Chapter 1330: Jackal-Wolves of the Eastern Evolution Forest

"Sister Qing, is Does Daigua heading back to the Evolution Forest again?"

Seeing Xia Qing place a huge bag inside the cabin and pull out the white-faced monkey with a monk's mask carrying a small backpack from her own pack, Jing Kuan, whose face was bruised, asked.

Xia Qing nodded. "It's going back for a bit, then we'll return together later. We're heading to Mountain Fifty-Nine."

"Copy that." Peng Jian didn't ask what Does Daigua was going back for, and cheerfully started the helicopter. He had a premonition that this mission he'd finally managed to snatch would definitely bring a surprise.

As the helicopter lifted off and flew steadily, the co-pilot Jing Kuan asked, "Sister Qing, is Does Daigua's outfit new?"

This little monkey used to wear shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, but now it had switched to long sleeves, and from the look of it, the fabric was a warm, insulating material.

Xia Qing nodded. "The weather's cold now, and Does Daigua's afraid of the chill."

Xin Yu had made windbreakers for the two little monkeys—the outer layer waterproof, the inner layer warm. Of course, to make excretion easier and to leave that big tail exposed, the monkeys' pants were still split-crotch style.

"Does Daigua looks really good in this." Huo Zhun praised, then began telling Xia Qing about a mission he'd gone on a few days earlier. "We went to the East Coast a few days ago, delivered over twenty tons of crabs to the processing plant, then Mingzi stayed there to keep up the catching work. The three of us came back through the Evolution Forest, planning to pick some walnuts at Mountain Fifteen. Turns out the walnut trees were growing right in the core territory of a pack of jackal-wolves, and they chased us across three mountains. Sister Qing, do you know that pack of jackal-wolves?"

Xia Qing shook her head. "I don't."

When Xia Qing lived in the Safe Zone and went out on gathering missions, she only operated within the Mountain 9 area closest to the Safe Zone. After moving into the Northern Zone One territory, she had never been to the Mountain 9-18 area in the east. So she had only heard that there were jackal-wolves in the eastern Evolution Forest, and had never seen them herself.

Given the strength of Huo Zhun's three-person team, they certainly wouldn't lose to a pack of jackal-wolves in a real fight, but jackal-wolves were also among the fierce beasts humans couldn't afford to provoke, so once they ran into them, they could only run.

"Sister Qing should find time to take a stroll through the eastern Evolution Forest. The mangrove ecology on the outskirts of the eastern Evolution Forest is completely different from the Evolution Forest around here…"

Huo Zhun enthusiastically recommended the eastern Evolution Forest to Xia Qing, and only when they were almost at Mountain Fifty-Nine did he ask, "We found no fewer than six edible walnut trees in that mountain gully. I tried to trade with the jackal-wolves using green-light muntjac, but they refused. Their brain evolution level definitely isn't as high as the Queen's or Duan-ge's. Sister Qing, could you put in a word for me with Duan-ge about this—ask it to act as a middle-wolf? Once we get those walnuts out, we can give Sister Qing twenty percent."

Peng Jian and Jing Kuan in the front hadn't expected today's first bit of excitement to come from Huo Zhun. A middle-wolf? He really dared to think it up…

Anyone who had points and didn't earn them was a fool. Xia Qing calmly nodded. "I'll give it a try."

This matter probably wouldn't work going through Duan Yao; she'd need to find Fourth, whose social circle was broader. Yesterday, Fourth had teamed up with a raptor to kill sixteen monkeys from the Broken-Brow Monkey Troop, so it was in a good mood these past two days and might be interested in taking a turn through the eastern Evolution Forest.

Huo Zhun's fleshy face bloomed into a smile. "Thanks, Sister Qing! With these points, I'll be able to build a new house next year."

Although Huo Zhun's four-man team had bought into the organic fertilizer plant, dividends wouldn't be distributed until the plant recouped its costs, so Huo Zhun, who hadn't received his severance pay, was still very poor.

Jing Kuan teased, "Once Brother Huo builds his new house and passes his middle school diploma exam, he can take a wife."

Lord Huo Lei and Shi Zhong had often discussed their two sons' affairs on the Lord Channel, so everyone knew what these two families were planning.

