Chapter 1463: Growing Stronger

"Being a wolf king is exhausting—you have to manage so many things. Why does Big Wolf Bro insist on being the wolf king? Is it for the tasty food? Your magnetic-sense perception is incredibly strong—you should be a magnetic-sense Evolver. Let's team up to go treasure hunting, split the loot fifty-fifty, and I'll definitely make sure you eat green-light meat every day…"

"Big Wolf Bro, how old are you this year—three or four? It's time to find a mate, right? How about you go look for Queen Cui Yan? Your fur colors match perfectly. She's definitely looking for a mate to have pups this winter. If you two hit it off, you'll be the wolf king's husband and the future wolf king's dad…"

The human and the wolf chatted in the valley until Xiao Pingtou rolled off the big rock, wobbled over to snatch meat from Xia Qing's bag, and still hadn't come up with a good plan. Xia Qing stroked the handsome giant wolf's thick, silky fur and stood up.

Looking at the flock of birds stealing food, she said slowly, "Big Wolf Bro, if you want to be the wolf king, keep working hard—make yourself stronger every day than the day before. Thanks for sharing your meat with me. I'm heading off now—I still have work to do."

After Xia Qing finished speaking, she tossed a rope to catch on the big pine tree above the valley, hauled the meat on her shoulder, dragged Xiao Pingtou—who had bitten onto her protective suit—out of the valley. After watching her leave, the handsome giant wolf flipped over again and glared murderously at the chattering flock of birds.

After climbing out of the valley, Xia Qing shook Xiao Pingtou off her leg and returned to the territory, handing the pig over to Er Yong, who had come to stand guard for her.

The moment Er Yong took it, he was shocked. "This must be over 160 jin! Why would the wolf pack kill a green-light pig at this time?"

Weren't the pigs in the valley supposed to be kept until next spring to farrow? Why did the wolf pack change its mind?

Xia Qing gave a vague explanation. "The handsome giant wolf killed it—I didn't ask why. You boil a pot of water, skin the pig, scald the hair and butcher it into chunks, then boil the pig's head for our lunch. After it's braised, cut off one pig ear, then contact Xin Yu on the walkie-talkie—she'll send a trained bird to pick up the meat."

Yang Jin had run off to Territory One to handle tomorrow's mission prep, but Er Yong was also a good cook—his braised pig's head meat was quite delicious.

"Got it!" Er Yong answered eagerly, then discussed with Xia Qing, "Sister Qing, can I trade for two jin of meat? It's the end of the year—I want to send some home."

"Sure, twenty percent off—pick whichever cut you like." The Beard Edge Squad had been diligently guarding her territory, so Xia Qing certainly wouldn't be stingy. "Make an announcement on the 1–10 territory lord channel—say the pork was sent over by Captain Yang, and I can't eat it all. If anyone wants pork, each territory can trade for at most two jin, no discount. Third Brother can have as much as he wants."

This winter, the territory lords' diet was far better than last winter's. First, because the chicks the lords had traded for in spring had grown up and started laying eggs—not many, but at least there was some meat. Second, after the heavy snow ended, Huo Zhun and his comrades went hunting and had a stroke of incredible luck, getting a yellow-light crocodile over five meters long. Everyone traded for some yellow-light meat in greater or lesser amounts, and now they certainly couldn't bear to trade points for green-light meat—which is why Xia Qing set the two-jin limit.

"Got it! Thanks, Sister Qing!" Er Yong eagerly hoisted the wild boar and ran toward the little hut by the fields.

Xia Qing shouldered her backpack, called Wolf Lao Er, and left the territory. She had originally planned to send Wolf Lao Er to the pig-raising valley to comfort the handsome giant wolf, but the rascal had already taken off.

So Xia Qing took Wolf Lao Er and hurried to the aerial valley at an elevation of over 1,600 meters on the Third Peak of Mountain Forty-Nine to build a snow slide.

A "snow slide" was really just prying away a few protruding big rocks from the relatively flat slope she'd picked out, making the slope even smoother.

This kind of work was second nature for Xia Qing.

When she took out the crowbar and got to work with clanking sounds, the two wolves guarding this peak heard the noise, ran up, and sniffed Wolf Lao Er. After watching Xia Qing pry rocks for a while, they ran back down to continue guarding the bamboo-rat greenhouse.

Xia Qing first pried away the big rocks, then used smaller stones to level things out, and finally packed thick snow over the repaired spots. A snow slide over six meters wide and more than two hundred meters long was complete.

