Chapter 1601: The Raven Who Traded Yi-Stone for a Pocket Watch

In Area Five of Mountain Forty-Nine, beneath the great tree where the strong one lives, Xia Qing, the middleman who moves among the various species of Blue Star, enthusiastically peddled a flip-cover antique pocket watch to an important client up in the tree. "Bai Yan, this is called a pocket watch—it's a device humans use to tell time. Look, isn't it pretty? The beads on this chain are enamel-painted pearls that only humans on Blue Star can make…"

The White-Eyed raven, who had already carried two strings of pearls back to Mountain Eighty-Six, looked down at the object strung on a glittering chain in the human's hand, its eyelids blinking rapidly twice, as if weighing the odds of a successful snatch-and-grab.

"…This pocket watch isn't just good-looking, it has practical value too!" Xia Qing flipped open the watch's cover, letting this raven, unfamiliar with human civilization, see what was meant by worlds within worlds. "The inside of this cover can be used as a mirror, and this pocket watch can also make sounds. Listen."

Having said that, Xia Qing held up the pocket watch so the raven could hear the "tick-tock, tick-tock" of its hands. "This is the sound of time. Isn't it nice to listen to?"

The White-Eyed raven seemed very interested in this sound, leaping down from the treetop to a branch only three meters high, and looking down at the pocket watch in Xia Qing's hand.

The client was tempted, so Xia Qing immediately added more fuel to the fire. She pulled out her phone and showed the White-Eyed raven a video of the raven Moli playing with Xin Yu's pocket watch. "Moli, caw-caw—the very clever and beautiful raven you're courting—she really likes pocket watches…"

The brain-evolved White-Eyed raven on the branch stared one moment at Moli and the pocket watch on the phone screen, then back at the noticeably more glittering pocket watch in Xia Qing's hand, its talons tightening, wings stirring slightly, ready to pounce.

Xia Qing immediately pocketed her phone, took out a piece of yi-stone, holding the yi-stone in one hand and the antique pocket watch in the other, and enthusiastically proposed the trade. "This pocket watch is very, very pretty, Bai Yan. You need to use this kind of stone to trade with me. When this kind of stone cracks open, the inside has black-and-white patterns, just like this…"

To help this brain-evolved raven understand what trading meant, Xia Qing had spent the past few days wearing pearl necklaces, glittering watches, and other ornaments to lure this brain-evolved raven into secretly following her, watching her trade eggs with the plucked-marmot family.

Now, the moment to check the results had arrived!

Under Xia Qing's repeated gestures and explanations, the White-Eyed raven spread its wings and flew north. Xia Qing returned to her territory full of anticipation, clearing her chosen homestead site while waiting for this courting raven to come back and trade yi-stone for the pocket watch.

This pocket watch was one Xia Qing had specially asked her fellow trader Kuang Qingwei to find for her at a cost of 120 points. Whether she could recoup her costs depended entirely on whether the White-Eyed raven was clever enough.

It seemed… it was quite clever.

An hour later, the White-Eyed raven returned, landing on a large tree behind Xia Qing's small building. The big red squirrel that was digging up grass seeds under the tree sensed danger, squeaked out a warning, and burrowed into the grass pile Xia Qing had just stacked up; Little Feimao also grabbed a grass seed and dove in.

The red squirrel Qiang Zai? It had gone out hunting and wasn't inside Territory Three.

"Woo—" Seeing this raven invading Territory Three, Wolf Lao Er, who was picking up stones, lowered its body and let out a majestic roar.

Sheep Boss, who was sunning himself with his little brothers, squinted at the raven up in the tree that had returned carrying a weapon, opened his mouth to call for reinforcements: "Baa~~"

Xia Qing, who was driving a micro-tiller to clear bricks and tiles, clearly caught her companions' calls, immediately shut off the machine and rushed back, and at one glance saw the yi-stone in the White-Eyed raven's beak as it stood on the branch!

