Chapter 1675: Was This Evolved Tiger Really Brought by Fourth Brother?

When the helicopter carrying Xia Qing flew from the northern Sector One territory of Hui-Three toward the southern wolves' territory, the main force of war wolves from the northern wolves all emerged from their dens, standing guard on the east, south, west, and north sides of Mountain Fifty-Five, protecting the pregnant she-wolves in the pack.

The only main-force war wolf not in the vicinity was, on orders, hurrying toward the western wolves' territory.

All the adult tigers of the western tiger group had come out of their dens and stood on high ground, either roaring uneasily or watching.

Beneath the granite cliff face of Mountain Thirty-One in the western sector, trees had fallen and rocks split as two evolved fierce tigers fought fiercely. An evolved wolf the color of accumulated snow lay atop the cliff face, watching the territorial battle below.

Shifting the gaze northeast thirty li, a speed-evolved macaque was leaping rapidly through the forest; five li behind the macaque, a squad of human evolvers was advancing at full speed. The macaque and the human squad were heading in the same direction:

the Mountain Thirty-One sector of Hui-Three.

"Yanlian."

On the Lei Sha helicopter, the captain of Hui-Three Special Ops Team One and Level Eight burst-power evolver Gao Ying raised her hand and saluted Yan Dragon.

Yan Dragon, seated beside Tang Huai, raised a hand in return and said, "Today I am a member of the Territory Alliance squad; Xia Qing is the captain."

Only then did Gao Ying turn to Xia Qing. "Sister Qing, the Base Commander has ordered Special Ops Team One, Green Dragon Team Three, Aurora Team Two, and End Road Team Two, together with the Northern Alliance squad you lead, to form a joint operation team, with me as the commander of this operation. Mission objective: annihilate the invaders."

"Territory Alliance squad, here to follow the commander's orders." Xia Qing introduced her team members to the commander. "Huo Zhun, Level Five elasticity and Level Seven strength dual-system evolver; Zhang Hongda, Level Five speed and Level Five vision dual-system evolver; Tang Huai, Level Five hearing evolver, intermediate sniper."

Zhang Hongda's elasticity evolution ability is a hidden ability and has not been publicly announced, so he is nominally a dual-system evolver. Yan Dragon's and Xia Qing's combat strength need no introduction, because Gao Ying already knows.

Gao Ying greeted the members of the Territory Alliance squad, then spread out a map and assigned tasks. "According to intelligence, the suspected location where the invaders appeared is in this area, here at the border between the southern wolves' territory and the western tigers' territory; the terrain is extremely complex. Sister Qing, Huo Zhun, and Zhang Hongda—the three of you will fast-rope down here, lie in wait, and precisely snipe any invaders appearing in this range. Captain Yan, Tang Huai, you two will stand by on the helicopter for now."

Xia Qing brought Tang Huai out not to have him carry out the mission, but to protect the security of the Northern Sector One territory to the greatest extent possible.

If Tang Huai were left inside the territory, once fighting broke out in the southern experimental zone later, Huang Wanmao, who was still lingering in the Hui-Three safe zone, would very likely seize the chance to make a move.

Inside the Northern Sector One territory there are twenty-three experts from Lancheng and Guicheng, and outside the territory in tents there are also the evolver escort teams for these experts, whose loyalties are hard to judge. So Xia Qing must keep Tang Huai, this unstable element, in the safest place—this was what she had agreed with the Base Commander when she accepted the mission.

If Tang Huai stayed on the helicopter, Yan Dragon, who was protecting him, naturally had to stay as well.

Hui City military's top combat power Yan Dragon patrolled in the air; Hui-Three's top sniper Xia Qing lay in wait in the evolved forest. If there really was an invader squad, or a squad preparing to invade, upon learning this news, they would all have to stop and weigh their own mettle.

After the helicopter reached the designated area overhead, Xia Qing fast-roped down with Huo Zhun and Zhang Hongda, then advanced at full speed for fifteen minutes to reach the mission sniping point. Xia Qing was responsible for searching for targets; Zhang Hongda and Huo Zhun split to the left and right to protect Xia Qing's safety.