Huo Zhun's head ached at the mention. "If you're brothers, don't bring this up."

Peng Jian asked with a smile, "Don't bring up the exam, or don't bring up taking a wife?"

Huo Zhun wore a bitter expression. "Don't bring up either—my head hurts. The exam, I might still have a chance if I work at it for two years. Taking a wife is even more impossible. With a face like mine, where would I find someone suitable?"

Huo Zhun was a dual-system advanced Evolver, and the Lord of Northern Zone One. His father was also a well-known blacksmith in Hui Three Outer City who could earn points, and he was now in a partnership with the Tang family and the Green Dragon Squad to run the organic fertilizer plant. With all these conditions, finding a wife wouldn't be hard, but finding a suitable one wasn't easy.

Huo Zhun looked like he'd been carved from the same mold as his father—broad and thick, with a face full of fleshy ridges. When he wasn't smiling, he looked scary; when he smiled, he looked even scarier. So Huo Zhun had never had any luck with women since childhood.

Lord Huo Lei often told Huo Zhun how popular he'd been in his youth, but Huo Zhun didn't believe a word of it. His mother said his father had cried and thrown tantrums, pestering her shamelessly for years before she finally agreed to marry him. These were the Calamity Years now—nobody knew if they'd even be alive tomorrow. Huo Zhun had no heart to think about marriage.

The mission team chatted and laughed as they landed on the summit of Mountain Fifty-Nine. Xia Qing asked Huo Zhun's three-man team to guard the helicopter while she went down to carry out the mission.

Seeing Xia Qing head down the mountain with a big backpack on her back, a large bag slung over her shoulder, and the little monkey in tow, Huo Zhun asked, "Sister Qing, are you going to Mountain Sixty to deliver supplies? Want me to carry that bag for you for a stretch?"

Xia Qing explained, "This time I'm going to Mountain Sixty-One. Brother Huo hasn't had contact with Xiong Qun before—if you go, it'll be dangerous."

Huo Zhun got excited. "Our squad is getting a new member with off-the-charts combat power?! Sister Qing, get there and back safe. Leave the helicopter to the three of us."

Jing Kuan and Peng Jian were also very excited. Teaming up with a wolf pack for missions was already thrilling enough; teaming up with Xiong Lang was simply unimaginable. Peng Jian looked back at the cabin, wondering whether to modify two seats suitable for a giant bear.

Just as the three were excitedly discussing, a silver-gray giant wolf with ice-blue eyes climbed up to the summit and slowly walked over.

Huo Zhun immediately greeted it warmly. "Brother Giant, here to see Sister Qing, or do you want a ride on the helicopter? Where do you want to go?"

Jing Kuan……

Peng Jian……

The handsome giant wolf bared its fangs with a fierce expression, as if it was about to charge over and snap Huo Zhun's neck the next second. Huo Zhun wasn't scared at all, and cheerfully pointed to the northeast. "Sister Qing and Does Daigua went down the mountain along this path. Said they're heading to Xiong Qun's territory on Mountain Sixty-One."

The handsome giant wolf let out another roar at Huo Zhun before going after Xia Qing.

Once this combat-powerhouse giant wolf had left, Jing Kuan asked quietly, "Brother Huo, aren't you afraid it'll bite you?"

Huo Zhun shook his head. "Not afraid. It just looks fierce. We've already gone on missions together many times. It knows we're Sister Qing's companions—as long as we don't provoke it, it won't attack us. Speaking of which, wolves have a keen sense of smell. The handsome giant wolf should know Sister Qing isn't on the helicopter. What was the purpose of its coming over this time?"

Jing Kuan……

You're asking me? How would I know? You'd have to ask Sister Qing.

"Brother Giant Wolf, why are you here?" Xia Qing, who was carrying the large bag and walking forward with Does Daigua, stopped and asked when she saw the handsome giant wolf appear.

The handsome giant wolf kept its big icy face on and said nothing.

Seeing something was up, Does Daigua immediately jumped onto Xia Qing's shoulder, wrapped its arms around her neck, and refused to carry its own backpack and walk on its own.