Chapter 1491: Blue Star's First Cross-Species Agreement

With only a little over 800,000 points left on his points card, Old Wolf finally raised his head and stared solemnly at Xia Qing. After confirming she was serious, Old Wolf raised a paw and wrote four characters on the ground:

Weapons, poison.

Xia Qing understood. "Old Four not only wrote all four characters correctly, he even used the punctuation right. You truly deserve to stand at the top of Blue Star's evolutionary pyramid! Many humans' learning ability drops sharply after they grow up—they can't learn anything, can't remember anything. If they knew you were still studying hard while getting your teeth treated and had memorized this much knowledge, they'd be so ashamed they wouldn't be able to lift their heads…"

After pouring out her admiration to Old Wolf at length, Xia Qing asked seriously, "Does Old Four mean Tenth Sister can go to your territory, but she can't bring weapons or poison? Alright, that's what you mean. If Zhang Ten and Yiyi don't bring weapons or protective medicine, can you guarantee their safety?"

Old Wolf nodded solemnly.

"Alright, I'll go ask Tenth Sister's opinion. If she agrees, we'll discuss the specific arrangements for her and Yiyi." In the danger-filled Evolution Forest, low-combat humans without protective weapons and medicine are very vulnerable. But Old Four is the territory lord, so if Zhang Ten wants to enter his territory, she has to abide by his demands.

If Zhang Ten disagreed, Xia Qing would make other arrangements.

After hearing Xia Qing relay the southern wolf pack lord's demands, Zhang Ten nodded. "The southern wolf pack has been hurt by humans many times. Fourth Brother's request is completely reasonable. Besides, even if I brought weapons, I wouldn't be a match for an evolved wolf. Qing-jie, can Fourth Brother make sure Yiyi won't be harmed by the wolf pack?"

This trip to the southern territory was a rare chance for Zhang Ten to earn the wolf pack's trust. If she seized it, she and her daughter and Yiyi would have one more fallback. The risk was absolutely worth it, but Yiyi's safety mattered just as much.

Xia Qing nodded. "Yes. Old Four lives alone in a cave on the cliff of Hui-3 Mountain No. 22. The other wolves don't go up to the cliff without Old Four's permission, so you'll be safe up there. That cave system is very deep, with lots of chambers. The day after tomorrow I'll bring supplies over, help you pick a safe and livable chamber, and install a sturdy iron door. If you sense danger, hide in the cave immediately and call me. I'll contact the Azure Dragon Squad right away to rescue you, then get there as fast as I can."

The southern wolf pack's territory is part of Zhang San's team's experimental zone. Cameras are installed around the perimeter, and Hui-3 military and Squad Alliance personnel guard it to keep intruders out. As long as Zhang Ten and Yiyi don't leave and expose themselves, no humans will find them.

"Alright, thank you, Qing-jie." As long as she had a safe cave, Zhang Ten felt living among evolved wolves was safer than living among humans.

After Zhang Ten agreed to Old Wolf's terms and move into Mountain No. 22, Xia Qing took her into the wolf cave. The two humans and one wolf spent over an hour hammering out all the details of Zhang Ten and Yiyi's stay at Mountain No. 22, writing them down one by one on paper, then making three copies.

After the three parties—Party A Old Four, Party B Xia Qing, and Party B's employee stationed in Party A's territory, Zhang Ten—signed and sealed it, Blue Star's first cross-species agreement officially took effect.

After Zhang Ten left the wolf cave carrying this landmark agreement, Xia Qing put Old Wolf's copy into his pouch and tucked her own copy into her protective suit pocket.

Then Xia Qing pulled a catalog from her backpack, flipped to the page of supplies she wanted to sell, and introduced them enthusiastically. "Old Four, want to trade for a set of protective suit—warm, comfortable, and bug-proof once you put it on? I'll give you a discount and throw in a pair of top-grade goggles. The whole set is only 6,600 points. How about it? Want a set?"

Old Wolf lost interest and turned his head to stare at the snow-hopping bugs on the straw.