"Brother Bai Yan, you're back?" Xia Qing greeted the raven on the tree very warmly, then grandly introduced it to her companions. "Boss, Lao Er, this raven is called Bai Yan. It's a dual-system evolved powerhouse in both brain and speed domains, a honored guest of our territory, not a bad bird."

Boss was still unhappy, Lao Er was still bristling with killing intent, and Xia Qing was still brimming with enthusiasm. She took out the antique pocket watch and the yi-stone and asked, "Brother Bai Yan, did you find this kind of stone?"

"Caw." The White-Eyed raven lowered its head, placed the half-piece of stone it was holding in its beak on the branch, pinned it down with its talons so it wouldn't fall, and opened its beak to call out.

"Brother Bai Yan, you're really too clever! Great Blue Star must be incredibly proud to have evolved such a clever raven!" Xia Qing praised the clever raven with great enthusiasm, then tossed the pocket watch up with a flick of her hand. "I agree to the trade. This pocket watch is yours."

Seeing Xia Qing toss out the glittering thing, the big red squirrel hiding in the grass pile poked out its little head and vigorously rubbed its little paws together.

After the enamel-pearl-chain pocket watch flew to a spot higher than itself, the White-Eyed raven finally flapped its wings and took off, snatching the watch's chain in its beak and flying away.

"Brother Bai Yan, take care on your way! Come by anytime you need anything—" Xia Qing raised her hand to catch the yi-stone that fell down, and after seeing off this big client, beamed at her companions. "Boss, Lao Er, Little Feimao, look, look—we've got new yi-stone coming in! Even though it's cracked open, it's still releasing yi-elements, worth way more than that pocket watch…"

"Baa."

"Aoo."

"Moo."

The one-sheep-one-wolf beside Xia Qing replied, the little yellow ox added a line, and Little Feimao stayed silent.

"How can there possibly be such a clever, beautiful, and lovable animal as a raven in this world? After a few more trades and building up some goodwill, I can head into its territory and dig up that underground creature emitting the yi-element magnetic field. I wonder if it's an animal or a plant—if it's a hibernating animal, I'll have to get there before it thaws…"

While Xia Qing worked and chatted with her companions, Lao Si and Broken-Waist Wolf, carrying Zhang Shi and Ye Yiyi, stopped in a dense forest fifty kilometers south of Huiyi Safe Zone.

This stretch of forest was too dense. Lao Si, who was leading, looked back at Zhang Shi, then at the ground beside them, signaling Zhang Shi to get down and walk on her own.

Ye Yiyi, who had been shielded in front of Zhang Shi, twisted her little body, wanting to jump down.

Zhang Shi, who had wandered the Evolution Forest for many years, pressed down on Ye Yiyi's shoulder, signaling her not to move yet, and cautiously asked, "Fourth Brother, if I get down now and leave footprints here, could humans or other animals discover us? If humans find us, Yiyi and I will be in danger."

Although she and Yiyi were wearing bionic protective masks—fuzzy on top with two wolf ears standing up—and their protective suits were Evolution Forest winter camouflage, the boots on their feet were still human protective boots, very different from the footprints of evolution wolves.

"Aoo." Broken-Waist Wolf immediately added a line.

Before setting out, Xia Qing had called to urge caution on this very issue. She had solemnly reminded them that if Zhang Shi and Ye Yiyi were discovered by humans, it would count as a mission failure, and Lao Si and Broken-Waist Wolf wouldn't just fail to earn points, they'd be fined a lot of points—so Broken-Waist Wolf remembered this very clearly.

Lao Si turned, led the way around the dense forest, climbed up a rocky peak, and once more signaled Zhang Shi and Ye Yiyi to jump down. Only then did Zhang Shi, with Ye Yiyi, leap down from the giant wolf's back, landing on gravel not covered by snow.

Terrain like this wouldn't leave obvious footprints.