Chapter 1478: The Old Wolf Growing Its Teeth

During this period, Xin Yu had been following Researcher Zhang Xu of Territory Seven, learning techniques for removing harmful substances from marine organisms, and had also served as the technical advisor for the Territory Alliance's organic fertilizer plant. She still had study tasks tonight, so Xia Qing didn't linger at Territory Eight and returned to her own territory shortly after eight o'clock.

Xia Qing first greeted Chen Cheng and Xiao Jiang, who had been watching her territory for her, told them to head back to Mountain Forty-Nine to rest, then went to check on the animals in the greenhouse, and stopped by home to see her companions, before finally stepping onto the house ruins with Zhang Shi to check on the recovery of the two old wolves.

Xia Qing didn't bring up Xiao Shiyi's emotional mimicry flaw with Zhang Shi right away, because she had just come back from Xin Yu's territory, and mentioning it now would be the same as revealing the evolutionary ability Xin Yu had worked so hard to hide from Zhang Shi.

In five days, Tan Qi and Xiao Shiyi would come to her territory to see the monkeys. Xia Qing decided to first observe the two children's interaction, then pick an appropriate moment to talk to Zhang Shi about it.

The reason for setting it five days later was that the little monkey Ergua, who had undergone syndactyly correction surgery, would have the cast on its leg removed that morning.

Knowing Daigua as she did, once Ergua had the cast off and could move freely, Xia Qing was sure the fellow would immediately pull its backpack out of its cabinet, demand she settle its wages, and then head back to the Evolution Forest with Ergua.

Temp workers — that's just how unreliable they are!

If she didn't have Tan Qi and Xiao Shiyi come that day, the two little ones who had been looking forward to it for over half a month wouldn't get to see the little monkeys this year.

After entering the wolf den, Zhang Shi briskly checked the various environmental readings, then stopped in front of her Patient Number One and asked, "Fourth Brother, can you open your mouth and let me see how your sharp, sturdy new teeth are growing?"

The old wolf, whose teeth had been pulled, opened its mouth wide for Zhang Shi to look.

Today was the eighth day since Old Four had begun the tooth regeneration treatment. Zhang Shi was now able to calmly take out a dental mirror and perform an oral examination on her patient.

After the examination, Zhang Shi gave the patient a detailed update: "Fourth Brother's physical condition is excellent — worthy of an evolved wolf standing at the top of the pyramid. Your two fangs are regenerating even faster than expected. By the night of the full moon, you'll see clean, sharp new tooth tips poking out of your gums. Seven days from now, shall we invite Third Brother over for the second surgical treatment?"

Xia Qing……

The old wolf nodded solemnly.

"Good, Fourth Brother is really brave, not afraid of surgery at all — worthy of an evolved wolf standing at the top of the pyramid." After sincerely praising Patient Number One, Zhang Shi pointed at the wolf toilet nearby and asked, "I noticed there's a loose stool in there. Was it you who had diarrhea, Fourth Brother, or Que Jie?"

Xia Qing……

The old wolf turned its head and glanced at its companion lying on the inner side of the den.

"Okay, it was Que Jie who had diarrhea. Besides the nutritional meals Sister Qing sent over, did Que Jie eat anything else today? What did it eat?"

Old Four looked at Xia Qing, raised a paw, and wrote a single character on the ground:

Mian.

Zhang Shi also looked at Xia Qing, waiting for her to interpret what the patient meant.

Xia Qing figured it out at once. "Today the Broken-Waist Wolf caught four rabbits. Wolf Lao Er carried out the leftover innards and let Que Er have a few bites. These are edible rabbit innards — as long as Que Er's stool isn't watery or bloody, there's no need to add any new medicine."

Xia Qing had assumed Wolf Lao Er had taken the innards to feed its fish; she hadn't expected it to give them to the Que-Ear Wolf.

Although the Que-Ear Wolf got nutrient-rich sick-person meals every day, as a carnivore it found it hard to resist the temptation of fragrant, warm innards. Besides, the fact that it was willing to eat food Wolf Lao Er brought over meant the two wolves' relationship had improved.