Xia Qing swatted the snow-hopping bugs dead and tossed them outside the cave. "I know Old Four's thick fur keeps him warm, and with the medicine Tenth Sister applies, he doesn't have to worry about snow-hopping bugs either. But—"

Xia Qing paused, then ruffled the fur of the missing-ear wolf lying beside Old Four. "Look, even though Missing Ear has grown new fuzz, its fuzz still can't withstand the minus-twenty-something-degree wind, and its stomach can't handle long periods of activity in the snow. If it gets sick from the cold again, the points you'll spend will be far more than 6,600."

Annoyed by Xia Qing's ruffling, the missing-ear wolf shook its head, slowly bared its fangs, and glared viciously at Xia Qing.

After more than half a month of treatment, the missing-ear old wolf's body had recovered quickly. Not only had it grown fur and put on weight, the cloudiness in its eyes had also cleared, and its bared fangs were still quite intimidating.

Xia Qing stared at it, growing more and more surprised. "Old Four, Missing Ear's eye color, build, and base fur color are all very similar to yours. Was it born in the same litter as you, or is it your offspring? …Offspring? How old is Missing Ear?"

Old Wolf raised a paw and wrote a number on the ground: 6.

Xia Qing wasn't surprised that Missing Ear was blood-related to Old Four, since Old Four was the wolf king with breeding rights. But hearing the missing-ear wolf was only six years old left her deeply shocked and moved.

Six years old—counted by an evolved wolf's lifespan, it was still youth. Yet the missing-ear wolf had already been tormented by illness into the state she'd seen before! The survival competition in Evolution Forest was truly fierce and brutal.

She smoothed the fur on the missing-ear wolf and said gently, "Since Missing Ear is your offspring, I'll give you a discount—6,400 points a set, plus a free gift."

Well-prepared Xia Qing pulled a full-coverage protective mask she used herself from her backpack and held it out to Old Wolf. "If Old Four wears this protective mask, it will cover your mouth. Whether human, wolf, or tiger, no one will see your mouth or know you had dental restoration surgery. How about it?"

Old Wolf looked solemn and turned his gaze south.

"Right, I know there are human-style protective masks in your territory, but have you brought any over? No! If Missing Ear wears the protective suit, its combat ability will be stronger, and it can protect you better…"

Twenty minutes later, Xia Qing left a set of dog-sized protective suit and an old protective mask in the wolf cave, and walked down the barren slope with her points card, thoroughly pleased.

Inside the wolf cave, Old Four took out the card reader and began fiddling with the points on his card, while his daughter, the missing-ear wolf, pawed at the protective suit Xia Qing had left behind.

In the basement, Zhang Ten was sorting through with Yiyi the supplies they were bringing to Mountain No. 22.

After confirming she wouldn't be abandoned and could move with her aunt to Evolution Forest to live in a cave with wolves, Yiyi's condition clearly improved, and she was able to handle the task of putting items into bags.

Just then, Zhang Ten heard her daughter's voice come over the walkie-talkie. "When Li-jie goes to the supermarket, could she help Seventh Sister and me pick up two small items? We'll pay the proxy-purchase fee as required."

Tomorrow, the Hui-3 military patrol would send a helicopter to pick up Xia Qing and head to the Safe Zone for the commendation ceremony. The territory lords taking this helicopter were enthusiastically discussing where to go and what to do once they got back.

Hearing that Hearing Zhu Li was going to browse the mall in the inner city, Eleven immediately pressed the walkie-talkie as soon as she heard.

Hearing her daughter voluntarily join the discussion and offer to pay the proxy-purchase fee according to the territory lords' interaction rules, Zhang Ten showed a gentle smile, then couldn't help imagining the possible mishaps her daughter might run into on this trip.

Seeing Yiyi staring at her, Zhang Ten came back to herself, handed the folded small clothes to her, and said gently, "Does Yiyi remember Eleven and Tan Qi? They came here yesterday to see Does Daigua and Does Ergua."

Yiyi quietly gazed at Zhang Ten with her large single-eyelid eyes, giving no physical response.

Zhang Ten raised a hand to smooth her hair. "When Yiyi goes to school next year, you'll be able to see them. If Yiyi likes, you can try being friends with them."

In the two-story building of Territory Three, Xia Qing, who was reading her speech, received a call from Yang Jin and learned that Liao Wen, deputy captain of the Blaze Squad, had gone missing.