Chapter 1543: The Last Day of Year 11 of the Calamity Arrives

Seeing that Broken-Waist Wolf still had the mind to play with the door, Xia Qing knew that the northern wolf pack's mission with the Yanlong Squad was going very smoothly.

After the fellow went inside and rinsed its paws, Xia Qing wiped the snow off its head and protective suit while asking, "Broken-Waist, why did you come over at this time? Didn't you go with Sister Yan and the others to the western tiger group's territory?"

Broken-Waist Wolf tilted its head back, waited for Xia Qing to dry its fur, then ran to Yang Eldest and Lao Er's water basin and drank a few mouthfuls of pollution-free spring water before raising its left front paw and flipping it upward, then lifting its head and opening its mouth wide.

Xia Qing asked, "You want me to go with you to Mountain 67 inside the northern Xiong Qun territory to fish up a few Yi Snakes, and then you take them to the western tiger group's territory to feed Blind-Eye Tiger?"

Broken-Waist Wolf closed its mouth and tucked in its paw, looking at Xia Qing.

"No?" Xia Qing thought it over, then bristled. "You want to take a Yi Snake from me to feed Blind-Eye Tiger in the western tiger group's territory?!"

Broken-Waist Wolf bared its fangs in a grin, showing two cute little fang tips.

Xia Qing refused flatly. "No way! If you need Yi Snakes, go fish them yourself from Mountain 67."

In mid-September this year, when Xia Qing went to Mountain 60 to take part in the mission with the wolf pack and Xiong Qun to block the snake group's invasion of Xiong Lang's territory, she was allocated quite a few Yi Snakes. The live ones she sent to Territory 7 for her idol to do research on; of the dead Yi Snakes, Xia Qing kept only one, and handed the rest to her idol to extract the active ingredients, which were added to the medicament she is currently taking.

Broken-Waist Wolf had Xia Qing bring back the leftover Yi Snakes from the wolf pack's meals and store them in its double-door big refrigerator.

The Yi Snakes Broken-Waist Wolf had stored had been gnawed clean by its family over the past three months; the only Yi Snake left in Territory 3 was the half-portion Xia Qing hadn't been willing to eat!

Now that Yi Snakes were needed to knock open the tiger group's territory gate, this shrewd, stingy wolf had actually set its sights on her unfinished half-portion.

Is there any justice left in this world!

Seeing Xia Qing bristle, Broken-Waist Wolf unhurriedly turned sideways, letting Xia Qing reach into the bulging side pocket of its protective suit and pull something out. Xia Qing reached in full of anticipation, and pulled out… a small, black mountain walnut.

"Broken-Waist, you want to trade a Green-Light mountain walnut for a Yi Snake?"

Broken-Waist Wolf bared its fangs in a grin, showing two snow-white, cute little fang tips.

Xia Qing opened her mouth as wide as a lion. "Fine, we can trade. I want a whole bag of mountain walnuts!"

Broken-Waist Wolf immediately closed its mouth and held out one big paw.

"Five catties won't do. Yi Snake is snake meat rich in Yi synthetic elements—extremely precious. At least fifty catties of mountain walnuts!"

Broken-Waist Wolf held out two front paws.

"…No, ten catties won't trade either. It has to be fifty catties!"

Confirming Xia Qing wouldn't budge, Broken-Waist Wolf reluctantly showed its little fang tips and used its paw to gesture that Xia Qing hurry up—it had urgent use for it.

"Fine. Last time when you guys were soaking in the medicated bath, you broke the mirror in my bathroom, and ruined one of my bed sheets and a small mirror. Handsome Wolf Bro promised to compensate me with 10 catties of Green-Light mountain walnuts. Add tonight's 50 catties for the Yi Snake trade, and Handsome Wolf Bro owes me a total of 60 catties of mountain walnuts."

After confirming the quantity with Broken-Waist Wolf, Xia Qing went down to the basement beneath the small building, took out the frozen half-Yi Snake, packed it onto Broken-Waist Wolf's back, then pulled out a map to discuss the mission with it. "Tomorrow afternoon, Yang Jin and the others will be able to link up with Lao Si, and go here—Mountain 33 in Hui One to search for the whereabouts of a few Blaze bad guys. Where are Yanlong, Little Wolf Bro, and Handsome Giant Wolf?"