Xia Qing wouldn't scold Wolf Lao Er, because its brain wasn't developed enough — it couldn't remember or understand much information. After eating its fill, it simply wanted its sick companion to enjoy some tasty food too.

The Que-Ear Wolf, whose brain had evolved, might not understand human language well and might not know about dietary restrictions, but the former Wolf King Old Four understood perfectly. It hadn't strictly stopped Que-Ear from eating, so it must have had its own considerations. Xia Qing wouldn't interfere with its decision.

Xia Qing had plenty of nursing experience, and Zhang Shi followed her advice — without suggesting a blood draw, she left the wolf den and returned to the lab to analyze the fecal sample she had just collected.

After Zhang Shi left, Xia Qing didn't mention the Que-Ear Wolf eating meat. She simply beamed and congratulated the solemn old wolf before her: "Old Four, your teeth are growing in! You'll soon return to your peak — standing at the top of the pyramid, the most valiant evolved wolf in the Southern Evolution Forest!"

The old wolf remained solemn, but the big tail behind it couldn't help but twitch once, betraying its inner joy.

Xia Qing immediately pulled out her phone and showed it a picture of a mirror. "Old Four, how about trading for a mirror? That way you can see your new teeth the moment they come in! The texture of this mirror — you can tell at a glance it was made for a wolf king of your taste…"

After being turned down, Xia Qing left the wolf den. The solemn old wolf rummaged through the straw for its phone, skillfully used its little toe to open the camera, flipped it around, opened its mouth to check its teeth on the screen, and pressed the shutter.

Then, this clever old wolf opened its photo album, compared carefully with the picture taken the day before, and after confirming that its previously sunken gums had indeed grown thicker, it contentedly closed the phone and shut its eyes.

Xia Qing, whose sales pitch had failed, walked down off the house ruins and began her evening workout. When she finished her run and returned to the village, Zhang Shi — who had been jogging quickly around the lab — stopped and briefed her on the Que-Ear Wolf's condition: "Que Er's stool tested positive for Salmonella and E. coli — non-evolved strains, the situation is manageable."

The pathogenic and beneficial bacterial flora in an animal's body maintain a relatively stable balance. The Que-Ear Wolf was in a sub-health state, its flora balance disrupted, so its digestive capacity had weakened, and eating raw meat would trigger diarrhea.

Xia Qing nodded. After finishing the patient update with Employee 004, she brought up Xie Yu: "Today when I contacted Xie Yu, the Third Master of the Azure Dragon, he said he'd be visiting our territory in a while. When the time comes, does Tenth Sister want to take Ye Yiyi to Zone Three of Mountain Forty-Nine to lie low, or stay in Old Four's wolf den for now?"

Xie Yu was the one who had broken the glass of the lab that had confined Zhang Shi and carried her on his back from the underground lab to the surface — her benefactor. But for her own safety and her daughter's, Zhang Shi didn't want him to know she was hiding in Territory Three. "How long will he stay? If it's not too long, let's stay in Fourth Brother's wolf den."

Xia Qing had no objections. "He'll take a quick turn around the lab and then head to the meeting room by the farmland. The wolf den is warm. I'll mention it to Old Four tomorrow — as long as Ye Yiyi isn't afraid of Que Er."

Zhang Shi agreed, then decided to discuss Ye Yiyi's next stage of treatment with Xia Qing: "Sister Qing, when you're not going out, could you let Wolf Lao Er spend some time with Ye Yiyi? I've noticed she's fairly accepting of animals."

The animal Ye Yiyi most wanted to get close to was Sheep Boss, but Sheep Boss had no interest in Ye Yiyi — it only cared about eating and fighting. So Zhang Shi could only turn to Wolf Lao Er, which had plenty of love and patience.

Xia Qing nodded. "The day after tomorrow. Tang Huai is coming back tomorrow afternoon, and the day after that I'll have him send his sheep over to see if Ye Yiyi will pay attention to other sheep."