Chapter 1383: Learned Into Uselessness

Xia Qing handed Huo Zhun a pair of dog goggles and a high-grade filter cartridge. "When you see Old Four, if it's wearing a human protective mask, swap in this filter cartridge and help it adjust the walkie-talkie channel. If it isn't wearing one, put these goggles on it—the walkie-talkie on the goggles works too. If Brother Huo has any questions, just ask directly. Old Four nods to mean 'agree' or 'correct'; no movement means 'disagree' or 'wrong.'"

After Huo Zhun nodded, Xia Qing continued, "If Old Four won't let you use the walkie-talkie to speak, type on your phone or write on the ground for it to read. Old Four's language studies have reached the second semester of fourth grade in elementary school—it recognizes and can write most common characters that aren't too complex."

"Yes!" Huo Zhun sighed sincerely. "Fourth Brother is really amazing!"

Wang Man, sitting beside Huo Zhun, leisurely drove the knife in: "If you don't work harder at studying, your cultural level is going to be crushed by an evolved wolf."

Seeing Huo Zhun's pained expression, the others burst out laughing.

Xia Qing seized the moment and continued briefing the team members on precautions during mission execution. "During the mission, you must keep your emotions under control and stay as steady as possible. If the mission doesn't go smoothly, prioritize protecting the safety of all squad members. If conflict breaks out with the wolf pack due to poor communication, message me immediately."

"Brother Huo, as vice-captain, should stand to Old Four's left-rear or right-rear during the squad's advance—you'll understand the positioning once you see where Old Four stands."

Xia Qing looked at Huo Zhun and suddenly felt he was a bit unreliable; Old Four might not pick him. Old Four was a seasoned old wolf and might not judge humans by wolf standards.

So Xia Qing looked at Wang Man beside her. "Man-jie, you joined the gathering mission last time too, so you should have figured out the positioning, right? If Brother Huo slips up, Old Four might pick you as vice-captain."

Hearing she had a chance too, Wang Man immediately sat up straight. "Understood. Just like a human combat team—the strongest in front, the next strongest in the rear, the weak fighters in the center of the formation."

Bearded Feng, piloting the helicopter, silently picked his own position: the center of the formation.

Yang Jin: Memorized Xia Qing's words and began silently picking out wig styles.

Xia Qing nodded. "That's roughly right, but you also have to consider the wolf pack's trust level toward humans—the less trusted should stay as far from the center as possible. Brother Huo at Old Four's flank, Captain Hu in the center of the formation, Man-jie in the rear, Captain Yang outside Captain Hu. While moving, when Old Four stops, you stop. When Old Four stops and lowers its body, you immediately stop and take cover. When Old Four stops, lowers its head, and flicks its tail in small motions, it means all team members should heighten alert and prepare for combat…"

This was extremely useful knowledge. Everyone in the helicopter listened intently, especially Huo Zhun, who wished he could carve every word Xia Qing said into his brain.

Yang Jin asked, "Qing-jie, are these standard actions for all wolf captains, or is this just Old Four?"

This was paid-tier knowledge Xia Qing had pieced together through long-term exploration, but the one asking was a paying student, so Xia Qing could answer. "When different wolves lead, the actions for stopping, advancing, and alerting don't differ much. Other commands vary significantly depending on the wolf's personality. For example, Old Four uses a nod to mean 'agree.' Other wolves show 'agree' by: roaring, jumping, tilting their heads, and some even show agreement with no body movement at all."

Huo Zhun's vision went dark; he felt he had learned himself into uselessness.

The helicopter arrived above Mount Thirty-Nine. Er Yong, sitting in the co-pilot seat, reminded her, "Qing-jie, there's a silver-gray giant wolf howling on the snowy mountain below. It should be the Western Wolf King or a handsome giant wolf from the Northern wolf pack."

Xia Qing stopped her explanation and looked down through the cabin window. Confirming that the one standing atop the snowy peak, howling up at the helicopter, was the Western Wolf King, she immediately gave the order: "Captain Hu, lower the helicopter and hover thirty meters to the left of the Western Wolf King, at an altitude of ten meters."

"Copy."