She excitedly took out her snowboard and called to her companion, "Wolf Lao Er, let's go—I'll take you sledding!"

Wolf Lao Er, who had spent two hours digging rocks alongside Xia Qing, immediately followed her to the top of the slope. Xia Qing stepped onto the snowboard, strapped Wolf Lao Er to her back with bindings, and slid down from the top. After shooting across the flat section at the valley bottom, she flew up the slope on the opposite side, then slid back down and shot up the slope on this side.

Double-board and single-board skiing were part of the Blue Dragon Squad's winter training program, and also an essential skill for missions in the Evolution Forest during winter. Xia Qing had already mastered this skill and could sled down steadily even while carrying a wolf weighing over three hundred jin.

Wolf Lao Er hugged Xia Qing's protective mask with its front paws, having a wonderful time, its mouth stretched into a huge grin.

After the human and the wolf had ridden the snowboard around a few times, Xia Qing handed the snowboard to Wolf Lao Er to try. Wolf Lao Er didn't play—just lay beside Xia Qing and watched her work.

Xia Qing pulled out a hardness-evolved bamboo plank from her backpack, clanked out a snow tube, then sat in it holding Wolf Lao Er.

Then the human and the wolf slid down the gentle slope, lost balance, flipped the tube, and ended up in a heap at the valley bottom.

Xia Qing, sprawled on top of Wolf Lao Er, rolled over and lay flat on the snow, vetoing this plan. "Good thing it was just us who fell. If Third Brother took a tumble like that, he'd definitely fracture something. This snow tube needs improvement…"

The handsome giant wolf lying on top of the Third Peak stopped watching Xia Qing and Wolf Lao Er, rolled over to a sheltered spot, closed its eyes, and went to sleep.

After working all morning, Xia Qing returned to the territory and learned that the Destroyers' gathering speed at the seabed had accelerated—Yang Jin would have to lead the team to the Red Forest Belt that afternoon. She could only cancel tomorrow morning's outing plan.

Originally, she had wanted to team up with Yang Jin before he left to escort the idol to the Third Peak of Mountain Forty-Nine for a relaxing outing. After Yang Jin left, she could only wait for Brother Luo and Huo Zhun to return before going out.

In principle, she alone plus a pack of wolves could protect the idol's safety, but caution was still best.

When it came to the idol's outings, Xia Qing could never be too careful.

After seeing Yang Jin's team off in the afternoon, Xia Qing didn't go out again, and cleaned the chicken coop in the breeding greenhouse.

Zhang Shi and Daigua squatted by the vegetable beds pulling weeds. Ram Boss and its little yellow cow ate fodder on the other side. Wolf Lao Er watched over the human and the monk-faced macaque infants nearby.

"Heh!" Daigua called out when the little basket was full of grass.

Wolf Lao Er heard Daigua's call, went over, picked up the basket intending to feed the fish, but Ram Boss bleated once, indicating it wanted to eat the grass in the basket.

Wolf Lao Er carried the basket over and set it down in front of Ram Boss and the little yellow cow. Ye Yiyi, holding the little lamb, and Ergua, with one big white leg stuck out, both followed Wolf Lao Er with their eyes.

Zhang Shi had seen the scene of a wolf feeding sheep many times and was used to it. She only glanced at Ye Yiyi, saw that she hadn't recklessly run over to touch the sheep, and continued squatting by the vegetable bed pulling weeds. She had to work faster, or she'd fall too far behind that little monkey.

Zhang Shi and Ye Yiyi had been staying at Territory Three for almost a month, and the animals within Territory Three had accepted these two non-aggressive humans.

Ram Boss had no patience for little ones and wouldn't let Ye Yiyi's paws scratch at it. So Ye Yiyi could only keep holding her little lamb, gazing longingly at Ram Boss.

When Xia Qing finished her work and came over to sit beside Ram Boss, little Ye Yiyi slowly walked over, sat beside Xia Qing, and stretched out her little hand to feel the sheep's wool together with her.

This little creature was abnormally obsessed with Ram Boss's soft, thick fur.

After sitting for a while, Xia Qing got up and led her companions out of the greenhouse back home. She heard a beep from the phone in her pocket, and Zhang Shi immediately picked up Ye Yiyi and ducked into the grass.

Xia Qing turned and saw a giant wolf with ice-blue eyes and silver-gray fur nimbly and cleanly vault over the wire-net wall into her territory.

From its movements, she could tell this idiot had already recovered.