Chapter 1664: The Big Shot from Lancheng

On Hui-3 Mountain No. 31, the Broken-Waist Wolf, wearing a camera on its head, halted mid-bounce.

Within the northern Zone 1 territory of Hui-3, the large mosaic on the notebook in front of Zhang San finally refreshed to reveal a slab of granite.

From the scratch marks on the rock, it could be confirmed that this was where the evolved tiger, poisoned by the Blight toxin, sharpened its claws. Zhang San observed quietly. Sitting beside him, Zhang He quickly recorded the timestamps and image data from the surveillance feed.

The halted Broken-Waist Wolf carefully sniffed the rock ahead, set the pouch hanging from its neck on the ground, and pulled out its tools to take samples with practiced ease.

Zhang San nodded with satisfaction. "Little Duan's geological hammer tip is worn down — it needs replacing."

"Yes, sir." Zhang He noted it down immediately. "Teacher, should Junior Brother Duan's equipment be replaced by our research institute, or by Junior Sister Xia?"

Zhang San snorted. "Whoever spent the points to hire it does the replacing."

"Yes, sir."

After the Broken-Waist Wolf finished sampling, it pressed on. The screen once again turned into a blur. Zhang San turned his gaze to another surveillance monitor.

The camera on this screen was mounted on Zhang Shi's head. After she injected the medicine delivered by the Broken-Waist Wolf into the patient tiger, she performed the examination Zhang San had ordered and reported:

"Third Brother, the patient's breathing is accompanied by distinct crackles."

Zhang San, wearing a Bluetooth earpiece, acknowledged and continued issuing orders. "Check the mucous membrane color of the eyelids and gums. Focus on whether there's pallor, jaundice, or abnormal congestion."

"Got it." Zhang Shi, also wearing a Bluetooth earpiece, turned her head and consulted the Third Boss standing beside her. "Fourth Brother, may I check Tiger Brother's eyelids and gums?"

Even though the patient afflicted with the Blight-18 toxin was lying prone inside the cave, even though Xia Qing had given it the name "Pian-Hu," even though its magnetic field was perfectly calm, Zhang Shi's fear of it had not diminished in the slightest.

Because this one was the genuine article — a Tiger King!

Only after the old wolf standing beside her gave a solemn nod did Zhang Shi take a deep breath. She gestured to the patient, still a massive mound lying on the ground, explaining what she was about to do, before reaching toward its large mouth with its sparse fur and slack skin.

Zhang He glanced at the human hands in rubber gloves that appeared on the left-side screen and immediately knew that the person examining Pian-Hu was definitely not Junior Sister Xia Qing.

First, the thickness of the arms didn't match. Second, Xia Qing's movements would never be this hesitant.

As for who this person was — if the advisor didn't say, then it wasn't something she needed to know. Zhang He turned her head and fixed her full attention on the footage transmitted by the Broken-Waist Wolf's camera.

Five minutes later, the Broken-Waist Wolf, which was patrolling Mountain No. 31, stopped before a sheltered groove in a massive boulder. Its nostrils flared twice in the damp air, then it took out a rubber glove, slipped it over its left paw, and brushed away the top layer of snow and rotting fallen leaves at the groove.

Once the surface covering was scraped away, the surveillance screen revealed a clump of dry matter — a grayish-white, plaster-like lump shot through with large amounts of orange fur — that was almost indistinguishable from the soil.

Zhang He was delighted. "This tiger scat is at least two months old. The color is abnormal, there's far too much fur, and there are undigested bone fragments mixed in. We can run toxin and metabolite analyses. Junior Brother is amazing!"

Zhang San, who had been in a pleasant mood, frowned when he saw the Broken-Waist Wolf casually scrape its paw against a nearby rock — looking thoroughly unprofessional — before starting to take samples.

Zhang He noticed the Broken-Waist Wolf's unprofessional movements as well and volunteered. "Teacher, when Junior Brother gets back, shall I give it a refresher on field sampling protocols?"

Zhang San acknowledged. "Train Xia Qing along with it. Anyone who fails the assessment gets points deducted."