After Xia Qing searched the area and confirmed there were no suspicious targets within a two-kilometer radius, she pressed the walkie-talkie. "Commander, Territory Alliance Xia Qing team has reached the mission location."

Gao Ying in the air responded, "Copy that. Keep the channel clear."

Learning through the walkie-talkie that Xia Qing had arrived, Xie Yu contacted her by phone. "Sister Qing, we have already safely withdrawn."

The "invader squad" that had alarmed the southern experimental zone guards and the southern wolves half an hour ago had been faked by Xie Yu, who had Green Dragon team members impersonate them.

Xia Qing asked, "What did Captain Xie tell the Base Commander?"

Xie Yu replied with a smile, "I told the Base Commander the truth. Gao Ying also knows that this mission is to protect that evolved tiger on Mountain Thirty-One from being killed or captured by invaders."

"Understood." Xia Qing ended the call with Xie Yu, listened for a while to the tiger roars and wolf howls, then contacted Zhang Shi. "Old Five, what's the current situation on Mountain Thirty-One?"

For Zhang Shi's safety, Xia Qing had made an agreement during the pre-departure video conference: in this mission, Zhang Shi's code name was "Old Five."

Inside a crevice in the granite sheer cliff, Zhang Shi, curled up together with Ye Yiyi and the black-tailed wolf, tried to keep his voice steady as he asked, "A strong evolved tiger arrived forty-five minutes ago and roared at Pian Tiger for a while before they started fighting; they're still at it now. Sister Qing, is this evolved tiger really the one Fourth Brother brought? They're both bleeding."

Hearing the angry tiger roars coming through the phone, Xia Qing calmly asked, "Didn't you confirm with Old Four?"

Zhang Shi replied, "I can't reach Fourth Brother, and I don't know its current location. It left its phone with Scarface Little Wolf."

That move was very Old Four. Xia Qing told Zhang Shi not to panic. "Old Four's mission is to protect Pian Tiger at close range. If it hasn't made a sound, there's no problem."

In a territorial battle, once the mutual roaring ends and neither side withdraws from the territory, the winner and loser must be decided through combat; the victor gains the territory, and the loser dies or flees.

Given Old Four's level of rigor, even if it's fake, it has to look real; drawing blood is perfectly normal.

After ending the call with Zhang Shi, Xia Qing immediately video-called Scarface Little Wolf. "Scarface, what's your position and what's the situation?"

Scarface Little Wolf raised a paw to fiddle with the phone, letting Xia Qing see the two wolves lying beside it, as well as the mountain shape behind.

Xia Qing understood. "I see it—the border area between Mountain Twenty-Two and Mountain Twenty-One; your dad and Missing-Ear are both there. Hold the territory well. Don't let the helicopter discover you have a phone. If you spot invaders, don't rush out to attack; take photos and post them to the group immediately. Stay safe."

Scarface Little Wolf nodded solemnly and hung up.

The last call Xia Qing made was to the Northern Wolf King. "Your Majesty, has Broken-Waist gone out to patrol?"

Inside the mountain cave, the lead wolf's gilded eyes gazed calmly at the screen.

"Understood, Broken-Waist Wolf has gone out to patrol. Your Majesty, have you notified Handsome Giant Wolf to go to the western wolves' territory and inform the Western Wolf King? …Understood. Your Majesty, you are truly amazing—finishing all the tasks so quickly. Please rest easy. If you discover any danger you can't handle, contact me immediately."

The lead wolf leaned its head forward and sniffed the phone screen.

Xia Qing smiled. "I will protect myself well; Your Majesty need not worry about me."

Just then, Commander Gao Ying reported the latest situation. "All teams, listen up. The fight between the two evolved tigers on Mountain Thirty-One has ended; one evolved tiger is heading toward the southern wolves' territory. Sister Qing, this evolved tiger may pass through your squad's area. Watch out and take cover."

Xia Qing pressed the walkie-talkie button to reply, "Copy that."