Huo Zhun, newly promoted vice-captain of the Green Wolf Squad, scooted over to Xia Qing and kept asking her for guidance. "Qing-jie, the Western Wolf King is slightly larger than the handsome giant wolf, and its pupils are a lighter color than the handsome giant wolf's, right?"

Xia Qing, who was often hit by brain-domain evolvers, had regained her confidence in front of Huo Zhun. "The Western Wolf King is indeed slightly larger, but wolves' pupils are all black. What differs is the color of the eyeball—specifically the iris on the surface of the eyeball. The Western Wolf King's iris is light blue; the handsome giant wolf's is ice blue."

Huo Zhun wished he had a little notebook to write it down. "Got it, I've memorized it. Thanks a lot, Qing-jie."

Seeing this clueless fool going on and on, Wang Man reached out from an angle Xia Qing couldn't see and gave him a vicious twist. Huo Zhun was in so much pain he bared his teeth, not daring to make a sound.

Yang Jin had been watching the Western Wolf King on the snowy mountain. Seeing that it hadn't fled or reacted violently because of the helicopter's descent, he handed Xia Qing an egg-sized capsule. "This is a special-effect anesthetic smoke bomb. If an emergency comes up, just crush it. Qing-jie, stay safe—if you need support, call Er Yong right away. He'll fly the helicopter and circle above Territory Twenty-One; he'll reach your position within ten minutes."

The Western wolf pack had a grudge against humans, so Yang Jin couldn't fully trust this pack's leader.

Xia Qing tucked the smoke bomb into her satchel. "Good. For the next little while, tell everyone about the wanderers' tactics and how to defend against them."

After Bearded Feng hovered the helicopter, Yang Jin opened the cabin door. Xia Qing grabbed the rappel rope, jumped down, landed steadily on the snowy peak, then looked up and waved her arm, signaling Yang Jin to pull the rope back in and continue on their way.

Yang Jin reeled in the rope and closed the cabin door, then ordered, "Flight altitude fifteen hundred meters, full speed to Mount Twenty-One."

"Copy." Bearded Feng pulled up the collective pitch lever, rapidly gaining altitude.

Yang Jin stood by the cabin window. Seeing that Xia Qing and the Western Wolf King had met without fighting, he looked away and began explaining this batch of wanderers' attack methods to the mission squad in detail.

Below, Mount Thirty-Nine.

"Handsome giant wolf's big brother, were you waiting for me? I'm really putting you to so much trouble."

Xia Qing pulled a Yishi-grain necklace from her pocket, nimbly fastened it around the neck of the Western Wolf King, which was roaring fiercely at her, then took out goggles of the same model as the handsome giant wolf's and put them on it over its objections.

The Western Wolf King shook its head, unable to fling the goggles off, and irritably slapped the snow with a big paw while roaring loudly at Xia Qing.

The Western wolf pack had been hurt by humans, so the Western Wolf King hated humans. This was the edge of its core territory—if the person jumping down from the helicopter hadn't been Xia Qing, the Western Wolf King would have long since slapped or bitten her to death.

Xia Qing was already used to the fierce tempers of the Western beasts. Without wasting words, she took out her phone, pulled up a photo of Broken-Waist Wolf's big head, let the Western Wolf King look at it, then asked softly, "Wolf King, my lord, where is Broken-Waist waiting for us? Let's hurry up and meet up with it, shall we?"

The Western Wolf King roared at Xia Qing again. With it for comparison, the aloof handsome giant wolf seemed even cuter.

"Thanks, Wolf King, my lord, for coming to wait for me. Broken-Waist must be getting anxious—let's head out now." Xia Qing put away her phone, took the wolf saddle she'd made herself out of her backpack, and started fitting it onto the Western Wolf King.

This guy was also an elasticity evolver. If she didn't strap it down, riding on its back would be like riding a bucking bull—the awful feeling was something Xia Qing didn't want to experience again.

The Western Wolf King sprang away with a single bound, roared a few times, and called over three giant wolves just as ferocious as itself.

Xia Qing…

Miscalculated. So the one she was riding today wasn't the Western Wolf King. Damn it, give this old lady back her Yishi necklace and goggles!