Zhang He……

Thirty minutes later, the Broken-Waist Wolf stopped in front of a large tree. This tree stood on the patrol route along the edge of Pian-Hu's territory, and a section of its bark was unusually smooth — clearly a tree Pian-Hu used specifically for rubbing its fur.

The Broken-Waist Wolf stared at this tree, examining it from every angle for a full three minutes, then bounced twice and landed on a branch over three meters up, continuing to stare at the trunk.

Zhang San, who had been watching the surveillance screen, spoke for the first time. "Little Duan, did you see that patch of bark on the tree that's been licked off?"

"Awoo." The Broken-Waist Wolf responded solemnly.

Zhang San instructed, "This should be the spot. Don't peel off the whole patch of bark — just scrape a layer for sampling. Stay safe, and don't let your body come into direct contact with the toxin source."

The Broken-Waist Wolf deftly pulled sampling tools from its pouch, took its sample, and then continued forward along Pian-Hu's patrol route, relying on its sense of smell.

An hour later, the wolf squad's mission ended. As they left Pian-Hu's territory and headed toward Hui-3 Mountain No. 21 to rendezvous with Xia Qing, another helicopter passed overhead. The two brain-evolved wolves immediately led the team into cover.

The Gui-1 and Gui-2 inspection delegation heading for Territory No. 7 had arrived. Zhang Song once again walked outside the cave and waved up at the delegation members in the air.

The first batch of researchers to enter Territory No. 7 for inspection had come from the Red City and Baicheng bases — 42 people in total. This batch, from the Guicheng and Lancheng bases, numbered only 23.

The inspection roster had been finalized half a month earlier. Over the past week, inspection applications from research institutions across Hua and abroad had flooded the official inbox of the Territory No. 7 Research Institute like a swarm of insects.

After automated procedural screening, Zhang Song compiled the 128 applications he had no authority to reject into a spreadsheet and delivered it to Zhang San's desk.

Zhang San gave it only a cursory glance before issuing a clear directive. "Energy and funding are limited. Reject them all."

So the second batch of inspection experts still numbered only 23. The research institutions holding invitation letters treasured this opportunity all the more and strictly followed Territory No. 7's requirements when filing their paperwork.

After that helicopter flew off, the wolf squad continued on its way and soon entered the surveillance range of the helicopter tethered to the giant eagle's talons.

Fourth Brother rendezvoused with the southern wolf pack. The Broken-Waist Wolf quickly scrambled up the slope to meet Xia Qing, handed over the samples it had collected, and received its mission pay.

Xia Qing lowered her voice and questioned the solemn-faced Broken-Waist Wolf. "Has Tenth Sister and Pian-Hu moved out? …No? Why not move — couldn't they find a suitable place?"

The information was complex. The Broken-Waist Wolf raised a paw and wrote two standard human characters on the ground: SAFE.

Xia Qing asked, "Who thinks that cave is safe — Fourth Brother or Pian-Hu…"

After the one-on-one chat lasted over twenty minutes, Zhang Song's squad finally finished surveying the underground cave. Xia Qing ordered the helicopter to land, escorted Zhang Song aboard, and headed back to the northern Zone 1 territory.

The Broken-Waist Wolf? It judged the current situation extremely serious and decided to cut back through the Evolution Forest, patrolling the forest's ecology along the way and collecting abnormal samples.

A little over half an hour later, the samples collected by the Broken-Waist Wolf and Zhang Shi, together with the samples Zhang Song had gathered from the underground cave, were all unloaded from the helicopter.

The sample volume this time was huge; testing and analysis results wouldn't be ready for another hour or two. After Xia Qing and Watching Huo Zhun delivered the sample cases, instruments, and Zhang Song to the lab building, they turned and headed straight back out.

Just as she reached the gate of Territory No. 7, Xia Qing heard the engine of Tang Huai's flashy off-road vehicle.

After she passed through security and walked out the south gate of Territory No. 7, she saw Tang Huai scrambling out of the car in a fawning rush and running over to open the passenger-side door.

Then, Xia Qing saw a… Border Collie!