Chapter 1502: The Instigator of the Sea Beast Tide

At eight in the evening, the human-wolf squad finished the Evolution Forest hazard sweep mission and disbanded at Mountain Forty-Nine.

After returning to Territory Three, Yang Jin went to the bathroom by the fields to wash up and change clothes. He'd been running with the wolf pack outside for half a day, burning a lot of energy and sweating heavily. Since this was his first time eating at Xia Qing's home, he had to wash clean and change into a new outfit that would make Xia Qing comfortable at first glance — one she'd want to look at twice, and trade two sets of.

When Xia Qing received the news that Yang Jin had returned, she added a handful of firewood to the stove, then began washing cucumbers. Today they were having sour soup dumplings with smashed cucumbers.

"Splash…"

"Squelch, squelch…"

The entry door slid open soundlessly. Some wolves rinsed their paws after coming inside; others went straight into the living room. Xia Qing got a headache the moment she heard that squelching sound.

It's easy to go from thrift to luxury, hard to go from luxury to thrift. After the temporary cleaner Does Daigua returned to the Evolution Forest, all the housework fell on Xia Qing alone — even the muddy paw prints left behind by that handsome giant wolf had to be wiped clean by her!

Xia Qing poked her head out from the kitchen, wanting to ask the head wolf to rein in the handsome giant wolf who was playing deaf and being slovenly, but was instead blinded by the tide wolf rinsing its paws at the door.

The broken-waist wolf, wearing a pink wig cap, saw Xia Qing poke her head out and bared four snow-white, adorable little fang tips at her in a grin.

Xia Qing…

"Broken-waist, is that pretty hat Yang Jin gave you?"

The broken-waist wolf immediately closed its mouth.

Xia Qing rephrased, "Did Yang Jin trade it to you?"

The broken-waist wolf still kept its mouth shut.

Not that either? Xia Qing thought for a moment, "Did Yang Jin lend it to you?"

Only then did the broken-waist wolf open its mouth, showing two little fang tips.

It seemed that Yang Jin, who had no way to contact the broken-waist wolf, had brought Watching Huo Zhun with him to Mountain Fifty-Two, found the broken-waist wolf, and to convince it to team up and patrol the Evolution Forest, had put in quite some effort.

Although the hat was extremely painful on the eyes, it perfectly matched the broken-waist wolf's aesthetic. Xia Qing praised it, "This hat looks warm. Go check in the bathroom how it looks on you. If you like it, give me some points later and I'll buy you one from the safe zone."

The broken-waist wolf immediately extended a big paw still dripping with water.

"Buy five of these hats? Sure, no problem!"

The broken-waist wolf quickly rinsed its paws clean, came over to snatch the cucumber from Xia Qing's hand, turned and carried it to the living room to give to the head wolf, then hopped over the handsome giant wolf blocking the bathroom doorway, went into the bathroom, and used Xia Qing's new mirror to admire its pretty hat.

"Baa~~"

Sheep Boss, who got no cucumber, called for its underlings.

Xia Qing took another cucumber, broke it in half, and gave portions to Sheep Boss and Wolf Lao Er. Then she led the handsome giant wolf into the bathroom, rinsed its paws clean, and let it run its own medicinal bath. Xia Qing mopped the muddy paw prints off the floor before returning to the kitchen to keep cooking.

The dumplings had just gone into the pot when Yang Jin arrived.

After Xia Qing opened the door for him and greeted him, she went back to the kitchen to boil the dumplings.

"Queen my lord, Boss, Broken-ge." Yang Jin stood at the doorway after entering, enviously watching the broken-waist wolf squeezed next to the head wolf showing off its wig, and greeted them.

"Moo!"

Seeing Yang Jin come in, Sheep Boss gave an unhappy call and leapt up, ready to butt him out the door.

"Grrr—" The head wolf, lying on the hanging chair eating cucumber, let out a low growl. Sheep Boss stopped in place, squinting unhappily.

After confirming the head wolf had Sheep Boss under control, Yang Jin changed his shoes, took off his protective mask and hung it next to Xia Qing's, then took off his protective suit and hung it next to Xia Qing's, and went to the kitchen to cook.

Seeing Yang Jin wearing a thermal underlayer that looked very comfortable and warm, and sporting a clean, neat short haircut without a wig, Xia Qing was a bit surprised, but she asked nothing. "Captain Yang, go sit in the living room for a bit; food will be ready soon."

