Chapter 172: This Is My Territory!

"Everyone, the Sufeng Squad lost two pangolins—one big, one small. Has anyone seen any pangolins in or near their territory these past few days? If anyone can provide useful leads, the Sufeng Squad will pay at least two thousand points as thanks."

Spending two thousand points to look for pangolins worth two hundred thousand? The Sufeng Squad sure is generous.

Xia Qing was no longer worried. She pulled open a drawer, took out a pearl, and happily listened to the commotion while polishing it.

Kuang Qingwei immediately asked, "Brother Huai, when and where were the pangolins lost, and how big were they?"

Kuang Qingwei was the most enthusiastic networker among the lords in this stretch of territory. Apart from Territory Eight, he knew a little about the situation in all the other twenty-six territories.

Tang Huai immediately answered, "Lost four days ago, in the Evolution Forest near us. The big one is over a meter long with a blue-black back; the small one is forty centimeters long with a pale blue-green back. Did you see them?"

Kuang Qingwei answered, "I've been busy lately repairing the greenhouse and roof damaged by Evolution Birds, so I really haven't been paying attention to news nearby. I'll go ask around right now."

Without you, what's the point of talking nonsense? What's the use of going to ask around now?

Tang Huai cursed inwardly and continued asking, "Has anyone else seen them?"

No one answered.

Kuang Qingwei asked again, "Before the Calamity, wild pangolins around here were already extinct. After the Calamity, I haven't seen the things either. Brother Huai, why does the Sufeng Squad keep pangolins—to dig for treasure?"

Tang Huai ignored Kuang Qingwei and went on, "Pangolins are expert burrowers. If they dig holes in your territory, they can quickly let harmful animals like Evolution Rats in and ruin your crops. The Sufeng Squad hopes to enter everyone's territory to search and remove the hidden danger for you. Please grant us permission."

This time, even Kuang Qingwei stayed silent, because no one wanted outsiders entering their own territory. Even if the prompt required it of the number-one squad of the Hui-3 Base, they couldn't agree.

Tang Huai added, "The squad will only send in a six-person team. Unless they find the pangolins, they absolutely won't touch anything or any crops inside the territory. For territories that grant permission, the Sufeng Squad will give twenty jin of yellow-light wheat. If the pangolins are found inside a territory, the Sufeng Squad will give that lord another hundred jin of wheat as a thank-you—ninety jin yellow-light, ten jin green-light."

Xia Qing raised an eyebrow. During the Calamity years, the appeal of grain was enormous. Twenty jin of wheat could not only be eaten but also used as seed for sowing.

Green-light seed measured by the jin rather than by the grain—nobody could refuse.

Of course, Xia Qing wasn't tempted at all. Because from Tang Huai's description, she had already confirmed that what the wolf pack had captured was the Sufeng Squad's tamed beast.

Apart from her own territory, no traces of pangolins could be found in any other territory, so no one could trade for green-light seed.

Sure enough, Kuang Qingwei spoke up first. "The Sufeng Squad coming in to help the territory remove hidden dangers is a good thing. Territory Six grants permission."

"Territory Four grants permission."

"Territory Five grants permission."

"Territory Ten grants permission."

Tang Huai continued asking, "Good, thanks for everyone's cooperation. Territory Two also grants permission. What about the other lords?"

Territory Two belonged to Tang Lu, the daughter of the Sufeng Squad's captain. How could they not grant permission? Tang Huai's question was pointless.

Xia Qing didn't speak first; under the lamplight she admired and played with the freshly polished black pearl.

Hu Zifeng was the first to refuse. "Territory One does not grant permission."

"Territory Seven does not grant permission."

"Territory Nine does not grant permission."

"Territory Eight does not grant permission."

Only then did Xia Qing press the button. "Territory Three does not grant permission."

One, Seven, and Nine refusing was within Tang Huai's expectations. Three and Eight refusing too made him lose face.

Knowing Xia Qing's hot temper and sharp tongue, Tang Huai tried to tackle Territory Eight first. "Xin Yu, we just want to send a few people in to look for the pangolins. If we don't find anything, we'll pull out in at most half an hour. Please cut us some slack."

"Very troublesome. No slack." The lord of Territory Eight refused cleanly and crisply. "Captain Tan, if someone enters my territory without my permission, is it illegal for me to kill them?"

Everyone……

Tang Huai……

Tan Junjie responded seriously, "You should warn and drive them off first. Only if that's ineffective can you use force."

Xin Yu replied, "Understood. Thank you, Captain Tan."

Tang Huai switched to threat mode: "Xin Yu, leave people a line, and you'll meet again easily in the future."

