droplets and carrying the Yi-element magnetic field, flew toward the wolf cubs protected by the pack.

The wolf cubs immediately opened their mouths, trying to catch the little snakes, but two little snakes still escaped, landing on the lake surface with the water droplets and making a soft "smack" of impact.

Qiang Snakes are emerald green when young and turn bright red after mating; Yi Snakes are colorless and transparent when young, and turn pure white when grown or after mating—nothing strange about that.

So today the wolf pack came here not just to soak in the hot spring—they also came to eat snakes.

Is it strange for wolves to eat snakes? Of course not—these damn things are Yi Snakes that can release Yi-element magnetic fields; didn't you see the tigers and baboons beside them have also started catching snakes?!

This was premium food on Crazy Blue Star!

The leaders of the southern wolf pack and that troop of baboons, just like the lead wolf of the northern wolf pack, were trying their best to catch the premium food in the water without making a big commotion, to feed the cubs in their groups.

Xia Qing stole a glance at the western tiger group on the other side of the southern wolf pack, and only then noticed that the little tiger from the western tiger group that had been having diarrhea a few days ago was also standing in the hot spring water. Because the adult evolved tiger protecting it was too large, Xia Qing hadn't noticed this little tiger.

Seeing little snakes swimming toward her, wanting to peck at the pollen stuck to her protective suit, Xia Qing understood another use of this pollen—to attract Yi Snakes.

Damn it, shouldn't snakes eat meat? How could they be attracted by pollen?

Xia Qing quickly discovered that little Yi Snakes were extremely agile in the water; even speed- and elasticity-type evolved predators didn't have a high success rate catching them.

Xia Qing might not be a speed- or elasticity-type evolved, but she was a human who could make and use tools!

She immediately set little Feimao on her shoulder, reached up to loosen the drawstring of the extra-large packaging bag, pulled a length of wire, a piece of insect-proof netting, and an iron rod from her backpack, and quickly fashioned a fish-catching net thirty centimeters in diameter.

Why not make a bigger fish-catching net? Because she had to keep a low profile—predators flanked her on both sides, especially on her left, where every damn evolved tiger could swat her dead with one paw. If she drew too much attention and invited the beasts' hatred, becoming the target of the whole pack's attack would be trouble.