With Xia Qing here, Yang Jin certainly wouldn't go to the living room to play third wheel for two wolves and earn Sheep Boss's cold shoulder. He stood at the kitchen doorway, greeted Lao Er who was baring its fangs at him, and reported the sweep results to Xia Qing. "Broken-ge and I teamed up and patrolled Mountains Forty-Nine, Fifty, and Fifty-One. We didn't find any suspicious people. The northern and western wolf packs and the Azure Dragon squad have all stepped up their guard. The sweep team and patrol team numbers have been increased too. The base commander ordered a ban on any squad coming to this side of the Evolution Forest to hunt, in case someone sneaks in to cause trouble."

Hearing Yang Jin's words, the broken-waist wolf, who had been showing off its wig, drooped its head and lay motionless on the hanging chair. The head wolf turned and nuzzled it, then continued watching the video.

No suspicious people found meant no gains; that broken-waist guy must be very disappointed. Xia Qing nodded, "Good work."

Yang Jin answered solemnly, "Not at all. Sister Qing joining the disaster relief mission in the safe zone is the one doing the hard work."

Was that a complaint that she was being too distant, too polite? Xia Qing turned to look at the fellow leaning against the doorframe with an unusually bright smile, and noticed a bruise on his cheek. "You went into the sea?"

Yang Jin nodded, "When I was hiding underwater to ambush and kill the instigator of the sea beast tide, I got bumped."

Going into the water to fight during a sea beast tide is extremely dangerous.

Humans who breathe with lungs enter the sea beasts' home turf, facing an absolute, physiological strategic disadvantage. Yang Jin was a top-tier combatant on land, but underwater his sensory detection was limited and his combat power took a serious hit.

Xia Qing fished out the cooked dumplings and plated them, asking, "What kind of sea beast?"

"A large hardness-evolved squid; its attack power is no weaker than a torpedo." Seeing Lao Er retract its fangs, Yang Jin rolled up his sleeves, went into the kitchen, gently pressed garlic flat with the side of a knife, and began making the sour soup while briefing Xia Qing on the battle.

"Yesterday at noon, the instigator of the beast tide was a very cunning brain-evolved dolphin. It used a group of hardness-evolved squids to build a 360-degree protective shield, hiding underwater where it couldn't be sniped. So this morning I hid in advance in the shallow sea sand layer, waited for it to show itself, and struck. When I made my move, the dolphin let out a shriek and dozens of squids attacked at the same time. I couldn't dodge them all."

If his body hadn't been shielded by the protective barrier, every bone in Yang Jin's body would have been shattered by the squids' beaks.

Xia Qing asked, "Did you kill that dolphin?"

"Killed it. So far we've killed two orcas, three dolphins, and three giant octopuses." Yang Jin minced the garlic, mixed it into the smashed cucumbers, and handed it to Xia Qing.

As Xia Qing took it and stirred, Yang Jin put the remaining minced garlic together with chopped scallions, chili powder, and cilantro in a bowl, heated oil in a pan and poured it over the seasonings, then added sugar, vinegar, salt, and Hu Jiao. The tangy, spicy, appetizing sour soup for the dumplings that Xia Qing loved was ready.

The dry seasonings released an overpowering aroma. Xia Qing, who had only drunk one X-nutrition solution at noon, felt even hungrier.

Yang Jin carried his and Xia Qing's food to the dining table on the second floor. Xia Qing brought Sheep Boss's fodder and the head wolf's, broken-waist wolf's, and Lao Er's boiled meat and eggs to the small table on the first floor. Dinner began.

The reason for splitting into two floors was that Boss and Lao Er were hostile toward Yang Jin. If Yang Jin was on the first floor living room, they couldn't eat in peace.

After the meal, Yang Jin went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Xia Qing went to the house ruins to find Lao Si, asking whether it wanted to come inside and watch today's human safe zone explosion video with everyone.

If it weren't for watching the video, the pregnant northern wolf king wouldn't have left its territory, and Xia Qing wouldn't have called Yang Jin over to the house.

Because both Yang Jin and the wolf pack wanted to watch the video, she didn't want to play it twice, so she simply gathered every creature that wanted to watch into one place.