Xin Yu replied firmly, "Never had any intention of meeting again."

Everyone……

Domineering!

Tang Huai……

Damn it!

That dead woman of Territory Eight was impossible to talk around. Tang Huai turned to Territory Three. "Xia Qing, why won't you agree?"

Xia Qing replied, "My sheep has a very strong sense of territory. It's only just feeling better, and I don't want it getting too agitated. If anyone forces their way in, my choice will be the same as the lord of Territory Eight."

Everyone……

A red-light sheep that can't even be eaten actually matters more to Xia Qing than dozens or hundreds of jin of grain!

Tang Huai……damn it!

"Friends of Territories Four, Five, Six, and Ten, thank you all for your cooperation. Besides the twenty jin of wheat, I'll personally give each territory an extra portion of fried green-light Evolution Pupae. How about we start at seven-thirty tomorrow morning?"

Hearing about fried pupae, Xia Qing's mouth watered a little. She turned off the walkie-talkie and began tonight's physical training.

Past two in the night, the wolf pack brought another python, hoping to keep trading spinach juice with Xia Qing.

Xia Qing tried earnestly, with words and gestures, to communicate with the lead wolf. "Queen, it's not that I don't want to trade with you—I'm out of medicine. Out. Of. It."

Xia Qing was telling the truth. Her spinach wasn't even a palm's height yet; she couldn't pick any more.

After Xia Qing refused, the lead wolf stared at her without moving.

Apart from Zhang San and Yang Jin, this was her most important trading partner for supplies. If Xia Qing wanted long-term trade with the wolf pack, she had to make the wolves understand the rules of trading with humans.

"Sis, I really am out of medicine. How about this—I take the snake first, and I give it to you guys to use in half a month. Deal?"

The lead wolf slowly bared its fangs, radiating dominance.

Xia Qing immediately drew her gun and aimed at the lead wolf, her gaze equally fierce.

At the critical moment, the brain-evolved wolf that had crawled out for food let out a low whine.

The lead wolf slowly retracted its fangs and returned to the sheep pen. The emaciated wolf it had brought along followed it in slowly.

Xia Qing did not let her guard down just because the lead wolf had retreated.

She retreated into the house at the fastest speed of her life, bolted shut the thick security door, hurried upstairs to reload on bullets and hang grenades all over her waist, then went back down to draw open the blackout curtains over the living room window and glare viciously at the brain-domain evolved wolf wounded at the sheep pen entrance.

Why wasn't she looking at the lead wolf?

It had gone into the sheep pen; from this angle Xia Qing couldn't see it.

Xia Qing used her sternest tone to let the wolf pack know her fury. "This place is the territory of me and Boss Sheep. You're the ones who came to our territory with supplies and wounded pack members to ask for help. I agreed to the exchange, accepted your supplies, and took care of your wounded — that doesn't mean the wolf pack calls the shots here!"

The lead wolf, hearing Xia Qing's voice, slowly walked out of the sheep pen as well.

Xia Qing's gaze turned to it, fierce as a demon. "An exchange is something both sides agree to. You brought out supplies to trade me for medicine — whether I agree to the exchange is my business. I'll make my answer clear to you once more: I have no medicine right now, I can't meet your trade conditions. Take your snake and go."

"I say no and you throw a fit, try to use force to threaten and bully me into agreeing? Heh, you think just because I called you Queen a few times, that means I'm afraid of you?"

Xia Qing gripped a grenade. "See this thing? One of these can blow your whole pack to kingdom come! Earless, I know you're a speed-type evolver — I can't blow you up, but the rest of them—"

Xia Qing pointed at the brain-domain evolved wolf and the sheep pen. "Not a single one of them is walking out of here alive!"

The wolf pack might not have understood exactly what Xia Qing was saying, but they truly felt her rage.

The brain-domain evolved wolf and the broken-legged wolf stood beside the python without biting down, looking up at her.

The broken-legged wolf was fierce; the brain-domain evolved wolf looked thoughtful.

The tension stretched to the breaking point — even Boss Sheep, asleep on the tatami, felt it.

It clip-clopped over to Xia Qing's side and nuzzled her leg with its body. Xia Qing used her right hand, the one not holding a grenade, to gently rub Boss Sheep's head, signaling it not to be nervous.

The wounded brain-domain evolved wolf spoke: "Aowu, wu, aowu."

Before Xia Qing could figure out what that wolf meant, Boss Sheep clip-clopped over, opened the security door, and tried to carry the python at the doorway inside.

Seeing this scene, Xia Qing's fury skyrocketed — she blew her top!