Chapter 1464: The Western Wolf King's Mate

Xia Qing returned home, glanced at a trail of muddy paw prints on the floor, and asked the handsome but scruffy giant wolf crouching by the bathroom door, "Big Wolf, you ate a wild boar and then got into a fight with someone—was it the Queen, or your brother? Neither? Then who? The Broken-Leg one? You beat up the Broken-Leg one, and then what else…"

After clarifying that it had beaten up a whole string of wolves, Xia Qing sighed—well, a beating's a beating, and even the Queen had no objections, so she certainly had none either. "We just finished the seven-day medicinal bath for repairing bones and skin, so all we can soak in now is the parasite-removal solution. This kind of solution won't make you stronger."

The handsome giant wolf crouched by the bathroom door, a pair of ice-blue eyes stubbornly fixed on the bathroom door, not moving at all.

Not a single snow flea on this fellow's body—must have just eaten a Gaoshan springbok. The only effect of soaking in the parasite-removal solution is making it look a bit cleaner.

But who made it the lucky wolf that gave her a whole big bag of Yishi stones? If it wants to soak, then soak. "Then let's do a parasite-removal, fur-growing soak. Once Handsome Wolf is done, go show off your coat and physique to the Broken-Back Wolf—sure to drive that fellow mad with envy!"

Xia Qing turned on the instant-heating water heater in the first-floor bathroom, added water and the solution to the tub, rinsed the mud off the handsome giant wolf first, then let it climb in to soak.

Afterward, Xia Qing went with Employee No. 004, Zhang Shi, to do room checks, deliver medicine, and serve patient meals.

The former Wolf King Lao Si, seven days past his tooth extraction; the old wolf with the missing ear, who had taken the internal parasite-removal and conditioning solution; and Does Ergua, who had undergone the syndactyly separation surgery—under the care of Zhang Shi, Xia Qing, and Does Daigua, every one of them was recovering well.

After tending to the VIP patients, Xia Qing went to check on the red squirrel Qiang Zai in the sheep shed, who owed her points. The little fellow was a bit livelier than yesterday, had eaten two extra pine nuts—green light.

Back inside, she glanced at the worryingly handsome giant wolf, then Xia Qing went to change the straw and clean the toilet for the two old wolves, and then asked the experienced Lao Si for advice: how should a wolf like the handsome giant wolf train and improve in order to defeat its brother and become the new king of the western wolf pack?

Lao Si, with a full belly, lay lazily on the straw that carried the scent of the sun, and had zero interest in this question.

Xia Qing switched to a different question. "Lao Si, do you know how old the handsome giant wolf is?"

This was easy to answer. Lao Si raised a paw and wrote a character: 4.

"Such a big fellow and only four years old?!" Xia Qing was surprised. "No wonder neither it nor its brother has a mate yet!"

The old wolf's gray eyes looked at Xia Qing. Human and wolf stared at each other for a few seconds, and Xia Qing's mood grew heavy. "The Western Wolf King has a mate? I've been to the western wolf pack's territory many times and never saw his mate… Dead? How did she die?"

The old wolf thought for a moment, raised a paw, and wrote two characters: January.

Xia Qing's pupils trembled. "The Western Wolf King's mate died this January? Did she die in the conflict where, after humans killed the western wolf pack's pups, the pack launched a beast tide to take revenge on humans?"

The old wolf gazed quietly at the straw stirred by the cold wind before her, and did not reply.

Xia Qing also gazed quietly at the straw, and said nothing more.

At the end of January this year, Xue Jinchang and Sun Jun of the Dongyang Squad snuck into the western wolf pack's core territory, used anesthetic drugs to knock out the adult wolves, and tortured to death the 13 pups born to the western wolf pack this year, completely enraging the pack.

The Western Wolf King led his companions in launching a beast tide, flattening the human-established western territory before charging toward the North Zone One territory. Blocked by the northern wolf pack, they turned to attack the eastern territory.

Upon discovering that the wolves' goal was the total destruction of the territory, a great battle between humans and wolves broke out in the eastern territory. Hui-3 Base even deployed fighter jets for it.

In that battle, humans suffered 58 casualties; the western wolf pack lost 20 wolves and 4 leopards. Every nursing mother wolf that took part in the fighting was killed in action—none survived.

A scene suddenly flashed through Xia Qing's mind: when the western wolf pack drove the beast tide to the southern edge of the North Zone One territory, a brown-gray mother giant wolf, clearly in her nursing period, standing beside the Western Wolf King.

That one… must have been the Western Wolf King's mate…

Xia Qing left the old wolf's ruined territory, returned to the first-floor bathroom, and quietly watched the ball of fur drifting in the tub.

The silver-gray ball of fur seemed not to notice Xia Qing at all. After a few minutes, a big black nose poked out to take a few breaths, then sank back down.

Xia Qing watched quietly for a while, said nothing, and left the bathroom. She put on her protective suit and ran lap after lap around her territory. Only when she was completely exhausted did she lie down on a snowbank, gazing through her fogging protective visor at the stars with halos and Wolf Lao Er's head.

Xia Qing raised a hand and stroked her companion. "I really was feeling uncomfortable earlier, but it all sweated out. Lao Er, look at this protective mask of mine—the anti-fog film needs replacing again. We're going to spend more points."

Xia Qing currently has four protective masks for human use. Two are special-grade protective masks that come with the special-grade protective suit. After being upgraded and modified by Territory Seven, these two masks offer top-tier protection and wearing comfort—and naturally, top-tier prices. The other two are Xia Qing's old protective masks, one Grade Three and one Grade Two.

The special-grade protective masks don't fog up because a permanent anti-fog film is applied to the visor. This film is a high-tech material from before the Cataclysm. Although its name contains the word 'permanent,' it only has a longer service life. Each one used means one less available, so the price is very high.

The visor of the protective mask modified by Territory Seven is made of two layers—inner and outer—of new-material glass.

This glass material offers extraordinary optical performance, extreme structural strength, and intrinsic environmental resistance. Put plainly, it's water-repellent, anti-fog, scratch-resistant, and wear-resistant, ensuring optimal visual effects even in extreme environments. Of course, the price is even higher than before the modification.

So Xia Qing only wears the special-grade protective mask when out on missions. Within her territory, she still uses ordinary protective masks. One anti-fog film for this kind of protective mask costs only 30 points.

Xia Qing stood up and shook her head hard, flinging the sweat off her face, then asked with a smile, "Thanks, Lao Er, for running all those laps with me. Want me to carry you back?"

Wolf Lao Er immediately jumped happily onto Xia Qing's back. Xia Qing supported its body with her hands and walked back through the crunching snow.

The Western Wolf King's tragic, yes—but which survivor of the Cataclysm isn't tragic?

On her back, Wolf Lao Er, who had lost its companion and nearly died from parasitic infection; the two old wolves on the house ruins, weathered but still resilient; Zhang Shi, who had escaped from a laboratory in the basement; Ye Yiyi, who lost her parents at six…

These days, none of them have it easy. Isn't Xia Qing herself someone who lost her parents and went through trial after trial?

The past is the past. Since she barely managed to survive, of course she has to live happily!

"Buzz—"

Xia Qing heard the phone in her pocket vibrate and used voice command directly. "Idiot, idiot, answer the call."

"Yes, Master. The call has been connected for you."

Even with a new phone, Xia Qing's smart assistant is still called Idiot, and its voice is still the cheeriest one.