Chapter 1668: Add a Contact Method

Xia Qing explained her plan to her idol, "The tiger's territory is in a good location with plenty of large herbivores. Now that it's weakened, there must be other predators going over to snatch its territory…"

After hearing Xia Qing's plan, the irritation on Zhang San's face faded by half. "Where did Zhang Shi move to?"

Xia Qing answered, "No one would think she and Ye Yiyi are hiding in the tiger's den. Tenth Sister doesn't need to move. It's safer to swap in a stronger tiger."

Zhang San's brow relaxed, and he slumped weakly against the soft back of his chair. "Work out the details with Zhang Song."

"Got it. Don't worry, the two of us will definitely handle it properly." After finishing the tiger matter, Xia Qing turned to concern herself with her idol's health, because her idol looked even more fragile than before. "Are you still testing medicine these past few days?"

"The side effects aren't big, within what my body can handle. I'll stop taking it after Guo Qingbin leaves." Zhang San quickly clicked the mouse a few times, pulling up two video clips for Xia Qing to watch.

The first clip was from this morning — Xia Qing outside the south gate of Territory Seven, encountering Wu Chengyu and his two Border Collies. The second clip was from after Xia Qing had just entered Territory Seven — Wu Chengyu and his dogs in the northern buffer forest, observing Xia Qing from a distance.

After Xia Qing finished watching, Zhang San asked, "What did you notice in these two clips?"

Xia Qing first confirmed the key question. "Third Brother, are Wu Chengyu and his dogs only interested in me, or do they observe other people like this too?"

If they were interested in everyone, would I waste my time showing you this? Zhang San shot Xia Qing a look, too lazy to speak.

Xia Qing grinned sheepishly, then seriously answered the question. "First, from the positioning, you can tell these two evolved Border Collies and Wu Chengyu are companions who trust each other. Wu Chengyu is the weakest combatant in the team."

Hearing that Xia Qing's first focus was on positioning, Zhang San felt this angle was refreshing, and the headache that had been tormenting him eased a little.

Xia Qing continued her analysis. "Second, the two Border Collies have a very clear division of labor — Wu Le is responsible for close protection of Wu Chengyu, and Wu Huan is responsible for scouting the surroundings. Third, when Tang Huai said my name, Wu Le made an obvious head-lifting motion, which means I'm one of the key targets of their attention on this trip. Fourth, Wu Huan's vision or sense of smell may have evolved — it remembered me the first time we met, so when I arrived at the south gate of Territory Seven the second time, it accurately identified me, then alerted Wu Chengyu and Wu Le, which is why the latter two turned their heads toward my direction at the same time. Finally…"

Zhang San raised his eyelids. "Intuition?"

"Mm." Xia Qing responded, then shared her observational impression. "Logically, when two evolved dogs enter an unfamiliar environment, they should be excited or nervous, but Wu Huan and Wu Le gave me a very heavy feeling, like something weighing on their hearts. When Fourth Brother first entered my territory for treatment, he gave me the same feeling. These two dogs are healthy and well-fed, so I'm wondering — could Wu Chengyu's body have a problem?"

Zhang San got up, washed his hands, took two fresh dragon fruits out of the fridge as a reward for the new human who had answered so well, and said, "Although he didn't bring oral medication with him, his body should have an incurable problem. He may have come on this trip to entrust the two Border Collies to you to raise. Do you want to raise them?"

Xia Qing shook her head. "I don't want to. If he asks your opinion, you can recommend Tang Huai to him — he's more suitable than me."

Zhang San shook his head. "Those two dogs don't really like Tang Huai."

"Then there's nothing we can do about it." Xia Qing took a disinfectant wipe and cleaned her hands, peeling a dragon fruit while chatting casually with her idol. "Third Brother, your Little Duan wants a test report on the samples it collected. Could you send me a copy of the report?"

Zhang San's expression immediately softened. "The sample testing for Mountain 31 is done. The samples you just brought over are being tested now — routine ecological screening will have results in two hours, but the in-depth testing and analysis will take until tomorrow. Push my business card to Little Duan and have it add me. Once the results are out, I'll send them straight to it."

Xia Qing's hand stopped, racking her brain for how to answer so her idol could calmly accept the fact that his beloved Little Duan didn't want to add him as a friend.

Before Xia Qing could figure it out, Zhang San spoke coldly. "Eat your dragon fruit."

"Yes." Xia Qing took two bites of dragon fruit, then thought of a safe, light topic. "Third Brother, did the Princess see Wu Huan and Wu Le?"

Zhang San replied lazily. "She saw them. She's throwing a tantrum right now."

The idol wasn't angry. Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief and continued eating her dragon fruit. "Should I have Hu Zifeng send over two bamboo rats?"

Zhang San replied lazily. "Pick two small ones and hand them to Zheng Chen. Put them in the buffer forest and let the Princess catch them herself."

"Understood." Xia Qing took another bite of dragon fruit and began to grumble. "Third Brother, don't you think giving animals human names makes them really hard to tell apart?"

"Sister Qing!"

"Junior Sister!"

Seeing Xia Qing come out, Zhang Song and Zhang He in the corridor spoke up at the same time.

Before Xia Qing, who had just been kicked out by her idol, could speak, Zhang Song voluntarily stepped aside. "Sister Qing, I'm going to find Third Brother first. After you and Junior Sister He finish chatting, wait for me a moment?"

Xia Qing responded, then followed Zhang He into her personal office.

Unlike her idol's office — so clean and tidy a fly would slip if it walked in — Zhang He's office was full of the warmth of daily life.

On the windowsill, a potted snake plant was basking in the sunlight, growing vigorously. Behind the desk, besides a glass-door filing cabinet identical to the one in Zhang San's office, there was also a four-shelf bookcase filled with books. The top two shelves held neatly arranged professional books; the bottom two held literature and travelogues. Most of these books had been printed before the Catastrophe, and at least half showed signs of wear — thirteen of them had their spines neatly mended with clear tape.

In a wooden photo frame on the desk was a picture Zhang He had taken while traveling before the Catastrophe. Beside the computer sat a thermos cup, with a line of slightly worn small characters printed on its body:

Don't panic, it's not a big deal.

That sentence, and the photo album beside it, seemed to let Xia Qing see the journey Zhang He had taken — from a student to a deputy director of the P3 Research Institute who could hold her own.

Knowing Xia Qing's temperament, Zhang He skipped the pleasantries and small talk and got straight to business. "The teacher watched the video of Junior Brother Duan's sampling today and found his operation wasn't up to standard. He needs retraining and an assessment. The teacher wants you to study along with him. If you don't pass the assessment, points will be deducted."

Xia Qing……

Zhang He explained in detail. "I've compiled the operating procedures for six major categories of sample collection and 132 key points of attention. Memorize them, Junior Sister, then practice hands-on twice, and you'll definitely pass."

Xia Qing asked very seriously, "Senior Sister, did Third Brother say how many points will be deducted?"

Zhang He reminded her, "He didn't, but Junior Sister should prepare seriously and pass with full marks, otherwise the teacher will dock points until your liver hurts."

Xia Qing……

Zhang He cleared her throat lightly. "Junior Sister, give me Junior Brother Duan's contact information? I'll send the materials to it."

Xia Qing……