Broken-Waist Wolf lowered its head to study the map, first pressing its big paw on Mountain 35 of Hui Three's Western Evolution Forest, then on Mountain 40.

"Mountain 35? Isn't this the border area between Blind-Eye Tiger's territory and the female tiger with two cubs? How many people? … Not sure? Then where are they hiding? … In a mountain crevice? That's going to be tough…"

"Handsome Giant Wolf is in the western wolf pack's territory on Mountain 40. What is it doing on Mountain 40, fighting with its brother?"

"……"

After learning the specifics, Xia Qing quickly wrote a note, stuffed it together with an egg-sized reconnaissance robot she had requested from Territory 7 into the side pocket of Broken-Waist Wolf's protective suit, and said, "When you get back, give this note and the robot to Sister Yan…"

Seeing Broken-Waist Wolf's eyes light up, Xia Qing warned it, "This isn't for you to play with. It's for Sister Yan and Huo Zhun and the others to use for scouting the mountain crevice. It's very expensive—if you break it, you have to compensate me with ten pigeon-egg-sized Yi Stones. Got it?"

Broken-Waist Wolf drooped its head, unhappy.

"If you like robots, you can use points to trade one with Third Bro later, and I can teach you how to use it for free." After soothing Broken-Waist Wolf, Xia Qing earnestly instructed, "Stay safe on the way. Don't go straight to Blind-Eye Tiger—first go to the western wolf pack's territory and call for Handsome Giant Wolf's brother. He has a decent relationship with Blind-Eye Tiger, so they won't clash easily when they meet…"

After finishing the instructions, Xia Qing said with a smile, "Also: tomorrow is the last day of Year 11 of the Calamity. Broken-Waist, see you in Year 12 of the Calamity."

Broken-Waist Wolf showed its little fang tips, swiped open the door and left Xia Qing's warm room, leaping over her two-story building in a single bound. After reaching the northern buffer forest of Territory 3, it vaulted over two wire-mesh walls, entered Mountain 49, first nudged around Little Flat-Top who was searching for food, then went to check on the wild boars in the valley, and finally called out the Plucked-Hair Weasel, and the two of them ran westward together.

High above the Western Evolution Forest of Hui Three, an evolved eagle-owl carrying a camera glided through the flying snow. In the southern part of Hui Three's safe zone, Yang Jin replied to the message Xia Qing had just sent, pocketed his phone, and led Luo Pei and Xie Yu stepping into the vast snowy expanse.

On Mountain 40 of Hui Three's Western Evolution Forest, two silver-gray giant wolves were locked in a fierce fight halfway up the mountain.

Mountain 35 of Hui Three's Western Evolution Forest was not covered by snow clouds. The crescent moon hanging in the sky cast the snow on the mountain forest in an eerie blue. A gust of wind swept snow mist through the treetops, wailing and howling as it slapped against two snow piles in the Evolution Forest, spaced over forty meters apart, perfectly blending into the shadows and terrain undulations beneath the trees.

Inside one snow pile, Wu Lianmin braced a heavy assault rifle fitted with an anti-freeze kit, watching through the observation hole of the snow nest at a mountain crevice three hundred meters away. Yanlong rested with closed eyes beside him. In the other snow pile, Huo Zhun was curled up in a sleeping bag, sound asleep.

Five hundred meters away, a black wolf blended perfectly into the night shadows, with a half-grown wolf curled against its belly. Even while sleeping, both wolves kept their furry ears pricked, alert to every rustle of wind and grass around them.

In the Evolution Forest of Hui One's Mountain 33, a silver-gray old wolf with three evolved wolves and an evolved Tibetan Mastiff lay in the dense forest, silently watching a micro-camera in a stone crevice not far away.

Inside a cave fifty meters underground in Mountain 33, Blaze squad leader Fire Phoenix, after confirming through the camera that the surroundings were normal, leaned back in a tiger-skin chair and stared fixedly at the colon flashing rhythmically between the hours and minutes on the electronic clock. Her skin, now close to a normal human complexion, formed a stark color contrast with the bright red wine in the glass in her hand.

When the time jumped to "00:00," entering the last day of Year 11 of the Calamity, she smashed the blood-red wine glass in her hand against the stone wall. The highly poisonous wine splashed onto the ground, sending up a patch of foam.

The old wolf on the surface twitched its ears, its gray-white eyes turning toward the mountain to the left, slowly revealing a single milky-white fang.